OCTOBEB 2, 1899.] 



KNOWLEDGE. 



217 



ItltlSTRATED MAGAZINE 



Founded by RICHARD A. PROCTOR. 



LONDON: OCTOBER 2, 1899. 



CONTENTS. 



the 



and 



XI. 



On the Treatment and Utilization of Anthropological 



Data.— V. Cranial Form. By AETitru Thomsox. 



M.A . M.B. {Illustrated) 

 Sir Michael Foster's Presidential Address to 



British Association. September 13th, 1899 

 Two Months on the Guadalquiver. — IV. Scrub 



Wood, Bv Uahby F. Wiiherdt, f.z.s., ji.h.o.u. 

 The Karl<inokosm, or World of Crustacea.— 



Taste and Try. By the Rev. Thomas K. E. 



Stbbbing, M.A., F.K.S., T.L.S., P.Z.S. [Illustrated.) (Plate.) 

 Letters : David Flaneey {Illustrated) ; Gavix J. Bttbxs, 



B.SC. ; T. W. BACKHOrSE ; BaBOX N. KAriBARS ; C. 



Cbovch... 



Obituary .' 



Science Notes ... 



British Ornithological Notes. Conducted by Habbt F. 



WiTHKEBY, r.Z.S., M.B.O.U. ... 



Notices of Books 



BooES Received 

 Ben Nevis and its Observatory.— II. 



Brfi. E, E-E S.G.s. {Illustrated) 

 Some Suspected Variable Stars.— III. 



P.E.AS 



Secrets of the Earth's Crust. — V. The 



Mill. By Gekntillk A. J. Cole, ji.b.i.a., F.a.s. {Illus- 

 trated) '. 



Notes on Comets and Meteors. By W. F. Denning, 



F.E.A.S. ... 

 Microscopy. By John H. Cooke, e.l.s., f.o.s. {Illustrated) 

 The Face of the Sky for October. By A. Fowlkb, f.r.a.s. 

 Chess Column. By C. D. Locock, b.a. 



By William S. 

 By J. E. GOEE. 

 Great Earth - 



paqk 



217 

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224 



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229 

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237 

 238 

 239 

 239 



ON THE TREATMENT AND UTILIZATION OF 

 ANTHROPOLOGICAL DATA. 



By Akthuk Thomson, m.a., m.b. 

 v.— CRANIAL FORM. 



HITHERTO we have confined our remarks to ques- 

 tions relating to colour, hair, proportions and 

 blight. We must now direct our attention to 

 the consideration of the head. For various 

 reasons this is the part of the human frame 

 which has been most thoroughly studied, though it must 

 be admitted that the vast amount of labour which has been 

 expended on its minute and careful examination has not 

 hitherto been productive of commensurate results. 



The form of the head and the type of features naturally 

 commend themselves to ua in our attempts to analyse 

 racial characteristics, for they are the parts of the body 

 most exposed to our observation, and though it is a matter 

 of great difficulty to secure all the bones of a skeleton, 

 especially if a considerable time has elapsed since the 

 interment of the individual, there is not much trouble 

 involved in picking up a skull. Consequently, whilst the 



material at our disposal, so far as it relates to the com- 

 plete skeleton, is meagre, there is no lack of akuUs where- 

 from to draw conclusions. It is beyond the scope of these 

 articles to enter into aU the detail and minutifewith which 

 the expert alone can be expected to be conversant, it is 

 rather our intention to point out the features which appear 

 to be of value in enabling us to determine with some 

 approach to accuracy those distinctions in structure and 

 form which may be considered racial characteristics. 



The skeleton of the head, called the skull, includes those 

 bones which form the protective covering for the brain and 

 those which support and surround the various structures 

 lodged within the cavities of the face. The only movable 

 bone of the skull is the lower jaw ; for this reason it ia 

 apt to become separated from the other bones and, in con- 

 sequence, lost. To a skull from which the lower jaw is 

 absent we apply the term cranium. Owing to the fact 

 that the remaining bones of the face are apt to be destroyed 

 in the process of decay, we often meet with specimens in 

 which they are broken away ; in this case the bony envelope 

 of the brain, which is called the calvaria, alone remains. 

 Stress must be laid on these details, as when in cata- 

 loguing skulls we make use of the terms skull, cranium, 

 and calvaria, we imply thereby certain definite structures. 



The appearance of the head in the living depends upon 

 the relative proportions and forms of the calvaria and the 

 bones of the face ; it will be necessary therefore to refer to 

 these in detail. The size of the calvaria is subject to great 

 variation, both as regards capacity and form. As it is 

 this part of the skull that contains the brain, an organ 

 which in man attains its highest proportionate develop- 

 ment, it will be obvious that the size of the calvaria 

 must be correlated with the amount of brain substance 

 contained within it, for, generally speaking, the osseous 

 case is closely moulded round the great central nervous 

 'mass, so that its contours correspond roughly to the 

 form of the encephalon. The exceptions to this rule 

 will be especially referred to hereafter. But whilst no 

 doubt the .=ize of the calvaria is largely dependent on 

 the development of the brain, it must be pointed out 

 that its shape is to some extent controlled by its asso- 

 ciation with the lower jaw. This depends on the fact 

 that one of the most powerful muscles which moves the 

 lower jaw — i.e., the temporal muscle — arises from the side 

 of the skull, and according to its size and the extent of its 

 attachment leads to variations in the form of the calvaria 

 which are quite characteristic. 



As will be readily understood from what has been 

 said, it is a matter of no great dilficulty to estimate 

 approximately the size of the brain from the examination 

 of a calvaria ; if the capacity of the cranial cavity be 

 gauged it will conform generally with the amount of 

 nervous matter lodged within it during life. The cranial 

 capacity may be measured in a variety of ways, but before 

 doing so it is necessary to prepare the skull for this 

 method of examination. Bones which have for centuries 

 lain in their places of burial are apt to become exceedingly 

 brittle owing to the disappearance of the organic matter 

 which binds together the earthy salts. Such specimens 

 are liable to crumble away when handled, and means must 

 be taken to preserve them from further disintegration. 

 Of these, none is better than that of making a warm 

 solution of thin size into which the bones are placed and 

 retained for some time. After being taken out of the 

 fluid they are allowed to drain, and after being dried will 

 be found to have lost all their brittle qualities, and can be 

 now freely handled and measured. 



A further precaution necessary before proceeding to take 

 the cranial capacity is to block up the various clefts and 



