History, Ancient; Human beings -- Origin; Prehistoric peoples
The skull, like that of the Canstadt type, is dolichocephalic,
but in all other respects totally different. The brow-ridges and
generally bestial characters have disappeared; the brain is of
fair or even large capacity; the stature tall; the forehead fairly
high and well-rounded; the face large; the nose straight, the jaws
prognathous, and the chin prominent.
This type is found in a number of localities, especially in the
south-west of France, Belgium, and Italy, and it continued through
the quaternary into the neolithic period, being found in the caves
of the reindeer age, and in the dolmens. It is thought by some
ethnologists to present analogies to the Berber type of North Africa,
and to that of the extinct Guanches of the Canary Islands.
Coexistent with or a little later than this type is one of a totally
different character both from it and from that of Canstadt, viz. that
of a brachycephalic race of very short stature, closely resembling
the modern Lapps. This has been subdivided into the several races
of Furfooz, Grenelle, and Truchere, according to the degree of
brachycephaly and other features; but practically we may look on
these as the results of local variations or intercrossings, and
consider all the short, brachycephalic races as forming a third type
sharply opposed to those of Canstadt and Cro-Magnon.
We have thus distinct evidence that the Quaternary fauna in Europe
comprised at least three distinct races of palæolithic men, and there
is a good deal of evidence for the existence of a fourth distinct
race in America with features differing from any of the European
races, and resembling those of the native American men in recent
times. But this affords absolutely no clue as to the existence of
other palæolithic types in Asia, Africa, India, Australia, and other
countries, forming quite three-fourths of the inhabited world, in
which totally different races now exist and have existed since the
commencement of history, who cannot possibly have been derived from
any of the European types within the lapse of time comprised within
the Quaternary period.
The Negro race is the most striking instance of this, for it differs
essentially from any other in many particulars, which are all in the
direction of an approximation towards the pithecoid type.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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