210 



The First Men, 



America, and were driven north and west by the warlike hunting tribes 

 of Indians, who differ profoundly from them and from all earlier races. 

 The Eskimo type also exists among the Patagonians. It is clear that 

 the ancient, Peruvians moved southward at a very early date; so early 

 that they lost all recollection of their association at the north, and were 

 not even aware that a contemporaneous civilization existed there. In 

 his work on Peru, Mr. E. George Squier says: '^Even if it be assumed 

 that the whole human race sprung from a single family, and that their 

 original seat was in the highlands of Armenia, whence they have over- 

 spread the globe, still it remains true that the period of their advent 

 in Peru antedates all human record." The capacity of the Peruvian 

 skull was no greater than that of the Hottentot. The Central Ameri- 

 cans say that civilization came to them from the east. They have 

 linguistic affinities to some extent with the Basques of Spain, whose 

 native name ascribes to them an eastern origin. The entire continent 

 of America is overspread with brown tribes, which appear to have been 

 fully developed elsewhere, and then to have immigrated from their 

 original home.* 



It is clear that the American continent was at one time in pos- 

 session of a primeval race whose mental capacity co-existing with crania- 

 logical inferiority is established. They were likew^ise morally superior 

 to the Indians, who came after them, notwithstanding the crauiolog- 

 ical superiority of the latter. Mr. J. S. Phillips explains this by 

 saying : " The intellectual lobe of the brain of these people [the Indians], 

 if not tome down hij such overpower ing animal propejisities and pas- 

 sions, would doubtless have been capable of much greater efforts than 

 any with which we are acquainted, and have enabled those barbaric 

 tribes to make some progress in civilization. * * * * jy^g intel- 

 lectual and moral qualities of the Mexicans and Peruvians are left more 

 free to act, not being so subordinate to the propensities and violent 

 passions." 



We have now traced man back to the lowest cranial organization 

 which he is known to have possessed, and have found no reason to ques- 

 tion the natural capacity of the first men, excej^t the inferences which 

 men draw with regard to skulls containing the minimum of cubic 

 contents. The first men were superior to races which succeeded them 

 the world over. All African races are descended from the Hottentots, 

 and yet they show no improvement. The Malays are the first di- 

 varication from the Australians toward the Mongoloid ; and yet the 

 further we trace the descent the more brutal are the descendants. 



The first men were orthocephalic, or straight skulled; the brain vault 

 being pyramidal or gpthic. As to the ratio between length and breadth, 



* Tylor. 



