12 GIUFFRIDA-RUGGERI & CHAKLADA& 



index can only be obtained by adopting a systematic 

 classification of the populations : a simple succession of 

 figures in ascending or descending order, or of the peoples 

 in an alphabetical order, resembling the lists published 

 by Deniker, by Ivanovsky or by Martin, is without im- 

 portance for the purpose of subdividing the species H. 

 Asiaticus. 



A glance at any one of these three lists shows at once, 

 that the cephalic index of the so-called Mongolians and 

 their kindred does not present such a uniformity of brachy- 

 cephalism, as to render this character useless for the 

 subdivision of H. Asiaticus : on the contrary, this species 

 includes as many dolico-mesaticephals as brachycephals, 

 and the first, in my opinion, are the morphological prede- 

 cessors of the second. If we add the criterion of the 

 relative height of the cranium, as has been done by 

 Biasutti with the help of the index of width-height in his 

 Map VII, the uniformity disappears entirely, giving place 

 to a distinction of areas and zones more or less circum- 

 scribed, which is of the greatest interest for the purpose 

 of the subdivision of H. Asiaticus, sought by us. In 

 Map VII of Biasutti we find the extreme N. E. Asia 

 forming a quite distinct zone : it is an area in which the 

 average cephalic index varies from 81 to 82*9 in the 

 living subjects and in which plati-cephalism is not very 

 prominent. This area is inhabited by the Chukchi and 

 the Asiatic Eskimo : both of them appear in our classi- 

 fication as H. Asiaticus neoarcticus, in consideration of 

 their kinship with the American Eskimo who really 

 appertain to the same variety. 



Proceeding towards the west we find other distinct 

 zones for the ceph. index: all the remaining portion of 

 Siberia, with the exclusion of the Samoyeds, the Soyots 

 and the Yenisseian Ostyaks, show a ceph. index varying 

 on an average from 78 to 82'9 in living subjects, while 



