2. Conformation of the pelvis.
3. Conformation of other parts of the skeleton.
1. Colour of the skin.
5. Colour, texture, and mode of growth of the hair.
By most writers on the diversities of mankind, the varieties which are observable in the conformation of the bony skeleton, and particularly in that of the cranium and pelvis, have been thought to furnish distinc tive characters of more importance than those derived from the colour of the skin, or the texture of the hair; since, while a certain capability of alteration in the latter, under climatic influences, can scarcely be gainsayed, it might be supposed, a priori, that strongly marked peculiarities in the configuration of the skull, in the proportion of the parts of the body, and in the development of the brain, would be less likely to undergo alteration. Special attention will he here bestowed, there fore, upon the first three of this series of characters.
1. Conformation of the Cranium. — In esti mating the degrees of diversity presented by the skulls of various races, it is absolutely necessary that some definite method of com parison should be fixed upon. The first attempt of this kind of which we have any account, was made by Camper ; who main tained that the profile view is the most cha racteristic, and that the " facial angles " of the different races vary so greatly and so con stantly, that upon this character alone a valid distinction might be founded. By Blumen bach, on the other hand, it was considered that the comparison of the breadth of the head, particularly as seen in the vertical aspect, is the method by which the most strongly-marked differences are brought into view. By Professor Owen the importance of the basal aspect has been especially dwelt upon, in his comparison of the skulls of the higher Quadrumana with that of Man, as more fully indicating the relative proportions and extent, and the peculiarities of formation, of different parts of the cranium, than any other method. By Dr. Pritchard, again, the importance of the front or facial view has been clearly shown, in regard, at least, to one variety of cranial conformation. Lastly, by Prof. Ret zius, the length of the cranial cavity in pro portion to its breadth is considered as the character of greatest importance; this being regarded by him as indicative of the relative development of the posterior lobes of the cerebral hemispheres, and of the degree in which they cover-in, or extend beyond, the cerebellum. As we have already seen, the superior development of these posterior lobes constitutes a marked difference between the cerebrum of Man and that of the higher Quadrumana ; and in this respect it would appear from the evidence afforded by cranial conformation ', that there is a marked differ ence among the several races of mankind.
The only method of comparison which can be fairly relied on, is that in which all the points of difference are taken into account; and as this has been done more fully by Dr. Prichard than by any other ethnologist, his arrangement will be taken as the chief guide in the present instance.—If we were to select from a large collection of human crania, brought together from all quarters of the globe, those which differed most widely from each other,' and which might, therefore, be considered as types of certain peculiarities of conformation, and if we were then to com pare these more closely, so as to eliminate those which might be regarded as presenting mixtures or combinations of the most di vergent types (just as in studying the solar spectrum, the optical investigator eliminates all the colours which can be generated by ad mixture, and leaves only the three primaries, red, blue, and yellow), we should find our selves reduced at last to three forms, which would probably be the crania — (I) of a Negro of the Guinea coast, or of a Negrito of Australia, (2) of a Mongolian or Tun gusian of Central Asia, or of an Esquimaux or Greenlander, — and (3) of a native of Western or Southern Europe. The most marked feature of the first of these would be the projection of the jaws ; hence this type is called by Dr. Prichard the prog nathous. That of the second would be the breadth and flatness of the face, which, with the narrowness of the forehead, gives to the facial aspect somewhat of a pyramidal form, which is the designation applied to this type by Dr. Prichard. The third form would not be distinguished by any particular fea tures so much as by an absence of the longi tudinal projection of the first, or the lateral projection of the second, and by a general symmetry of the whole configuration, which may be characterised as oval or elliptical; such being the form presented when the cranium is viewed either facially, basally, or vertically. The distinctive characters of these three types will now he more particularly considered ; and the European type may be conveniently taken as the standard of comparison, since it is in many respects intermediate between the two others; one of these departing from it in Pne direction, and the other in the opposite.