382 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OP THE 



nition of characteristics in the former, which appear to him other 

 than Celtic. In noticing two well known crania recovered from the 

 .Knoch-maraidhe tumulus in the Phoenix Park, Dublin, he remarks *. 

 " In these, especially in one of them, there is a considerable approxi- 

 mation to the Turanian skull ;" and again in view of those from 

 British cairns and cists, he repeats his belief that some of them give 

 reason to suspect that they had somewhat of the Mongolian or Tura- 

 nian form of head.* 



It seems, at first sight, an undertaking sufficiently compatible with 

 the results already achieved by craniology, to determine the typical 

 form at least of the modern Celtic cranium ; but the results have 

 hitherto been of a very indefinite character. One source of error is 

 doubtless traceable to the neglect of the important fact that a type- is 

 an ideal abstraction embracing the mean of many variations, and is 

 not to be determined by the selection of one or two assumed charac- 

 teristic examples. Opinions, however, have been advanced on the 

 authority of experienced observers, in favour of one or more specific 

 forms as that of the true Celtic head. Referring to the small anterior 

 region characteristic of the skulls in ancient British graves, Dr. 

 Prichard remarks : " In this particular, the ancient inhabitants of 

 Britain appear to have differed very considerably from the present."f 

 Mr. Wilde, on the contrary, after refei'ring to two ancient races, whose 

 remains are found in Irish cairns and sepulchral mounds, the one 

 " globular headed," and the other having skulls " chiefly characterised 

 by their extreme length from before backwards, or what is technically 

 termed their antero-posterior diameter, and the flatness of their sides ;" 

 adds: "we find similar conditions of head still existing among the 

 modern inhabitants of this country, particularly beyond the Shannon, 

 towards the west, where the dark, or Firbolg race may still be traced, 

 as distinct from the more globular-headed, light-eyed, fair-haired 

 Celtic people who lie to the north-east of that river." J Here the 

 Irish archseologist describes two essentially distinct ancient skull- 

 forms, and not only recognises the living representatives of both, but 

 finds the diversity of form accompanied by other distinctions in hair, 

 eyes, and complexion. 



Nevertheless it has been generally assumed that one well-defined 



* Researches, vol. iii , p. xx. 



t Ibid, vol i. p. 305. 



tLectures on the Ethnology of the Jtncient Irish^ 



