[From the American Anthropologist for June, 1897] WORMIAN BONES IN ARTIFICIALLY DEFORMED KWAKIUTL CRANIA GEORGE A. DORSEY After a somewhat careful examination of the available medical literature, and especially of the standard textbooks of anatomy, such as Quain, Testut, and the chapter on the skull by Spee in the forthcoming anatomy of von Bardeleben, I fail to find any special mention or reference to any paper on the occurrence of wormian bones in the coronal suture, or in the sutures of crania which have been artificially deformed. It seems that the subject is well worthy of more extended investigation, and I believe that in the collection of Kwakiutl skulls under consideration we have proof, in the unusual frequency of wormian bones in the coronal suture, that artificial pressure on the head of the child has a ten- dency to lead to anomalous conditions in the suture which is most intimately effected. That artificial pressure exerts an in- fluence on the degree of serration of sutures as well as a disturb- ance in the normal time of closure of such sutures can, it seems to me, be reasonably demonstrated by a study of Peruvian crania, where within close limits we find the two extreme types of arti- ficial deformation. The Kwakiutl skulls in the Field Columbian Museum number about 60. Of these 35 are of adults, with sutures open or par- tially so, and hence suitable for examination, and percentages to be made hereafter will be based on the latter number. These skulls have all been artificially deformed by bandages which encircled the head in the region of the coronal suture and passed backward and downward over asterion. AH the skulls, more- 22 169 170 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X over, show to a greater or less extent the effect of pressure on the frontal bone. The series may be roughly divided into two groups: those which show the force of the bandage in the form of a broad, deep groove at or just behind the coronal suture, and those which do not show a groove. In the first group I have recorded 9 cases and in the second one case of one or more wormian bones in the coronal suture, thus making 10 in all. I copy from my notes Fig. 1. the essential points in regard to these 10 skulls, beginning with the single skull in the second group first. No. 40521.1-Skull of male; only moderately elongated; no trace of groove; coronal suture obliterated on each side below stephanion; epipteric bone at right and left pterion, and four wormian bones in left coronal suture just above stephanion. No. 40696.-Skull of female; slightly elongated; coronal groove not present except at sides; coronal suture almost entirely effaced, but three small wormian bones in the left and two in the right coronal can just barely be seen. i Of the Field Museum Catalogue. June 1897] WORMIAN BONES IN KWAKIUTL CRANIA 171 No. 40568.-Skull of female; slightly elongated; coronal groove faintly indicated; large wormian bone in left coronal suture. No. 40523.-Skull of female; sutures almost entirely obliter- ated ; slight coronal groove; two medium-sized wormian bones in left and one in right coronal suture. No. 40500.-Skull of female; moderately elongated; well de- veloped corona] depression ; large epipteric at left pterion; three small wormian bones in both right and left coronal suture. No. 40693.-Skull of male; excessively elongated; deep, broad groove just posterior to coronal suture; three wormian bones in both right and left coronal suture, one measuring 7 x 20 mm. Fig. 2. No. 40786.-Skull of female; greatly elongated; deep groove just behind coronal suture; sutures almost entirely obliterated ; traces of one wormian bone in the right and three in the left coronal suture. No. 40669.-Skull of male; excessively elongated; well de- fined, broad, deep groove just at and behind coronal suture; suture effaced below stephanion on both sides. In the left cor- onal suture there is an irregular, long, narrow wormian bone which measures 12 x 50 mm.; on the right side there are three wormian bones, one immediately after the other, and measuring together 40 x 10 mm. There is thus on each side almost a double coronal suture. (See figure 1.) 172 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X No. 40509.-Skull of young female; basilar synchondrosis par- tially open; much depressed about frontal region and very greatly elongated; broad groove behind coronal suture; three good-sized wormian bones in the right and two in the left cor- onal suture. (See figure 2.) Fig. 3. No. 40672.