Eskimo Osteology c43 



the broad headed type used to be fairly prominent. The North American 

 Indians of Canada and Newfoundland would of course be the Eskimos' nearest 

 neighbours, but unfortunately an insufficient number of these crania has been 

 examined to inform us definitely what the cephalic index of the aborigines of 

 Canada actually was. However, it may be noted that the cephalic index 

 of a Micmac Indian skull recently recorded by the writer (') was 80-8, while 

 Prest (1*) many years ago reported the indices of two aboriginal Beothuck skulls 

 from Newfoundland as 78 • 4 and 80 • 2. It is clear that these isolated examples, 

 at any rate, demonstrate a wide gulf between the North American Indian and 

 the average Eskimo type of cephalic index. 



It is interesting to compare the cephalic index of these Eskimo crania with 

 that of the two Melanesian skulls already referred to. {*) In these it had sunk 

 to the low figure of 64. This leads one to mention that in the negro races, 

 including those with the most primitive cerebal organizations, dolichocephaly 

 is certainly the predominant type. Moreover, it is the condition found in some 

 of the extinct races of mankind such as Neanderthal man (cephalic index 73 -9) ('^) 

 and Cromagnon man (cephalic index 73-3)(i') In spite of these observations 

 it is essential to mention that the cephalic index taken by itself is no standard 

 of intellectual omniscience. Thus the average cephalic index for the Anglo- 

 Saxon race is 76-1, which is therefore just above the dolichocephalic class. 



The Index of Ceanial Height 



The maximum and minimum for this index were found to be 76-9 and 69 

 in the case of the male crania and 78-5 and 68-4 in the female crania. The 

 average was about the same as that for the Eskimo collection in the R. C. S. 

 Museum(ii) which was estimated by Flower to be 73 • 7. Therefore, it is evident 

 that this index closely follows the cephalic index, the obvious inference being 

 that races which are long-headed are also low-headed. As an extreme illustration 

 of this fact the writer would again like to cite the two extremely dolichocephalic 

 Melanesian skulls, (^) where the corresponding indices of cranial height reached 

 the consistently low levels of 68 and 65. 



The Bkeadth-Height Index 



It is surprising to note how little this cranial index has been exploited by 

 anthropologists. In the male crania this index was found to fluctuate between 

 109-3 and 94 ■ 5, and in the female crania from 103 • 8 to 93 • 4, with an average of 

 well over 100, particularly in the male series. This meant of course that the 

 height was a little greater than the maximum breadth. Turner(") pointed out 

 some years ago that in a dolichocephalic skull the height was usually a little 

 greater than the maximum breadth. That fact was certainly exemplified in this 

 series of crania. It may be added that the converse usually holds true for 

 brachycephalic skulls, and was well exemplified in a Micmac North American 

 Indian skull recently described by the writer, (^) where the height was found to be 

 decidedly less than the breadth (with an index of 90-5). 



The Alveolar or Gnathic Index 



This important index was found to vary from 93-3 to 100 in the male 

 crania and from 88-9 to 107 • 4 in the female series, the latter fluctuations being 

 most unusual. It may be again noted, however, that prognathism did not exist 

 at all in the male crania, and, moreover, was entirely of the subnasal variety in 

 the female crania that exhibited it (nine in number). It may be observed that 

 some of the crania were remarkably orthognathous. It is evident, however. 



