Anthropometry

A word given by a French savant, Alphonse Bertillon, to a system of identification depending on the unchanging character of certain measurements of parts of the human frame. It was largely adopted after its introduction in France in 1883, but fell into disfavor as being costly and as liable to error. It has given place to the "finger print" system devised by Francis Galton, which was adopted in Bengal by the Indian government in 1897 and in England, Germany and Italy; in other countries both systems are used; 4 Towns. Cr. Law 301. See report of United States Commissioner of Education, 1895-6, vol. 2, c. 28, where the Bertillon system is fully described and statutes of Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, etc., are collected. See also Wigmore, Jud. Proof 79. The Bertillon system was based upon: (1) The almost absolute immutability of the human frame after the twentieth year of age; the growth thereafter, being only of the thigh bone, is so little that it is easy to make allowance for it. (2) The diversity of dimension of the human skeleton of different subjects is so great that it is difficult, if not impossible, to find two individuals whose bony structure is even sufficiently alike to make confusion between them possible. (3) The facility and comparative precision with which certain dimensions of the skeleton may be measured in the living subject by calipers of simple construction. The measurements which, as the result of minute criticism, have been preferred, are as follows: (1) Height (man standing); (2) reach (finger tip to finger tip); (3) trunk (man sitting); (4) length; (5) width; (6) length of right ear; (7) width of right ear; (8) length of left foot; (9) length of left middle finger; (10) length of left little finger; (11) length of left forearm. See Rogues' Gallery.