352 SEXUAL SELECTION : MAN. Part IL 



"a broad, well-rounded occiput is considered a great 

 " beauty " by the natives of the Fiji islands.^* 



As with the skull, so with the nose ; the ancient Huns 

 durins: the acre of Attila were accustomed to flatten 

 the noses of tlieir infants with bandages, " for the sake 

 " of exaggerating a natural conformation." With tlie 

 Tahitians, to be called long-nose is considered as an 

 insult, and they compress the noses and foreheads of 

 their children for the sake of beauty. So it is with the 

 Malays of Sumatra, tlie Hottentots, certain Negroes, 

 and tlie natives of Brazil.^^ The Chinese have by 

 nature unusually small feet ; ^^ and it is well known 

 that the women of the upper classes distort their feet 

 to make them still smaller. Lastly, Humboldt thinks 

 that the American Indians prefer colouring their bodies 

 with red paint in order to exaggerate their natural tint ; 

 and until recently European women added to their natu- 

 rally bright colours by rouge and white cosmetics ; but 

 I doubt whether many barbarous nations have had any 

 such intention in painting themselves. 



In the fashions of our own dress we see exactly the 

 same principle and the same desire to carry every point 

 to an extreme ; we exhibit, also, the same spirit of 

 emulation. But the fashions of savaires are far more 

 permanent than ours ; and whenever their bodies are 



*^* On the skulls of the American tribes, see Nott and Gliddou, 

 ' Types of Mankind,' 1854, p. 440 ; Priehard, ' Phys. Hist, of Mankind,' 

 vol. i. 3rd edit. p. 321 ; on the natives of Arakhan, ibid. vol. iv. p. 537. 

 Wilson, 'Physical Ethnology,' Smithsonian Institution. 1863, p. 288; 

 on the Fi_iians, p. 290. Sh- J. Lubbock (' Prehistoric Times,' 2iid edit. 

 1869, p. 506) gives an excellent resume on this subject. 



65 On the Huns, Godron, ' De I'Espece,' torn. ii. 1859, p. 300. On 

 the Tahitians, Waitz, ' Anthrojiolog.' Eng. translat. vol. i. p. 305. 

 Marsden, quoted by Priehard, ' Phys. Hist, of Mankind,' 3rd edit, 

 vol. V p. 67. Lawrence, ' Lectures on Physiology,' p. 337. 



^® This fact was ascertained in the 'Eeise der '^ovara: Authropolog. 

 Theil,' Dr. Weisbach, 1867, s. 265. 



