Contributions to the craniology of the people of the empire of India / by Sir Wm. Turner.

  • William Turner
Date:
1899-1901
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Contributions to the craniology of the people of the empire of India / by Sir Wm. Turner. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    palato-maxillary index in one was brachyuranic, in the other mesuranic. In one the com])lete facial index was chamseprosopic, in the other high-faced leptoprosopic. The teeth were somewhat worn from use; the canine and incisor fossae were deep. The cranial sutures were distinct. In one there were no irregular ossifications ; in the other the right pterion had a large epipteric bone. The muscular ridges and processes were well marked. In one the cubic capacity, 1414, was mesocephalic; in the other, 1235 c.c., microcephalic. The lower jaw was well proportioned and possessed a square chin. Another skull from Manbhiim, an adult male. No. 407 in the Indian Museum, is marked “ race unknown.” It is a characteristic specimen of a scaphocephalic cranium. Although not known to be a Bhiimij, yet as it came from Manbhum, it is convenient to describe its characters here. The skull was greatly elongated and narrow, strongly keeled in the sagittal region, and with the suture obliterated; the lambdoidal suture was almost completely obliterated, but the coronal and the lateral longitudinal sutures were to all appearance unossified. The glabella and supra-orbital ridges were prominent, and the nasion was depressed. The nasal bones were short and prominent. The canine and incisive fossae were deep. The nasal spine of the superior maxillae was moderate. The dimensions of the skull are given in Table IV. The modifications in shape produced by the premature closure of the sagittal and lambdoidal sutures have, however, deprived this skull of any ethnic significance. It will be seen from the Table that owing to the elongation of the cranium and the diminished parieto-squamous breadth, the length- breadth index is only 64'4. The cubic capacity, 1410 c.c., is apparently not affected by the cranial deformity. Turi. Table IV. The Turis are a non-Aryan tribe or caste, living in Chiita Ndgpur. In his account of these people Mr Risley states that they are without doubt a Hinduised offshoot of the Mundas. He adduces in support of this opinion the following:—They use amongst themselves a dialect of Mundari; their totems correspond closely with those in force amongst the Mundas ; their original religion is closely akin to the form of animism current among the Mundas. The Turis are cultivators and makers of baskets. They are, like the Mundas and Oraons, lax in articles of food. Each sub-caste is strictly endogamous. Girls usually marry as adults and widows can marry again. The caste is small, and in 1881 num- bered apparently about 30,000 persons. Two crania, marked Turi, are in the Indian Museum. No. 22 is that of Bitna, from Surungee. He was 28 years old ; 5 feet 4 inches high ; hair black, straight; eyes black, small; no beard or whiskers. No. 23, Sookeam, was from Teerrah. He was 35 years old; 5 feet 3 inches high ; hair black, straight; eyes black ; no beard or whiskers. Both men had been hanged in Ranchi jail as murderers.