178 FOSSIL REMAINS OF MAN. 



From Central Asia eastward to the Pacific Islands and 

 sub-continents on the one hand, and to America on the 

 other, brachycephaly and orthognathism gradually dimin- 

 ish, and are replaced by dolichocephaly and prognathism, 

 less, however, on the American Continent (throughout the 

 whole length of which, a rounded type of skull prevails 

 largely, but not exclusively)* than in the Pacific region, 

 where, at length, on the Australian Continent and in the 

 adjacent islands, the oblong skull, the projecting jaws, and 

 the dark skin reappear ; with so much departure, in other 

 respects, from the Negro type, that ethnologists assign to 

 these people the special title of ' Negritoes.' 



The Australian skull is remarkable for its narrowness 

 and for the thickness of its walls, especially in the region 

 of the supraciliary ridge, which is frequently, though not 

 by any means invariably, solid throughout, the frontal 

 sinuses remaining undeveloped. The nasal depression, 

 again, is extremely sudden, so that the brows overhang 

 and give the countenance a particularly lowering, threat- 

 ening expression. The occipital region of the skull, also, 

 not unfrequently becomes less prominent ; so that it not 

 only fails to project beyond a line drawn perpendicular to 

 the hinder extremity of the glabello-occipital line, but 

 even, in some cases, -begins to shelve away from it, for- 

 wards, almost immediately. In consequence of this cir- 

 cumstance the parts of the occipital bone which lie above 

 and below the tuberosity make a much more acute angle 

 with one another than is usual, whereby the hinder part 

 of the base of the skull appears obliquely truncated. 

 Many Australian skulls have a considerable height, quite 

 equal to that of the average of any other race, but there 



* See Dr. D. Wilson's valuable paper " On the supposed prevalence of 

 one Cranial Type throughout the American aborigines." Canadian Journal, 

 Vol. II. 1857. * 