-Skull of male; frontal bone artificially flattened ; excessively elongated-the most pronounced of the series; broad, deep groove just behind the coronal suture; five wormian bones in the right, three of which are of large size, and two in the left coronal suture, one of which measures 12 x 21 mm. (See figure 3.) The frequency of occurrence for each sex and for the right and left side may be seen in the following table : Males. Females. Right. Left. Right. Left. Frequency of wormian bones in the coronal suture 3 4 5 6 June 1897] WORMIAN BONES IN KWAKIUTL CRANIA 173 It is thus seen that the percentage of frequency is slightly more in the females than in males, and on the left side than on the right. Both these conclusions are opposed to those reached by M. Chambellan,1 who has made a special study of the fre- quency, etc., of wormian bones. In regard to the percentage of frequency for the whole series and the causes which lead to its unusual size, one in three and five-tenths, I can only explain it by the presence of the evidences of bandaging in early life and by the fact that the percentage of frequency becomes the greater as we ascend the scale of length of the cranium due to artificial elongation, and just in direct proportion to a deep, well-defined groove behind the coronal suture. These causes, together with artificial pressure on the frontal bone, prevented a normal fronto-parietal development. To remedy this abnormal condition, wormian bones-"stop- gaps," as Humphry calls them-are developed in the coronal suture. 1 "Etude anatomique et anthropologique sur les os Wormiens," Thdse, Paris, 1883. My knowledge of this paper is second hand and from several sources. I regret that I have not seen it. 174 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X THE LONG BONES OF KWAKIUTL AND SALISH INDIANS GEORGE A. DORSEY The measurements and indices in this paper have been taken after the manner described by Sir William Turner in the Chal- lenger Report,1 to which work reference is made for more detailed information in regard to the subject. The material examined comprises the following: 19 skeletons of the Kwakiutl race of Vancouver island, B. C., including those of 9 males and 10 females, and 15 skeletons of the Salish race, 13 of them being of the Vancouver Songish and 2 of the Sanitch tribes. Of the entire number, 10 are of males and 10 are of females. There are thus in all 34 skeletons, there being 19 of males and 15 of females. It will be noted that I have made no comment on the length of any of the bones measured, but have confined attention to the indices which have been determined from the measurements. At another time I shall consider the lengths of the bones of these and other skeletons from the North- west with a view of determining their stature. BONES OF THE UPPER LIMB I have made no observations on the ulna, and only the bones of the right side have been measured. In each bone I have de- termined, by means of an osteometric board, the maximum length ; this for the humerus is from the most projecting part of the head to the most projecting point on the surface of the trochlea; for the radius it includes the styloid process. While measuring the humerus the occurrence of perforation of the olecranon fossa was noted. This occurred five times in 32 bones, or about 15 percent. Wyman puts it at 31 percent for the Ohio mounds, and it has been determined by Hamy2 and Sauvages3 to occur in about 5 per cent of European humeri. Perforation of the olecranon fossa may be due, as Flower con- tends, to impoverishment or insufficient nourishment, but cer- 1 Challenger Report, vol. xvi, "Report on the Bones of the Human Skeleton," pp 89-114. 2 Peabody Museum Report, 1871. 3 Topinard, Elements d'Anthropologie GAnSrale, p. 1016. June 1897] LONG BONES OF KWAKIUTL AND SALISH INDIANS 175 tainly there is no evidence present in the other bones of these Northwest Coast peoples which supports this view. It may also be noted that in three of the perforated humeri their length ex- ceeded the average. In no humerus was there any indication of a supra-condyloid foramen or spine. Radio-humeral Index.-Table I presents a comparative view, both sexually and racially, of the measurements of the humerus and radius, together with the radio-humeral or antebrachial index, which is obtained from the formula: Maximum length of radius X 100 Maximum length of humerus. Table I Kwakiutl. Stilish. Humerus. Radius. Radio- humeral index. Humerus. Radius. Radio- humeral index. 342 274 74.2 308 241 78.2 297 235 79.1 312 237 75.9 295 222 74.9 324 240 74.0 302 234 77.4 352 269 76.4 Males - 307 237 73.9 302 235 77.8 310 237 76.4 287 237 82.5 324 240 74.9 313 231 73.8 348 252 72.7 306 244 79.7 304 304 219 239 72.0 78.6 Mean.. 310 239 77.0 315 240 76.1 r 304 218 71.7 287 205 71.4 272 208 76.4 307 226 73.6 263 205 78.7 291 211 72.5 300 215 71.6 297 232 78.8 Females... 290 214 73.7 284 231 81.3 292 213 73.1 285 214 75.0 291 218 74.9 i 303 227 74.8 Mean.. 288 216 75.0 295 219 75.1 Mean for both sexes . 76.0 Mean for both sexes. 