12 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 10 



man was no smaller than that of modern man, then Bunak's con- 

 clusion that a certain reconstruction of the cranium and the develop- 

 ment of speech are the most outstanding characteristics of the later 

 stages in the development of man is readily understood. This view 

 is in complete accord with the teaching of Academician Marr on the 

 development of speech and leads one to believe that Neanderthal man 

 possessed only slight powers of speech. 



B. MODERN RACES AND THEIR HISTORY 



The anthropological study of the numerous nationalities of the 

 Soviet Union provides a key to the solution of many cardinal prob- 

 lems of race formation and race systematization. 



In recent years anthropological knowledge of Siberia and the Far 

 East has been increased by extensive research as, for example, the 

 Okhotsk Sea coast by M. G. Levin ; the Amur River region by D. A. 

 Zolotarev ; among the Nentsi Samoyeds of northwestern Siberia by 

 S. A. Shluger; the Keshms, a small group on the upper banks of the 

 Yenisei River, by G. F. Debets ; the Hants and the Mansi or Ostiaks 

 and the Voguls of the lower Ob River by T. A. Trofimova and N. N. 

 Cheboksarov ; and the Selkups of the lower Ob by G. F. Debets. The 

 material thus obtained has greatly enriched and rendered more exact 

 existing information about racial types in Asia. It is becoming evident 

 that the most characteristic type for the Asiatic continent, the so-called 

 Mongoloid type, is far from homogeneous. Within this category 

 exist many variations which are either local types or relics of ancient 

 racial formations. 



The dolichocephalic or mesocephalic Asiatic anthropological types 

 are widely scattered throughout Siberia and the Far East. Variations 

 are to be found at present among the Trans-Baikal Tungus, in places 

 along the Amur River among the Golds, and on the Okhotsk Sea 

 coast. It is necessary to investigate the relation of this undoubtedly 

 more ancient anthropological type of Central and Eastern Siberia, 

 the so-called Ural type. At present these two variations possess certain 

 features in common, but at the same time there are essential differences 

 in the form of the face and nose, as well as in other respects. The 

 latest research shows that racial characteristics commonly attributed 

 to Asiatic races — coarse hair, heavy upper eyelids with the Mongolian 

 fold, flat faces, and others — do not prevail among the native popu- 

 lation of Siberia. 



If, in respect to southern Siberians, especially Turki groups, one 

 may assume the blending of European elements in the formation of 



