CRANIA BRITxiNNICA. [CHAP. I.
12
expressed in avoh-dupois ounces. In om- final tables tlie ^^eiglit of sand will be reduced to
cubic inches, and by a reference to the relative specific gravity of this sand and of brain, we
sliall arrive at the value of the mass of cerebral matter the skrJl originally contamed either m
cubic inches or in oimces. .
By these means, -by carefully delineated lithographs of a numerous series of crama, all
drawn upon the stones from the objects themselves, of the exact size of the originals, and so as
not merely to represent a very correct outline, but to render the actual rehef and the suiiace oi
the skuUs,-hy equallv accurately executed small outUnes, reduced to one-foui-th m diameter, of
the facial, vertical and posterior views of each cranium, with which it is intended to head every
description,-and by as complete and faithful a descriptive picture of every skuU Mhographed
as we are able to delineate in words,-we trust a not inconsiderable contribution will be made
to this part of science, and a certain advance ensui-ed m our kuowledge of the cramum of the
ancient races of the British Islands,-of that human head, which, mt h the philosophic poet
Goethe, we may well characterize as " the very crown and completion of the works of nature^
We have now adverted to every necessary preliminary consideration of importance. The
collection, preservation, and faithful delineation of authentic examples will be oiu- particular
aim In some instances it will be impossible to preclude every doubt that may be suggested
ac^ainst the genuineness of a cranium. In these we must be content to give the evidence which
satisfies our own minds, or at least that which is the most extended aud pai-ticular we can
obtain mere this evidence of authenticity is not quite so conclusive, aud where some uncertainty
unavoidably attaches to the attribution, it will be best to exercise caution, and where
there is ueed for it, to express a doubt, rather than commit an error. As brilliant discovery
constitutes no part in the aim of oiu- labom-s, there need be no hesitation in talang such a
course In the case of the skuUs of the Roman period, as there will be most difaculty m fixmg
the exact race to which they have belonged, whether pure Roman, Romano-British or provmcial
Roman of whom there were many varieties, the greatest discrhnination will be required. The
method of arrangement we propose to employ, viz, that of fli'st ascertaining the normal or t^ncal
form of SkuU, which chstinguishes each race, and then determinmg the usual aberrant forms,
wDl be of essential assistance in the case of crania of doubtM attribution, and whieh we shaU
frequently meet with. And ever keeping in view the assemhting and establishing authentic
data in a field of inquiry hitherto not adequately investigated, we trust this cautious method,
so conformable to nature, wiU lead to results which wiU advance true knowledge. We design
in every case, as far as it is possible, to depict enth-e crania-by which is meant those possessi
n - the whole of the bones of the face, as weU as the bones composing the case for the cerebral
o i - a n s - a n d these in as perfect a state as they can be procured. Attention to phrenology,
wHeh concentrated its observations on the calvarium, has served greatly to diffiise an impression
(we wish it were merely popular) that the osseous framework of the face is ummportant and
without significance, and that a skuU is complete enough in the absence of the lower jaw. If
this were scientifically true, which it is not, for the physiological character of a cranium is essentiaUy
connected with its facial physiognomy-the face is the seat of the great organs of sense,
- t h e cHef offshoots of the central nervous system, and inlets to the mind-and the theatre
of expression, most important elements of the man,-stm a skull wanting its lower jaw mi^t
be acknowdedc^ed in some measure to bear the impress of a repulsive fragment. Reasons both
of physiology and of taste wiU therefore influence us to take our figures from specmiens as
perfect in all parts as are attainable.
CHAP. II. ] VIEWS 01? PRECEDING OBSERVERS. 13
As these Islands have become the dwelling-place of a people, which m future ages of the
world will inevitably excite many curious inquiries, their origin and extraction, and ethnological
lustory and characters must be regarded to be surrounded with great interest, and every valid
contribution to knowledge on these matters as deserving of attention. It is in the spu-it of tliis
impression we propose to conduct our labours, remembering the importance of our subject,
the obscurity in which it is almost necessarily involved, and the faUibility which may attend
the best efforts to give it that illumination it deserves. (J. B. D.)
CHAPTER II.
VIEWS OE PRECEDING OBSERVERS.
Quos tu situs, quas naturas rerum et locorum, quos mores, quas gentes, quas pugnas, quern vero ipsum imperatorem
habes!—CICERO, Ep. ad Quiutum frat. ii. 16.
IT will be well here to recount a few of the descriptions given, and of the opinions held, by
those who have already sought to determine the physical and other characters of the different
races over whom our studies range.
What pity the incitements of the great Roman orator should have produced no fruit for us,
whatever may have been their effects on his brother's pen ! Had he foreseen with the prophetic
eye of genius, the vast interest we should have attached to such personal observations, he could
not have written a much more happy exhortation. His friend, and equally his correspondent in
Britain, Csesar, gives us the smallest possible amount of information concerning the physical
peculiarities of the people whose island he invaded, and of whom he tells us, perhaps not without
the inclination to exaggerate his own mOitary prowess, there was an infinite multitude. Those
of the interior parts he says were reputed to be indigenous. That they were clad in skins,
stained themselves of a bkie colom- with woad, had long flo-ndng locks, and were shaven, save
on the head and upper Hp,—it being the custom of the Romans at that time to wear the hair
short and shave off every remnant of beard,—is the sum of his communication. That they
were a warlike peojile, difficult to be overcome by the well-trained Roman Legions, is obvious
from his Commentaries, and confirmed by Tacitus, who denominates Csesar the discoverer, not
the conqueror, of Britain. Or, as our Shakespeare has it (Cymbeline, iii. 1):—
A kind of conquest
Ceesar made here ; but made not here his brag
Of came, and saw, aud overcame.
Diodorus says that the Britons dwelling near the Land's End were singularly fond of
strangers, doubtless those visiting then- island for the peaceful and honourable purposes of
commerce, and by their intereoiu'se with foreign merchants had become civilized in their habits.
He likewise concurs with Cajsar in describing the island as thickly inhabited. It is plain that