The Sarasins’ Collection of Historical Sri Lankan Crania

Abstract

Swiss naturalists Paul and Fritz Sarasin visited Sri Lanka on five occasions. Their later visits were focused on anthropological research on the Indigenous Wannila Atto (‘Vedda’) people and exploration of prehistoric settlements in Sri Lanka. Among the Sarasins’ anthropological and archaeological collections are skeletal material of several ethnic groups of Sri Lanka belonging to the 19th and early 20th centuries. This collection is curated at the Natural History Museum of Basel, Switzerland. The ethnolinguistic groups represented in the Sarasins’ collection include the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala people of Sri Lanka, and it constitutes the largest ‘Vedda’ cranial collection housed at a single institution. The objective of this paper is to compare cranial variation of the Indigenous ‘Vedda’ and other Sri Lankan ethnic groups using this important dataset, while publishing the raw craniometric data for further studies. Observations on the dentition show that the Tamil and Sinhala individuals had high incidences of caries and dental abscesses that are typically associated with agriculturalists and that cribra orbitalia associated with iron deficiency was relatively common among all three ethnic groups. Betel quid chewing for recreational and cultural purposes, a practice that is widespread even today, had left dark stains on the teeth of many individuals of all groups in the sample. Multivariate statistical analyses on the craniometric data show that there is significant overlap among the three ethnic groups in terms of cranial shape. These findings underscore the importance of considering the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala groups from Sri Lanka as closely related, due to gene flow over millennia.

Introduction

In 1883, Swiss naturalists Paul and Fritz Sarasin embarked on their first journey to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to study an amphibian species, the Ceylon caecilians, and elephant embryonic development (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1886, 1893). Their expeditions were privately funded and their associated research for the Museum of Ethnology Basel, Switzerland was conducted on an honorary basis (Schmid, 2012). In their four subsequent expeditions to Sri Lanka (in 1890, 1902, 1907, and 1925), the Sarasins pivoted their attention from zoological studies to anthropological research on the Indigenous ‘Vedda’ people of the island. German biomedical scientist Rudolph Virchow was among the first to recognize the biological links shared by South Asian Indigenous groups (Virchow, 1886), and it is suggested that his work inspired the Sarasins to conduct detailed studies of the ‘Vedda’ people (Schwidetzky, 1983). In this material report, context is provided for the Sarasins’ collection, as an example of a skeletal series representing the biological heritage of those ‘colonized’ from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Among the data and collections acquired by the Sarasins were over 400 artifacts, 500 photographs, and the skeletal remains of over 90 individuals affiliated with diverse ethnic groups of Sri Lanka (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1908; Schmid, 2012). Notable among the collection is the large number of crania of the ‘Vedda’ people (since the term ‘Vedda’ has been used in a derogatory sense within Sri Lanka, it is placed within quotation marks in this paper to avoid such pejorative associations). They are more appropriately known as Wannila Atto (forest people) or ‘Adivasi’ (original inhabitants) and appear in the literature also spelt as ‘Vanniyaletto,’ ‘Wannilaeto,’ and ‘Wanniya-laeto.’ The ‘Vedda’ people were considered by the Sarasins as a society on the verge of disappearance (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1893, 1907). The Sarasins’ collection at Basel comprises the largest single collection of ‘Vedda’ crania curated in a single museum or collection. A smaller, yet notable, number of crania belonging to the Tamil and Sinhala people from several parts of the island are also included in the Sarasins’ collection (Figure 1, Table 1). The main objective of this report is to present craniometric data and assess morphological variation among the ‘Vedda’ and other Sri Lankan ethnic groups using this valuable dataset. The raw data are provided as an online supplementary source to facilitate future studies.

Figure 1

Map of locations in Sri Lanka where skeletal remains were collected by the Sarasins. (Map credits: Pam MacQuarrie.)

