Plate [III]., Fig. 7. (Cat. 802.) A finely developed cranium, with a delicate, but rather prominent face, and strongly arched nose. Probably a female of 50 years.—I.C. 81 cubic inches. Egypto-Pelasgic form.
Plate [III]., Fig. 8. (Cat. 803.) A large, oval head, with a broad, receding forehead, low coronal region, and salient nose. A man of 45 or 50 years.—I. C. 92 cubic inches. F.A. 82°. Pelasgic form.
(Cat. 800.) Skull of a child of 10 years, with a receding forehead, narrow, projecting face, and salient teeth. Negroid form.
(Cat. 801.) A juvenile head, heavy, but beautifully proportioned, especially in the frontal region. Pelasgic form.
Plate [III]., Fig. 9. (Cat. 825.) A large and remarkably intellectual head, of the finest proportions throughout. The hair is in part preserved, and is long, smooth and of a dark-brown colour.—I. C. 93 cubic inches. F. A. 81°. Pelasgic form.
E.—FROM TOORA, ON THE NILE.
Plate [II]., Fig. 9. (Cat. 840.) Skull of a man from the ancient quarries at Toora, opposite Memphis, on the east bank of the Nile, about seven miles above Cairo. From this place the stones were obtained for building the Pyramids of Gizeh, and many later structures, down to the epoch of the Ptolemies. Mr. Gliddon was present at the exhumation of several of these crania, yet, owing to their extremely fragile state, but one reached me in safety, and for this I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. Mash. They were found in rude sarcophagi of limestone, and wrapped in coarse matting. These remains, which were discovered in 1837-38, are supposed to have pertained to the master-quarrymen.
The head figured is of an elongated oval form, with a moderate frontal development and low coronal region. The nose is strongly salient and aquiline, and the whole cranial structure thin and delicate.—I. C. 89 cubic inches. F. A. 79°. Pelasgic form.
Remarks on the preceding series of Crania.—A mere glance at this group of skulls will satisfy any one accustomed to comparisons of this kind, that most of them possess the Caucasian traits in a most striking and unequivocal manner, whether we regard their form, size, or facial angle. It is, in fact, questionable whether a greater proportion of beautifully moulded heads would be found among an equal number of individuals taken at random from any existing European nation. The entire series consists of sixteen examples of the Pelasgic and seven of the Egyptian form, a single Semitic head, one of the Negroid variety, and one of mixed conformation. Of the antiquity of these remains there can be no question; and with respect to a part of them, those from the Pyramid of Five Steps, we have evidence of a more precise character.
These most ancient mummies appear to have been prepared with but little bitumen, and to have undergone desiccation by some primitive and simple process of embalming; such, for example, as first saturating the body in natron, and then subjecting it to heat in an oven. It is also to be remarked, that in these two heads the brain has not been removed through the nostrils, according to the general custom, for the ethmoid bone is unbroken; and the cranial contents could therefore only have been withdrawn through the foramen magnum at the base of the skull.