THE PEOPLES OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA. 623 



group distinctive : first, that it comprises some of the tallest men in the 

 world, comparing favorably with the Scotch in this respect; and, 

 secondly, that the Illyrians tend to be among the broadest-headed 

 people known. In general, it would appear that the people of Herze- 

 govina and northern Albania possess these traits to the most notable 

 degree, while both in the direction of the Save and Danube and of the 

 plains of Thessaly and Epirus they have been attenuated by inter- 

 mixture. Presumably also toward the east among the Bulgarians in 

 Macedonia and Thrace these characteristics diminish in intensity. 

 Thus, for example, while the Herzegovinians, measured by "Weisbach, 

 yielded an average stature of five feet nine inches, the Bosnians were 

 appreciably shorter; and the Dalmatians and Albanians were even 

 more so. Nevertheless, as compared with the Greeks, Bulgars, Turks, 

 or Roumanians, even the shortest of these Slavs stood high. From 

 this specific center outward, especially around the head of the Adriatic 

 Sea, over into Venetia, spreads the influence of this giantism. It con- 

 firms, as we have said, the classical theory of an Illyrian cross among 

 the Venetians, extending well up into the Tyrol. 



As for the second trait, the exaggerated broad-headedness, it too, 

 like the tallness of stature, seems to center about Herzegovina and 

 Montenegro. Thus at Scutari, in the corner of Albania near this last- 

 named country, Zampa * found a cranial index of 89; in Herzegovina 

 the index upon the living head ranges above 87. It would be difficult 

 to exceed this brachycephaly anywhere in the world. The square 

 foreheads and broad faces of the people correspond in every way to the 

 shape of the heads. Its significance appears immediately on com- 

 parison with the long oval faces of the Greeks. 



One more trait of the Balkan Slavs remains for us to note. The 

 people are mainly pure brunets, as we might expect, but they seem 

 to be less dark than either the Greeks or the Turks. Especially among 

 the Albanians are light traits by no means infrequent. In this respect 

 the contrast with the Greeks is apparent, as well as with the Dal- 

 matians along the coast and the Italians in the same latitude across 

 the Adriatic. Weisbach found nearly ten per cent of blond and red 

 hair among his Bosnian soldiers, while about one third of the eyes were 

 either gray or blue. The Herzegovinians are even lighter than the 

 Bosnians, almost as much so as the Albanians. From consideration 

 of these facts it would appear as if the harsh climate of these upland 

 districts had been indeed influential in setting off the inland peoples 

 from the Italian-speaking Dalmatians along the coast. For among 

 the latter brunetness certainly increases from north to south, 

 conformably to the general rule for the rest of Europe. In the in- 

 terior, blondness apparently moves in the contrary direction, cul- 



* 1886 b, p. 637. 



