782 SIR WILLIAM TURNER, THE CRANIOLOGY OF THE NATIVES OF BORNEO, 



The names of the tribes, their geographical distribution in North Borneo and Sarawak, and the external 

 physical characters of the people have been obtained from the following authorities : — MM. De 

 Quatrefages and Hamy, "Crania Ethnica," 1882; Henry Ling Roth, "The Natives of Sarawak and 

 British North Borneo," 1896, which contains an admirable resume of the writings of travellers and British 

 residents up to the date of publication, as well as a list of the tribes in Borneo, p. 37, prepared by Mr 

 Charles Hose; Sir Hugh Low, "Sarawak: its Inhabitants and Productions," 1848; Carl Bock, "The 

 Head Hunters of Borneo," 1881, a narrative of travel in the south-east of the island; Alfred C. Haddon, 

 who travelled in the interior of Sarawak, "Head Hunters, Black, White and Brown," 1901; Spencer 

 St John, "Wild Tribes of the North- West Coast of Borneo," in which Land and Sea Dyaks are 

 described (Trans. Ethnol. Soc. Lond., vol. ii. p. 232, 1863); Lieut. C. de Crespigny, R.N., "On 

 Northern Borneo" (Proc. Roy. Geogr. Soc, vol. xvi. p. 171, 1872); F. W. Burbidge, A. Hart Everitt, 

 F. R. 0. Maxwell, F. Witti, quoted by Ling Roth. C. Hose, " Natives of Borneo," describes the people 

 of the Baram district, North Sarawak (Journ. Anth. Inst., vol. xxiii. p. 156, 1894); C. Hose and 

 W. M'Dougall, " The Relations between Men and Animals in Sarawak " (Journ. Anth. Inst., vol. xxxi. 

 p. 173, 1901); C. Hose and R. Shelford, "Materials for a Study of Tatu in Borneo" (Journ. Anth. Inst., 

 vol. xxxvi. p. 60, 1906). 



Muruts. Table I. Plates I., V. 



The Muruts are essentially an inland tribe in Borneo, occupying a district which 

 extends from the Limbang river in Sarawak as far to the north as Mount Kinabalu. 

 13,700 feet high, in North Borneo. They inhabit the basins of the Padas and the 

 Pagalan rivers, and they constitute an important element in the population of the 

 western part of North Borneo. 



The Muruts have a light brown or bronzed skin, which is in part tattooed; the 

 hair is jet black, long, and frequently tied in a knot at the back of the head ; the nose 

 is flattened and the stature is said to be low. They pluck out the eyebrows and 

 eyelashes, and during mastication and betel chewing they grind the teeth to the level 

 of the gums. Their clothing is often limited to a loin cloth formed of bark. They live 

 in long houses, are filthy in their habits, indulge freely in intoxicating drinks, and are 

 lethargic in mind and body. They were inveterate head hunters, and the heads 

 suspended in their houses became blackened with smoke. The killing of people for 

 the sake of the heads is being repressed, under the British administration. 



Five of the skulls were labelled Murut. In Table I. they are lettered A to E inclusive. 

 A to D were adults. In E the basi-cranial synchondrosis was not ossified, the wisdom 

 teeth were concealed in the bone, but the other permanent teeth were erupted, and the 

 age was probably from 18 to 20. D and E were apparently females, and in each the 

 occipital squama had been in part removed. B, C and E retained the lower jaw. 



Norma verticalis. — The cranium in A, B, C and E was elongated, ovoid, and 

 characteristically dolichocephalic in form and proportion ; the cephalic index was in each 

 below 75, and in C as low as 69'9. In D, again, the cranial outline was more broadly 

 ovoid, and the cephalic index was 777, i.e. in the mid-term of the mesaticephalic group. 

 The crania were not ridged in the sagittal line, the parietal eminences were moderate, 

 and the slope of the vault outwards varied in the degree of steepness. Except in D 

 the squamous region was not bulging, and in B and E the greatest breadth was in the 



