Abstract
An Aboriginal Tasmanian Skeleton.—In Man for June, Mr. Gilbert Rigg describes human bones forming part of a skeleton, which was found in a shelter at the head of the Mersey river. The skull lacks the lower jaw and the incisors and canines of the upper. The bones show considerable weathering and are stained a light to dark brown. The specimen is a male, judging from the pelvis; and the teeth are greatly worn on the crowns, so that it would appear that he was not a young man. The sutures of the skull are unclosed. He was, therefore, probably under middle age. The teeth show no sign of caries, but an abscess has corroded the roots of the first and second molars on the right and has eaten well into the jaw. The wear of the teeth is partly due to the nature of the food, which included a large proportion of shell-fish. Sand doubtless found its way into the food. The principal measurements of the skull are: Max. length, glabella to occiput, 185.5 mm.; Width, across parietal bones, 135 mm., across temporal lines, 97.5 mm.; Max. zygomatic width, 134 mm.; Height, above earholes, 116 mm.; Cephalic Index 72.8; Cranial capacity (Pearson and Lee's formula), 1368 c.c., (shot) 1340 c.c.; Palatal width, across the outer borders of the second molars, 69.8 mm.; length (by estimate) 63.3 mm. The measurements bring out the great size of the teeth, a characteristic of Tasmanian aboriginals. Among the other bones the atlas is present and six dorsal and lumbar vertebrae. One scapula only is present, the left, and only the right humerus. The left half of the pelvis is missing. Both femora are present, but only one tibia.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Research Items. Nature 127, 988–989 (1931). https://doi.org/10.1038/127988a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/127988a0