the vertical method, in distinction from the facial angles and
lines adopted by Camper and others.
When all the different forms öf the human cranium are
compared with each other in th e way thus pointed out; there
are, as JBlumenbach observes, three varieties in the vertical
figure distinguished from each other. The skulls of a Georgian,
a Tungusian, and a Negro of Guinea, are given by him
as specimens of the three varieties \of form, which he terms
Caucasian, Mongolian, and Ethiopic,"
I must here observe with respect to the three vertical
figures said by Blumenbach to differ in breadth, that the
description of them given by Camper and by himself, is not
strictly correct. The vertical figure ór the summit of the
head, if we compare only the capacity of the bony cavity of
the skull, is broader in Europeans, especially in the anterior
portion, than either in the Mongolian or African. The three
gradations in breadth are to be found only by taking the
section'd? thé whole head in the plane of the cheét-frön^sy
and including the zygomatic projections. I t is in fact the
outward or lateral prominence of the zygomatic arches which
gives to the Mongolian' skull its apparent breadth, at least
a t the upper part, and it is the forward protuberance of the
superior maxillary bone which constitutes the elongated
figure of the African cranium.
Neither the measurement of the facial angle nor the com-
parison of the vertical aspect of the cranium, affordsSbmuch
insight into the peculiarities of its formation, as the view óf
the basis of the skull. The superior importance of this manner
of examining the bony structure of the head has been
demonstrated in the fullest manner by Mr. Owen, in his excellent
memoir on the structure of the drang, and chimpanzee.
The relative proportions and extent, and the peculiarities
of formation, of the different parts of the cranium, are
more fully discerned by this mode of comparison, which has
hitherto been much neglected, than by any other method.
In order however tp form a correct idea of the varieties in
the shape of the head which are peculiar to individuals or
to races, i t is necessary to examine every part, and to compare
all the different ..aspects which the skull presents: the
basis of the cranium, the vertical figure, the profile, and the
front view, must all be described. By proceeding in this
way, we find that all the varieties in the form of the human
skull may be referred on a general comparison to three principle
forms, which are the following:
1. The .symmetrical or oval form, which is that of the European
and western Asiatiq nations. In this the head is of a
rounder shape than in other varieties, and the forehead is
more expanded, while the maxillary bones and the zygomatic
arches, are so formed as to 'give the face an oval shape,
nearly on a plane with the forehead and cheek-bones, and
not projecting towards the lower part as in other varieties of
the humap-skull. The cheek-boneélmeither project outwards
and laterally, nor forwards.' The -upper maxillary bone < has
the alveolar process well rounded, thel antiprior portion having
a curve in a perpehdicular direction. This gjivtes a perpendicular
and not a projecting position to the front teeth, to
which the lower jaw, and its teeth correspond.
As I can find no epithet more appropriate as a distinguishing
term fori' thisrform of the skull, I shall term it the oval or
ooidal form?
> 2. The narrow and elongated skull, of which the most
strongly marked specimen is perhaps thé cranium of the
Negro of the Gold Coast. In these skulls the principal
characters are referrible to the idea of lateral compression:
the teriiporal muscles having a great extent, rising very high
in the parietal bones, and being very large and powerful,
subject the head to a force producing the effects of lateral
compression and elongation. The cheek-bones pro-
ject forward,.and not outward; the upper jaw is.lengthened
and projects forward,.giving- to the alveolar ridge and to the
teeth a similar projection. From the shape of the upper
jaw alone would arise a diminution of the facial angle. I
3. The broad and square-faced skull which is that particularly
of the Turanian nation. The Mongoles .afford a good
specimen of this form, and the Esquimaux an exaggerated one'.
In this the most Striking character is, the lateral or outward
projection of the zygoma. The^ cheek-bones project