74.2 176 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X On examining the indices there appears to be no appreciable difference between the two races, but a slight difference between the two sexes. This, together with the distribution of the in- dices, may be seen in the following table: Table II Turner's classifi- cation. Kwakiutl. Salish. .Kwa&ittiZ + Salish. Total. Index. 2 (T+2 2 c?+$ 2 cT+2 71 2 2 1 1 3 3 Brachykerkic... j 72 73 1 1 2 2 1 2 3 4 4 2 2 2 4 4 6 ■19 74 3 2 5 1 1 4 2 6 J f 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 76 i 1 2 1 1 2 1 3 77 1 1 2 2 b 12 78 1 1 2 2 2 1 3 I 79 2 2 2 2 80 81 1 1 1 } 2 82 1 1 It will be noticed that I have divided this table according to the classification proposed by Professor Turner. The average index, 75.5, falls into the mesatikerkic group, but as a matter of fact the majority of the indices fall within the limits of the brachykerkic group, i. e., a majority show a relatively long fora- men. In this respect these skeletons agree with Europeans, Lapps, Eskimos, and Samoyeds. It is greatly to be regretted there are no measurements available of other American races, but, except for a few single observations, the field seems never to have been touched. Apart from the distribution of the indices, it is interesting to note the wide range of variation as shown in Table II. In the table given by Topinard1 the highest average index is 79, while 1 Elements d'Anthropologie Gen6rale, p. 1043. June 1897] LONG BONES OE KWAKIUTL AND SAL1SII INDIANS 177 the lowest is 72. He gives, however, a single Eskimo with an index of 69.8. A few of the results incorporated in Turner's report also fall below 71, and a very few are higher than 82, but they are rare exceptions. I am inclined to believe that the people under consideration should be put into the brachykerkic division, notwithstanding the fact that the mean index just falls within the next group, for it is quite possible that one or two of the higher indices, espe- cially the two which fall within the dolichokerkic group, are due to intermixture with the Indians of the east or south. There is some very good evidence which points to the conclusion that the greater part of the aborigines of North America are mesatikerkic, while we should expect those of the Northwest coast to agree rather closely with the Eskimo and northern Asiatic peoples. BONES OF THE LOWER LIMB I have made no measurements of the femur or tibia to de- termine the amount of flattening, but I noted the presence of a well-defined third trochanter in three instances and an imper- fectly developed third trochanter in four others. The bones of the males are especially well marked with muscular ridges, and in many of the femora the pilastered form was strongly indicated. With the tibiae there is a well-marked tendency to the platycnemic form, but this is never as pronounced as it is in some of the Ohio mound tibia. Tibio-femoral Index.-The tibio-femoral index is determined by the formula XBoth bones are measured length of lemur by means of an osteometric board. The femur is measured in its natural or oblique position, and the tibia is measured from the condylar to the astragaloid surface-i. e., the spine and mal- leolus are excluded. The measurements and indices are seen in Table III. There appears to be no appreciable difference in the two races, but there is still a slight amount of variation in the two sexes, so that we may say that in the females the leg is shorter in pro- portion to the thigh than it is in the males, and in this, as in the radio-humeral index, the woman is further removed from the Australians, Negroes, et al. than are the men. To show the dis- 23 178 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X tribution I have arranged a table similar to Table II, but have not differentiated the sexes or races (Table IV). Professor Turner has proposed to make 83 the dividing line between dolichoknemic, or long legs, and brack yknemic, or short Table III Kwakiutl. Salish. Oblique- length femur. Condylar- astragaloid tibia. Tibio- femoral index. Oblique- length femur. Condylar- astragaloid tibia. Tibio- femoral index. r 481 386 80.2 392 317 80.8 400 332 83.0 403 325 80.6 395 311 78.7 424 341 80.4 406 332 81.7 475 373 78.5 Males.... 414 324 78.2 410 324 79.0 401 320 79.8 404 410 337 82.1 417 317 73.6 449 359 79.5 462 355 76.8 424 338 79.9 399 421 320 338 80.2 80.2 Mean. 441 337 80 0 420 334 79.2 r 403 328 81.2 395 311 78.7 397 314 78.0 402 310 77.1 390 307 78.7 429 331 77.1 397 314 80.0 391 316 80.8 Females. - 403 403 322 317 79.9 78.6 383 311 81.2 400 301 75.2 388 302 77.8 407 412 341 82.7 Mean. 400 314 78.5 400 315 78.7 Mean, both sexes 79.2 Mean, both sexes... 