XX NEW GUINEA AND ITS INHABITANTS 437 



as light as some of the Malays. It is, however, by their 

 features that they are best distinguished from most other 

 races of men, and especially by the form and size of the 

 nose. This is always large and long, usually arched as 

 in the Jewish type, and, when well developed, with the 

 extremity so lengthened as to hide the nostrils and over- 

 hang the upj^er lip. This peculiar characteristic is found 

 more or less developed everywhere round the coast of New 

 Guinea, so that almost every traveller speaks of the 

 " Jewish features " — the " aquiline " or " arched " or " very 

 prominent " noses — or makes use of other similar ex- 

 pressions, clearly showing that this is the typical Papuan 

 feature, a fact which is further demonstrated by the un- 

 mistakable, though exaggerated, manner in which it is 

 represented in all their images and carvings. The nose is 

 also very thick and coarse, as is the case in almost all savage 

 races, the alse are very oblique, and the base is much de- 

 pressed between the eyes, a character which reaches its 

 maximum in the natives of New Caledonia and the New 

 Hebrides, though the nose itself is with them somewhat 

 shorter. The forehead is rather flat and retreating, the 

 mouth large, and the lips full, but not excessively thick ; 

 nor is there any marked prognathism. The combination 

 of these peculiarities in various degrees produces faces 

 which are sometimes ugly and savage-looking, while 

 others have so much the character of the Jew or Arab as 

 to be really handsome. Comparing Papuans with typical 

 negroes of Equatorial Africa we find a radical difference 

 in the small flat nose and very prominent jaws of the 

 latter. In the South African races this difference is less 

 pronounced. The Bechuanas and Natal Kaffirs have less 

 prognathism and a straighter, better-formed nose, but this 

 organ is always shorter and less arched than in the 

 Papuan. The Hottentots have often well-formed features 

 and sometimes have a considerable resemblance to the 

 less typical Melanesians. The greatest resemblance, 

 however, is to be found between the Negritos of the 

 Philippines — who have short flat noses and somewhat pro- 

 jecting jaws — and some of the dwarfish tribes of Central 

 Africa. 



