Indigenous Races of the Earth

XGN23N881857 177

:124 TTIE CRANIAL CUARACTERISTJCS the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, north of the Mountains of the Moon, is compo. ed of numerous and cliv r ified trib s, who, under the influ nces of Arabian, Berber, and other foreign immigrations, have asAnmcd, in general, a higher character than those of tl1c outh A.frican family. This triangular area of African types incloses a terra inr:o.IJnita, towards which tl1e ethnologist alreauy looks for remarlmhlo r volations. 213 It. would roqnit·o many pages to d scribe tho cranial characters of the numerous indigenous and exotic tribes -some exceedingly ancient, and some quite modern- which the t.nweller beholds in journeying fl'om Cape Verde to Abyssinia, thence to the Cape of Good Hope, and so to the point of departure on the western coast. A very brief repr scntation, therefore, of some of the principal cranial types must here su'illce. BLUMliJNBAOIT has already commented upon the number and diversity of African skull-forms. He figures six African heads in the Decade.~, all differing from each other in fro11tal development, prominence of the maxillm, configuration of chin, &c. 'l'his diversity of form is still better shown by the Mrican heads contained in the Mortonian Collection; from which seri s I select, as the peculiar type of Africa, 110t tho highest, but a specimen of the lowest form- that of the woolly-hair <1, prognathous man, the true N gro (Fi.g. 52, on next page). In doing so, I but iollow the example of LAwltENOE, and the advice of MULLER, ZEUN]IJ, and others. 'J:Itat the head here figured 24 3 At n meeting of the Ac~domy of Nn.tuml Scioncos of PIJillldelphitt, held October I Gth, J85fl, "Mr. CASSIN n.nnouncod, thttt M. DuciJttillu wn.s about to return to Western Af'1·ios1, for the pUI·poso, cxolusivoly, of googro.phical explomtion, and tho collection of objects of' Nttturn.l llislory. AtTnngomonts bttvo boon 11111do to secure, foJ· the cabinet of this Society, the collections of Birds ospocinlly, nnd nlso of some other objects. Mr. Ca~siu oxpl11inctl the general design of tho Expedition, which was to pasH from Capo Lopez, 1° S. h\titudo, towards tho supposed source of tho Congo River, with tho intention of attempting to ronch its sonr·co. Mr. Duchttillu hn.s n.lt·oady pouotmtod ftwther into t.ho interior of this part of Afr·ico. than nny other white mnn. 'l'ho const is unknown f'tlrthor inlan<l than from tweuty to twenty-five mile~, except to shwors, thoro having been no exploration of that part of Africa. M. Duchttillu had boon 011 tho ltivors Moonda nnd Mouni, bud traced tho lnttor to its source, and httd nscert11incd tho oxistonco of high mount11ins, pr·obttbly a con­tinu~ tion or spu1· of lho Atlas runge, and much further south thn.n is to bo found in any pu~hshod mn.pa. Another fact tlscertaiHod by him, is tho existence of a very populou~ nttt1on, of markod Negro chnrn.ctm·, known n.s tho Powoin N•~tion, which he ostim~ttos ttt from five to seven millions. Th ~ ir countr·y extends uoross from tho sources of tho Moondn., probt~bly to tho sources of tho N1lo, 1\llrl tho 1111tion is probably that mentioned by llruco, us oooastonally doscondiug tho Nilo. It is a wn.rliko and cannibal natiOJI, ongn.gcd in agri­culture, uot .Witndoring, resom bling in Ulis respect tho Ashnntocs and Dnhomoys. It dis­JJlays tho lnghcst degree of civilization yet observed n.mong tho true Nogt·ocs, proso11tinf!; !It\ annlogy to tho l'oojoos, among tho Oceanic nations. M. Duchaillu possesses peculiar ndvantngos ns t\n explorer. ITo has lived lOYlg in tho country, is entirely ~toolimatod, spen.ks well two of tho lttng~ttges. 