354 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 196 



Table 7. — Age and sex composition of the popidation of Ramah ' 



» As of September 1, 1950. 



that illness was a constant and serious problem in this gi'oup. E,es- 

 pu-atory disease, skin infections/^ and eye trouble ^'' are recorded 

 most frequently for adults; intestinal afflictions for children. During 

 the course of the past 20 years, more than 100 individuals are known 

 to have had tuberculosis at one time or another. The disease has 

 halved the number of at least two famiUes and come close to exter- 

 minating two others. Navahos are also highly susceptible to infec- 

 tious diseases (influenza, whooping cough, measles, chickenpox, and 

 the like) that reach them from the surrounding populations. 



There are also a fair number of deformities and biological abnor- 

 malities in this population. Six women and four men walk with a 

 limp. In the case of at least four of the women this is known to be 

 congenital as a consequence of flat acetabula. One of the women 

 and two of the men limp as a result of injuries (fractures which did 

 not unite properly). Six individuals are deaf in both ears; seven in 

 one ear; five others are perceptibly hard of hearing. Of all these 

 persons, only four are past middle age. Of the 466 subjects med- 

 ically examined, 29 have perforated eardrums. One woman is deaf 

 and mute. There are two hydrocephalic idiots, one low-grade moron, 

 and one stutterer. In 1950, seven persons (two of them old) were 

 blind or nearly blind from trachoma or cataracts or both. Five in- 

 dividuals (all from the same lineage) were affUcted with night blind- 

 ness. In the 1948-50 period, 9 individuals are known to have had 

 syphiUs; 11 men and 9 women had gonorrhea. Mouth disorders are 

 frequent. Only 65 percent of those examined had gums in good con- 

 dition. Eighty-two individuals had tooth enamel damaged by wear, 

 chipping, or erosion. Dental decay and pyorrhea are frequent. 

 These records correspond to the constant reference in notes of field- 



" Actually, only 86 percent of those examined medically were free of some form of dermatitis, 

 w Less than 80 percent of those examined were free of eye abnormalities of some sort. 



