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Skeletal Measurements and Observa
tions on the Point Barrow Eskimo
with Comparisons from other
Eskimo Groups

BY

I

ERNEST WILLIAM HAWKES

THESIS PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE

SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA IN

PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQURIEMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF PH.D.

PRESS OF

THE NEW ERA PRINTING COMPANY
LANCA51 ER, PA.

19 10

EXCHANGE

o

[Reprinted from the AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Vol. 18, No. 2, April-June, 1916]

SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS OF
THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO WITH COMPARI
SONS WITH OTHER ESKIMO GROUPS

BY ERNEST WILLIAM HAWKES

PREFACE

PR the past six years the author has made an intensive study
of that very interesting people, the Eskimo. Between three
and four years of this time have been spent in work among
them, in Bering strait and on the Yukon river in Alaska/, and in
Labrador and Hudson bay in the east. Although the author has
been principally interested in the ingenious culture of these masters
of environment, the opportunity for physical observation has not
been neglected. Consequently, when an opportunity offered for
filling in a gap in the physical anthropology of the Eskimo, through
the presence of a very complete and fair-sized skeletal collection
from Point Barrow, Alaska, in the Wistar Institute of Anatomy in
Philadelphia, which had been left untouched since its collection in
1898, the author was very glad to supplement his information on
this subject.

A year was spent on the material with the following results.
The collection was measured and its general characteristics out
lined and comparisons instituted with other Eskimo tribes. Later,
the comparison may be extended to include the Indians bordering
on the Eskimo.

The author wishes to thank the University of Pennsylvania for
its cordial support in this work, and the Director of the Wistar Insti
tute of Anatomy for generous accommodations during the pursuit
of the same. He also wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to
Mr. Ralph Linton for the measurements of the long bones, and much
helpful assistance in the completion of the work.

203

448351

204 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

INTRODUCTION

^ The ^Eskimo present the unique spectacle of a people extending
for five thousand miles across the entire northern border of a con
tinent, living under the same climatic environment, and practically
homogeneous throughout in customs and speech. Consequently,
they offer a problem which is not only sectional but general, and
any light which may be thrown upon their development, particu
larly the physical side, is of interest in connection with the general
problem of the relation of man to his environment. Although the
present investigation has been limited to local and racial com
parisons, the peculiar situation of the Eskimo may make the results
suggestive of the larger problem.

In the following pages we have concerned ourselves chiefly with
the description of skeletal material from a hitherto little-studied
branch of this people, the Alaskan Eskimo. The collection includes
twenty-eight crania, male, female, adolescent, and infantile, and
three skeletons, brought down from Point Barrow, at the extreme
northern point of Alaska, in 1898 by E. A. Mcllhenny. The Point
Barrow Eskimo, as will be remembered from Murdoch's1 report,
possess the simple Arctic culture characteristic of the more isolated
tribes of the central and eastern Eskimo, and are as yet unin
fluenced by an intermixture of Indian customs and mythology, as
is the case with the more southerly Alaskan Eskimo tribes. Their
isolation has also preserved the purity of their physical type. The
only possibilities of intermixture are with the Athapascan tribes of
the interior, who are very rarely met with on spring hunting trips
into the interior, and from whom they are separated by inland
Eskimo tribes, and with the white whalers, whose influence, as
Stefansson has shown, has been of such short duration that it has
not affected the native type. Furthermore, they are separated
from the Mackenzie river Eskimo, the next division to the east,
by some two hundred miles of uninhabited coast line, and only
come in contact with them at infrequent intervals for trade at Barter
island, or on whaling trips.

1 John Murdoch, "Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition" (Ninth
Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, pp. 1-441. Washington, 1892).

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 2O5

Thus, the Point Barrow Eskimo have not been subject to
Athapascan influence, like the interior Alaskan tribes, nor to the
mixture of Northwest Coast and Russian customs present on the
Yukon, nor directly to the strong Siberian influence in Bering strait.
Consequently, they offer distinct advantages as a pure Alaskan
group.

For purposes of comparison the Southampton island Eskimo
have been accepted as typical of the central group. Their situa
tion precludes any possibility of Indian contact and they very
rarely met even other Eskimo tribes. Furthermore, we have an
excellent intensive physical study of these people by Dr. Hrdlicka,1
which is a great aid in comparison. In our comparative tables we
have followed the accepted routes of Eskimo migration, which
appear to reveal certain well-defined tendencies in physical type as
well as culture.

The Eskimo are particularly valuable as offering a fairly constant
racial type for comparison with widely different Indian tribes
throughout their extent. Their physical influence on two Indian
stocks as different as the Athapascan and Algonkian is fully as
significant as their cultural influences. Dr. Boas has suggested
the strength of this influence in the east.2

On the other hand, it would appear from our investigation that
the influence of the Indian on the Eskimo type in Alaska, at least
in the northern section, has been overestimated. In the crania avail
able we find that the majority of Alaskan Eskimo approximate the
central type, and in individuals the racial characteristics, as the
broad face, narrow nose, etc., are as strongly developed as in that
area. Possibly the superior stature of the western group may be as
much due to better food, clothing, and housing conditions as to an
intermixture with Indian tribes, an assumption which has not yet
been proven.

Particular attention has been given in this investigation to
sexual differences which were found to be considerable. We find

1 "Contribution to the Anthropology of the Central and Smith Sound Eskimo"
(Anthropological Papers of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. V., part i).

2 Franz Boas, "Physical Types of the Indians of Canada." (Annual Archaeolog
ical Report, p. 88. Ontario, 1905.)

206 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

that the exaggerated features, such as breadth of face as compared
with breadth of head, on which particular stress has been laid, are
not expressed in the female, but are a characteristic of the male,
not only in the Alaskan but in the other Eskimo groups. The
general tendency is for the male to reproduce the racial type in an
exaggerated form. Consequently, owing to the scarcity of female
measurements, or the ignoring of sexual differences, as in Bessels'
work,1 a set characteristic has been accepted as a racial trait.

In dealing with the mandible we have followed the illuminating
suggestions of Thompson and worked out the indices which indicate
the leverage of the jaw. The theory of the comparative shallow-
ness of the glenoid fossa in the Eskimo being the result of the rotary
motion of the mandible and the food used by them, as embodied in
the recent study by Knowles,2 has also been considered for this
group. It was generally found to hold good and is being worked
out in detail for later publicat on.

The crania offered examples of infantile, adolescent, and adult
forms of dentition, for which both dental and cusp 'formulae have
been worked out. It was found that certain primitive character
istics, such as the additional cusp of the third molar, and the meeting
of the incisors edge to edge, were present in this group.

The skeletal proportions are somewhat larger than those given
by Hrdlicka for the Smith sound Eskimo, but the form is as typical.
Certain very primitive characteristics, such as the perforation of
the olecranon fossa and the extreme forward curve of the femur,
were noted in the female skeleton.

INCREASE IN STATURE AMONG THE WESTERN ESKIMO
The Alaskan Eskimo are a taller and more symmetrical people
than their brethren of the central and eastern districts. They
lack that appearance of stoutness and squatness inherent in the
eastern stock, and for proportion and development of the various
parts of the body they do not compare unfavorably with Indians

1 Bessels, Emil. "Einige Worte iiber die Inuit (Eskimo) des Smith Sundes, nebst
Bemerkungen iiber Inuit Schadel" (Archiv f. Anthropologie, VIII., 1875).

2 Knowles, F. H. S. " The Glenoid Fossa in the Skull of the Eskimo." (Canadian
Geological Survey, Museum Bulletin, No. 9.)

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 2O/

and whites. It is not unusual to find in an Alaskan Eskimo village
several men who are six feet tall, with magnificent shoulders and
arms and bodily strength in proportion. The usual height
however is about 168 centimeters for men, which is some 10 cm.
above the height of the eastern Eskimo. The Central Eskimo
(Southampton islanders), according to Hrdlicka, average about
162 cm. in height. The average for women among the western
Eskimo is 158 cm., which approximates the height of the men in
the Hudson bay region (158 cm., Boas). The female type in Alaska
is taller and slimmer than in the east, and the width of the face is
considerably less. Eskimo women of large stature are often seen
in the northern section of Alaska. The individual variation here
is more conspicuous than in Labrador or Hudson bay.

Whether these changes in physical type in the west are due to
changed conditions or to intermixture with Indian or Asiatic tribes
is an open question. The conditions of life of the Eskimo in the
west are appreciably different. They occupy permanent villages
of comfortable stone and wood iglus, as opposed to the shifting
winter snowhouse and summer tent of the eastern group. For
hunting game on the water, the Western Eskimo has for the most
part abandoned the kayak for the larger and roomier umiak while
most of the hunting on the sea ice and land is done on foot instead
of with the dog sledge. Long distance foot races form one of their
winter sports, and the boast of the old hunters is that they were
able in their prime to run down a reindeer after an all day chase
through deep snow. Consequently, we find the lower limbs much
better developed here than we do further east. This may account
in part for the increase in stature in the west.

The rest of the body, as well as the long limbs, has developed
into larger proportions in the west. Better food and clothing, as
well as better housing, may have assisted here. To one who has
seen both regions, as the author has been privileged to do, there can
be no question as to the superior environment of the Western
Eskimo. One coming from Alaska to Labrador and Hudson bay
is struck with the poverty of life in the eastern district, the
hazardous food supply, and the scantiness of the material culture.

14

208 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

The walrus, still abundant in Alaskan waters, have largely forsaken
the eastern coast. Whales are more frequent in Arctic Alaska,
although rapidly growing less, than in Hudson bay as the number of
whaling ships might testify. There is no such tremendous competi
tion by white sealers and fishers in the west as obtains on the
Labrador coast. Although the eastern region has the advantage
in wild reindeer, the Alaskan Eskimo has drawn on the tame herds
of his cousin, the Chukchi, since early times, for warm clothing,
and now, thanks to the American government, has herds of his
own. The general outlook of the Eskimo ,in the west appears
more favorable, and his condition an improvement over the old
home region of Hudson bay. Consequently, we might expect
increased stature without taking into account a possible intermixture
with the Indians of the west, which is difficult of proof.

