Geographical distribution of anthropological types in Wales / by H.J. Fleure and T.C. James.

  • H. J. Fleure
Date:
[1916?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Geographical distribution of anthropological types in Wales / by H.J. Fleure and T.C. James. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    is known of racial type amongst women and it is hoped to study this question independently later. The arguments in the present paper are from measurements of men between about 19 and 65 years of age, save where the contrary is stated. The above inquiries as to family history are, we think, a fairly new point in anthropological work on this scale; most previous workers seem to have been satisfied to take residents, and in some cases little was done to avoid getting chance visitors included. This raises the question of the numbers necessary for justifiable conclusions, and we have to point out here that Dr. Beddoe’s! series for South Wales included 66 individuals, though he says that this permits but scanty inferences, Indeed, he says little more than that the average cephalic index is 78. From more detailed observation of 16 cases he infers with less certainty a broad forehead, a small glabella, a somewhat low head, a somewhat short face, and a considerable lateral development of the zygoma. The total number measured for South England (including Gloucestershire) by Dr. Beddoe was just under 550, together with a few classed’ as educated Englishmen without statement of their place of origin or residence. The numbers for, the other districts touched were mostly quite small. It is thus seen that the facts of this principal authority rest ‘on what seems a slender basis, but it should be remembered that, in Dr. Beddoe’s case, the measurements were largely a supplement to an acute general observation of physical type, strangely accompanied, as his remarks frequently show, by misap- prehension in matters of psychical inference. Analysis of Observations. It is in reference to the analysis of observations that our methods have become most differentiated. At first, curves of cephalic indices and so forth were plotted in the accepted fashion, but it was found that our population was too mixed for this to have much real value. Sometimes the number of the long- — headed people in a district was sufficient to give that curve a very distinct form, but, frequently, there were fair dolichocephals as well as dark ones, and a curve of cephalic indices became confused unless it were constructed for either fairs or darks as the case might be. If, however, that were done, then the problem was to decide the limits of fairness or darkness, and the form of the curve depended on the limits chosen. Thus there was grave risk of argument in a circle, the besetting danger of anthropometrical research. The danger was increased by the fact that our method of analysis at that time necessitated choice of boundaries for the districts taken ; this proved difficult and dangerous, since the determination of limits of areas possessing characteristic types was one chief point at issue. Gradually, therefore, in order to avoid these dangers a plan was evolved of mapping people, individual by individual, on a large scale map. The individuals were designated by letters selected according to the accompanying table, so that 1 Beddoe, J., Races of Britain, 1885, p. ok
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