Abstract: A somatological survey on 470 males and 140 femeles of Li nationality living in Hainan island was carried out by the authors in December, 1980.
Main conclusions regarding anthropol ogical features of Li nationality from this study are as follows:
The physical characters of Li nationality
The hair is straight in form and black in color. The position of the hair vortices is various, but most of them are situated on the middle line of head. The frequency of single hair vortex is very high (94.01%). Most of the winding of single parietal vortex are clockwise (66.2%). The form of head belongs to short-wide type in both sexes. The length-height index of head is of the hypsicephalic type and breadth-height index, the acrocephalie type.
The form of face in most cases is of the wide rhombic type and the pentagonal type. According to the component classification of the morphological facial height and the facial breadth, it can be seen that most of them belong to low-wide type.
Brown eye color is eommomly represented in both sexes. The direction of the eye aperture is mainly sloping upward (83.55%) in both sexes. On the palpebral opening, the wide type is of the largest proportion in both sexes. The Mongolian fold is absent in most cases. Double eye lids are observed in high percentage.
The profile view of the nasal bridge is mainly of the straight type in both sexes. The nasal index belongs to the mesorrhiny type.
The body constitution of Li nationality generally belongs to narrow-long type in males and nearly to short-wide type in females. The skelic index belongs to "makTOS- kelic'' type in both sexes.
The relationship among various regional groups in Li nationality.
The features of four regional groups in somatoscopy, judging from "t'' value, is basically are similar to each other. But there are differences in some anthropometic items.
From the cluster graph we ean see that the Le-dong group (Ha Li) is close to Bao-ting group (Qi Li), and the Bai-sha group (Ben Di Li) is close to Chang-jiang group (Mei Fu Li).
The relationship between Li nationality and other nationalities.
The results of the cluster analysis indicates that Li most closely affilates with Zhuang, Bouyei and Yi nationalities. The results of comparison with other Han na_x001F_tionalities revealed that Li most closely affiliated with Han nationalities living in Guangxi? Guangdong and Fujian, and also closely affiliates with Atayal, Ami amd Peipu tribes living in Taiwan Province.
According to these analysis we regarded the Li nationality to belong to South China type in physical characters, and suggested that they may originate from an ancestor living in South China.

Key words: Somatoscopy; anthropometry; body constitution; Li nationality; regional groups