Front matter

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Preface

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Tue Author of the present Work has recourse to a Preface chiefly for the purpose of acknowledging obligations. He has derived much valuable information from the works of Prichard, Humboldt, and others. To E. W. Cooke, Esq., he has to return especial thanks for many of the illustrations with which the work is embellished. The characteristic heads are drawn, for the most part from life, by bis Sealer. er Mrs. Ward. 4

The author has taken a review, necessarily but slight and superficial, of the different races of men, as they now present iV PREFACE.

themselves in various parts of the earth ; and his object has been, from independent sources, to illustrate the Scripture truth, that ‘‘God hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” —Acts xvi. 26.

7, WeuicLosE Square, 1849.

Chapter I. Page Introduction.—questions Embraced By The Science Of

ETHNOLOGY. — SPECIES AND VARIETY DEFINED AND ILLUS- TRATED : ‘ : ; z . 1

Chapter II. Varieties Of Man.—the Caucasian Variety ° &

CHAPTER ITI.

THE MONGOLIAN VARIETY . F é Sy As CHAPTER IV.

THE ETHIOPIAN VARIETY . “ : - 40 CHAPTER V.

THE MALAY VARIETY ;. u : . “0 O4

CHAPTER VI.

THE AMERICAN VARIETY . , 4 F Ayal

CHAPTER VII.

PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES CONSIDERED SEPARATELY. — CO- LOUR.— HAIR.—STATURE,. — SKULL. — FUNCTIONS OF LIFE. — DISEASES.—LONGEVITY.—PHYSICAL POWERS . ° oe 9)

CHAPTER VIII.

REVIEW OF MENTAL AND MORAL QUALITIES OF DIFFERENT RACES : - 2 wn LOG vl CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

PAGE

REVIEW OF THE SUPERSTITIONS, OR PSYCHOLOGICAL PECU- LIARITIES OF DIFFERENT RACES .

e e e

CHAPTER X.

DEVIATIONS OBSERVABLE IN THE HUMAN RACE MERELY VARIETIES.—OPINIONS OF HUMBOLDT, PRICHARD, LAWRENCE. —CAUSES OF VARIETIES.—THEIR PERMANENCE . .

CHAPTER XI.

MAN CONTRASTED WITH THE MONKEY, AND WITH INFERIOR ANIMALS . * . . .

CHAPTER XII.

LAWS REGULATING THE DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS. — AFFINITIES OF LANGUAGES. — TRADITIONS. — EARLY MIGRATIONS OF MANKIND.—CONCLUSION . e

South Sea Island Vegetation : ; ; Frontispiece Ethnographic Map . . ; : ; : . Page 1 Head of Ancient Roman 5 ; F , , : 18 A Chinese : eae ’ ; ‘ ; ; «, 28 A Bushman 2 A ‘ ; 3 : : : 36 A Negro . ; ‘ , . ; j ; ; . 140 A Malay . : : : ; oyik ; 54 A New Zealander . : ; ; ; : : » | 60 A Samoan Chief . - ; 5 : ARE: F : 66 Wife of Samoan Chief. E : 3 ; x . 66 A North American Indian . ; : : . 72

Varieties of Hart’s-tongue Fern : RE Ge ky

_ Tropic Ee or

Sy ark AN S|

Classification of Races according to Physical Characters.

London: Lublished by the Society tor promoting Christian Knowledge , 1849.

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. THE

NATURAL HISTORY OF MANKIND.

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CHAPTER J.

INTRODUCTION.—QUESTIONS EMBRACED BY THE SCIENCE OF ETHNO- LOGY.—SPECIES AND VARIETY DEFINED AND ILLUSTRATED.

