1032 OP THE HUMAN FAMILY, AND THEIR MUTUAL RELATIONS. 



tendency to curl. Moreover, even this character is far from being a constant 

 one; for, whilst Europeans are not unfrequently to be met with, whose hair is 

 nearly as crisp as that of the Negro, there is a great variety amongst the Negro 

 races themselves, which present every gradation from a completely crisp (or 

 what is termed woolly) hair, to merely curled or even flowing locks. A similar 

 observation holds good in regard to the natives of the islands of the great 

 Southern Ocean, where some individuals possess crisp hair, whilst others, of the 

 same race, have it merely curled. It is evident, then, that no characters can 

 be drawn from the color or texture of the hair in Man, sufficiently fixed and 

 definite to serve for the distinction of races; and this view is borne out by the 

 evident influence of climate, in producing changes in the hairy covering of 

 almost every race of domestic animals; such changes often manifesting them- 

 selves in the very individuals that have been transported from one country to 

 another, and yet more distinctly in succeeding generations. 



1038. It has been supposed that varieties in the configuration of the Skele- 

 ton would afford characters for the separation of the Human races, more fixed 

 and definite than those derived from differences in the form, color, or texture of 

 the soft parts which clothe it. And attention has been particularly directed to 

 the skull and the pelvis, as affording such characters. It has been generally 

 laid down as a fundamental principle, that all those nations which are found to 

 resemble each other in the shape of their heads must needs be more nearly re- 

 lated to each other than they are to tribes of Men which differ from them in 

 this particular. But if this principle be rigorously carried out, it will tend to 

 bring together races which inhabit parts of the globe very remote from each 

 other, and which have no other mark of affinity whatever ; whilst, on the other 

 hand, it will often tend to separate races which every other character would 

 lead us to bring together. It is to be remembered, moreover, that the varieties 

 in the conformation of the skeleton, presented by the breeds of domesticated 

 animals, are at least equal to those which are manifested in the conformation 

 and color of their soft parts; and we might reasonably expect, therefore, to 

 meet with similar variations among the Human races. It is probable, however, 

 that climate has not so much influence in producing such changes in the con- 

 figuration of the body, as is exerted by the peculiar habits and mode of life of 

 the different races; and Dr. Prichard has pointed out a very remarkable rela- 

 tion of this kind, in regard to the three principal types of form presented by 

 the Skull. 



1039. Among the rudest tribes of Men, hunters and savage inhabitants of 

 forests, dependent for their supply of food on the accidental produce of the soil 

 or on the chase among whom are the most degraded of the African nations, 

 and the Australian savages a form of head is prevalent, which is most aptly 

 distinguished by the term prognathous, indicating a prolongation or forward-ex- 

 tension of the jaws (Fig. 284). This character is most strongly marked in the 

 Negroes of the Gold Coast, whose skulls are usually so formed as to give the 

 idea of lateral compression. The temporal muscles have a great extent, rising 

 high on the parietal bones; the cheek-bones project forward, and not outward; 

 the upper jaw is lengthened and projects forwards, giving a similar projection 

 to the alveolar ridge and to the teeth ; and the lower jaw has somewhat of the 

 same oblique projection, so that the upper and lower incisor teeth are set at an 

 obtuse angle to each other, instead of being nearly in parallel planes, as in the 

 European. From the shape of the upper jaw alone, would result a marked 

 diminution in the facial angle, measured according to the method of Camper; 

 but this diminution is far from being sufficient to approximate the Ethiopian 

 races to the higher Apes, as some have supposed it to be ( 8). Independently 

 of the diminution of the facial angle, resulting from the projection of the upper 

 jaw, it is quite certain that, in the typical prognathous skull, there is a want of 



