On the Skulls of the Protohistoric Japanese from the Kinki District

Abstract

(1) The cranium of the protohistoric Kinki Japanese is short in cranial (maximum) length, broad in cranial (maximum) breadth, and brachycran in cranial index. Their cranial (basi-bregmatic) height is low, and facial (bizygomatic) breadth is wide. Their cranial length and cranial breadth are slightly less than those of the prehistoric Ko(Kinki) Japanese, but almost equal to those of the Edo-period and of the recent Kinki Japanese. The Kinki Japanese of various eras have the brachycran cranium in the index of which shows no difference in reference to time elapse.(2) The cranial height of the protohistoric Kinki Japanese is almost the same as that of the prehistoric Ko (Kinki) Japanese; it is lower than that of the Edo-period and the recent Kinki Japanese.(3) The facial breadth of the protohistoric Japanese and the prehistoric Ko (Kinki) Japanese is wider than that of the Edo-period and the recent Kinki Japanese. This shows that there are changes in reference to time elapse in the cranial height and facial bredth of the Kinki Japanese.(4) It is considered that the protohistoric Kinki Japanese have a feature which is more akin to the prehistoric Ko (Kinki) Japanese than to the Edoperiod and the recent Kinki Japanese.The ancient Kinki Japanese whose cranial height is low and whose facial breadth is wide seem to have their cranial features changed into the modern Kinki Japanese features represented by high cranium and narrow face.