Ir the study of the humbler aspects of Nature, of the delicate and many-hued flowers, the glittering insect tribes, the winged songsters, with their heaven-attuned melodies, and the countless denizens of the earth, air, and waters, be calculated to improve and raise the mind, how much more must it be elevated by the contemplation of that being whom the Creator has appointed lord of this fair world, and whom alone He has endowed with faculties capable of appreciating and admiring the works with which it teems! Well convinced are we of the importance of studying the lower objects of creation, and of the lofty conceptions which their variety of form, beauty of structure, and the admirable nicety with which they are fitted for their several conditions, afford us of Divine wisdom; but man presents the spectacle of a two-fold nature, a soul and body, adapting him for future as well as present existence, distinguishing him from the rest of animated nature, and rendering by B

9g THE NATURAL HISTORY him the highest created object on which the mind can exercise its powers. Hverything which relates to this ‘‘ wondrous being ”’ is full of interest. The complicated mechanism of his frame, the marvellous regularity with which it goes on, year after year, performing its functions, the varied and vast capacities of his mind, and the wants of his immortal spirit, are among the highest objects of

‘ reflection and research. Deeply interesting, too, is the study of man’s natural history, the relation which he bears to his fellow-men, and the. various aspects which he assumes in different regions of the world. It is in this latter respect that we are to consider him in the present work; and surely even the most indifferent must feel some desire for information regarding the physical, mental, and moral condition of many hundred millions of human beings.”

If it were possible to bring together in one group representatives of each of the races of man, the fair-complexioned German, the darker Celt with his high cheek-bones, the swarthy Italian or Moor, the black woolly-headed Negro, the copper-coloured Malay, the flat-faced Chinese, the degraded Australian, the Esquimaux, and the Red ‘Indian of America, and if each were clad in characteristic costume, the effect produced would be at once grotesque and motley. However strong might be our prepossession in their favour, we should find it difficult to believe that they were in any way allied, still more that they were intimately related, and all to be regarded as men and brothers, of like flesh and blood, sprung from the

* The population of the earth is calculated at between eight and nine hundred millions.

same common source, and endowed with similar mental and religious capacities. On more careful and mature examination of them individually, and in connexion with the races which they severally represented, the doubts we at first sight might experience, would gradually be removed. We should find that the peculiar features presented by single examples of each race were by no means constant through an entire race; additional light would be thrown upon the subject by a review of similar differences in many species of plants and animals ; and, in short, our scientific inquiry would lead us to the conclusion recorded in Scripture, “‘ that God hath made of one blood all the nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.” The science which proposes to itself a review of the races of man ‘“‘ in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations,” is termed ‘‘ Ethnology,” a name derived from two Greek words, 20vos (ethnos), “nation,” and Adyos (logos), ‘‘ discourse.” Ethnology ‘has existed as a science only from a comparatively recent period. Blumenbach, the German physiologist, may be said to have laid the foundation of it; and in England it has been enlarged and illuminated by the researches of Dr. Prichard, Mr. Lawrence, Dr. Knox, Col. Hamilton Smith, and others. The indefatigable Humboldt has shed a lustre upon this as upon every other branch of natural science, and his grand survey of the Kosmos closes with a glance at the distribution of man, and with a touching tribute to the labours of a deceased brother in this department of science. Ethnology has for its principal object the solution of the following questions. First, by a general review of the physical, mental, and moral features of races, to determine whether the differences observable are to be regarded as constituting several distinct species, or as merely varieties of the same species. Secondly, by comparing the languages of different nations, and the traditions entertained in common by them, and by reference to the records of their dispersion over the earth, to determine whether they have sprung or not from a single centre and common parents.

In order to render the subject perfectly intelligible, it is necessary to convey as clear a meaning as possible of the two words “ species,” and ‘ variety,” which we have just used, and which will frequently occur in the course of the work.

A species is a class, whether of plants or animals, which has always been known to possess certain distinctive features, affecting in general some important structure or function, which could not have been produced by accidental or external causes. y

The horse, ass, and zebra are instances of animals agreeing in broad features, and belonging to the same genus, but presenting sufficiently marked and permanent traits to constitute distinct species. The ox, buffalo, and bison, afford another example of different species. The ‘ apple” and the “pear” may be mentioned as good examples of species in the vegetable kingdom.

