A CONTRIBUTION TO THE STUDY OF THE SCOTTISH SKULL. 451 



demonstrated from the distribution of their sepulchral monuments, they seem to have 

 entered Scotland from south and west. The round-headed or Alpine (Ripley) race 

 entered Scotland from south, and east. The earliest comers buried their dead in 

 short cists, and introduced the beaker type of urn. As has been demonstrated by 

 Reid, Low, and Bryce, they were short and highly brachycephalic in skull form. 

 The later invaders, according to Wright, founding on his observations on the skulls 

 from the Yorkshire round barrows, were already mixed before their arrival with a 

 long-headed stock. 



This round-headed influx is stated to have overrun England and every part of 

 Scotland, but not Ireland. The question arises — Did it reach the west of Scotland, 

 the part furthest removed from the landing-place 1 Archaeological evidence clearly 

 proves that it did, though probably it did not overrun the west to the same degree 

 as the east of the country. 



There is another point to consider, however. We must not forget the Teutonic 

 invaders from Denmark, Germany, and Scandinavia in the ninth century, who settled 

 down amongst the natives, and descendants of whom we find all over Britain to-day. 

 The head form of these invaders was dolichocephalic, and quite similar to the 

 prevailing type in the parts of the British Isles, where the Mediterranean substratum 

 had maintained its position previous to their arrival. 



Apparently the collection of crania forming the present series of Scottish skulls 

 may either be representatives of the Mediterranean stock or, on the other hand, may 

 represent those of a colony of Teutonic invaders ; they are Mediterranean in their 

 dolichocephaly but, unfortunately, just as much Teutonic in that respect. 



It must be apparent that it would be very difficult, in fact impossible, to decide 

 such an important question from the evidence supplied by the skulls alone, but the 

 evidence of place-names and physical traits strongly points to the conclusion that in 

 the west the prevailing type owes its origin to the earlier invaders, not to the 

 Teutonic settlers. We therefore conclude that the present series of skulls derived from 

 the Glasgow district are to be regarded as those of descendants of the Mediterranean 

 or Iberian stock, represented in a primitive form in the long-barrow crania, and not 

 as descendants of the more recent Teutonic invaders. They seem to have established 

 themselves in this region at a remote period, and have preserved their skull form 

 practically unaltered. 



The present series of skulls, as the comparison with Turner's series demonstrates, 

 represents only one type of skull prevailing in Scotland. The mean values are not 

 national but local values ; but none the less the type represented is probably the 

 great basal national type which has remained rather purer in the west than in the 

 east, where it has been affected to a larger extent by the early intrusive brachy- 

 cephalic element. 



TRANS. ROY. SOC. EDIN., VOL. LI, PART II (NO. 9). 63 



