Preservation of Boas' North Amerindian Anthropometric Data

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During the late 1800s the eminent anthropologist, Franz Boas, conducted an anthropometric survey of nearly 200,000 native North Americans. This is the largest and most comprehensive set of data ever assembled on North American Indians. Boas even recorded the genealogical relationships among individuals in most of the tribal samples. However, no systematic compilation or analysis of these data has ever been carried out. In their present form the data are of limited value for research. The goal of this research is: (1) to enter the information from Boas' study into a computerized data base; (2) to preserve the data sheets by microfilming; and, (3) to catalog and cross- reference the data sheets, microfilm, and data base so they will be a useful research tool for students of human biological variation. These data offer the only opportunity, with historical depth, for a continent-wide synthesis of anthropometric variation among North American Indians.