Abstract
L' Anthropologie,tome iv. No. 3.—The current number contains four papers of much interest. Dr. R. Collignon contributes an article on the proportions of the trunk among the French, whom he divides into three classes: (1) the Celts, in the sense in which Broca used that term, that is to say, a short, dark, brachycephalic and mesorhine people, such as those found iu Auvergne, Limosin, and the centre of France generally; (2) the tall, fair, dolichocephalic Kymris, found in the north-eastern or Belgic departments of France; and (3) those who are really cross-breeds. The measures of the trunk are five in number:—(1) The total height, in the sitting position, from the inter-clavicular notch to the seat; (2) the maximum bi-acromial diameter; (3) the maximum bi-humeral diameter; (4) the maximum bi-iliac diameter; (5) the maximum bi-trochanteric diameter. The following measures of the thorax are also taken: (1) the distance from the superior border of the clavicle to the inferior border of the false ribs, measured on a perpendicular line passing over the nipple; (2) the transverse width, and (3) the antero-posterior width, at the height of the nipples; (4) the circumference just below the nipples; (5) the circumference about 3 c.m. below the nipples. Observations were made on sixty Celts, seventy Kymris, and eighty Celto-Kymris. It appears that there is a regular gradation between the three classes. Among the brachycephalic Celts, the trunk and thorax are shorter than amongst the dolichocephalic Kymri, whereas in all other respects the measurements of the Celt exceed those of the Kymri. The people of mixed blood occupy an intermediate position. When the total height or the length of the trunk is taken as a standard, the same general results are obtained, but the length of the thorax as compared with that of the trunk is greater in the Celts than in the Kymri. A comparison with similar measurements of various races of Tunis, negroes of the Soudan, and a single bushman, leads the author to the conclusion that in any given race all the measures of the body increase in absolute length and diminish in relative length as the stature increases, and vice versâ.—In a paper on the Matriarch ate in the Caucasus, Maxime Kovalevsky adduces facts which tend to prove that the ancestors of the mountaineers who live in the high valleys of the Caucasus at the present time practised what Morgan and Fison have called “group marriage.”—Dr. H. Ten Kate gives an account of his researches in Malaysia and Polynesia during a scientific mission promoted by the Royal Geographical Society of the Netherlands, in the course of which he examined 999 Malaysians of different races, and 314 Polynesians. The predominant colour of the skin among the Malaysians is brown and dark brown, while among the Polynesians it is light brown and yellow. The Malaysians have generally wavy or curly hair, but straight hair is a characteristic of the Polynesians. The Malaysians are mesocephalic; the Polynesians brachycephalic. Among the Malaysians the nose is concave or retroussé, while the Polynesian noses are straight and aquiline in about equal proportions. As regards stature, the Malaysians are below middle height and the Polynesians tall.—Dr. P. Topinard gives an interesting account of Anthropology in the United States, where the subject has received so much attention durinar the last few years. The question of the antiquity of man in North America is discussed at some length, and the general conclusion arrived at is that it does not exceed 15,000 years. Dr. Topinard proposes to continue the examination of American questions in future numbers of L'Anthropologie.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Scientific Serials. Nature 49, 22–23 (1893). https://doi.org/10.1038/049022b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/049022b0