CRANIA ÆGYPTIACA

OR,

OBSERVATIONS ON EGYPTIAN ETHNOGRAPHY,

DERIVED FROM

ANATOMY, HISTORY AND THE MONUMENTS.

BY

SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON, M.D.,

AUTHOR OF “CRANIA AMERICANA;” MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY; VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA, ETC. ETC.

From the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. IX.

PHILADELPHIA:

JOHN PENINGTON, CHESTNUT STREET.

LONDON:

MADDEN & CO., LEADENHALL STREET.

1844.

WILLIAM S. YOUNG, PRINTER.

TO

GEORGE R. GLIDDON, ESQ.,

LATE UNITED STATES CONSUL FOR THE CITY OF CAIRO; AUTHOR OF “ANCIENT EGYPT;”

&c. &c. &c.,

THE FOLLOWING PAGES ARE MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,

AS A MEMENTO

OF THE ESTEEM AND FRIENDSHIP OF

THE AUTHOR.

Philadelphia,

February 23, 1844.

OBSERVATIONS

ON

EGYPTIAN ETHNOGRAPHY,

DERIVED FROM

ANATOMY, HISTORY AND THE MONUMENTS.

Read before the American Philosophical Society, in Philadelphia, December 16, 1842, and January 6, and April 6, 1843.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

Egypt is justly regarded as the parent of civilization, the cradle of the arts, the land of mystery. Her monuments excite our wonder, and her history confounds chronology; and the very people who thronged her cities would be unknown to us, were it not for those vast sepulchres whence the dead have arisen, as it were, to bear witness for themselves and their country. Yet even now, the physical characteristics of the ancient Egyptians are regarded with singular diversity of opinion by the learned, who variously refer them to the Jews, Arabs, Hindoos, Nubians, and Negroes. Even the details of organic structure have been involved in the same uncertainty,—the configuration of the head, the position of the ear, the form of the teeth, the colour of the skin, and the texture of the hair; while the great question is itself undetermined—whether civilization ascended or descended the Nile;—whether it had its origin in Egypt or in Ethiopia. These conflicting opinions long since made me desirous to investigate the subject for myself; but the many difficulties in the way of obtaining adequate materials, compelled me to suspend the inquiry; and it is only within a recent period that I have been able effectively to resume it. It gives me great pleasure to state, that my present facilities have been almost exclusively derived, directly or indirectly, from the scientific zeal and personal friendship of George R. Gliddon, Esq., late United States consul for the city of Cairo. During a former visit to the United States, this gentleman entered warmly into my views and wishes; and on his return to the East, in 1838, he commenced his researches on my behalf; and in the course of his various travels in Egypt and in Nubia, as far as the second Cataract, he procured one hundred and thirty-seven human crania, of which one hundred pertain to the ancient inhabitants of Egypt. Of these last, seventeen were most obligingly sent me, at the instance of Mr. Gliddon, by M. Clot Bey, the distinguished Surgeon in chief to the Viceroy of Egypt. They are arranged by the latter gentleman into two series, the Pharaonic, and the Ptolemaic; but without availing myself of this classification, I have merely regarded them in reference to their national characters.

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.

EGYPTIAN ETHNOGRAPHY.

“Vix quidem monitu opus est in tanta seculorum serie qua mos cadavera balsamo condiendi in Ægypto solemnis fecit, inque tam variorum ejus terræ dominorum et incolarum vicissitudine magnam mumias intercedere debere variatatem tam quod ad conditurse variam rationem et materiem; quam quod ad craniorum in mumiis gentilitiam formam et speciem.”—Blumenbach, Decad. Cran. p. 12.

It was remarked fifty years ago by the learned Professor Blumenbach, that a principal requisite for an inquiry such as we now propose, would be “a very careful, technical examination of the skulls of mummies hitherto met with, together with an accurate comparison of these skulls with the monuments.” This is precisely the design I have in view in the following memoir, which I therefore commence by an analysis of the characters of all the crania now in my possession. These may be referred to two of the great races of men, the Caucasian and the Negro, although there is a remarkable disparity in the number of each. The Caucasian heads also vary so much among themselves as to present several different types of this race, which may, perhaps, be appropriately grouped under the following designations:—

CAUCASIAN RACE.

1. The [^[1]]Pelasgic Type. In this division I place those heads which present the finest conformation, as seen in the Caucasian nations of western Asia, and middle and southern Europe. The Pelasgic lineaments are familiar to us in the beautiful models of Grecian art, which are remarkable for the volume of the head in comparison with that of the face, the large facial angle, and the symmetry and delicacy of the whole osteological structure. Plate [III]., Fig. 6, and Plate [X]., Fig. 8, are among the many examples of this conformation.

2. The Semitic Type, as seen in the Hebrew communities, is marked by a comparatively receding forehead, long, arched, and very prominent nose, a marked distance between the eyes, a low heavy broad, and strong and often harsh development of the whole facial structure. Plate [XI]., Fig. 2.

3. The Egyptian form differs from the Pelasgic in having a narrower and more receding forehead, while the face being more prominent, the facial angle is consequently less. The nose is straight or aquiline, the face angular, the features often sharp, and the hair uniformly long, soft, and curling. In this series of crania I include many of which the conformation is not appreciably different from that of the Arab and Hindoo; but I have not, as a rule, attempted to note these distinctions, although they are so marked as to have induced me, in the early stage of the investigation, and for reasons which will appear in the sequel, to group them, together with the proper Egyptian form, under the provisional name of Austral-Egyptian crania. I now, however, propose to restrict the latter term to those Caucasian communities which inhabited the Nilotic valley above Egypt. Among the Caucasian crania are some which appear to blend the Egyptian and Pelasgic characters: these might be called Egypto-Pelasgic heads; but without making use of this term, except in a very few instances by way of illustration, I have thought best to transfer these examples from the Pelasgic group to the Egyptian, inasmuch as they so far conform to the latter series as to be identified without difficulty. For examples of this mixed form, I refer especially to Plate [XI]., Fig. 1, and Plate [III]., Fig. 7.

NEGRO RACE.

The true Negro conformation requires no comment; but it is necessary to observe that a practised eye readily detects a few heads with decidedly mixed characters, in which those of the Negro predominate. For these I propose the name of Negroid crania; for while the osteological development is more or less that of the Negro, the hair is long but sometimes harsh, thus indicating that combination of features which is familiar in the mulatto grades of the present day. It is proper, however, to remark in relation to the whole series of crania, that while the greater part is readily referrible to some one of the above subdivisions, there remain other examples in which the Caucasian traits predominate, but are partially blended with those of the Negro, which last modify both the structure and expression of the head and face.

