56 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
die, one fella girl die.” On asking him the meaning of a line of short 
incisions from the shoulder inwards and downwards towards the lower end 
of the breast bone, he said, “ Sister die.” When we came to the widows 
photograph, he shook his head and looked sorrowful. I said, “ Where her 
blackfella sit down ? ” He said, “ She no got blackfella.” I said, “ She no 
got Benjamin ?” and he replied, “No more Benjamin.” 
In January, 1901, I sent a collection of photographs of aboriginals to 
Sir William Turner, which he considered to be of considerable interest. He 
said he had not previously seen a series to illustrate the raised scars, and 
added that it was interesting to see that the custom is not restricted to the 
male sex. There is no doubt that little is known regarding the significance 
of scarring. 
Have the markings in men a similar significance ? I cannot say : I had 
not sufficient opportunity of investigating this aspect of the question. I 
found, however, that in some tribes the first marks are made on the shoulders 
and thighs, and the last across the body at the level of the sternum. I 
was told the Larrakeyahs do not cut on the chest ; that the Victorias do, 
and also the Borroloolas. I asked, “ What for cut ? ” and was told, “ Sup- 
pose it looks pretty : don’t know.” There is something in the “ pretty ” 
theory : I have noticed boys of from six to ten years old painted with the 
first markings. In some tribes, if a man dies, some blackfellow cuts the 
wife and the brother of the deceased (the latter across the abdomen and 
shoulder), and the brother cannot marry that lubra. 
As regards the scars made, these are pathological curiosities, since many 
of the most outstanding are deeply pigmented. It is often stated that 
earth is rubbed into the fresh cuts, and that they are kept open from time 
to time by this process or by other means. I found no confirmation of this ; 
on the contrary, I was informed that nothing is rubbed in, but that the 
incisions are covered with a leaf to keep away flies. 
One cannot reason from analogy that similar markings in men and 
women have similar meanings. Even among white people, a ring may 
mean marriage or engagement in a woman, and in a man vanity or 
rheumatism. 
Dentition. 
Some years ago, Sir William Turner, when examining an aboriginal skull 
from South Australia, noticed that the incisor teeth were in contact by their 
cutting edges when the condyles of the lower jaw were articulated, and 
placed in contact with the ridge that bounds the back of the glenoid fossa, 
and the teeth clenched. He had also noticed this in a Malay, a Bushman, 
