KBU I'AL REMAINS 



base. When tho base of tin* skull i-> viewed from aU.ve. it i- 

 tlnit tin- inferior Mir face of the rirlit peiroii- portion i> l>ut -lightly 

 depressed, while that of tin- left i- on the level, and aiiti-riorly even 

 -liirhtly above the level, of tin- neighboring part- always a .-ign of 

 rather Deficient expansion of the cranial cavity, for in a well expanded 



iinen the |>et rotis portion- are seen in a dtCldafj hollow. 'I lie 

 skull .-hows large mastoids and a well-develo|xul sii|>erior occipital 

 .iv-t. indicating a j>owerful musculature; but the temporal ridges 

 an- not pronounced and their nearest approach to the sagittal suture 

 amounts on each side to nearly <> cm. The face was apparently but 

 moderately prognathic, as is general in Indians, and the malars and 

 the y.vgonue were not alx>ve medium in strength. The nasal spine 

 is low and not very prominent, but this feature constitutes no great 



ption among Indian crania. The palate, the dental arches, and 

 the teeth were of only ordinary dimensions; the injured condition 

 of the arches and absence of the teeth prevent the giving of meas- 

 urements. The foramen magnum is large, indicating probably tall 

 -tat ure. The glenoid cavities are deep and spacious. The lower 

 jaw, which was originally with the specimen, is wanting, but accord- 

 ing to Meigs's illustration and Schmidt's account, it showed nothing 

 that would l>e uncommon in the lower jaw of a modern Indian. 



The National Museum collection contains a good series of Indian 

 crania obtained from mounds along the Illinois river, with which the 

 Rock Bluff skull can be compared; and there are several skulls 

 from the Albany mounds, Illinois, in the Davenport Academy of 

 Sciences, which can also be utilized in this connection. These mound 

 crania are certainly not geologically ancient, though they probably 

 antedate the advent of whites into the valley. They show some variety, 

 due possibly to tribal mixture, but the predominating type is dolicho- 

 cephalic, having rather low orbits and, in males, strongly developed 

 .-upraorhital ridges, with narrow, low, and occasionally very sloping, 

 forehead. Mesocephalic forms appear occasionally. With most of 

 these skulls the Rock Bluff specimen agrees fairly in every essential 

 particular that goes to form a cranial type. Its supraorbital ridges 

 alone are quite equaled by those of no. 4401, Davenport Academy 

 (plate xui, a), and in several other specimens they are closely ap- 

 proached. Were the Rock liluff skull mingled with the rest of the 

 Illinois River male crania no observer would l>e likely to single it out 

 I e-pecially remarkable. It agrees with most of them even in color. 

 The peculiarities it presents are well within the scope of individual 

 variation. The following table and illustrations (plate n, 6, c) show 

 the resemblances, which are still further strengthened by an exami- 

 nation of the whole series of specimens from the Illinois valley. 



In view of the above facts, and irrespective of the wholly unsatis- 

 factory geological evidence, the Rock Bluff skull, though regarded 



