THE SKULL AS A BASIS FOR RACE CLASSIFICATION. 23 
By far the most important classification of skulls rests upon 
this Index. Those skulls whose Cephalic Index (length- 
breadth) is— 
Below 70 are Hyperdolichocephalic. 
From 70--75 are Dolichocephalic. 
From 75—80 are Mesaticephalic. 
From 80-85 are Brachycephalic. 
Upwards of 85 are Hyperbrachycephalic. 
In many ways these divisions are unnecessarily minute— 
first, because they are purely arbitrary ; and second, because 
it is quite evident that, as regards the mesaticephalic group, 
such skulls approximate to one group when upwards of 77°5, 
and to another when below that figure. 
As examples of Dolichocephalic skulls we may take 
Esquimaux, Kaffirs, Zulus, Veddahs, Fijians, and Australian 
Aboriginals, etc.; of Mesaticephalic skulls — Chinese, 
Europeans (mixed), Bushmen, Polynesians (mixed), ete.; of 
Brachycephalic skulls—Aboriginal Americans, Andamanese, 
Malays, Burmese, Mongols, Lapps, Finns, ete. 
In addition to this cephalic index, the height is some- 
times contrasted with the length, and, by assuming that the 
latter is 100, we obtain a formula— 
Basi-bregmatic height x 100 
Glabello-occipital length 
= Vertical Index. 
Below 70, low heads—Platycephalic. 
70—75, moderate or intermediate—Metriocephalic. 
75 and upwards, high—Akrocephalie. 
Such an index places Aboriginal Australasians and Bush- 
men among the low heads; Fijians and Loyalty Islanders 
have high heads, while Scotch and English are in the inter- 
inediate group. 
From all this it will be evident that a vast amount of 
thought and labour have been expended upon the cranium 
in the hope of utilising the accumulated information towards 
solving the problem of why certain types of skull are so 
constantly associated with certain peoples. For a long 
time anthropologists have felt that the methods which 
