DISTINCTIVE PECULIARITIES OF THE RACES OF MAN. 



87 



be made for the projection of the upper jaw, this aperture is found to have 

 the same position in the prognathous skull as in the oval one, namely, ex- 

 actly behind the transverse line bisecting the antero-posterior diameter of the 

 base of the cranium. The prognathous skull is further remarkable for the 

 large development of the parts connected with the organs of sense, especially 

 those of smell and hearing. The aperture of the nostrils is very wide ; and 

 the internal space allowed for the expansion of the Schneiderian membrane, 

 and for the distribution of the olfactory nerve, is much larger than in most 

 European heads. The posterior openings of the nasal cavity are not less re- 

 markable for their width than the anterior. The external auditory meatus is 

 also peculiarly wide and spacious ; and the orbital cavities have been thought 

 to be of more than ordinary capacity, but this last is by no means a constant 

 character. 



85. A second shape of the head, very different from the preceding, belongs 



Fig 8. 



Front and basal views of the pyamidal skull of an Esquimaux. 



principally to the nomadic races, who wander witli their herds and flocks 

 over vast plains ; and to the tribes who creep along the shores of the Icy Sea, 

 and live partly by fishing, and in part on the flesh of their reindeer. This 

 form, designated by Dr. Prichard as the pyramidal, is typically exhibited by 

 various nations of Northern and Central Asia ; and is seen in an exaggerated 

 degree, in the Esquimaux. Its most striking character is the lateral or out- 

 ward projection of the zygoma, which is due to the form of the malar bones. 

 These do not project forwards and downwards under the eyes, as in the pro- 

 gnathous skull ; but take a direction laterally or outwards, forming, with the 

 zygomatic process of the temporal bone, a large rounded sweep or segment 

 of a circle. From this, in connection with the narrowness of the forehead, 

 it results, that lines drawn from the zygomatic arches, touching the temples on 

 either side, instead of being parallel (as in Europeans), meet over the forehead, 

 so as to form with the basis a triangular figure. The upper part of the face 

 being remarkably flat, the nose also being flat, and the nasal bones, as well as 

 the space between the eyebrows, being nearly on the same plane with the 

 cheek-bones, the triangular space bounded by these lines may be compared to 

 one of the faces of a pyramid. The orbits are large and deep; and the pecu- 

 liar conformation of the bones which surround it, gives to the aperture of the 

 lids an appearance of obliquity, the inner angle seeming to be directed 

 downwards. The whole face, instead of presenting an oval form, as in most 

 Europeans and Africans, is of a lozenge-shape. The greater relative develop- 



