42c Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



c.cm. — a truly astounding comparison. One suggested explanation is that the 

 crania of the latter collection were all from the Greenland area, and it may be 

 that this Eskimo community possess a greater cranial capacity than that of 

 the Central and Western Eskimos. To make matters worse, only four of the 

 male crania went above 1400 c.cm., while only three of the female crania 

 exceeded the 1300 level. The average for the whole collection compared un- 

 favourably with the capacities of two low grade Melanesian skulls recorded 

 by the writer (*) (1368 and 1395 c.cm.) and was certainly much below the capacity 

 of a North American Indian skull (1495 c.cm.) recently reported by the writer. (^) 



The Cranial Length 



In the whole series the most posterior point of the skull was about midway 

 between the lambda and the inion. The maximum and minimum lengths 

 for the male crania were 196 and 178 mm., while the corresponding figures for 

 the male Eskimo skulls of the R.C.S. Museum ('i) were 208 and 175 mm. The 

 maximum and minimum lengths for the female crania were 186 and 166-5 

 mm. as compared with 190 and 169 mm. for the female Eskimo skulls of the 

 R.C.S. Museum. The average for the male crania practically accorded with 

 the average for 117 male Scottish skulls found by Turner (") to be 186-6 mm. 

 The Eskimo tends to be long-headed and it is therefore of interest to compare 

 the above cranial lengths with these of two very dolichocephalic Melanesian 

 skulls (190 and 199 mm.) if). 



The Maximum Cranial Breadth 



This was measured over the parietal bones. It is essential to mention this 

 fact, as a greater breadth was generally obtained over the temporals. The 

 maximum and minimum for the male crania were 143 and 127 mm. which prac- 

 tically coincided with the figures for the male Eskimo skulls of the R.C.S. 

 Museum (143 and 125 mm.)(ii) The corresponding results for the female 

 crania were 138 and 120-5, mm. 



The maximum breadth of the male crania was much below the average 

 for 114 male Scottish skulls, (") but on the other hand was much greater than 

 that of the two dolichocephalic Melanesian skulls referred to above (122 and 

 128 mm.)(^) 



The Cephalic Index 



This index varied from a maximum of 76 - 5 to a minimum of 67-9 in the 

 case of the male Crania and from 75 ■ 8 to 69 • 9 in the female. Thus practically 

 all the skulls of both sexes belonged to the dohchocephalic class. The range of 

 variation of this index was not so pronounced as in the Eskimo collection of 

 the R.C.S. Museum (n) where it was found to fluctuate between 78-7 and 66-1 

 — truly an extensive range. This all goes to exemplify the wide racial range 

 of variation that characterises this index. Still, the general fact remains that 

 the Eskimo skull is as a rule doUchocephahc, which is in marked contrast to the 

 condition that prevails in the average Mongolian type of skull, since the latter 

 tends to be located in the brachycepahlic or broadheaded class. Therefore 

 it is evident if the Eskimos do possess a Mongolian ancestry, then this must 

 have been in byegone ages, in order to permit a lengthy period of segregation 

 from his kinsmen, sufficient for ensuring the evolution of his own specialized 

 form of skull. It is of interest therefore to compare his cephalic index with 

 that of a Mongoloid type like the North American Indian, in whom, amongst 

 the more westerly located tribes at any rate, according to Hrdhcka's map (2") 



