NO. 13 SOVIET ANTHROPOLOGY — FIELD II9 



narrower face, a broader nose, and more intensive dark pigmentation 

 of the eyes. 



Bogoiavlenskii also measured seven Afghans, from the left hank (>i 

 Piandzh in the Afghan portion of Darvaz. This group is very close 

 to the Tajiks from the right hank of the Piandzh, having an average 

 stature of 160.5 ^"<J ^ cephalic index of 80.0. 



Sumnuiry. — The population of the western Pamirs is relatively 

 homogeneous, belonging to the short-headed Europeoid type referred 

 to by Bogoiavlenskii as the Pamiro-Europeoid type, to which tlie 

 Tajiks of Darvaz and Karategin belong. 



This anthropological type is characterized by mciium stature ; 

 brachycephaly with relatively small absolute skull dimensions ; a rather 

 long face with a narrow, strongly protruding nose, dark pigmentation 

 of hair and eyes, and a well-developed beard. 



Bogoiavlenskii has found local variations of this type among which 

 the peoples of Darvaz, who are characterized by a lower cephalic 

 index bordering on brachy-nicsocephaly, are to be found at one ex- 

 treme, while the Shugnani, who are taller and possess a higher ce- 

 phalic index bordering on hyperbrachycephaly, occupy the other. 



Local variations depend on concentration of genes, the latter l)ein;^' 

 due to considerable isolation in this district, where but slight contact 

 exists between adjacent regions. 



Anthropological data serve to refute the existence of Xordic race 

 elements among the population of the Pamirs. 



IRANIAN TRIBES OF THE WESTERN PAMIRS 



During the summer of 1935 Oshanin " of the Medical Institute in 

 Tashkent obtained anthropometric data on some very small Iranian 

 tribes inhabiting the sources of the Amu-Darya, i.e., the Piandzh 

 and its tributaries the lAzgulem, Bartang, Gunt, and Shakhdara. 

 These Iranian dialects differ so much that the inhabitants of two 

 adjacent valleys cannot understand each other. 



Among the tribes of the western Pamirs, often separated from each 

 other by inaccessible mountain ridges. Oshanin measured and ex- 

 amined 231 Shugni of the Shakhdara, Gunt, and Piandzh Valleys, 

 42 Ru.shani of the Piand/.h \'alley. -^2 Wakhi from vari<nis villages 

 of Wakhan, 13 Bartangi of the Bartang \'alley, and a few Ishkashnu* 

 and Gorani. 



Analysis of the anthropometric data reveals that these Iranian 



"Oshanin, L. V.. Iranskic plcmcna zapadnogo Paniira (Iranian tribes <f 

 the western Pamirs], text pp. 1-190, 25 plates, many maps, graphs and tables. 

 Inst. Exp, Med., Tashkent, I937- 



