Holtby — Human Bones from an Ancient Burial Ground in Dublin. 47 



10. The facet on the outer part of the front of lower tibial extremity 

 indicates full habitual flexion of the ankle-joint. Altogether we can best and 

 most easily explain the occurrence in association to such a marked extent in 

 a small series by assuming that these people adopted the more primitive 

 mode of rest and maintained the joints of the lower limb in a condition of 

 marked flexion for prolonged periods. 



It would be most interesting to ascertain when the Irish relinquished 

 this squatting attitude. Through the kindness of Professor John MacNeill, I 

 am able to quote the following statement, which indicates how our knowledge 

 of the habits of the older people of Ireland fits in with our assumption as to 

 the cause of the remarkable features in these lower limb bones. In a letter 

 dated August, 1913, he writes : " On the whole, then, I think we must suppose 

 artificial seats to have been in use in Ireland, not only throughout the Celtic 

 period, which I date from 400 B.C., but probably to a greater or less extent 

 during the preceding thousand years of the Bronze Age, and must go back to 

 the Stone Age to find a population among whom artificial seats are unknown." 

 But he points out that we must differentiate between various classes of the 

 people, and that even to-day, in the more remote districts, the peasants 

 frequently use the squatting position, and that it could not have been until 

 after iron was introduced (about 500 B.C.) that seats of an artificial nature 

 became available for anything but ceremonial purposes. Probably it was many 

 centuries before they came into common use, and that even then the people 

 frequently returned to the older method of rest. 



R.I.A. PEOC, VOL. XXXII., SECT. B. T/y] 



