Races and Peoples: Lectures on the Science of Ethnography

Copyright By D. G. Brinton.
TO HORATIO HALE, PHILOLOGIST TO THE UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION IN 1838-42, WHOSE MANY AND VALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO LINGUISTICS AND ETHNOGRAPHY PLACE HIM TO-DAY AMONG THE FOREMOST AUTHORITIES ON THESE SCIENCES, THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED IN RESPECT AND FRIENDSHIP BY THE AUTHOR.
The lectures which appear in this volume were delivered at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, in the early months of 1890. They have since been written out, and references added in the foot-notes to a number of works and articles, which will enable the student to pursue his readings on any point in which he may be interested. My endeavor has been to present the results of the latest and most accurate researches on the subjects treated; though no one can be better aware than myself that in compressing such an extensive science into so limited a space, I have often necessarily been superficial. It is some excuse for the publication, if one is needed, that I am not aware of any other recent work upon this science written in the English language.
Philadelphia, August, 1890.
Contents.—Differences and resemblances in individuals and races the basis of Ethnography. The Bones . Craniology. Its limited value. Long and short skulls. Sutures. Inca bone. The orbital index. The nasal index. The maxillary and facial angles. The cranial capacity. The teeth. The iliac bones. Length of the arms. The flattened tibia. The projecting heel. The heart line. The Color. Its extent; cause; scale of colors. Color of the eyes. The Hair. Shape in cross section; abundance. The muscular structure; anomalies in; muscular habits; arrow releases. Steatopygy. Stature and proportion; the “canon of proportion;” special senses; the color sense. Ethnic relations of the sexes. Correlation of physical traits to vital powers. Causes of the fixation of ethnic traits. Climate; food supply; natural selection; conscious selection; the physical ideal; sexual preference; abhorrence of incest; exogamous marriages. Causes of variation in types. The mingling of races. Physical criteria of racial superiority. Review of physical elements.