W.M.F. Petrie to K. Pearson, 7th March 1895.- External URL
- Correspondence Details
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Sent From (Definite): Sir William Matthew Flinders PetrieSent To (Definite): Karl PearsonDate: 7 Mar 1895
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Holder (Definite): University College London: Special Collections
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Sent fromSir William Matthew Flinders Petrie
7 Mar 1895
Description:
‘My dear Sir,
Your letter is rather a relief to me after that which I received from our friend Weldon, as to the skeletons. I had fully hoped to keep our material together at Univ. Coll. to be worked on. It is, quite apart from sentiment, a matter of importance to me to be able to pick out particular skeletons which I want to exhibit, to look out those with remarkable points so as to track if there is any peculiarity in the tombs of men & women, old & young, deformed persons, &c. Hence to have all the material practically inaccessible to me at Cambridge is not at all what I desire. If therefore it be practicable to receive & deal with them at Univ. Coll. I should much prefer it.
First, as to space, I estimate that we shall fill 40 to 50 cases, each 5 x 1 ½ x 1 ft inside. There will be among them about 300 skulls, & the rest bones. I have kept all bones that are in good state, & some if possible from every tomb – even if only one fragment – to indicate the age.
I wish to get some one accustomed to deal with ossification to go over those which are in good state, estimate the age of each, & then draw a life curve. Of course under 15 or 20 it would be defective; but though the errors of estimating would blur the curve it would yet shew the usual age of death.
Second as to cost. I estimate that the cases will cost 4s each, the packing 1s, the transport 7s, or 12s in all. So 50 cases may cost about £30 in all. If you are inclined to take up the matter, I might also get some help from my friends who fund the cost of excavating; though s they have already provided that part I hardly like to ask them to take all the transport.
So I hope by the time I come back at the end of this month I may hear that we shall be able to deal with all the material ourselves. It will arrive I hope in June.
Two results I have already noticed. The rarity of broken bones; only a thigh when young, an arm, & a rib, out of 500-1000 skeletons. This points to their being a peaceful people. Also the commonness of hunchbacks; about 1% of the bodies having imperfectly developed vertebrae, some with 8 in one piece. This points to some definite fault in the development; perhaps associated with other nervous tensions.
I have kept even pieces of skulls when they were broken up, as there are so many points to study. Has the variation ever been worked out? There may be different racial patterns in the order & position of the branchesl & this brings us as near to the form of the brain itself as we can go. The canals[?] are very deep in some skulls, as much as half their breadth. The more I look at the matter, the more I see that needs examining, & above all examining by a rational system of measurement which should gauge different elements of growth separately. Of that, more when I come.
Very sincerely yours,
W.M. Flinders Petrie.’
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Sent toKarl Pearson
7 Mar 1895
Description:
‘My dear Sir,
Your letter is rather a relief to me after that which I received from our friend Weldon, as to the skeletons. I had fully hoped to keep our material together at Univ. Coll. to be worked on. It is, quite apart from sentiment, a matter of importance to me to be able to pick out particular skeletons which I want to exhibit, to look out those with remarkable points so as to track if there is any peculiarity in the tombs of men & women, old & young, deformed persons, &c. Hence to have all the material practically inaccessible to me at Cambridge is not at all what I desire. If therefore it be practicable to receive & deal with them at Univ. Coll. I should much prefer it.
First, as to space, I estimate that we shall fill 40 to 50 cases, each 5 x 1 ½ x 1 ft inside. There will be among them about 300 skulls, & the rest bones. I have kept all bones that are in good state, & some if possible from every tomb – even if only one fragment – to indicate the age.
I wish to get some one accustomed to deal with ossification to go over those which are in good state, estimate the age of each, & then draw a life curve. Of course under 15 or 20 it would be defective; but though the errors of estimating would blur the curve it would yet shew the usual age of death.
Second as to cost. I estimate that the cases will cost 4s each, the packing 1s, the transport 7s, or 12s in all. So 50 cases may cost about £30 in all. If you are inclined to take up the matter, I might also get some help from my friends who fund the cost of excavating; though s they have already provided that part I hardly like to ask them to take all the transport.
So I hope by the time I come back at the end of this month I may hear that we shall be able to deal with all the material ourselves. It will arrive I hope in June.
Two results I have already noticed. The rarity of broken bones; only a thigh when young, an arm, & a rib, out of 500-1000 skeletons. This points to their being a peaceful people. Also the commonness of hunchbacks; about 1% of the bodies having imperfectly developed vertebrae, some with 8 in one piece. This points to some definite fault in the development; perhaps associated with other nervous tensions.
I have kept even pieces of skulls when they were broken up, as there are so many points to study. Has the variation ever been worked out? There may be different racial patterns in the order & position of the branchesl & this brings us as near to the form of the brain itself as we can go. The canals[?] are very deep in some skulls, as much as half their breadth. The more I look at the matter, the more I see that needs examining, & above all examining by a rational system of measurement which should gauge different elements of growth separately. Of that, more when I come.
Very sincerely yours,
W.M. Flinders Petrie.’
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