ETIIXOLOGY. 3 



the character of the ornaments and utensils placed with it, and 

 whether it Avas in its original place or had been combined with 

 others. Finally, it should be ascertained whether the tomb was that 

 of existing or recent inhabitants of the 'country, or of more ancient 

 date,- — such, for example, as the mound-builders of the Ohio; and, in 

 tliis latter case, if the remains are those of the original inhabitant, 

 or have been since deposited. In this inquiry the character of the 

 articles buried with the body will often furnish a clue. The same 

 precaution should be adopted where tribes have been removed from 

 their native regions to a different locality. In short, where any doubt 

 exists in the mind of the collector, all those circumstances should be 

 examined into which in the absence of direct testimony, will facilitate 

 a conclusion as to origin. 



It may be mentioned in this connection, that among some nations, it 

 is the custom to marry out of the tribe, as a matter of policy. Skulls 

 of women found in the cemeteries of one of these might therefore 

 very probably belong to an adjoining tribe, and, possibly, to one of 

 an entirely different stock. In such cases, too, there can be no cer- 

 tainty that the men themselves are of the pure blood of one race, and 

 it is, therefore, important to ascertain if this custom exists. Among 

 those tribes where flattening or altering the head is common to both 

 sexes, particular suspicion should attach to any having the skull un- 

 altered. This process is usually a mark of rank, or at least of freedom, 

 and an unaltered skull, if found in a burial-place or well-marked re- 

 ceptacle, may almost be assumed to be that of a stranger ; if neglected, 

 it is probably that of a slave. But as slaves were often buried with their 

 owners, even this is not a positive conclusion. Among some of the 

 Pacific tribes, however, compression of the head is confined to females, 

 or is, at any rate, only carried to any considerable extent among them. 

 Slaves are sometimes of the same tribe with their owners, but they aro 

 more frequently purchased from others ; and it should be noted that 

 on the Pacific the course of the trade has been from south to north. 



In order to ascertain whether differences of form exist among dif- 

 ferent stocks, the accumulation of as many specimens as possible of 

 each tribe is desirable, and duplicates moreover afford the means of 

 extending the collection by exchange. 



Skulls which have been altered in shape possess a certain interest 

 in themselves, though they are in other respects disadvantageous 

 for comparison. The practice, in different forms, formerly existed 

 more widely than at present, several tribes in the southern States, as 

 the Natchez, <tc., having been addicted to it. Two methods are still 



