362 



VARIETIES OF MANKIND. 



must be admitted to have taken place, unless 

 every island is supposed to have had its own 

 independent stock, has led Dr. Latham to the 

 conclusion that the Micronesian group was 

 peopled before the Polynesian area. The 

 proper Polynesian branch presents such a wide 

 diversity in physical characters, that if it were 

 not for the unquestionable community of lan- 

 guage, usages, &c., it might be thought to con- 

 sist of several races, as distinct from each other 

 as they are from the Malayan branch. Thus 

 the Tahitians and Marquesans are tall and 

 well made ; their figures combine grace and 

 vigour ; the skulls are usually as symmetrical as 

 those of most Europeans ; and their physiog- 

 nomy presents much of the European cast, 

 there being only a slight flattening of the 

 nose, expansion of the nostrils, and thick- 

 ening of the lips, to indicate a degradation, 

 which is rather in the Negro than in the 

 Mongolian direction (fig. 850.). The 



com- 



Fig. 850. 



Tahltian Female. (From a portrait by an officer of 

 " L'Artemise.") 



plexion, especially in the females of the higher 

 classes, who are sheltered from the wind "and 

 sun, is of a clear olive, or brunette, such as is 

 common among the natives of Southern Eu- 

 rope; and the hair, though generally black, is 

 sometimes brown or auburn, or even red or 

 flaxen. Among other tribes, as the Sandwich 

 Islanders, the New Zealanders, and the Ton^a 

 and _ Friendly islanders, there are greater cTi- 

 versities of hue and conformation ('jig. 851.); 

 some being of a copper-brown colour; others, 

 nearly black; others, olive ; and others, almost 



white ; the fairer races are generally taller and 

 more vigorous, whilst the darker are inferior 

 in stature and figure. Many of these varieties 

 present themselves in a single community, 



851. 



New Zealander. (From a portrait by Eurle.} 



such as that of New Zealand, and are so 

 strongly marked as to have led to the idea 

 that the difference is due to an intermixture of 

 races ; but the unity of language, and the ab- 

 sence of any other indication, prevent such a 

 supposition from possessing the least claim to 

 reception. It is a most remarkable fact that 

 the Madecassians, or natives of Madagascar, 

 speak a language which is obviously derived 

 from the Malayan stock, being most nearly 

 allied to that of the Philippine Islands ; anil 

 some of the multiform population of that 

 island bear a striking resemblance to Malavs, 

 whilst others seem more allied (as might be 

 expected) to the African nations of the main- 

 land. At present, the character and origin of 

 the Madecassian population is one of the 

 doubtful questions of ethnology. 



The Negrito race presents a marked ap- 

 proximation to the physical characters of the 

 true Negro. The .skull is of the prognathous 

 type ; the nose is flattened, the nostrils ex- 

 panded laterally, the lips thickened, and the 

 complexion a deep brown, or even black. The 

 character of the hair varies considerably ; for 

 in some cases it is long and straight (^.'827.); 

 and in others, crisp and frizzly ; and in others, 

 even woolly (Jigs. 805, 806.)." By Dr. Prichard 

 and others a distinction was drawn between 

 those with straight, and those with woolly 

 hair; but the validity of this can scarcely be 

 maintained, since it appears that the very same 

 people may present one or the other kind 

 of hair, according, as it would seem, to 

 the climatic and other conditions under 

 which they exist. The Negrito race not only 

 inhabits the area which is more exclusively 

 its own, but is also believed to exist in 