We proceed, in the next place, to analyze these crania individually, arranging them, for the purpose of convenience, into seven series, according to their sepulchral localities, beginning with the Necropolis of Memphis in the north:

First series, from the Memphite Necropolis.

A. Pyramid of five steps.

B. Saccàra, generally.

C. Front of the Brick Pyramid of Dashour.

D. North-west of the Pyramid of Five Steps.

E. Toora, on the Nile.

Second series, from the Grottoes of Maabdeh.

Third series, from Abydos.

Fourth series, from the Catacombs of Thebes.

Fifth series, from Koum Ombos.

Sixth series, from the Island of Beggeh, near Philæ.

Seventh Series, from Debod in Nubia.

FIRST SERIES.
TWENTY-SIX SKULLS FROM THE NECROPOLIS OF MEMPHIS.

This vast Necropolis extends from the Pyramids of Gizeh to the southern limit of Saccàra, a distance of about fifteen miles. The tombs are cut in the solid rock, and frequently communicate with one another, forming a vast subterranean labyrinth. Memphis is well known to be one of the oldest, if not indeed the oldest of the Egyptian cities; and among the tombs now extant Professor Rosellini has found some which bear inscriptions of a date nearly 2300 years before Christ, at which period Memphis must have been a large and flourishing city. The simpler catacombs were probably constructed before the pyramids; for these last could only result from centuries of civilization, and next to the catacombs, are the oldest existing monuments of the human race.

A.—FROM THE PYRAMID OF FIVE STEPS.

In the month of August, 1839, Mr. J. S. Perring, the distinguished Engineer, discovered a fourth entrance to this pyramid, which was found to communicate with a recess at the south-western corner of a large apartment described in his narrative. This communication is a horizontal gallery one hundred and sixty-six feet long, and the recess is seventy feet above the floor. “The southern end of the gallery,” observes Colonel Vyse, “was stopped up with sand; but for the length of one hundred and sixty feet from the interior it was open, and did not seem to have been previously visited, as nearly thirty mummies were found in it apparently undisturbed. They had neither coffins nor sarcophagi, nor, with the exception of three or four, any painted decorations. They crumbled to pieces on being touched, and could not be removed. Mr. Perring, therefore, proceeded to examine them. He found them enclosed in wrappers, with pitch and bitumen; but he did not meet with any of the objects usually deposited with mummies, excepting some of the common stone idols upon the body of the female. He therefore concluded that they were the bodies of persons employed in the building.”[^[2]]

Fortunately for my inquiries, Mr. Gliddon was at hand when these relics were brought to light, and obtained them of Mr. Perring as a contribution to my researches. With the utmost care on Mr. Gliddon’s part, two of three reached me in safety, but the third was broken into numberless fragments. In fact, the consistence of these bones is but little firmer than unbaked clay, and the animal matter is nearly obliterated. If Mr. Perring’s opinion be correct, that the persons to whom these bodies belonged were coeval with the construction of the pyramid, we may with safety regard them as the most ancient human remains at present known to us. Whether, as that gentleman suggests, they pertained to workmen employed in building the pyramid, I will not pretend to decide; but although they present indifferent intellectual developments, their conformation is that of the Caucasian race.

Plate [I]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 838.) An oval head with a broad but rather low forehead, moderately elevated vertex, and full occiput. The superciliary ridges are prominent, the orbits oblong-oval, the nasal bones large, salient and aquiline, the teeth vertical and the whole facial structure delicate. The head of a woman of about forty years.[^[3]]—I. C. 90 cubic inches. F. A. 81°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [I]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 837.) A large and ponderous skull, with, a broad but low forehead, and very prominent superciliary ridges. The vertex is elevated, the occipital region remarkably full, and the parietal diameter large. The bones of the face are delicately formed, the nose long and aquiline, the orbits rounded, the teeth vertical.—I. C. 97 cubic inches. F. A. 83°. Pelasgic form.

This is the skull of a man who may have reached his fiftieth year. The teeth are much worn, and parts of the sutures nearly obsolete. This person, long antecedent to his death, had received a severe wound over the right orbit, beginning at the nasal bone and extending upwards and outwards nearly two inches, fracturing and depressing both tables of the skull. The consequent deformity is manifest, although the cicatrization is complete.

B.—FROM THE MEMPHITE NECROPOLIS.

Eleven skulls from various mummy pits in the great Necropolis of Saccàra. In Mr. Gliddon’s memoranda he remarks that these heads were mostly taken from the mummies themselves, and from the best constructed pits; and that having been enclosed in coffins painted and otherwise ornamented with different degrees of care, they probably pertained to the higher class of Egyptians.

Plate [II]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 808.) A large elongate-oval head, with a broad, high forehead, low coronal region, and strongly aquiline nose. The orbits nearly round; teeth perfect and vertical.—I. C. 97 cubic inches. F. A. 77°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [II]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 815.) A beautifully formed head, with a forehead high, full, and nearly vertical, a good coronal region, and largely developed occiput. The nasal bones are long and straight, and the whole facial structure delicately proportioned. Age, between thirty and thirty-five years.—I. C. 88 cubic inches. F. A. 81°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [II]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 812.) Skull of a woman of twenty years? with a beautifully developed forehead, and remarkably thin and delicate structure throughout. The frontal suture remains.—I. C. 82 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [II]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 806.) A thin cranium, of a short-oval form; the forehead is broad, the coronal region low, and the whole face prominent. Age, about thirty years. I. C. 83 cubic inches. F. A. 77°. Egyptian form.

Plate [II]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 814.) Cranium of a man of eighty or ninety years, with a full but rather receding forehead, and strongly developed cranial structure.—I. C. 97 cubic inches. Pelasgic form.

Plate [II]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 810.) An admirable conformation, as seen in the broad, high forehead, full occiput, and gently aquiline nose. Probably a female of twenty years.—I. C. 86 cubic inches. F. A. 78°. Egyptian form?

Plate [II]., Fig. 7. (Cat. 805.) A narrow, elongated head, with an indifferent frontal region. A man of fifty?—I. C. 79 cubic inches. F. A. 83°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [II]., Fig. 8. (Cat. 807.) A large, thin, oval cranium, with a broad, receding forehead, tumid occiput, a long and very aquiline nose, and remarkably prominent face. The frontal suture remains entire. Probably a man of thirty years.—I. C. 88 cubic inches. F. A. 74°. Semitic form.

