48c Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



The Palato-Maxillart Index 



This index displayed a vast range of variation in these crania — from 132-1 

 to 105-8 in the male, and from 133-3 to 113-5 in the female. It is therefore 

 clear that, if one adopts Turner's^') classification, it will be noted that the male 

 crania exhibited all the phases from an extreme brachyuranic to an extreme 

 dolichouranic condition, while the female skulls ranged from an extreme brachy- 

 uranic to a mesuranic condition. This index certainly requires a little further 

 exploiting in' all races of mankind before its significance can be fully appreciated. 

 However, all that can be stated with certainty at present is, that it appears to 

 possess an amazing range of variation even in the higher races, for Turner(") 

 found the extreme limits of its fluctuations in his extensive series of Scottish 

 crania. 



The Cranial Chords 



The writer, with the literature at his disposal, can find no record of the 

 cranial chords having been previously measured in the Eskimo skull, so that it 

 will be of interest to study these in this race and compare them with the cor- 

 responding measurements for other races. 



As the crania could not be sectioned mesially, it was impossible to calculate 

 the important cranial curvatures. 



The Glabella-Bregma Chord 



This cranial chord varied from 111-5 mm. to a minimum of 97 mm. in the 

 male crania and from 109 • 5 mm. to 88mm. in the female series. The male and 

 female averages proved to be 106 • 7 and 101 - 5 mm. These are well below the 

 average of 112-5 mm. for the European type of skull, as given by Berry and 

 Robertson,^) and are almost comparable to the average (105-2 mm.) for the 

 aboriginal Tasmanian unsexed skull as given by Buchner,(') and certainly below 

 the average of 108 mm. for the aboriginal Australian skull (unsexed) , furnished 

 by the same observer. These results may be further compared with 108 mm. in 

 the Neanderthal type of skull,(i*) 93 mm. in Pithecanthropus'^^) and 87 mm. in 

 the Anthropoid ape. The writer was much struck by the length of the glabella- 

 bregma chords in two low grade Melanesian skulls recently described by him 

 (111-5 and 113-5 mm.)« 



The Glabella-Lambda Chord 



The writer can find few recorded measurements of this chord which may, 

 however, prove to become a factor of some significance in craniometry. He 

 therefore decided to publish the results of his calculations, in the hope that they 

 may be of service as a means of comparison with other racial types. This cranial 

 chord varied from 186 to 170-5 mm. in the male skulls, with an average of 178-6 

 mm., and in the female series from 178 to 156 mm., with an average of 169-8 

 mm. It is, therefore, evident that it displayed the racial range of variation 

 which is characteristic of all cranial indices and measurements. These Eskimo 

 averages could be compared with that (178-6 mm.) for one hundred aboriginal 

 Australian crania (unsexed) and with that (173 - 2 mm.) for forty-eight aboriginal 

 Tasmanian skulls (unsexed) .(') A further comparison might be made with the 

 Neanderthal type of skull (185-3 mm.)(i*) and with Pithecanthropus (171 mm.)(i'). 



