SCIENCE 



NEW YORK, JUNE 26, 1891. 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN 

 SCHOOLS.' 



Phtsicai, anthropology has for its object the study of the 

 human body and of its functions. It deals more particularly 

 with the variation of form and function caused by varying 

 conditions or founded on inherited peculiarities. This object 

 is attained by dividing- the human species into classes, which 

 are treated separately. Such classes or groups may be 

 founded on difference of race ; they may be founded on dif- 

 ference of social status; they may be founded on difference of 

 geographical surroundings or of age. The peculiarities of 

 each group and their differences are bi'ought to light by a 

 statistical treatment of the individuals comprised in each class, 

 and the causes of these differences are studied by comparing 

 the various groups. 



The differences between these groups are not confined to 

 the adult age, but develop during the period of childhood 

 and adolescence. Therefore the study of the latter forms a 

 most important branch of anthropology. It appears that the 

 differences between the classes are comparatively slight in 

 the beginning, but develop during the period of growth, so 

 that the adults of the various groups show much greater 

 divergences than the children of the same groups. These 

 differences in the adult stage may be brought about by 

 earlier arrest of development in certain groups than in 

 others, or by development in diverging directions. Differ- 

 ences of form are generally accompanied by differences of 

 function. 



From these general considerations we must conclude that 

 a study of the anthropology of children is of the greatest 

 importance for a knowledge of the conditions and laws of 

 growth. It appears probable that the mode of growth of a 

 city population and of a country population will be found 

 different, as the adult forms show certain differences. The 

 American child 2'rows differently from the European child, 

 for there exist differences between the adult American and 

 the adult European. The child in New England grows dif- 

 ferently from the child in Kentucky, as the adult forms of 

 the two countries are not the same. We may also assume 

 that the child growing up under favorable sanitary conditions 

 will develop differently from the less fortunately situated 

 child. Even where the adult forms are identical we may 

 find differences during certain stages of development which 

 may shed an important light upon questions referring to 

 growth. 



The problems which are touched upon here have a great 

 importance to the teacher, because the functions of any organ 

 and also of the whole body are closely related to its develop- 

 ment and form. The nature of this correlation is by no 

 means clear, but remains largely a matter of investigation. 

 Nevertheless, its existence cannot be doubted. One of the 

 most striking cases of this kind is the result obtained by Axel 

 Key in his extended investigations in Sweden. He found 

 that the liability to sickness decreases with increasing rate 



• Dr. Franz Boas in the Pedagogical Seminary for June. 



of growth and increases with decreasing rate of growth, so 

 that the one may be taken as the measure of the other. We 

 know from other sources that skill in the use of certain 

 parts of the body cannot be attained after growth has been 

 completed, but that it must be attained during the period of 

 development, so that the special nature of practice has an 

 influence upon the function and probably also upon the form 

 of the organs in the adult individuals. Piano players and 

 rope dancers may be mentioned as instances of this kind. 



The various parts of the body do not develop at the same 

 time. Therefore we must suppose that each has its peculiar 

 time during which it is best adapted to being trained. For 

 these reasons the teacher has an immediate interest in the 

 prosecution and in the results of investigations upon the 

 bodily development of school children. 



Most researches on growth have been made from purely 

 anthropological points of view, the relation of the investiga- 

 tions to school work having been brought out only lately. 

 Quetelet's investigations in Belgium were among the first 

 that were founded on extensive material. The subject did 

 not receive, however, great attention, until Dr. H. P Bow- 

 ditch made his classic study of the school children of Boston 

 and vicinity. His measurements included height standing, 

 and weight. Simultaneously Dr. Charles Eoberts carried on 

 similar investigations in England. In his work are found a 

 considerable number of data referring to the development of 

 the various parts of the body, some of which have been taken 

 from Quetelet's tables. Dr. Bowditch's measurements were 

 repeated in Milwaukee by George W. Peckham, who showed 

 that certain important differences in the rates of growth pre- 

 vail in that city and in Boston. Series of observations of less 

 extent were made by Pagliani in Turin in 1879, by Kotel- 

 mann in Hamburg in 1877, by Daffner in the military schools 

 of Bavaria in 1884. 



Michailoff carried on an investigation on a closely allied 

 subject in Moscow, where he studied the development of the 

 chest, a question which was also included in Dr. Roberts's 

 measurements. An interesting article on this work has been 

 written by Erismann. Another investigation carried on in 

 Kretcy, Russia, by I. A. Miiller, has not been accessible to 

 us. 



Lately the superintendent of schools of Freiburg in Saxony 

 had a series of measurements made, in order to determine 

 the proper height of seats for scholars of various classes. 

 The most important work of this kind, and one which claims 

 particular attention of educationists, because it has been un- 

 dertaken on a large scale and solely in the interest of schools, 

 is the inquiry of the Royal Swedish Commission, whose work 

 was edited by Axel Key. 



All these investigations were based on statistical material, 

 that is, on the treatment of a long series of observations, but 

 no effort was made to follow the same individuals through a 

 series of years. Although Vierordt claims that the former 

 method will give just as good results as the latter, provided 

 the number of observations is sufficiently large, it must be 

 borne in mind that the latter method, the individual method, 

 will give man}' results which the general method cannot give, 

 and that it is the only method that will allow the education- 



