The difference between man and the ape in regard to teguments is not so appreciable as might be thought. Man comes into the world covered almost entirely with lanugo or short fine hair. This hair is afterwards replaced in early infancy by permanent hair which only occupies certain parts of the body. Primitive man, it may be presumed, was entirely covered with hair, except perhaps on the front part of the trunk, where natural selection in the struggle with parasites (infesting that warm part of the mother’s body in contact with the young when being suckled) would soon cause the disappearance of the hair from that place, as indeed we see in apes.[21] It is curious to observe in this respect that the disposition of the hair of the arms in man is far from recalling that of the anthropoid apes, as Darwin thought, but rather resembles the disposition observed among the monkeys. In fact, instead of being directed upwards towards the bend of the elbow, this hair is turned downwards towards the wrist in the higher half of the arm, and transversely in its lower half. The anthropoid apes being accustomed to cover the head with their arms, or to keep them above their head so as to cling to the branches of the trees on which they spend their life, the hairs may have taken in this case an opposite direction to that of the primitive type of the Primates by the simple effect of gravity.[22]

Space does not permit us to pass in review several other characters distinguishing man from the anthropoid apes: absence of certain muscles (acromiotrachelian, etc.) in the former, simplicity of the cerebral folds in the latter, the absence of the lobulation of the liver and that of the penile bone in the former and their presence in some of the anthropoid apes, etc.

Let me say in conclusion that all these distinctions are only very marked when adult individuals are compared, for they become accentuated with age. The fœtus of the gorilla at five months bears a very close resemblance to the human fœtus of the same age. A young gorilla and a young chimpanzee, by their globular skull, by their not very prominent muzzle, and by other traits, remind one of young Negroes. In comparing the skulls of gorillas, from the fœtal state through all the stages of growth to the adult state, we can follow step by step the transformation of a face almost human into a muzzle of the most bestial aspect, as a result of the excessive development of the face in front and below in the anthropoid ape, and the growth of the skull upward and behind in man, as if these parts moved in different directions in relation to a central point in the interior of the skull near to the sella turcica.[23]

Distinctive Characters of Human Races.

In treatises on anthropology, anatomy, and physiology will be found all the information wished for on the different somatic characters of man, as well as on their variations according to sex, age, and race. It would be exceeding the limits of our subject were I to describe here, one by one, all the anatomical or morphological characters drawn from the bony, muscular, nervous, and other systems of which the human body is composed. We shall only pass in review the characters which possess a real importance in the differentiation of races. These are much less numerous than is generally supposed, and belong for the most part to the category of characters that are observed in the living subject. It is generally believed that the sole concern of anthropology is the description of skulls. This is one of the common errors of which there are so many current among the general public on scientific subjects. To be sure, the skull, and especially the head, of the living subject furnish the principal characters which differentiate races, but there exist several others, without a knowledge of which it is difficult to direct one’s steps in the midst of the diversity of forms presented by the human body according to race. We distinguish in general two kinds of somatic characters: (1) those dealing with the form and structure of the body—morphological characters; and (2) those which are connected with its different functions—physiological characters, with which we will include psychological and pathological characters.

We shall first examine the morphological characters, beginning with those furnished to us by the body as a whole—the stature, the nature of the tegument (the skin and hair), and its colouring. We shall afterwards pass to an examination of the morphology of the head, and the different parts of the body, with their bony framework (skull and skeleton). We shall complete this brief account by a glance at the internal organs, muscles, brain, viscera.

Stature.—Of all the physical characters which serve to distinguish races, stature is perhaps that which has hitherto been regarded as eminently variable. It has been said that not only does stature change with age and sex, but that it varies also under the influence of external agencies. These variations are unquestionable, but it must be remarked that they are produced in a similar way in all races, and cannot exceed certain limits imposed by race.

Even from birth stature varies. Setting aside individual variations, the new-born are on an average a little taller, for example, in Paris (499 millim. for boys) than in St. Petersburg (477 millim.). Unfortunately we have hardly any data in regard to this important question for the non-European populations. Here in a tabulated form is the average height of the new-born of different populations, so far as information has been obtainable.

AVERAGE STATURE.

POPULATIONS. BOYS. GIRLS. NAME OF
OBSERVER.
Millim. Inches. Millim. Inches.
Annamese 474 18.49 464 18.10 Mondière.
Russians of St. Petersburg 477 18.60 473 18.45 Mies.
Germans of Cologne 486 18.95 484 18.88 Mies.
Americans of Boston 490 19.27 482 18.80 Bowditch.
English 496 19.35 491 19.31 C. Roberts.
French of Paris 499 19.52 492 19.35 Mies.