Table 1 The Sarasins’ collection: sample of observed adult crania from Sri Lanka by ethnic group

Ethnic group	Male	Female	Total
‘Vedda’	22	19	41
Tamil	14	10	24
Sinhala	12	6	18
Sinhala/Tamil	2	0	2

Sri Lankans today are representatives of the original inhabitants of the island and later arrivals, forming a multiethnic, multicultural, and multireligious society. Anthropological and archaeological studies situate the ‘Vedda’ people as the descendants of the original hunter-gatherer people of Mesolithic Sri Lanka (Tennent, 1860; Kennedy, 1971; Deraniyagala, 1992; Kennedy, 2000; Hawkey, 2002; Kulatilake, 2016). In addition, the biological and cultural relationships between the ‘Veddoid’ people of southern and central India (e.g. Kadar, Chenchu) and the ‘Vedda’ of Sri Lanka have been discussed in the literature (Virchow, 1886; Duckworth, 1894; Kennedy, 2000; Majumder, 2010). The Tamil and Sinhala people, who were later arrivals, now constitute the majority of the population in Sri Lanka. Today, the Sinhala ethnic group makes up about 75% of the population, while the Sri Lankan and Indian Tamil ethnic groups together make up approximately 14% of the population. The ‘Vedda’ people have been acculturated and assimilated to the mainstream Sinhala and Tamil cultures of the island over the centuries (Spittel, 1950; Wijesekera, 1964; Dharmadasa and Samarasinghe, 1990; de Silva and Punchihewa, 2011; Attanapola and Lund, 2013). Although there are no reliable data, people who self-identify as ‘Vedda’ today, would account for less than 1% of the national population.

Several reports on the Sarasins’ collection exist. These include the multivolume original reports by the Sarasins (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1893), where they describe the physical anthropology of the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala groups. They used several existing methods to develop a graphing system on cranial variation (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1893: 124–150), the so-called ‘Sarasinian cranial curves’ (Schmid, 2012). Duckworth (1894) cited several measures and cranial indices reported by the Sarasins on ‘Vedda’ and Tamil crania to describe two crania collected from Nagyr, in present-day Pakistan. Hill published two studies on the ‘Vedda’ people’s biological traits (Hill, 1932, 1941) that referred to the Sarasins’ collection. The craniometric data published by Hill are primarily based on collections held in Great Britain, such as the Duckworth collection in Cambridge, and his focus was on the anthropometry and somatometry of the living ‘Vedda’ people of his time (Hill, 1941). Reports that reference the Sarasins’ collection published in the 1970s include those by Kennedy (1971) and Kaufmann (1977). Kennedy enumerated the collection of ‘Vedda’ skeletal remains in the Sarasins’ collection in Basel and provided context for the collection, while referring to other collections of ‘Vedda’ skeletal material curated in several countries (Sri Lanka, Great Britain, Ireland, Germany, Australia, and India). However, some of the collections and/or specimens are reported as missing from the repositories or were destroyed during the Second World War (e.g. the collection of the Royal College of Surgeons, London). An unpublished report by Bulbeck and colleagues notes the relevance of the Basel collection in their exploration of human migrations to Australasia (personal communication). Other studies have used craniometric data on ‘Vedda’ skeletal material housed in Great Britain and Sri Lanka (Warusawithana-Kulatilake, 1996; Kulatilake, 2000; Stock et al., 2007), but do not include the Sarasins’ collection at Basel. Apart from the original descriptions provided by the collectors (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1893), the crania of the Tamil and Sinhala people in this collection have received little to no attention in early accounts, due to a focus on the Indigenous ‘Vedda’ people. This report is the first to provide data on the Tamil and Sinhala groups in the Sarasins’ collection, along with the ‘Vedda’ data. Craniometric data published on this collection by the Sarasins (1893) and Kaufmann (1977) include a smaller set of measurements. Furthermore, systematic recording following the techniques and methods of Howells (1973) was not previously undertaken. Therefore, this report is the first to provide detailed cranial measurements that can be replicated and compared with other datasets of global samples. Results from univariate and multivariate statistical analyses are also presented.

Materials and Methods

The catalogue of materials of the Sarasins’ collection cu-rated at the Natural History Museum of Basel (Naturhistorisches Museum Basel) identifies a total of 98 individuals from the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala ethnic groups (Figure 2). The catalogue refers to fetuses and other skeletal elements besides crania that are not reported in the present study. A total of 85 adult crania were observed (Table 1).

Figure 2

Crania of males from the Sarasins’ collection: ‘Vedda’ (left), Tamil (centre), and Sinhala (right).

