lili
DESCRIPTIONS OP CRANIA.
of age (C in the same). It is remarkable, that both, although not quite agreeing in form with
that of the man, exhibit the same doKcho-cephaHc conformation. In the woman's skull the
iorehead is narrow, and has the female elevation. The parietal protuberances are more expressed
than m the man's cranium, as well as the womanly prominence of the superior part of the oceipital.
This prominence, being rather acuminated, gives a slightly lozenge-shaped outline to the
calvaruim, when viewed in the vertical aspect. The smaller mastoids, and greater fullness of
the occipital inside them, at the sides of the foramen magnum, asweU as the smoothness of this
bone m the situation of the usual spine, are common female characters. This can scarcely be
said of the thickness of the skuU, which is greater than usual.
The cranium of the gii-1 (0) bears all the distinctive marks of the early age of her to whom
It has belonged. The face is na.-row and small; the forehead narrow, but lofty; the upper part
of the frontal bone slightly elevated in the centre, a rising which runs along the fore-part of the
sagittal sutui-e. In general aspect and form this skuU agrees in a striking manner with that of
the man abeady described, allowance being made for the very different ages, and the opposite
sexes of the mdividnals. The resemblance is so close as to suggest an intimate relationship
Ihe other cranial relics derived from the Long Lowe Barrow are all too imperfect and fragmentary
to be described. One occipital bone, which has the appeai-ance of haying been fractui-cd during
life, seems too broad to have belonged to such a skuU as that of our figui-es.
We have been more than usuaUy minute in describing the crania obtained from the cist of
the Long Lowe Barrow, as they deviate from the ordinary form, and have been regarded as
affording support to the pre-Celtic hypothesis. The laxge stone chamber itself, and the skulls of
Its dohcho-cephahc occupants, with their few flint instruments, have all been looked upon as
peculiarities which point to a different and older race of men than those commonly termed
ancient Britons. The hypothesis is received by investigators deserving so much respect and
confidence, that we feel both bomid and anxious to do ample justice to every fact of the case
and to exercise the utmost candour in the estimation of the hypothesis itseE Before any
comment, therefore, we will, in this place, adduce a few other examples of dolicho-cepha/e
crama derived from the Derbyshire barrows by Mr. Bateman; and, in the sequel, enlarge
our table of measurements by as many dimensions of these as are attainable, under the letters
here afSxed to them.
Prom the chambered stone barrow of Bole HiU*, Mr. Bateman's Museum contains two imperfect
specimens. One, which is the vault of a calvarium (D), is thick, and probably belonged
to a man, greatly resembles the skull of our lithograph; the other, still more imperfect, does
not present such an elongated form, yet is not brachy-cephalic.
Prom the chambered barrow situated on Five Wells Hill, near Taddingtonf, Mr. Bateman
derived various specunens, and the writer is indebted to that gentleman for one of them This
was a remarkable sepulchral cairn of great dimensions, which contained two vaults each ap
proached by a separate gaJlery; and osseous relics of about twelve individuals were coUected in
Its investigation. One calvarium of a man with imperfect face, is thin (E); it wants the sagittal
suture, whilst the others are quite persistent; yet does not present any carinated or radiate
appearances m this region i ; parietal bosses weU-marked. Viewed vertically, this calvarium
presents a long oval, narrow, but not so narrow as that of the Long Lowe skull (A). One broken
pJn Wo . . ' ''' » view and
t See Minchin's "Contributions to Craniology," Dublin Jonrn. of Med. Sci., November 1856
33.
ANCIENT BRITISH-LONG LOWE BARROW, STAPFORDSHIRE.
calvarium is of ordinary length; so is another, which is still more imperfcct. The more entire
calvarium of a man of adult age in our possession (P), may be regarded as an example of that
which we have caUcd the typical form of the ancient British skull. It tends even to the
brachy-cephaHc conformation, and has no relation with the series to which the Long Lowe skulls
appertain. It may be mentioned, that it presents a flatness extending from just behind the
middle of the parietal bones to the protuberance of the occipital,—a flatness Which is common
to many of the ancient British crania, to which we have called more particular attention in the
Description of the Green Lowe skull (Plate 41). A fragment of a calvarium in Mr. Bateman's
Museum evidently belongs to the same category of abbreviated crania.
Ringham Lowe, another chambered stone barrow opened in 1855, contained the remains of
about twelve human beings in a very fragmentary condition. One imperfect calvarium, that of a
man (G), is rather thick, and long and narrow, but not so markedly so as the man's skull from
Long Lowe. Another man's calvarium, in the same condition, is rather long and narrow, but
the parietal tubers are strongly expressed. Of a third, in a similar state, the same may be said.
A fourth is of good breadth (H), but not remarkable for length.
MEASUREMENTS.
Height . . 51 4-5 5-0 4-5 4-6 5 1 4-9 M '
The three skuUs derived from the Long Lowe Barrow exhibit a great resemblance, althougli
they are not identical in form. Among the others enumerated derived fi-om the so-called
chambered barrows, there is much greater variety. We even find some examples of brachycepbahc
crania, as has been noticed. The most marked similarity, however, exists between the
man's skuU and that of the girl from Long Lowe. It is a very probable explanation, that the
three skulls belonged to one family, and ai-e the remains of a father, mother, and their child.
This would reduce the unusual longness and narrowness to a mere family peculiarity In this
case It may be nothing more. In the other instances we have described we do not perceive that
uniformity which the pre-Oeltic hypothesis seems to requii-e. Assui-edly, some exceptions of
ordmary form do occur, in the particular barrows supposed to belong to this very early period
To us, when examining these long skulls, there seems to be a deficiency of the requisite con-ruity
among them for the support of such an hypothesis. If we admit that the chambered barrows'
those with^avenues to them, and those formed of large stones (for there is the same want of
(5)
Horizontal circumference
A
. . 21-5
B
20-5
c D E
20-8
F
20-7
G
20-9
II
inches. í;
Longitudinal diameter . . . . 7-9 7-6 7-2 7-5 7-7 7-3 7-6
7-2
Prontal Region.—Length . . . 5-5 5-0 5-0 5-1 5-2 5-2
5-1
Breadth . . . 4-2 4-2 . . . 4-5
4-7 j: ;
Height . . . 5-0 4-7 4-8 4-2 4-8 5-0 4-8 • ' i
Parietal Region.—Length . . . 5-2 4-8 5-0 5-5 5-3 5-2 4-9 5-1
Breadth . 5-2 5 1 4-9 5 1 5-8 5-2
' 1'
Occipital Region.—Length . . . 5-2 4-5 4-4 4-8 5-0 4-3
" ;í
Breadth . 4-4 4-1 4-5 4-5
il
Height . . . 4-6 4-2 4-4 3-9 4-2 4-2 4-4
Intermastoid arch . . . . 14-9
1 .
í ,
Internal capacity . . .
Pace.—Length
• 841
. 4-8 3-9
íí
ounces,
inches.
1 '
í
Breadth
p.
Î • A.!
•iM- i
I:- . r