The Range of the Brachy-cephali.
No human remains of the brachy-cephalic, or broad type, as defined by Dr. Thurnam have been obtained from the caves in Britain. The evidence, however, is decisive that, in the Bronze age, a tall, round-headed, rugged-featured race occupied all those parts of Britain and Ireland that were worth conquering, and drove away to the west or absorbed the smaller neolithic inhabitants. And the identity of their skull-form, in the series of interments in the round and bowl-shaped barrows, extending from the Bronze age down to the date of the Roman occupation of Britain, shows that, both in the North and the South, this large-sized coarse-featured people was in possession at the time of the Roman conquest.
The size and shape of the typical broad crania may be gathered from the first two columns of the following Table, which is an abstract of those published by Dr. Thurnam in “Crania Britannica,” and the “Memoirs of the Anthropological Society.”
[Measurements of British Brachy-cephali, and Gaulish and Belgic Brachy-cephali and Dolicho-cephali.]
| Skull. | Date.[B] | Length. | Breadth. | Height. | Circum- ference. | Latitudinal or Cephalic index. | Altitudi- nal index. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TYPICAL BROAD SKULLS.—BRITAIN. | |||||||
| Mean of 56 males, Brit. Round Barrows | N.B.I. | 7·28 | 5·9 | 5·6 | 21·1 | ·81 | ·77 |
| Mean of 14 females, Brit. Round Barrows | N.B.I. | 6·9 | 5·6 | 5·3 | 20· | ·81 | ·77 |
| LONG AND SHORT SKULLS.—FRANCE. | |||||||
| Tumulus, Noyelles-sur-mer-Somme | N. | 6·9 | 5·6p | 5·5 | 20·3 | ·81 | ·79 |
| “Grotto,” Nogent les Vièrges, Oise | N. | 7·2 | 5·8p | 5·5 | 21· | ·80 | ·76 |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·3 | 5·2p | 5·2 | 20·1 | ·71 | ·71 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·1 | 5·7p | 5·2 | 20·8 | ·80 | ·73 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 6·9 | 5·9p | 5·5 | 20·9 | ·85 | ·79 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·3 | 5·4p | 5·5 | 20·6 | ·74 | ·75 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·4 | 5·2p | 5·6 | 20·8 | ·70 | ·75 | |
| Dolmen Du Val, Senlis, Oise | N. | 6·6 | 5·6p | 5·4 | 19·7 | ·84 | ·81 |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·1 | 5·5p | 5·6 | 20·2 | ·77 | ·78 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·2 | 5·5 | 5·8 | 20·8 | ·76 | ·80 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·2 | 5·8 | — | — | ·80 | — | |
| ” Chamant ” ” | N. | 7·4 | 5·3 | — | — | ·71 | — |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·1 | 5·5 | — | — | ·78 | — | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·4 | 5·5 | 5·4 | — | ·74 | ·72 | |
| Cave, Orrouy, Oise | N.B.(?) | 7·4 | 5·8 | 5·3 | 21·2 | ·78 | ·72 |
| ” ” ” | 7·1 | 5·8p | 5·3 | — | ·77 | ·74 | |
| ” ” ” | 7·2 | 5·4p | 5·7 | 20·1 | ·75 | ·81 | |
| ” ” ” | 7·1 | 5·9p | 5·6 | 20·7 | ·83 | ·78 | |
| ” ” ” | 6·7 | 5·5p | 5·4 | 19·2 | ·82 | ·80 | |
| ” ” ” | 6·6 | 5·6p | 5·5 | 19·9 | ·85 | ·83 | |
| ” ” ” | 7·2 | 5·9 | 5·4 | 20·9 | ·81 | ·75 | |
| ” ” ” | 6·8 | 5·75 | 5·1 | 20·4 | ·84 | ·75 | |
| ” ” ” | N. | 7·4 | 5·8 | 5·7 | — | ·78 | ·77 |
| ” ” ” | 7·2 | 5·9 | — | 20·8 | ·81 | — | |
| Lombrive, Ariège | N. | 6·7 | 5·5 | 5·5 | 19·2 | ·82 | ·82 |
| Dolmen, Meudon, Seine et Oise | 7· | 5·95p | 5·9 | 20·7 | ·85 | ·84 | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·2 | 5·7 | 5·5 | 20·8 | ·79 | ·76 | |
| Lozerres | 7·3 | 5·8p | 5·7 | 21· | ·79 | ·78 | |
| Tomb, Maintenon; Eure et Loire | 7·25 | 5·5 | — | 20·3 | ·75 | — | |
| ” ” ” ” | 7·7 | 5·5 | — | 20·8 | ·71 | — | |
| Tumulus, Bougon, Deux Sèvres | 6·7 | 5·4p | — | 20· | ·80 | — | |
| Dolmen, Meloisy, Côte d’Or | N. | 7·3 | 5·5 | — | 20·9 | ·75 | — |
| Avignon(?), Vaucleuse | 6·9 | 5·8 | — | 20·7 | ·84 | — | |
| ” ” | 7·8 | 5·5p | — | 21·8 | ·70 | — | |
| Genthod, Geneva | I. | 7·4 | 5·6p | 5·5 | 21·1 | ·75 | ·74 |
| ” ” | 6·9 | 5·6p | 5·4 | 20·5 | ·81 | ·78 | |
| Mean | 7·1 | 5·6 | 5·5 | 20·5 | ·78 | ·77 | |
| Judge’s Cave, Gibraltar (Busk) | (?) | 6·9 | 5·4 | 5·4 | 19·5 | ·792 | — |
| Chauvaux Cave (Virchow) | N | 7·35 | 5·3 | 5·3 | — | 71·8 | 1·8 |
| Sclaigneaux Cave. Skull 1. (Arnould) | N | 7·35 | 6·5 | 5·4 | — | 81·1 | 73·7 |
| ” ” ” 2. | 7·25 | 6·25 | 5·25 | — | 81·6 | 70·6 | |
| ” ” ” 3. | 6·9 | 5·75 | — | — | — | — | |
| ” ” ” 4. | 6·95 | — | — | — | — | — |
[B] N, Neolithic; B, Bronze; I, Iron.
The Range of the Dolicho-cephali and Brachy-cephali in France in the Neolithic Age.—The Caverne de l’Homme Mort.
The researches of M. Broca and Dr. Thurnam into the caves and tombs of France prove that the small dolicho-cephali and the tall brachy-cephali lived in that country in the neolithic age. We are indebted to the former for a most important account of the Caverne de l’Homme Mort, which reproduces all the essential points which we have observed in the sepulchral caves of Denbighshire.