402 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S, Vol. IV. No. 90. 



may hope that experiments on these and 

 similar points may throw some light on the 

 properties of that medium which is univer- 

 sal, which plays so large a part in our ex- 

 planation of physical phenomena, and of 

 which we know so little. 



J. J. Thomson. 



CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 

 pathology IN" anthropology. 



In a note in Science, May 1st, I vindi- 

 cated the importance of the study, in an- 

 thropology, of pathological traits and pro- 

 cesses. In the Revue Mensuelle de VEeole 

 d^ Anthrojjologie for July 15th is an excellent 

 article on the same theme from Prof. Capi- 

 tan. He sets forth with brevity and pre- 

 cision the many applications of pathology 

 in anthropologic investigations. For in- 

 stance, the diseased conditions of bones 

 throw much light on prehistoric society; 

 the disturbances of nutrition and reproduc- 

 tion solve many a problem in ethnic biol- 

 ogy; defects in the organs of the senses 

 explain the traits of various tribes ; en- 

 demic, epidemic and hereditary diseases 

 control the development of nations; mi- 

 grations and dispersions are governed 

 by similar causes ; mental maladies are 

 fruitful of extraordinary results in ethnic 

 history, and so on. 



But he takes a step further, a bold one, 

 and, one must say, not a false one. ''The 

 generally received notion that humanity 

 at large is in a healthy condition, normal 

 and physiological, is an utter error. There 

 is not a single individual, still less a large 

 number, who are thoroughly sound; we 

 always study them in a more or less dis- 

 eased condition." There is no doubt this 

 is so, and its consequences deserve far more 

 attention than they have received. 



THE CROWD AS AN ANTHROPIC UNIT. 



Ethnographers have been accustomed 

 to deal with the ' race,' the " tribe ' and the 



' nation ' as social or anthropic units ; but 

 of late it has become evident that the 

 'crowd,' any crowd, anywhere, anytime, is 

 just as specialized, has as many individual 

 traits, and is quite as active in its influence, 

 as either of fchose mentioned. The ' crowd ' 

 may be in the salon of a lady of fashion, 

 on a corner in the slums, or at a meeting of 

 a scientific association; it will have the 

 same peculiarities and move according to 

 the same laws. It will act on impulse and 

 not on reason; its intelligence is that of its 

 most inferior members; but its powers are 

 prompt and far-reaching. Mental sugges- 

 tion and mental contagion are its favorite 

 stimuli. It loves catch- words, symbols, 

 colors and costumes. It prizes a badge far 

 above a syllogism, and can be captured by 

 the former' when the latter would fall 

 powerless. 



The study of this many-headed beast has 

 very properly come into the scope of an- 

 thropology, and the little book of Dr. Gus- 

 tave Le Bon, ' Psychologic des foules ' 

 (Alcan, Paris), as well as the lectures of 

 Prof. Bernheim, of ISTancy, on ' Suggestion 

 collective,' enable the reader to appreciate 

 how singularly the folly of the mass ob- 

 scures the wisdom of the individual. 



recent craniological studies. 

 Dr. Eudolf Martin, already familiar to 

 Americanists by his somatologic writings on 

 the natives of Tierra del Fuego, has lately 

 published in the quarterly journal of the 

 Naturforschende Gesellschaft, of Zurich, an ar- 

 ticle on ' Old Patagonian Skulls.' The 

 crania, twelve in number, were obtained 

 from the left bank of the Rio Negro, 

 about fifty kilometers above its mouth. 

 He subjects them to a searching scrutiny 

 and an analysis of their dimensions. They 

 do not seem to show marked traits of de- 

 generation. In form they are brachy- 

 cephalic and prognathic, with prominent 

 cheek bones. Two full-plate illustrations 



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