Plate [III]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 809.) A female head, with a somewhat receding forehead and low coronal region.—I. C. 81 cubic inches. F. A. 78°. Egyptian form.

Plate [III]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 811.) A small head, with a narrow frontal region, receding forehead, and broad parietal diameter. A female? of about twenty-five years.—I. C. 73 cubic inches. F. A. 76°. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 813.) Skull of a child of eight years, with a finely developed forehead, tumid occiput and full facial angle. Pelasgic form.

C.—FROM THE FRONT OF THE NORTHERN BRICK PYRAMID OF DASHOUR.

Three skulls exhumed by Mr. Perring from the above mentioned locality in the Memphite Necropolis. They were discovered in the month of August, 1839, in the process of trenching to find an entrance to the pyramid. The following extract from Col. Vyse’s admirable work embraces all the information we possess in relation to these remains, merely premising that none of the mummied heads alluded to has come into my possession.

“At the depth of about four feet six inches, above fifty bodies were found, ten of which were mummies, embalmed and deposited in the usual manner. The others were much decayed, and had been buried in their clothes, and in some instances were bound round with common cord and laid in wooden coffins, or among a few branches of date trees. Some of the clothes were woollen, others coarse linen, with a fringed border of bright scarlet worsted. The heads were covered with bright red network. Mr. Perring imagined that these bodies had belonged to a pastoral people, probably to Bedouins, and that they had been interred, together with the mummies, at a very early period, before the introduction of Christianity.” Vyse, Pyramids, III., p. 60.

These crania, which are remarkably small, possess much of the Egyptian form, and are well represented in the following outlines.

(Cat. 795.) An oval cranium with a receding forehead, full coronal region, strongly developed upper maxilla, and prominent face.—I. C. 75 cubic inches. F. A. 76°.—Egyptian blended with the Negroid form?

(Cat. 796.) A small oval head, low forehead, and salient and very aquiline nose. Facial bones thin and delicately proportioned.—I.C. 80 cubic inches. F.A. 75°. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 797.) A small, thin, irregularly formed head, with a full forehead and salient nose. The alveoli are absorbed by age. A woman of 70 years?—I.C. 76 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

D.—FROM THE NECROPOLIS OF MEMPHIS, NORTH-WEST OF THE PYRAMID OF FIVE STEPS.

Nine skulls of mummied Egyptians, taken by Mr. Gliddon from a large pit which had just been opened by the Arabs. Mr. G. remarks that No. 803 is a male, and 804 a female, both unwrapped by his own hands. “These mummies were all of a superior order, and enclosed in wooden cases. The pit was opened in my presence, and consisted of a deep shaft cut through the solid rock, with two or three chambers filled with undisturbed mummies.”

Scarcely any integuments remain on these heads, the removal of the wrappings leaving the bone for the most part completely denuded.

Plate [III]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 804.) A remarkably beautiful female head, not exceeding the age of twelve years. Pelasgic form.

Plate [III]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 799.) A ponderous skull, with a fine frontal, and full coronal region. Probably a man of 35 years.—I.C. 87 cubic inches. F.A. 82°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [III]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 816.) A beautifully oval and finely arched cranium, with a high, prominent forehead, tumid occiput, aquiline nose, and oblong orbitar cavities. A man of 45?—I.C. 92 cubic inches. F.A. 78°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [III]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 798.) A delicately proportioned and finely arched head. The cheek bones are small, and the nose strongly aquiline. Age, about 45 years.—I.C. 84 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Pelasgic form.

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.

This last remark also applies to sixteen other heads of this series; whence I was at first led to suppose that they could not pertain to a very remote epoch. But when we find that the oldest remains are similarly characterized, and bear in mind that the removal of the brain through the nose was a conventional part of the more perfect art of embalming, may we not suppose that this imperforate state of the cranium points to an early epoch of Egyptian history, before mankind had resorted to those elaborate methods of preserving the dead body which are so remarkable in the Theban catacombs? It has been conjectured, that the proximity of the Natron Lakes to the city of Memphis gave rise to the custom of embalming; and it is not an improbable supposition that the profuse employment of bitumen was a subsequent refinement of the art. This suggestion derives some support from another fact; namely, that in every instance in which I have observed the brain to have been removed through the nose, the bones and integuments are much more charged with bitumen than in the imperforate crania.

It may, perhaps, be conjectured by some that the Pelasgic heads of this series belong to the Ptolemaic epoch, and hence pertain to the Greek inhabitants of that age: but it must be remembered that the rule of the Ptolemies lasted but about three hundred years; whereas the Egyptians were themselves the masters of Memphis, and entombed their dead in its necropolis more than two thousand years before either the Persians or Greeks effected the conquest of the country, no less than during the period of and after these epochs of foreign domination.

Of the sixteen adult Pelasgic skulls in this series, two or three are small; yet the whole number gives about 88 cubic inches for the average internal capacity of the cranium, or size of the brain, while the mean of the facial angle is 80°. The seven Egyptian crania have a mean internal capacity of 80 cubic inches, and a facial angle of 77°.

SECOND SERIES.
FOUR HEADS FROM THE GROTTOES OF MAABDEH, NEAR MAGARAT-ES-SAMÒUN.

This is the name of a series of sepulchral grottoes in Middle Egypt, on the limestone hill opposite Manfaloot, and near the modern village of Maabdeh. It is within the ancient nome of Heracleopolis. This cemetery is a natural cavern, which was chiefly dedicated to embalmed crocodiles, but in some measure, also, to man. Mr. Gliddon observes that the human mummies are of the common order, and adds: “I brought them from a measured distance of 438 feet under ground, horizontally, averaging about twenty feet below the surface.”

Plate [IV]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 833.) A large, oval head, with a very low, receding forehead, and large, aquiline nose. A man of 35 years? The hair is long, soft, and curling, and the beard is partially preserved on the lower jaw. Pelasgic form?

This person has been much disfigured by ulceration of the cartilage of the nose and the adjacent integuments; part of the upper lip has been removed by the disease, which appears partially on the lower jaw, and may account for the beard not having been shaved. The embalming process has been very carefully conducted. Large lozenge-shaped patches of gold-leaf are seen on the centre of the forehead and over each eye, with smaller pieces dispersed in other places, and especially on the bone and teeth of the upper jaw, where these have been denuded or exposed by ulceration.

Plate [IV]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 834.) A female head, of a short, oval form, with a narrow, receding forehead, prominent nose, and very protruding maxillæ. The teeth, which are salient, indicate a person of 25 or 30 years of age; and the lower jaw, which is very angular, has a remarkable downward projection. The hair was long, but harsh, and was necessarily removed with the integuments, on account of the imperfect nature of the embalmment, which appeared to have been effected with a soft or tar-like bitumen. Negroid form.

