Indigenous Races of the Earth

XGN23N881857 133

210 TllE CRANIAL CITARACTEIUSTICS its organization. In attaining this high dcv lopment, it pass s suc­cessively thro11gh tho .forms which b long pormancDtly to fishes, r •p­tilos, birds, mammals, N ogrocs, Malays, Americans, and Mongolians. Tho houy structure und rgoos simil~tr altCl'l\tions. "One of tho earliest points whore ossi fic!ltion commences is tho low or jnw. '!'his bono is th<ll·oforo sooner OOlllplotcd thtm ~tny oUter of tho !tend, o.nd ncquiros n predominance which it novor loses iu tho Negro. Duri11g tho soft, plitwt ~tMo of the bonos of tho skull, tho oblong form which they natumlly assume appronchos nollrly tho pcl'llumont slmpo of tho Amoricn.n. At birth, tho llaltoncd ftteo and broad, smooth forehct\d of tho iuft\nt; tho po~ition of tho eyes, rather townrds tho sides of tho hoo.d, ~tnd tho widonod space between, ropt·osont tho J\fongoliMl form, wl1ich, in tho CaucMitln, is not oblitomtod but by d groes, 1\8 tho child tu.lvancos to maturity." lfs~milton Smith, commenting upon these interesting J'esctnchos, s~tys: "Should tho con­ditions of cerobml progress l>o more cornploto nt birth in tho Cnuonusian typo, o.nd l>o succeH~ivoly lower in the Mongolio nnd intermediate Mrll~ty and Amoric~tn, with the woolly­hnired lot\st dovelopod of all, it would follow, according to tho nppnrontly gonornl law of pt·ogl'OS8ion in tLnimatocl nnturo, that both- or nt lo~tst tho lo.st-montionod- would he in tho conditions which Hhow a mot·e ancient dnlo of oxistonoo t]l(ln tho othot·, notwith8to.nding thnt both this and tho Mongolic tu·o so ooustitutbd that tho spark of montrLl dovolopmont onn bo rcceiv d by thorn through oontnct with tho high or Caucnsirm innorv11tion; thus appcn.ring, in clasRifiorl zoology, to conHtitnto perhaps tbt·oo spooios, originnting at difforcut epochs, ot· simultaneously in sop1wnto regions; while, by tho faculty of fusion which tho last, or C!Lucasian, imparted to them, progression up to intolloctual equality woulcl manifest ossontio.l unity, ~tnd rcudor nll alike responsible beings, !Looording to tho dogreo of their existing capnbilitios- for this must bo tho ultima to condition for which Man is created." llO From his own researches, Prof. AGASSIZ conclndos that it is impos­sible, in the frotal state, to detect tho anatomical marh which arc chn.radoristic of sp cios. Those specific marks he n.ssuroa us become manifest as the animal, in the course of its dovolopm nt, approaches th adult state. In li i"c manner, the evolution of tho physical aml monlal peculia1·ities of the di:llcrcnt races of men appears to com­men · at tho moment of birth. Dr. KNox, in his recent communi­cations in tho" London Lancet," already rofcl'l'ed to, maintains almost the same opiuion. lie considers tho embryo of any species of any natnml family as the most pol'icct of forms, ombracjng within itself~ during ita phases of d ·vclopmcnt, all the forms or species which that naLnt·aJ ii.tmily can assume or has as umed in past time. "In tho embryo and the young individual of any species of the naLural family of tho Salmonidoo, for oxarnplo," says he, "you will find the chal'actcristics of tho adult of all tho species. 'l'hc same, I believe h ldi:! in man; so that, were all the existing species of any family t; be accidcn~~tlly d~stl'oyccl, savi11g one, in the embryos and young of t1Htt one wlll be found the clements of all the species ready to re­appear to :cpcoplc the waters and tho earth, the forms they are to assume ben~g clepend.ont on, thor foro determined by, tho existing ordo.r of thwgs. W1tb another order will arise a new series of spe<.nos, al o for a on and provid d for in the existing world." 