136 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. [Sess. 
Here again the Tasmanian possesses the most highly curved parietal 
arc, whilst the Australian again occupies third place, a little inferior to the 
Tasmanian. If these results be read in association with the known 
physiological functions of those portions of the brain which lie subjacent 
to the parietal arc, they become of real and striking significance. 
Dealing in the same way with the superior occipital index of curvature, 
we achieve the following results : — 
1 Pithecanthropus erectus (Klaatsch) 
51 Australians (Klaatsch and Buchner) 
51 Tasmanians (Buchner) . 
3 Spy-Neanderthal (Klaatsch) . 
. 4*76 
. 10-9 
. 11 T 
. 14T7 
Here the several objects have changed places — the Spy-Neanderthal group 
having the most highly curved superior occipital arcs, whilst the Tasmanian 
still retains his more advanced position over the Australian. It is difficult 
to account for the increased degree of superior occipital curvature in the 
Spy-Neanderthal group, but as regards the Australians and Tasmanians 
it is interesting to observe that, in all its segments, the median sagittal 
curvature of the Australian calvaria is less pronounced than in the 
Tasmanian, that is, the Australian has a flatter skull, as regards curvature, 
than has the Tasmanian. 
In a previous publication (27) I recorded the range of variation 
on fifty-two Tasmanian crania for twenty-seven observations based on 
Klaatsch’s cranio-trigonometrical methods. The figures expressive of this 
range of variation were so small as to warrant the conclusion which I then 
drew, that the Tasmanian is a pure race. By totally different methods 
Berry and Robertson (28), in a memoir as yet unpublished, but now ready 
for the press, have arrived at identical conclusions. 
I have, therefore, again recorded the range of variation for the twelve 
observations set forth in Table II. of the present work, in order to ascertain 
if my former conclusions would be sustained. 
The results attained from the present and previous works just referred 
to are, for the Tasmanian, as follows : — 
Present Work. 
Degree of Sagittal Curvature. 
Males .... 8*9 
Females . . 7 ’8 
Both sexes . . . 10 3 
Previous Work. 
Twenty-seven Cranio-trigonometrical 
Observations. 
Males . . . .7-9 
Females . . .7*5 
Both sexes . . . 9’9 