The author does not see why the possibilities of intermixture
with Indian tribes are any greater in the west than the east. So
far as we know, the Eskimo have been in contact with the Indians
in the east as long as in the west. In both regions there has been
constant warfare and a deep-seated and ancient 'racial antipathy.
No cases of intermixture have been recorded, although there is a
bare possibility of an intermixture previous to historical times. It
is true that the Alaskan Eskimo, from the Yukon south, have bor
rowed much of Indian customs and mythology, but even here the
racial type is well preserved and the boundary sharply marked.
The northern Alaskan Eskimo have more intercourse with Siberia
through the Diomede islands than with the interior Athapascan.
A very ancient trade has been followed by a considerable inter
mixture of blood in the Bering strait region. The inhabitants of
the Diomedes take their descent in about equal proportions from
the American and Asiatic sides of the strait. Those Eskimo who
have penetrated to the Asiatic side (the Asiatic Eskimo) are now
bi-lingual and have adopted the dress and habitations of the Chukchi.
The amalgamation of these peoples is now nearly complete, the
Eskimo only occupying a few remaining villages on the Siberian
shore. Long before the advent of the white man in these parts,
they made visits in company to the American side, first hostile, and

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 2OQ

later in the way of trade. Kotzebue sound was the ancient trading
place, where the tribes gathered in summer in large numbers from
both sides of the strait. It is in this section that we find the
increase in stature most pronounced, rather than on the Yukon or
in the extreme south. Consequently, we must take into account
the possibility of intermixture from Siberia as well as from the
interior of Alaska, in considering the changes in physical type of the
Eskimo in the west. However, it must be remembered that these
changes have not been sufficient as yet to overcome the main features
of the original type.

THE ACTION OF THE TEMPORAL MUSCLES ON THE SHAPE OF THE

SKULL

In the adult male crania of this series the temporal crest is well
marked and very high (see pi. ix). It does not appear so
prominently in. the female skulls and hardly at all in the infantile
and adolescent series. The extensive plane covered by the temporal
muscle on the adult skull would indicate a very strong development
of the same.

Arthur Thompson, in his paper on Man's Cranial Form, has
worked out the possible effects of the lateral pressure exerted by the
temporal muscles on the skull. This was done by exerting pressure
by means of fibers of silk on the temporal plane of an artificial skull
inflated with air, which resulted in a compensatory increase in the
height and length of the skull. The experiment suggested that the
action of the temporal muscles on the Eskimo skull was similar.

Hrdlicka later showed that the effect of the temporal muscles
on the infantile skull was slight, and, as the articulations became
more firm, the increased resistance would offset the pressure of the
muscles. He suggested that the temporal muscles act as confining
pads, and that the growing skull, conforming to the line of least
resistance, enlarges in the other two main directions, namely, height
and length.

The pressure of the temporal muscles is proportional to the
amount of their use. Consequently, we should expect to find the
female skull much more scaphoid than the male, as the Eskimo

2IO AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

women are almost constantly engaged in chewing boot soles and
skins outside of the regular exercise the muscles would get in eating.
But the contrary is true. The female skull is broader and less
scaphoid than the male, and the temporal surfaces less marked.
The cephalic index of the female skulls is 76.06 in our series, as
contrasted with the purely dolichocephalic skulls of the males, which
average 72.65. The adolescent and infantile crania also tend
toward mesocephaly, with average cephalic indices of 75.26 and
77.68 respectively. The term mesaticephalic, then, fits the appear
ance of the female and young skulls more accurately. The doli
chocephalic character of the head would appear to be attained in
growth. In the more scaphoid type of the male skull perhaps we
have another evidence of the adult male producing the racial char
acteristics in an exaggerated form.

SEX DIFFERENCES

The importance of the sex variation in the Eskimo is considerable,
and appears to have been overlooked by most investigators. Duck
worth and Pain, in their valuable correlation of Eskimo head and
skull measurements, were careful to make this distinction. The
main variation in the Point Barrow skulls, outside of the more
scaphoid appearance of the male skull already mentioned, is in the
relation of the breadth of face to the width of the head. In nearly
every case it is under 100 in the females and over 100 in the males,
the breadth of face being excessive in the males but less than the
width of head usually in the females. Both the facial and frontal
width approximate the maximum breadth of the skull more closely
in the female than in the male. The cephalic and altitudinal
indices are higher in the female, although the capacity is consider
ably less. The facial and nasal indices agree fairly well in both
sexes. The palatal (external) index of the female is higher than
that of the male, and the palate broader, due to the extensive use
mentioned above. The alveolar prognathism of the two sexes is
practically the same (97.53 being the alveolar index for males, and
97.198 for females). The adult condition does not seem to differ
greatly from that of the adolescent (alveolar index 97.706). (See
Table A.)

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 211

The mandible of the male is heavier and larger absolutely, but
not proportionally. The general development and lines in both
sexes is similar. The coronoid index, which indicates the leverage
of the jaw (as formulated by Thompson) , is remarkably uniform in

TABLE A

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements as to Form; Prognalhism

Cat. No.

Sex

Bas. Pro.

Bas. Nas.

Alv. Index

5400

male

104

104

IOO.OO

5401

III

106

95-50

5403

97

101

96.04

5406

105

108

97.22

5408

105

108

• 97.22

5409

96

IO2

94.12

5410

98

106

92.45

5411

107

108

99.07

5414

H3

116

97.41

5415

105

105

IOO.OO

5418

109

107

101.87

5423

107

107

IOO.OO

5425

104

IO2

101.96

5426

IOO

108

92.59

Averages

104.3

106.2

97-53

5402

fern.

99

102

97.06

5405

"

97

98

98.98

54i6

* *

95

IOI

94.06

5420

* *

97

98

98.98

5428

94

97

96.91

Averages

96.4

99-2

97.198

5404

adol.

94

96

97.92

5407

1

89

93

95.70

5413

'

86

90

95-56

5417

'

99

IO2

97.06

5421

'

92

92

IOO.OO

5424

96

96

IOO.OO

Averages

92.6

98.1

97.706

5412

inf.

78

85

91.76

5422

"

80

83

96.39

Averages

79

84

94.075

male and female (39.75 for males and 39.19 for females). The
mandibular index is greater in the male (100.15 for males and
90.478 for females). This is due to the female mandible being rela-

212 AMERIC&N ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

tively shorter and broader than the male, probably due to the
more extensive rotary use of the same. The male mandible is
approximately as long (condylosymphisial length) as it is wide
(bi-condylar width.) The gripping and grinding powers of the
jaws in both sexes is tremendous. The Eskimo workman uniformly
uses his teeth to reinforce his hands in tightening lashings or undoing
knots of frozen sealskin. The constant chewing by the women soon
wears their teeth to a common level. The inclination of wear is
slightly oblique, and pronouncedly so in the men, the outer edge
of the teeth being worn on the lower jaw and conversely above (see
pi. xiv). In both sexesS;here is a strengthening of the alveolar
process at the molars to withstand the heavy strain put upon them.
The molars themselves often show an extra cusp, and sometimes
an accessory one, while the third molar in many cases has a foliated
appearance, giving additional small cusps.

The bones of the incomplete female skeleton were found to be
much more primitive than those of the two male skeletons. The
olecranon fossa were perforated, and there was an excessive forward
curve of the femur which was absent in both male skeletons. The
exostoses for the attachment of muscles were also more pronounced
in .the, female skeleton. Generally speaking, the female skeleton
strikes one as more primitive and less differentiated, and the male
as more specialized toward a racial type.

THE FORM OF THE PELVIS

The female pelvis in the Eskimo is chiefly remarkable for its
large dimensions. A specimen from Davis strait measured by
Turner gave the following results: —

Conjugate Transverse Oblique

Brim 45/8 in. 6 in. 5 6/8 in.

Cavity 55/8 " 52/8 " 54/8 "

Outlet 52/8 " 51/8 " 54/8 "

Circumference of Brim 16 1/2 in.

Depth of Pelvis 4

Index of Brim 76

The female pelvis in the present series was incomplete, only one
innominate bone remaining. The dimensions of the same were, —

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 21$

height 205 mm., breadth 150 mm., index 73.13. The measurements
of the male pelvis were as follows, — max. breadth (external) 299
mm., general pelvic index 78.92, ant. post, diameter 106 mm., lateral
diameter (internal) 132 mm., pelvic index at superior strait 80.30.
It will be seen from the above dimensions that in the Eskimo as
in other races, the male pelvis is larger in the brim but smaller in
the outlet than the female pelvis. The dimensions of the outlet
appear to be unusually large in the female pelvis, which accounts
for the swift and easy parturition of the Eskimo women reported.
There is a general custom among the Alaskan Eskimo of expelling
the infant by pressing on the abdomen. This operation is performed
by certain old women, who act as midwives for the village. A stout
sealskin thong is drawn tightly around the waist of the patient,
the position of the child located, and pressure exerted downward
by the operator, who stands behind the patient with hands locked
over the abdomen. The patient kneels on the floor, in which
position she is delivered in a short time. The operation is not usu
ally commenced until labor is well under way.

OCCURRENCE OF AN EXTRA VERTEBRA IN THE ESKIMO

In the complete male skeleton (5864) thirteen dorsal vertebrae
were found instead of the normal twelve. The eleventh, twelfth
and thirteenth vertebrae closely approximated in form the normal
tenth, eleventh, and twelfth. The thirteenth vertebra was of normal
size and thickness, with well-developed lateral facets for the attach
ment of ribs. The thirteenth rib was present on both sides, being
rather smaller than the normal twelfth rib, but still well developed.
The twelfth rib, on the other hand, was much longer than in normal
individuals, and showed signs of cartilaginous attachment at the
tips.

The incomplete skeleton (5429) also gave evidence from the
articulation of the presence of an additional vertebra between the
twelfth dorsal and first lumbar vertebra. Turner in the Challenger
Reports also mentions the occurrence of a supernumerary vertebra
in this position in the case of two Australians and an Eskimo female
skeleton examined by him. More recently Charles Dawson has

214 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

drawn attention to the frequency of extra vertebrae in the Eskimo.
He treats it as a racial characteristic acquired through the continual
balancing necessary in handling a kayak.