Plate [IV]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 835.) A woman of 30? with a long, narrow head, slightly salient nose, and very projecting face. The hair is eight or ten inches long, harsh, but not wiry. Negroid form. I.C. 71 cubic inches. F.A. 73°.

Plate [IV]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 836.) A female head of a fine oval form, with a broad, convex forehead, low coronal region, and strongly aquiline nose. This head retains a profusion of long, fine, curling hair, and the face is gilded over the eyes and lips. This is a striking example of the tumid face which is not unfrequently seen on the monuments. Egyptian form.

Remarks.—The two Negroid heads belong, obviously, to the lower class of people, for the bodies have been hastily and imperfectly embalmed, without mummy cases, and in ordinary wrappings. The two latter remarks apply to the other individuals of this series, which have, nevertheless, been much more carefully embalmed.

THIRD SERIES.
FOUR SKULLS FROM ABYDOS.

The city of Abydos, the second in size in the Thebaid, was on the west bank of the Nile, and, like Thebes, possessed a palace of Rameses III., and a temple of Osiris, the guardian divinity of the city.

Plate [V]., Fig. 1, (Cat. 819.) An elongated head, with an indifferent frontal and low coronal region, straight nose, small orbits, and prominent upper jaw.—I. C. 85 cubic inches. F. A. 79°. Egyptian form.

Plate [V]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 820.) A large and finely moulded cranium, with a broad, full forehead, and long, but abruptly salient nose. The upper jaw has a remarkable downward elongation, which reduces the F. A. to 76°.—I. C. 96 cubic inches. A man of 40. Egyptian form.

Plate [V]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 817.) A large, beautifully developed cranium, of harmonious proportions, but somewhat ponderous structure.—I. C. 89 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [V]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 818.) A small head, narrow and retreating, with a tumid occiput, very large, aquiline nose, and delicate, prominent face.—I. C. 69 cubic inches. F. A. 77°. Semitic form.

Remarks.—In a memorandum accompanying these skulls, Mr. Gliddon observes that “they were obtained from a mummy-pit behind the temple of Rameses III., and they belong to the best class. Among the relics found in the same pit were a scarabæus, bearing the prenomen of Thotmes IV., and a piece of stamped pottery, (apparently enclosed with a mummy to denote the epoch,) which bore the nomen of Rameses III. It may, therefore, be reasonably conjectured, that these remains belong to the eighteenth Diospolitan dynasty, fixed by Professor Rosellini between the years 1822 and 1874, B.C.”

The four heads are entirely denuded, but little appearance of bitumen remaining; nor is the ethmoid bone perforated. The bones bear the impress of age, and, in one instance, have become softened, and almost friable, from decomposition.

FOURTH SERIES.
FIFTY-FIVE HEADS FROM THE CATACOMBS OF THEBES.

The greater part of this extensive and singularly perfect and varied series of heads, was collected by Mr. Gliddon during two visits to Thebes. They were all taken from the catacombs at El Gourna, on the western bank of the Nile. If we may judge by the different degrees of care manifested in the embalming process, they embrace individuals of every class excepting the highest and lowest; for the latter, according to the testimony of Herodotus, were never embalmed in the proper sense of that word; and the former were deposited in more elaborate sepulchres.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 860.) A man of fifty, with a small but well proportioned cranium. The bones of the face are small, and the whole osseous structure very thin.—I. C. 80 cubic inches. F. A. 82°. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 853.) Head of a man of fifty, with a low coronal region, receding forehead, full occiput, aquiline nose, and remarkable flatness beneath the temporal muscles.—I. C. 95 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [VI]., Fig 2. (Cat. 865.) An oval head with a full but retreating forehead, a large, aquiline nose, and angular, prominent face. The eyes are embalmed open. Semitic form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 893.) A singularly thin cranium, especially in the lateral parietal regions. The forehead is moderately expanded and the nose straight.—I. C. 85 cubic inches. F. A. 81°. Pelasgic form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 850.) A large oval cranium, with a voluminous forehead, a small aquiline nose, and rounded orbits. Age, seventy to eighty years?—I. C. 86 cubic inches. Pelasgic form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 859.) An octogenarian female, with a small but well proportioned head, and delicate facial bones. This cranium, which is remarkable for its tenuity, retains a very little smooth, long hair.—I. C. 82 cubic inches. Pelasgic form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 881.) Skull of a female not exceeding seventeen years of age, with a beautifully developed forehead, and delicate facial bones, yet possessing an obvious downward elongation of the upper jaw, as in the Hindoo.—I. C. 71 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 7. (Cat. 889.) A well formed, oval head, with a remarkably prominent nose and chin.—I. C. 83 cubic inches. F. A. 83°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 8. (Cat. 870.) A long oval cranium, with a broad, receding forehead, tumid occiput, very long aquiline nose, and sharp features. The hair, which is cut close, is brown and silky.—I. C. 79 cubic inches. A man of thirty? Semitic form.

Plate [VI]., Fig. 9. (Cat. 876.) A small, but oval male head, with hair of a fine texture and brown colour.—I. C. 83 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [VII]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 851.) A narrow, elongated cranium, with a retreating forehead, and rather produced maxillæ. The whole osseous structure is remarkably delicate. A woman of thirty-five?—I. C. 79 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VII]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 861.) Skull of a man of fifty, large and massive: forehead and coronal region but moderately developed; face projecting, with a small, aquiline nose.—I. C. 91 cubic inches. F. A. 78°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VII]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 857.) A female cranium, long, narrow, and much flattened at the sides, and rather ponderous. The whole face is long, angular, and prominent, with a slight yet manifest negro expression. A little hair remains, long, black, and smooth.—I. C. 83 cubic inches. F. A. 77°. Egyptian, blended with the Negro form?

Plate [VII]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 848.) A female head, with a narrow but elevated and finely arched frontal region, which forms, with the straight nose, something of a Grecian profile. The face, however, is not in keeping with the head, being much produced.—I. C. 82 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VII]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 847.) A small head, narrow and laterally compressed, with a well formed forehead, and full occiput. The nose is very large and salient, and the maxillary structure much produced. A woman of thirty.—I. C. 68 cubic inches. F. A. 76°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VII]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 854.) A small but well proportioned cranium of a female not exceeding fifteen years of age. The forehead is full (by an oversight inadequately represented in the drawing,) and the whole of the osseous structure extremely delicate. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 849.) Skull of a man of twenty-five years, finely oval, with a broad receding forehead, and full coronal region. Facial bones broken.—I. C. 81 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 894.) A beautiful juvenile head, with a broad high forehead, large, prominent nose, and oval orbits. Pelasgic form.

