14 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 1 10 



(remnants of the ancient Iranian inhabitants of this region), the 

 Talyshes, the Kurds, and others. The Transcaucasian mesocephalic 

 type, together with the mesocephahc variation prevalent among the 

 Transcaspian Turkmenians, comprise a special group, the Caspian 

 race, which is also a branch of the great Mediterranean race. Some 

 groups in northern Iran ^ also belong to the Caspian type. A third 

 racial type, Pontozagros or Armenoid, is found in the central Trans- 

 caucasian highlands. This type is composed of several elements, 

 some of more ancient origin than others. The region through which 

 the Pontozagros type is distributed includes districts of southern 

 Daghestan. 



The three above-described racial types are also widespread outside 

 the Caucasus. A fourth type, called the Caucasian race proper, is 

 specific for the Caucasus. This type is similar to the Armenoid, but 

 is characterized by a narrower head and a slightly different form of 

 face and nose. This type is found in Georgia and partially in the 

 central Terek region in North Caucasus. The results of the anthro- 

 pological analysis of the population of the Caucasus fully accord with 

 the latest data of archeology, linguistics, and ethnography, and make 

 it possible to trace the history of modern ethnic types. 



In recent years the racial analysis of the population in the European 

 part of the Soviet Union has also advanced considerably. 



A series of Neolithic skulls found in the Olonets Lake on Olenii 

 Island and described by E. Zhirov is of great importance in the study 

 of the anthropology of the Far North. This series includes a slightly 

 brachycephalic element which is similar to the Lopar type, but which 

 differs from the latter by virtue of certain Mongoloid features. The 

 great age of this variation in northern Europe is beyond doubt. The 

 connection between this element and the northern forest Neolithic 

 peoples is also evident. The Neolithic brachycephals of the north 

 should occupy a place of their own. There are no data that justify 

 identifying them with the western European Neolithic brachycephalic 

 types of Borreby in Denmark, and Crenelle ^ in France. 



A volume of the works of the Institute of Anthropology of the 

 Moscow State University published in 1941 contains a number of 

 essays on the anthropology of various Finnish peoples (articles 

 by G. F. Debets, R. I. Zenkevich, and M. Gremiatskii). As has been 

 observed by previous investigators, anthropologically the Finnish 



5 See also Henry Field, Contributions to the anthropology of Iran, Field 

 Museum of Natural History, Chicago, 1939. 



6 This supposedly Neolithic skull, found near Paris in 1870, resembles the 

 Azilian brachycephals of Of net in Bavaria. (H. F.) 



