346 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXVII. No. 948 



serving for a fish. One of his brothers came run- 

 ning along, in pursuit of the fowl that had to be 

 safely shut up away from the little earnivora. 

 The boy held out his stick, to cut off the retreat 

 of the frightened fowl, which got entangled in the 

 liana, fell down, and was captured. Put into good 

 humor by this grotesque accident, the inventor 

 made a second successful attempt. The next 

 evening, the family were supplied with the appa- 

 ratus; and my boys imitated it. And, perhaps, in 

 a few years, some descriptive ethnologist will 

 report that the MobengS used the bolas, and, from 

 that fact, will infer some ethnological theory as 

 to the origin of the tribe." 



This example is of more than ordinary interest, 

 since it involves not merely "child-invention," 

 but likewise transference from one form of cul- 

 ture-activity to another — from fishing to bird- 

 catching. 

 Description of the Tsantsa:' H. Newell Waedle. 



A macroscopic description of one of the rare 

 mummified heads of the Jibaros of Ecuador, with 

 considerable detail as to color, form, size and 

 ornamentation together with the weave of the 

 suspension cord. 



TJie Principles of Limited Possiiilities in Eth- 

 nology:'' A. A. Goldenweiser. 

 In the present state of ethnological enquiry the 

 reality of convergent developments can no longer 

 be doubted. The actual demonstration of such 

 convergence on general theoretical grounds, there- 

 fore, seems highly desirable. 



The principle of limited possibilities implies 

 that whereas the origins of cultural processes are 

 innumerable, the processes soon become reduced 

 to a relatively smaller number of types, while the 

 relatively stable products of these processes are 

 strictly limited in number, owing to the play of 

 certain objective and psychological factors. If 

 that is so, there must be convergence. The prin- 

 ciple of limited possibilities is thus constituted an 

 a priori argument for convergent development. 



Three Forms of the Human Nose: Robert Ben- 

 nett Bean. 



The three most distinct forms of the human 

 nose appear characteristically in different parts 

 of the earth and the forms are clearly geograph- 

 ical, evolutional and developmental. The first of 



• To be printed in the Proceedings of the Acad- 

 emy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. 



' The paper appeared in full in the Journal of 

 American Folk Lore, September-December, 1912. 



the three is the underdeveloped nose resembling 

 that of the infant, and this form has been called 

 by Dr. Bean the Hypo-phylo-morph; the second 

 is a massive nose, the Meso-phylo-morph; and the 

 third is the thin, high, long, narrow nose, the 

 Hyper-phylo-morph. 



The Hypo-phylo-morph nose is flat, broad and 

 short, with flat depressed bridge, upturned tip, 

 and the nostrils open forward rather than down- 

 ward. The nostrils flare and are wide open, and 

 the extremity may be inserted horizontally along 

 the floor of the nasal fossa without interference 

 by the alffi. The nasal ridge, or the bridge of the 

 nose, is flat, because the nasal bones do not form 

 a steep roof over the nasal passages by their 

 opposition along the median line. The articula- 

 tion of the nasal bones with the frontal bone is 

 a gentle curve and not an abrupt transition. The 

 supraorbital ridges and glabella are not prom- 

 inent, nor the frontal sinuses large in association 

 with this form of nose, but the cheeks are full, 

 and the eyes prominent, therefore the front of the 

 entire face is somewhat flat, although the lips 

 project from a small mouth. The Hypo-phylo- 

 morph nose is essentially the nose of the infant. 



The Hypo-phylo-morph nose is found especially 

 among the Malays and Negritos as they exist 

 to-day in the Malay peninsula, Java, Sumatra, 

 Borneo, Celebes and the Philippine archipelago, 

 as well as among the Pigmies, Bushmen and Hot- 

 tentots of Africa. It is also found in a modifled 

 form in Burma, Siam, Cambodia, Tonkin, Annam, 

 in India, China, Japan, Mongolia and among the 

 true Negroes of Africa and America. The form 

 dwindles away through Siberia, Lapland, Finland 

 and Russia into Europe, where the Hyper-phylo- 

 morph nose appears. The form also dwindles 

 away through the Eskimos and Indians of the 

 Americas, among the Polynesians and the other 

 inhabitants of the Paciflc Islands and among the 

 pseudo-negroes of north and east Africa, in all of 

 which peoples the Meso-phylo-morph nose appears. 

 It is most emphatic among the women of all the 

 countries where it appears, but is also to be seen 

 among the men. 



The Meso-phylo-morph nose is massive, long 

 and broad, not very high, with apparently de- 

 pressed root due to overhanging brows and gla- 

 bella, it has a straight bridge and nostrils that 

 open downward and slightly forward. The out- 

 lines of the nose are usually straight. Looked at 

 from in front the lines of contact of the nose 

 with the face on each side are straight, and slant 



