226 FISHBERG 



heads, depict yet more graphically the homogeneity of the 

 cranial type of the Eastern European Jews. This homogeneity 

 may easily deceive us into believing it to be the best proof of the 

 freedom of the Jews from admixture of foreign blood. This in 

 fact was the opinion we entertained in 1902, when discussing the 

 same problem/ but a close study of the anthropology of the 

 races and peoples in Eastern Europe among whom the Jews have 

 lived for centuries, has materially altered our opinion. 



These Jews come from the parts of Russia known as Lithuania, 

 White-Russia, Little Russia and Poland ; and also from Austrian 

 Galicia, Hungary and Roumania. A careful study of the head- 

 form of the indigenous populations of these countries reveals the 

 following remarkable fact : their head-form is more homogen- 

 eous than that of the population of any other part of Europe. 

 '' The perfect monotony and uniformity of environment of the 

 Russian people " says Ripley, " is most clearly expressed anthro- 

 pologically in their head-form . . . a moment's consideration of 

 our map shows at once a great similarity of headform prevailing 

 all over Europe from the Carpathian mountains east and north. 

 Tlic ccpJialic index oscillates but two or three points above a center 

 0/82. . . . Our widest variation in Russia is about five units. ^ 



It is safe to assume that if any non-Jewish blood has been 

 infused into the veins of the Eastern European Jews during the 

 last thousand years, must have come from exactly the races and 

 peoples inhabiting just this region of Europe. A close exam- 

 ination of the map ingeniously prepared by Ripley^ shows 

 graphically that the cephalic index of these peoples is about the 

 same as that of the Jews we are considering. Any slight differ- 

 ences that occur in some places, are also to be observed in the 

 Jews from these countries. Wherever there is an increase in 

 the width of the head of the native races, as for instance in 

 Galicia, the same is to be observed in the Jews coming from 

 these countries. The difference may be ever so small, it is still 



1 See *' Physical Anthropology of the Jews," I, Cephalic Index, A/nerican An- 

 thropologist, N. S., IV, pp. 684-706. 



2 Wm. Z. Ripley, "The Races of Europe," pp. 341-342. 

 ^ Ibid., p. 340. 



