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Show J: . I 334 TilE CRANIAL CIJARACTERISTICS occipital protuberances, and full from those points to _tho op_cning of the car. From the parietal protuberances thoro 1s a sltghtly curved slope to tho vortex, producing a conical, or rather a wcclgoshapccl outline. I!UMBOLDT has romarl cd, that 'thoro is no race on tho globe in which tho frontal bono is so much pressed backwards, nnd in which the forehead is so small.' 268 It must bo observed, howover that the lowness of tho forehead is in some measure compensated by its breadth, which is generally considerable. The flat forehead was esteemed beautiful among a vast number of tribes; nnd this fancy has boon tho principal incentive to the moulding of tho head by art. .Although the orbital cavities arc large, the oyos themselves are smaller than in Europeans; and FltESIEit assorts that tho Puelche women he saw in Chili were absolutely hideous from tho smallness of their oyos. 'fho latter are also deeply sot or sunk in the head; an appearance which is much increased by the low and promiuent fi·ontal ridges ..... What bas boon saiu of the bony orbits obtains with surprising uniformity; thus tho superior margin is but slightly curved, while tho inferior may be compared to an inverted arch. The lateral margins form curves rather mediate between the other two. This fact is tho more interesting on account of tho contrast it presents to tho oblong orbit and. pamllcl margins obsorv~tblo in the Malay. Tho latter conformation, however, is sometimes soon in the American, but chiefly in those sl ulls which have been altered by pressure to tho frontal bono.- Tho nose constitutes one ofthe strongest and most uniform features of tho Indian countenance; it mostly presents tho decidedly arch d form, without being strictly aquiline, and still more 1"< r ly flat. -Tho nasal cavities Fig. 61. correspond to tho size of tho nose it, elf; and the remarkable acuteness of smell possessed by the American Indian has been attributed to the groat expansion of the olfactory membrane. But tho perfection of this sense, like that of hearing among the same people, is perl1aps chiefly to bo attributed to its constant and assiduous cuHivation. Tho cheek-bonos are largo and prominent, and incline rapidly towards the lower jaw, giving the face an angular conformation. Tho ur per jaw is often elongated, and much inclined outwards, but tho tooth are for tho most part vertical. Tho lower jaw is broad. and ponderous, aud truncated in ft·ont. The tooth arc also very large, and seldom decayed; for among the many that remain in the skulls in my possession, very few present any marks of disease, 2118 Mouumonta, t. I., p. 158. OF TIIE RACES OF MEN. 385 although they are often much worn down by attrition in the masti~ cation of hard substances." Tho Pomvian skull "is remarkable for its small size, and also, as just observed, for its quadmngular form. Tho occiput is greatly compr sscd, sometimes absolutely vertical; tho sides arc swelled out, and the forehead is somewhat el vatcd, but very retreating. 1'ho capacity of tho cavity of tho cranium, dcl'ivcd from tho measurement of many specimens of the pure Inca race, shows a singlllarly small cerebral mass for an intelligent and civilized people. These heads arc romarlmbl not only for their smallness, but also for their irregularity; for in the whole scri s in my possession, there is but one that can be called symmetrical. This irregularity chiefly consists in tho greater projection of the occiput to one side than the other, showing in some instances a surprising degree of deformity. As this condition is as often observed on one side as tho other, it is not to bo attributed to the intentional application of mechanical force; on tho contmry, it is to a certain d grcc common to the whole .American race, and is sometimes no doubt increased by tho manuor in which the child. is plac din tho cradle." From tho preceding paragraph, it will bo seen that Dr. MoRTON considered tho asymmetry of tlto Peruvian head. to be congenital. In a subsequent essay lto con ln<.l. cl that tllis deformity was the result of pres ure artificially applicc1.259 According to Rrv.c:Ro and Tso11 UDT, this deform-ity cau bo demonstrated uvon the mummicd Cmtus. It lll ust, thor fore, be regard <1 as tho natural form of a primeval race. This opinion is onfirmcd by tho following extract f"rom a Jetter of Dr. J_,uND, of Copcnlwgcn, addressed. to tho IJislori ·al and Geographical o icLy of Brazil, concerning some organic remains discovorccl in tho calcareous rocks in the Province of Minas G cmcs, Brazil. "We know," srtys he, "thn.t the l1uman figures found sculptured in the ancient monument.~ of Mexico represent, for tho grorttor part, a singular conformation of head,- being entirely without forehead- the cmniurn retrotlting backwards immodi11tely nbovo tho supercilitt• ·y 1\l'Ch. ~'his ttnomaly, which is gcn rn.lly nttl'ibntcd to n.n artificirtl diHfigurn.tion of tho hon.d, or lho taste of tho nrtist, now ndmit.~ tt more untuml oxtlrtnn.tion; it being now proved, by these n.uthentic <looumontH, thn.t thoro really oxistod on Uti~ oor•tincr•t n"rnoo exhibiting this 11nomnlous conformntion." :l()O Many curious ihcts might bo mentioned in this connection, slwwino · that not a :fi w oftho arLificial deformations ofthe head witness cl in c rtain races of men, arc in reality imitations of once natural typ s. "We know," says AMF.nihJ 'J'm NllltY, "thnt tho Ilu••s used ILrtifioinl manns for gh·ing Mongoli!Ln phy~iognomy to their children; they tlnttcnccl the nose with firmly-strained 269 ]~thnogmphy !IIJd Archooology of the American Aborigines. Silliman's Journn.l, November, 1846. 200 '!'hi~ I llor w11s tmnslttlod by Lieut. Stmin, U.S.N., nnd n synopsis of il published in the Pl'ocoodiugB of the Phihtdt\. AcnJ. Ntlt. Soiouocs, Fobl'unry, 1844. |