148 TEE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



s} r stem there is probably no great variation between the ethnic types. 

 When, however, we come to some of the other viscera, such as the heart 

 and the lungs, controlling the circulatory and respiratory processes, the 

 variations are probably somewhat greater as the necessary result of 

 adaptation to climatic conditions. It is unfortunate that we do not 

 have a larger amount of data, and more accurate data, as to ethnic 

 differences. But what we do know seems to indicate that in the funda- 

 mental instinctive characteristics there can be no great differences be- 

 tween the ethnic types. In similar fashion it is doubtful if there can be 

 very much variation in the intellectual capacity of these types. But in 

 the emotional make-up there may be considerable variation, because, ac- 

 cording to the prevalent psychological theory as to the nature of emo- 

 tions, the emotions are determined in large part by the processes of cer- 

 tain of the viscera, such as the heart and lungs, and we have seen that 

 there may be considerable variation in these viscera between the dif- 

 ferent ethnic types. 



Let us now survey briefly the peoples of to-day with respect to this 

 relation between ethnic characteristics and culture. If we take the 

 primitive peoples the first and most important thing to be noted is that 

 these peoples represent all the ethnic types. If there was a close corre- 

 lation between ethnic characteristics and culture it would be expected 

 that these primitive peoples would belong to one or only certain ethnic 

 types, while the civilized peoples would belong to other types. Further- 

 more, studies which have been made of certain primitive peoples seem 

 to indicate no great differences in mental characteristics from civilized 

 people. For example, the Cambridge University Anthropological Ex- 

 pedition, which studied some of the most primitive peoples in the world 

 in Australia and Melanesia, found no great differences in the senses 

 and the mental processes of these savages. Dr. Myers, the psychologist of 

 the expedition, came to the conclusion that so far as innate mental ca- 

 pacity is concerned these savages are of about the same grade as Euro- 

 pean peasants. These facts seem to indicate that the low culture of these 

 primitive peoples is to be attributed principally to environment and to 

 such circumstances as lack of contact with other social groups. 



Turning now to the civilized peoples, we find a similar heterogeneity 

 of ethnic type. For example, in Europe we find such heterogeneity in 

 every nation. And yet it is popularly supposed that the culture of each 

 people is due largely to peculiar ethnic characteristics. Thus we hear 

 the culture of the French nation attributed to the "Gallic race," the 

 culture of Germany attributed to the " Teutonic race," etc. But the 

 researches of the ethnologists have revealed the fact that in France, for 

 example, are represented all the principal European ethnic types. Thus 

 in the north of France the Nordic race is predominant, in the central 

 part the Alpine race is predominant, while in the southern part is to be 



