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Dr. Morton, in his Crania Americana, has presented a number of examples of skulls from the mounds. Five of these are from mounds within the United States, and three are from the sepulchral tumuli of Peru. Those of the United States were obtained,—one from the Grave creek mound, one from a mound near the junction of the French Broad and Tennessee rivers in Tennessee, one from a mound on the Alabama river, one from a mound near Circleville in Ohio, and one from a mound on the Upper Mississippi. The first two may be regarded as genuine remains of the mound-builders; but it is more than probable, for reasons already advanced, that the rest are skulls of the recent Indians, who, as we have seen, often buried in the mounds. Numbers of these have been discovered by the authors in the mounds, and the measurements of four of them are introduced in the following comparative table, A, where they are indicated by an asterisk. This table exhibits the measurements of the mound skull discovered by the authors; of the eight skulls described by Dr. Morton; of four modern skulls recovered from the mounds; of a skull taken from the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, three thousand yards from its mouth, and now in the possession of Messrs. FOWLERS & WELLS, of New York; and also of the skull of a mummy or desiccated body, taken from the same cave, and now in the Museum of the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass. It will be seen that the conclusion already adopted respecting three of the skulls noticed in the Crania Americana, are sustained by the general coincidence in measurements between them and those indubitably of recent date.
The comparatively large facial angle and great internal capacity of the skull figured in the plate cannot fail to attract attention. The mean internal capacity of the eight heads presented by Dr. Morton is but eighty-one cubic inches, while the facial angle does not exceed seventy-five degrees. The accompanying table, B, exhibiting the mean results of Dr. Morton’s measurements of American aboriginal heads, as compared with the skull in question, and the mean measurements of the skulls supposed to pertain to the race of the mounds, may not prove unacceptable.
According to the same authority, the mean internal capacity of the Caucasian head is 87 cubic inch; of the Mongolian, 83; Malay, 81; American, 82; Ethiopian, 78.
From what has been presented, it will be seen that the skull here described exhibits, in a marked degree, the cranial characteristics of the American race, of which it may be regarded as a perfect type. Whether its peculiarities of form may not be, in part, artificial, it is not assumed to determine. It may nevertheless be observed, that the Natchez and Peruvians, as also many of the savage tribes, moulded the heads of their children in a variety of forms. The naturally vertical occiput was undoubtedly generally rendered the more marked by the almost universal practice of lashing the infant with its back against a board, by which it was suspended or carried about.
Several of the inferior maxillary bones of the mound skeletons have been recovered, nearly entire. They are remarkable for their massiveness, and seem to have been less projecting than those pertaining to the skeletons of a later date. p291
- TABLE A.—COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF CRANIA.
- Cranium
- A - Mound-builder, From a Mound in the Scioto Valley.
- B - Mound-builder, From the Grave Creek Mound.
- C - Mound-builder, From a Mound in Tennessee.
- D - From a Tumulus Near Santa in Peru (Small).
- E - From a Tumulus in the Valley of Rimac in Peru.
- F - From a Tumulus in the Valley of Rimac in Peru (Small).
- G - ? From a Mound on the Upper Mississippi.
- H - ? From a Mound Near Circleville, Ohio
- I - ? From a Mound in Alabama.
- J - Recent Indian, From a Mound in the Scioto Valley.
- K - Recent Indian, From a Mound in the Scioto Valley.
- L - Recent Indian, From a Mound in the Scioto Valley.
- M - Recent Indian, From a Mound in the Scioto Valley.
- N - From the Mammoth Cave, Kentucky.
- O - Skull of a Mummy Taken From the Great Cave in Kentucky, Now in the Museum of Am. Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
- Cranium
- Cranium
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- Longitudinal diameter
- 6.5
- 6.6
- 6.6
- 6.2
- 6.9
- 6.5
- 7.1
- 7.3
- Inter-parietal diameter
- 6
- 6
- 5.6
- 5.4
- 5.6
- 5.6
- 5.3
- 5.8
- Vertical diameter
- 6.2
- 5?