The wonderfully light construction of this little craft, made of
driftwood and skins, without keel or ballast, requires continual
tension to keep it from capsizing. Under these circumstances, it is
an advantage to have a flexible back and long waist, and the
individual possessing these characteristics has a better chance of
survival. When the kayak is overturned, he is able to right himself
by a powerful twist of the body and stroke of the paddle. This
trait, transmitted and become general through the survival of the
fittest, would in time become a racial characteristic. Another
factor making for a flexible waist is the backward bend of the
hunter in poising the harpoon when in the kayak, and the continual
twist of the body in using the double-bladed paddle on either side
alternately.1

The additional vertebra is a simian characteristic and occurs in
very primitive races. It is another evidence of the primitive
structure of the Eskimo skeleton, in keeping with other anomalies
discovered in this series as the perforation of the olecranon fossa,
the extreme forward curve of the femur, etc.

The lumbar curve in the Eskimo is, however, not in keeping with
the primitive traits above mentioned, the index (after Cunningham)
being intermediate between that of the European and those of the
primitive peoples. The index for the Eskimo is 99.7, as opposed to
95.8 for the European and 107.8 for Australians, 106.6 for Bushmen,
and 105.4 f°r negroes. The lumbovertebral index of 5864, in which
the thirteenth dorsal vertebra was present, is 99.6, thus differing
by only .1 from that given by Cunningham as the Eskimo normal.
This apparently inconsistent characteristic of a supernumerary
vertebra, in conjunction with a well-developed curve, may be ac
counted for by the exercise of the waist mentioned above, which
demands a high degree of suppleness and elasticity conducive to

1 The author does not wish to insist upon this possible explanation. In a large
series of Eskimo skeletons from St. Lawrence island examined by a friend since this
article was written, an extra vertebra was found in only two. So that it would
appear to be a not uncommon anomaly among the Eskimo, rather than a racial trait.

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 21$

the formation of 'compensatory vertebral curves. It is noteworthy
that the Alaskan Eskimo, who do not use the kayak with the same
expertness as the Greenlanders, from whom Dawson drew his
material, nevertheless retain this racial characteristic of a well-
marked clirve.1

OCCURRENCE OF OTHER ANOMALIES

Although the Eskimo skull is scaphoid in shape, the sagittal
suture remains open to an advanced age, in contradiction to the
early closure of crania of this shape in other races, due.tQ lateral
pressure. In only three of the twenty-eight Point Barrow skulls
is there a complete fusion of the parietals. One of these is a male,
and the other a female, both aged. The other case, curiously
enough, is that of an adolescent skull. The sagittal suture is com
pletely closed although the other sutures are well marked and den
tition is incomplete. The shape of the adolescent skull is rounded
rather than scaphoid. The female skulls are less scaphocephalic
than the male.

In several of the skulls of both sexes the metopic suture is not
yet closed in the region of the glabella. The infra-orbital suture
persists in a majority of cases. There are ten cases of the appear
ance of Wormian bones in the occipital region, and one skull
(5428) shows the rare Epiteric bone. A search for evidence of
grooves formed by the supra-orbital nerves in the frontal region and
blood vessels in the occipital,2 which are said to be rare in the
Eskimo, failed to reveal anything in this series.

The incisors, in the young as well as in the adults, meet edge to
edge, instead of overlapping as in most races. The canines also
meet instead of falling one behind the other and are worn down to a
level with the incisors. They are much thickened and approach the
pre-molar in shape. The position and wear of the front teeth sug-

1 Cunningham, Lumbar Curve in Man and the Apes. Cunningham Memoirs,
Royal Irish Academy, 1886.

2 "On Certain Markings, Due to Nerves and Blood Vessels, Upon the Cranial
Vault; Their Significance and the Relative Frequency of their Occurrence in the Dif
ferent Races of Mankind," A. Francis Dixon, Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,
Vol. 38, 1904.

2l6 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

gests a side-to-side grinding movement of the jaw in the Eskimo
as in Mousterian man, as opposed to the direct bite of civilized
man. The extremely broad palate of the Eskimo is further evidence
of this movement. Consequently, the teeth are worn off obliquely
the inclination being inward on the upper jaw and outward on the
lower.

In one aged male skull (5403) the atlas is fused with the base of
the skull, resulting in an obscuring of the outlines of the foramen
magnum, which appears distorted. In another male skull (5404)
the foramen magnum is decidedly asymmetrical. In 5408, owing
to a diseased condition of the bone (plate xiv), the entire base of
the skull is twisted out of shape. The pyriform shape of the
foramen magnum was not noted in any of the crania.

INFANTILE AND ADULT CHARACTERISTICS

Duckworth and Pain, in "A Contribution to Eskimo Crani-
ology, " have outlined those characteristics of Eskimo crania which
they attribute to growth, and those which they believe are reten
tions of infantile traits. The present series has been carefully
gone over with this in mind. Of the infantile characteristics
retained in the adult the following held good : the megasemic orbital
aperture, the flattened nasal skeleton, the small mastoid processes,
and the persistence of the infra-orbital suture. For the rest, the
pyriform contour of the foramen magnum was not present in either
the young or adults, the prominence of the chin was more apparent
than real, and the most important infantile trait suggested, the
dolichocephalic character of the skull, was not borne out by our re
sults at all. Both the infantile skulls in our series are mesocephalic
(indices 78.85 and 75.5), as are the three " young" skulls from
Southampton island described by Hrdlicka, with cephalic indices
of 78.1, 77, and 76.1 respectively. We would therefore be
inclined to place the dolichocephalic character of the adult Eskimo
head under those characteristics acquired by growth. To this we
would add the other traits suggested by Duckworth and Pain tinder
this head ; the low nasal index, depending on the extreme narrowness
of the nasal aperture (which Hrdlicka suggests may be an adaption

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 21?

to extreme cold); the greater prominence of the malar bones, and
the scaphocephalic cranium without sagittal synostosis. Of these
the difference in nasal width is not great proportionally between
young and adult skulls, and the scaphocephalic cranium is much
more frequent in the males.

INDIVIDUAL VARIATION

The accompanying table of the variation of the indices of in
dividuals within the three great Eskimo branches (see Table B) ,
eastern, central, and western, was suggested by a table of the
individual variation in the indices of a set of Labrador and Green
land skulls examined by Duckworth and Pain. It appeared
feasible to extend this treatment to other Eskimo groups and denote
the individual variation within each group and as compared with
each other. The number of crania in the different groups is not
exactly the same, but sufficiently close for general conclusions.
For the central group the adult skulls of HrdliCka's Southampton
islanders have been taken, and for the western, the adult crania
in the present series. Hence, we have small but representative
groups for comparison.

In those indices which determine the racial affinity of Eskimo
tribes, the cephalic . vertical , jnasal ,, and, orbital, the average indices
of all three groups are very-close. Consequently, when we find the
traits which the indices reveal, a dolichocephalic head, megasemic
orbits, and leptorhinian nasal structure persisting throughout these
groups, we may safely conclude that the racial relation is strong,
and that the variations of tribe and tribe are less than the individual
ones. We might further expect that the individual variation would
be greatest in that branch which has been subjected to the addi
tional stimulation afforded by an improved environment and con
tact with races of a superior type and culture. Consequently, we
find the individual variation more noticeable in the west, and the
western type with lengthened face, shortened bi-zygomatic breadth,
and increased stature somewhat different. But the change is a very
gradual one from group to group, and the physical type, like the
culture and language, dominated by the same essential traits
throughout.

218

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

Judging from the indices, the relation of the Western Eskimo
is closer to the Central than the Eastern Eskimo.

TABLE B

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF VARIATION OF INDICES OF EASTERN (LABRADOR AND GREEN
LAND), CENTRAL (SOUTHAMPTON ISLAND), AND WESTERN (ALASKAN) ESKIMO

Index

No. Skulls

Locality

!

Average

Divergence

Variation

Above

Below

Cephalic . . .

2O

Eastern

71.5

75-4

65.8

9.6

TA

Central

74-55

78.2

68.6

9.6

" 21

Western

74.748

79.66

70.35

9-3

Vertical

9

Eastern

73-5

79.2

69.3

9.9

14

Central

74-3

70.2

66.2

13

11

21

Western

73.673 76. ^6

68.84

7.92

Orbital

8

Eastern

88.65

94.7

78.6

16.1

" 13

Central

90.87

io5-4(?)

82.4

23

2T

\Vestern

89.98

99.50

83.95

15.55

Nasal

7

Eastern

45-55

50

40.3

9-7

13

Central

43-05

48.4

38.7

9-7

"

21

Western

41.072

48

33-93

15.07

Facial

6

Eastern

54-36

62.3

49-3

13

"

13

Central

52.65

54-9

46.1

8.8

"

21

Western

53-09

59-29

44-05

15.24

Gonio-zygomatic . .

7

Eastern

80.9

91-5

74.6

16.9

"

.

Central

... ...

. . .

"

21

Western

75.92 89.20

71.74

15.46

Palato maxillary. . . .

7

Eastern

112. 1 I2O

105.3

14.7

13

Central

II9.4

127-3

106.7

20.6

.... 18

Western

120.545

129.79

106.78

23.01

Horizontal circum. .

10

(Eastern)

513-5

550

476

74

"

14

Central

517

532

491

4i

21

Western

507.8

540

487

53

Note. — The Central and Western measurements for horizontal circumference do
not include the glabella. The palato-maxillary measurements are also external for
both. Duckworth and Pain do not describe the Eastern measurement whether external
or internal, for the palato-maxillary, or including glabella in the horizontal circumfer
ence. Measurements are all of adult crania. The Central measurements are taken
from Hrdlicka's Southampton island tables, and the Western from our Point

Barrow series.

»..

MEASUREMENTS IN DETAIL

Form of the Skull. — The detailed measurements of the crania of
the Point Barrow Eskimo illustrate the general tendency of the

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO

breadth of the head to keep constant in spite of a wide variation in
length. The breadth averages of 137.3 f°r the males and 135.8
for the females may be compared with the corresponding length aver-

TABLE i.

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements as to Form: Head Measurements

Ht and

Cat. No.

Sex

Length

Breadth

Bas. Height

Ceph. I..

Alt. I.

Bf.I.

