THE DESCENT OB ORIGIN OF MAN 81 



Dr. J. Barnard Davis lias proved," by many careful meas- 

 urements, that the mean internal capacity of the skull in 

 Europeans is 92.3 cubic inches; in Americans 87.5; in Asi- 

 atics 87.1; and in Australians only 81.9 cubic inches. Prof. 

 Broca" found that the nineteenth century skulls from graves 

 in Paris were larger than those from vaults of the twelfth 

 century, in the proportion of 1^84 to 1426; and that the 

 increased size, as ascertained by measurements, was exclu- 

 sively in the frontal part of the skull — the seat of the intel- 

 lectual faculties. Prichard is persuaded that the present 

 inhabitants of Britain have "much more capacious brain- 

 cases" than the ancient inhabitants. Nevertheless, it must 

 be admitted that some skulls of very high antiquity, such as 

 the famous one of Neanderthal, are well developed and capa- 

 cious. '^ With respect to the lower animals, M. E. Lartet," 

 by comparing the crania of' tertiary and recent mammals 

 belonging to the same groups, has come to the remarkable 

 conclusion that the brain is generally larger and the convo- 

 lutions are more complex in the more recent forms. On,the 

 other hand, I have shown*' that the brains of domestic rab- 

 bits are considerably reduced in bulk, in comparison with 

 those of the wild rabbit or hare ; and this may be attributed 

 to their having been closely confined during many genera- 

 tions, so that they have exerted their intellect, instincts, 

 senses, and voluntary movements but little. 



" "Philosophical Transactions," 1869, p. 513. 



™ "Les Selections," M. P. Broca, "Revue d'Anthropologie," 1873; see 

 also, as quoted in C. Vogt's "Lectures on Man," Eng. translat., 1864, pp. 88, 

 90. Prichard, "Phys. Hist, of Mankind," vol. i., 1838, p. 305. 



*' In the interesting article just referred to, Prof. Broca has well remarked, 

 that in civilized nations the average capacity of the skull must be lowered by 

 the preservation of a considerable number of individuals, weak in mind and 

 body, who would have been promptly eliminated in the savage state. On the 

 other hand, with savages, the average includes only the more capable individ- 

 uals, who have been able to survive under extremely hard conditions of life. 

 Broca thus explains the otherwise inexplicable fact, that the mean capacity of 

 the skull of the ancient Troglodytes of Loz^re is greater than that of modern 

 Frenchmen. 



82 "Comptes rendus des Sciences," etc., June 1, 1868. 



88 "The Variation of Animala and Plants under Domestication," voL i. 

 pp. 124-129. 



