Anthropological Observations and Measurements on the Collections
Age.—The first observations made on the igloo material were those as to the individual ages of the bodies. Such observations are necessarily rough, yet within sufficiently broad limits fairly reliable. The criteria are principally the condition of the teeth and that of the sutures. The possible error in such estimates is, experience has shown, as a rule well within 10 years in the older and within 5 years in the young adults or subadults.
One of the objects of these observations on the "igloo" material was to get some further light on whether the remains were those of a group that perished of an epidemic, famine, or some other sudden agency, or whether they represented just burials. The age distribution of the dead would differ considerably in the two cases.
| IGLOO MATERIAL | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 to 25 | 30 to 40 | 45 to 55 | Above 55 | |
| Per cent | Per cent | Per cent | Per cent | |
| Males (27) | 11 | 15 | 41 | 33 |
| Females (25) | 16 | 24 | 44 | 16 |
| Mean, both sexes | 13.5 | 19 | 42.5 | 25 |
| SURFACE SERIES | ||||
| Males (21) | 5 | 48 | 48 | |
| Females (14) | 29 | 36 | 36 | |
| Mean, both sexes | 11.5 | 17 | 43 | 29.5 |
The above table shows the data obtained, with those on the surface material from the same collection and known to be that of ordinary burials.
The results do not agree with the composition of the living population but are apparently near to what might be expected in burials. Taking the sexes apart, the series from the surface shows a somewhat more favorable condition for the men, but worse for the women. Taking the materials, however, regardless of sex, the proportions of ages in the earlier igloos and in the late surface burials are practically identical. This points strongly against the idea of the igloo remains being those of people who either died there of starvation, of an epidemic, of being smothered, or of some other sudden affliction, and to their having been just ordinary burials.
To arrive at something still more definite, if possible, I appealed on the one hand to the United States Census and on the other to Doctor Dublin of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., New York, for data as to the distribution of ages among the dead, using the same age-categories as in the case of the "igloo" material. The data furnished by Miss E. Foudray through Dr. Wm. H. Davis, Chief Statistician of the Bureau of the Census, are particularly to the point. They are as follows:
| 20 to 24 | 25 to 44 | 45 to 54 | 55 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | 17.8 | 54.2 | 15.9 | 12.1 |
| Females | 19.4 | 53.3 | 15.9 | 11.4 |
| Both sexes | 18.6 | 53.7 | 15.9 | 11.8 |
| 20 to 24 | 25 to 44 | 45 to 54 | 55 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | 13.2 | 43.9 | 21.3 | 21.6 |
| Females | 11.9 | 47.0 | 19.5 | 21.6 |
| Both sexes | 12.6 | 45.4 | 20.4 | 21.6 |
There is a remarkable agreement of these figures with those obtained on both the Igloo and the Barrow surface burial material, except that for the two middle age series the figures are reversed. This may mean an error in the two respective estimates on the Indians, or it may mean that for these two ages the conditions among the Eskimo concerned were better than they were in 1900 among the Alaska Indians.
All the above, together with the details on the orderly treatment of the bodies, and the absence of such conditions as were encountered in the dead villages on St. Lawrence Island (Hooper, Nelson), inclines one to the conclusion that the Igloo remains, however exceptional the method for the Eskimo, were just burials.