5400

male

185

139

142 75.14

76.76

102. l6

5401

"

I96

140

143 71.43

72.96

102.14

5403

"

186 V

137

134 73.66

72.04

97.81

5406

"

189

137

134 72.49

70.90

97.81

5408

"

190

134

137 70.53

72.11

102.24

5409

11

181

131

131 72.92

72.92

100. OO

5410

"

1 88

137

137 72.87

72.87

IOO.OO

5411

"

185

135 '

137

72.97

74-05

101.48

5414

* *

199

141

149

70.85

74.87

105.67

5415

"

191

137

141 71.73

73-82

102.92

5418

"

199

140

137

70-35

68.84

97-86

5423

"

187

137

141

73-20

75-40

102.92

5425

"

182

137

134 75-27

73-63

97-8i

5426

190

141

144 73.68

74-21

102.13

Averages

....

189.1

137-3

138.6 72.65 73.24

100.68

5402

fern.

180

132

136 73-33

75-56

103.03

5405

* *

181

136

130

75-14

71.82

95-59

5416

* '

173

133

132

76.88

76.30

99-25

5420 ,

* *

182

137

136

75.27

74-57

99-27

5428

177

141

131

79.66

74.01

92.91

Averages

178.6

135-8

133

76.06

74-45

98.01

5404

adol.

173

131

133

75-72

76.88

101.53

5407

"

178

134

130

75.28

73-03

97-01

5413

"

175

132

127

75-43

72.57 96.21

5417

"

179 128

133

71.51

74.30 103.91

5421

"

176 130

126

73-86

71-59

97-67

5424

173 138

129

79-77

74-57

93-48

Averages

175.6 132.1

129.6

75-26

73.82 98.30

5412

inf.

166 127

122

76.51

73-49

96.06

5422

160 126

117

78.85

73.13 92.86

Averages

163 126.5 H9-5

77-68

73.31 94.46

Note. — All measurements, unless otherwise indicated, are in millimeters. Length
and breadth are maximum measurements. The height is the Basion-Bregma height.

ages of 189.1 and 178.2 respectively (see Table I.) The increase
from the adolescent breadth average of 132.1 is slight relative to the

220 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

increase from the adolescent length average of 175.6. It will be
noted here, as elsewhere, that the female approximates the adolescent
type.

The well-known extreme length of head of the Eskimo is fully
realized in this western group in the male series which attains an
average of 189.1, which is as high as that of the purest central type
(Southampton island, 189). There is considerable individual vari
ation in the Point Barrow group, 182/196, which, however, is less
than that of the central group, 179/204 for a smaller number. This
phase has been dealt with by itself. It is not significant here,
except to illustrate the fact, that with the supposedly purest groups
of a racial type there is a large individual variation.

The average length of the female skulls in our series is much
less, 178.6, and the range of individual variation smaller, 173/182;
which, taken in conjunction with the above-mentioned tendency
to constancy of breadth of head, places them well within the limits
of mesocephalic skulls. It should be borne in mind, however, that
this is a result of the lessening of the extreme length of head in the
female sex and not a consequent broadening. As will be shown in
later tables, the females have not acquired in proportion to the
breadth of head, the extreme breadth of face characteristic of the
males, while they have preserved other prominent traits, as the
narrow nasal aperture, the broad palate, and deep set orbits.

The narrow-headedness of the Eskimo is well represented in
the Point Barrow skulls. The average width, 137.3 f°r males and
136.8 for females, is less than that of the Southampton island
Eskimo, 140 in males and 137 in females, but close to that of the
Mackenzie Eskimo, 137 (Russell). There appears to be a tendency
for the width of the head to decrease toward the west from the central
region, which probably goes with a decrease of the width of face,
until the broad-headed Aleutians are met with. Nevertheless,
the racial tendency of the Eskimo toward a long, narrow head is as
evident among the males in the west, as among the Eskimo gener
ally in the east.

As might be expected from the extreme length, the cephalic
index of the males, (72.65) shows a well-marked tendency toward

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 221

dojichocephaly . Only two skulls in the series give averages above 75 .
The female skulls are more inclined to be mesocephalic, the average
being 76.06. If we compare this figure with the adolescent average
(75.26) we are again struck by the similarity of the female to the
adolescent type. The infantile skulls give the high average of
77.68, owing to their lesser length. The breadth (126.5) remains
remarkably close to the adult skulls.

In Table 2 a comparison has been made of the cranial indices of
the various branches of Eskimo. It will be seen that the cephalic

TABLE 2.

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF CEPHALIC, ALTITUDINAL, AND HEIGHT-BREADTH INDICES OF

ESKIMO GROUPS

Locality

No.

Sex

Collector

Ce
phalic

Altitud.

Height
Breadth.

Eastern —
E Greenland

4

?

Pansch

72.9

74.2

IOI.70

W. Greenland

21

?

Bessels

72.6

73-7

IOI.O5

Labrador .

6

p

Duckworth

72.O8

73-051

101.34

Central —
Smith sound
Southampton island .
Southampton island .
Mackenzie —
Herschel island

99
9
5

o

?

male
fern.

?

Bessels
Hrdlicka
Hrdlicka

Russell

7I-372

74.2

74-9
74.6

76.91
74.1
74-5

73-5

107.96
99.8
99-4

98.76

Alaska—
Point Barrow

16

male

Hawkes

72.65

73.24

100.68

Point Barrow . . .....

5

fern.

Hawkes

76.06

74.45

98.01

Bering strait

4

p

Army Med. Mus.

75.82

76.33

100.76

Aleutian

15

?

Bessels

86.49

74.02

86.05

index increases from the east to the west, while the altitudinal and
height-breadth indices decrease. That is, the head becomes less
elongated and scaphoid, and more rounding in the west. Un
fortunately, we do not possess figures for the indices of the sexes
over this entire area, but in the central region the female cephalic
and altitudinal index is slightly higher than that of the male and in
the Point Barrow skulls notably so. Two female skulls in the Bering
strait group have cephalic indices of 75.14 and 78.57 as compared to
the indices of 72.68 and 78.87 in the two male skulls. The shorter

1 Four Greenland skulls were included in this index.

2 Cephalic index for 100 skulls, other indices for 99.

222

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

head of the women in the west would tend to raise the index.
Within the western group itself, Table 3 shows the gradual rise of
the mean of the cephalic index from the Mackenzie river to the
Aleutian islands. The approach appears to be toward the broad-
headed Aleutian type rather than the Athapascan of the interior.

TABLE 3.

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF CEPHALIC INDICES OF WESTERN ESKIMO

Index

Herschel Island

Pt. Barrow

Bering St.

Aleutian Is.

70

3

71

3

72

I

4

73

I

5

I

. . .

74

31

. . .

. . .

75

2

71

I

76

2

2

I

77

. . .

. . .

78

2

I

I

79

2

80

81

• ' '

82

2

83

. . .

84

I

85

31

86

. . .

I

87

. . .

I

88

.

2

89

I

90

2

91

92

I

Total skulls I 9

28

4

15

Average index 74.6

75-15

75.82

86.49

According to the measurements of A. J. Stone, the interior Alaskan
Eskimo radically differ from the Athapascans, with whom they
come in contact, in the form of the head, the length and breadth of
the face, and the shape of the nose. The superior height of the
Eskimo skull gives it a larger capacity than would be judged from

1 Denotes mean measurements. Had it been possible to use the living measure
ments of A. J. Stone on the Nunatagmuit, an interior Eskimo tribe situated between
Point Barrow and Bering strait, with an average cephalic index of 81, and a mean
measurement of 82, the step between the Bering strait Eskimo and the Aleut would
be nicely bridged. The difference between the cephalic index of the head and the
skull, according to Boas, is 2.2 for the Eastern Eskimo.

\ I

Z)

< g

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

N. S., VOL. 18, PL. XI

B

POINT BARROW ESKIMO SKULLS: A, FEMALE; B, MALE

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

N. S., VOL. 18, PL. XII

POINT BARROW ESKIMO SKULLS: A, INFANTILE; B, ADOLESCENT

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 22$

its small frontal width. In fact, some heads are so scaphoid as to
appear pathological. In spite of the extreme height of the Eskimo
head, the altitudinal index is much diminished by the extreme
length of the skull. Consequently, the Eskimo have a lower height
indexsthan the Lapps, who have a notably low skull, and who attain
a higher degree on account of their shortness of head. The height
breadth index gives a truer picture of the proportionate shape of
the head, outside of length. Topinard suggested a combination of
the height and height-breadth indices, an averaging of the results
obtained by each, which would accord more nearly with the appear
ance of the crania.

In ten cases out of fourteen in the male series of the Point Barrow
skulls the height exceeds the width. Among the Eastern Eskimo
the proportion is greater, the general type having a width of 144 mm.
and a height of 150 mm. The average width of the Point Barrow
male skulls is' 137.3 and the average height 138.7. The average
height of the female crania shows a considerable decrease (133 mm.),
whereas the width is nearly equal to that of the males (135.8).

The difference of the sexes in relation to height and breadth of
skull is well brought out in the height-breadth indices. In this
series there is only one female skull which does not fall under 106
(the width exceeding the height), and only four male skulls which
do not give an index above 100 (the height exceeding the width).
The four male skulls in which the breadth exceeds the height possess
certain peculiarities in common which leads to the suspicion that
they may represent an intruding strain of blood from another
Eskimo district. They all possess a very high and well-marked
temporal ridge, a high keel, a narrow forehead but a wide and
bulging backhead. All four show a height-breadth index of 97,
and in three the measurement for height and breadth is identical,
137 mm. and 134 mm.

Capacity. — In determining the capacity of the Point Barrow
skulls an attempt was made to use the general formula of Dr. Lee1
but it was found that the results did not agree with the actual
measurements. The scaphocephalic shape of the Eskimo head,

1 Phil. Trans., 196, A, 1901.
15

224

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

which increases the height out of all proportion, rendered the for
mula useless. A special formula would probably have to be devised
for the Eskimo.

TABLE 4

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements as to Capacity

Cat. No.

Sex

Capacity

Circum.

Oph. Cir.

Nas. Opis.
Arc.

Trans. Arc,

5400

male

1330 c.c.

530

510

375

315

5401

"

1610

545

535

383

317

5403

**

1410 "

520

510

365

305

5406

11

?

528

520

361

298

5408

**

1230 "

533

515

358

298

5409

"

?

520

495

362

302

54io

"

?

528

520

378

311

S4ii

"

?

520

5io

352

293

5414

"

1510

553

540

395

325

5415

"

1480 "

533

520

380

303

S4i8

"

1410 "

557

540

377

310

5423

"

1480 "

535

515

370

307

5425

"

1250 "

515

505

357

303

5426

1550 '

530

522

372

318

Average

1426 "

532

517

370

307

5402

fern.

