THE HUMAN SPECIES. 453 



the standpoint of heredity, therefore, the White people constitute a 

 derived race, combining Negro and Mongolic affinities. For the rest, 

 however, they are the products of their peculiar surroundings. 



Unlike the other two regions, the peninsular portion of the old 

 world contains an almost infinite variety of environments. With its 

 apex in the subtropics, this triangular territory stretches out towards 

 the northwest across the warm temperate, temperate and cold temper- 

 ate zones, and consequently offers a series of climate transitions with- 

 out striking contrasts. Topographically also the Indo-Mediterranean- 

 European region is diversified throughout with deforested and forested 

 river valleys, indented sea-shores, deserts, plains and steppes, alps and 

 mountains, woodlands and dales, heaths and downs — in fact, with 

 pretty nearly all the varied features the surface of the earth affords. 

 On account of this diversity of environmental conditions, it is difficult 

 to characterize the Indo-Mediterranean-European region as a whole. 

 Negatively, at least, it may be distinguished from the equatorial belt 

 by its temperature, and from the Asiatic area by its topography. Con- 

 sidered positively, its oceanic climate and its peninsular structure con- 

 stitute its most striking characteristics. It should furthermore be 

 noticed that the region is subdivided into three interconnected sec- 

 tions: The Indian section, which proceeds by insensible steps out of 

 the eastern-equatorial region; the European section, which opens out 

 of the Asiatic area; and the Mediterranean section, lying between, 

 which combines the characteristics of the other two sections, and still 

 possesses certain peculiarities of its own. 



With this lack of environmental uniformity goes a corresponding 

 diversity of ethnic types. The influx of original races from either side, 

 migrations to and fro through the length and breadth of the land, 

 adaptation to special surroundings, and the mingling of the blood of 

 different peoples, have all contributed to the existing complexity. 

 Stock has been added to stock in this way, and ancestral lines have 

 become so confused that the ethnic diversity among the inhabitants of 

 the Indo-Mediterranean-European region is as great as its environ- 

 mental variety. Thus though it is easy enough to distinguish the 

 white man from his human fellows, it is difficult to describe a typical 

 Caucasian. In fact, only one physical characteristic runs through the 

 whole race, namely, the hair, which is predominantly wavy and always 

 oval in cross section. Generally speaking the Caucasian's features are 

 also more regular than those of other people and his eyes are usually 

 set straight. For the rest, amid the existing diversity, the most that 

 can be done in the way of classification is to establish three types of 

 white men, corresponding roughly to the three sections into which 

 their territory is divided. In the center, there is the olive-skinned, 

 brunette, Mediterranean type, which was originally recruited from the 



