PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 



The inaiiners, customs, religious conceptions, and daiJy life of all 

 these Indians are very similar, though among the Indians of British 

 Honduras, who come more closely in contact with outside influences, 

 old customs are d3^ing out, and old id(ias and methods are heing super- 

 seded by new. The language of the tribes here considered, with 

 slight local dialectical variations, is the same; all are of the same 

 physical type; in fact, there can be little doubt that they are the 

 direct descendants of those Maya who occupied the peninsula of 

 Yucatan at the time of the conquest. Physically, though short they 

 are robust and weU proportioned. The men average 5 feet 2 

 inches to 5 feet 3 inches in height, the women about 2 inches less. The 

 skin varies in color from almost white to dark bronze. The hair of 

 both sexes is long, straight, coai-se, black, and luxuriant on the head, 

 where it extends very low over the forehead, but is almost entirely 

 absent from other parts of the body. The women usually wear their 

 hair hanging down the back in two plaits. Their faces are round 

 and full, with rather high cheek bones; the skull is highly brachi- 

 cephahc in type. The following indices were taken from a small 

 number of Santa Cruz Indians, mostly males of middle age : 



Maximum length of head cm. . 17. 52 



Maximum breadth of head cm. . 15. 44 



Cephalic index 88.11 



Facial height cm .. 11. 68 



Maximum bi-zygomatic breadth cm. . 12. 84 



Facial index 84. 40 



Nasal height .cm. . 5. 13 



Nasal breadth cm . . 3. 55 



Nasal index 69.30 



The eyes are large and dark brown, the eai-s small and closely applied 

 to the head, the nose rather broad, and the jaw prognathous. The 

 mouth is fairly large and the teeth excellent, though toward middle 

 ag6 they become greatly worn dowai in many individuals from eating 

 corn cake impregnated with grit from the stone metate, and from the 

 same cause they are frequently much incrusted with tartar. The figure 

 in both sexes is phort and broad. Tlxe long bones and the extremities 

 are smaU and delicate. Both men and women are, however, capable 

 of considerable and prolonged exertion. The former can carry loads 

 of 150 pounds for 20 miles in the macapal (tah), a netted bag 



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