Recent discoveries attributed to early man in America / Aleš Hrdlička.

  • Alex Hrdlicka
Date:
1918
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Recent discoveries attributed to early man in America / Aleš Hrdlička. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Astragalus Length, maxi¬ mum Breadth, maxi¬ mum Height, maxi¬ mum Module . (mean diam.) Breadth- length index Height- length index Yero Skeleton II, right. cm. (5.4 cm. 4. 4 cm.. 3.4 cm. 4.73 68. 7 58. 7 Florida (at large), right, male.. 5.91 4.14 3.2 4.42 7 0.1 54-2 Sioux, right, male. (j. 14 4. 54 3. 43 4. 71 74. 0 56. 1 Munsee, right, male. 5. 7 4.27 3. 27 4. 41 74.9 57. 4 United States, whites. 6.3 4.5 3.4 4. 73 71. 6 53.8 As in the case of Skeleton I from Yero, the astragalus is marked by somewhat excessive length; but there are not a few individual Indian astragali from Florida and elsewhere which duplicate its proportions. Its very close approximation in both absolute and relative proportions to the astragalus of the whites is probably accidental. The remaining few bones of the foot are without special interest. Considering the skeleton as a whole, the conclusion is inevitable that it is that of an Indian; yet there remains some persistent doubt whether it is not the skeleton of a white-Indian individual. If not, there remain only two other possibilities: one that it is an excep¬ tional, superior skeleton of a Florida Indian of Algonquian origin, the other that it belonged to an individual from some non-Floridian tribe. It should be once more emphasized, however, that all the features in which the various parts of the skeleton differ from those of an ordinary Florida Indian are features pointing toward higher or more modern development. There is no feature of the skeleton that would suggest even remotely an individual more ancient or anthropologically more primitive than the Indian. Additional Human Bones from Yero Xear Skeleton IT was found a tooth which is characteristically and most typically Indian (fig. 8). It is an upper median incisor, proba¬ bly of the left side, and belonged to an advanced adolescent or a young adult, possibly a female. Tts dimensions are: Total length, 2.0 cm.; maximum breadth of crown, 0.85 cm. The cutting edge is but slightly worn, as frequently found in Indian adolescents; the outer surface is decidedly convex from above down; and the inner or buccal surface is deeply hollowed out, or shovel-shaped, as is typical with Indians. With rare exceptions such hollowing out is met with only among Indians and the more closely related branches of the yellow-brown race.
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