248 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE.—1912. ui 
Parr IIT. 
A. Notes on the Ttbie from Palaikastro and its Neighbourhood. 
(a) BonEs or Pyamy DIMENSIONS AND THE QUESTION or A Pycmy Race IN CRETE 
IN THE NEOLITHIC PERIOD. 
In a report published in 19031! I described some limb-bones from 
Agios Nikolaos, and drew attention to their small size. I have realised 
lately that some of those bones are so small as to deserve a more detailed 
description and comparison than I gave in the publication mentioned 
above. In particular I notice that three of the tibie fall far short of 
the length of the corresponding bone in skeletons of admittedly pygmy 
types, such as the Andamanese and the South African Bush race. In 
drawing attention to this remarkable fact, I have to add that the bones 
from Agios Nikolaos are undoubtedly mature, and that they are shorter 
than the bones from Schweizersbild, upon which Professor Kollmann 
has based his description of a pygmy European race of neolithic 
antiquity. 
The evidence for the preceding statements is here set forth in two 
tables :— 
Taste VII.—£arly Cretan Bones (measurements of length in mm.). 
Femora. . . Patema, 367; Agios Nikolaos, 372 Mean, 369°5 (2) 
Tibie . 4 . Agios Nikolaos, 283, 287 » 285 (2) 
Radii. . . Agios Nikolaos, 211, 214 9 212°5 (2) 
Such are the dimensions actually observed. It will be noted that 
one very short femur occurred at Patema. The bones from this site 
(near Roussolakkos) are assigned to the Minoan Period, and are thus 
less ancient than those found in the Neolithic Rock-shelter at Agios 
Nikolaos. 
Turning now to the comparison of these short Cretan bones with 
the other types mentioned, I have to draw upon the data provided by 
Professor Pearson in his memoir on the reconstruction of the stature 
of prehistoric skeletons (‘ Phil. Trans.’ cxcii., A, p. 169). Taking all the 
data together, we find the following list results :— 
Taste VIII —Mean Length of Femur, Tibia, and Radius in mm. (ef. fig. 8). 
Bone Early Cretan Bush Andamanese | Schweizersbild 
3 é and @ Q é and 2? 
eEMUr es 5s 369°5 (2) 375 (6) 380 (26) 373 (3) 
Tibia nae Wee 285 (2) 317 (6) 321 (26) 313 (2) 
Radius... 212-5 (2) 206 (6) 210 (26) 226 (1) 
The numbers in brackets are those of the observations whence the mean values 
are derived. 
The Akka dwarfs mentioned in Professor Pearson’s memoir are 
undoubtedly smaller than any of the types in this table. On the con- 
trary, a Bambute pygmy (an adult male) provides higher figures—viz., 
left femur 386 (left side), tibia 309, left radius 218. These data are 
provided by Dr. Shrubsall.? 
11 Annual of the British School at Athens. 
Of. The Uganda Protectorate, vol. ii., by Sir H. H. Johnston. 
