No. 33.— 1886.] the veddAs of ceylon. 



409 



which is specially strained in drawing the very heavy bow, 

 as has been described by various travellers. Mr. Bernard 

 Davis has in his collection the upper thigh and upper arm 

 of a Vedda : the former is 17*2 in. = 436*8 mm. in length, 

 the latter 12 in. = 304*8 mm. This was evidently a very 

 strong individual : the length of the upper thigh exceeds 

 even that of the two men measured by Mr. Hartshorne (425 

 and 419 mm.). On the other hand, the length of the upper 

 arm, according to Davis, does not coincide with the figures 

 given by Hartshorne, and this is additional proof of the 

 inexactness of his measurements. 



The comparison of the Veddas with their neighbours on 

 the Island is not a little increased in difficulty from the lack 

 of sufficient information with regard to the relative physical 

 condition of the latter. Even the best describers limit 

 themselves in the main to a few words. Regarding the more 

 civilised tribes, as already well known, they at most there- 

 fore institute only comparisons with the continental tribes 

 of Hindustan or with the European. Osteological material 

 is also comparatively scanty in the European collections, and 

 even what there is appears to me as rather unsafe. I have, 

 through the kindness of Consul Freiidenberg, received three 

 skulls of Sinhalese and three of the Tamils ; but exami- 

 nation proves one designated as the skull of a Sinhalese 

 child to coincide so exactly with the Tamils, that it seems 

 very doubtful indeed if this is correctly stated. The 

 inhabitants of the low lands upon the Island have so fre- 

 quently trespassed on each other's territory, and become 

 so intermingled in life, that their skulls may have been 

 confounded after death. Hence I offer the following 

 remarks with all reserve, and principally with the aim of 

 provoking, if possible, more exact information and the 

 sending of better material. In particular I must indicate, 

 as the greatest desideratum, the need of satisfactory photo- 



