OKIGIISr OF BLOND EUROPEANS BLOCH. 627 



immediately preceding it. There was also examined a collection of 

 skulls from gaederen in southeast Norway (the method employed in 

 measuring was the so-called of Frankfort) . 



"The Viking type, which is very marked and widely spread, is 

 nevertheless," says Barth, "not rightly considered as specially 

 belonging to Norway; it is rather an archeo-Gcrmanic type, to judge 

 by its resemblance to the ancient form known as the type of the 

 row-graves [reihengraber]. The Vilving type is found not only 

 among these old Norvegian skulls, but is met with also among our 

 contemporaries, and especially in the dolicho and mesaticephalic 

 districts. They are also found among the skulls of Jaederen, wliich, 

 according to Ai'bo, belong to the brachycephalic type. One is con- 

 strained to assume that besides the Lapps and Finns two other ethnic 

 elements, the decidedly dohcho-mesaticephals and the decidedly 

 brachycephals, entered into the formation of the Norvegian race."^ 



The very small proportion of brachycephals and the predominance 

 of mesaticephals would, in our opmion, prove that they are the 

 product of evolution of the dolichocephals, for besides the skulls of 

 the Viking type there are skulls which date only from about 500 years. 

 At present, according to the investigations of Arbo and other 

 anthropologists, the dolichocephals preponderate, especially in the 

 eastern part of the country, but in the southeastern and along the coast 

 a large proportion of brachycephals is met with. 



Russia. — Prehistoric skulls of the kurgans (tumuli) of central 

 Russia were described, in 1892, by Bogdanov; they are similar to 

 those of the old German type. He says as follows: 



One of the most eminent anthropologists of Germany wrote that when seeing these 

 skulls he noticed their perfect resemblance to the skulls found in the ancient tombs of 

 Germany (reihengraber). A distinguished anthropologist of Sweden found that they 

 resembled the ancient Swedish skulls. In going several times through the museums 

 of Europe I was struck by the resemblance of the skulls found in Germany and belong- 

 ing to the prehistoric time of that country to our Kurganians.- 



These skulls have already been discussed by us in a communica- 

 tion to the society in 1891 (De la transformation d'une race doli- 

 chocephale en une race brachycephale), and we shall not repeat it 

 here. We shall only extract the following passage for our argument: 



In the prehistoric tumuli of the government of Moscow there were 56.4 per cent of 

 dolichocephalic, or rather subdolichocephalic skulls, and 22 per cent mesaticephalic; 

 the brachycephalic furnished only 5.6 per cent. But dolichocephaly diminished 

 little by little, and brachycephaly ended by getting the better of it in modern times. 

 Thus of 120 skulls from the old cemeteries of Moscow, dating from the sixteenth to 

 the eighteenth centixries, there were only 19.65 per cent dolichocephalic, while the 

 brachycephalic were in the proportion of 52.99 per cent. There have also been found 

 samples of hair in some kurgans which appear to have been dark-blond for the dolicho- 

 cephals and chestnut-colored for the brachycephals. 



' Justus Barth. Crania antiqua in parte orientale Norwegiae meridionalis invcnta. Christiania, 1S96. 

 2 Boganov. Quelle est la race plus ancienne de la Russie cenlrale? Moscou, 1S92. 