1300

5io

500

361

303

5405

11

I2OO "

507

502

360

295

54i6

"

?

490

487

350

301

5420

"

1320

515

5io

362

304

5428

"

1330

515

500

352

300

Average

I287.S "

507.4

499.8

357

300.6

5404

adol.

1300 "

485

486

355

298

5407

"

1310

495

493

355

297

5413

"

1325

486

487

353

291

5417

"

I29O

491

492

353

295

5421

"

I3IS "

490

492

362

292

5424

"

1315

495

494

348

300

Average

I309.I "

490.3

490.6

354-3

295-5

5412

inf.

1190

458

467

343

290

5422

ins

458

457

333

283

Average

....

1152.5 "

458

462

338

286.5

Note. — The figure for capacity is the average of three measurements taken on
each skull, using no. 8 shot.

The circumferences are, respectively, horizontal, including and not including

glabella. In the infantile and adolescent series, owing to the lack of development of

the orbital ridges, the Orphryanic measurement slightly exceeds that in the inter-orbital

ne. The transverse arc is measured from the upper margin of the auditory meatus.

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 22$

The size of the skull was also found to be no exact criterion of
the capacity, due to the large variation in the thickness of the
parietal bones. One skull that appeared to be above the average
in size gave a capacity of only 1230 c.c., while another skull of
slightly less exterior measurement gave a capacity of 1330 c.c.
The variation appears greatest in male skulls.

The capacity of the Point Barrow skulls as a whole is not as
great as that of the Central and Eastern Eskimo. The average
capacity of the male crania is 1426 c.c. as against 1563 c.c. for the
Southampton island Eskimo (Hrdlicka). The largest Point Barrow
skull has a capacity of 1610 c.c., so it will be seen that the capacity
is still large in the west, and that the head still maintains this dis
tinctly Eskimo character. The female average in this group is
about 1300 c.c., the general average being brought down to 1287
c.c. by one very small skull. The adolescent average of 1301.1 c.c.
is instructive in showing the close correlation between the female
and adolescent types, which is confirmed in other measurements.

The cause for the large capacity of the Eskimo skull still remains
undiscovered. The superior inventiveness of this people is il
lustrated in their ingenious culture. The brain is said to show
good differentiation, but no signs of extraordinary mental powers
(Hrdlicka). The diameter of the foramen magnum is large, in
dicating a stout spinal cord, which may or may not have a direct
influence on the size of the brain. The large capacity of the infan
tile skulls, 1152.5 c.c., suggests that the large size of the brain is a
racial trait, and not acquired through the educative process of
their environment.

Breadth of Face in Proportion to Breadth of Head. — The Eskimo
of the central region and Greenland are characterized by a very broad
face in proportion to the breadth of head. The general proportion
is 1 02, ranging as high as 105 and 107 in individuals. Eighty- five
skulls from Smith sound, measured by Bessels, gave an average
head width of 133 and an average facial (bi-zygomatic) width of 136,
a proportion of 102. Unfortunately, in his long list of crania,
Bessels made no distinctions as to sex, and this is an important
difference, as may be observed in the following comparative table.

226

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

TABLE 5

COMPARATIVE TABLE OF THE PROPORTION BETWEEN BREADTH OF HEAD AND BREADTH
OF FACE OF ESKIMO GROUPS

Locality

No.
Skulls

Sex

Collector

Breadth
Face

Breadth
Head

Pro.
BF/BH.

Greenland

c

male

Davis

147

I4O

io<

Greenland
Smith sound
West coast Baffin bay
West coast Baffin bay
Southampton island

5
85
5

2

9

fern.
?

male
fern,
male

Davis
Bessels
Davis
Davis
Hrdlicka

130
133
137
124
145

130
130
135
132
140

IOO
IO2
102

94
103.5

Southampton island

5

fern.

Hrdlicka

138

137

100.7

Herschel island

9

?

Russell

139

137

IOI

Pt. Barrow

16

male

Hawkes

I4I.2

1^7.^

IO2.Z

Pt. Barrow

t

fern.

Hawkes

1^2

1^6.2

96.8

Bering strait

2

male

Army Med. Mus.

I-IA

1^6.^

98.12

Bering strait

2

fern.

Army Med. Mus.

130

131

99.24

Living Measurements

Locality

No.
Heads

Sex

Collector

Breadth
Face

Breadth
Head

Pro.
BF/BH.

Labrador

•3

male

Virchow

147

149

99

Labrador

2

fern.

Virchow

1-24

1-57

98

Mackenzie (Kukpagmuit) .
Mackenzie (Kukpagmuit) .
Int. Alaska (Nunatagmuit).
Int. Alaska (Nunatagmuit).

12

6

'l2

5

male
fern,
male
fem.

Stone
Stone
Stone
Stone

147.8
139-7
155-7
144.6

144
I4I-5
154-5
142.6

102.7
99
100. 8
101.6

In nearly all cases where a sex differentiation has been made,
the male skulls show a proportion above 100 and the females below.
In series where no such differentiation has been made, as in Bessels'
Smith sound Eskimo and Russell's Mackenzie Eskimo, the general
average is slightly over 100 (102 and 101), which may be considered
as the average between the two sexes. But these figures are mis
leading, in that they fail to bring out the pronounced facial breadth
in the male, and the lack of the same characteristic in the female.
Consequently, owing to the small number of female skulls measured,
and to their being lost sight of in the general average, the sex dif
ferentiation has been lost, and the extreme breadth of face em
phasized as a racial trait, when it holds good only for the males.
It will be remembered that a similar error was made in the case of the
Tasmanians.

Facial Indices. — The upper facial portion of the Point Barrow

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 22/

skulls is long, giving a relatively high index in spite of the extensive
breadth of the face. The upper facial index (Kollmann's) of the
male skulls is 52.48 (see Table 6). That of the female skulls is

TABLE 6

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements as to Form: Facial Measurements

Facial Index

Cat. No.

Sex

Breadth
Bi-zyg.

BF/BH
Proportion

Height
Chin. Nas.

'Height
Pros. Nas.

Total

Upper

5400

male

144

103.60 135 78

93-75

54.16

5401

"

144'

102.86 134 72

93.06

50.00

5403

"

137

100.00 119 71 86.86

5I.8I

5406

"

138

100.73 ? 79 ?

57-29

5408

"

144

107.46 127 73

88.19

50.69

5409

"

133

100.76

? 67

p

50.76

5410

"

139

101.46

5 75

p

53-95

5411

"

139

101.46

p

73

?

52.52

54U

"

146

103.55

?

81

?

55.48

5415

"

141

102.92

?

74

?

52.46

5418

"

144

102.86

143 84

99-31

58.33

5423

"

143

104.38

131

76

91.61

52.45

5425

"

143

104.38

?

63

p

44-05

5426

"

144

100.00

?

73

?

50.69

Averages

141

102.60

I3I-5

74-2

92.13 52.48

5402

fern.

135

102.27

?

72

?

53-33

5405

"

131

96.32

114

69

87.02

52.67

54i6

"

129 96.99

p

62

?

48.06

5420

* *

138 100.73

H3

67

81.81

59-29

5428

"

137 97.16

123

70

89.78

56.91

Averages

134 98.69

116

68 86.20

54-05

5404

adol.

115 87.79

?

62 ? 53.91

5407

"

125 93.28

?

66

? 52.80

5413

* *

in 84.09

105

62

94-59 53-86

5417

"

121 94-53

p

67

?

55-37

5421

* *

114

87.69

in

62

97-37 54-39

5424

121

87.68

III

65

91-74 53.72

Averages

II7.8

89.17

109

64

94-56

54-01

5412

inf.

III

79-53

90

54

89.11

53.46

5422

102 80-95

89

50

87-25

49.02

Averages

106.5

80.24

89.5

52

88.18

51.21

higher, 54.05, owing to the low bi-zygomatic width. The adolescent
index is about the same as the female (54.01). Here again we find

228 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

the male producing a specialized form, while the female remains
little differentiated from the adolescent.

The height of the lower jaw, except in one or two cases, is not as
great as one would expect from the height of the upper part of the
face. Consequently, the total facial index is rather low (92.12 for
males and 86.20 for females), although higher than in other Eskimo
groups. In skull 5418 the symphisial height of the mandible is
42 mm., the upper face is also much elongated, so that the total
facial length nearly equals the bi-zygomatic breadth. This head is
a good example of the extreme individual variations we occasionally
find in the Western Eskimo, although the majority keep reasonably
close to the racial type. The adolescent total facial index (94.56)
is higher than that of the adults.

The upper facial index of the Point Barrow Eskimo does not
differ much from that of the Southampton island Eskimo, as given
by Hrdlicka. Taking the average of the adult crania of both sexes,
twenty-one Point Barrow skulls give an average index of 53.09 and
13 Southampton island skulls give 52.65. These averages again
are close to the figures given for eastern crania by Duckworth and
Pain. For six Labrador and Greenland skulls the average facial
index was 54.36. This leads us to conclude that the upper facial
index is another constant factor in the various Eskimo branches.
But in comparing the total facial (gonio-zygomatic) index we find
an increase in the west, due to the increase in total facial height
in that quarter. Six male Point Barrow skulls have an average
height from chin to nasion of 131.5 mm. as contrasted with six
male Southampton island crania, which give a total facial length
of 126 mm. (The number of male crania with mandibles happens
in both groups to be the same.) Since the approximation between
the head and skull measurements for facial indices has been found
to be close, we may compare these measurements with those of
Stone on living Alaskan natives, making allowance for a small
variation (2.2, Boas, for Eastern Eskimo). Kukpagmuit (Mac
kenzie river Eskimo), males, facial height, 131.5 mm., which is the
same as the skull measurement for the Point Barrow Eskimo
males; Nunatagmuit (interior Alaskan Eskimo), 126.4 mm.;

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO

Tahltan (northwest coast Indian), 129.2 mm.; Loucheux (interior
Alaskan Indian), 122.9 mm.

The female measurements are Point Barrow (skull) 116 mm.;
Kukpagmuit (head), 120.8 mm.; Nunatagmuit, 119.8 mm.; Tahltan,
118.7 mm.

