VII. Money.
What kinds of money are in use? Do the coins pass by weight as bullion, or have they a recognised value? Are any objects such as iron bars or tools, salt, pieces of cotton, cowries, beads, wampum, etc., employed as a means of exchange? If so employed, is there any recognised way in which their value is certified, or is their value the subject of bargain in each case?
Anthropological Notes.
By W. L. H. Duckworth, M.D., SC.D., M.A.
The following notes deal in the briefest possible manner with the more important observations to be made on human bones; and it is conceivable that some such records might be obtained under circumstances precluding the observer from securing or removing the actual specimens, and even in instances where only a very brief period is available for inspecting them. It is convenient to arrange the observations under the following separate headings:—
1. The circumstances attending the death of the individual should be first investigated, and observations concerning the mode and locality of interment should be recorded (cf. Professor Tylor’s Schedule, under ‘Funeral Rites’).
2. The general condition of the specimen next demands attention. This is to some extent dependent upon circumstances referred to in the preceding section. From the texture and preservation of the actual bony substance, a rough estimate may be formed as to the lapse of time since the death of the individual. The occurrence of the skull alone, or at a distance from the remainder of the skeleton, should be noted.
3. The greater weight and size, as well as the greater prominence of the brow-ridges and ridges at the back of the skull, serve to distinguish the male sex, but in many cases the determination of sex is almost impossible.
As regards age, skulls are conveniently described as immature, adult or senile. Immature skulls lack the full complement of teeth or of sockets for these, and a deep cleft is seen to cross the base of the skull about an inch in front of the large hole (foramen magnum) for the spinal cord. Upon the attainment of maturity this cleft is obliterated, by the fusion of its margins. In senile crania, the sutural lines on the surface are almost entirely obliterated, and the jaws are toothless and much reduced in size and prominence.
4. The skull may be deformed. It is important to attempt to distinguish deformation produced during life (either artificially or otherwise) from that determined by the weight of superincumbent soil after interment. Artificial deformation is manifested in most cases by flattening of the forehead, or of the back of the skull, or of both. But posthumous deformation is quite irregular, the face is often involved as well as the brain-case, there is often extreme flattening from side to side, and the bones are usually fragile and tend to fall apart.