LECTURE XIII. 381 



wliicli passes in front of tlie parietal protuberances^ and about 

 the centre of the longitudinal diameter. In point of fact^ the 

 proportion of the greatest length to the greatest width in the 

 adult skull is 100 : 77 ; but in the young skull as 100 : 82-6 — a 

 proportion which need not surprise us, as the young skull is 

 much rounder than the adult skull. The adult skull thus pre- 

 sents proportions as in Jewish and Gipsy skulls^ which^ accord- 

 ing to Welcker^ are equal in this respect. 



On viewing the skull in front, the orbits seem very deep, and 

 the roof so arched that the superior orbital margin pi-esents a 

 sharp edge. The orbits are at the same time wide and almost 

 square, the nasal cavity is narrow and high, the forehead pro- 

 minent in the centre, but sloping rather abruptly on the sides, 

 so that the vertex has almost the form of a rounded house- 

 roof. Viewed from behind, the skull appears pentagonal, the 

 mastoid processes forming the inferior, the parietal promi- 

 nences the superior angles, and the sagittal suture a sharp 

 edge. 



In the absence of a large collection, it was impossible for me 

 to determine which type these crania most approach. They 

 are, at all events, of such a character that they need not be 

 ashamed to appear amongst those of other Caucasian peoples. 

 In Dr. Broca's opinion, which is, however, founded more on 

 first impression than on minute examination, these skulls 

 resemble most the present Basques, who still inhabit the 

 country in which the cave is situated. But these Basques are 

 just the most remarkable people — islands, if we may use that 

 term — which exist on the earth, differing in every respect from 

 all the surrounding peoples. They possess a language, the 

 analogue of which has only been met with in America. The 

 Basques are as yet an unsolved problem ; they cannot possibly 

 have come from Asia.* 



* Since the time Broca favoured me with this communication, he has 

 availed himself of the rare opportunity of examining sixty undoubted Basque 

 skulls, which were, under his own direction, dug out from the churchyard of 

 a Si^anish village. This examination, we may say, is a model of an ex- 

 haustive treatise. 



Not content with the usual division into short, middle, and long heads, 

 Broca interposes two other categories, which we shall term semi-long and 

 semi-short heads. According to this division, the pui-e long-heads measure 