Nasal Index. — Broca considered the nasal index one of the best
for distinguishing the various races of mankind. It is particularly

TABLE 7

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements as to Form: Facial Measurements (Con.}

Nasal

Nasal

Nasal

Palatal

Palatal

Palatal

Cat. No.

Sex

Height

Width

Index

Length

Width

Index

5400

male

57

23

40-35

56

70

125.00

5401

"

58

25

43.10

?

?

?

5403

"

56

23

41.07

50

63

118.87

5406

"

58

21

30-21

50

63

118.87

5408

"

57

25

43-86

5i

62

121.57

5409

"

56

29

39-62

48

58

120.83

5410

"

56

19

33-93

5i

56

I09.8O

S4II

"

57

22

38.60

56

65

II6.O7

5414

"

59

26

44.07

56

70

I25.0O

5415

54

23

42.59

53

67

126.42

5418

62

25

40-32

59

63

106.78

5423

11

55

22

40.00

54

65

120.37

5425

"

52

25

48.08

53

59

111.32

5426

"

59

23

38.98

50

60

120.00

Averages

56.6

23

40.69

53-1

62.7

II8.3I

5402

fern.

54

22

40.74

53

63 118.87

5405

"

55

24

43.64 50

59 118.00

54i6

"

52

2O

38.46 47

61

129.79

5420

"

So

24

48.00 49

60

122.45

5428

5i 19

37-25

49

60 122.45

Averages

52-4

21.8

41.62

49.6

60.6

122.78

5404

adol.

47

20

42.55

48

61

127.08

5407

"

Si

20

39-22

48

60

125.00

5413

• 4

46

20

43-48

40

55

137-50

5417

• 1

53

22

41.51

49

61

124.49

5421

41

46

21

45.65

48

58

120.83

5424

49

21

42.86 48

62

129.17

Averages

48.6

2O.6

42.545

46.8

59-5

127-345

5412 inf.

40 17

42.50

37

50

135-13

5422

42 17

40.48

37

Si

137.87

Averages

41 17

41-49 37

5Q-5

136.50

230 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

valuable in the case of the Eskimo, in that it distinguishes them from
the Mongolian type, whom they resemble in many other respects.
The Eskimo are the most leptorrhine of known races, with a nasal
index of 42.33 (Broca). The Point Barrow tribe have not lost this
distinctly Eskimo trait. In fact, their nasal index is slightly lower
than that of the Southampton island Eskimo. The Point Barrow
male crania in our series have a nasal index of 40.69 and the female
of 41.62 (see Table 7); the Southampton island skulls have a nasal
index of 42.3 for males and 45.8 for females. The Labrador and
Greenland skulls measured by Duckworth and Pain gave an average
nasal index of 45.55. There is a larger individual variation in the
western group than in the others (see Table of Variations1). One
Point Barrow skull gives an index as low as 33.93. This does not
mean necessarily that the Western Eskimo is a less pure type. The
same causes which led to an increase of stature, a more certain and
abundant food supply during the period of growth and improved
conditions, may have also increased the variation in other character
istic racial traits. It will be noted that in the nasal index the females
again are nearer the adolescent type. (Males 40.69; females 41.62;
adolescents 42.54.)

Orbital Index. — The high value of the orbital index is another
racial characteristic of the Eskimo, which it shares with the Indians
of North America and the yellow race of Asia, in contradistinction
to the low nasal index, which differentiates them from both. At
the same time the Eskimo eye differs in appearance from the Mon
golian.

The megasemic character of the Eskimo orbits in the adult is
regarded by Duckworth and Pain as the retention of an infantile
trait. This conclusion appears to be well borne out in the male
skulls in the present series and in Hrdlicka's measurements of the
Southampton islanders. The index of the female skulls in the
Point Barrow group falls slightly under megaseme (88.938) for the
right and 88.156 for the left orbital index (see Table 8). The
sexual variation of the orbital index is considerable, due largely
to the greater development of the supra-orbital ridges in the male,

1 Duckworth and Pain. Contribution to Eskimo Craniology, p. 129.

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO

TABLE 8

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements as to Form: Facial Measurements (Con.}

Orbital Height

Orbital Width

Orbital Index

Cat. No. Sex

Right Left

Right

Left

Right

Left

5400

male

37

38

43-5

43-5

85.06

87-36

5401

37 39

40-5

40.5

91.36

96.30

5403 37 37

41

41

90.24

90.24

5406

36

38

38

38.5

54-74

98.70

5408

38

38.5

41.2

44

92.23

87.50

5409

39

38

41

41

95.12

92.68

5410

38

37-5

40

40

95.00

93-75

54ii 35-2 35-5

39-5

40

89.01

88.75

54*4

36.5 37-5

43

41-5

84.88

90-30

54i5

' *

39 38

39-2

40

99-50

95-00

S4i8

"

37 37

40.2

43

92-03

86.05

5423

38.2

38.2

41.2

41.2

92.68

92.68

5425

37-5

37-5

4i-5

44

90.36

85-23

5426

39-5

39-5

43

42.5

91.86

92.94

5864

37 38

42

42

88.10

90.48

Averages

37.46

37-74

40.98

41.58

91.47

91.20

5402

fem. 39 37

41-5

41-5

93.98

89.16

5405

37

37

40

40

92.50

92.50

54i6

"

34 34

40.5

40-5

83.95

83-95

5420

"

35 34-5

41

41

85-37

84.15

5428

"

36 j 35-5 40-5

39

88.89

91.02

Averages

36.2 35.6 40.7

40.4

88.938

88.156

5404

adol.

34 34 39

39

87.18

87.18

5407

37 37 38

39-5 97-37

93-68

5413

37-5

36 36

35-8

104.17

100.55

5417

35-8 35-8 37

37

96.60

96.60

542i

35 35 36

36

97.22

97.22

5424

36.5 36.5 36.5

39

IOO.OO

93-59

Aveiages

35-96 35-71 37.08

37-71

97.09

94.80

5412

inf. 34

35 33

33

103.03

106.06

5422

33-5

34-5

35

33-5

96.72

103.03

Averages

33-75

34-75

34

33.25 99-875

104-545

and the greater width of the male orbits. The orbits in the female
skulls are rounder and less irregular than those in the male skulls.
The proportion of height and breadth of the orbits is nearly equal
in the adolescent crania, and the height exceeds the width in the
infantile skulls. The depth of the orbits is remarkable in all the
crania. The variation of the right and left orbits in individual
skulls is noticeable, the difference being mainly in width.

232

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

Palatal Index. — The palate of the Point Barrow Eskimo is
characterized by extreme breadth. In this racial feature they
slightly exceed the Central Eskimo. The present series gives a
palatal (external) index of 118.31 for males and 122.7 f°r females,
and the Southampton island Eskimo 118.8 for males and 120 for
females (Hrdlicka). Within the Point Barrow series there is an
occasional skull in which the palate is longer and narrower than the
average. (Two male skulls give a palatal index of 106.78 and 109.80.)
But the general tendency is to a very broad palate. The palate of
the adolescent and infantile crania is relatively shorter than that of
the adults, but partakes of the characteristic horseshoe shape.

The Mandible. — The mandible of the Eskimo is characterized
by extreme bi-condylar width as is brought out in the mandibular

TABLE 9

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Measurements of Mandible

Cat. No.

Sex

Condylo
Symphisial
Length (A)

Bi-Condy-
lar Width
(B)

Mandibular
Index (A/B)

Condylo
Coronoid
Width (C)

Coronoid
Index (C/A)

5400
5401
5403
5408
5418
5423
58641

male

lip
125
106
130
129

121
122

122
123

108

122

123

126
127

97-54
101.63
98.15
106.56
104.88
96.03
96.06

48
50
40
50
48
48
41

40-34
40-65
37.04
38.46
37-21
39-66
33-88

Averages

121.71

121.57

100.15

46.4

39-75

5405
5420
5428

fern.

102
102
H3

114
I2O

118

89.47
85.00
95-76

40

42
42

39-22

41.18
37-17

Averages

105.6

117.3

90.476

41-3

39-19

5413
542i
5424

adol.

93
102

93

103
98
104

90.29
104.08
89.42

36
38

39

38.71
40.86
38.24

Averages

96

101.6

94.596

37-6

39-27

5412
5422

inf.

79
87

90
88

87.78
98.86

30
33

37-97
. 37-93

Averages

'••

83

89

93-27

31-5

37-95

Skull 5864 belongs to complete skeleton (see measurements of long bones).

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

N. S., VOL. 18, PL. XV

POINT BARROW ESKIMO MANDIBLES: A, ADULT FEMALE, B, ADULT MALE, SHOWING
EXTENSIVE EXOSTOSES FOR MUSCULAR ATTACHMENT AND STRENGTHENING OF THE ALVE
OLAR PROCESS; C, INFANTILE; D, ADOLESCENT; E, ADULT FEMALE; F, ADULT MALE

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 233

TABLE 10

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Additional Measurements of Mandible

Cat. No.

Sex

Bigon.
Width (D)

Prop.
(B/D)

Condylo
Symphysial
Height

Symphisial
Height

Minimum Breadth
Ascending Ramus

Right

Left

5400

5401
5403
5408
54i8
5423
5864

male

116
US
98
106

112

108
H3

95.08
93-50
90.74
86.89
91.06
85.71
88.98

63
60
49
66
63
65
65

36

?

27
39
42
34
34

44
34
39
37
42
40
38

45
36

38
•?

40
40
37

Averages

109.7

90.28

61.5 35-3

39-1

39-3

5404
5420
5428

fern.

97
109
97

85.09
90.83
82.20

58
58
59

30

25(?)

35

37
34
36

38
33
36

Averages

101

86.04

58.3 30

35-6

35-6

5413
5421
5424

adol.

84
89

101

81.55
90.82
97.12

49
47
52

25
30
29

33
32-5
33

33
31
32

Averages

91-3

89-83

49-3 28

32.8

32

5412 inf.
5422

78

75

86.67
85.23

41
41

23

21

25
28

26
29

Averages

76.5

85.95 41 22

26.5

27-5

index (see Tables 9 and 10). The ascending rami are broad and
heavy and the coronoid processes low and stout. The extent of the
condylo-coronoid width gives additional leverage to the temporal
muscle. The surface roughenings for muscular attachment are
very prominent (pi. xv), the area for the insertion of the masseter
and pterygoid muscles being very extensive.