A ‘‘ variety” has been defined to be a deviation from a primitive form, a change from a former state. It usually affects some not very important part or structure, may be referred to the action of external or accidental causes, and, having been produced, may remain permanent or not. The different kinds of eatable greens, including the cauliflower, are “ varieties” produced by cultivation, of a plant which grows by the sea-side, the brassica oleracea, commonly called the *‘sea-cabbage.” The different apples are merely varieties of the common *“crab-apple.” In Guinea the dogs and fowls wear a sable livery like the men; and we recently saw a specimen of Indian corn from that country which was perfectly black. The greatest tendency to variation exists in the lowest vegetable structures, especially in ferns. The common “hart’s tongue” (scolopendrium vulgare) exhibits numerous variations. Its primitive form is a straight and undivided frond, with scarcely any stem. In some instances its fronds have a forked division, in others they are minutely subdivided like parsley ; at other times they are very narrow; and occasionally the frond itself is extremely diminutive, but has a long stem.

In the lower forms of animal life, variation from the primitive form seems common. Professor Bell in his work on the British Crustacea says, that an extensive salesman informed him that the lobsters brought from different districts ‘are as varied in appearance and character as a white man and an African,” so that a glance at them was sufficient to tell from whence they were brought, the deviation affecting principally the colour.

In the higher classes of the animal kingdom we have illustrations of “‘ variety” in the different breeds of domestic animals: dogs, horses, sheep, oxen, and swine. When we were in Brittany the appearance of the pigs there much astonished and amused us. Instead of having fat bodies and short legs, like those of England, their bodies are spare and attenuated, and the legs extremely long,—a condition produced in a great measure by want of sufficient nutriment. ‘‘ No animal,” says Kirby, “‘ varies more than the dog; some, as the water-dog, being covered with curled hair almost as thick as the fleece of a sheep, while others, the Turkish dog, are absolutely naked; others again, the greyhound, being very slender, with long slender muzzle and legs,—remarkable for their velocity and quickness of sight; others, lastly, the hound, more robust in form, less swift in motion, with a short obtuse muzzle, depending chiefly on their scent in the pursuit of their prey.” Dr. Prichard remarks that there is no difference to be met with in the various races of men, so great as that between the domestic hog and the wild boar. Yet that these are merely varieties of one. species is proved in the most satisfactory manner. When Columbus discovered America, a number of swine were carried to the Island of St. Domingo, where they had been previously unknown. ‘The climate was favourable to their propagation, they ran wild in the woods, and their progeny were discovered many years after, having actually reverted to the condition of wild boars,—their tusks prominent, their ears erect, the form of the skull altered, and their bodies covered with thick wool instead of thin hair.

We have thus, we trust, given a tolerably clear idea of what is meant by “‘ species” and ‘ variety,” and have also, by noticing the extraordinary varieties observable in many species of the lower animals, diminished greatly the apparent difficulty

OF MANKIND. e of attempting to account for differences of a similar kind in man.

We are now prepared to enter upon the consideration of the question, whether the different races of men are to be regarded as distinct specles, and sprung from separate sources, or as merely varieties of one species, and derived from a common source. Upon our decision depends not merely the confirmation of our faith in those Records from which we derive the actuating principles of our conduct, and which impart certainty to our hopes for the future, but also the spirit with which we are to regard mankind; whether we are to consider man, however grotesque his appearance, and degraded his condition, as our brother, or as an alien, with whose nature and necessities we have nothing in common. As we proceed with our inquiry, difficulties apparently insuperable will vanish ; philosophy in this department of science will be found to go hand in hand with, and lend support to, revelation; and the instinctive affections which we have entertained towards mankind will be felt and proved to be in harmony with truth.

** God loves from whole to parts, but human soul Must rise from individual to the whole ; Self-love but serves the virtuous mind to wake, As the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake ; The centre moved, a circle straight succeeds, Another still, and still another spreads ; Friend, parent, neighbour, first it will embrace, His country next, and next all human race !”

CHAPTER II.

VARIETIES OF MAN.—THE CAUCASIAN VARIETY,

WE shall now proceed to take a review of what, for the sake of convenience, we shall assume to be varieties of the human race, and, as best adapted for the purpose of popular description, shall adopt the arrangement proposed by Blumenbach, under five principal divisions,—the Caucasian, Mongolian, Ethiopian, Malay, and American.