(Cat. 887.) A child of twelve or fourteen years, with a finely turned forehead, long, aquiline nose, and vertical teeth. A little long, fine hair remains on the occiput. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 868.) Skull of a child of beautiful organization, excepting a slight inequality in the occipital region. Pelasgic form.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 878.) An elongated head, with a broad receding forehead, long and nearly straight nose, and prominent chin. This person has been most carefully embalmed, with a profusion of gilding on various parts of the face. The hair is soft and curling, and of a dark-brown colour. A man of fifty?—I. C. 77 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 879.) A man of fifty, admirably embalmed. A broad and full, but receding forehead, a large aquiline nose, and strong maxillæ. Pelasgic head of the Roman conformation.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 839.) A short-oval cranium, with a full but retreating forehead, straight nose, and large prominent maxillæ.—I. C. 74 cubic inches. F. A. 78°. Egyptian blended with the Negro form?

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 871.) A juvenile female head, with a full but receding frontal region, long nose, sharp features, tumid occiput, and rounded orbits. Egyptian form.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 866.) A small, juvenile, female head, with a convex but retreating forehead, and the whole face remarkably sharp, projecting, and repulsive. This head is elaborately gilded, and retains a portion of long, fine, smooth hair. Egyptian form?

(Cat. 873.) An oval cranium, with a good frontal region, and salient nasal bones. The alveoli have been almost destroyed by absorption consequent to advanced age.—I. C. 88 cubic inches. Pelasgic form?

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 883.) A well-developed cranium, with a long straight nose. A man of forty?—I. C. 82 cubic inches. F. A. 81°. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 888.) Head of a man of thirty-five years? most carefully embalmed, with a high frontal region, and very long prominent angular face.—I. C. 85 cubic inches. Egyptian blended with Negro or Malay lineaments? The conformation of this head is not unlike that of some modern Nubians.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 7. (Cat. 880.) A female head? of a fine oval form, long, straight nose, and quadrangular orbits. The angles of the lower jaw are remarkably expanded. The hair, which is cut short, is fine, and of a dark-brown colour.—I. C. 85 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Egyptian form.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 8. (Cat. 867.) A large head with a broad convex frontal region, and full occiput. The nose is large and remarkably salient, and the maxillary bones projecting and ponderous. A little soft, dark-brown hair is attached to some remaining fragments of the scalp.—I. C. 86 cubic inches. F. A. 78°. Egyptian form.

This person has evidently undergone decapitation, and in order to attach the head again to the body, a ball of mummy cloth has been formed on the end of a piece of reed within the cranium, and the other end has been thrust between the spine and adjacent muscles, and confined there by bandages. There is also an excision of the occipital protuberance, by means of an axe or other sharp instrument, seemingly made by an unskilful effort to sever the head from the body.

Plate [VIII]., Fig. 9. (Cat. 855.) Head of a female not exceeding eighteen years of age, with a finely developed forehead, very long aquiline nose, small but prominent face, and very peculiar features. Hair, dark-brown, and extremely fine. The face is gilded.—I. C. 78 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 874.) Head of a child of nine or ten years, closely shaved and elaborately gilded, with a high, full forehead, projecting jaws, and oblique teeth. Egyptian blended with the Negro form?

(Cat. 48.) Skull of a child of eight years, with a fine frontal region, but rather prominent face. Hair long, and of a dark-brown colour. Egyptian form.

Plate [IX]. (Cat. 856.) A cranium of harmonious proportions, with a fine forehead, gently aquiline nose, delicate facial bones, and perfect teeth. A man of thirty?—I. C. 92 cubic inches. F. A. 80°. Egypto-Pelasgic form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 844.) A finely formed female head, with a straight nose, and delicate facial bones. Hair abundant, soft, and curling.—I. C. 68 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 872.) A woman of fifty?—with a low receding forehead, and prominent facial structure. Hair abundant, long, and very fine, of a light brown or auburn colour, and elaborately curled and platted.—I. C. 72 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 862.) Head of a man of sixty, with a broad receding forehead, salient nose and light facial bones. Hair, long, soft, and curling.—I. C. 79 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 843.) Head of a woman of thirty? most carefully embalmed; with a full forehead, very long, straight nose, and sharp delicate features, but prominent face. There is a profusion of long, brown, curling hair.—I. C. 74 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 877.) Head of a man with a broad receding forehead, salient nose, and delicate features. Hair, dark-brown, smooth and curling. The beard, though short, is preserved.—I. C. 89 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 60.) Head of a female not exceeding eighteen years of age, with a low forehead, long, straight nose, and rather prominent face. Hair long and fine. This style of head is very common on the Egyptian monuments. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 7. (Cat. 882.) Head of a young girl, with a very prominent nose, and long, smooth, curling hair: gilding on the eyelids and nose. Egyptian form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 8. (Cat. 884.) Head of a woman of thirty, of a faultless Caucasian mould. The hair, which is in profusion, is of a dark-brown tint, and delicately curled. Pelasgic form.

Plate [X]., Fig. 9. (Cat. 875.) A small female head, of seventy? years, with a fine frontal development, straight nose, and large oval orbits. The long, curling hair is of a yellowish colour, but has probably been gray, and dyed by henna.—I. C. 73 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [XI]., Fig. 1. (Cat. 846.) Head of a youth of about eighteen years, with a remarkably broad and lofty forehead, a small straight nose, and delicately formed face. A little smooth, dark hair remains, and the whole has been elaborately embalmed, with a profusion of gilding on the face.—I. C. 87 cubic inches. This is one of the most perfectly formed heads that have ever come under my notice, yet the eyes are widely separated, the distance between the nose and mouth is remarkable, and the chin is short and receding. Egypto-Pelasgic form.

Plate [XI]., Fig. 2. (Cat. 842.) Head of a man of about fifty years of age, with a broad but very low and receding forehead. The nose is very large, and strongly aquiline, the teeth vertical and much worn, the cheek bones prominent, and the whole face remarkable for harshness of expression. A little brown hair remains on the occiput.—I. C. 85 cubic inches. Semitic form.

This head possesses great interest, on account of its decided Hebrew features, of which many examples are extant upon the monuments.

