Man, Past and Present

by A. H. Keane

Domain of the Mongolo-Turki Section—Early Contact with Caucasic Peoples—Primitive Man in Siberia—and Mongolia—Early Man in Korea and Japan—in Finland and East Europe—Early Man in Babylonia—The Sumerians—The Akkadians—Babylonian Chronology—Elamite Origins—Historical Records—Babylonian Religion—Social System—General Culture—The Mongols Proper—Physical Type—Ethnical and Administrative Divisions—Buddhism—The Tunguses—Cradle and Type—Mental Characters—Shamanism—The Manchus—Origins and Early Records—Type—The Dauri—Mongolo-Turki Speech—Language and Racial Characters—Mongol and Manchu Script—The Yukaghirs—A Primitive Writing System—Chukchis and Koryaks—Chukchi and Eskimo Relations—Type and Social State—Koryaks and Kamchadales—The Gilyaks—The Koreans—Ethnical Elements—Korean Origins and Records—Religion—The Korean Script—The Japanese—Origins—Constituent Elements—The Japanese Type—Japanese and Liu-Kiu Islanders—Their Languages and Religions—Cult of the Dead—Shintoism and Buddhism.

Conspectus.

Distribution.

Present Range. The Northern Hemisphere from Japan to Lapland, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Great Wall and Tibet; Aralo-Caspian Basin; Parts of Irania; Asia Minor; Parts of East Russia, Balkan Peninsula, and Lower Danube.

Physical Characters.

Hair, generally the same as South Mongol, but in Mongolo-Caucasic transitional groups brown, chestnut, and even towy or light flaxen, also wavy and ringletty; beard mostly absent except amongst the Western Turks and some Koreans.

Colour, light or dirty yellowish amongst all true Mongols and Siberians; very variable (white, sallow, swarthy) in the transitional groups (Finns, Lapps, Magyars, Bulgars, Western Turks), and many Manchus and Koreans; in Japan the unexposed parts of the body also white.

Skull, highly brachycephalic in the true Mongol(80 to 85); variable (sub-brachy and sub-dolicho) in most transitional groups and even some Siberians (Ostyaks and Voguls 77). Jaws, cheek-bones, nose, and eyes much the same as in South Mongols; but nose often large and straight, and eyes straight, greyish, or even blue in Finns, Manchus, Koreans, and some other Mongolo-Caucasians.

Stature, usually short (below 1.68 m., 5 ft. 6 in.), but many Manchus and Koreans tall, 1.728 m. to 1.778 m. (5 ft. 8 or 10 in.). Lips, arms, legs, and feet, usually the same as South Mongols; but Japanese legs disproportionately short.

Mental Characters.