79.1 legs. In the first division he places the Australians, Tasmanians, Negroes, and Americans; in the second group are the Europe- ans, Lapps, Eskimos, Samoyeds, rt al. Reference to the table shows that out of 34 indices for the Northwest coast no single one falls within the dolichoknemic group, and in this respect, in June 1897] LONG BONES OF KWAKIUTL AND SALISH INDIANS 179 common with what we have seen in regard to the radio-humeral index, these people show close affinity to the Eskimo and north Asiatic people. Index. Frequency of occurrence. 73 1 74 75 1 76 1 77 3 78 7 79 5 80 8 81 3 82 2 83 1 Mean... 79.1 Table IV Attention may also be called to the extremely low indices in Table IV. The lowest tibio-femoral index recorded by Topinard is 78, omitting the dwarf Bebe, while Turner presents only one index, that of a male Lapp, from his entire series, which reaches the lowest of my series. UPPER AND LOWER EXTREMITIES COMPARED Intermembral Index.-The intermembral index is the relation of the length of the humerus and the radius to the length of the femur and tibia, the latter being 100. The formula is humerus + radius X 100 femur + tibia For the determination of this index, however, the maximum length of both femur and tibia (excluding spine) are taken, in order that the sum of their lengths may be comparable with that of the humerus and radius. In the following table the sum of the humerus and radius is given, as determined from the meas- urements in Table I, along with the maximum lengths of the femur and tibia, together with their sum, and the intermembral index. 180 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X Table V Kivakiutl. Femur. Tibia. F. + T. total. 11. + R. total. Inter- membral index. mm. r 486 397 883 616 69.7 403 342 745 532 71.4 397 318 715 517 72.3 411 343 754 536 71.0 Males -! 418 330 748 534 71.4 405 330 735 547 74.4 405 349 764 564 73.6 456 370 816 427 349 776 550 70.8 Mfian.. 424 347 770 549 71.4 r 407 337 774 522 70.1 400 323 723 480 66.4 394 311 ■ 707 468 66.4 402 328 728 515 70.7 Females 408 398 333 329 741 721 504 515 68.0 70.8 403 307 710 505 71.1 392 313 705 499 70.8 410 509 419 352 771 530 68.7 Mean.. 403 325 728 504 69.2 Salish. f 397 327 724 549 75.8 406 334 740 549 74.1 427 354 781 564 72.2 477 383 S60 621 72.2 Males 414 407 330 744 537 524 72.1 420 328 748 544 72.7 465 365 830 600 72.2 401 329 730 523 71.6 L 424 349 773 543 70.2 Mean.. 423 344 770 555 72.0 497 323 720 492 68.3 408 321 729 533 73.1 Females 432 338 770 502 65.1 398 328 724 385 322 707 529 70.4 Mean.. 404 322 730 514 70.4 June 1897] LONG BONES OE KWAKIUTL AND SALISH INDIANS 181 Arranging this to show variation in sex and the distribution of the indices, we have the following: Table VI Inter- membral index. c? 9 <?+ 9 65 i i 66 2 2 67 68 2 2 69 1 1 70 2 4 6 71 4 1 5 72 6 6 73 2 1 3 74 3 3 75 1 1 Mean... 71.6 69.8 70.7 The average index, 70.7, for the Northwest coast races is higher than that given by Broca1 or Flower2 for Europeans, and is only exceeded by that given by Turner for the Eskimos and Lapps- 73.4 and 72.8 respectively. The index given by Turner for the Australians is 68.7 ; for the Oahuans, 67.4; for the Maoris, 69.3. The highest intermembral index that I can find on record is that given by Turner of a female Lapp with an index of 74.9. He also records an index of 74.8 for a female Eskimo. In my table there are three instances where the index is 74 and two where it is 75. It is probable that this index of 75.8 (a Salish male) has never been exceeded. Femoro-humeral Index.-This is determined by the formula length of humerus X 100 jn poneg the maximum length length of lemur is taken ; these are given for the humerus in Table I and for the femur in Table V. In Table VII the femoro-humeral indices for both sexes of the two races combined are shown. According to the combined results of Broca and Flower, the femoro-humeral index in Europeans is 72.5. This is not ex- 1 Bull, de la Soe. d'Anthrop., ser. 2, t. ii, p. 641, Nov. 21, 1867. 2 Quoted from Turner. 182 THE AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [Vol. X ceeded by the average of any races measured by Turner except the Eskimos and Lapps, which have the indices of 77.7 and 75.4 respectively. In my results there are seven indices which equal or exceed the index in the Lapps and one which surpasses the mean of the two Eskimos. Table VII Humero- femoral index. J' $ c?+ 9 66 1 1 67 1 1 68 1 1 69 70 2 2 4 71 2 1 3 72 4 4 73 5 5 74 3 2 5 75 1 1 2 76 2 2 77 1 1 2 78 1 1 Mean... 73.6 72.0 72.8 Summary.-The Kwakiutl and Salish Indians of British Co- lumbia have a radio-humeral index of 75.5, a tibio-humeral index of 79.1, an intermembral index of 70.7, and a femoro- humeral index of 72.8. These indices approach very closely, and indeed often equal, those which have been determined for the Eskimos, the Samoyeds, and the Lapps.