APPENDIX 3 



Anthropometry of the Umotina, Nambicuara, 

 and Iranxe, with Comparative Data from 

 Other Northern Mato Grosso Tribes 



By Marshall T. Newman 



Division of Physical Anthropology, United States National Museum 



In 1949, Kaoro Onaga, under the supervision of 

 Dr. Oberg, measured 22 Umotina (14 males, 8 

 females), 13 Eastern Nambicuara (7 males, 6 fe- 

 males) of the Waklitisu band, and 5 Iranxe males. 

 The Umotina were measured at Barra dos Bugres, 

 the Nambicuara and Iranxe at Utiarity. Small 

 as these series are, they represent relatively large 

 samples of the groups from which they are drawn. 

 The total Umotina population is about 65, with 

 34 adults (see p. 106) ; the Waklitisu band numbers 

 only 18, and the Eastern Nambicuara together 

 total only about 130 (see p. 86). No figures on 

 the Iranxe are available but they are definitely a 

 remnant group. 



The drastic reduction of even the most secluded 

 aboriginal populations in Brazil enhances the 

 value of physical studies already made on them. 

 The present contribution to the physical anthro- 

 pology of northern Mato Grosso may be added to 

 the earlier studies by Ehrenreich (1897), Ranke 

 (1910), and Roquette-Pinto (1935). In addition, 

 the Museu Nacional in Rio de Janeiro has unpub- 

 lished physical data on some of the Upper Xingu 

 tribes, particularly the Camayura. Vellard (see 

 Imbelloni, 1948, p. 237, ftn.) has unpublished in- 

 formation on three Nambicuara bands. Willems 

 (personal communication) is in the possession of 

 measurements on 40 male Tapirape. A careful 

 analysis of all these studies should go far in 

 rounding out the physical anthropology of north- 

 ern Mato Grosso. In the meantime, I have en- 

 deavored to fit the Umotina, Nambicuara, and 

 Iranxe series into the existing; knowledge of the 



area. 



GEOGRAPHICAL RELATIONS 



Most of the series measured in northern Mato 

 Grosso are from tribes in the Upper Xingu Basin 

 (maps 1, 3). These are the Aueti, Trumai, 

 Bacairi, Nahuqua, and Camayura. Their present 

 locations are indicated in map 2, (p. 5), and data 

 on their earlier shif tings are given by Levi-Strauss 

 (1948, p. 322-323). As Oberg has said (p. 6), 

 the fanlike network of rivers constituting the drain- 

 age basin of the Upper Xingu River affords no 

 natural barriers and makes for easy intertribal 

 communication by water. But the limits of the 

 Upper Xingu Basin to the east, west, and south 

 are marked by the sandstone plateaus of the 

 Brazilian Shield. These barriers tend to isolate 

 the Basin from the outside world, thus fostering 

 its development as a riverine cultural unit (p. 7). 



West of the Upper Xingu Basin, on the semiarid 

 plateau, the Serra do Parecis, are the Paressi, 

 Iranxe, and Eastern Nambicuara. In earlier 

 times, most of these people were concentrated 

 along the "galeria" forests bordering the head- 

 waters of rivers originating on the plateau. The 

 location of the Iranxe at white contact was im- 

 mediately north of the Paressi. The Nambicuara 

 were thinly scattered in the less habitable areas 

 west of the Paressi. In contrast to the more 

 populous Upper Xingu tribes, the Paressi, Iranxe, 

 and Eastern Nambicuara are now remnant groups. 



Across the semiarid plateau, or Planalto do 

 Matogrosensc, which forms the southern barrier 



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