44 



BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



[BULL. 33 



establish the presence in parts of northwestern Germany and Holland 

 in or up to recent times of a cranial type characterized by precisely 

 the feature which renders so extraordinary the skulls from Burlington 

 county and Riverview cemetery, namely, very low height. The 

 cephalic index and the capacity of the European chamsecephals 

 show a wide range, which easily includes the same characteristics of 

 the Trenton specimens. The facial measurements are lacking in the 

 German reports, but Gildemeister speaks of a narrow face, a feature 



marked also in the two skulls 

 from New Jersey ; and one of the 

 latter, it will be remembered, 

 shows a trace of basal depression, 

 such as noticed in a more pro 

 nounced degree in some of Vir- 

 chow s low crania. The illustra 

 tions of the European chamse- 

 cephals (see figures 5 and 6) 

 show remarkable general resem- 

 blances to the two Trenton 



, __ _. v y/KT *MK - skulls there are the same 



le i^ %J8 rounded outline, without sagit 



tal elevation, of the anterior and 

 the posterior plane, similar shape 

 of the superior plane, and simi 

 lar aspect of the face. There 

 can be no doubt of the relation 

 ship of the two forms, and it now 

 remains to account for the occur 

 rence of identical forms in re 

 gions so remote from each other. 

 That such marked similarity 

 of any two normal, important, 

 extreme, and repeated forms 

 in cranial morphology could be 

 of accidental origin has never 

 been demonstrated, and, in fact, 

 is not conceivable. 

 Similarity of skull form due to pathological conditions is rather 

 common ; furthermore, the same pathological agency, such as prema 

 ture closure of a suture, affects all skulls in similar manner, giving- 

 rise to typical forms, the best known of which are plagiocephaly and 

 scaphocephaly. A depression of the base, such as was noticed by 

 Virchow in several of his low crania and is present to a slight degree 

 in the River view Cemetery skull, is due to abnormal softness of the 

 bones at some period during development, and causes a diminution 



FIG. 5. Front view of two of the Bremen chamae- 

 cephals. 



