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Indian Physiology
While practically nothing
is known of the physiology of the Eskimo, with the exception
of their great capacity for animal food, recent
investigations have yielded definite information in this
line regarding the Indians. It has been supposed that in his
physiologic functions the Indian differs considerably from
the white man, but the greater our knowledge in this
direction the fewer the differences appear; there is,
however, a certain lack of uniformity in this respect
between the two races.
The period of gestation of Indian women is apparently the same as that of the
whites, and the new-born child is in every way comparable to the white infant.
It begins to suckle as soon as it is given the breast, generally shows excellent
nutrition, and has from the beginning a good voice. In 6 to 8 months the first
teeth appear; during the 7th or 8th month the child begins to sit up; at 1 year
it stands alone, and soon after begins to walk; at the age of about 18 months it
commences to talk, and when 4 years of age it has a good command of language.
During its first year the Indian child spends as much time in sleeping as does a
healthy white child, and after the first year is very playful. It cries, on the
average, less than the white child, but the principal reason for this seems to
be the fact that it is generally well nourished and not sickly. The infant is
nursed usually much later than among whites, not infrequently up to its 3d or
4th year, but after its 6th to 9th month it also partakes of most of the foods
of its parents. Up to the 7th year incontinence of urine is quite frequent,
apparently without pathological cause, but this disappears spontaneously
thereafter.
As among whites, the period of puberty in the Indian is earlier in the low and
hot regions than in those that are elevated or cold. In such very hot regions as
the lower Colorado valley many of the girls begin to menstruate between the ayes
of 11 and 13; while among tribes that live at a considerable altitude, as the
Apache of Arizona and the Indians farther N., this function begins usually
during the 13th or 14th year, and delays are more numerous; precise data from many localities are as yet lacking. The development of
the breast in the girl commences usually at about the 12th year, and except
among individuals there appears to be no great variation among the tribes of
which there is most knowledge. Full development of the breast is seldom attained
in the unmarried young woman before the 18th year. The time of puberty in Indian
boys differs apparently but little, if any, from that in whites. Scanty growth
of mustache is noticeable from about the 16th year, sometimes much later.
Marriage is generally entered into earlier than among American whites; only few
girls of more than 18 years, and few young men of more than 22 years, are
unmarried. Now and then a girl is unmarried at 14 or 15, and there is an instance
of a Comanche girl of 11 years who married a
Kiowa. Among the latter tribe it is
not exceptional for girls to be married at 13. Indian women bear children early,
and the infants of even the youngest mothers seem in no way defective. The birth
rate is generally high, from 6 to 9 births in a family being usual. Twins are
not very uncommon, but triplets occur very rarely. One or more naturally sterile
women may be met in every large hand.
The adult life of the Indian offers nothing radically different from that of
ordinary whites. The supposed early aging of Indian women is by no means general
and is not characteristic of the race; when it occurs, it is due to the
conditions surrounding the life of the individual. stray hairs in small numbers
may occasionally be found, as in brunette whites, even in children, but such
occurrence is without significance. Senile grayness does not commence earlier
than among healthy whites, and it advances more slowly, seldom, if ever,
reaching the degree of complete whiteness. Baldness not due to disease is
extremely rare. A common phenomenon observed in the aged Indian is pronounced
wrinkling of the skin of the face and other parts. Little is known as to the
exact period of menopause in the women, for but few of them know their actual
age. Men remain potent, at least occasionally, much beyond 50 years. The
longevity of the Indian is very much like that of a healthy white man. There are
individuals who reach the age of 100 years and more, but they are exceptional.
