154 
From Central Asia eastward to the Pacific Islands and 
subcontinents on the one hand, and to America on the other, 
brachycephaly and orthognathism gradually diminish, and 
are replaced by dolichocephaly and _prognathism, less, 
however, on the American Continent (throughout the 
whole length of which a rounded type of skull prevails largely, 
but not exclusively)* than in the Pacific region, where, at 
length, on the Australian Continent and in the adjacent is- 
lands, the oblong skull, the projecting jaws, and the dark skin 
reappear ; with so much departure, in other respects, from the 
Negro type, that ethnologists assign to these people the special 
title of ‘ Negritoes.’ 
The Australian skull is remarkable for its narrowness and 
for the thickness of its walls, especially in the region of the 
supraciliary ridge, which is frequently, though not by any 
means invariably, solid throughout, the frontal sinuses re- 
maining undeveloped. The nasal depression, again, is 
extremely sudden, so that the brows overhang and give the 
countenance a particularly lowering, threatening expression. 
The occipital region of the skull, also, not unfrequently be- 
comes less prominent; so that it not only fails to project 
beyond a line drawn perpendicular to the hinder extremity 
of the glabello-occipital line, but even, in some cases, begins 
to shelve away from it, forwards, almost immediately. In 
consequence of this circumstance, the parts of the occipital 
bone which lie above and below the tuberosity make a much 
more acute angle with one another than is usual, whereby 
the hinder part of the base of the skull appears obliquely 
truncated. Many Australian skulls have a considerable 
height, quite equal to that of the average of any other race, but 
there are others in which the cranial roof becomes remarkably 
depressed, the skull, at the same time, elongating so much 
that, probably, its capacity is not diminished. The majority 
* See Dr. D. Wilson’s valuable paper “On the supposed prevalence of one 
Cranial Type throughout the American aborigines.’ —Canadian Journal, Vol. 
II. 1857. 
