134 



INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY — PUBLICATION NO. 15 



It is curious that the Umotina series is metrically 

 so different from Ehrenreich's Sao Lourenco 

 Bororo. The former are considerably shorter- 

 statured, 3 longer- and higher-headed, and abso- 

 lutely and relatively narrower-faced. In these 

 respects, the Umotina are much closer to the 

 Caraja. Yet Oberg noted that the Umotina were 

 lighter in skin color than the tribes north of the 

 Planalto do Matogrosense, while Ehrenreich (1897, 

 p. 79) considered the Caraja the darkest Indians 

 he saw. Because of this and the following de- 

 scription by Oberg, I am hesitant to link the 

 Umotina with people like the Caraja. 



Oberg describes some of the Umotina as having 

 flat Mongoloid faces combined with long heads. 

 These long heads have prominent bun-shaped 

 occiputs; narrow, sloping, pyramidal-shaped fore- 

 heads with no frontal bosses; and heavy brow- 

 ridges. The position of glabella relative to nasion 

 was higher than in the other groups be investi- 

 gated. The upper integumental Up was long. 

 Pronouncedly shovel-shaped incisors were not 

 found. The Mongoloid fold of the eye was absent 

 in some, pronounced in others (pis. 9, a, d; 10, b, c). 

 Eye color was dark brown, but lacked the bright- 

 ness noted in the Nambicuara and Caduveo 

 (p. 85). Wavy hair was common, according to 

 Oberg, but does not appear evident in the photo- 

 graphs (pis. 9, 10). Gray hair was observed only 

 among the old women. Men past middle age 

 showed a tendency for baldness, with recession of 

 the hairline, and thinning of the frontal and 

 temporal hair. Like the neighboring Guat6, the 

 old Umotina men had thin but not straggly 

 beards. For this reason the Umotina have been 

 long referred to as "Barbados" by neo-Brazilians. 



These descriptions and the metric data suggest 

 considerable physical variability within the Bororo 

 group. Determination of the actual extent of 

 this variability must await further studies. 



SUMMARY 



While the Upper Xingu tribes under considera- 

 tion and the Paressi may have had differing 

 racial origins, the physical data collected over the 

 past 50 years suggest that they now form a racial 

 unit. Possibly the Iranxe could be added to this 



8 That the Sao Lourenco Bororo are not a selectedly tall series is suggested 

 by Colbacchini's (1942, p. 142) higher mean stature of 175.0 cm. for an Eastern 

 Bororo group. 



unit, if there were more information concerning 

 them. Largely because Ehrenreich (p. 132) con- 

 sidered the Trumai a people apart, I have hesi- 

 tated to include them with their Upper Xingu 

 neighbors. The racial unit proposed here seems 

 to fit best as part of Von Eickstedt's Brazilide or 

 Imbelloni's Amaz6nido groups. It is character- 

 ized by short stature and, in the Upper Xingu 

 Basin at least, by an unusually heavy thorax and 

 very muscular upper arms in contrast to less 

 well-developed legs (Ehrenreich, 1897, p. 100). 

 Head form verges on brachycephaly, and vault 

 heights appear rather low for American Indians. 

 Rather narrow faces predominate, and the nose 

 seems medium-narrow, with a straight or convex 

 bridge. Information on unexposed skin color is 

 not available, but chances are that the Upper 

 Xingu Basin people are rather lightly pigmented. 

 Hair form is straight to low waved, with some 

 curly hair, particularly among the Bacairi 

 (Ehrenreich, 1897, p. 81). Bacairi men, however, 

 are said to sometimes use wooden hair curlers 

 (L6vi-Strauss, 1948, p. 327). Face and body hair 

 are said to be sparse (p. 15). 



The Nambicuara stand apart from the Upper 

 Xingu Basin people in being longer-headed and 

 possibly higher-vaulted, shorter-faced, and nar- 

 rower-nosed. They are also perceptibly darker 

 in skin color. There is a good chance that the 

 Nambicuara represent a remnant of an old South 

 American racial strain, possibly linking with 

 Lagoa Santa. 



In their greater stature and more rugged bodies 

 and faces, the Umotina, along with other Bororo 

 subtribes, are strikingly different from the more 

 gracile Upper Xingu tribes and the Nambicuara. 

 The Umotina are metrically much closer to the 

 Caraja of the Araguaia River than they are to 

 the Sao Lourenco Bororo. If the Umotina meas- 

 urements are no more than slightly influenced 

 by neo-Brazilian admixture, a greater physical 

 variability exists among the Bororo than hitherto 

 has been recognized. Whether the concept of 

 the Pampido race is sufficiently elastic to include 

 the Umotina is a question best decided by Im- 

 belloni and his coworkers. 



Viewed from a geographic standpoint (see 

 map 3), the physical anthropology of the Upper 

 Xingu Basin tribes, the Nambicuara and the 

 Bororo fall into an understandable pattern. The 



