osteometry; the measurement of the bones 147 



Relation of the Lengths of Limb-bones to The Total Stature of the 

 Same Individual, when Living 



The relationship of the lengths of the long bones to the stature of the 

 individual, if possible to establish, would be a priori of immense import- 

 ance in the constantly recurring problem of estimating the height, during 

 life, of individuals known only be excavated bones. This is a ways 

 the first question of people in general, who happen to be present when 

 excavations are going on, and it is a curious fact in popular psycho ogy 

 that heights calculated by unprofessional people are always excessive, 

 sometimes ridiculously so. It would seem of much practical utility, 

 then, to ascertain through a series of measurements the usual ratios of 

 the separate long bone lengths to the total height, thus obtaining a 

 coefficient, by which a given long bone may be measured to get the ex- 

 pected, or usual, bodily stature. 



With such a purpose in mind Rollet, in 1889, took the total height 

 measures of a series of dead bodies, 24 males and 25 females, between the 

 ages of 20 and 65, in order to eliminate both senile and infantile propor- 

 tions, after which he had the bones prepared and available for measure- 

 ment. His results he formulated as follows: 



Male. Femur (greatest length) multiplied by 3.66 = Total height 

 Female. Femur (greatest length) multiplied by 3.71 = Total height 

 Male. Humerus (greatest length) multiplied by 5.6 = Total height 

 Female. Humerus (greatest length) multiplied by 5.22 = Total height 



These figures were, however, reliable only for people of about the 

 medium height, 1650 mm. also, owing to the well-known differences of 

 proportions in different human races, these coefficients would apply with 

 any certainty only to Frenchmen, or at best to members of the white 

 race. 



The necessity of a sliding scale of coefficients for different sizes 

 of individuals was taken into account later of by Manouvrier (1892) 

 who calculated a series of different coefficients for bones of different 

 sizes. Thus, for male femora, instead of using as coefficient the single 

 "3.66" of Rollet, he used for a femur of 422 mm, the coefficient 3.85, 

 for one of 446 mm, a coefficient of 3.73, and for one of 475 mm. a coefficient 

 of 3.61, and so on. * He finally represented a set of coefficients for lengths 

 of every few millimeters for the six long limb bones in each sex, and 

 worked out the resultant stature in each case, from which a desired 

 stature may be easily obtained. His table is as follows: 



* Manouvrier: Le determination de la taille apres les grands os des membres. 

 Mem. de la Soc. d'Anthropol. de Paris. 1893. 



