Social and physical development.—Maritime habits rare and partial. Industrial arts limited. Foreign influences of all sorts inconsiderable.
Divisions.—1. The Papua Branch. 2. The Australian Branch. 3. The Tasmanian Branch(?).
The first question which may present itself to the reader is one as to the difference between the tribes that are now about to be described as Kelænonesian, and those which have already been described as Blacks of the Malay area. Both are really Negrito; and it has already been stated that both may be called so. The answer is—that Negrito is an ethnological, Kelænonesian, a geographical term. The first denotes black, or Black-like oceanic tribes wherever found; the latter black or Black-like tribes when found in definite areas, wherein they form the bulk of the population. Thus, in Amphinesia the Negrito is exceptional, in Kelænonesia normal, and vice versâ.
THE PAPUA BRANCH OF THE KELÆNONESIAN STOCK.
Latitude.—Southern tropic.
Area.—The islands off the north-west corner of New Guinea(?), New Guinea, New Britannia, New Ireland, Admiralty Isles, Louisiade, Solomon's Isles, Vanikoro(?), New Hebrides, New Caledonia, The Fiji Archipelago(?).
Direction.—South-east from New Guinea.
Physical conformation.—Kelænonesians with crisp, curly, frizzy, and woolly(?) rather than straight hair.
Probable origin.—North-eastern Protonesia.
Whether we take the Protonesian islands in the line from Timor to Moa, Sermatty, Timorlaut, the Keys, and the Arrus, or begin with the Northern Moluccas, Gilolo, and Morty, we equally reach the great island of New Guinea; and in each case the ethnological change coincides with the geographical one.