Notes on Human Remains from Woody ates, Wiltshire. 318 



made by General Pitt-Rivers showed that not only is there con- 

 siderable diversity in the characters of the facial portion of the 

 skull, but that there is also a good deal of variety in the form o£ 

 the part which contains the brain, termed the calvaria. 



In this communication I only propose to indicate generally the 

 characters and variations alluded to above, without going into details 

 as to the different measurements and proportions of the specimens, ex- 

 cept so far as may be necessary to illustrate the import of my remarks. 



The general form of the calvaria, when viewed from above, is 

 oval, but the exact form of outline differs considerably. Thus, in 

 some cases, we find it is a broad oval, in others long and narrow or ir- 

 regular. Its ends are somewhat pointed in some specimens, while in 

 others they are broader, or even nearly square. The line of greatest 

 breadth is situated sometimes behind the centre of the oval, and in 

 other cases about the centre. The sides are flat and straight in one or 

 two instances, and asymmetry of the lateral halves is very common. 

 The parietal bosses are as a rule not very pronounced. The state of 

 occlusion of the sutures varies a good deal. In some instances they 

 are very open, while in others they are obliterated, or nearly so ; these 

 two conditions may sometimes occur simultaneously in the same speci- 

 men; partial synostosis is, therefore, not uncommon. As a rule the 

 sutures are simple. Four instances of metopism or persistence of the 

 mesial frontal suture occur in the series, which is in the proportion of 

 about one in every four, a considerably higher average than obtains 

 amongst modern British skulls. Numerous Wormean bones in the 

 sagittal and lamboidal sutures occur in one instance, and to a less ex- 

 tent in another. The forehead is broad and square in all the metopic 

 specimens, and in them also the frontal bosess are well marked ; 

 in the other specimens it is receding to a greater or less extent. 

 The degree of development of the glabella and superciliary emi- 

 nences varies much. As a consequence the form and prominence of 

 the brow differs considerably. In many cases there is little develop- 

 ment of these prominences, and where this obtains the brow is flat, 

 while in others they are fairly well marked, but in no case are they 

 greatly developed. The glabella is sometimes the main prominence in 

 the centre of the forehead, while in other cases the superciliary ridges 



