LIST ANTHROPOLOGICAL STATISTICS, MADE FROM EXPOSITION AT CHICAGO

The Harvard University Anthropometric Laboratory which was conducted last summer at the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, will definitely be reestablished this summer, and the work continued, Earnest A. Hooton, Professor of Anthropology, has recently announced. This laboratory, in which 3,100 people were measured and interrogated, gave without doubt the best anthropological cross-section of the American people that has ever been made, and the doubling of the number of subjects this summer will quintuple the value and definitiveness of the survey.

The laboratory last summer, which was run by Mr. C. W. Dupertuis, got off to a flying start by first measuring the Beauty Queen of A Century of Progress in the presence of the Chicago press, and from that time on was never lacking in willing subjects. Working seven hours a day, and spending ten minutes on each subject, it soon became necessary for appointments to be made a week ahead of time, so great was the pressure of applicants.

Measurements Taken

Applicants were made to remove their coats and shoes, and in ten minutes 125 facts and measurements were taken, whereupon the subjects replaced their shoes, on their revived feet, and went their ways rejoicing. The cards bearing the data received were then filed for the future compiling of results.

At the present time statistical tabulations of the first 1,565 individuals measured have been made. The time required to accomplish the complete analysis of the material now on hand would keep the Harvard statistical staff busy for two years.

These first 1,565 subjects consisted of 783 males and 782 females, a remarkably even division. Of the males, 57 per cent were born in the United States of native parentage, and of the females 61 per cent. Of the foreign-born males there were 14 per cent, and of females, seven per cent. Of those native born of foreign parentage, the greatest proportion was of British descent, which was followed by the grouped countries Germany, Holland, and Switzerland.

Varied Population

The birthplaces of native born of native parentage throws an interesting light on the attendance of the Exposition. The East North Central census section (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin) produced 41 per cent, the Middle Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) sent 17 per cent, as did the West North Central (Iowa, Montana, North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas). Other districts sent distinctly smaller proportions, so it would seem that the attendance varied almost directly with the proximity of the birthplace to Chicago.

The ranking occupations of the male visitors, in the order given, are Student, Professional, Trade, and Clerical, while the females come from the Professional (schoolteachers), Housewives, Student, and Clerical occupations. The protestant faith led in religious affiliations with 70 per cent of the males and 75 per cent of the females, while the percentages of Catholics were 15 and 13 per cent respectively, and of Jews 14 and 10. This is a remarkably high Jewish showing when compared with the total percentage of Jews in America.

Anthropological Features

Turning to the purely anthropological features of the subjects, the average male was 29 years of age, weighed 153 pounds, and was 68 inches tall, while the females averaged 31 years, 138 pounds, and 63.6 inches. Both men and women averaged shorter than college students of their sex, but the older women measured in the survey were 16.5 pounds lighter than the average American College girl.

The women were of darker complexion with 39 per cent of brunet skins to 31 for the men. The commonest color of hair was golden brown; dark brown and black hair was found to be commoner in men, while red hair was twice as frequent in the female sex. Golden blend hair was more often found in males, but due to the higher average age of the females, they were the more predominantly gray-haired.