ANTHROPOMETRY 9 



essentials, has no definite limits, and is subject to such changes as may 

 in the course of time be found advisable. 



In the development of the system it was soon found that diversity 

 of method was very prejudicial to progress, which led to attempts at 

 regulation of the methods and instruments by schools, by national, 

 and finally by international agreements. Unfortunately, the earlier 

 agreements conflicted, in consequence of which a great deal of work 

 was lost. Up to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, the system of Broca 

 or the French school was almost universal ; after the war, however, the 

 rapidly growing tendency in Germany for individualism did not spare 

 anthropometry. In 1874 the first proposals in this direction were 

 made by Prof. Ihering to the Congress of the German anthropological 

 societies. In 1877 a Craniometric Conference was held on this sub- 

 ject at Munich, and still another took place in 1880 in Berlin. The 

 outcome of the dehberations at these conferences was a scheme drawn 

 up by Professors KoUman, Ranke, and Virchow, which was submitted 

 for consideration to the 13th General Congress of the German Anthro- 

 pological Society, held at Frankfort-on-Main in 1882. The scheme 

 was adopted and designated as the "Frankfort Agreement." ' It intro- 

 duced new nomenclature and other modifications, with unfortunate 

 results. Henceforth there were the " French School " and the " Ger- 

 man School " of anthropometry. But the new system did not pre- 

 vail and the need of an international unification of methods began to 

 be felt. 



One of the first attempts at an international unification of anthro- 

 pometric measurements was made in the early 90's in Paris, by Dr. 

 R. CoUignon.^ The effort was made in connection with certain an- 

 thropometric studies planned by him at that time, and consisted in 

 his sending to various anthropologists of prominence in as well as out- 

 side of France certain propositions, with a request for their critique 

 and opinion. The effort, while favored in France, remained that of 

 an individual, and led to nothing definite. 



A much more promising, yet in the end quite as fruitless effort for 

 unification of anthropometric methods was made at the occasion of 

 the Twelfth International Congress of Prehistoric Anthropology and 

 Archeology, held in August of 1892, at Moscow. Two commissions 



' Garson, J. G. The Frankfort Craniometric Agreement, with Critical Remarks 

 thereon. J. Anthrop. Inst. Gr. Brit. & Ire., 1885, xiv, 64-83. 



' Collignon, R. Project d'entente internationale au sujet des recherches anthro- 

 pom^triques dans les conseils de revision. Bull. Soc. Anthrop. Paris, 1892, xiii, 

 186-8. 



