Chapter LXXIV: The Module or Mean Diameter of the Patella in the Munsee

AND OTHER GROUPS

-----------------------------+---------------+--------------
| Male | Female
Group +-------+-------+-------+------
| Right | Left | Right | Left
-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------
| _cm._ | _cm._ | _cm._ | _cm._
Munsee | 3.74 | 3.75 | 3.23 | 3.25
Arkansas and Louisiana | 3.54 | 3.50 | 3.17 | 3.17
Southern Utah cliff-dwellers | 3.61 | 3.58 | 3 | 3
Southwest and Mexico | 3.49 | 3.49 | — | —
United States whites | 3.78 | 3.78 | 3.32 | 3.32
-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------+------

BONES OF THE HAND

While the total number of bones of the hands in the Munsee material aggregate nearly 700, there are very few complete sets. It is nevertheless possible to ascertain that in general the hand of the Munsee was of moderate to medium development, and remarkedly normal in conformation. Among the females, some of the bones are quite small. The only anomaly worthy of mention is the presence of rudimentary hamuli on both unciforms in one of the male subjects (no. 285,308).

The proportional length of the hand can be judged from the measurements of the first metacarpal, and from the relation of this length to that of the humerus on the same side. The following table gives these dimensions. It is seen that the length of the first metacarpal in the male exceeds somewhat that of the female, and also that the length of the right bone exceeds slightly that of the left. The metacarpo-humeral index is somewhat higher on the right in the males, indicating a somewhat greater length of the hand on the right side in that sex. In the females the small number of specimens makes the result in this respect uncertain.