The extraordinary pressure to which the jaw is subjected has
led to an accessory thickening in the alveolar process at the second
molar. This occurs in the adolescent and infantile jaws as well as
the adult, so it probably is an inherited trait. One of the male
mandibles (fig. 26) exhibits a diseased condition, which has resulted
in atrophy of the alveolar and coronoid processes and a shriveling
of one side of the jaw. The skull is similarly affected at the base and

234

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

rendered asymmetrical by adjustment to the disproportionate posi
tion of the mandible.

Dentition. — Although the Eskimo mandible is exceedingly heavy
and strong, the teeth are not unusually large (see dental index)
(Table n). They exhibit very primitive and at the same time cer-

i,,

FIG. 26. Side view of Point Barrow skull, showing obliquity of the angles of
the mandible and slight asymmetry of the basal portion of the cranium, due to
diseased condition of the bone.

tain advanced traits. The incisors meet edge to edge as in the
apes, and the fifth tubercle is often present on the second lower
molar; another simian characteristic. On the other hand, the true
molars decrease in size from front to back, as in the higher races,
and the third molar is more often suppressed or degenerate than in
any other savage people (see Table 12) . The canines do not overlap,

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 2$$

TABLE n

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Dentition

Cat. No.

Sex

Dental Length

Basinasal Length

Dental Index'

5400

male

43

104

41-35

5406

* *

43

101

42.57

S4II

"

44

108

40.74

5414

38

108

35-19

5415

42

116

36.21

5418

* '

46

105

43.81

5423

"

43

107

40.19

5425

' *

36

107

34.64

5864

45

99

45-45

Averages

42.2

106,1

40.01

5402

fem.

4i

102

40.20

5405

"

4i

98

41.84

54i6

"

39 (?)

101

38.61

5420

' '

40

98

40.82

5428

"

38 (?)

97

39.18

Averages

39-8

99-2

40.13

as in the anthropoids and higher races of man, but meet edge to edge,
and wear on a level with the incisors. The direction of the wear is
oblique, being inward on the upper jaw, and outward on the lower.
The inclination is due to the outer margins of the central lateral
teeth of the lower jaw being brought into contact with the inner
sides of the opposing teeth in the upper jaw during the grinding
sideways movements of the mandible (Knowles). The extremely
tough nature of the Eskimo food, much of which is eaten raw or
dried, renders the rotary chewing process much more necessary
than in other savage races that live almost entirely on fresh meat.
The fondness of the Eskimo for chewing tough skin of the whale or
mukluk (big seal), and the regular work of the women in chewing
boot soles and skins, increases this tendency.

The crowns of all the teeth are heavy, even the canine approach
ing the premolar in shape. In the molars an additional tubercle is
often present, and occasionally an accessory one. The third molar
frequently takes on a foliated appearance, with additional small
tubercles (see cuspid formulae).

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST

[N. s., 18, 1916

TABLE 12

ESKIMO CRANIA FROM POINT BARROW, ALASKA
Dentition

Cat. No.

Sex

Teeth

Cuspid Formulae of Molars

Upper

Lower

Upper

Lower

5400

male

16

16

right 4 ? 3 left 443

right 444 left 444

5403*

"

?

14*

" ???"???

4 4 * '44*

54o6f

11

14*

' 4 ? * " 4 4 *

541 if

"

16

1 ? ? ? " 4 4 3

S4i4t

"

16

. .

443 ' ? ? 3

S4iSt

"

14*

4 4 * '43*

S4i8

"

16

16

44? '443

" ? ? ? " 4 4 3

5423

"

iSa

16

4 ? ? * " ? 4 4

? ? 3 ' ? 4 3

5425t

"

16

molars worn level

5426f

"

16

. .

molars missing

5864

"

16

16

434 left 435

" 4 4 50 " 4 4 5b

S402f

fern.

16

" 4 ? ? " 4 3 ?

5405

"

16

14*

" 4 ? sc " 4 3 5c

" 4 5 * " 4 5 *

S4i6f

"

I5a

" 4 ? ? " 4 4 *

5420

"

16

?

? 3 Sc " ? ? ?

" ???"?? 4

5428

"

16

16

? 4 5 '43?

445 ' 4 ? 5

5404t

adol.

14

"4 "4

S407t

"

i6d

445 '44?

5413

"

14

14

44 '44

" 45 "45

54i?t

11

i6d

" 4 3 ? " 4 3 ?

5421

"

14

14

45 '45

"55 "55

5424

it

14

14

43 '43

55 '55

5412

inf.

126

126

" 44 "44

"55 "55

5424

"

126

126

54 '54

55 '55

* Third molar missing.

t Lower jaw missing.

a Third molar missing on one side.

b Supernumary cusp on third molar.

c Crown foliated, presenting extra small cusps.

d Third molar visible, but not fully erupted.

e All teeth of first dentition, and first molars of second.

MEASUREMENTS OF OTHER SKELETAL PARTS THAN THE CRANIA

IN THREE ESKIMO SKELETONS FROM POINT BARROW.

(RALPH LINTON)

Sternum and Ribs. — The sterna in both skeletons examined are
asymmetrical, the supersternal notch being to the left of the median
line. The pre-mesosternal suture slopes downward from left to
right, whereas the supersternal notch slopes from right to left.

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 237

The asymmetry of the manubrium is indicated in the following
measurements.

INFRA MARGIN OF THE CLAVICULAR FACET TO THE MESOSTERNAL SUTURE

5864 (male) 5429 (fern.)

Right Left Right Left

37-5 40 38 41

EDGE OF MESOSTERNAL SUTURE TO MIDDLE OF INTERCLAVICULAR NOTCH

Right Left Right Left

48.5 45.2 49 47-2

TRANSVERSE DIAMETER OF THE CLAVICULAR FACETS

Right Left Right Left

17 16 22.1 21

It will be seen from the above that asymmetry of the manubrium
is proportional in both skeletons. The depression of the right side,
however, appears to be confined to it. The levels of articulation
with the ribs, the costal facets, are noticeably higher on the right
side than on the left, not only as regards the upper facets, as is more
usual (Thompson), but in the case of the lower as well.

The same causes which led to asymmetry of the manubrium
have also led to a corresponding lengthening of the right first rib
and clavicle. In both skeletons the right clavicle is four mm.
longer than the left, and the first rib from one to five mm. longer
on the right than the left. The contraction of the left side has
resulted in a thickening of the bones and an increase of their curve
with a corresponding diminution of the curve in those on the right
side.1

1 The depression of the right shoulder, and resultant changes already noted are
not confined to any one race. It has been noted in the white race and is said to be
caused by carrying heavy objects on the right shoulder, or more particularly in the
right hand. The heavy harpoon and dog whip which the Eskimo are accustomed to
carry in the right hand, as well as the more extended use of the same, may have caused
an exaggeration of this tendency.

A curious anomaly is the existence of a thirteenth rib in connection with an
additional thoracic vertebra in 5864. It may have been present in 5429 also, as this
skeleton had the additional vertebra, but is now incomplete.

The thirteenth rib occurs on both sides, the length being 89 mm. for the right and
87.5 for the left. They are roughened for muscular attachment and the articular facets
are large and well developed. In shape, and the arrangement of bony protuberances,
they agree with the twelfth rib of normal individuals. In both 5864 and 5429 the
twelfth rib is abnormally long (in 5864 156 mm. for the right and 152 mm. for the left)
and its tip deeply pitted for the attachment of cartilage.

238 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

In 5864 ossification has not yet taken place between the first
and second parts of the mesosternum, nor between it and the manu-
brium, but is complete between the second and third part of the
mesosternum, indicating that the skeleton is that of a young adult.
In 5429 ossification is complete in the mesosternum and partial
between the mesosternum and manubrium, indicating an advanced
age. In 5864 the xiphisternum is ossified, but is not yet attached
to the body of the sternum. 5429 is much broader, heavier, and
thicker than 5864, as the following measurements show.

STERNUM, NOT INCLUDING XIPHISTERNUM

Total Length (Median Line)
5864 158

5429 155

Manubrium

Max. Length Max. Width Max. Thickness

5864 39.5 63.5 12

5429 43 63.5 15

Mesosternum

5864 116.5 38 ii

5429 112 45 13

Vertebra. — In the case of the vertebrae there are only two spines
available for study. The vertebrae of both are well developed as
to strength. In 5429 there are marginal exostoses, and the laminae
and spinous process of the fifth lumbar vertebra are separate, ar
ticulating with the proximal part of the arch. The same anomaly
has been noted in the fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae of a specimen
from Smith sound described by Dr. Hrdlicka. In addition the
lateral spine on the right side of the second lumbar vertebra is
separate, and there is a facet present for its articulation. The
thirteenth thoracic vertebra is present in both specimens; and has
been described at length elsewhere (see Occurrence of an Extra
Vertebra in the Eskimo) . Except for this peculiarity 5864 is normal
in every way.

The indices of the five lumbar vertebrae (taken according to
Cunningham) are as follows: —

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 239

Cat. No. 5429 5864

Sex fem.(?) male

1 118.18 120

2 106.25 107.69

3 108.70 96.43

4 91.67 91.08

5 82 85.71
Lumbo-vertebral index.. . .100.84 99-6

The later of these two indices differs by only .1 from that given
by Cunningham as the average for the Eskimo. In respect to the
lumbar curve, the Eskimo occupies a position about midway between
the European and the primitive peoples, such as the Australians,
Bushmen, etc. The environmental factors which might lead to this
have already been dealt with (see Occurrence of an Extra Verte
bra in the Eskimo).

Innominate Bone. — The innominate bones are strong and well
developed, but in no way depart from normal. The measurements

are as follows :—

0

Cat. No. 5864 5863 5429

Sex male fern. fem.(?)

right left left right

Height (max.) 238 235 205 206

Breadth (max.) 171 170 150 160

Index 71.85 72.34 73.17 77.67

Sacrum. — The anterior curve of the sacrum is slight, and begins
at the body of the second segment. The wall of the spinal canal is
deficient from the beginning of the fourth segment. The normal
five segments are present, and there is no indication that the first
sacral vertebra has become detached to form a sixth lumbar at the
same time that the first coccygeal has become ossified to the
sacrum, as was the case in the two spines containing an additional
vertebra described by Lane.1

Cat. No. Sex Height (max.) Breadth (max ) Index

5864 male 124 120 96.77

Scapula. — The scapulae are remarkable for their length and nar
rowness, corresponding closely to those from Smith sound described
by Hrdlicka.

