“Maori Anthropometry,”

by Dr. P. H. Buck.

Abstract.

In his paper Dr. Buck pointed out that anthropometry, which dealt with the measurements of the human body so as to establish the standard type of genus of a race, had been neglected as regards the Maori branch of the Polynesians. It was absolutely necessary to set up the Maori type in order to study his relationship to the other branches of the Polynesians, and to determine what Melaneaian characteristics existed amongst them. The Americans had four scientific expeditions working in Polynesia, and, since New Zealand administered Samoa, the Cook Group, and Niue Island, we should not lag behind in the scientific study of those Polynesian branches under our control. Attention was drawn to the unsatisfactory condition that existed with regard to standard Polynesian and Melanesian type owing to insufficient measurements of a large enough number of living persons. Our primary duty was to remove this charge of scientific neglect as regards ourselves by first establishing the Maori type or types. He detailed some of the measurements made of over eight hundred members of the Maori Battalion that served in the late war. For full-blooded Maoris he established racial standards of 5 ft. 7 ¼ in. in height and 11 stone 9 lb. in weight, which were 1 ¼ in. and 22 lb. greater than those so far accepted on too few observations. Head, face, and nose measurements were detailed, and attention drawn to the tribal differences that existed. An interesting feature was the modification of face and nose width which occurred amongst those of mixed blood, the narrowing in these two measurements being shown to increase with the greater admixture of white blood. The whole subject opened up a new field of great scientific interest, and further investigation would probably throw additional light on tribal and racial origin, and have an important bearing on the culture differences that existed in various parts of New Zealand.

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“The Horizontal Pendulum,” by Dr. C. E. Adams.

“History of the Offer of the Yale Telescopes to New Zealand,” by Dr. C. E. Adams.

“The Earthquake of 20th September, 1920,” by Dr. C. E. Adams.

“A National Observatory for New Zealand,” by Dr. C. E. Adams. (This paper appears in the N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 4, pp. 91–94, 1921.)