<5 A CRANIOMETRIC STUDY 



found by Turner(*) in his classic research on the Craniology 

 of the people of Scotland. This result was likewise found to' 

 accord almost exactly with the corresponding measurements 

 of two low-grade Melanesian skulls recently recorded by the 

 author in Vol. XIV of these Transactions. (^) It is evident, 

 then, that there is a very slight inter-racial range of variation 

 in this cranial measurement, even between the highest and 

 the lowest types of modern Hominidae. As I pointed out in 

 the above mentioned memoir, the hori7,ontal cranial circum- 

 ference clearly does not possess much craniological significance, 

 though it shows that the cranial roof situated above this 

 level is the essential portion of the skull that has been forced 

 to expand in ortler to create more space for the evolving brain 

 in the higher races of mankind. 



The Vertical Transrerse Circumjerence. — This was measured 

 according to the i)lan of Turner ('''> and was found to ])e 44.15 

 cm., which closely approximates to 43.4 cm., that being the 

 average ascertained by Turner in 103 male Scottish skulls. (*) 

 As a matter of fact this circumference must have been a little 

 greater in this Micmac skull, as the missing section of the 

 cranial roof would slightly reduce the measurement. In any 

 case this cranial measurement (see Fig. 11) clearly was al- 

 most exactly the same as in the modern European type of 

 skull. 



The Capacity of the Cranium. — This could not be estimated 

 in the usual way owing to the large gap in the right half of 

 the cranial roof, previously referred to. A sagittal section of 

 the skull was therefore made just to the left of the mesial 

 plane in order to preserve the nasal septum. The gap was then 

 closed from the inside by plaster and the cubic capacity of 

 each half of the cranium estimated by filling it with sand the 

 foramen magnum being meanwhile closed up to the level of 

 the sagittal section. The capacity of the left half was 690 

 cu. cm. That of the right half was of course rather larger and 



