to a more closely related ancestor. The skull is larger than that of Pithecan- 

 thropus, and the teeth are more like those of modern man (see illustrations, 

 pp. 51 and 52). 



In various parts of France, Germany and Belgium large numbers of speci- 

 mens have been found that belong apparently to the same races of primitive 

 men. The first of these was found in a cave in the Neanderthal in Germany, 

 in 1856. The type is frequently referred to as the Neanderthal race. These 

 men had much larger skulls than the Piltdown man of Sussex — larger even 

 than the skull of races living today. However, the jaws and teeth, the low and 

 retreating forehead, the prominent ridges over the eyes, and other features 

 indicate an earlier stage of development. This group has been named Homo 

 primigenius, or Ho?no neanderthalensis. More recently, teeth and fragments of 

 skull dug up in eastern China have led anthropologists to construct what is 

 probably an earlier member of the human family, the Pekin man. 



Human Races From a biological point of view, all human beings be- 

 long to the same species, in spite of the great variations among the distinguish- 

 able "races". There is complete fertility among all varieties and stocks, and 

 the hybrids, or progeny of any crossings, are normally fertile. 



Classifying the races of man becomes more difficult rather than easier as 

 our knowledge increases. A few centuries ago European travelers could report 

 that they had seen strange peoples of various colors, and several races were 

 accordingly listed in the geography books. Today, however, every attempt 

 to classify human races breaks down completely because "types" overlap so 

 much and there are such extensive mixtures of hereditary traits. The first 

 difficulty, of course, is to find a basis for classification. The color of the skin 

 is the most obvious difference. We may start out confidently to speak of the 

 white, or Caucasian, race, the black, or Negroid, race, and the yellow, or Mon- 

 golian, race. But we are immediately reminded of the dark-skinned inhabit- 

 ants of India and southwestern Asia, who are just as truly Caucasians as are 

 the "Nordics" of England or the state of Georgia. 



Shall we consider the straightness or curliness of the hair? The Negroes of 

 Africa and the Melanesian islands typically have woolly hair. But so have 

 many fair-skinned and yellow-haired and blue-eyed families of nearly every 

 European country, as well as of our own country. Shall we be guided by the 

 shape of the head? The Nordics, the Mediterraneans and the Hindus have 

 narrow heads. But so have all the main divisions of mankind. At the same 

 time, broad heads are typical of the Alpine whites, the Mongolians, and the 

 small Negroid tribes. Is tallness or shortness a suitable basis for separating 

 races? Among the taller strains in the human population are certain Negro 

 tribes, the Polynesians, the North American Indians, and the north Euro- 

 peans. That is to say, whites. Negroids, and Mongolians come in tall, medium, 

 and short strains. 



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