Older Anthropometric Data on the Western Eskimo
STATURE AND OTHER MEASUREMENTS ON THE LIVING
The earliest actual measurements of the living among the western Eskimo are those given in Captain Beechey's Narrative (1832, p. 226), where we read that of the Eskimo of Cape Thompson (north of Kotzebue Sound) "the tallest man was 5 feet 9 inches (175.3 centimeters), the tallest woman 5 feet 4 inches (162.6 centimeters) in height." As seen before, Beechey also stated that the stature of the Eskimo increases from the east to the west.
In 1881-82, Lieutenant Ray collects and in 1885 reports evidently careful measurements of 51 men and 30 women from the villages of Uglaamie, at Cape Smythe, now Barrow, and Nuwuk, on Point Barrow.[96] An abstract of the data shows as follows:
- Average height: Male, 5 feet 3½ inches (161.3 centimeters); female, 4 feet 11¾ inches (151.8 centimeters).
- Average weight: Male, 153⅗ pounds; female, 135⅔ pounds.
- Tallest male: 5 feet 8¾ inches (174.6 centimeters).
- Tallest female: 5 feet 3 inches (160 centimeters).
- Shortest male: 4 feet 11 inches (149.9 centimeters).
- Shortest female: 4 feet ½ inch (123.2 centimeters).
- Weight: Male, 126 to 204 pounds; female, 106 to 172 pounds.
In 1892, in connection with the preparation of the anthropological exhibits for the World Exposition at Chicago, an extensive effort was made under the direction of Frederick W. Putnam and Franz Boas to secure, by the help of a group of specially instructed students, physical data on many tribes of the American aborigines, and this included a contingent of the western Eskimo. An abstract of the results was reported by Boas in 1895.[97] The locality where the Eskimo were measured is not given, but it was most likely Nome or St. Michael Island. Thirty-four men gave the high (for the Eskimo) average of 165.8 centimeters, an unstated number of women an equally elevated average of 155.1 centimeters. No details are given. There is also given the mean and distribution of the cephalic index on 114 living western Eskimo of both sexes. (On chart, p. 395, the number is 141.) The mean index was 79.2. There are again, as under Stature, no details as to locality, and none could be obtained from the author.
In 1901 Deniker, in his Races of Man (p. 580), reports the stature of 85 Eskimo of Alaska, doubtless males, as 163 centimeters. There are no details, no references, and I have not been able to trace the source of the measurement.
During the years 1897-1899 A. J. Stone made an extended journey along a portion of the upper Yukon and through parts of northwestern Alaska and the Mackenzie River basin, for the American Museum of Natural History. On this journey he made some measurements of Indian and Eskimo, and these were published in 1901 by Franz Boas.[98] The Eskimo measured were the "Nunatagmiut" (11 males, 5 females), of the Noatak River, Alaska, and the "Koukpagmiut," (12 males, 6 females), east of the mouth of the Mackenzie. The Noataks, who alone interest us more closely here, gave the relatively high (for Eskimo) stature of 167.9 centimeters in the men and 155.6 centimeters in the women. The number of subjects is small and there may possibly have been some unconscious selection; yet it is clear that in this group there are numerous fairly tall individuals.