Among aged Indians there is usually little decrepitude. Aged women predominate
somewhat in numbers over aged men. Advanced senility is marked by general
emaciation, marked wrinkling of the skin, forward inclination of the body, and
gradual diminution of muscular power as well as of acuteness of the senses. The
teeth are often much worn down, or are lost mainly through the absorption of the
alveolar processes. Among the more primitive tribes, who often pass through
periods of want, capacity for food is larger than in the average
white. Real excesses in eating are witnessed among such tribes, but
principally at feasts. On the reservations, and under ordinary
circumstances, the consumption of food by the Indian is usually
moderate. All Indians readily develop a strong inclination for and are
easily affected by alcoholic drinks. The average Indian ordinarily
passes somewhat more time in sleep than the civilized white man; on
the other hand, he manifests considerable capability for enduring its
loss, Yawning, snoring, eructation, and flatus are about as common
with Indians as with whites. Sneezing, however, is rare, and hiccough
even more so. Dreams are frequent and variable. Illusions or
hallucinations in healthy individuals and under ordinary conditions
have not been observed. Left handedness occurs in every tribe, and
with nearly the same frequency as among whites (approximately 3 per
cent). The sight, hearing, smell, and taste of the Indian, so far as
can be judged from unaided but extended observation, are in no way
peculiar. In the ordinary Indian with healthy eyes and ears, the sight
and hearing are generally very good, but in no way phenomenal. To
those who receive education above that of the common school, glasses
are often necessary. In the old, eyesight is generally weakened, and
in some the hearing is more or less blunted. The physical endurance of
Indians on general occasions probably exceeds that of the whites. The
Indian easily sustains long walking or running, hunger and thirst,
severe sweating, etc.; but he often tires readily when subjected to
steady work. His mental endurance, however, except when he may be
engaged in ceremonies or games, or on other occasions which produce
special mental excitement, is but moderate; an hour of questioning
almost invariably produces mental fatigue. Respiration and temperature
are nearly the same as in healthy whites, the latter perhaps averaging
slightly lower; but the pulse is somewhat slower, the general average
in adult men approximating 66. Muscular force in the hands, tested by
the dynamometer, is somewhat lower than with whites in the males and
about equal in the females. The shoulder strength shows less
difference, and the strength, or at least the endurance, of the back
and lower limbs, judging from the work and other pursuits to which the
Indians are accustomed, probably exceeds that of the whites. The mental functions of the Indian should be compared
with those of whites reared and living under approximately similar
circumstances. On closer observation the differences in the
fundamental psychical manifestations between the two races are found
to be small. No instincts not possessed by whites have developed in
the Indian. His proficiency in tracking and concealment, his sense of
direction, etc., are accounted for by his special training and
practice, and are not found in the Indian youth who has not had such
experience. The Indian lacks much of the ambition known to the white
man, yet he shows more or less of the quality where his life affords a
chance for it, as in war, in his games, art, adornment, and many other
activities. The emotional life of the Indian is more moderate and ordinarily more
free from extremes of nearly every nature, than that of the white
person. The prevalent subjective state is that of content in
wellbeing, with inclination to humor. Pleasurable emotions
predominate, but seldom rise beyond the moderate; those of a painful
nature are occasionally very pronounced. Maternal love is strong,
especially during the earlier years of the child. Sexual love is
rather simply organic, not of so intellectual an order as among
whites; but this seems to be largely the result of views and customs
governing sex relations and marriage. The social instinct and that of
self-preservation are much like those of white people. Emotions of
anger and hatred are infrequent and of normal character. Fear is
rather easily aroused at all ages, in groups of children occasionally
reaching a panic; but this is likewise due in large measure to
peculiar beliefs and untrammeled imagination. Modesty, morality, and the sense of right and justice
are as natural to the Indian as to the white man, but, as in other
respects, are modified in the former by prevalent views and conditions
of life. Transgressions of every character are less frequent in the
Indian. Memory (of sense impressions as well as of mental acts proper)
is generally fair. Where the faculty has been much exercised in one
direction, as in religion, it acquires remarkable capacity in that
particular. The young exhibit good memory for languages. The faculty
of will is strongly developed. Intellectual activities proper are
comparable with those of ordinary healthy whites, though on the whole,
and excepting the sports, the mental processes are probably habitually
slightly slower. Among many tribes lack of thrift, improvidence,
absence of demonstrative manifestations, and the previously mentioned
lack of ambition are observable; but these peculiarities must be
charged largely, if not entirely, to differences in mental training
and habits. The reasoning of the Indian and his ideation, though
modified by his views, have often been shown to be excellent. His
power of imitation, and even of invention, are good, as is his
aptitude in several higher arts and in oratory. An Indian child reared
under
the care of whites, educated in the schools of civilization, and without having
acquired the notions of its people, is habitually much like a white child
trained in a similar degree under similar conditions.
Consult Boteler, Peculiarities of the American Indian from a Physiological and
Pathological Standpoint, 1880-81; Mays, Experimental Inquiry, 1887; Holder, Age
of Puberty of Indian Girls, 1890; Currier, Study Relative to Functions of
Reproductive Apparatus, 1891; Parker, Concerning American Indian Womanhood,
1891-92; Eleventh Census, Rep. on Indians, 1894; Hrdlicka (1) Physical and
Physiological Observations on the Navaho, 1900, (2) Bull. 34, B. A. E., 1908.
See also the bibliographies under Anatomy and
Health and Disease. Additional Indian History
Resources:
The books presented are for their
historical value only and are not
the opinions of the Webmasters of
the site.
Handbook of American Indians, 1906
Indian Tribal History
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