The Stone Ages of Soutli Africa. 205 



affinities of this early European type seem to be with the Oceanic 

 rather than the African branch of the negro family. 



In facial characters the Strandloopers and Bushmen are noted by 

 broad rectangular orbits and short, broad chamaeprosopic faces. 

 The Hottentots have much higher more rounded orbits, approxi- 

 mating to those of the Bantu-speaking negroes. 



The nasal orifice is somewhat larger in the older cave and midden 

 skulls than in the later Bushmen. The lower margin of the nasal 

 orifice is sharply cut and cleai'ly defined in the former group ; in the 

 Bushmen it begins to be rounded off, while in the Hottentots and 

 negroes it is rounded, and may even present the so-called simian 

 i^rooves in which the floor of the nose runs out on to the anterior 



STRANDLOOPER, BLAAWBERG. 



Fig. 3. 



surface of the maxilla with no defined margin at all. In this 

 respect it is possible that the Strandloopers present a more primitive 

 feature. These features of the nose and the degree of sub-nasal 

 prognathism may be of importance in relation to the question of the 

 affinities of the Hottentots. If the Strandloopers represent the 

 earliest of the Bushman race, and present a sharp-cut nose and 

 orthognathous face, while the Hamioic peoples, so far as we know 

 them from the Egyptian relics, present the same features, it is not 

 entirely easy to describe the Hottentots, who are sub-nasally 

 prognathous with rounded nasal margins, in terms of a cross-breed. 

 Some other element seems required. The influence of environment 

 as a competent factor is, to say the most, unproven. These features 