| Males (11) | Females (5) | |
|---|---|---|
| Stature | 167.9 | 155.6 |
| Stretch of arms | 173.0 | 159.2 |
| Height of shoulder | 139.7 | 128.4 |
| Length of arm | 73.9 | 66.0 |
| Height sitting | 86.8 | 81.8 |
| Width of shoulders | 38.0 | 34.2 |
| Length of head | 18.9 | 18.1 |
| Width of head | 15.45 | 14.26 |
| Width of face | 15.57 | 14.46 |
| Height of face | 12.84 | 11.98 |
| Height of nose | 5.63 | 5.3 |
| Width of nose | 3.76 | 3.34 |
| Index of stretch of arms | 103.1 | 102.4 |
| Index of arm | 42.6 | |
| Index of height sitting | 52.6 | 52.4 |
| Index of width of shoulders | 22.6 | 22 |
| Cephalic index | 81.6 | 78.8 |
In addition, Doctor Jenness, in 1913, measured 13 adult male Point Hope Eskimo for stature, head length, and head breadth.[99] He obtained the following records:
| Stature | Head length | Head breadth | Cephalic index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 160.5 | 19.7 | 15.1 | 76.6 |
| 168.5 | 19.6 | 14.7 | 75.0 |
| 167.3 | 19.4 | 14.5 | 74.7 |
| 162.9 | 21.0 | 14.6 | 69.5 |
| 162.4 | 19.2 | 14.5 | 75.5 |
| 167.8 | 19.5 | 14.9 | 76.4 |
| 170.2 | 18.8 | 14.7 | 78.2 |
| 170.4 | 18.8 | 14.8 | 78.7 |
| 168.3 | 19.4 | 15.3 | 78.8 |
| 174.3 | 18.6 | 15.1 | 81.1 |
| 158.3 | 18.7 | 15.4 | 82.3 |
| 168.2 | 19.2 | 16.3 | 84.9 |
| 167.3 | 18.7 | 15.9 | 85.0 |
| Means[100] | |||
| 168.2 | 19.28 | 15.06 | 78.1 |
Doctor Jenness[101] also gives useful data on the stature and cephalic index of living Eskimo from other localities which, with the addition of the sources and a slightly different arrangement, are here reproduced:
| Place | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | Stature | Cases | Stature | |
| Smith Sound (Steensby) | 8 | 157.4 | 10 | 145.4 |
| S. W. Greenland (Hansen) | 21 | 157.6 | 24 | 151.8 |
| Labrador (Duckworth and Pain) | 11 | 157.7 | 10 | 149.7 |
| Smith Sound (Hrdlička)[102] | 3 | 157.7 | ||
| S. E. Greenland (Hansen) | 22 | 160.4 | 23 | 152.9 |
| Point Barrow (Ray) | 51 | 161.5 | 28 | 153.6 |
| Hudson Bay (South Island and Aivilik) | ||||
| (S. I. 35, Tocher; A. 9, Boas) | 44 | 162.0 | 12 | 151.8 |
| Mackenzie Delta (Jenness) | 4 | 162.2 | ||
| N. E. Greenland (Hansen) | 31 | 164.7 | 15 | 155.1 |
| Coronation Gulf (Jenness) | 82 | 164.8 | 42 | 156.4 |
| Iglulik, Hudson Bay (Parry) | 20 | 166.0 | 20 | 153.7 |
| Point Hope (Jenness) | 13 | 166.5 | ||
| Mackenzie Delta (Stone) | 12 | 167.5 | 6 | 151.5 |
| Noatak River (Stone) | 11 | 167.9 | 5 | 155.5 |
| Place | Men | Women | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases | Stature | Cases | Stature | |
| Mackenzie Delta (Stone) | 12 | 73.9 | ||
| Mackenzie Delta (Jenness) | 4 | 76.1 | 6 | 75.2 |
| Southeast Greenland (Hansen) | 22 | 75.7 | 23 | 75.0 |
| Labrador (Duckworth and Pain) | 11 | 77.0 | 10 | 74.5 |
| Hudson Bay (Tocher and Boas) | 35 | 77.2 | ||
| Coronation Gulf (Jenness) | 82 | 77.6 | 42 | 76.6 |
| Northeast Greenland (Hansen) | 31 | 77.8 | 15 | 76.5 |
| Smith Sound (Steensby) | 8 | 78.0 | 10 | 77.4 |
| Southwest Greenland (Hansen) | 21 | 78.1 | 24 | 76.8 |
| Point Hope (Jenness) | 13 | [104]78.3 | ||
| Noatak River (Stone) | 11 | 81.6 | 5 | 78.8 |