94 ELLIOT Smith, Distribution of Mummification. 



" In the right flank was a longitudinal incision, 3J 

 inches in length, extending between the last rib and the 

 crest of the ilium. This had been very neatly closed by 

 what is called in surgery the interrupted suture. . . . The 

 whole of the pelvic, abdominal and thoracic viscera had 

 been removed, and their place was occupied by four 



pieces of very soft wood Except the wound in the 



flank, there was no other opening or injury to the skin " 



(P- 390- 



" Heads and bodies prepared in a similar way " are 



found in many museums, and afford an interesting illus- 

 tration of the old Egyptian practice of paying special 

 attention to the head. This is all the more instructive in 

 view of the fact that it was common in certain regions, 

 especially Mallicolo in the New Hebrides, to restore the 

 features by means of clay and resinous paste, usually 

 making use of the skull as a basis, but occasionally 

 modelling the whole body, 17 the model including parts of 

 the deceased's skeleton (see Henry Balfour's article, 

 " Memorial Heads in the Pitt Rivers Museum," Man, 

 Vol. I., 1901, p. 65). These modelling-practices and 

 especially the fact that they usually deal with the head 

 (or even face) only afford an interesting confirmation of 

 the Egyptian origin of these customs (vide supra, etc., 40). 



In the 6th volume of the reports of the Cambridge 

 Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, C. S. Myers 

 and Haddon (25, pp. 129 and 135) give a detailed account 

 of the funeral ceremonies from which I quote certain 

 points. " As soon as death had occurred the women of 

 the village started wailing. The corpse was placed on 

 the ground on a mat in front of the house ; the arms were 

 placed close to the side ; the great toes were tied together 



17 A curious feature of these models is the representation of faces on the 

 shoulders. Similar practices have been recorded in America (Bancroft, 3). 



