C -U TKIBES INHABITING PENAN G ANT) PROVINCE WELLESLET. 



lion, and the felling of the forests, drove them further inland. At 

 present the nearest groups are those on the river Krian, above the 

 British boundary. 



The Simang are a variety of the Papuan branch of the oldest 

 race of India, Ultra-India, and the Indo-Pacific Islands, the other 

 branch being the Draviro-Australian. 



The Papuans are distinguished from the lower Dravirian tribes 

 and castes, and from the Australians, more by the spiral growth of 

 the hair than by any other constant physical characters. From the 

 second great race of this ethnographical province — the Himalaic — 

 both branches are well differentiated by the non-Mongolic shape 

 of the head and by the comparative slenderness of the trunk and 

 limbs, and darkness of the skin. The most striking and general 

 peculiarity of the head is the pj^ramidal form of the nose, caused 

 by the root sinking deeply in below, or forming an acute angle with 

 the base of the prominent brow ridge. 



In the 8imaug, the head is small, the forehead low, rounded, 

 narrow and projecting over the root of the nose ; the corona ridged 

 or obtusely wedge-shaped ; the occiput rounded and somewhat 

 swelling ; the lower part of the face oval or ovoid ; the cheek bones 

 broad, but not remarkably prominent, except with reference to the 

 narrow forehead ; the upper jaw not prognathous ; the nose short 

 and somewhat sharp at the point and often turned up, also spread- 

 ing ; the mouth large, but lips not thick ; the projecting brow 

 nearly on the same vertical line with the nose, mouth and chin ; 

 hair spiral and tufted ; the beard of much stronger growth than 

 with the Himalaic race ; the eyes fine, middle-sized and straight ; 

 the iris large, black and piercing ; the conjunctive membrane 

 yellow ; the person slender ; the belly protuberant ; the skin fine 

 and soft, varying in colour from yellowish brown and dark-brown 

 to black ; average height about four feet eight inches. 



The Papuan race exhibits great variety throughout its range 

 from the Andamans to the Yiti-Archipelago, New Caledonia and Tas- 

 mania. Some tribes are more Australoid than others ; some are 

 more Mongolic. especially where there has been intermixture with 

 the Himalaic race ; and some approach the more debased and prog- 

 nathous varieties of the African Negro, but, as a whole, the race is 

 much more akin to the Dravirian ( where the latter has not been 



