Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 1.djvu/843

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

77 2 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [w. «.. t, 1399

sense, anthropic as well as terrestrial, has been playing on men's bodies and minds, shaping not so much their skulls as the outer parts.

The first biological characteristic discussed is the head form. Only two types are recognized— long heads and short heads. Mesocephalism is not taken into account. In Ripley's map of Europe a black belt of brachycephalism, crossing its middle, separates two areas of dolicho- cephalism north and south. So you have the Alpine round-heads be- tween the Teutonic and the Mediterranean long-heads. The author shows how, in cephalic characters, men follow the zoological law that pure types are found in regions of marked geographic individuality.

The second characteristic worked out, though not always in harmony with those of the skull, is pigmentation of the skin, eyes, and hair, which, in spite of climate, is a fixed racial mark among the peoples of Europe. The Alpine populations are darker than the Teutonic, and by their grayish hazel eyes and brownish hair are lighter than the Mediterranean. Environment works effectually in color to traverse heredity. Moun- taineers are lighter than the people of the plains, whether from climate, or from poverty, which stands in relation to pigmentation.

The third characteristic presented is stature. The causes of stature and its coordinated marks, eliminating chance variations, are, funda- mentally, race, and then environment, natural selection, artificial selec- tion, and habits of life. The result of all these is to the effect that the Teuton is tall, the Alpine and the Mediterranean are of medium height This is one of the best chapters in the book.

The minute discussion of type characteristics leads to the summing up of the diagnoses for the three race types. Especial interest centers here on the Celtic controversy and leads the author to suggest happily the use of the term Celt, or Kelt by the philologists, of Hallstatt for the culture usually coordinated with the Celtic language, and Alpine for the racial type.

Three hundred pages, the larger part of the work, are given to ap- plying the race marks laid down to the political divisions and peoples of modern Europe, namely, France and Belgium, the Basques, Scandi- navia and Germany, Italy and Spain, Switzerland, the Tyrol, the Netherlands, the British Isles, Russia and the Slavs, Jews and Semites, Greeks, Turks, Magyars, Rumanians, Caucasia, Asia Minor, Russia, and India.

In chapters xvn and xvm the author turns aside from his direct road to do a little cross-country riding after the philologist and students of culture. Having told you to eliminate these in considering the race question (and that is the scientific method of procedure) the bnok is somewhat weakened by these long digressions.

�� �