6in 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXX. No. 774 



worth, a member of the committee, went to Rome 

 last April and studied the collection of one hun- 

 dred Sardinan crania in the Collegio Romano. He 

 made about 1,200 measurements, and is preparing 

 a report which will serve as a basis of comparison 

 with any collection of ancient crania that may 

 be obtained. In addition to these specimens, 

 which had not been described previously, Mr. 

 Duckworth has examined about thirty Sardinian 

 crania in the museums of Rome and Paris. He 

 has recently spent ten days in Corsica, where he 

 obtained valuable illustrative material, and hopes 

 to take part in Dr. Mackenzie's expedition to 

 Sardinia in September next. 



The committee ask to be reappointed, and apply 

 for a grant. 



Although the last report of the committee on 

 anthropometric investigation in the British Isles 

 was considered to be final as regards the method 

 of anthropometric investigation, it was thought 

 advisable to reappoint the committee to act as an 

 organizing center to promote the establishment 

 of anthropometric investigation among all classes 

 of the population of the British Isles. In this 

 direction important work has been done during 

 the past year. 



In October last, the secretary, at the request of 

 Dr. Rawson, the principal of Battersea Poly- 

 technic, instructed his medical officer in the 

 method of carrying out measurements in accord- 

 ance with the committee's scheme. 



The importance of installing anthropometry in 

 public schools was brought under the notice of 

 the Headmasters' Conference on February 10 last, 

 and their cooperation was asked for. In reply, a 

 letter, dated May 21, was received from the secre- 

 tary of the Headmasters's Conference committee, 

 suggesting the issue of a short circular explaining 

 the items of information that it was most impor- 

 tant to collect. In response to this suggestion a 

 memorandum was drawn up and sent out by the 

 anthropometric committee to the headmasters of 

 107 public schools. It is hoped that this action 

 will result, in the course of time, in the general 

 establishment of anthropometry in pviblic schools. 



Measurements are now being carried out gen- 

 erally under the direction of the medical officers 

 of the education authorities, in primary schools, 

 and in a certain number of provided secondary 

 schools. But there is still a wide field among 

 secondary schools for both boys and girls in which 

 the committee could do good work. 



The 1908 report of the committee on anthro- 

 pometric method has been issued as a separate 



publication by the Royal Anthropological Insti- 

 tute (price. Is. net). This will make the scheme 

 of the committee available, in cheap and con- 

 venient form, to all who propose to undertake 

 anthropometric work, and will ensure the uni- 

 formity which is so essential to make the results 

 of different measurers comparable. 



The committee recommend that they should be 

 reappointed, with a grant of £5 for printing or 

 typing circulars, postage, stationery, etc. 



The work of the committee on the establish- 

 ment of a system of measuring mental characters 

 is going fonvard and promises to yield interesting 

 results, but is not sufficiently advanced for a full 

 report. 



The committee ask to be reappointed, and that 

 a grant of £5 be made to them for printing cards 

 and other inevitable expenses. 



President Myres reported for the committee to 

 investigate neolithic sites in northern Greece. 

 The work has been done by the Liverpool Arche- 

 ological Institute. The mounds of southern Thes- 

 saly are found to be the accumulations of suc- 

 cessive village sites. This region was occupied by 

 a neolithic population that formed an effective 

 barrier between the Mediterranean civilization on 

 the south and that of the Danube valley on the 

 north, and lagged behind both. At the top of one 

 of these mounds were found bronze age graves of 

 an ^gean people. Only a few mounds have as 

 yet been opened, while hundreds remain un- 

 touched. 



The papers presented covered a wide range of 

 subjects. A majority of these are given in ab- 

 stract. 



Miss A. C. Breton described " Race Types in the 

 Ancient Sculptures and Paintings of Mexico and 

 Central America." The different race types in the 

 ancient sculptures and paintings found in Mexico 

 and Central America form an important anthro- 

 pological study. An enormous mass of material, 

 evidently of many periods, includes sculpture, 

 archaic stone statuettes, the portrait statues and 

 reliefs at Chichen Itza, the Palenque reliefs and 

 the series of magnificent stelae and lintels at 

 Piedras Negras, Yaxchilan, Naranjo, Copan, Qui- 

 rigua, etc. 



In terra cotta or clay there are the hundreds 

 of thousands of small portrait heads and figurines 

 found at Teotihuaean, Otumba, the neighborhood 

 of Toluca and other ancient sites. Larger clay 

 figures have been found in quantities in tombs, as 

 in the states of Jalisco and Oaxaca; these were 

 made as offerings, instead of the sacrifice at a 



