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0251 Explorations in Turkestan : Expedition of 1904 : vol.2
Explorations in Turkestan : Expedition of 1904 : vol.2 / Page 251 (Grayscale High Resolution Image)

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doi: 10.20676/00000178
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THE SKULL OF THE PREHISTORIC HORSES.   415

and yet this little animal seems fully adult; in this we may see an explanation of the errors of Sanson and Rütimeyer.

The next question relating to the skull of a horse must concern the indices of ear-load (Ohrbelastung) and of parietal curvature (Scheitelkruemmung) . Unfortunately I am not able to produce here a very comprehensive tabulation of these indices on prehistoric horses, since I am able to verify them only on the skulls actually before me in natura.

Table of indices.

Still more important in discriminating between different races of horses is the relation of breadth of forehead to length of skull. We know that, as Sanson has shown, the ass and the Oriental horse as well as the ponies are broad-fronted, while the heavy Occidental horses are usually narrow-fronted, as are also the quaggas and zebras. The following table, based on Nehring's method of determining this relation, exhibits the order of the skulls of the different races, when arranged according to size. I must remark that, in inserting the frontal width of the Anau horse I have calculated this approximately from the palatal width, which is determinable. The palatal width is to the frontal width as Io : 2I, which I obtained from a series of 20 Oriental and io Occidental skulls ; at the same time I ascertained that this ratio is always greater in the Oriental race than in the Occidental.

Ratio of basal length to width of frontal bone.

P. cl.

Ass from Abadieh (Egypt) mummified skull, 5 years, male   210

Ass from Aden (Arabia), 5 years, female   222

Horse from Iceland, after Nehring, old, male   221.7

Horse from a turbary of Tribsee, after Nehring   223

Horse from a turbary of the Somme (France)   230

Horse from Iceland, after Nehring, 9 years, male   230

Horse from Arabia, after Nehring, 5 years, male   230.7

Horse from Anau, 5 years    232

Horse from Gulbrandsdal (Skania), after Nehring   232.7

Equus przewalskii, after Salenski    232-244

Horse from Kalmukia, after Nehring, 4 to 5 years, male   239

Horse from Auvernier, Switzerland, bronze time, 6 years, female....    240

Horse from Grisons (Switzerland), after Nehring, 8 years, male   241 4

Horse from Schuettarschen (Bohemia), Hallstatt iron time, old    241

Horse from Kutterschitz (Bohemia), 12 m. deep in earth, neolithic   243

Horse from Pinzgau (Tyrol), after Nehring, Io years, male   242

Horse from diluvium of Remagen (Rhenania), after Nehring   249

Horse from Hostomitz (Bohemia), La Tène, 4 years    • • 253

Horse from Pinzgau (Tyrol), after Frank, 9 years, male    254.6

Horse from Grisons (Switzerland), after Nehring, old, female   255

AI.

A 2.

B I.

C I.

B 2.

C 2.

Ear-load index.

Facies tangent.

Parietal crest
curvature index.

Lesbre.

Equus przewalskii, male, 3 years   

Kutterschitz   

Sobrusan, juv   

Schuettarschen   

Auvernier   

Moosseedorf, Mus. Bern   

La Tène, Mus. Bern   

Luescherz   

Ziel Canal   

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19 II

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27 30 23 25 22 22 22

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20 2I

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