[II 



THE ENGIS SKULL 101 



" The earth which contained this human skull exhibited no 

 trace of disturbance : teeth of rhinoceros, horse, hyaena, and 

 bear, surrounded it on all sides. 



"The famous Blumenbach 1 has directed attention to the 

 differences presented by the form and the dimensions of human 

 crania of different races. This important work would have 

 assisted us greatly, if the face, a part essential for the determina- 

 tion of race, with more or less accuracy, had not been wanting 

 in our fossil cranium. 



"We are convinced that even if the skull had been complete, 

 it would not have been possible to pronounce, with certainty, 

 upon a single specimen ; for individual variations are so numerous 

 in the crania of one and the same race, that one cannot, without 

 laying one's self open to large chances of error, draw any inference 

 from a single fragment of a cranium to the general form of the 

 head to which it belonged. 



"Nevertheless, in order to neglect no point respecting the 

 form of this fossil skull, we may observe that, from the first, 

 the elongated and narrow form of the forehead attracted our 

 attention. 



" In fact, the slight elevation of the frontal, its narrowness, 

 and the form of the orbit, approximate it more nearly to the 

 cranium of an Ethiopian than to that of an European ; the 

 elongated form and the produced occiput are also characters 

 which we believe to be observable in our fossil cranium ; but 

 to remove all doubt upon that subject I have caused the con- 

 tours of the cranium of an European and of an Ethiopian to 

 be drawn and the foreheads represented, Plate II, Figs. 1 and 2, 

 and, in the same plate, Figs. 3 and 4, will render the differences 

 easily distinguishable ; and a single glance at the figures will 

 be more instructive than a long and wearisome description. 



"At whatever conclusion we may arrive as to the origin of 

 the man from whence this fossil skull proceeded, we may express 

 an opinion without exposing ourselves to a fruitless controversy. 

 Each may adopt the hypothesis which seems to him most prob- 

 able : for my own part, I hold it to be demonstrated that this 



1 Dccas Collcctionis suce craniorum diversarum gentium 

 Ulustrata.GottmgK, 1790-1820. 

 175 



