6 
a flatter and wider nose than dwellers in the temperate zones, and 
the Eskimo, who has lived for countless centuries in an arctic or 
sub-arctic region, possesses the narrowest nose of any peopled It 
is cpiite possible, therefor-e, that some of the differences displayed 
by our Indians are merely the result of differences in their present 
and past environments; and when we consider the remarkable uni- 
formity in the colour of their skin, the colour of their eyes, and the 
colour and shape of tlieir hair, three of the most important char- 
acteristics, we can hai’dly escape the conclusion that all the Iiulian 
tribes of Canada are at least partly derived from a single racial 
stock. 
The Eskimo of the Arctic and sub- Arctic coast-line diverges 
considerably from the other aborigines. Ilis skin is lighter in colour, 
verging towards a 3^ellowish white, his head longer and often keel- 
shaped, the face wider and flatter, the eyes more often and more 
markedly oblirpie, and the nasal aperture unusually small. The 
cranial capacity slightly exceeds that of the average European, 
wliereas the capacity of Indian skulls is slightly less. It is quite 
possible, however, that both the skin colour and the smallness of 
the nose are due to the climatic conditions; and the shape of the 
head probably depends in large measure on the flevelopment of the 
temporal muscles, which in turn depends on the diet.- The Eskimo 
may well have inherited some of the same racial elements as the 
Indians, but may have deviated so greatly, owing to his peculiar 
environment, that he now forms a distinct sub-type. 
On anatomical grounds, then, we may divide the aborigines of 
Canada into two groups, Indians and Eskimo, thus confirming the 
current usage of those names, flow shall we classify them further? 
Shall we group tliem by their political divisions, by their languages, 
or, finally, by the types of culture that prevailed in different ]iarts 
of the country, that is to say, by cultural areas? 
In most pai'ts of the world the political unit among primitive 
peoples has been the tribe, which may be defined as a body of people 
bound together by a common culture and a common language, and 
^ Cf. Thomson. A,, ami Tliixton, L. II. D. : “Alan’s Xasal Iii.iox in Rdation to Certain Climatic 
Conditions”; Jour. Rr.y. A?illi. Inst., vol. iii, pp. 92-122 (1923). 
-Thomson, A.: “Consideration of Some of the More Important Factors Concerned in the Produc- 
tion of Man’s Cranial Form”; II. id., vol. xxxiii (1903). Ilidlicka, : " Coiit rilnit ion to the Anlhro- 
polocy of the Central and Smith Snimd K.skimo”; Anth. Paper.s, .\m. Mu.s. Xat. Hist., vol. v. pt. II 
(1910). Knowles, F. II. S : "The Clenoid Fossa in the Skull of the Kskimo”; Geol. Surv'., Canada 
Mils. Bull. No. 9 (Ottawa, 1915). 