1 W. Arbuthnot Lane, "Some Variations in the Human Skeleton," Journal of
Anatomy and Physiology, Vol. 20, Third Part, April, 1886.
16

24O AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

The scapular and infrascapular indices corresponded fairly well
with those given by Flower.1 These indices form a marked ex
ception to the primitive traits usually found in Eskimo skeletons,
for they are at the other extreme from those of the anthropoids,
while the indices of Europeans occupy a position about midway
between.

The right glenoid fossa of 5864 is larger than the left, the di
mensions being 42x28.2 and 42x27.1, respectively.

In all the scapulae examined, the superior border forms a deep,
almost U-shaped notch, the characteristic being most exaggerated
in 5864 and least so in 5429, in which the suprascapular notch is
well marked. This concavity of the superior border of the scapula
appears to be a racial characteristic, being more .or less common
throughout all the Eskimo groups. It rarely occurs in whites or
Indians. The scapulae of a gorilla in the Wistar Institute collection
shows this same concavity, the resemblance being striking. On the
other hand, it did not occur in any of eight orang utan skeletons
examined. The cause of this anomaly is not evident in the culture
of the Eskimo, and it may well be an inherited evolutionary trait.

Clavicle. — Special mention has been made elsewhere of the
lengthening and strengthening of the clavicle on the right side in
connection with asymmetry of the first rib. The bones are other
wise normal, being fairly strong, with roughenings for muscular
attachment well, but not excessively developed.

Cat. No. 5864 (Male) 5429 (Fern.?)

Right Left Right Left

Length 168 164 144 140

Humerus. — The humeri of 5863 were both perforated in the
olecranon fossa, the openings being of fair size, and the left larger
than the right. This seems to be a primitive, although scarcely
simian characteristic, being of more frequent occurrence in the
anthropoids than in man, and in the ancient than the modern
races. Even in the anthropoids it is an individual variation. Its
most frequent occurrence among human beings is in prehistoric

1 W. H. Flower and Dr. J. G. Garson, "Scapular Index as a Race Character in
Man," Journal of Anatomy and Physiology, Vol. 14, Fart i, October, 1879.

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 24!

Indian skeletons from Arizona, in one collection of which no less
than 54 per cent, had one or both humeri perforated.1 It is not
common in any living race, but occurs oftener among primitive
peoples than it does among Europeans.

In 5863 the exostoses for the attachment of muscles are well
developed.

Cat. No. 5864 (Male) 5863 (Fern.)

Right Left Right Left

Max. length 297 293

Ant. post. diam. at middle 27 26 19 19

Lateral diam. at middle 19 19 14 14

Index at middle 73-O8 73-68 73.68

Humero femoral index 68.85 67.28 73-69 72.70

Radius. — The radii are strongly built, but perfectly normal.
The radio-humeral index agreed fairly well with that given by
Hrdlicka, although the absolute measurements were somewhat
greater.

RADIUS (MEASUREMENTS)

Cat. No. 5864 (Male) 5863 (Fern.)

Right Left Right

Max. length 252 247 213

Radio-humeral index 75-OO 75.07 71.71

ULNA

Cat. No. 5864 '.Male) 5863 (Fern.)

Max. length 270 271 233

Femur. — In 5864 the femora are powerfully built, and exceed in
length the average for both whites and Indians. The longest femur
among the specimens from Smith sound described by Hrdlicka was
467, while the average for males was 380.9, as opposed to 489 in this
specimen. 5863 also exceeds either of the adult females described
by him, being 403, as opposed to 386 for the larger of his specimens,
which he expressly states was fairly tall for an individual from the
eastern group. This length is the more remarkable in that the
femora in question (5863) have an excessive forward curve, and very
heavy shaft. The entire surface of the bone is slightly roughened,
and the gluteal ridge and linea aspera are excessively developed,
giving the specimens a disproportionate anterior posterior diameter
at the middle. The whole appearance of the bone is very primitive.

1 Dr. D. S. Lamb, "The Olecranon Perforation," American Anthropologist, Vol.
III.. 1890.

242 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

Cat. No. 5864 (Male) 5863 (Fern.)

Right Left Right Lett

Max. length 488 489 403 403

Ant. post. diam. at middle (A) 32 32 31 30

Lat. diam. at middle (B) 30 29 24 23

Index (B/A) 93.75 90.63 77.42 76.67

Min. ant. post diam. at greatest expanse of

upper flattening (C) 30 29 24 23

Min. lateral diam. at upper flattening (A) . 36 35.5 29 28

Index of flattening (C/D) 83.33 81.67 82.75 82.07

Tibia. — The tibiae in both cases are quite normal, although in
5863 the oblique line is strongly developed and the entire surface
slightly roughened, as in the femora of this specimen. The length
of the tibiae of 5864 is somewhat above the average for white males,
although that of 5863 is slightly below the figures given for white
females. In the former the right tibia is 8 mm. longer than the
left. The tibio-femoral index was above 84, thus showing a greater
proportional length of tibia than in the Smith sound group, or even
whites. The anterior posterior diameters were also found to be
somewhat greater than for whites of corresponding sexes. This
shows a considerable variation from the Smith sound group, in
which they were less. On the whole, it seems that the Alaskan
Eskimo have much longer and stronger legs than their eastern
relatives, a difference which can be easily accounted for by their
habit of taking long hunting expeditions on foot, and by their use
of the roomy umiak instead of the kayak, which cramps the legs.
A more certain and plentiful supply of food during the period of
growth may also be an important factor in insuring a good develop
ment of the long bones.

TIBIA (MEASUREMENTS)

Cat. No. 5864' (Male) 5863 (Fern.)

Right ' Left Right Left

Max. length 415 407 341 341

Ant. post. diam. at middle (A) 32 31 27 28

Lat. diam. at middle (B) 24 22.5 17.5 18

Index (B/A) 75-oo 72.58 62.11 64.29

Tibio-femoral index 85.04 83.39 84.61 84.61

Max. ant. post. diam. at nutritive fora
men (C) 35 34 28.5 29

Max. lat. diam. at nutritive foramen (D) .. 27.5 25.5 19 18

Index (D/C) .. . 78.5? 75-Oo 66.66 62.07

HAWKES] SKELETAL MEASUREMENTS, POINT BARROW ESKIMO 243

Fibula. — The fibulae are well developed. In both cases they are
slightly longer on the left than on the right side, thus disagreeing
with Hrdlicka's observations, according to which the bone was
longer on the right.

Cat. No. 5864 (Male) 5863 (Fern.)

Max. length 399 403 326 327

PATELLAE

Cat. No. 5864 (Male)

Righi Left

Length 46 45.5

Breadth 49 48

Thickness 20 21

Os CALCIS

Cat. No. 5864 (Male)

Right Left

Height at middle between eleva
tions 45.5 44

Breadth at middle minimum 29 28

No. of facets for the astragalus .... 3 3

BIBLIOGRAPHY
J. BERNARD DAVIS

Thesaurus Craniorum. (Small number of Eskimo crania from various sections.)
F. VIRCHOW

Crania Ethnica Americana. (Labrador Crania, also study of child's cranium.)
EMIL BESSELS

Einige Worte iiber des Inuit des Smith Sunder nebst Bemerkungen iiber Inuit
Schadel. (Archiv fur Anthropologie, Band VIII, 1875, p. 107.) (Large
number of cranial measurements, but no sexual distinction.)
FRANZ BOAS

(a) Physical types of the Indians of Canada (Archaeological Report, Toronto,

1906, p. 84). (Valuable comparison of Eskimo and Indian types.)
(6) Stone's measurements of Natives of North West Territories (Bulletin of
the American Museum of Natural History, 14, 1901). (Comparative
living measurements of natives of Alaska).
ALES HRDLICKA

Contribution to the Anthropology of the Central and Smith Sound Eskimo
(Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History, Vol. V,
Part II). (Intensive study of Southampton island crania, also measure
ments of Smith sound Eskimo.)
DUCKWORTH AND PAIN

Contribution to Eskimo Craniology (Journal of Anthropological Institute,
Vol. 30, 1910). (Valuable outline of Eskimo cranial characteristics and
variation between head and skull measurements.)

244 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 18, 1916

ARTHUR THOMPSON

A Consideration of Some of the More Important Factors Concerned in the
Production of Man's Cranial Form (Journal Anthropological Institute, 1903).
(Includes formulation of mandibular and coronoid indices.)
F. H. S. KNOWLES

The Glenoid Fossa in the Skull of the Eskimo (Museum Bulletin No. 9, Canadian
Geological Survey). (Suggestive study of the relation of food to the shallow-
ness of the Glenoid Fossa.)
A. H. THOMPSON

The Ethnology of the Teeth (Chicago Dental Society). (Study of the char
acteristics of the teeth in primitive races.)
D. J. CUNNINGHAM

Lumbar Curve in Man and the Apes (Royal Irish Academy, 1886). (Methods

of working out lumbar curve, and comparative tables.)
FRANK RUSSELL

Explorations in the Far North (University of Iowa, 1898). (Mackenzie River

Eskimo Crania.)
STEFANSSON-ANDERSON EXPEDITION.

Anthropological Papers Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist., Vol. XIV, Pt. I, 1914.
GEORGE L. OTIS

List of Specimens in the Anatomical Section of the U. S. A. Medical Museum,

1880.
SIR WILLIAM TURNER

Report on the Human Skeleton (Challenger Reports, Vol. XVI, Pt. 47).
(Valuable comparison of anatomical features of various races, including
Eskimo.)

Ibid., Vol. X (Craniology, including the Eskimo).
W. ARBUTHNOT LANE

Some Variations in the Human Skeleton (Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,
Vol. 20, Third Part). (Description of occurrence of thirteenth dorsal
vertebra.)
D. S. LAMB

The Olecranon Perforation (American Anthropologist, Vol. Ill, 1890).
W. H. FLOWER AND J. C. GARSON

Scapular Index as a Race Character in Man (Journal of Anatomy and Physi
ology, Vol. 14, Part i).

WISTAR INSTITUTE,

PHILADELPHIA, PA.

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