Man, Past and Present

by A. H. Keane

It is not certain at what date the Celtic tribes effected settlements in Great Britain, but it is held by many that the earliest invasions were not prior to the sixth or possibly even the fifth century. At the time of the Roman conquest the Celts were divided into two linguistic groups, Goidelic, represented at the present day by Irish, Manx and Scotch Gaelic, and Brythonic, including Welsh, Cornish and Breton. These groups must have been virtually identical save in two particulars. In Brythonic the labial velar q became p (a change which apparently took place before the time of Pytheas), whilst in Goidelic the sound remained unaltered. q is retained in the earlier ogham inscriptions, but by the end of the seventh century it had lost the labial element, appearing in Old Irish as c. Thus O. Irish cenn, head, as in Kenmare, Kintyre, Kinsale, equates with Brythonic pen, as in Penryn (Cornwall), Penrhyn (Wales), Penkridge (Staffordshire), Penruddock, Penrith and many others. The two groups are therefore distinguished as the Q Celts and the P Celts[1243]. From the fact that Goidelic retained the q it has been commonly assumed that the Goidels were separated from the main Celtic stock at a time before the labialisation had taken place, but many scholars maintain that the parent Goidelic was evolved in Ireland, and was carried from that island to Man and Scotland in the early centuries of our era[1244].

The Picts.

From an anthropological point of view, the Picts are if possible more difficult to identify than the Celts. But the question is not between tall fair long-heads and short dark round-heads, but between short dark long-heads (neolithic aborigines) and Celts. The Pictish question is summed up by Rice Holmes[1245] and the various theories have been more recently reviewed by Windisch[1246] giving a valuable summary of earlier writings. On the one hand it is maintained as "the most tenable hypothesis that the Picts were non-Aryans, whom the first Celtic migrations found already settled here ... descendants of the Aborigines[1247]." Windisch[1248] at the other extreme, regards them as late comers into North Britain, when Scotland was already occupied by Brythonic tribes. But the geographical distribution of the Picts in historical times suggests rather a people driven into mountainous regions by successive conquerors, than the settlements of successful invaders. Also it is not improbable that the language of the Bronze Age lingered in these wilder districts, and this would account for the fact that St Columba had to employ an interpreter in his relations with the Picts; though this is explained by others on the assumption that Pictish was Brythonic. The linguistic evidence is however extremely slight, only a few words presumably Pictish having survived and these through Celtic writers. "The one absolutely certain conclusion to which the student of ethnology can come is that the name of the Picts has not been proved to be of pre-Aryan origin[1249]." "For me," continues Rice Holmes (p. 417), "the Picts were a mixed people comprising descendants of the neolithic aborigines, of the Round Barrow Race, and of the Celtic invaders—a mixed people who [or at least whose aristocracy] spoke a Celtic dialect."

Brachycephals in Britain.

Before attempting a survey of the ethnology of Britain it is necessary to ascertain what ethnic elements the area contained before the arrival of the Celts. The neolithic inhabitants, the short, dark dolichocephals of Mediterranean type have already been described (Ch. XIII.). Their remains are associated with the characteristic forms of sepulchral monuments the dolmens and the long barrows. But towards the end of the Stone Age a brachycephalic race was already penetrating into the islands. This appears to have been a peaceful infiltration, at any rate in certain districts, where remains of the two types are found side by side and there is evidence of racial intermixture. The brachycephals introduced a new form of sepulture, making their burial mounds circular instead of elongated, whence Thurnam's convenient formula, "long barrow, long skull; round barrow, round skull." But the earlier view that there was a definite transition from long heads, neolithic culture and long barrows, to round heads, bronze culture and round barrows can no longer be maintained. "It is often taken for granted that no round barrows were erected in Britain before the close of the Neolithic Age, and that the earliest of the brachycephalic invaders whose remains have been found in them landed with bronze weapons in their hands[1250]." But there is abundant evidence that the brachycephalic element preceded the knowledge of metals, and a number of round barrows in Yorkshire and further north show no trace of bronze.

Round Barrow Type.

Nevertheless the majority of the round barrows belong to the Bronze Age, and the physical type of their builders is sufficiently well marked. The stature is remarkably tall, attaining a height of 1.763 m. or over 5 ft. 9 ins. The skull is brachycephalic with an average index of about 80. It is also characterised by great strength and ruggedness of outline, with (often) a sloping forehead, prominent supraciliary ridges, and a certain degree of prognathism.

According to Rolleston's description "The eyebrows must have given a beetling and probably even formidable appearance to the upper part of the face, whilst the boldly outstanding and heavy cheekbones must have produced an impression of raw and rough strength. Overhung at its root, the nose must have projected boldly forward." And Thurnam adds "the prominence of the large incisor and canine teeth is so great as to give an almost bestial expression to the skull[1251]."

Alpine Type.

Although this type is conveniently called the Round Barrow type, or even the Round Barrow Race, the round barrows also contain remains of a different racial character. The skull form shows a more extreme brachycephaly, with an index of 84 or 85, and exhibits none of the rugged features associated with the true Round Barrow type. On the contrary, of the two typical groups, one from round barrows in Glamorganshire, and the other from short cists in Aberdeenshire not one of the skulls is prognathous, the supraciliary ridges are but slightly developed, the cheek bones are not prominent, the face is both broad and short and the lower jaw is small. But the greatest contrast is in the height, which averages in the two groups, 1.664 m. and 1.6 m. respectively, i.e. 5 ft. 5¾ ins. and 5 ft. 3 ins. All these characters connect this type closely with the Alpine type on the continent.