394 



JOURNAL, K.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. IX. 



These arrived in the summer, accompanied with a note from 

 Mr. A. Haly, the Director of the Museum in Colombo. To 

 all these gentlemen I would express my most sincere* thanks 

 for their very great kindness in thus furthering my wishes. 

 I will proceed to give a brief description of the skulls. 



Skull No. 1. 



Mr. Haly appends to it the following note : — 



" Presented by Mr. W. W. Hume, Government Agent, 

 Southern Province. 



" This skull is said to be that of a Vedda woman, and was 

 found at Dewilane near Batticaloa, but there seems to be 

 no evidence to show that it is a Vedda skull." 



Plainly a woman's skull, very white, smooth, and of little 

 capacity (1,250 cub. cm.), with teeth much worn away. 

 Whether an under-jaw belongs to it is questionable, for 

 although the condyloid processes of the one fit tolerably, it 

 yet appears somewhat too short ; hence it is omitted in the 

 drawing.* The capsule of the skull is long, narrow, and 

 flat, of a pronounced dolichocephalous index (70*9). The 

 brow is quite straight, but not high, without marked orbital 

 prominences, but with strong tuber a ; the glabella not much 

 sunk, and at the nasal process remnant of the frontal suture 

 one centimetre long. The curve of the parietal bone appears 

 long at a side view; so also the narrow backhead. The norma 

 occipitalis shows a slightly ogivalous form, but has, on the 

 whole, a rounded outline narrowing toward the bottom. On 

 the high and pointed squama occipitalis we find no distinct 

 protuberontia externa, but strong cerebellar arches. 



The sutures are well preserved and pretty deeply indented. 

 On either side are temporary interpolations of bone ; to the 

 right an oblong bone extending the whole length, with a 

 slight degree of stenokrotaphy and low angulus parietalis ; 

 to the left an imperfect bone, but only in the posterior half 

 of the sphenoparietal suture, beside which the point of the 



* The drawings of the skulls are not reproduced. — Hon. Sec. 