(Cat. 886.) Head of a man of fifty? small but well proportioned throughout. The teeth, which are vertical, are remarkably worn by attrition.—I. C. 76 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [XII]., Figs. 1, 2. (Cat. 845.) An oval head with a full forehead, and long aquiline nose. The orbits are far apart, and the balls replaced with bone, on which the iris is distinctly painted. The hair, which is cut short, is fine and straight.—I. C. 73 cubic inches. This head has something of the Semitic character, both as respects configuration and expression, and I class it, though with some hesitation, with that series.

TWO HEADS OF LUNATICS, FROM THEBES.

Wood-cut 1. (Cat. 841.) An elongated head, with a very receding forehead, long, aquiline nose, and large, ponderous jaws, which project so as to reduce the facial angle to about 65°. This person has been embalmed with evident care, but with the mouth open, the tongue protruded, and the eyelids raised, giving a frightfully vacant expression to the whole countenance, and leaving no reasonable doubt that this is the head of an idiot. A little hair remains, which is remarkably fine, and encroaches on the eyebrows.

Wood-cut 2. (Cat. 863.) Another idiotic head, embalmed also with the mouth open and the tongue partially protruded. The cranium is long, the forehead low and receding, the face remarkably prominent, and the whole expression, as in the former instance, to the last degree vacant and repulsive. I presume that no one accustomed to comparisons of this nature can examine these heads, without agreeing with me in opinion as to their position in the intellectual scale. It may appear, and, indeed, is surprising, that two idiotic heads should be found among one hundred taken at random from the catacombs; and I can only explain the fact by supposing that a particular tomb was reserved for this unfortunate class of persons; and that the Arab servant employed by Mr. Gliddon, in his explorations at Thebes, invaded by chance this very sanctum. It is well known that idiotic persons have, in all ages, been regarded with a certain degree of veneration in the East; and hence their remains would be likely, in Egypt, to be carefully preserved after death. In examining Professor Rosellini’s plates, I find a solitary example of an idiot, whose head is represented in the annexed diagram; and it is curious to remark, that the sagacity of the Egyptian artist has admirably adapted this man’s vocation to his intellectual developments, for he is employed in stirring the fire of a blacksmith’s shop. This singular effigy is seen at Thebes.

NEGROID HEADS.

In addition to the two heads of this class from Maabdeh and one from Memphis, I subjoin descriptions and outline drawings of five others from Thebes, which are here grouped for the advantage of more ready comparison.

Fig. 1. (Cat. 864.) A female cranium, of a narrow oval form, with a low, receding forehead, small nose, and protruding face. There is much of the Negro expression in the bony structure of this head.—I. C. 77 cubic inches. F. A. 75°.

Fig. 2. (Cat. 858.) A large and rather ponderous cranium, with a well developed forehead, salient nose, jaws powerfully developed and protruding, and the upper teeth presenting obliquely outwards.—I. C. 87 cubic inches. F. A. 77°.

Fig. 3. (Cat. 885.) An oval head, with a convex frontal region, small, depressed nose, and very projecting face.—I. C. 77 cubic inches. F. A. 76°.

Fig. 4. (Cat. 852.) A small head, with a low, receding forehead, and strong, small nose, projecting maxillæ, and obvious Negro expression. A little hair remained, which was cut short, and was coarse without being woolly.—I. C. 77 cubic inches. F. A. 75°.

Fig. 5. (Cat. 869.) An oval head, with a good frontal development, salient nose, and very projecting face.—I. C. 88 cubic inches. F. A. 76°.

In the preceding five crania, the Negro features and expression greatly predominate; at the same time there is an evident mixture of Caucasian characters. Two of them might pass, perhaps, for genuine Negroes, but for the comparatively fine texture of the hair. I therefore regard them as Mulattoes, to which class, also, may be referred a large proportion of the modern Copts.

(Cat. No. 1044.) The subjoined wood-cut illustrates a remarkable head, which may serve as a type of the genuine Egyptian conformation. The long, oval cranium, the receding forehead, gently aquiline nose, and retracted chin, together with a marked distance between the nose and mouth, and the long, smooth hair, are all characteristic of the monumental Egyptian.

FIFTH SERIES.
THREE HEADS FROM KOUM OMBOS.

The remains of this once celebrated city are seen on a sandy hill on the eastern bank of the Nile, to the south of Thebes. The Ombites were celebrated for the worship of the crocodile, which they embalmed with care and deposited in the catacombs. The three following heads were obtained by Mr. Gliddon from the Ombite necropolis.

Plate [XII]., Fig. 3. (Cat. 830.) A female head of 30 years, with a low, narrow forehead, straight nose, and sharp, prominent features. The hair, which is in profusion, is long, fine and curling.—I. C. 77 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [XII]., Fig. 4. (Cat. 831.) Head of a woman of 30 years?, with a narrow, but high and convex forehead, strong aquiline nose, and sharp facial structure. The hair is abundant, long, fine and curling.—I. C. 68 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [XII]., Fig. 5. (Cat. 832.) An oval, thin skull, with a good frontal development, salient nose and delicate facial bones.—F. A. 81°. Egyptian form.

It is remarkable that two of the preceding skulls (the third being too much broken for measurement) give an average internal capacity of less than 73 cubic inches.

SIXTH SERIES.
FOUR HEADS FROM A TUMULUS NEAR THE ISLAND OF PHILÆ.

Philæ was the ancient boundary between Egypt and Nubia, and this little island contained several of the most venerated shrines of the Egyptian deities. The island of Beggeh (the ancient Senem) was also a consecrated spot, and is immediately contiguous to Philæ. It contains a funereal tumulus, which is supposed to have been the common sepulchre of those pilgrims who died during their sojourn, and hence, as Mr. Gliddon remarks in his memoranda, “they may have been of any nation or of any epoch.”

Plate [XII]., Fig. 6. (Cat. 821.) A finely moulded head, with a good frontal development, aquiline nose, and delicate facial bones.—I. C. 74 cubic inches. F. A. 79°. Pelasgic form.

(Cat. 822.) A juvenile head, of perhaps 12 years, thin and inequilateral, with a good forehead, and broad, inter-parietal diameter. The face is broken, and the ethmoid bone imperforate. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 824.) A very narrow, infantile head, with brown, soft, curling hair. The face is deficient, and the head is rather desiccated than embalmed. Egyptian form?

Plate [XII]., Fig. 7. (Cat. 823.) An unmixed Negro, with a narrow, elongated head, well-developed forehead, short and flat nasal bones, everted upper jaw, and short, gray, woolly hair. This appears to be the cranium of a woman of at least 60 years of age. The bones are thin, and the whole structure remarkably small.—I. C. 73 cubic inches.

SEVENTH SERIES.
FOUR SKULLS FROM DEBOD, IN NUBIA.

