VAN. 



MAN. 



i 



Man M farther rratarfcabl* for hit ilow growth, and for th length 

 of tint* during which he remain* in a utate of helple infancy and 

 of youth. The process of ossification and the closure of the suture* 

 of the .kull are completed later in him than in any other animal : 

 he it unable to seek his own food for at least the first three yean of 

 hi* life, and due* not attain to the adult period or to hii full stature 

 till he u from 15 to 20 year* old. The length of time to which his 

 life may be prolonged i* however proportionally greater than that of 

 any animal, and i* especially interesting when compared with that 

 of thoee who in many respects reeemble him. The greatest longe- 

 rity to which the otangs attain is about 30 years, while in all nations 

 of men instance* occur of life being prolonged to upwards of 100 

 yean. 



Howercr widely man may be distinguished from other animals in 

 the pcculiaritie* of bis structure and economy already detailed, yet 

 we must agree with Pr.Prichard (' Researches,' &c., i. 175) that " the 

 sentiments, feeling*. sympathies, internal consciousness, and mind, 

 and the habitude* of life and action thence resulting, are the real and 

 meenliil characteristics of humanity." The difference in these respects 

 betneeu man and all other animals is indeed so great that a com- 

 panion i* scarcely possible. The highest moral endowments of 

 TJfp'1* are shown in their attachment to their offspring; but this 

 rsanii when the period of helplessness is past, and there is no evi- 

 dence of attachment between individuals, except in the associated 

 labour* of some species, and the consentaneous actions of the male 

 and female for the safety of the offspring. The arts of which animals 

 are capable are limited and peculiar to each species ; and there seems 

 to be no evidence of a power of invention, or of construction for 

 any purpose beyond that to which the original and instinctive powers 

 are adapted. Among the monkeys the adults exercise authority over 

 the young, and it is said maintain it even by chastisement; but 

 there is no instance in wbich the stronger species has exercised 

 authority over the weaker, or brought it into a state of servitude. 

 Kren when made the associates of man, and instructed by him, how 

 little have animals learned : a few unmeaning tricks unwillingly per- 

 formed, a few words uttered and constantly repeated, without choice 

 or a conception of their meaning, and sullen passive submission, are 

 in general the best results that can be found. There is not a proof 

 in the whole history of animals that any species or individual has 

 ever made an advance towards an improvement, or an alteration in 

 its condition ; whether solitary or living in herds, the habits of all 

 remain the same ; all of the same species appear endowed with the 

 same faculties and dispositions, and each is iu mental power the same 

 throughout his life. 



Contrast with these the progress of man. In his origin weak, naked, 

 and defenceless, he has not only obtained dominion over all the animate 

 creation, but the very elements are mode to serve his purpose. Of the 

 earth he ha* built hi* bouses, and constructed weapons and the imple- 

 ment* of art ; he uses the wind to carry him in ships and to prepare 

 his food ; and when the wind will not suit him he employs fire and 

 water to replace or to resist it. By artificial light he has prevented 

 the inconveniences of darkness; he has stopped and made rivers, and 

 ha* forced deserts, marshes, and forests alike to bear his food ; he has 

 marked out and measured the course of the celestial bodies, till he 

 has discovered from them the size and form of the earth that he 

 himself inhabit*. 



In intimate connection with his exalted mental endowments is man's 

 peculiar possession of language. Other animals are naturally speech- 

 let*, not from any material difference in the form of their organs (for 

 man can teach some of them to imitate him), but from their inability 

 to form those associations of ideas which are essential to the construc- 

 tion and utterance of words. 



The peculiarities above described will probably be deemed sufficient 

 to justify the separation of man as a distinct species from all others 

 in the animal kingdom. In these respects indeed the difference between 

 the lowest man sod any animal U far greater than the change which 

 any ipecie* can be proved or supposed to have undergone in any period 

 of time, and under however varied circumstance* ; so that if degrees 

 of difference of this kind could be measured, there would probably 

 be a* much justice as convenience in the classifications of those 

 naturalist* who have separated man from other animal* to the greatest 

 possible distance by constituting of the single species a separate genus 

 and order. 



We come now to the consideration of the variations to which the 

 fsoeral cbaracterutic* of the human race are subject 



Varietien in form are of course chiefly referrible to differences in 

 the itnicture and proportion of the parts of the skeleton, and we find 

 the most marked character* of the different races in the varied forms 

 of the .kulL Dr. Pricbard (' Researches,' L 281) refers the varieties 

 in the form i.f the "kull to three principal divisions : 1st. The sym- 

 metrical or oval form, in which are included all those of the In.lo- 

 AUantic, or Iranian, nations, comprising the countrici from the 

 llimnUya Mountains to the Indian Ocean, including the whole of 

 Hindustan and the Deccan, a* well a* Persia and Arabia ; ami from 

 the dances to the border* of the Atlantic, including the north of 

 Africa and nearly the whole of Europe. In thi* variety the bead is 

 rounder than in th other., the forehead is more expanded, and the 

 upper jaw bone* and lygomatic arches are so formed as to give the 



face an oval shape, while it is nearly on a plane with the forehead 

 and cheek-bones, and does not project towards the lower part. The 

 cheek-bones neither project outwards and laterally, nor forwards. 

