THE basis for the following description of the bodily structure 

 and other phj^sical characteristics of the East Greenlanders is 

 a series of anthropological researches undertaken by the Danish 

 Expedition to the East coast of Greenland in the years 1883—85. 



The total number of persons measured, examined, and described 

 comprises in all 136 grown-up persons of both sexes. 46 of these 

 belonged to the northern part of the stretch of coast explored and 

 were investigated bj' the leader of the expedition, Captain G. F. Holm, 

 while he was wintering at Angmagsalik; whereas Lieutenant T. V. Garde 

 has examined 45 persons from the southern part of the East coast, 

 and has supplemented his researches in a most interesting and 

 valuable way by further examining a similar number from the 

 southernmost part of the West coast. 



Captain Holm has, besides, furnished me with a detailed gene- 

 ral description, of the northerly (and largest) part of the population, 

 and, moreover, I have had access to a large and beautiful collection 

 of photographs taken by Kandidat H. Knutsen. 



Moreover I have had an opportunity of examining a series of 

 skulls brought together by the Expedition, and a few other bones, 

 collected mainly by Kandidat P. Eberlin, as well as a collection 

 of samples of hair from Angmagsalik. To this material should be 

 added a collection of skulls from old graves in the north part of the 

 East coast brought back by the naval officer С Ryder, which en- 

 larges our knowledge of Eskimo craniology on several vital points. 

 Finally a sei-ies of anthropological investigations of the population 

 have been carried on by Dr. Knud Poulsen, who wintered at Ang- 

 magsalik in 1898 — 99 with Amdrup's expedition, the results of which 

 are of uncommon interest, as evidencing the extraordinary physical 

 stability of an isolated tribe ^). 



Our previous knowledge of the appearance of the East Green- 

 landers was extremely slight and almost exclusively based on a 



') Contributions to the Anthropology and Nosology of the East-Greenlanders . 

 Meddelelser om Grønland XXVIII. 