In the Sarasins’ collection, the ‘Vedda’ remains identified were mainly from inland forested regions and coastal areas in the eastern parts of the island in the Uva and Eastern provinces (see Figure 1). Of the 44 ‘Vedda’ individuals listed in the catalogue, only 41 were observed. The Natural History Museum of Basel housed 40 of these, while one skull was at the Ethnology Museum Basel (Museum der Kulturen). The individuals designated as Tamil included 24 observable crania, whereas five Tamil individuals listed were not observed during this study. The Sarasins’ collection also included 18 crania of the Sinhalese ethnic group. Two crania in the collection were denoted as either Tamil or Sinhala. These were not included in the analysis. Sexing was performed by standard osteological methods (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994). Many of the crania were associated with data sheets recorded by the collectors. Overall, the majority of crania were complete and relatively well preserved.

The acquisition of craniometric data was based upon the methods described by Howells (1973). A battery of 49 cranial measurements was used to acquire data on complete crania. Standard osteometric techniques and tools were employed. All measurements were recorded to the nearest millimetre. Measures of interobserver and intraobserver error were found to be acceptable (Warusawithana-Kulatilake, 1996; Kulatilake, 2000). Due to preservation issues, the number of crania available for osteometry (Appendix) does not necessarily correspond to those listed in Table 1. All statistical procedures were conducted using the SPSS program.

To assess the nutritional/health status of the individuals in this skeletal series, the incidences of cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia (DEH), caries, and dental abscesses were examined. Standard osteological and dental observational methods were followed when making these assessments (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994; Bass, 2005; White et al., 2011).

Results

A conventional exploration of cranial size and indices is presented in Table 2. A high degree of size-based sexual dimorphism was observed within each of the ethnic groups. Therefore, male and female crania were considered separately in the analyses. The ‘Vedda’ crania were generally smaller than Tamil and Sinhala crania. There is a significant difference in male cranial size between the three groups [F(2,44) = 8.60, P = 0.001] and the male crania of the ‘Vedda’ are significantly smaller than those of Tamil and Sinhala (P = 0.002 and 0.018, respectively). Univariate exploration of cranial indices showed that there were no significant differences when comparing the three ethnic groups. They were commonly dolichocranic, had high cranial vaults in relation to cranial breadth, with average facial and nasal breadth (Table 2).

Table 2 Cranial size and indices of the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala

	Vedda						Tamil						Sinhala
	Male			Female			Male			Female			Male			Female
	Mean	SD	N	Mean	SD	N	Mean	SD	N	Mean	SD	N	Mean	SD	N	Mean	SD	N
Cranial global size (GOL+ XCB + BBH)/3	146.3	2.6	21	139.2	4.0	15	150.2	3.0	14	144.03	3.1	10	149.5	3.4	12	141.0	4.2	5
Cranial index (XCB/GOL× 100)	71.7	4.1	22	71.8	4.1	16	71.0	3.2	14	72.5	4.1	10	73.4	3.4	12	73.1	1.5	5
Height–length index (BBH/GOL× 100)	73.7	2.9	21	74.1	2.8	15	73.2	2.5	14	73.9	2.9	10	74.2	2.9	12	75.1	2.5	5
Height–breadth index (BBH/XCB × 100)	103.2	5.9	21	103.4	3.8	15	103.3	5.4	14	102.1	6.1	10	101.3	5.3	12	102.7	2.3	5
Upper facial index (NPH/ZYB × 100)	48.4	3.2	21	50.2	3.0	12	51.0	2.5	14	52.7	2.9	10	50.7	3.1	11	51.4	2.1	5
Nasal index (NLB/NLH)	53.1	6.4	21	51.8	3.7	12	52.5	3.6	14	52.4	4.2	10	51.0	4.9	12	50.1	6.1	5

See Appendix for abbreviations.

