Identifier: physiologicalmed00hrdl (find matches)
Title: Physiological and medical observations among the Indians of southwestern United States and northern Mexico
Year: 1908 (1900s)
Authors: Hrdlicka, Ales, 1869-1943
Subjects: Indians of North America Indians of North America Indians of Mexico Anthropometry Anthropometry Anthropometry Anthropometry Indians, North American Indians, North American Indianen Medische antropologie Fysiologie
Publisher: Washington, Govt. Print. Off.
Contributing Library: Columbia University Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Open Knowledge Commons

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me rather indifferent to bad odors,appearing to lack the faculty of perceiving them. A few observations were made with an sesthesiometer on the sensi-bility of the skin, but owing to numerous difficulties the tests had to beabandoned. So far as they went they showed no marked differencefrom the condition ordinarily obtaining among laboring whites. Thebeard region was found to be less sensitive than the neighboring partsof the face. SLEEP AND DREAMS The adult Indian passes ordinarily somewhat more time in sleepthan the civilized white man; but the writer is well satisfied by numer-ous observations that the Indian shows greater capacity than the aver-age white man for enduring loss of sleep without ill effects. It isalmost a rule in ail the tribes to prolong ceremonies, dances, gamblingparties, and other meetings throughout the. night, and sometimesthrough several nights, or several nights and days. On such occasionssome sleep is taken during the day, but it generally amounts to little;
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HRDLicKA) PHYSIOLOGICAL AND MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS 155 yet the usual effects are seldom observable and never complained of.As to dreams, about all that can be said on the basis of the writersinquiry is that they are frequent and variable, and but rarely of aterrifying nature. MENTAL AND NERVOUS POWERS ^ The mental powers of the adult Indians seen are generally good,but in no way extraordinary. Both men and women have very goodmemories, but they are not equally well developed in all directions,and even where developed they often depend on a definite sequencein what is remembered. Their powers of perception are good, buttheir reasoning is rather slow; they show good powers of imitationand adapta,bility; ^ their mental endurance appears remarkable inceremonies and on other special occasions, but ordinarily they tireafter an hour or even less of such moderate, though unusual, brainexertion as they undergo while being questioned. Very dull, as wellas especially gifted, individuals occur but

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