A CONTRIBUTION TO 

 SAMOAN SOMATOLOGY 



By LOUIS R. SULLIVAN 

 . Ln 



Based on the field studies of E. W. Gifford and W. C. McKern. 



INTRODUCTION 



THE determination of the physical characters and of the racial affinities of the 

 Polynesians is an essential part of the program of the Bayard Dominick 

 Expedition. Through a cooperative arrangement between The American 

 Museum of Natural History and the Bishop Museum this phase of the work, includ- 

 ing detailed plans for field investigation and the analysis of results, has been placed 

 in my hands. To insure uniformity of technique and consequent comparability of 

 results, methods of taking measurements and of recording descriptive observations 

 have been discussed with members of the Expedition, and so far as practicable 

 actual field practice has been given under my direction. 



The present paper is based on field studies made by E. W. Gifford and 

 W. C. McKern while en route to the Tonga Islands. These men spent some time 

 with me in Honolulu gaining familiarity with modern anthropometric methods, 

 and I feel the greatest confidence in the care and accuracy with which their obser- 

 vations have been recorded. The photographs were taken by Mr. Gififord and 

 Mr. McKern ; the necessary mathematical computation including calculation of 

 the indices were performed bv mv wife, Bessie P. Sullivan, and checked bv me; 

 and in the field Mrs. Delila S. Gifford rendered valuable assistance. The Museum 

 acknowledges the cordial cooperation of Mr. R. W. Tate, Administrator of Western 

 Samoa, of the officers of the Medical Department and the Department of Native 

 Affairs, and of the Police. 



Althoueh the series is too small to permit detailed statistical analyses and 

 inadequate as a bases for generalization, the present great dearth of somatological 

 data from the Polynesian culture area makes this material a welcome and important 

 contribution. 



The data furnished by Gifford and McKern consists of body, head, and face 

 measurements, accompanied by descriptive details of loo natives of the Islands of 

 Savaii and Upolu of the Samoan group. Bv nativity the persons measured rep- 

 resent nearly the entire coastal region of these two islands. Of the lOO measure- 

 ments 7 were discarded because of admitted intermixture with European and 

 Melanesian peoples or because of immaturity. Of the 93 remaining adults who 

 claimed to be full Samoan, 70 are male and 23 female. It is possible or even 

 probable that several others are not full Samoan, but this can not be demonstrated 

 stati^tic^^llv. Types of full-blood and half-blood Samoans are shown in Plates 

 xxv-xxx 



[3] 



