National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

464   HUMAN REMAINS FROM THE NORTH KURGAN.

Determination of the heights of the other individuals is not possible, because we have not, even for Europeans, the correlation of the measurements of the bones

of the foot with bodily size. Still, we can judge from the size of these bones that the height of individual II was between that of I and III, while individual IV stood between III and V. Therefore, Anau I is to be considered above the average and Anau V relatively small.

Since it is customary to look everywhere for pygmies, we might attempt also to construct a dwarf race out of our individual V. There are, however, several

obstacles. In the first place there are no differences present that would warrant

our assigning individual V to a different race from individual I. In the next place the difference between V and I may be due to a considerable range in size, such

as we find among many races. A further reason for considering this the correct explanation is that we fortunately have intermediate forms, which constitute an unbroken series. We realize this best when we place side by side the preserved metatarsi I of at least four individuals. In plate 96, fig. 4, the missing metatarsus I of individual II is replaced by a bar of its presumable height.

A satisfactory comparison, or even a racial diagnosis, is naturally impossible in view of the scanty material at hand; all the more so since in the bones of the

extremities functional influences come so strongly into action that it is difficult to distinguish between peculiarities clue to such functional action and those inherent in the race.

But even if we disregard all those characteristics for which a functional cause is thinkable, there remains still a number which can with great probability be traced back to the race, and which differentiates these Anau individuals at least from the recent European, with whose skeleton we are better acquainted than with that of other races, and assign it to a primitive form. More we can not say from a study of the bones at hand. The problem would be much more simple if more abundant material, especially skulls of adults, should be found. This seems to be a possibility, for the condition of the preserved pieces allows us to assume with certainty that there are preserved many more of these interesting bone remains than have been collected.