[44] A. Hrdlička.
SKELETAL PARTS OF THE YUKON ESKIMO
The next table gives the measurements of the long bones in both sexes in the Yukon Indian (for comparison), in the Yukon Eskimo, and in the western Eskimo, the latter coming mainly from the coast south of the Yukon and from the Nunivak and St. Lawrence Islands. The Yukon Eskimo material, collected from intact burials by the writer, is unfortunately limited to the northern mouth of the river. The skeletons from St. Lawrence Island were collected on the Smithsonian expedition to the place in 1912 by Riley D. Moore, 1927 expedition by H. B. Collins, jr., and T. D. Stewart, all of the National Museum.
The Yukon Eskimo show perceptibly longer bones than do either the Indians or the southeastern and midwestern Eskimo, indicating a somewhat taller stature.
The humerus in the males is less broad than either in the Indians or the midwestern and southwestern Eskimo and has as a consequence high shaft index; but in the females the index in the Yukon and western Eskimo series is identical. The radius is relatively even shorter in the Yukon that it is in the other Eskimo, giving low radio-humeral index.
The femur is notably less platymeric in the male and slightly less so in the female Yukon Eskimo than it is in both the Indians and the rest of the southwestern and midwestern Eskimo, giving a higher index at the upper flattening. The meaning of these facts is not obvious and they may undergo some modification with more material.
As to strength, measured by the mean diameter of the shafts, the Yukon Eskimo in comparison to the southwestern and midwestern show a slightly weaker humerus, and in the males a slightly weaker femur at middle, but in the males again, a slightly stronger tibia. If, however, the mean diameters of the bones are taken in relation to the length of the bones, then in both sexes and in all the parts the southwestern and midwestern Eskimo are slightly stronger. This would seem to indicate more exertion, with harder life, among the coastal and insular than among the river Eskimo. As a matter of fact Kotlik and the near-by Pastolik, from which our skeletons came, were favorably situated at the northern mouth of the river.
The Yukon Eskimo females, as compared with the males, have a somewhat weaker and especially somewhat flatter humerus, with a consequently lower shaft index; they have relatively even a shorter radius, giving a lower radio-humeral index; their humerus itself is relatively short, giving a lower humero-femoral index; their femur is relatively somewhat flatter at the upper flattening, giving a lower index of platymery; while their tibia is relatively less strong antero-posteriorly, resulting in an index that is more than four points higher than that of the males.
| Paired bones of the two sides | Male | Female | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yukon Indian | Yukon Eskimo | Southwestern and midwestern Eskimo | Yukon Indian | Yukon Eskimo | Southwestern and midwestern Eskimo | |
| Humerus: | (10) | (16) | (143) | (4) | (16) | (136) |
| Mean length (right and left) | 31.17 | 32.10 | 30.69 | 28.12 | 28.31 | 28.40 |
| At middle— | ||||||
| Diameter, major | 2.38 | 2.83 | 2.40 | 1.90 | 2.07 | 2.10 |
| Diameter, minor | 1.67 | 1.80 | 1.80 | 1.40 | 1.51 | 1.54 |
| Index | 70 | 78.2 | 75.1 | 73.7 | 73.2 | 73.2 |
| Radius: | (10) | (16) | (98) | (4) | (16) | (109) |
| Mean length | 23.61 | 23.44 | 22.90 | 21.10 | 20.18 | 20.50 |
| Radio-humeral index | 75.7 | 73 | 74.5 | 75 | 71.3 | 72.2 |
| Femur: | (14) | (22) | (195) | (8) | (27) | (132) |
| Mean length (bicond.) | 41.92 | 43.78 | 42.50 | 40.15 | 41.11 | 39.36 |
| Humero-femoral index | 74.5 | n. 73 | 72.2 | 73 | n. 69 | 72.2 |
| At middle— | ||||||
| Diameter antero-posterior maximum | 2.96 | 3.05 | 3.08 | 2.59 | 2.74 | 2.69 |
| Diameter lateral | 2.58 | 2.67 | 2.70 | 2.45 | 2.44 | 2.46 |
| Index | 87.1 | 87.6 | 87.6 | 94.7 | 88.8 | 91.5 |
| At upper flattening— | ||||||
| Diameter, maximum | 3.25 | 3.31 | 3.35 | 2.84 | 3.02 | 3.02 |
| Diameter, minimum | 2.30 | 2.57 | 2.51 | 2.16 | 2.27 | 2.26 |
| Index | 70.7 | 77.4 | 75 | 75.8 | 75.4 | 74.5 |
| Tibia: | (14) | (22) | (141) | (8) | (27) | (147) |
| Mean length (I. A.) | 34.19 | 35.14 | 33.86 | 31.97 | 32.01 | 31.32 |
| Tibio-femoral index | 81.5 | 80.3 | 79.7 | 79.6 | 79.8 | 79.6 |
| At middle— | ||||||
| Diameter antero-posterior maximum | 3.04 | 3.16 | 3.12 | 2.72 | 2.61 | 2.71 |
| Diameter, lateral | 2 | 2.15 | 2.12 | 1.82 | 1.90 | 1.89 |
| Index | 66 | 68.3 | 67.9 | 66.9 | 72.8 | 69.9 |