A principal components analysis (PCA) using the Z-scores on all raw measurements was conducted to offer a more refined perspective on cranial shape. Due to the small sample sizes, the female crania were excluded from this analysis. The first four components explain approximately 52% of the total variation. PC 1 (24.3%) has high loadings on variables related to cranial and facial size (e.g. glabello-occipital length (GOL), basion–bregma height (BBH), bijugal breadth (JUB)) as well as variables that encode cranial height and facial projection from the Frankfort horizontal plane (e.g. vertex radius (VRR), prosthion radius (PRR)) (Table 3). PC 2 (11.0%) has high loadings on upper facial and cranial breadth dimensions such as interorbital breadth (EKB), bizygomatic breadth (ZYB), and biasterionic breadth (ASB). PC 3 (9.3%) expresses a focus on the upper facial region and parietal dimensions. Here, negative loadings on nasion–prosthion height (NPH), indicating shorter upper facial regions, are discerned along with broader interorbital breadth (DKB). Cranial length variables (e.g. GOL and nasio-occipital length (NOL)) receive high loadings in PC 4 (7.3%). Other notable variables that include higher loadings in PC 4 are orbit height (OBH) and variables associated with the occipital bone. Maximum cranial breadth (XCB) receives negative loadings on PC 4.

Table 3 Loadings matrix of the first four principal components extracted for the males’ Z-scores (‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala)

Variable (Z-score)	Component
	1	2	3	4
GOL	0.6	−0.4	0.2	0.5
NOL	0.6	−0.4	0.2	0.5
BNL	0.7	−0.2	−0.3	0.1
BPL	0.7	0.0	−0.3	−0.3
XCB	0.4	0.4	0.1	−0.4
BBH	0.5	−0.3	0.4	0.0
STB	0.4	0.4	0.3	−0.3
XFB	0.3	0.4	0.3	−0.3
FMB	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.1
AUB	0.6	0.4	0.2	0.0
ZYB	0.4	0.7	0.2	−0.1
NPH	0.5	0.3	−0.5	0.1
NLH	0.4	0.1	−0.3	0.4
NLB	0.2	−0.1	0.4	0.1
WNB	0.4	0.1	0.3	−0.2
OBH	−0.1	0.3	−0.1	0.5
OBB	0.2	0.6	−0.3	0.4
JUB	0.6	0.5	0.1	0.0
EKB	0.4	0.5	0.2	0.3
DKB	0.4	0.2	0.5	0.1
IML	0.3	0.4	−0.2	−0.1
XML	0.4	0.4	−0.3	−0.1
WMH	0.4	0.2	−0.2	−0.1
MDH	−0.3	0.2	−0.1	0.2
MDB	0.4	0.5	0.1	0.3
ZMB	0.6	0.3	0.1	0.2
WCB	0.3	0.2	0.1	−0.1
ASB	0.2	0.5	−0.1	0.0
MAB	0.4	0.4	−0.2	−0.1
FOL	−0.2	0.2	−0.2	0.1
FRC	0.4	−0.3	0.2	0.2
FRF	0.3	0.0	0.4	0.2
FRS	0.0	−0.5	0.2	0.1
PAC	0.3	−0.3	0.7	0.0
PAF	0.0	0.0	0.6	−0.1
PAS	0.3	−0.2	0.7	−0.3
OCC	0.3	−0.1	−0.1	0.5
OCF	−0.1	0.0	0.0	0.6
OCS	0.1	−0.3	−0.1	0.7
VRR	0.7	−0.2	0.4	0.1
NAR	0.8	−0.2	−0.1	0.1
SSR	0.9	−0.3	−0.2	−0.1
PRR	0.8	−0.2	−0.3	−0.2
DKR	0.6	−0.3	−0.2	0.0
ZOR	0.8	−0.2	−0.2	−0.1
FMR	0.6	−0.4	−0.3	−0.2
EKR	0.7	−0.4	−0.2	−0.3
ZMR	0.7	−0.3	−0.2	−0.3
AVR	0.7	−0.3	−0.3	−0.2

Bold type indicates loadings with absolute values ≥0.5. See Appendix for abbreviations.

Figure 3 shows scatter plots of the PC scores. When PC 1 and PC 2 are plotted (left), the Sinhala and Tamil groups cluster in the upper quadrants, with high loadings on cranial size-related variables (e.g. GOL, BBH, NOL), whereas the ‘Vedda’ crania scatter primarily in the lower quadrants, depicting smaller sizes. In the scatterplots of PC 2 and PC3 (centre) and PC 2 with PC 4 (right), much overlap is observed. Overall, high degrees of cranial shape similarities are observed between the three ethnic groups.

Figure 3

Scatterplots of PCA on craniometric data (males): PC 1 and 2 (left), PC 2 and 3 (centre) and PC 2 and 4 (right).

