702 EEPORT 1881 . 



tioii (due partly, perhaps, to the roughness of the slate), the work called 'Opus 

 Hiberniciim.' As human bones were found on the site, the tablet may be a 

 funeral offering, representing objects which in earlier times it was the practice to 

 bury with deceased chiefs.' 



7. On the Physical Characters and Proportions of the Zulus. By C. Roberts, 

 F.B.G.S., and George "W. Bloxam, M.A., F.L.S., Assistant Secretary of 

 the Anthropological Institute. 



A Committee, consisting of certain members of the Anthropological Institute 

 and of the Anthropometric Committee of the British Association, among whom 

 were Professor Flower, General Pitt-Rivers, Mr. F. Galton, and the authors, 

 made a carefid and exhaustive examination of the physical characters and 

 proportions of the Zulus exhibited at the Westminster Aquarium and in several 

 parts of this country during the last two years. 



Sixteen males and three females were examined, and from an hour to an hour 

 and a half was devoted to each indi^ddual. 



The measurements were made by the authors with the greatest care and precision,, 

 and comprise 38 different dimensions of the body. The heights from the ground 

 were those of the vertex, the ear, the chin, the top of the sternum, the umbilicus, 

 the trochanters, the fork, the knee, and the largest part of the calf of the leg. 

 The breadths and circumferences of the trunk, the lengths and girths of the arms 

 and legs, and all the important dimensions of the head, face, and neck were also 

 recorded. In addition to these measurements, other points were noted, such as 

 the projection of the heel backwards, the relative length of the great and second 

 toe ; the colour of the skin, hair, and eyes ; the condition of the teeth, the 

 character of the features, the weight of the body, and the drawing strength of 

 the arm. Outlines of the feet were also talieu. 



The various observations have been carefully tabulated, and the relative 

 proportions of the body have been calculated taking the stature as imity, and 

 represented, as is usual "in tables of this kind, by 1,000. The Zulus examined were 

 from the border-land between Natal and Zululand, and, although they had been 

 in contact with Europeans, were of pure Zulu race. Of this fact we were assured 

 by pei-sons who were well acquainted with the Zulus in their own country. _ As. 

 they were brought to this country for the purpose of public exhibition, it is 

 probable they were selected, to a certain extent, as good specimens of their race ; 

 but as they were far from uniform in stature and physique, they may be accepted 

 as average" representatives of the Zulu tribes. Of the 16 males examined, one was 

 a boy of about 14 years of age, the remaining 15 being adiUts whose average age 

 was about 22^ years. Three women only having been examined, the measurements- 

 made were not sufficient to furnish trustworthy average results. 



The average stature of the 15 male adults was 170-7 centimetres, or 67-3 

 inches ; one-third of an inch less than the a-^erage Englishman of the same age. 

 The average chest-girth was 92 9 cm., or 3(5-5 inches ; one inch and a quarter 

 greater than the average Englishman of the same age. The average weight 

 (without clothes, for which 7 lbs. must be allowed) was 68-1 kilogrammes, or 

 151 lbs. ; about 10 lbs. greater than the average Englishman of the same age. 

 The average strength, as tested by the drawing power of the arm (as in drawing 

 a bow), was 38-7 kilos., or 85-6 lbs.; about 8 lbs. greater than that of the 

 average Englishman of the same age. 



Thus we see that while the stature of the Zulus was slightly below that of 

 Englishmen of the same age, the weight of the body was 10 lbs., the strength 

 8 lbs., and the chest-girth \\ inches, greater. It must be borne in mind, howe-i;er, 

 that the Zulus were kept in a condition of high physical training by their dancing 

 and spear-throwing exhibitions, while the Englishmen were those of the general 



» A full description of the figures has since been published with plates by Bernard 

 Quaritch, 1.5, Piccadilly, London. 



