38 DITR0D1 



ka-( lolumbiana beat a remote affinity, m well u those of die rmrtneni 

 . to the Azteca-Mexican ; "a fad which recalls ihe tradition 

 that the Nahuatlacaa originated from a region far i *> th« north ; the 

 language of Nootka b) an strong n n mblance to the Mexican in th« 

 terminations of words, and the frequent recurrence oi 

 sonants." 



M. D'Orbigny divides the South American nations into time 

 families; the Andian group, >>r Alpine nations, including th<- Peru- 

 vians, the Antisians, and the Arancanians; the Brazilio-Guaraai, 

 from the foot of the Peruvian Andes, eastward to the Atlantic, 

 including the vast plains of the Orinoco and the Amsaon; and the 

 Mediterranean group, in the central and southern parts of the con- 

 tinent. Of two and a half millions of the pure aboriginal races, oae 

 and a half millions are Christians, through the efforts of Roman 

 Catholic missionaries. 



The Peruvian family includes the ln<-a race, the Aymaras, the 

 Atacama, and the Changos. Of the Peruvians we shall say more, 

 when noticing the Crania Americana. The [oca ra Q sheas, 



an- noted for a very great volume of the chest, \\ bich ia due to i! 

 vated regions in which they live, and the consequent extreme expan- 

 sion of the air; living at a height of between 7. .".no and 15,000 t '• < • t 

 above the level "t' the sea, a much greater quantity of such rarefied air 

 must be inhaled for the respiratory functions ; to effect this, or in 

 consequence of tins, the lungs are dilated, and the thorax from infancy 

 is abnormally developed ; in the lungs there is a kind of natural 

 emphysema. The Avmaras resemble the [ncss in physical charac- 

 ter, but differ from them entirely in language. It is probable that 

 from Tiaguanaco, the most ancient city of South America, and one 

 of the greal cities of the Avmaras. the religion, the arts, and the civil- 

 ization of the Incas originated. The heads of the modern Avmaras 

 display no trace of that tlattening of the skull so conspicuous in the 

 tombs around the lake of Titicaca and other parts of the Aymara 

 country. It is now fully proved that the depressed or elongated form 

 of the skulls is owing to the intervention of art ; its origin was prob- 

 ably contemporaneous with the reign of the Incas ; it appeared to be 

 a mark of honor, as such deformed skulls were found in the largest 

 and finest tombs. 



The Atacamas occupy the western declivity of the Peruvian Andes, 

 and the Changos spread along the coast of the Pacific ; the latter are 

 of a much darker hue, probably depending on their ocal situation 

 by the sea-coast. 



The Antisian branch inhabits the eastern declivity cf the Bolivian 

 and Peruvian Andes, from 13° to 17° south latitude. Living in 



