-15. It was observed by Kulmus and by Soemmerring, that
the human brain ^in comparison withi 1$$ftnerves. connected
with it is of larger dimension than that of any inferior animal
; in other words, that man has the largest ^rain-in comparison
with the nerves, or the centre of the nervous system
larger in proportion to.its parts.* This remark was confirmed
by Munro,f and it has been supposed that the Negro displays
in this respect an approximation to the lower animals. In
some instances the nerves which issue from the foramina of
the skull have been found somewhat thicker and stro_noger in
the Negro than in Europeanvheads having brains of the same
weight. The same observation has been made by Berthold.
I t is most striking in respect to the olfactory, the optic, and
the fifth pairs. According^ to Dr. Knox, the foramina' for the
transmission of the hypoglossal nerves are very large' in the
Bushman as well as in the Negro. | |
Orn the other hand, the occipital forana^'ba^be€»/:^ili€i^ •
to be remarkably small in the NegfojJ"and this appears to
me to be the case in several Negro sk fills wliich 1 have-Compared.
16. Wormian or triquetal bones are thought to be rare in
the skulls of Africans, and Blumenbach Seems to have entertained
a doubt whether they are found in the crania of any
savage races.§ The first instance of their discovery in Negro
crania was notified by Berthold,. who found them pfifconsi-
derable size in the sutura mastoidea of a skull uhich undoubtedly
belonged to a Negro, though its history was unknown.!
I have seen two Negro skulls having wormian-bones,
one of which is in my possession, and I understand from Dr.
Hodgkin, that there is an Australian skull in the museum of
Guy’s hospital in which there are someof-very considerable size. *§
* Soemmerring’s Inaugural Essay, de basi Encephali et originibus nervorum
cranio eygredentium.
+ Observations on the Character and Functions of the Nervous System. Edin.
fol. 1785.
t Dr. Knox’s Essay on the South African Nations. Memoirs of the Wernerian
Society.
§ Geschichte und Beschreibungder Knochen in des menschlichea Korpers, s. 88.
|| Auffallend characteristisch gebildeter Mohnenschadel mit Wormischen Knochen
in der sutura mastoidea.