Physical Characteristics of the Copper Eskimos b45 



Geneeal Facial Appearance 



_ The head appeared on the whole less scaphoid than I had expected. Its 

 auricular height could not be measured owing to the lack of proper callipers. 

 No doubt the true shape is often masked by the mass of hair, especially in the 

 women. Yet the keel-shape is not at all uncommon, and in a few instances 

 is remarkably pronounced. The face is usually flat and broad, but there is 

 great variation, as among all Eskimos. Three general types seem distinguish- 

 able, though they all gradate into one another. First there is the round or 

 slightly oval face with regular features, a rather fine nose, cheekbones not very 

 prominent and chin rounded or but slightly pointed. This type is illustrated 

 in plate XI. The second has a longer face and pointed chin, outstanding cheek- 

 bones, and a nose frequently aquiline. Sometimes the face is long and the chin 

 pointed, but the jowls are broad and the general shape of the face square or 

 rectangular; or the face may be wedge-shaped, broad above but tapering to a 

 pointed chin below. 1 Examples are shown in plates I and VI. The third type, 

 much rarer, is somewhat reminiscent of the negroid, for the face is very short, the 

 nose low and flat with rather wide nostrils, the lips thick and everted and the 

 brow rather beetling. The features most distinctive of Eskimos, however, are all 

 retained ; the high head and prominent cheekbones, the colour and shape of the hair 

 and eyes determine the racial affinity at a glance. This third type is illustrated 

 in plate V. No. 55 in the tables of Section I offers another example. 



This distinction into types, however, is largely subjective and will vary 

 with different observers. They are of little importance except to stress the fact 

 that in Coronation gulf, as elsewhere, the Eskimos do not present an absolutely 

 uniform appearance, even where there has been no known admixture with 

 outside peoples. A native of unusual appearance is very apt to attract notice 

 and give rise to a passing comment such as "he was much more like a gypsy than 

 an Eskimo," 2 or "remind of stocky, sunburned, but naturally fair Scandi- 

 navians." 3 Of course racial intermixture is often readily discernible in the 

 features, and this external evidence can be of great value when supplemented 

 by other characters; but the features alone are rarely a safe guide, since we have 

 no means of estimating the extent to which they may vary in an unmixed stock. 



Hands and Feet 



The hands and feet are small, so that a European can seldom wear mittens 

 and foot-gear that the Eskimos have made for themselves. Left-handed people 

 are occasionally seen; clothing made by them can always be recognized because 

 the stitches run from left to right instead of in the opposite direction. The 

 wrists of the women seem more supple than those of the men; they possess, 

 too, a greater delicacy and fineness of touch. Like many of our women, they 

 habitually hold the little finger somewhat aloof from the ring finger. The feet 

 are generally warm and moist. They seem often to be warped by the boots, 

 which have a tendency to cramp the toes, especially the spring and summer 

 water-boots. When the feet are cold the Eskimos kick them one against another, 

 standing alternately on each foot, or else they jump into the air and kick them 

 together. 



Finger-Prints 



With the - assistance of Corporal, now Inspector W. V. Bruce, of the Royal 

 North-West Mounted Police, a number of finger-prints were taken in order to 

 find out whether they displayed any definite peculiarities. These prints were 



Compare what Steensby says of the Smith Sound Eskimos. Meddelelser om Grtfmland, Vol. 

 XXXIV, 1910, p. 384. 



2 Rasmussen, op. tit., p. 38. 

 'Stefansson, op. tit., p. 193. 



