CH A P TE R XII
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
B e f o r e our conclusions are presented to the reader we feel that there are some
preliminary considerations to which his attention must be directed. In no instance, of
which we are aware, has it been possible to trace the physical history of a people through
a period of time comparable in length to that which is dealt with in this monograph.
While disposed to agree with the most generally accepted dating, which would assign
about 6,000 years to the interval between the Early Predynastic age and the
Arab invasion, we would point out that even if the reduced estimate of the Berlin School
were accepted the range from first to last would still exceed 4,000 years. Such figures
when applied to the history of the human race seem startling, and indeed this lapse
of time covers the rise and fall of all the great empires of antiquity including that of
Rome. But a little reflection will make it apparent that viewed from the standpoint of
the succession of generations the opportunities afforded for the production of such
changes as might lead to the evolution of distinct types are few in comparison with
those which occur in the domain of zoology. Assuming that there are three generations
to the century, then in the line of direct descent (supposing such a thing to be possible)
the number of individuals through whom the parent strain was transmitted would amount
to not more than 180 from first to last. If this be a rather low estimate to apply to
a population subjected, as the early inhabitants of Egypt must have been, to particularly
inimical influences of war and disease, let it be supposed that there were four generations
to the century; and even then the number of transmitters would not be more than 240.
Now in a similar time, assuming that the horse is fit for reproduction at four years
of age and that the period of gestation lasts eleven months, there is a possibility of the
occurrence of twenty generations of horses in the century, or of 1,200 generations in the
6,000 years with which we are concerned. Calculated on similar lines the dog or cat would
have passed through 5,000 generations in a like period, whilst rabbits and mice would
have passed through a line of 10,200 and 24,000 ancestors respectively. These figures
rather under-estimate than overstate the reproductive potency of the respective stocks.
In view of such facts it is not surprising that the changes which will presently be
noted are less striking than the reader might at first be inclined to expect.
Next we must emphasize the fact that the material at our disposal, owing to its
amount and to its nature, is superior to any which has hitherto been available. It
consists of the measurements of 1,560 skulls, of which over 1,50c1 were obtained from
a closely circumscribed geographical area. The cemeteries of Abydos, El Amrah,
Shekh Ali, Regagnah, Hou, and Denderah are situated in what was known as the
Thebaid or province of Thebes. A reference to the map will show that the distance
between the two most widely separated sites, viz. Regagnah and Denderah, is only about
60 miles; Denderah itself being some 40 miles from ancient Thebes, which was the
capital of a district extending from EshmunSn in the north to Aswdn in the south.
1 T h e remaining 54 were obtained from Deshasheh and Medum in Middle Egypt.
Moreover, not only are these specimens selected from a restricted area but they acquire
additional value from having been obtained in the course of excavations carried out by
trained archaeologists, who have recorded their results in a series of exhaustive scientific
monographs \
Consequently it has been possible to allot the material to well-marked chronological
periods in accordance with the archaeological evidence; and the accuracy of the
observations is vouched for by one of the authors, who was present at, and took part in,
the actual explorations.
A reference to the list published in the Appendix will show that the several
periods are unequally represented. In some the number of specimens is sufficiently
large to justify a considerable degree of confidence in the deductions which are drawn,
in others the series are smaller. I f it be objected that the utilization of the latter is
unjustifiable, we would point out that we have been guarded in drawing definite conclusions
from what we consider inadequate data, though we have not hesitated to use
the small series as corroborative evidence. It would have been easy to have adapted
the material to the requirements of those who claim to treat these problems statistically,
by neglecting the labours of archaeologist and historian and combining the twelve
or fourteen distinct series into a hotchpotch under the title of ‘ Ancient Egyptians.’ It
would have been possible also to have further amplified such a collection by the
inclusion of numerous other crania of uncertain date. To do this, however, would have
been to sacrifice the peculiar objects of our investigation; since it has been our first aim
to furnish an independent record, which, in so far as it succeeds in being a physical
history, may supplement the documentary and monumental records, or in some cases even
replace them when they are defective.
From these considerations it will be apparent why no reference has been made to
the work of the numerous authors who have already written upon the origins or
racial affinities of the ‘ Ancient Egyptians.’ The question has been treated on firsthand
evidence by such anthropologists as Blumenbach, Cuvier, Gliddon, Morton, Nott,
Prichard, and Pruner Bey, and in more recent times by C. Fawcett, Fouquet, Hartmann,
Schmidt, Sergi, Virchow, and Warren. But though their material was sometimes
considerable yet it was either less representative or less accurately dated than that which
we are here enabled to present.
In summarizing the results of the present inquiry the fact should not be overlooked
that this physical history is restricted to the Theban province of Upper Egypt. What
may have been the conditions in Lower Egypt we do not profess to say. It will prove
extremely interesting to see whether there is any appreciable difference in the composition
of the population in districts further north. Therefore it is to be hoped that in excavations
which may be undertaken in Lower Egypt, and elsewhere, the cranial and skeletal remains
will receive no less attention than the objects of purely archaeological interest, It is
most satisfactory to observe that care has been taken to study and preserve the specimens
discovered during the recent excavations in Crete. Had a like interest been shown by
the explorers in Mesopotamia it might have been possible to decide definitely how far the
theory of those who believe in a racial connexion between Egypt and Babylonia is
justified.
1 Published mainly under the auspices o f the Eg yp t Exploration Fund (see bibliographical references in
the Appendix).