The Caucasian variety is so termed, because the races comprised under it are supposed to have emanated from those inhabiting the valleys about the mountain-chain of the Caucasus in Western Asia. All the nations of Europe, with the exception of the Laplanders and Finlanders; in Asia, the Persians, Hindoos, Bengalese, and the Arabs ; and the Moors, Egyptians, and Abyssinians, of Northern Africa, are included under this head. The Caucasian is characterised by the greatest perfection of external form. He has an oval skull, a high and ample forehead, a prominent nose, and general symmetry of the features of the face; the teeth, lips, and cheek-bones, presenting no undue projection. ‘The stature is of average height, and the limbs are well formed and muscular. Among the Caucasian races we meet with almost every shade of complexion. ‘The natives of Northern Europe have a bright florid tint of the skin, light flaxen hair, and blue eyes; towards the centre of Europe the tint is less clear and ruddy, and the hair of a deep brown or chestnut colour; and as we proceed further south, under the influence of the warmer climate of Spain, Italy, and Greece, we meet with black hair and eyes, and swarthy complexion. The Arabs vary in hue, but have frequently a very dark tint of skin; and some of the Indian tribes are perfectly black. As we shall notice, in passing, certain distortions practised by different savage tribes, we cannot refrain from an allusion to the practice prevalent among European,women, of compressing the chest,—a custom which, although it may be excused on the plea of giving support to the back, is, from the compression of vital organs, prejudicial to health, and the most common cause of deformity.

In moral and intellectual attainments the Caucasians have greatly surpassed the rest of mankind. To them we owe the various and exquisite conceptions of the imagination, embodied in poetry, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. ‘They have investigated the treasures of the earth, and the wonders of the heavens; and most of the important discoveries and leading principles of natural science are due to them. They have endeavoured to explain the curious and varied phenomena of mind, and out of the intangible have constructed intricate systems of philosophy. They have raised woman to a just equality with man, to the enjoyment of her proper social and domestic position; and they have been the first to spread civilization, and to diffuse far and wide the purifying and ennobling influence of Christianity.

Under the Caucasian variety several races are comprised, whose peculiarities must be slightly touched upon. ‘These races have been arranged under different heads, or stems, in reference partly to supposed descent, but chiefly to the affinities of the languages spoken by them.

The first stem, which is termed the Semitic, embraces the Jews, Arabs, Berbers, and the ancient Chaldeans, Assyrians, and Babylonians.

The Jews still exist to the number of three or four millions, and, in fulfilment of the prediction declared respecting them, dispersed among the nations of the earth. They are well-marked people, having a peculiar physiognomy, which it is not very easy to describe. In general, the nose is arched and prominent, frequently falling in the same curve with the forehead, but at times disproportioned to the rest of the features; the cheek-bones are high, and rather prominent, and the contour of the face is narrow and oval. Many observers have noticed the difference of complexion in the Jews inhabiting different countries, and in this superficial feature they approach the natives of such countries. A large number of those in London have gray or blue eyes, with brown hair, anda clear, florid complexion; and we noticed the same complexion in many of the Jews settled in Amsterdam. In the south of Europe they have a swarthy hue of the skin, with dark eyes, and glossy black hair; and in Malabar they are perfectly black, like the Indians; yet this varying tint invests in all cases the same unvarying physlognomy.

The prejudiced and unthinking regard this scattered race as merely a money-getting people, whose

OF MANKIND. Il entire thoughts are concentrated upon, and whose existence is devoted to, lucre; and such persons uncharitably think that they are not animated by a soul which can rise above it. But even in their dispersion there have sprung up amongst them minds of the highest order, who have shone in the various departments of literature. In the darkest ages, they formed in mental attainments rather a favourable contrast than otherwise to the people surrounding them; and they had repute in certain arts, especially that of healing,—the skilful leech being met with among the members of this despised and degraded race. Their present condition is to be ascribed quite as much to the persecutions they have sustained, as to the circumstance of their having neither country nor home: and if in bygone ages more charity had been exhibited towards them, a greater number would doubtless have been converted to Christianity. There is every reason to believe that they were to be met with in this country much earlier than is generally supposed, and that they accompanied Phoenician merchants to Cornwall at a period long antecedent to the Norman conquest. The Cornish tinmines were a source of attraction and wealth to these Phoenician traders; and there is ground for thinking that they may have visited England with Jews in their train, even as early as the days when the wise and illustrious Solomon reigned over Israel. The presence of the Jews in this country, at avery early epoch, is attested by Hebrew sentences and figures met with in the aboriginal Celtic languages, and also in the names of places found at the present day in Cornwall, which prove that some of them had a settlement in this district. Scawen notices some of these names, as Bojewan, in St. Just, signifying the Jews’ dwelling; Trejewas, the Jews’ village; Marazion, the Jews’ market. These facts throw some light athwart the obscurity of early English history, and impart an additional interest for us to this peculiar race, by showing the early period at which they were brought into commercial relationship with this country.

