CHAPTER VI.
THE RANGE OF NEOLITHIC DOLICHO-CEPHALI AND BRACHY-CEPHALI.
Relation of Human Remains to those found in Tumuli in Britain.—The Dolicho-cephali and Brachy-cephali.—Their Range in Britain and Ireland—in France.—The Caverne de l’Homme Mort.—The Sepulchral Cave of Orrouy.—The Tumuli.—In Belgium.—The Sepulchral Caves of Chauvaux and Sclaigneaux.—The Dolicho-cephali of the Iberian Peninsula—Gibraltar—Spain.—Cueva de los Murcièlagos.—The Woman’s Cave near Alhama in Granada.—The Guanches of the Canary Isles.—Iberic Dolicho-cephali of the same race as those of Britain, France, and Belgium—Cognate or Identical with the Basque Race.—Evidence of History as to the Peoples of Gaul and Spain.—The Basque Populations the Oldest.—The Population of Britain.—Basque characters in Present Population of Britain and France.—Whence came the Basques?—The Celtic and Belgic Brachy-cephali.—The Ancient German Race.—General Conclusions.
The Relation of the Human Remains to those found in British Tumuli.
Before we examine the relation of this ancient neolithic race of men to those who have left their remains in tumuli and caves in other regions, it is necessary to define the cranial terminology, as adopted by Professors Busk, Huxley, Dr. Thurnam, and other high authorities. The term “cephalic index” indicates “the ratio of the extreme transverse to the extreme longitudinal diameter of the skull, the latter measurement being taken as unity” (Huxley).
The most convenient classification of crania is that adopted by Dr. Thurnam and Professor Huxley,[117] and based on the cephalic index.
| I. | Dolicho-cephali, or long skulls with cephalic index at or below | ·73 |
| Subdolicho-cephali ” ” | from ·70 to ·73 | |
| II. | Ortho-cephali, or oval skulls | ” ·74 to ·79 |
| Subbrachy-cephali | ” ·77 to ·79 | |
| III. | Brachy-cephali or broad skulls | at or above ·80 |
It has been objected that skull form is of no value in determining race, because it varies so much at the present time among the same peoples, presenting the extremes of dolicho- and brachy-cephalism as well as every kind of asymmetry. This, however, is due to our very abnormal conditions of life, and to the mixture of different races brought about by the needs of commerce, as in Manchester and Vienna, as is pointed out by Mr. Bradley.[118]
In prehistoric times, neither of these causes of variation made themselves seriously felt. There was little, if any, peaceful movement of races, but war was the normal condition, and society was not sufficiently advanced to remove man from the influence of his natural environment. The objection may therefore be dismissed as not applicable to the skulls in question.