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Show 290 TilE CRANIAL CHARACTERISTICS ancient people, such as the Iberians or Basques of tho Pyrenees, tho Lapps and Samoiodos, ami the Pelasgi, traces of whom arc still found in Greece. "Nox.t. in succession to this aboriginal mco, subsisting by fishing and hunting, comes r1nother with a omnium of a more lengthened oval form, and prominent and narrow occiput. I think lbis second rttee to have been of Gothic extraction, to bo.vo first commenced the division of tho land for agricultural purposes, and consequently to have had bloody strife with tho former inhabitants ...... . "Tho thircl race which hns inhabited Scandinavia came possib1y ft·om tho North and Eo.st, and introduced bronze into tho country; tho form of tho skull is very dilfcront from that of the two former r110~s. His larger than the first, and broader t.han tho second, and withal prominent at tho sides. I consider this rtlce to have boon of Celtic origin." l'he fourth, or true Swea race, introduced into Swodon woo.pons and instruments of iron, and 11ppc11r to btwe been tho immodio.to o.ncestors of tho present Swedes. With this ro.ce Swedish history fflirly begins.m Prof. RETzrus, in the main, coincides with the opinion of Prof. NILSSON. ITo applies to tho Lapps the term Turanio, and regards them as the relics of tho true Scandinavian aborigines- a people who once occupied not only tho southern part of Sweden, but also Denrru11·k, Great Britain, Northern Geem::my, and Franco. ITo calls tho Turanic skull, brachy-cephalic (short-head), and describes it as short and round, the occiput flattened, anc.l tho parietal protuberances quito prominent.178 A cast of a Norwegian skull in the Mortonian Collection (No. 1260), is remarkable for its great size. It belongs to tho dolichocephalic variety of RETZIUS. 'l'ho fl'onto-pariotal convexity is regular from side to side. The occipital region as a whole is quite prominent; but tho basal portion of tho occiput is flat and parallel with the horizon when tho honil rests sqnarely upon tho lower jaw. The glabella, superciliary ri<lgcs, and external angular processes of the os froutis are very rough and prominent, overhanging the orbits and inter-orbital space in such a manner as to give a very harsh and forbidding expression to the face. The semi-circular ridges passing back from the external angular process, arc quite elevatcc.l and sharp. Tho nasal bones are high and rather sharp at the line of junction; orbits capacious; malar hones of moderato size, and fla.ttoncd anterolatcrally; superior maxilla rather small in comparison with the inferior, which is quite largo, and much flared out at the angles. The facial angle is good, and the whole head strongly marked. According to Prof. RE1'zrus, the Swedish cranium, as soon from above, presents an oval figure. Its gr·oatest breadth is to its greatest o.ud wo.ter in tho South Pacific Ocean, may l1ave so circumscribed the -geographical limits of the Uinornia o.nd Palapteryx, as to produce conditions that tended to diminish their numbers prcparo.tory to thoi1· finl\l annihilat.ion." 177 Report of tho British A~socintion for the Advo.ncement of Science, for 1847, p. 31. ne Sec MUller's Archives, for 1813 p. 575. OF TilE RACES OF MEN. 291 length as 1000 : 773. The external occipital protuberance is rcmat·kably prominent, so that the external auditory meatus appears to occupy a more advanced position than is really the case. A plane passing through the two meati, perpendicular to the long diameter of the cranium, cuts this diameter nearly in the middle. Tho face is long, but not very prominent, the inferior jaw well pronounced and massive, while the inter-orbHal space is large, as is generally tho case with tho Northern races of ~en. From the skulls found in ancient tombs, we may infer that this form has not varied for at least 1000 ycars. 170 '!'he Swedish form of skull, judging from the specimens in Morton's Collection, bears a family resemblance to the Norwegian, and in several respects is not unlike the Anglo-Saxon head .figured in the first decade of Crania Britannica. In the Anglo-Saxon, however, the chin is more ncuminated, and the maxillary rami longer. Tho chief points of rescm blance about the calvaria, are the slightly elevated forehead, the rather :fl.attenod vortex, and the inclination of the parietalia downwards and backwards towards tho occiput. This latter feature is also possessed by the N orwcgian cast rcfct'red to above. In the skull of a Swedish woman of tho thil'tecnth century (No. 1249 of the Mortonian Collection), the singularly protuberant occiput projects far behind the foramen magnum. Tho skulls of an ancient Ostrogoth (No. 1255), and two ancient Cimbric Swedes (Nos. 1550 and1532), evidently belong to tho same pcculiat· type. These four heads resemble each other as strongly as they differ ft·om tho remaining Swedes, Finns, Germans, and Kelts in the Collection. They call to mind the kumbo-kephaloo, or boat-shaped skulls of Wn,soN. No. 1362, a cast of an ancient Oimbrian skull, from tho Danish Island of Moen, presents tho same elongated form. It difl:crs from tho four preceding skulls in being larger, more massive, and broader in tho forehead. Nos. 117, 1258, and 1488 possess the true Swedish form as described above. Two Swedo-Finland skulls (Nos. 1545 and 1546)-markcd in my ·manuscript catalogue as appertaining to "descendants of colonists who settled in Finland in the most remote times"- arc broader, more angular, and less oval than the true Swedish form. The horizontal portion of the occiput is quite flat, and the occipital protuberance prominent. 'l'hree Sudermanland Swedes have tho same general form. Three Swedish Finns (mixed race) have a more squarely globular, anc.l leAs 110 Ueber die Schii.delformon der Nordbewohnor in Milllor'a Archiv., 1845. |
