The passing of the great race; or, The racial basis of European historyGrant, Madison
History
The passing of the great race; or, The racial basis of European history
Grant, Madison
Ethnology -- Europe
The skull was characterized by heavy superorbital ridges, a low and
receding forehead, protruding and chinless under jaw and the posture was
imperfectly erect. This race was widely spread and rather numerous. Some
of its blood may have trickled down to the present time and occasionally
one sees a skull apparently of the Neanderthal type. The best skull of
this type ever seen by the writer belonged to a very intellectual
professor in London, who was quite unconscious of his value as a museum
specimen. In the old black breed of Scotland the overhanging brows and
deep-set eyes are suggestive of this race.
Along with other ancient and primitive racial remnants, ferocious
gorilla-like living specimens of Paleolithic man are found not
infrequently on the west coast of Ireland and are easily recognized by
the great upper lip, bridgeless nose, beetling brow with low growing
hair and wild and savage aspect. The proportions of the skull which give
rise to this large upper lip, the low forehead and the superorbital
ridges are certainly Neanderthal characters. The other traits of this
Irish type are common to many primitive races. This is the Irishman of
caricature and the type was very frequent in America when the first
Irish immigrants came in 1846 and the following years. It seems,
however, to have almost disappeared in this country. If, as it is
claimed, the Neanderthals have left no trace of their blood in living
populations, these Firbolgs are derived from some very ancient and
primitive race as yet undescribed.
In the Upper Paleolithic, which began after the close of the fourth and
last glaciation, about 25,000 years ago, the Neanderthal race was
succeeded by men of very modern aspect, known as Cro-Magnons. The date
of the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic is the first we can fix with
accuracy and its correctness can be relied on within narrow limits. The
Cro-Magnon race first appears in the Aurignacian subdivision of the
Upper Paleolithic. Like the Neanderthals, they were dolichocephalic but
with a cranial capacity superior to the average in existing European
populations and a stature of very remarkable size.
It is quite astonishing to find that the predominant race in Europe
25,000 years ago, or more, was not only much taller, but had an absolute
cranial capacity in excess of the average of the present population. The
low cranial average of existing populations in Europe can be best
explained by the presence of large numbers of individuals of inferior
mentality. These defectives have been carefully preserved by modern
charity, whereas in the savage state of society the backward members
were allowed to perish and the race was carried on by the vigorous and
not by the weaklings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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