. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. MOUND-BUILDEES AND PLATYCNEMISM IN MICHIGAN. 369 In tliis table the latitudinal index expresses the amount of the com- pression of the shaft, while the perimetral index represents the thick- ness. In this connection I wish to call attention to the fact that the perfora- tion of the humerus is a characteristic which I have observed to pertain to the platycnemic specimens from the river Eouge mound. This is of great interest, as the peculiari
. Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Institution; Smithsonian Institution. Archives; Discoveries in science. MOUND-BUILDEES AND PLATYCNEMISM IN MICHIGAN. 369 In tliis table the latitudinal index expresses the amount of the com- pression of the shaft, while the perimetral index represents the thick- ness. In this connection I wish to call attention to the fact that the perfora- tion of the humerus is a characteristic which I have observed to pertain to the platycnemic specimens from the river Eouge mound. This is of great interest, as the peculiarity referred to is most frequently met with in the negro race, has also been observed in the Indian, and, though not always present, is quite general in the apes, while it is seldom seen in the white races. The ridge on which Fort Wayne is built, once nearly a mile in length, on the bank of the Detroit Eiver, and which occupies a commanding position, was, I am satisfied, previously occupied by the ancient people we are discussing. Their bones and implements have been dug out at that part of the ridge immediately above the fort. The leg-bones from this point also exhibited in a remarkable degree the flattening. It is to be regretted that various circumstances prevented my obtain- ing in many instances the dimensions of the bones; otherwise I should be able to present an array of facts still more valuable. Though the stone and other implements from the upper lakes cannot in general boast of the high degree of ornamentation observable in those relics from the southern portion of the United States, yet there are not wanting specimens evincing considerable cultivation in this direction. The difficulties of manipulation involved in the material used prevented the indulgence of much art. The pottery, therefore, seems to have been chosen esi^ecially for a display of such taste as those primitive workmen possessed in this field. The objects of this material from the lake-mounds present a
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