The frequencies of selected pathologies (Figure 4) are presented in Table 4. Cribra orbitalia was highly prevalent (>54%) and commonly observed among individuals from all three ethnic groups (χ² = 4.37, df = 2, P = 0.113). DEH was less obvious upon visual inspection. Although the Sinhala group shows a higher value, the difference is statistically insignificant (χ² = 5.12, df = 2, P = 0.077). The Sinhala samples showed higher incidences of caries (χ² = 16.98, df = 2, P < 0.0001) compared to the ‘Vedda’ and Tamil, while dental abscesses were more prevalent among both Tamil and Sinhala samples (χ² = 7.31, df = 2, P < 0.05) compared to the ‘Vedda’ individuals. A large number of individuals within the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala ethnic groups had dark stains on the teeth associated with betel quid chewing (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Pathologies and observations: cribra orbitalia and periostitis (left), dental caries (centre), and betel quid stains on the teeth (right).

Table 4 Observed pathology of ‘Vedda,’ Sinhala, and Tamil crania and dentition

Ethnic group	Cribra orbitalia	Caries	Dental abscesses	Dental enamel hypoplasia
	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)	n (%)
Vedda (n = 38)	25 (65.8)	10 (41.7)	10 (26.3)	5 (13.2)
Tamil (n = 24)	13 (54.2)	8 (33.3)	13 (54.2)	4 (16.7)
Sinhala (n = 15)	13 (86.7)	13 (86.7)	9 (60.0)	6 (40.0)

Discussion

This study highlights the metrics and observations on the historical cranial series of several ethnic groups from Sri Lanka, within the Sarasins’ collection in Basel, Switzerland. The majority of skeletal material in this collection is attributed to the Indigenous Wannila Atto or ‘Vedda’ people. Cranial remains identified as belonging to Tamil and Sinhala individuals comprise the remainder of this collection.

In this study the conventional cranial indices and the PCA of craniometric variables indicate that the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil and Sinhala people share a similar cranial shape. Early studies of the ‘Vedda” have characterized these South Asian indigenes as possessing ‘Australoid’ morphological traits, quite different from later migrants to the region (e.g. South Indian Tamil), who were thought to have ‘Caucasoid’ traits (Hill, 1941; Stoudt, 1961). The characteristic shape of a ‘Vedda’ cranium has been described as ‘dolichocranic’ or ‘hyperdolichocranic,’ with broad facial regions (Hill, 1941). However, the dolichocranic nature of the ‘Vedda’ cranium is not a characteristic that distinguishes it from other populations of the subcontinent (Kulatilake, 2000; this study).

The Sarasins considered the ‘Vedda’ primarily from a biological perspective (but see Streumer, 1997). The phenotype of the ‘Vedda’ was thought to be different from other Sri Lankan groups (Sarasin and Sarasin, 1893). This view has persisted in the popular literature and collective imagination. However, anthropomorphic, dental, and genetic studies show only minor differences between the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala people (Stoudt, 1961; Hawkey, 2002; Peiris et al., 2011; Ranaweera et al., 2014). These groups shared a common gene pool throughout prehistoric and historic times, and today no clearly discerned boundaries exist, morphologically (Kennedy, 1971; Bowles, 1977; Kulatilake, 2000; Kulatilake and Hotz, 2017), genetically (Ranasinghe et al., 2015), or linguistically (Dharmadasa, 1974; Brow, 1978; Dharmadasa and Samarasinghe, 1990). This study on the Sarasins’ collection of Sri Lankan crania further demonstrates that the ‘Vedda’ are not different from the other Sri Lankan groups based on their cranial morphology. However, ‘Vedda’ crania have been considered to be generally smaller in size compared to those of other ethnic groups of Sri Lanka, possibly due to encountering higher levels of environmental stress (Kennedy, 2000; Kulatilake, 2000).

Classical and molecular genetic studies show that the Sinhala and Tamil people of Sri Lanka share strong biological links with each other; and are less connected to their ancestral groups in mainland South Asia, the Ancestral North Indians and Ancestral South Indians, respectively (Kshatriya, 1995; Moorjani et al., 2013; Ranaweera et al., 2014; Liu et al., 2017). For instance, Sri Lankan Tamils are more closely genetically related to the Sinhalese than they are to Indian Tamils (Kshatriya, 1995; Ranasinghe et al., 2015). The univariate and multivariate statistical results from this study of crania indicate that there are no significant differences between the Tamil and Sinhala ethnic groups of Sri Lanka. Although elements of linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity may differentiate these two groups, it is futile to draw biological divisions between them.

