290 FISHBERG 



The origin of the blond Jews is another problem which is of 

 interest. Judging from Biblical tradition, and the race portraits 

 of the ancient Assyrian and Egyptian monuments, there were 

 blond Jews in antiquity. At present over lo per cent, of Jews 

 have blond hair, and in some countries even 20 per cent. Some 

 believe that these blond Jews are the descendants of cross mar- 

 riages of ancient Hebrews with Amorites. The fact that in 

 Caucasia, where the indigenous population is dark, only 2 per 

 cent, of the Jews have fair hair (Pantukhof ) is against it. It may 

 be good evidence that in Caucasia, the Jews, even had they in- 

 termarried with the indigenous races, could not acquire blond 

 hair. The only possible objection that could be found against 

 the opinion that the blond Jews in Europe are derived from in- 

 termarriage with North European races, is the fact emphasized 

 in chapter VI. that they are more blond in countries where the 

 indigenous population is darker and the reverse. But it must 

 be acknowledged that it makes very little difference where they 

 have acquired it, as long as it is agreed that this blondness is 

 one of the best proofs that they have not maintained themselves in 

 as pure a state as is generally supposed. That it cannot entirely 

 be ascribed to intermarriage with the Amorites and other fair 

 races of Palestine in Biblical times, is attested by the fact that the 

 modern Jewish blonds are not taller, nor more dolichocephalic 

 than the brunettes. Archeological research has shown that 

 the blond Amorites were dolichocephalic and of tall stature, the 

 Hebrews, compared with them were as ** grasshoppers in their 

 own sight." ^ The brunette Jews in Eastern Europe corre- 

 spond to the Slav type, being taller and having longer heads. 

 This is normal among the Slavonians, such as the Poles, Czechs, 

 Ruthenians, Little-Russians, White-Russians, etc., as has been 

 shown in Chapter VIII. Nobody claims that the ancient He- 

 brews have come in contact with these races before their dis- 

 persion. This trait could only have been acquired while the 

 Jews have lived among the Slavonians in Eastern Europe, dur- 

 ing the last ten centuries. 



We conclude that the bulk of the modern Jews, who live at 



' Numbers XIII, ^3- 