The Arab has generally rather sharp features, a high and prominent forehead, aquiline nose, deepset, dark, warm eyes, and black coarse hair. The complexion is of a swarthy olive, some of the tribes being nearly as black as Negroes, with greater clearness of skin. The general development of muscle and stature seems to depend upon their mode of existence, whether they lead a wandering life as shepherds or adventurers, or a stationary and agricultural mode of existence. The physiognomy of the Arabs in Africa appears. to pass into that of the Negro. The Arabs are gloomy, enthusiastic, and austere, and generally strict adherents to the religion of Mahomet, which has been but little favourable to their intellectual progress; in fact, under its influence they have decidedly retrograded.

The Berber language, that spoken by the Berbers and Kabyles, about Tunis and Algiers, is said to belong to the Semitic class. These Berbers live either in the towns, on the plains, or in the mountain districts, are brave, intelligent, and capable of enduring great hardship. They are the people who, of late years, have exhibited so much courage and resistance in their contests with the French. They exhibit much skill, dexterity, and curious manoeuvre, in the use of the musket. They all profess the religion of Mahomet.

The Egyptians, both in respect to their language and physical form, appear to occupy an intermediate position between the Caucasian and the Ethiopian. The modern Copts, or Egyptians, present much variety in their physiognomy and complexion; some have full cheeks, prominent eyes, and nose, and lips; the former flat, the latter thick, and approach the Negro, with a corresponding dusky tint of skin. In others, the features are sharper, more regular, and Caucasian.

The ancient Egyptians were supposed by some writers to have had an African cast of countenance; but in mummies that we have seen unrolled, the features were decidedly Caucasian, with long, curling, brown hair. Dr. Morton, of Philadelphia, has published the result of his examination of an extensive series of skulls brought from Egypt by Mr. Gliddon. He finds that the most prevalent form has features bearing a Grecian character, and to this he gives the name of Pelasgic. A second form, next in frequency, he terms the Egyptian; and in it the nose is prominent, the features sharp and delicate, the eyes rather oblique, the forehead receding, and the hair long and flowing. Another form, much less commonly met with, he terms the Semitic. <A less frequent cast of countenance is termed, by Dr. Morton, Negroid, partaking of the Negro features.

It appears, therefore, that the ancient Egyptians had a high physical formation, as indeed we should beforehand have been disposed to believe, from the records they have left us of their mind. The energy with which they opposed and overcame natural obstacles, so as to ensure both the fertility and safety of their country; the information we derive from their hieroglyphics respecting their thoughts, pursuits, and superstitions; the ruins of their colossal temples, and their vast tombs and pyramids,—all afford speaking evidence of great intellectual power. Most of the different races inhabiting modern Egypt, the Arabs, Turks, &c., are Mahometan; but the Copts, the descendants of the ancient race, are chiefly Christian. ‘They live in a degraded state, follow the lowest occupations, and their moral qualities are low, and corresponding to their depressed state, for they are cunning, avaricious, servile, and sensual.

The second great stem is termed the Indo- European, and comprises a variety of races connected by the affinity of their languages, the Celts, Saxons, Slavonians, Greco-Latins, in Europe, and the Hindoos, Affghans, Kurds, Armenians and Persians in Asia.