The pathological conditions observed within this sample of cranial and dental remains offer insights into diet and disease among these groups. A high incidence of cribra orbitalia, typically representative of iron-deficiency anemia, was commonly observed among all ethnic groups in the sample. Observations on dental pathologies indicated that the Tamil and Sinhala groups had high incidences of caries and dental abscesses. The high reliance on rice as a starchy staple food among the Tamil and Sinhala people has been documented archaeologically and in historic sources (Knox, 1681; Parker, 1909; Deraniyagala, 1992). The incidence of dental caries and abscesses among the Tamil and Sinhala people represented in this skeletal series reflects the global pattern of poor dental health typically associated with high-carbohydrate diets of settled agriculturalists (Smith, 1984). In contrast, the ‘Vedda’ people in the collection had significantly lower levels of caries and dental abscesses. Many ‘Vedda’ individuals in this sample may have subsisted on a more varied, cariostatic diet. Following a stable-isotope analysis of ‘Vedda’ skeletal material housed in Great Britain, Roberts et al. (2018) highlighted the continued dependence on tropical forest foraging for subsistence among historic ‘Vedda’ people of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A large number of individuals in the Sarasins’ collection had betel quid stains on their teeth. In Sri Lanka, betel quid chewing is common among many rural and urban populations (de Silva and Punchihewa, 2011). Betel quid consists of betel leaves (Piper betle), areca nut (Areca catechu), which is a psychoactive substance, and lime (aqueous calcium hydroxide paste). Dried tobacco leaves are sometimes added to form the quid. In the Sarasins’ skeletal samples from Sri Lanka’s historic times, there were no apparent differences in dark stains associated with betel quid chewing between males and females and between members of the different ethnic groups.

This study presents a hitherto unexplored craniometric dataset. This dataset, included as an online supplement, will be useful to conduct comparative craniometric studies on global populations (Howells, 1973; Pietrusewsky, 2019). Culturally or biologically affiliated descendants are increasingly showing an interest in scientific studies of their ancestors represented in skeletal collections (Turnbull, 2016; Roberts et al., 2018; Wright et al., 2018). Future collaborations can provide the scientific community with an opportunity to develop community engagement and a level of trust in the care and study of ancestral human remains.

Acknowledgments

I have been privileged to study the collection of skeletal remains of Sri Lankan people, part of my own biological heritage. Funding for this research was received from a Mount Royal University, Faculty of Arts Endeavour Fund Grant. I gratefully acknowledge the permission and access to the skeletal collection and facilities at the Natural History Museum of Basel and Basel Ethnological Museum, which provide respectful guardianship and care for the collection. I thank Dr. Gerhard Hotz, curator of the collections, for his enthusiastic support and assistance. This paper stems from my study at Basel (2015) and an exploratory poster (2017). I thank Liselotte Mayer and the Basel museums’ staff for their support and assistance. I am grateful to Pam MacQuarrie for constructing the map of Sri Lanka on ArcGIS. I thank the journal editors and anonymous reviewers for valuable insights and comments that helped strengthen this paper.

Appendix

Appendix Descriptive statistics on the cranial dimensions (mm) of the ‘Vedda,’ Tamil, and Sinhala adult crania

