144 
ORDER BIMANA.— GENUS HOMO. 
to find in works, otherwise of some pretensions, such fiil)les as that of 
the Hindoo race of Stint Thomas, with flat thighs, said to be found 
in the Island of Ceylon, or the six-fingered nations of the human race. 
We must not, however, confound the well-authenticated accounts of Por- 
cupine-men with the above fictitious narrations. 
CLASSIFICATION OF RACES. 
Linnaeus (.4.D. 1766) was the first systematic writer who ventured to 
include Man as a member of the Animal Kingdom. He established the 
order Primates, consisting of four genera ; 1. Homo; 12. Simia; 3. Lemur; 
and, 4. Vespertilio. The genus Homo, which he characterized by the 
brief phrase, “ Nosce te ipsiim,” consisted of the Homo mpiens, and the 
Homo ferwt, the latter founded on a few accidental instances of juvenile 
outcasts, while the formei, subject to variation, cutlura et loco, was subdi- 
vided into five races ; a Americanus ; /3 Europasus ; y Asiaticiis ; S Afer; 
and s Monstrosus ; the last being composed of all the defective individuals 
observed among the remainder. He avoided the error of those subse- 
tpient writers, who consider the races of men as so many distinct species. 
Yet his classification was exceedingly arbitrary, and in attempting to ap- 
portion the human race among the four divisions of an antiquated geo- 
graphy, he blended together a number of races, very different in their 
physical characters, and failed to notice the inhabitants of many extensive 
regions of the globe which cannot be referred with propriety to any of the 
principal continents. 
Buffon (A.D. 1766), in the excellent treatise, “ Stir les Varietes dans 
I'especc Huniaine,” with his usual disregard to systematic arrangement, 
did not propose any natural subdivision of the races. He collected the 
results scattered over the innumerable voyages and travels of his day, and 
discriminated with caution among the mass of errors and contradictions 
with which their waitings abounded. Subsequent travellers have added 
more precise information for correcting and completing the valuable trea- 
tise of Buffon, which even now may be read with pleasure and advantage. 
Already the critical eye of Buffon distinguished the Malay from the other 
Asiatics, and the Tartars from the Chinese. He admitted the physical 
differences of the Hyperborean races, distinguished the Hottentots from 
the other Africans, and acknowleged the unity of the Ethiopians. 
Blumenbach (A.D- 1 797) admitted five varieties of the human species ; 
1. Caticasica; 2. Mongolica; 3. Althiopica; 4. Americana; 5. Malayana. 
These are little more than the old division of Linnaeus, with the substi- 
tution of the Malayan variety in place of the H. Monstrosus, Linn. 
Our chief objection to this arrangement consists in the obvious impro- 
priety of including the Americans and Malays, whose characters are not 
very decisive, in the same rank with the Caucasians, Mongolians, and 
Ethiopians. The Malayan division has now become insufficient to contain 
the numerous and varied races of the Southern Ocean, 
Duineril (A.D. I806j instituted the order Biraanes, which was a most 
decided improvement upon the order Primates of Linnmus, who placed in- 
tellectual Man in the same order with the Apes and Bats. He subdivid- 
ed the human race into six varieties; 1. La Caucasique, or Arabe-Euro- 
peenne; 2. L’Hypc-rboreeune ; 3. La Mongole; 4. L’ Americaine ; 5. La 
Malaie ; 6. L’Ethiopienne, or Negre, Elis arrangement coincides pretty 
nearly with that of Blumenbach, with the manifest improvement of sepa- 
rating the Hyperboreans from the Mongolians. 
The Baton Cuvier, in the first edition of the “ Uegne Animal ” (A.D. 
1816), admitted only three principal varieties; 1. Blanche on Cauca- 
sique; 2. Jaune ou Mongolique ; and, 3. Noir ou Ethiopique ; at the 
same time remarking, that he did not know to which of the above to re- 
fer the Malays, Papoos, or Americans. 
In the same year M. Malte-Brun published his enumeration of the 
human races, but without attracting much attention from systematic 
writers. He distinguished sixteen races. I. Polaire. 2. Pinnoise. 3. 
Sclavonne. 4. Gothico-germanique. 3. Occidentales de 1 Europe. 