Debod or Deboud is about twelve miles south of Philæ, on the left bank of the Nile, and in north latitude 24°. It was the site of the ancient Parembole, and yet possesses some ruins of a once splendid temple of Ammon.

The following heads were all obtained from a single pit, and from the rude manner in which they were embalmed and wrapped, Mr. Gliddon (who obtained them with his own hands) supposes them to have pertained to people of the lower order.

Plate [XII]., Fig. 8. (Cat. 829.) Skull of a woman of 50? with a low but convex forehead, with which the nasal bones have formed a nearly straight line. The coronal region is low, and the whole osseous structure strong and rather harsh.—Egyptian form. I. C. 70 cubic inches. F. A. 85°.

Plate [XII]., Fig. 9. (Cat. 827.) Skull of a man of 40, which strongly resembles the preceding. The forehead is low, but broad and vertical, the whole cranium long, the coronal region compressed, the orbits large, and the upper maxillæ slightly everted.—I. C. 82 cubic inches. Egyptian form.

Plate [XIII]. (Cat. 826.) A fine oval head, with a broad, high, convex forehead, large, straight nose, and rather prominent maxillæ. On one side is a mass of long, black hair, much curled, and of a fine texture.—I. C. 74 cubic inches. F. A. 77°. Egyptian form.

(Cat. 828.) An elongated, infantile head, with a narrow but vertical forehead, delicately formed face, very full occiput, and (what is not uncommon in children) a F. A. of 90°. Egyptian form.

Remarks.—In addition to the preceding details, it remains to offer some general observations on the size and configuration of the head, together with a tabular view of the whole series of crania, arranged in the first place, according to their sepulchral localities, and, in the second, in reference to their national affinities.

Ethnographic Table of one hundred ancient Egyptian Crania.[^[4]]

The preceding table speaks for itself. It shows that more than eight tenths of the crania pertain to the unmixed Caucasian race; that the Pelasgic form is as one to one and two-thirds, and the Semitic form one to eight, compared with the Egyptian: that one twentieth of the whole is composed of heads in which there exists a trace of Negro and other exotic lineage:—that the Negroid conformation exists in eight instances, thus constituting about one thirteenth part of the whole; and, finally, that the series contains a single unmixed Negro.

To these facts I shall briefly add the results of the observations of some authors who have preceded me in this inquiry. “I have examined in Paris, and in the various collections of Europe,” says Cuvier, “more than fifty heads of mummies, and not one amongst them presented the characters of the Negro or Hottentot.”[^[5]]

Two of the three mummy heads figured by Blumenbach, (Decad. Cran., Figs. 1 and 31,) are unequivocally Egyptian, but the second, as that accurate observer remarks, has something of the Negro expression.[^[6]] The third cranium delineated in the same work, (Plate 52,) is also Caucasian, but less evidently Egyptian, and partakes, in Professor Blumenbach’s opinion, of the Hindoo form. Of the four mummies described by Söemmering, “two differed in no respect from the European formation; the third had the African character of a long space marked out for the temporal muscle; the characters of the fourth are not particularized. The skulls of four mummies in the possession of Dr. Leach, of the British museum, and casts of three others, agree with those just mentioned in exhibiting a formation not differing from the European, without any trait of the Negro character.”[^[7]]

The two heads figured in the great French work, are both decidedly Egyptian, but the second and smaller one is the most strongly marked.[^[8]]

Internal Capacity of the Cranium.[^[9]]—As this measurement gives the size of the brain, I have obtained it in all the crania above sixteen years of age, unless prevented by fractures or the presence of bitumen within the skull; and this investigation has confirmed the proverbial fact of the general smallness of the Egyptian head, at least as observed in the catacombs south of Memphis. Thus, the Pelasgic crania from the latter city, give an average internal capacity of eighty-nine cubic inches; those of the same group from Thebes give eighty-six. This result is somewhat below the average of the existing Caucasian nations of the Pelasgic, Germanic, and Celtic families, in which I find the brain to be about ninety-three cubic inches in bulk. It is also interesting to observe that the Pelasgic brain is much larger than the Egyptian, which last gives an average of but eighty cubic inches; thus, as we shall hereafter see, approximating to that of the Indo-Arabian nations.

The largest head in the series measures ninety-seven cubic inches; this occurs three times, and always in the Pelasgic group. The smallest cranium gives but sixty-eight cubic inches, and this is three times repeated in the Egyptian heads from Thebes. This last is the smallest brain I have met with in any nation, with three exceptions,—a Hindoo, a Peruvian, and a Negro.

The Negroid heads, it will be observed, measure, on an average, eighty cubic inches, which is below the Negro mean; while the solitary Negro head (that of a person advanced in years,) measures but seventy-three cubic inches.[^[10]]

As this, however, is a question of much interest and some novelty, it may, perhaps, be better illustrated in a tabular form:—

Facial Angle.—I have carefully measured the facial angle in all those adult skulls which are sufficiently denuded for that purpose, and have obtained the following results:—

It is stated by M. Virey, that the numerous mummies which have been brought to Europe present the full facial angle of the Caucasian race.

The Structure of the Cranial Bones is as thin and delicate as in the European, and a ponderous skull is of unfrequent occurrence. I make this remark with the more satisfaction because it enables me to contest one of the observations of Herodotus; who tells us, that on visiting the field of battle whereon the Egyptians had fought with the Persians, he saw the bones of the latter lying on one side, and those of their enemies on the other. He then adds, that “the skulls of the former were so extremely soft as to yield to the slightest impression, even of a pebble; those of the Egyptians, on the contrary, were so firm that the blow of a large stone would hardly break them.” The historian then explains the reason of this difference, by stating that the Egyptians have thicker skulls, because their heads are frequently shaved and more exposed to the weather: while the Persians have soft skulls, owing to the habitual use of caps which protect their heads from the sun.

These reveries are wholly untenable in a physiological point of view, and derive not the smallest support from anatomy itself; nor can there be a question that the confiding historian received his impressions through the ignorance or imposition of others. I have in my possession eight skulls of Fellahs, or modern Egyptian peasants, who habitually shave the head, and wear a thin cap; and yet their skulls, which are of various ages from early youth to senility, are without exception thin and delicate.

Some modern authors have also attributed to the mummy skulls a density which is not characteristic, but which is adventitiously acquired by the infiltration of bitumen into the diplöic structure during the process of embalming.

