94 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



world." The valleys vary from 12,000 to over 17,000 feet above sea 

 level, and its highest mountain peaks from 20,000 to more than 

 24,000 feet. Some forests occur on the north and on the east, some 

 desert land in the north. Agriculture is carried on in the valleys below 

 14,000 feet, but most of the territory consists of rolling grasslands 

 between 12,000 and 16,000 feet above sea level.^ 



Tibet is completely surrounded by high mountains. To the north 

 are the Kun Luen mountains, on the east the high mountains of the 

 China-Tibetan border, and on the south and west are the Himalayas. 

 These lofty ranges act as watersheds, so that the rainfall in Tibet 

 averages only about 8 inches a year. The snowfall is light, and most 

 of the moisture falls as rain in the spring, summer, and fall. Tem- 

 peratures vary from warm in the lower altitudes in the summer to 

 very cold in the winter. 



Physically and linguistically the people belong to the Burma-Tibetan 

 branch of the yellow race. In the highlands of the interior and es- 

 pecially among the nomadic herders are found the purest Tibetans, 

 who seem closely related in type to the inhabitants of the northern 

 steppes and deserts. In the valleys to the east, Chinese officials, mer- 

 chants, and others have generally left their Chinese wives at home 

 in China and taken as wives or concubines local Tibetan women. 

 When later the Chinese have returned to their homes, they have left 

 their Tibetan wives and children in western China or eastern Tibet. 

 This has changed the physical type and the customs of the local 

 Tibetan people. In the valleys in the south and the southwest there 

 have been similar marriages between Indian men and Tibetan women, 

 which likewise have changed the physical type and the customs of 

 the Tibetans. The population of Tibet is believed to be less than 3 

 million. 



The typical Tibetans, especially on the highlands, have black hair, 

 heads slightly round or brachycephalic, thick noses, broad nostrils, 

 thin beards, little hair on the face, arms, and chest, and dark brown 

 eyes. Women and girls often have rosy cheeks and are good 

 looking. The men are strong, and the women are believed to be 

 among the strongest in the world, the Amazons of modern times. 



The principal farm products are barley and buckwheat. In addi- 



8 I have spent three summers west of Tatsienlu or K'ang-ting, which is in 

 Sikang and culturally in eastern Tibet. During several other summers I have 

 had contacts with Lamaism among the Chia-jung, the Hsi-fan, and the Wa-ssu. 

 First-hand observations made on these occasions have been supplemented by the 

 reading of books and articles on Lamaism. 