- 5.6
- 4.9
- 5.1
- 5
- 5.5
- 5.4
- Frontal diameter
- 4.5
- —
- 4.1
- 4.3
- 4.4
- 4.5
- 4.8
- 4.4
- Inter-mastoid arch,
- 16
- —
- 15.2
- 14.6
- 15.3
- 14.7
- 14.6
- 14.6
- Inter-mastoid line,
- 4.5
- —
- 4.4
- 3.8
- 4.3
- 3.8
- 4.2
- 4.2
- Occipito-frontal arch,
- 13.8
- —
- 14
- 13.3
- 14
- 13.2
- 14.6
- 14.1
- Horizontal periphery,
- 19.8
- —
- 19.5
- 18.5
- 19.7
- 19.2
- 20
- 20.3
- Facial angle,
- 81°
- 78°
- 80°
- 71°
- 72°
- 74°
- 79°
- 76°
- Internal capacity,
- 90
- —
- 80
- 74.5
- 79
- 76.5
- 85.5
- 86.5
- Cranium
- I
- J*
- K*
- L*
- M*
- N
- O
- Longitudinal diameter
- 5.9
- 7.5
- 7.1
- 6.8
- 6.6
- 6.1
- 6.7
- Inter-parietal diameter
- 6.6
- 5.3
- 5.6
- 5.7
- 5.2
- 5.4
- 5.5
- Vertical diameter
- 5.1
- 5.6
- 5.6
- 5.5
- 5.4
- 5.6
- 6.2
- Frontal diameter
- 4.4
- 4.7
- 4.9
- 4.7
- 4.3
- 4.4
- 4.5
- Inter-mastoid arch,
- 15.6
- 15.5
- 14.8
- 14.6
- 14.3
- 14.5
- 13.5
- Inter-mastoid line,
- 4.4
- 4.3
- 4.4
- 4.4
- 3.8
- 4.4
- 5
- Occipito-frontal arch,
- 12.4
- 15.4
- 14.2
- 14.3
- 13.7
- 13.6
- —
- Horizontal periphery,
- 19.6
- 21
- 20.3
- 20
- 18.6
- 18.4
- 19.7
- Facial angle,
- 72°
- 76°
- 77°
- —
- 70°
- 78°
- 61° 52ʹ
- Internal capacity,
- 80
- —
- —
- —
- —
- 75
Cranium | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | |
Longitudinal diameter | 6.5 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 7.1 | 7.3 |
Inter-parietal diameter | 6 | 6 | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 5.8 |
Vertical diameter | 6.2 | 5? | 5.6 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5 | 5.5 | 5.4 |
Frontal diameter | 4.5 | — | 4.1 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.4 |
Inter-mastoid arch, | 16 | — | 15.2 | 14.6 | 15.3 | 14.7 | 14.6 | 14.6 |
Inter-mastoid line, | 4.5 | — | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 3.8 | 4.2 | 4.2 |
Occipito-frontal arch, | 13.8 | — | 14 | 13.3 | 14 | 13.2 | 14.6 | 14.1 |
Horizontal periphery, | 19.8 | — | 19.5 | 18.5 | 19.7 | 19.2 | 20 | 20.3 |
Facial angle, | 81° | 78° | 80° | 71° | 72° | 74° | 79° | 76° |
Internal capacity, | 90 | — | 80 | 74.5 | 79 | 76.5 | 85.5 | 86.5 |
Cranium | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
I | J* | K* | L* | M* | N | O | |
Longitudinal diameter | 5.9 | 7.5 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 6.7 |
Inter-parietal diameter | 6.6 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.5 |
Vertical diameter | 5.1 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 6.2 |
Frontal diameter | 4.4 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.5 |
Inter-mastoid arch, | 15.6 | 15.5 | 14.8 | 14.6 | 14.3 | 14.5 | 13.5 |
Inter-mastoid line, | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 5 |
Occipito-frontal arch, | 12.4 | 15.4 | 14.2 | 14.3 | 13.7 | 13.6 | — |
Horizontal periphery, | 19.6 | 21 | 20.3 | 20 | 18.6 | 18.4 | 19.7 |
Facial angle, | 72° | 76° | 77° | — | 70° | 78° | 61° 52ʹ |
Internal capacity, | 80 | — | — | — | — | 75 | |
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