80 Nttt. lli~t. of tho IIumun Spocios, pp. 176-7. Seo also Serres' Anatomic Compnr6o. OF TIIE RACES OF MEN. 2B7 If we carofu1ly consider tho development of tho cranium, it will be soon that this d volopmont goes on botwoou, and is modi fi d by two systems of or<rans- externally tho muscular, int rnally the n rvous. Tho brain exerts a double inilLleJicc, mechanically or passively by its weight, and actively by its gwwth. That the l>r~in completely fills its bony case, is su{J-ici ntly well known from the fa ·t of the im1 rossions loft upon tho inner aspect of the erani Lnn by the er bral convolutions and v ssols. Very sligllt allowance need be made for tho thi ·lm ss of the m ning s. 'l'hat tho progee!:l ive development of the brain is r ally capal>lo of exerting some force npon tho cranial bones sunouuding it, is shown in the records o! ·as s of hypertrophy of that organ, where, upon post-mortem xmm­nation, tho calvaria being removed, the spongy mass has protl'U led from the opening and could not be replaced. That tho .bo~10s arc capable of yiol<li11g to a distending force acting from w1tlun out­wards, is shown in tho cas s of clrrouic hydrocephalus, where tho vontri ·lcs arc fonml full of water, th brain-tissue flat.tcnod out, and tho bonos groaLly distorted. Such a force becomes perceptible in )H'oportion to tho dcg1· o of softness and pliancy of t!10 bonos. A check to Hs acti n will be f, und in the sutures and m the arnount of resistance ofl-'crcd by tho dnra-mator. Now it must be obvious that as long as tho sutures remain open, and the developmental activity of the brain c ntinuos, tl1e head must 011largo. If all the sutures remain open, this dovolopm nt will be recrular and in oxa t prO] ortion to tl1c activity of crrowth manifested by tho clifforont pat:ts of tl1c encephalon. W11cn a suture closes, further d~velopmci.lt. m that direction wm in gr at moarmro terminate. Of tlt1s proposttwn Dr. MoRTON gjvos us tho following example: "I havo in my possession," says ho, "tho skull of a mulatto boy, who diod at tho nge of oightcon yoo.rs. In this instnnco, tho Bttgittnl suture is entirely wnnting; iu con.se­quonce, tho latornl oxpnnsion of tho omnium has ceased in infancy, or at wh.atover por10d tho suture bocarno consolidntod. Jtonco, also, tho clinmotcl' between tho pnr1etal protube­rances is loss tlmn 4.6 inches, instol\ I of 6, which lr1st is tho Nogt·o avomge. 1'ho squamous sutures, howovor, arc fully opon, whence tho skull has continued to expand in the ~pward direction until it h~ts rro.chod tho avorngo vortiotll di~t1nctor of tho Negro, or 6.6 mohos. ~'ho eot·;nn,J suture is also w~tnting, excepting some tmcos 1\t its lateml termini; nnd tho result of this last dofioioncy is soon in tho very inadol'[tmto dovolopmont of tl~o fot·ehot~d, which is low and narrow, but olong~ttod below, through the ngonoy of tho :rmous crn.ruo­ft\ cial sutm·es. Tho l11mbdoidal suture is perfect, thus permitting postonor olongo.tion; ~tnd tho gr·owth in this direction. together with tho full vertical din motor, hi\S onttblcd. tho bmin to nttl\in tho bulk of- cubic inchcR, or about -less than the Negro 1\V.OI'.ago. I holtovo that the nbsouco or parti~tl dovclopmont of tho sutnros mny boa cnudc £lf rdtocy by chcck­iug tho growth of tho brnin, and thereby impairing or destroying its fuuctions."' 81 st Soc a pnpor 011 tho Size of tho Drain in tho VrHious RMos n~ll Fa~il:~~. of Mmt; with Ethuologic~tl Remarks; by Snmuol Ooo1·go Morton, M.D.: ptthll~hed ,m J ~pes of ~[~In­kind," by Nott aud Oliddo11, 1 hibdolphin, 1851, p. 303, note. Sec also lroccodmgs of llirla. Acad. Nut. Sci. fot· August, 1841.