224 



NATURE 



{July 3, 1879 



is the centre of a line taken just above the supra-orbital 

 ridge or glabella, to the occipital point, or most prominent 

 point of the occiput. The division commonly made be- 

 tween the anterior and posterior parts of the skull is by 

 a line drawn from the middle of the external auditory 

 meatus, or auricular point, to the bregma, or point where 

 the coronal and sagittal sutures meet. The skull of a 

 gorilla differs greatly from that of a European in the dimi- 

 nution of the portion situated behind this line, and the 

 Australian cranium approaches the former where it 

 differs from the latter, the posterior half being smaller 

 than in the European. 



The facial angle, or angle made by the profile with a 

 horizontal line, is obtained by placing the skull in such a 

 position that the axis of vision is horizontal. This is 

 done by passing a rod exactly through the centre of the 

 anterior opening of the orbit, and through the optic 

 foramen. By means of a square, the amount of projec- 

 tion in front of or behind any given point can then be 

 ascertained. 



The three points forming what is known as the facial 

 triangle are the basion, or centre of the anterior margin 

 of the foramen magnum, the nasion, or centre of the 

 fronto-nasal suture, and the alveolar point, or middle 

 point of the upper jaw. The length is usually taken from 

 the ophryon, but some take it from the glabella. The 

 breadth is the greatest breadth in the parietal region. 



Narrow skulls are called dolichocephalic, and broad 

 ones brachycephalic. Taking the length as 100, if the 

 index of breadth is above 80 the skull is brachycephalic ; 

 if below 75, dolichocephalic ; while if it lies between 

 these numbers it is called mesocephalic. 



The height is taken from the basion to'the bregma. 



The form of the orbit varies much. The orbital index, 

 or relation of the length (taken as 100) to the breadth, is 

 very low in the Australians, the average being about 80. 

 The form of the nose is characteristic both in races and 

 individuals ; the width compared with the height gives 

 the nasal index. This varies much in individuals, but 

 general averages are very important. The average nasal 

 index of Australians is 57. Broca calls those races whose 

 nasal index is lower than 48, leptorhine; between this 

 and S3, mesorhinej and above 'iz, platyrhinc. 



The name metopic has been given by Broca to those 

 skulls in which the suture between the frontals remains 

 open in the adult. It generally closes up at the end of a 

 year or two, and if it does not unite then, it rarely does 

 afterwards. In European races this metopism is seen in 

 about one cranium in ten, while in Australians and other 

 low races it is extremely rare, as in monkeys. 



The different races of men have been classified into 

 two great groups according to the character of the hair, 

 viz., the Ulotrichi, or woolly-haired people, and the 

 Leiotrichi, or smooth-haired people. Mr. Charles Stewart 

 has shown that, besides the difference in the microscopical 

 structure of woolly and straight hair already mentioned, 

 there is a difference in their mode of growth. The follicle 

 in which an ordinary hair is developed is straight, while 

 in the case of woolly hair it is curved, thus giving the 

 hair a spiral twist. The woolly-haired people inhabit the 

 greater part of Africa, and also a chain of islands extend- 

 ing from Tasmania to New Guinea and the Andaman 

 Islands. These latter, or oceanic negroes, differ con- 

 siderably from the former, or African negroes, and also 

 differ very much among themselves. They maybe divided 

 into two distinct branches, an eastern and a western, 

 and it is very difficult to determine whether they all arose 

 from the same stock. In the eastern branch the people 

 are nearly all characterised by high, narrow heads, much 

 compressed at the sides, and features resembling the 

 Australians. 



The Museum of the College of Surgeons has lately 

 received an interesting addition to the collection, viz., a 

 dried man, painted red and othenvise cmn men ted, and 



fixed on a sort of hurdle, which was found in a hut on 

 Darnley Island, in Torres Strait. The head of this man 

 is less dolichocephalic than that of mo5t Papuans, but it 

 had probably been artificially compressed in infancy, 

 many of these people having this peculiar custom. The 

 mouth is large and projecting, but the nose is better 

 formed than in the Australians. 



When the Spaniards took the Phihppine Islands they 

 found them chiefly inhabited by Malays, but also in the 

 wilder parts by a small race which they named Negritos. 

 These have black complexions, woolly hair, and negro- 

 like features. They perhaps extend as far north as to the 

 south of Japan, but they are best marked in the Andaman 

 Islands, where the race retains its purity. 



The Andaman Islands consist of a long narrow chain 

 of four principal islands, the Great Andamans, separated 

 by narrow channels, as well as some smaller ones, called 

 the Little Andamans. The first reliable notice of these 

 islands is by some old Arab voyagers in the 9th century. 

 No European traveller visited them until the end of last 

 century. In 1788 a convict station was established at the 

 south end, at a place which was called Cornwalhs. This 

 was soon abandoned, and another settlement made on the 

 north. This, again, however, was given up, and it was 

 not until November, 1857, that the Government once 

 more took up the question and established a settlement 

 on the site of Cornwallis, which is now called Fort Blair. 

 For four or five years the natives were very shy, and 

 the accounts of them are very unsatisfactory. They are 

 now, however, becoming civilised, the English governors 

 having built houses for them, and allowing them a certain 

 quantity of food. 



Although this chain of islands is only about 140 

 miles long, thei'e are as many as nine distinct tribes 

 speaking different languages. During the last year Mr. 

 Man has sent over a valuable collection of their manu- 

 factures, and these show that in some respects they 

 occupy a higher grade of civilisation than the Australians, 

 Tasmanians, &c. 



In the Little Andamans the people built beehive-like 

 houses, but in the Great Andamans they had no perma- 

 nanent houses or clothes, the substitute for the latter 

 being a thick coat of mud and pig's grease. A good deal 

 of taste is shown in the manner in which this clothing is 

 ornamented, one man being seen with half the body red 

 and the other half yellowish, and ornamented by zigzag 

 lines. A favourite ornament is a necklace made of the 

 finger-bones of deceased relatives. 



The Polynesians have a very general custom of pre- 

 serving the bodies both of friends and enemies ; the 

 Borneans preserve their enemies, but the Andamanese 

 give the preference to their friends. A widow often wears- 

 her husband's skull round her neck as an ornament. 



The Andamanese do not cultivate the ground, but they 

 are very expert with the bow and arrow. They cook their 

 food, which consists principally of wild pigs and fish. 

 They make canoes, hollowed out of the trunks of trees, 

 and also a rough kind of pottery, simply moulded by the 

 hand. There is no proof that they ever practised canni- 

 balism, notwithstanding the frequency with which the 

 charge has been brought against them. 



There is much difference in the descriptions of travel- 

 lers of the features and general characters of these 

 people; some say that they are all very much alike, and 

 others that they vary considerably both in form and fea- 

 tures and character of hair, which is usually extremely 

 black, close, and woolly. A section shows it to be nearly 

 as flat as that of a South African Bushman. They, how- 

 j ever, generally keep their heads shaved. All photographs 

 I hitherto sent to Europe show a very close general resem- 

 I blance. The head is round, the forehead broad and 

 ' upright, the nose small and straight, and the lips not very 

 thick or projecting. They are a very small race, the 

 average height being under five feet, the women being 