Different tides of population appear, at early epochs, to which history reaches not, to have swept over Europe, the earliest and less resisting inhabitants becoming dispossessed by more energetic and powerful tribes that succeeded in the migratory movement from Western Asia. ‘ In the movement of successive invasions, the most ancient races, reduced to a few families, have deserted the plains, and fled to the mountains, where they have maintained a poor but independent existence; while the invaders, invaded in their turn, have become serfs of the soil in the plains they occupied, from want of a vacant asylum in the impregnable recesses already possessed by those whom themselves had driven there.”* England, or rather Great Britain, still wears the impress of these invasions in the mixed races which people it. The original inhabitants, the Celts, who once occupied the greater part of the country, gave way to the invading Danes and Saxons, who, in their turn, were dispossessed by the Normans, a people also of Saxon origin, having migrated from Norway to the province of Normandy. The greater bulk of the population of England is of mixed Saxon and Norman; while the Celts still maintain their distinctness of race in Wales, the Highlands of Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ireland. This Celtic family, which once occupied the greater part of Western Europe, is now restricted to the districts just named, and to Brittany. ‘These are the only countries where the language is spoken; and in Brittany and Wales it is maintained in so pure a state, that the Welsh and Bas-Bretons are said to be capable of understanding one another. Cornwall seems also to have been a stronghold of the Celts; but the dialect is not now to be met withthere. This province of Cornwall is, in many respects, invested with interest, for its rich tin mines ever proved a source of attraction to foreign traders and adventurers, drawing over Jews and Pheenicians, and other merchants. It is matter of history, too, that Christianity was first introduced into England in Cornwall by the traders from the East, long before St. Augustin entered upon his mission.

The Celtic races have usually dark hair and eyes, high cheek-bones, a sallow complexion, average stature, and slimness of figure. ‘They

* Thierry’s Norman Conquest.

possess great rapidity of thought, restlessness, and activity of mind, and some degree of volatility; are enthusiastic, imaginative, distinguished rather by brilliancy than by solidity of mind. They have considerable national pride, and are much attached to the legends intertwined with their historical records.

There is nothing more calculated to awaken interest and reflection than the spectacle of the Celts in Brittany. Speaking their peculiar dialect, wearing the costume of some centuries back, and cherishing the manners and superstitions of their forefathers, they are in happy unison with the numerous and mysterious remains of Druidism scattered over their country.

The Celtic character, more or less modified, may be observed in the Highlanders, the Welsh, and the Irish. The natives of France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and part of Italy, are of mixed Celtic origin.

The Teutonic, or Saxon, races extend over England, part of Scotland, Holland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. ‘They are generally tall of stature, of large and muscular make, with fair ruddy complexion, light hair, and blue or gray eyes. They present also peculiar mental and moral qualities, in which they stand rather strongly contrasted with the Celts. Wanting the brilliancy of the latter, they have greater clearness and soundness of judgment; and the imagination is kept more under control. They are also less excitable and irritable in their temperament, and well adapted for sustained energy and enterprise.

The Slavonic race occupies the eastern side of Europe, and comprehends the Russians, Poles,

Bohemians, Dalmatians, and the larger part of the population of Hungary, the dominant class in this country being of the same stock with the Laplanders. ‘‘The various tribes of this race differ among themselves, the variety being apparently in relation to climate and other local circumstances ; and this variety is much greater than any that can be traced between the Slavic nations in general and other Europeans. In the south-eastern parts of their abode, the Slavonians are of dark complexion, with black eyes and hair; this.is the fact with respect to the Croats, Servians, and proper Slavonians. The Poles vary in complexion; many of them are of dark eyes and hair, of tall and well made figures. The Northern Russians are very fair.” *

The Slavonians of Russia, since the time of Peter the Great, have emerged, as a nation, from barbarism; but the bulk of the people exist in a state of serfdom, with its attendant moral and mental degradation. The Russian nobles are intelligent, gifted, and refined; but the slaves, whether belonging to the crown or to private owners, have few qualities left, save the patience and endurance necessary to sustain their lot, and the craftiness and dissimulation which slavery naturally engenders. ‘The eastern or Asiatic origin of the Slavonians is proved by the affinities which their language presents with the Sanscrit, and by the resemblance between the superstitions of their ancestors and those of the Hindoos,

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The natural history of mankind

About this book

Front matter

Preface

Chapter II. Varieties Of Man.—the Caucasian Variety ° &

The end

The natural history of mankind

About this book

Front matter

Preface

Chapter II. Varieties Of Man.—the Caucasian Variety ° &

The end

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