Man, Past and Present

by A. H. Keane

Conspectus.

Distribution in Past and Present Times.

Present Range. Bantu: S. Africa from the Sudanese frontier to the Cape; Negrillo: West Equatorial and Congo forest zones; Bush.-Hot.: Namaqualands; Kalahari; Lake Ngami and Orange basins.

Physical Characters.

Hair. Bantu: same as Sudanese, but often rather longer; Negrillo: short, frizzly or crisp, rusty brown; Bush.-Hot.: much the same as Sudanese, but tufty, simulating bald partings. Colour. Bantu: all shades of dark brown, sometimes almost black; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: yellowish brown. Skull. Bantu: generally dolicho, but variable; Negrillo: almost uniformly mesati; Bush.-Hot.: dolicho. Jaws. Bantu: moderately prognathous and even orthognathous; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: highly prognathous. Cheek-bones. Bantu: moderately or not at all prominent; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: very prominent, often extremely so, forming a triangular face with apex at chin. Nose. Bantu: variable, ranging from platyrrhine to leptorrhine; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: short, broad at base, depressed at root, always platyrrhine. Eyes. Bantu: generally large, black, and prominent, but also of regular Hamitic type; Negrillo and Bush.-Hot.: rather small, deep brown and black. Stature. Bantu: tall, from 1.72 m. to 1.82 m. (5 ft. 8 in. to 6 ft.); Negrillo: always much under 1.52 m. (5 ft.), mean about 1.22 m. (4 ft.); Bushman: short, with rather wide range, from 1.42 m. to 1.57 m. (4 ft. 8 in. to 5 ft. 2 in.); Hot.: undersized, mean 1.65 m. (5 ft. 5 in.).

Mental Characters.

Temperament. Bantu: mainly like the Negroid Sudanese, far more intelligent than the true Negro, equally cruel, but less fitful and more trustworthy; Negrillo: bright, active and quick-witted, but vindictive and treacherous, apparently not cruel to each other, but rather gentle and kindly; Bushman: in all these respects very like the Negrillo, but more intelligent; Hot.: rather dull and sluggish, but the full-blood (Nama) much less so than the half-caste (Griqua) tribes.

Speech. Bantu: as absolutely uniform as the physical type is variable, one stock language only, of the agglutinating order, with both class prefixes, alliteration and postfixes[223]; Negrillo: unknown; Hot.: agglutinating with postfixes only, with grammatical gender and other remarkable features; of Hamitic origin.

Religion. Bantu: ancestor-worship mainly in the east, spirit-worship mainly in the west, intermingling in the centre, with witchcraft and gross superstitions everywhere; Negrillo: little known; Bush.-Hot.: animism, nature-worship, and reverence for ancestors; among Hottentots belief in supreme powers of good and evil.

Culture. Bantu: much lower than the Negroid Sudanese, but higher than the true Negro; principally cattle rearers, practising simple agriculture; Negrillo and Bush.: lowest grade, hunters; Hot.: nomadic herdsmen.