1111Clundorstnnds thoroughly the Negro chnrnctcr. ITo proposes to proceed moroly w1th convoys of natives from ottch tribe successively to tho next." OF THE RACES OF lfEN. (No. 983 of the Collection) is Fig. fi2. neitl10r an unusual nor exagge­rated form, is rendereu evident by comparing it with the Creole Negro given in the first volume of PurorrAI.tD's laborious Researclws into the Physical Ilisto1·y of Man­kind, w1th the drawings of SANDI­FOlt'r, 214 and CAMP.EI:t,2.15 or with the skull represented on Plate Vill. N~;ono. of Lawrence's Lectw·es. Indeed, 325 this latter drawing presents a more degraded fo•·m than the accom­panying figure. 'J'he general typical resemblance, however, is so great, that I transcribe, witlJOut hesitation and for self-evident rca­sons, the following description by LAWRENOFJ: "Tho front of tho head, including tho forohon.d and fn.ce, is comproa~ed laterally, and considorn.bly elongn.tod toward~ tho frout; honoo tho length of tho whole ~kull, from tho teeth to the occiput, is considemble. It forms, in this respect, tho strongest contrast to thn.t globular shn.po which ~omo of tho Caucasian rnces present, ttnd which is very remark­able in the Turk. -1'ho cnpttcity of the cranium is reduced, p~trtionlo.rly in its front pn.rt .... 1'ho face, on tho conti·~try, is enlarged. 'l'ho frontal bono is shorter, and, na well as tho parictn.l, less excavt\ted and less capt>cious thn.u in tho European; tho temporal ridge mount.~ higher, antl tho space which it includes is much more considomblo. 1'ho front of tho skull scorns compressed into n narrow keel-like form between tho two powerful temporal muscles, which rise nen.rly to tho highest pn.rt of' tho head; and has a compressed figure, which is not oqunlly m111'kod in tho entire head, on account of UJo thickness of tho muscles. Instead of tho ample swell of tho forehead and vortex, which riHos between 1tud completely surmounts !Ito comprtratively weak tempomlmu sclo~ of t110 European, wo often sco only a smn.ll spn.co loft botwoon tho two temporal ridges iu tho Ethiopin.n.- The foru.­mon magnum is larger, nnd lies fnrthcr back in tho head; tho other openings for the pnssngo of tho nerves arc lm·got".- Tho bony sulJstnnce is dousor and hn.rclcr; tho sides of tho skull thicker, and the whole weight consequently more considernblo.- 'l'ho bouy appn.mtus employed in mastication, aud in forming rccoptnclcs for the orgn.ns of sense, is lm·gcr, stronger, and more advr1ntageously constructed for powerful effect, thnn in tho rn.cos whore mor·o extensive usc of experience nnd rcnson, and grcntct· civilizntion, supply tho plttco of nnimn.l slt·ongth.-If tho bones of tho face in tho Negro wore tu.ken ns n. b~tsi~, and " crn.nium wore nddod to them of tho sttmo relative maguitudo wiJich it possesses in tho European, It receptacle for tho bmin would be required much ln.t·ger th!ttl in the lr1ttor cn~e. IIowcvor, we find it con~idcrn.IJly smttllor. 1'hns tho intolloctuul part is lessened, the nrti­UII\ 1 organs arc on l~tr·god: proportions n.ro produced just opposite to lhoso which aro founcl in tho Grecian ideal modo!. ... l'ho murow, low, und sln.uting forohond, and tho elongn.­tion of tho jn.ws into n. kind of muzzle, give to thi~ h c~td un nnimnl obttrnctor, which cn.nnot eAon.pe tho most cursory examination .... It is sufficiently obvious, that on a vertical :z« Museum Acnd. Lugd. Batav., t. 1, t11b. 8. 246 Di8SCI'tnt sur los Vnrict6s Naturollos, &c., tab. I., fig. 8.- Since writing the above, n. numbot· of humnn cmnin. nnd casts, formerly belonging to Dr. Iln.rln.n's Colloctiou, hn.vc boon presented to tho Academy, by Mr. llnl'lan. Among these, is tho cast of a Mozambique sknll, closely resembling tho heads above alluded to.