8 aleS hrdlicka 



To summarize, measurements on the human body or its parts are 

 practiced for: 



1. Industrial purposes; 



2. Regulation of art; 



3. Military selection ; 



4. Medical, surgical, and dental purposes; 



5. Detection of bodily defects and their correction in gymnastics; 



6. Criminal and other identification; 



7. Eugenic purposes; and for 



8. Scientific investigation. 



As a result of the multiple applications of body measurements, there 

 have become differentiated, aside from the industrial and artistic 

 systems which are of little interest to us in this connection, the mili- 

 tary, criminological, and also chnical and eugenic anthropometry, 

 besides that used for strictly scientific research and more particularly 

 for anthropological purposes. As to the last named, were it not for 

 the seeming alliteration of the two words, the term Anthropological 

 anthropometry would be of real utility. 



The diversity of measurements in the various above named branches 

 of activities is a legitimate necessity. Regrettably, this diversity ex- 

 tends also more or less to instruments and methods, which makes a 

 free interutilization of the obtained data difficult if not impossible. 

 There is a great loss of effort, and even the most closely related of the 

 above branches remain more or less strangers to each other. One 

 of the foremost aims of all those interested in anthropometry in the 

 broader sense should be a general unification of instruments and meth- 

 ods, as far as this may be practicable. 



Anthropology: The present treatise is devoted to measurements used 

 in anthropology. The aim of anthropological measurements is not to 

 replace, but supplement visual and other observations, or give them 

 more precision. 



Variety of Measurements: There are none except natural limits to 

 the number or variety of measurements that can be legitimately prac- 

 ticed on the human body or its remains. Moreover, every measure- 

 ment or set of such, if carefully secured on sufficient numbers of indi- 

 viduals representing different human groups, will be of some value. 

 But some of the measurements were early seen to be of greater gen- 

 eral interest or importance than others, came into universal use, were 

 properly regulated, and constitute to-day the anthropological sys- 

 tem OF ANTHBOPOMETEY. This System, however, though rigid in 



