Crania Ægyptiaca / Or, Observations on Egyptian Ethnography Derived from Anatomy, History and the Monuments

by Samuel George Morton

Mr. Gliddon’s residence for the greater part of twenty-three years in Egypt, and his varied official and other avocations, together with his acquaintance with the people, and their languages, have given him unusual facilities for collecting the requisite materials; while their authenticity is amply vouched for by one who blends the character of a gentleman with the attainments of a scholar.

The object of this memoir, therefore, will be to throw some additional light on the questions to which I have adverted, and to ascertain, if possible, the Ethnographic characters of the primitive Egyptians; or, in other words, to point out their relative position among the races of men.

It is necessary, however, to premise, that the materials in my possession, were collected without the slightest bias of opinion on the part of Mr. Gliddon, who, at the period in question, had paid no particular attention to Ethnography; and indeed very many of these crania were received by me in their original wrappings, which were first removed, after the lapse of ages, by my own hands.

It is farther requisite to bear in mind, that, with a few exceptions I have no clew whatever, whereby to ascertain or even to conjecture, the epoch to which these remains have belonged. The Egyptian catacombs do not always contain their original occupants; for these were often displaced and the tombs re-sold for mercenary purposes: whence it happens, that mummies of the Greek and Roman epochs have been found in those more ancient receptacles which had received the bodies of Egyptian citizens of a far earlier date. The bodies thus displaced, however, were not destroyed; and the Egyptians of at least twenty-five centuries before our era, though for the most part mingled without regard to rank or epoch, are still preserved in their interminable cemeteries.

I disclaim all knowledge of hieroglyphic literature; but I may express my conviction that the past discoveries and pending researches of Young, Champollion, Rosellini, Wilkinson, Lepsius, and some other illustrious men, are destined to unravel much that has hitherto been regarded as mystical in Egyptian history; while the invaluable disclosures which they have already made, entitle them to the lasting gratitude of the student of Archæology.

A few words in reference to chronology. Rosellini places the accession of the Sixteenth dynasty of Egyptian kings at 2272 years before Christ. Champollion adopts a nearly similar arrangement. The learned Dr. Wiseman admits that there are monuments in Egypt as old as 2200 years before our era; and Dr. Prichard dates the accession of Menes two centuries earlier in time. The veneration with which these authors regard the Sacred Writings, has given me the greater confidence in their opinions, which I therefore adopt in general for the distant landmarks of time; especially as the latter come fairly within the range of the Septuagint chronology, which places the epoch of the Deluge at 3154 years B.C., and thus gives room for the most ancient of the Egyptian monuments. In respect to later and subordinate dates, I have been governed exclusively by the published system of Professor Rosellini, which is regarded by competent judges as more complete than any other.

I have great pleasure in stating, that for the unrestricted use of the first copy of Rosellini’s splendid work which was brought to the United States, I am indebted to an accomplished traveller, Richard K. Haight, Esq., of New York; a gentleman who devotes his leisure hours and opulent income to the promotion of archaeological knowledge.

To John Gliddon, Esq., United States consul at Alexandria, to the Rev. George W. Bridges, and to M. E. Prisse, now in Egypt, I also take this occasion to express my sincere acknowledgments for the practical zeal with which they have aided my researches.

I have been enabled to make extensive and satisfactory comparisons by means of nearly six hundred human crania, which form a part of my private anatomical collection. The numbers in brackets refer to corresponding numbers on the skulls themselves, and in my printed catalogue; and will serve as a future test of the accuracy of my observations, which, embracing as they do, such a multitude of details, may require some revision and correction.

How far the following observations may assist in solving a problem which, until lately, has been clothed in equal obscurity and interest, is not for me to determine; but I trust they will at least, have the effect of inciting others to researches of a similar nature.