CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



(B.) KAFFRE ATLANTID^E. In physical confor- 

 mation, they are modified Negro ; the profile less 

 prognathic ; their language has some singular 

 peculiarities. They occupy from north of the 

 equator to south of the Tropic of Capricorn. 



(C.)HOTTENTOTATLANTlDi. These, according 

 to Dr Latham, have a better claim to be considered 

 a second species than any other section of man- 

 kind. Their colour is brown rather than black ; 

 the hair grows in tufts. The stature is low, and 

 the bones of the pelvis peculiar. Their language 

 has a characteristic click. They inhabit the south 

 of the continent, and are divided into Hottentots 

 and Saabs, or Bushmen. 



(D.) NILOTIC ATLANTID/E, occupying the water- 

 system of the Upper and Middle Nile. The lead- 

 ing tribes are the Gallas, Agows, Nubians, and 

 Bishari, forming the population of Abyssinia, Adel, 

 and Nubia. It connects by imperceptible grada- 

 tions the Coptic and Semitic groups with the rest 

 of the African. 



(E.) AMAZIRGH ATLANTID^E, usually called Ber- 

 bers. In conformation, they vary from the Negro 

 to the Arab type. The language is jw^-Semitic. 

 They inhabit the ranges of the Atlas, the Sahara, 

 and the Canary Isles. 



(F.) EGYPTIAN ATLANTID^E, or old Egyptians, 

 represented by the modern Copts. Both language 

 and physical conformation connect them, on the 

 one nand, with Berbers and Nubians ; on the 

 other, with the Assyrians, Jews, &c. 



(G.) SEMITIC ATLANTID.*. The area of this 

 division lies chiefly in South-western Asia ; and 

 to it belong the Syrians, Assyrians, Babylonians, 

 Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Edomites, &c. Jews, 

 Arabs, Ethiopians (Abyssinia). The Semitic 

 nations are light-complexioned, with capacious, 

 elongated skulls, the nasal profile straight or prom- 

 inent, the maxillary prognathic. Their influence 

 on the world has been eminently moral. All the 

 alphabets of Europe are undoubtedly of Semitic 

 origin ; and probably those of the whole world are 

 so. In the early period of their history, their re- 

 ligion was paganism ; in the later, it has been 

 eminently monotheistic. The Jewish and Christian 

 Scriptures, and the Mohammedan Koran, are the 

 rules of life to the most advanced peoples of the 

 species. The first builders of cities and organisers 

 of empires seem to have been the Assyrians and 

 Babylonians on the Tigris and Euphrates. 



The chief modern Semitic types are the Jew and 

 the Arab ; the first being characterised by thicker 

 lips, more aquiline nose, and larger head ; the 

 last, by a more oval face, thinner lips, sparer limbs, 

 and brown complexion in Africa, often nearly 

 black. 



The present inhabitants of Madagascar seem to 

 be of Malay origin, and to have exterminated an 

 aboriginal African probably Hottentot popula- 

 tion. 



III. JAPETIDJE. 



The chief nations of Europe belong to this 

 variety, which is generally known by the term 

 Indo-European. Dr Latham prefers to call them 

 Japetidae, as being traditionally descended from 

 Japheth ; probably because he dissents from the 

 theory of the European nations having migrated 

 from Asia, which is implied in the usually received 

 name. 



The physical characteristics of the Japetidae are 



6 



those of the so-called Caucasians. There are two 

 divisions of them. 



(A.) OCCIDENTAL JAPETID.E, including the Celtic 

 nations. The Celtic area is now confined to 

 Brittany, Wales, the Highlands of Scotland, the 

 Isle of Man, and Ireland, but at one time it 

 undoubtedly extended over the whole of Britain, the 

 north of France or Gaul, and part of Switzerland, 

 and probably over Baden, Bavaria, the north of 

 Italy, &c. The Celtic languages have the appear- 

 ance of having broken off from the common 

 mother-tongue at an earlier stage than the other 

 European stocks ; they retain an agglutinate 

 character. The modern representatives of the 

 Celtic are divided into two branches the Cam- 

 brian, consisting of Welsh, Cornish, and Armor- 

 ican ; and the Gaelic, consisting of Scotch Gaelic, 

 Irish Gaelic, and Manx. 



In physical conformation, the Celts are pre- 

 eminently long-headed, with prominent cheek- 

 bones. Black hair and eyes, and a dark com- 

 plexion, prevail in South Wales ; the Hibernian 

 type has gray eyes, light complexion, and hair 

 yellow, red, or sandy. 



(B.) INDO-GERMANIC JAPETID^:. The Euro- 

 pean part of this division falls into three stocks. 



1. The Gothic or German stock. This stock 

 exhibits two physical types one with blue eyes, 

 flaxen hair, and ruddy complexion ; the other with 

 gray, dark, or hazel eyes, brown or black hair, 

 and sallow or swarthy complexion. It has two 

 branches the Teutonic or German proper, and 

 the Scandinavian. 



a. The Teutons are again divided into High 

 Germans and Low Germans, distinguished chiefly 

 by certain peculiarities of language. The High 

 German area is Hesse and parts of Thuringia and 

 Bavaria. The Low Germans are the Dutch or 

 Batavians of Holland, the Saxons, and the Frisians. 

 The original Saxons of Hanover and Westphalia 

 are now extinct or incorporated with the other 

 Germans. The Anglo-Saxons of England are the 

 most important representatives of the Saxon 

 tribes. 



b. The Scandinavian branch occupy Denmark 

 and Scandinavia, Iceland and the Faroe Isles. 

 One marked difference in point of language 

 between the Scandinavian Germans and the 

 Teutonic is, that the former place the definite 

 article after the noun, and incorporate the two ; 

 as, bord-et, ' the table,' from bord, ' table/ and hitt 

 (neuter), ' the.' 



2. The Sarmatian stock, comprising the Sla- 

 vonic and Lithuanic nations. In physical con- 

 formation, these often approach the Turanian 

 type. 



a. The Lithuanians are now confined chiefly to 

 the Baltic provinces of Russia, but were once 

 more extensively spread. The old Prussian 

 language, now extinct, was Lithuanic. The Let- 

 tish of Courland, Livonia, Wilna, &c. is a Lithu- 

 anic dialect The great interest attaching to the 

 Lithuanians arises from the fact, that their lan- 

 guage is the nearest to the Sanscrit or sacred 

 language of India that is known. They also 

 retained their original paganism longer than any 

 other member of this variety. 



b. The Slavonic peoples form an extensive 

 group, comprising Russians, Servians, Illyrians, 

 Tsheks (of Bohemia, Moravia, &c.), Poles, Serbs. 

 Large tracts of Northern Germany, now occupied 



