ORIGIN OF BLOND EUROPEANS — BLOCH. 617 



Europe, and it is therefore necessary to distinguish between the two 

 types. 



Here are the principal characteristics of the Germanic skull, accord- 

 ing to Von Holder: 



Seen from above, the skull presents an elongated shape, blunted, hexagonal, some- 

 times oval. The coronal suture is elliptic and extends toward the back. The 

 maximum width of the vault is more noticeable forward than with brachycephals. 

 The occiput has a pyi-amidal form, straight (or narrow), blunted. Seen from behind, 

 the upper curve has the appearance of a roof; the sides are but slightly swelled out and 

 fall nearly straight; the base has nearly the same width as the distance between the 

 lateral walls. The height of the skull exceeds or equals its breadth. Seen from the 

 profile, the head is moderately prognathic, often orthognathic. The face presents a 

 high and naiTOW (or straight) front and visage; the superciliary vaults are much 

 developed, especially in men, the eye sockets (orbits) are of medium size, with nearly 

 horizontal upper rims. The nose is straight, with a moderately curved ridge. The 

 formation of the avolaries is straight and high. The cranial capacity is considerably 

 lai^er than that of the brachycephals by reason of the much larger diameter of both 

 width and height.^ 



But besides the cranial characteristics, certain ])ecuharities of 

 other parts of the skeleton should also not be neglected. Thus there 

 are often noticed platycnemic tibiae in the neohthic dohchocephals 

 of Germany; then the tall stature which was already noticed by the 

 ancient writers in the blonds of their times. 



It is needless to add that the German dohchocephals do not always 

 show a full ensemble of the characteristics just enumerated; thus there 

 is sometimes what is called a disharmony between the cranial vault 

 and the face in so far as the skull is dolichocephalic while the face is 

 short and round, for there are sometimes transitorial characteristics 

 from the dohchocephalic type to the brachycephaHc type. There 

 are even met with in the excavations complete brachycephals scat- 

 tered among the dohchocephals, but they are nothmg less than the 

 result of the transformation of the latter under the influence of 

 evolution, so that the problem of these brachycephals is thus in our 

 opinion solved. They are all German skuUs, but sucli as have lost 

 their original doHchocephahc type without the intermediary of any 

 admixture. 



PREHISTORIC SKULLS OF GERMANY. 



Rhenish Hessia.— In examining the finds of the latest excavations, 

 those, for instance, which have been made near Worms (Ixheinge- 

 wann, in Rhenish Hessia) by Dr. Koehl, where he found skulls of the 

 neolithic period, of five skulls which could be measured, four were 

 dolichocephalic and one mesaticephalic. The faces of these skulls 

 were in a bad state of preservation, still it could be assumed as certain 

 that these neolithics had long and narrow faces, high sockets (orbits) 



' H. von Holder. Untersuchungen iiber die Skelettfiinde In den vorroeinlsehen Hiigelgraebern, Wur- 

 teniberg. Stuttgart, 1893. C. R. in Kevue de I'Erole d'Anthropologle, 189.'), by Hovelacqiie. 