		‘Vedda’						Tamil						Sinhala
		Male			Female			Male			Female			Male			Female
		Mean	N	SD	Mean	N	SD	Mean	N	SD	Mean	N	SD	Mean	N	SD	Mean	N	SD
Cranial length and breadth related
GOL	glabello-occipital length	178.9	22	5.0	170.0	16	7.1	184.5	14	4.7	175.4	10	5.6	181.17	12	5.5	170.40	5	5.2
NOL	nasio-occipital length	175.7	22	4.8	167.3	15	6.8	180.8	14	4.9	172.9	10	5.6	178.00	12	5.4	168.40	5	5.0
XCB	maximum cranial breadth	128.0	22	4.6	121.9	16	4.8	131.0	14	5.0	127.1	10	5.2	132.83	12	4.1	124.60	5	4.4
AUB	biauricular breadth	112.3	21	3.8	104.1	16	5.7	115.6	14	5.6	110.9	10	5.4	115.17	12	2.9	108.60	5	3.4
ASB	biasterionic breadth	102.3	22	3.7	97.1	16	5.6	103.1	14	4.5	101.4	10	4.5	103.00	12	4.0	97.60	5	2.6
XFB	maximum frontal breadth	109.3	22	4.2	104.2	16	4.7	110.3	14	4.4	107.2	10	2.3	113.92	12	7.5	105.40	5	4.4
FMB	bifrontal breadth	96.7	21	4.6	91.0	16	4.5	98.3	14	3.6	93.8	10	3.3	98.50	12	3.3	93.40	5	1.5
STB	bistephanic breadth	105.5	22	5.1	101.4	16	4.7	106.5	14	4.8	104.5	10	2.8	109.25	12	5.3	103.00	5	4.3
WCB	minimum cranial breadth	20.8	20	2.3	18.9	14	1.5	21.2	14	1.8	20.4	10	2.3	21.50	12	1.2	19.80	5	1.5
Cranial height related
BBH	basion–bregma height	131.9	21	5.4	125.8	15	2.5	135.1	14	4.4	129.6	10	5.2	134.42	12	5.9	128.00	5	4.6
VRR	vertex radius	122.3	21	5.5	117.9	15	3.7	126.6	14	3.8	122.3	10	3.9	126.42	12	4.3	121.80	5	3.3
Facial projection related
BNL	basion–nasion length	97.3	21	4.8	92.5	15	3.6	101.8	14	3.1	97.5	10	4.0	102.75	12	3.2	95.40	5	2.9
BPL	basion–prosthion length	92.6	21	4.3	87.7	12	3.3	98.0	14	4.1	95.2	10	5.9	98.83	12	4.6	93.40	5	3.5
NAR	nasion radius	95.4	21	4.2	91.4	15	4.0	98.2	14	2.8	93.4	10	3.8	101.08	12	3.3	94.00	5	1.6
SSR	subspinale radius	94.6	21	4.0	89.0	12	3.7	98.4	14	3.3	93.5	10	4.3	100.00	12	4.2	94.60	5	2.3
PRR	prosthion radius	99.5	21	4.5	93.8	12	4.3	103.8	14	3.3	98.7	10	5.0	105.25	12	4.6	99.20	5	3.3
DKR	dacryon radius	85.2	21	3.7	82.1	15	4.2	87.5	14	4.2	83.6	10	4.3	89.83	12	3.3	84.40	5	3.8
ZOR	zygoorbitale radius	81.0	21	3.4	76.4	14	2.9	82.8	14	2.9	80.3	10	2.4	85.75	12	3.6	82.40	5	3.4
FMR	frontomalare radius	78.5	21	3.6	75.9	15	2.7	79.6	14	3.1	77.3	10	2.7	81.00	12	3.7	78.60	5	2.7
EKR	ectoconchion radius	70.7	21	3.0	68.1	14	2.7	72.6	14	3.0	70.3	10	2.1	74.92	12	3.7	71.80	5	2.8
ZMR	zygomaxillare radius	72.0	21	3.1	67.8	13	2.9	72.7	14	2.6	69.5	10	3.2	75.83	12	4.2	72.00	5	2.1
AVR	M1 alveolus radius	78.1	21	4.7	71.8	13	3.4	79.6	14	3.2	77.9	10	3.0	82.17	12	5.5	77.00	5	4.2
Facial breadth related
EKB	biorbital breadth	94.8	20	3.7	90.0	14	4.4	95.4	14	3.6	92.1	10	3.3	95.17	12	3.3	87.60	5	9.0
DKB	interorbital breadth	21.0	21	2.6	19.7	15	2.0	21.7	14	3.0	20.3	10	3.0	21.33	12	3.5	20.60	5	2.6
