Abstract
IN a short note in NATURE of May 19, 1928 (vol. 121, p. 793), I mentioned the discovery of a truly negrito strain among the Kadars in the extreme interior of the Cochin Hills (S. India). As a result of further investigations in the adjoining hills made this year, I was able to find 10 more individuals showing spirally curved hair, making a total of 16 (a little more than 10 per cent) out of 157 men and women measured. Of the 10 individuals found this year, 8 were Kadars, and the remaining two were a Pulayan and a Malser. The hair of all of these except two, who have very short spirals (Fig. 1a), are of frizzly type similar to that of the Melanesians (Fig. 1b), matching No. ‘g’ in Martin's scheme (“Lehrbuch”, 2nd edition, vol. 1, p. 213). The hair of the two with short spirals would resemble ‘h’ rather than ‘i’ in the same scheme. In appearance they are without exception very dark, the skin colour varying from 29 to 34 in Von Luschan's scale, short, prognathic, having thick everted lips, short broad nose flattened at the root with the tip tilted up. The average cephalic and nasal indices of the 10 are 75·23 and 85·6 respectively, bringing them just within meso-cephaly and platyrhiny.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GUHA, B. Negrito Racial Strain in India. Nature 123, 942–943 (1929). https://doi.org/10.1038/123942b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/123942b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.