VARIETIES OF MANKIND. 



1339 



and great varieties present themselves within 

 the limits of any one tribe. Here, too, the 

 influence of external conditions shows itself 

 in a very marked degree ; for it is among the 

 inhabitants of the lower levels bordering on 

 the sea, between the tropics, who are most 

 exposed to the vertical rays of the snn, their 

 climatic conditions being nearly allied to those 

 of the Negro, that the "woolly" character 

 most remarkably shows itself; whilst in other 

 tribes of the same race, which are not less 

 prognathous, but live in higher and drier situa- 

 tions, the hair is only " frizzled," or even 

 becomes long and wavy. Even if, as Dr. 

 Prichard justly remarks, the hair of the Negro 

 were really analogous to wool, it would by no 

 means prove the Negro to be a peculiar and 

 separate stock, unless the peculiarity were 

 constantly presented by all the nations of 

 similar descent ; and were restricted to them 

 alone ; for, as already pointed out, there are 

 breeds of domesticated animals which bear 

 wool, whilst others of the same species, under 

 different climatic influences, are covered with 

 long straight hair. It is not unimportant to 

 notice, that wool is occasionally borne by the 

 dog, ox, and hog, to neither of which it is 

 natural ; whilst the sheep, whose ordinary 

 covering is composed of it, occasionally ex- 

 change it for long straight hair. These facts 

 so unequivocally prove that the texture of 

 the hair is peculiarly liable to be influenced 

 by external conditions, that it could only be 

 on the strictest proof of invariability, that such 

 a character could be properly adopted as a 

 basis for specific distinction. 



As examples in which there is historical 

 evidence of alteration in the texture and mode 

 of growth of the hair, it will be sufficient to 

 refer to the case of the Barabras already 

 cited, whose hair, originally woolly, has be- 

 come longer and straighter, only retaining a 

 slight crispness ; and to that of the Western 

 Turks, whose chins are furnished with flowing 

 beards, in which their Eastern relatives are 

 almost entirely deficient. 



The greatest peculiarity in the growth of 

 the hair is exhibited by the Hottentot race. 

 The following account of its appearance in a 

 young Bushman, who recently died in the 

 United States, is given by Dr. Parsons* : 

 " His hair lay in little distinct, compact, curly 

 tufts, twisted spirally ; and in the intervals of 

 these tufts, the skin was distinctly seen. The 

 filaments were very fine, some of them five 

 inches long, and black. They contained a 

 distinct cortex and granular medulla. The 

 transverse section of a filament resembled that 

 of the Negro's, except in being concave on one 

 of the two longer sides of the ellipse," or reni- 

 form. Thus, in the texture of the hair itself, 

 the Hottentot seems allied to the Negro, 

 whilst its sparseness reminds us of the scanti- 

 ness by which the Mongolian races are gene- 

 rally characterised. We shall hereafter see, 

 that there is strong reason for regarding the 

 Hottentot race as of kin to the Negro ; and 



* Transactions of the American Medical Associa- 

 tion, vol. ill p C2. 



for attributing the modification which it has 

 undergone to the external conditions of its 

 existence. The peculiar character of the 

 chcvelnrc of the Papuans, which will be no- 

 ticed in the account of that race, seems to be 

 chiefly due to its artificial treatment. 



From the Anatomical portion of our inquiry, 

 then, we are led to the general conclusion, 

 first, that no such difference exists in the ex- 

 ternal conformation or internal structure of 

 the different Races of Men, as would justify 

 the assertion of their distinct origin ; and, 

 secondly, that although the comparison of the 

 structural characters of races docs not furnish 

 any positive evidence of their descent from a 

 common stock, it proves that even if their 

 stocks were originally distinct, there could 

 have been no essential difference between 

 them, the descendants of any one such stock 

 being able to assume the characters of an- 

 other. 



Of the next subject for investigation, the 

 Physiological conformity or diversity of the 

 several races of mankind, a much briefer sum- 

 mary will be sufficient. This part of the in- 

 quiry has been pursued with great diligence 

 and success by Dr. Prichard*, who lays it 

 down as a general axiom (the truth of which 

 must be admitted by all who are competent to 

 form an opinion on the subject, its validity 

 being confirmed by the careful study of those 

 races of domesticated animals which are re- 

 markable for the greatest amount of anatomi- 

 cal variation), that the great laws of the vital 

 functions, such as those expressing the periods 

 and duration of life, the economy of the sexes, 

 and the phenomena of parturition and repro- 

 duction, are, with slight deviations resulting 

 from external agencies, constant and uniform 

 in each particular species ; whilst there are 

 usually decided differences in regard to the 

 same peculiarities among races of animals, 

 which, though nearly resembling each other, 

 are yet specifically distinct. 



Now, taking the average duration of life as 

 the first point of comparison, it has been 

 shown by Dr. Prichard, that, whilst there is a 

 marked difference in this respect between man 

 and the highest apes the full term of exist- 

 ence of the chimpanzee being stated by M. 

 Lesson at not more than thirty years, and 

 that of inferior species being less, there is 

 absolutely no difference among the several 

 races of mankind, the extreme age of the 

 Negro and American races being at least as 

 great as that of the European, with the same 

 average duration of life under the same cir- 

 cumstances as regards climate, mode of 

 life, &c. 



The age at which the body attains its full 

 development, also, appears to be the same 

 amongst different races ; or, at any rate, does 

 not differ more than among the different indi- 

 viduals of the same race. The inquiry into 

 the epoch of the first menstruation has been 

 most industriously prosecuted by Mr. Ro- 



* Physical History of Mankind, vol. i. 



