EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN SPECIES 191 



division, for although in them the skin has become 

 somewhat darker, we may still discern the character- 

 istics which indicate their common ancestry with the 

 Oceanic Mongols. 



The American Indians taken collectively constitute 

 a group that is well set off from the rest of mankind by 

 such characters as taller stature, small, straight, and 

 black eyes, a large nose that is usually bridged or aqui- 

 line, a skull of medium roundness, and the yellow copper 

 color of the skin. The common origin with the Mongols 

 is demonstrated by the straight and long, coarse, black 

 hair and by the absence of a beard ; the mustache also 

 is almost always absent. 



All of us have seen Indians belonging to the tribes 

 of the plains, which serve as excellent examples of this 

 grand division. Many have also visited the homes of 

 the Pueblo Indians, and have learned how uniform is 

 the physical appearance of the tribes living in various 

 parts of the United States. Indeed throughout all of 

 North America the basic characteristics of Indians 

 prove to be strikingly conservative, although in the 

 Eskimo there are some departures which seem to indi- 

 cate a closer connection of these peoples with the Mon- 

 gols, probably as the result of some more recent influx 

 from the neighboring and not very distant region of 

 northeastern Siberia. Extending our survey south- 

 ward through Central America, the Aztecs and Mayas 

 are found to possess many of the same characters, 

 though in some respects they are transitional to the 

 Caribs of the northern edge of South America and to 



