Man, Past and Present

by A. H. Keane

The Pre-Dravidians—The Kadir—The Paniyan—The Irula—The Kurumba—The Vedda—The Sakai—The Toala—Australia: Physical Conditions—Physical Type—Australian Origins—Evidence from Language and Culture—Four Successive Immigrations—Earlier Views—Material Culture—Sociology—Initiation Ceremonies—Totemism—The Family—Kinship—Property and Trade—Magic and Religion.

Conspectus.

Distribution.

Present Range. Jungle Tribes, Deccan; Vedda, Ceylon; Sakai, Malay Peninsula and East Sumatra; Australians, unsettled parts of Australia and reservations.

Hair, wavy to curly, long, usually black.

Physical Characters.

Colour, dark brown. Skull, typically dolichocephalic. Vedda skull dolichocephalic (70.5) and very small, Sakai mesaticephalic (78), Toala (mixed) low brachycephalic (82). Jaws, orthognathous. Australians, generally prognathous. Nose, usually platyrrhine. Stature, low. Vedda 1.53 m. (5 ft. 0½ in.) to Australian 1.575 m. (5 ft. 2 in.)

Mental Characters.

Speech, Jungle tribes, usually borrowed from neighbours. Australian languages agglutinative, not uniform throughout the continent and unconnected with any other group.

Culture, lowest hunting stage, simple agriculture has been adopted by a few tribes from their neighbours.