OBB	orbit breadth left	39.0	21	2.0	37.2	14	2.1	38.9	14	1.3	37.3	10	1.8	39.33	12	1.8	36.80	5	0.8
IML	malar length inferior	33.9	21	2.9	29.3	13	2.1	33.9	14	2.9	32.0	10	2.4	35.67	12	3.2	32.00	5	2.9
XML	malar length maximum	49.2	21	4.2	43.1	13	2.4	51.3	14	2.9	48.1	10	1.9	52.00	12	3.8	48.60	5	2.1
NLB	nasal breadth	25.2	21	2.4	23.0	12	1.1	25.2	14	1.8	24.5	10	1.2	24.75	12	1.8	22.80	5	2.6
WNB	simotic chord	8.8	20	2.5	8.7	14	1.2	8.7	14	2.1	9.6	10	1.6	9.33	12	2.1	9.60	5	1.7
MAB	palate breadth	59.7	21	2.7	55.5	13	3.0	61.9	14	4.4	57.7	10	2.8	61.83	12	2.5	57.80	5	1.3
ZMB	bimaxillary breadth	92.7	21	4.6	88.0	12	6.1	95.9	14	4.3	91.4	10	4.1	95.18	11	5.1	88.60	5	3.0
ZYB	bizygomatic breadth	124.5	21	4.1	113.5	13	6.0	124.9	14	4.9	118.9	10	4.7	125.55	11	3.8	116.00	5	3.5
JUB	bijugal breadth	109.3	20	4.6	101.0	14	4.3	111.5	14	2.5	104.5	10	3.4	110.64	11	3.7	102.40	5	1.5
Facial height related
OBH	orbit height left	33.5	21	2.3	32.6	14	2.2	32.5	14	1.5	31.5	10	2.0	31.58	12	1.4	31.00	5	1.2
NPH	nasion–prosthion height	60.3	21	4.1	56.9	12	4.7	63.6	14	3.0	62.6	10	3.2	63.58	12	4.7	59.60	5	2.3
NLH	nasal height	47.8	21	3.2	44.5	12	2.8	48.1	14	3.0	46.9	10	2.2	48.75	12	3.0	45.60	5	2.9
WMH	cheek height	20.6	21	2.5	18.2	13	2.7	20.5	14	2.2	20.1	10	1.6	20.67	12	1.6	19.00	5	2.0
Other
MDH	mastoid height	29.2	21	3.3	23.8	16	2.9	27.8	14	2.0	25.6	10	2.9	28.67	12	1.9	23.60	5	3.8
MDB	mastoid breadth	20.1	21	3.8	15.9	16	2.5	20.9	14	2.9	19.9	10	2.8	21.33	12	2.1	18.20	5	3.3
FOL	foramen magnum length	36.9	20	2.6	33.3	15	2.7	35.3	14	1.8	34.7	10	1.3	35.33	12	3.0	34.40	5	2.5
Chords, fractions, and subtenses
FRC	nasion–bregma chord	110.5	21	3.5	106.9	15	2.6	112.9	14.0	4.8	105.6	10	4.7	111.92	12	3.3	104.60	5	3.9
FRF	nasion–bregma fraction	50.6	21	7.8	42.3	15	8.0	51.2	14.0	6.6	46.4	10	4.6	51.67	12	4.6	46.60	5	4.9
FRS	nasion–bregma subtense	27.0	21	2.9	27.1	15	2.4	26.8	14.0	2.5	25.4	10	2.5	25.75	12	2.5	26.40	5	2.1
PAC	bregma–lambda chord	114.0	21	5.7	108.9	16	6.6	117.2	14.0	5.6	110.0	10	5.8	115.08	12	9.7	106.20	5	3.1
PAF	bregma–lambda fraction	59.2	21	4.8	55.0	15	7.0	59.4	14.0	6.8	57.4	10	5.1	58.75	12	4.1	57.80	5	5.0
PAS	bregma–lambda subtense	25.6	21	3.1	25.0	15	4.2	26.7	14.0	3.7	24.4	10	2.7	26.17	12	4.0	22.80	5	2.4
OCC	lambda–opisthion chord	91.9	21	5.2	88.3	15	7.6	93.4	14.0	6.4	93.0	10	5.4	92.08	12	6.3	91.40	5	5.9
OCF	lambda–opisthion fraction	48.5	21	8.1	41.7	15	7.8	46.5	14.0	9.4	43.6	10	7.0	45.00	12	4.7	46.60	5	6.7
OCS	lambda–opisthion subtense	24.6	21	2.4	23.0	15	3.3	25.1	14.0	3.9	25.0	10	4.1	23.08	12	4.5	24.80	5	3.2

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