Memoir of Samuel George Morton. 169 
? 
most ancient human remains at present known. Certainly they 
exhibit characteristics of the Caucasian race, 
Of course it is not for me to entertain, much less express any 
Opinion on the cotemporary age of Dr. Morton’s specimens, and 
the new chamber discovered by Mr. Perring, in which they were 
found under circumstances leading to a suspicion of their ex- 
tremest antiquity. Dr. Lepsius says of that pyramid land of 
Gizeh, Sagara, and Daschur, to which alone the Prussian com- 
mission devoted six whole months, “ Wer sich aber, auch nur an 
die niedrigsten Annahmen der neueren Gelehrten iiber das Alter 
der ersten Aigyptischen Dynastieen halten wollte, wirde noch 
immer jenen Denkmilen die Prioritaét vor allen tibrigen A3gyp- 
tischen, so wie tiberhaupt vor allen geschichtlich nachweisba- 
ren Kunstresten des ganzen menschlichen Geschlechts zugeste- 
hen miissen.”—Lepsius, Denkmiiler aus Aigypten und Aithio- 
en, p. 4, 
But admitting that these skulls are as old as the foundation, 
you may start the question whether Dr. Morton could, in an im- 
mense collection of crania of all nations and of diverse epochs, 
unerringly select, and classify, and denominate those of the five 
divisions or races, and even families of mankind. 
_ For my own part, I confess I long thought that his was a labor 
i vain; since to a casual observer as I was, the appearances no- 
ticeable in a great number of specimens are so similar, that I 
doubted the applicability of any rules of cranioscopical discrimi- 
nation to the ends he had in view. pee tk 
now, however, fully admit that I did him injustice in the 
thought, which arose only from my own ignorance of the subject. 
now believe that Dr. Morton’s diagnostications as well as Blu- 
menbach’s, are to be depended upon ; and that Dr. Morton’s dis- 
crimination of the different skulls in his collection was so fine 
and delicate, that I cannot reject his indications and explanations 
of ethnological characteristics in them. I find an incident, men- 
tioned. in the diary, which I beg leave to relate to you, which is 
contained in a letter of his to his friend, George R. Gliddon, 
Esq., under the date of March 7th, 1845, ‘The following ex- 
tract from it, which I beg permission to read, gives proof of the 
ability with which he applied his cranioscopical learning to eth- 
nological questions. ; 
ee * * * # * * A he 
“Yesterday sent me a copy of Bonomi and Birch’s Egyptian 
Antiquities of the British Museum, which comes in ‘ood time, 
and is very welcome. Let me give you an example of the man- 
ner in which the study of physiognomy comes in aid of See: 
ology. One of the first plates I examined was the third, fig. 36 
Which represents the Adgis of Athor, the Egyp jan Ve 
Szconp Serres, Vol. XIIf, No. 38.—March, 1852. 228 