6. Grecques et Pelagiques. 7. Arabe. 8. Tartare et Mongole. 9. In- 
dienne. 10. Malaie. II. Noire de I’Ocean Pacifique. 12. Basanee du 
Grand-Ocean. 13. Maure. 14. Nfegre. 15. De I’Afrique Orientale, 
16. D'Amerique. 
M Virey, in the Nouv. Diet. d’Hist. Nat., article Homme, which 
appeared A D. 1817, was the first naturalist who ventured, in defiance of 
the received opinions, to divide mankind into two species, characterized by 
the magnitude of the facial angle. 
His classification was as follows : 
Genre Humaine. 
1° Espece, Angle facial de 85“ a 90“. 
f Arabe-Indienne. 
1. Race Blanche, . . - | Oltique et Caucasienue. 
i Chinoise. 
Kalmouke- Mongole. 
Lapone-Ostiaque. 
3. Race Cuivreuse, . . Americaine ou Caraibe. 
2°. Esp6ce, Angle fiicial de 
4. Race Brune-foncee, 
5. Race Noire, 
6. Race Noiratre, 
a 80». 
Malaie ou Iiidienne, 
J Cafres. 
Negres. 
J Hottentots. 
1^ Papous. 
This enumeration, though more complete than those of any of nis pre- 
decessors, with the exception of Malte-Brun, is still liable to many ob- 
jections. Characters derived from the magnitude of the facial .angle are 
too variable in Man to constitute a specific difference, and we may seek 
in vain for any other. 
M. Desmarest, in his Mammalogie (A.D. 1820), adopting the hint ol 
the Baron Cuvier, made the distinction of which all other writers appear 
not to have observed the importance. The three great races, which we 
have termed Normal, and the Anomalous, or mote indistinct varieties of 
the human species, are here distinctly pointed out. Ele divided Man, the 
only species of the Genus Homo, as follows: 
■f Varietes de races bien caractfirisees. 
A Race Caucasique. 
B . Mongolique. 
C . Ethiopienne ou Negre. 
t| Varietes de races moins distinctes. 
D Race Malaie. 
E . des Papous. 
E . Americaine. 
This arrangement coincides exactly with that in the “ Regne Animal.” 
Hitherto the important dififerences between the Malays, Polynesians, and 
Australasians, passed unnoticed, and M. Desmarest fiuled to adopt the 
Hyperboreans of Duineril. 
This was the state of the science (A.D. 1825) when the ingenious 
treatise of M. Bory de St Vincent appeared in the Diet. Class, d Hist. 
Nat., art. Homme. Omitting to notice the distinction proposed by Cuvier 
and Desmarest between the Normal and Anomalous races, and persever- 
ing in the error begun by M. Virey, he incautiously distributed the Human 
race into no less than fourteen distinct species. E et he has the merit of 
subdividing the White races with much accuracy, though the leading 
features had been previously laid down by Malte-Brun, and of distinguish- 
ing most of the varieties in the islands of the Southern Ocean. 
Elis divisions are as follows : 
■f Leiotriques. 
‘ * Ancient continent. 
1. .lapetique H, Japeticus. 
+ Gens Togata. 
1". Caucasique (Orientale). 
2“. Pelage (Meridionale). 
+ + Gens Bracata. 
3“. Celtique (Occidentale). 
4“. Germanique (Boreale). 
« Teutone. 
/3 Sclavone. 
2. Arabique. — EL Arabicus. 
1”. Atlantique (Occidentale). 
2“. Adamique (Orientale). 
3. Hindoue H. Indicus. 
4. Scythique H. Scythicus. 
5. Sinique H. Sinicus. 
6. Hyperboreenne.— H. Hyperboreus. 
7. Neptunienne.— H. Neptunianus. 
1° Malaise (Orientale). 
2° Oefianique (Occidentale). 
3° Papoue (Intermediaire). 
8. Australa-sienne (H. Australasicus). 
•• Nouveau Continent. 
9. Colombique (H. Colnmbicus). 
10. Americaine (H. Americanus). 
11. Patagone (H. Patagonus). 
tt Oulotriques. 
12. Ethiopienne (H. jEthiopicus). 
13. Cafer (H. Cafer). 
14. Melanienne (EL Melaninus). 
15. Hottentote (H. Hottentotus). 
1 ttt Moiistrueux. 
I a. Cretins. 
(3. Albinos. 
M. Desmoulins (A. D. 1826) published his Tableau general du Gei 
Humain, in which the number of species in the Human Genus was 
ther augmented to sixteen. They were as follows : 
i l . Indo- Germaine. 
2. Pinnoise. 
3. Turqiie. 
