Wynfrid Laurence Henry Duckworth

“ Thus the complexity of craniometric studies has inevitably increased. In the hands of von Török of Budapest, as in those of M. Benedikt of Vienna at an earlier date, the number of measurements regarded as necessary for the complete “diagnosis” of a skull has reached a colossal total. Of the trend and progress of craniometry at the present day, three particular developments are noteworthy. First come the attempts made at various times to co-ordinate the systems of measurements so as to ensure uniformity among all observers ”

“ This ratio (of 75%) is termed the cephalic or breadth-index, which in such an instance would be described as equal to 75. A skull providing a breadth-index of 75 will naturally possess very different proportions from another which provides a corresponding index equal to 85. And in fact this particular index in human skulls varies from about 58 to 90 in undistorted examples (fig. 4) . Such is the general scheme of Retzius’s system of classification of skulls by means of indices, and one of his earliest applications of the method was to the inhabitants of Sweden. ”

“ Certain artists made measurements of heads and skulls with a view to attaining greater accuracy in their representation of those parts of the human frame. Bernard de Palissy and A. Dürer may be mentioned as pioneers in such researches. Again, it is clearly shown in the literature of this subject, that anatomists were led to employ methods of measurement in their study of the human skull. ”

“ The second division of craniometric studies includes those in which the skulls of the higher and lower races of mankind are compared. And in this domain, the advent of accurate numerical methods of recording observations brought about great advances. ”