1896.] Mr Shrubsall, Crania from Teneriffe. 167 



A seriation of the heights computed from bones in Teneriffe 

 shews a range in the case of males of 1550 — 1710 (160 units) and 

 in the case of females of 1460 — 1660 (200 units) with maxima at 

 1640 and 1550 respectively: this range is sufficient to indicate a 

 probable original mixture of tall and short races, although it is 

 clear from historical evidence that the height was fairly even 

 throughout the island at the time of the Spanish invasion and 

 that the Guanches were tall. 



In an attempt to reconstruct the features of the former in- 

 habitants we draw our evidence from three sources, the present 

 population, the chronicles of the Spanish invasion and such ancient 

 records of the history of the island as we possess. 



Turning to the first, we find congregated in and near the towns 

 on the north and east people with olive skins, dark eyes and black 

 or dark brown hair, obviously of Spanish descent ; lying further 

 out and distributed in the country districts throughout the island 

 is a fairer complexioned, brown eyed, chestnut haired race mixed 

 among whom are isolated families of the former type, while in the 

 rugged and less easily accessible southern side where the Guanches 

 last held out and where their descendants are still supposed to 

 remain in the greatest purity, there are many of fair complexion, 

 blue eyes and fair or flaxen hair and golden haired children are 

 quite common. From the second source we learn that many of 

 the inhabitants of the north of the island at the time of the 

 invasion were fairer than the Spaniards, although some of those 

 in the South were dark, while the native records tell the ad- 

 ventures of a golden haired blue-eyed princess. When added to 

 this we find in many mummies a profusion of short yellow hair, 

 although this latter evidence is not strictly admissible owing to 

 post mortem changes, there is some reason for concluding that at 

 any rate one race in the island presented the features of a fair 

 complexion, blue eyes and light coloured hair, and belonged essen- 

 tially to the blonde type of Eurafrican peoples. It is also very 

 probable that there were also in the island from early times 

 people of darker complexion and hair. In the eastern islands of 

 the Canary archipelago early voyagers describe a race with dark 

 skins, dark hair and thick lips ; some of these people doubtless of 

 African origin might have spread into Teneriffe and account for 

 some of the peculiar features of that country. 



In conclusion there appear to have been in Teneriffe, 



(1) A dominant race, the Guanches, tall, blonde, blue-eyed, 

 muscular, with a skull of the first type. 



(2) A race with a skull of type two, also tall and, as far as 

 evidence from their mummies go, probably blonde. 



