Abstract: A somatological survey was carried out on 164 Boatsmen living at the Lotus Hill, Guangzhou. The objects of the survey include 106 males and 58 females, most of them are between 21 and 50 in age (70%) .
The results of the study are summarized as follows:
1. The form of face in most cases is of oval shape (54%) . Acconding to the conponent classification of the morphological facial height and breadth, most of the subjeets belong to medium flat type with moderate cheekbones. Their eye apertures are mainly' horizontal and the palpebral opening medium in size. The Mongoloid fold is present but not obvious. Eye lids with folds wider than 2 mm are often observed. The nasal bridge looks straight-concave with the rhinion sticking upwards in the profile view. The nasion is medium in height. The nostril opening, triangle or oval in most cases, posts in a vertical or sliding position. The alare is mainly medium in size and prominent in shape and usually wider than the interocular breadth. The sideview of the upper lip shows curymeric. The forehead of the males is apparently sliding while that of the female erect. The gnathion is straight. Only five males observed have double hair vortexes and the other subjects all have single vortex.
2. The stature of the Boatsmen generally belongs to submedium type in males and short type in females.
3. The breadth-length index of the head of the Boatsmen is of mesocephalic type in most cases (51. 2%) . The length-height index of the head shows 77% of hypsicephaly while the breadth-height index of the head shows 41% of metriocephaly and 38% of arecephaly. The (n-gm) : (zy-zy) index shows 35. 3%of leptoprocopy and 27. 6% of mesoprocopy in facial forms. 62% of the noses may be grouped under mesorrhiny type. The lower limbs are generally longer than their upper limbs and the skelic index represents 38. 6% of subbrachyskelic type and 36. 84 of mesolisklic type in females and 45% of mesoliskelic type and 25. 4% of submakroskelic type in males.
4. The results of comparison indicate that the Boatsmen at the Lotus Hill, Guangzhou have the strongest resemblance to Zhuang Nationality in Guangxi in physical characters, and are similar to Li Nationality on Hainan Island but dissimilar to Yao Nationality at Jianghua County of Hunan Province.
The results listed above contribute to the conclusion that it is apparent that the Boatsmen are grouped under Southern-Chinese of Mongoloid.

Key words: Somatoscopy; Anthropometry; Boatsmen at the Lotus Hill