 The alveolar process of the upper jaw i> well rounded and slightly 

 curved vertically, so that the teeth are almost exactly perpendicular. 

 2nd. The narrow and elongated or prognathous skull, which i found 

 in the negroes, the Papua*. Alfouroun, Mew Zeolanders, Australians, 

 and other neighbouring Oceanic nations, and of which the most 

 marked specimens occur in the negroee of tin; Gold Coast. The chief 

 character of these skulls is that they give the idea of lateral com- 

 pression and elongation. The cheek-bones project forward and not 

 outward. The upper jaw is lengthened and projects forwards, giving 

 to the alveolar ridge and the teeth a similar projection, and thus 

 diminishing the facial angle. 3rd. The broad and square-faced, or 

 pyramidal skull, which is that of the Turanian, or northern Asiatic 

 nations, Sainoiedes,Yukager*, Koriacs, Tachuktschi, Kamtchatk&dales, 

 Tuugusions, Chinese, Indo-Chinese, Taugutiana, and Japanese, part of 

 the Tartar race, and of the Finnish nations of Europe, the Esqui- 

 maux, the aboriginal Americans, and the Hottentots. The Mongols 

 afford a good specimen of thU form, and the Esquimaux an exag- 

 gerated one. Its most striking character is the lateral or outward 

 projection of the zygomata, so that lines drawn from each, touching 

 the sides of the frontal bone, will meet only a little above the apex 

 of the forehead. The cheek-bones project from umli r the mi.! 

 the orbit, and turn backwards in a large arch or segment of a circle. 

 The orbits are large and deep ; the upper part of the face remarkably 

 plane and flat ; and the nasal-bones, as well as the space between the 

 eyebrows, nearly on the same plane with the cheek-bones. 



The varieties of features dependent on the differences in the form 

 of the frame-work just described will be at once evident The first 

 variety is distinguished by an evenness and regularity of features, an 

 absence of any excessive prominence of one part in proportion to the 

 other, a smooth and gently -rounded cheek, compressed and small lips, 

 a full and prominent chin, and the whole face of a tolerably regular 

 oval form. It is probable that among European nations the Greek* 

 have displayed the greatest perfection in the form of the head, at 

 least according to the European standard of perfection. Blumenbach 

 has described a Greek skull in his collection, which, iu the beauty of 

 its form, agrees perfectly with the finest works of Grecian aculpttuv, 

 and renders it probable that the latter were actual copies of nature, 

 and not, as some have supposed, ideal compositions, intended to give 

 the expression of exalted intellect or of dignity. The same author 

 describes also the skull of a Georgian woman, equally remarkable for 

 its elegance and symmetry, and says that its form agrees exactly with 

 that of the head of a marble statue of a nymph iu the Townli'y 

 Collection at the British Museum. 



The features corresponding with the narrow elongated skull are 

 distinguished by the prominence of the jaws, from which they acquire 

 a peculiarly ferocious and animal character. The compressed, narrow, 

 and retreating forehead ; the scarcely prominent nose, with its wide 

 expanded nostrils ; the thick protruding lips, and the retreating chin ; 

 the projecting cheeks, and the heavy jaws, combine to add to the 

 characteristics which approximate, though they do' not identify, the 

 form of the negro with that of animals. 



The features of the third variety differ scarcely less from the 

 European than those of the negro, but in a different direction. Instead 

 of the long and prominent face, we here find a face which is broadest 

 transversely from one cheek bone to the other; and which, as it 

 gradually narrows, both above and below, acquires somewhat of a 

 lozenge shape. The nose is flat, the space between the eyes generally 

 depressed, and the eyes themselves most frequently placed obliquely, 

 with their internal angles descending towards the nose, rounded and 

 open ; the lips large, but not so prominent as those of the negro ; the 

 chin short, but not retreating under the lips. 



But these varieties are not separated by very definite limits. There 

 are numerous instances of negroes remarkable for the beauty and 

 European character of their features; and daily observation shows 

 Europeans who, in the narrowness of the skull, the lowness of the 

 forehead, ami the prominence of the jaw*, closely approximate to the 

 negro ; while others in their features resemble the broad and flat- 

 faced Tartars or Chinese. Within each of these varieties moreover 

 are included numerous smaller divisions, which are certainly, though 

 less prominently, distinct in their features. The varieties of national 

 appearance between the Scotch, English, French, and Germans, for 

 example, are in general distinguiehablc, though it would be difficult 

 to define their differences. Similar subdivisions of character exist 

 among all the varieties, and so fill up the intervals between the 

 extreme specimens of each as to form a regular and nearly perfect 

 series, of which the Esquimaux and negro might occupy the 

 extremities, and the European the middle place, between the br..ad 

 and high features of the one, and the narrow, elongated, and depressed 

 skull and face of the other. 



Differences in the shape of the pelvis (on which depend some 

 important differences in the external form of the body) have been 

 often supposed characteristic of different races of men. Hut from 

 an extended series of observations by Professor Weber, it has been 

 shown that every form of the pelvis which deviates from the ordinary 

 type, in whatever race it may most frequently occur, finds its analogues 