Hair.—The hair is fortunately preserved on thirty-six heads, in some instances in profusion, in others scantily, but always in sufficient quantity to enable us to judge of its texture. Thirty-one of these examples pertain to the Caucasian series, and in these the hair is as fine as that of the fairest European nations of the present day. The embalming process has changed it, with a few exceptions, from a black to a dark-brown colour. There are also several instances of gray hair, and two in which it is of a true flaxen colour: it is more than probable, however, that the latter hue has been produced artificially,—a practice still in use among the Saumaulies south of Adel.

The preceding remarks on the texture of the hair accord with those of other observers, as well as with the monumental evidences of every epoch. Belzoni obtained plaited hair from the Theban catacombs eighteen inches in length; and M. Villoteau mentions another instance, from the same tombs, in which the tresses must have reached to the waist. Entire wigs of the same character are preserved, as every one knows, in the British and Berlin museums; and I also possess, through the kindness of Mr. Gliddon, a portion of a similar relic from Thebes, which is elaborately wrought into a great number of long and most delicate tresses.

These facts lead to a few observations on the celebrated passage of Herodotus, who, when speaking of the Colchians, gives, among other proofs of their Egyptian lineage, that they “were black, and had short curling hair.” [Greek: Melanchroes kai oulotriches]. The above translation, which is that of the learned Beloe, expresses, in respect to the mode of wearing the hair, precisely what is verified by my observations; for in nearly all the Caucasian heads on which it has been allowed to grow, it is remarkable for a profusion of short curls of extreme fineness,—a character which is preserved in several of the accompanying delineations.

Herodotus farther tells us that the Egyptians kept their heads shaved; or perhaps he might have said with more precision, closely cut. But while the priests conformed to this rule, we are certain, from the foregoing facts, that there was a diversity of usage among the other classes, which is also proved by another passage in the same historian; for he assures us that “you see fewer bald in Egypt than in any other country.” Now if the Egyptians of all classes kept their heads shaved, it would be difficult to ascertain, and yet more difficult to see whether they were subject to natural baldness or not. Again, if Herodotus had not been accustomed to observe the Egyptians wearing their hair, how could he have compared them in this respect to the people of Colchis?

The same author informs us that the inhabitants of Egypt permitted their hair to grow as a badge of mourning; an observation which is every where corroborated in monumental funereal scenes. This observation, however, was probably for a comparatively short period, and will not account for the frequent occurrence of long hair among the mummies of all classes. It is mentioned in history that among other indignities which Cambyses offered to the embalmed body of King Amasis, was that of tearing the hair from his head.

The monuments afford abundant proof that among the Egyptians, from the highest to the lowest castes, it was not unusual to wear the hair long. The marginal drawing represents a rustic, (one of six on the monument,) who is engaged in a wrestling match. And it is hardly to be supposed that the profusion of hair with which his head is covered, can be any other than the natural growth.[^[11]] A man thus occupied would find a difficulty in keeping a wig on his head.

So also with another from a tomb at Thebes, wherein a carpenter of pleasing but rather effeminate physiognomy, is engaged in the labours of his art.[^[12]]

Another example, that subjoined (No. 1,) is derived from a funereal procession at Thebes,[^[13]] but granting, what is quite possible, that the woman in this instance, wears only a head-dress, the contrary can be insisted on in reference to another painting, of a group of five women engaged in athletic exercises, in the midst of which, one of them holds and partially sustains the other by her long, straight hair; showing that the latter could be no other than the natural growth. (No. 2.) It is also interesting to remark, that this picture dates back into “the night of time,”—that remote period antecedent to the eighteenth dynasty, of which this is one of the many remains yet preserved in the celebrated tomb of Novotpth, at Beni-Hassan.[^[14]]

No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4

Again, among the funereal processions at Thebes are several boat scenes, from one of which I derive the above drawing, representing an Egyptian woman in the act of lamentation, while her hair falls in long and graceful ringlets below her shoulders. (No. 3.)

Another effigy, (No. 4,) that of an Egyptian lady from a painting in the Theban catacombs,[^[15]] has the hair dressed in the same manner in which it is worn by the modern Nubian girls, as represented in one of the beautiful sketches by Mr. Wathen in his work on Egyptian architecture.

These instances have been selected out of hundreds of a similar character which every where meet the eye on the Nilotic monuments, and which present a most satisfactory accordance with the evidence derived from the catacombs.

Hamilton, in his Ægyptiaca, when describing the paintings at Elytheias, says that “the labourers are dressed in a kind of skull-cap, and have very little if any hair on their heads; while that of the others who superintend them spreads out at the sides, as with the Nubians and Berabera above the cataracts,”—and yet among these very labourers the hair of some is represented so long, that it projects beneath the cap and falls upon the shoulders.[^[16]] If I may judge from the heads that have come under my notice, I should infer that the women, as a general rule at least, allowed their hair to grow; but that the practice was much less frequent among the men.

In the heads of every Caucasian type in the series now before us, the hair is perfectly distinct from the woolly texture of the Negro, the frizzled curls of the Mulatto, or the lank, straight locks of the Mongolian.

Of the eight Negroid heads, four are more or less furnished with hair, one is closely shaved, and two are entirely denuded. In those which retain the hair, it is comparatively coarse, and in one instance somewhat wiry. The hair of the solitary Negro head possesses the characteristic texture.

I find a short beard (perhaps half an inch in length,) on three Theban heads of the Caucasian part of the series. (Plate [IV]., Fig. 1, Plate [VIII]., Fig. 1, and Plate [X]., Fig. 5.) The Egyptians habitually shaved the beard; but on their statues and paintings we frequently see a beard-case which, as Rosellini remarks, appears to be merely emblematical of the male sex and of manhood.

The Teeth.—Professor Blumenbach, in his Decades Craniorum, long ago pointed out what he considered a peculiarity in the conformation of the teeth in some Egyptian mummies; namely, that the crowns of the incisors are very large, thick, and cylindrical, or obtusely conical, in place of having the characteristic chisel-like form.[^[17]] I have given especial attention to this supposed peculiarity; but although the incisors remain more or less perfect in forty-five crania, embracing upwards of two hundred teeth of this class, I have not been able to confirm the preceding observation. On the contrary, there does not appear to be the smallest deviation from the ordinary form or structure; and I feel confident, that the learned and accurate Blumenbach was deceived by the worn condition of the crowns of the teeth, obviously resulting from the habitual mastication of hard substances. Mr. Lawrence expresses the same opinion, from personal observation; Dr. Prichard inclines to a similar view of the case, and remarks, that “the most satisfactory method of obtaining information is by inspecting the mummies of children.” Here, again, I have been so fortunate as to examine the crania of three children from one year old to five years, and five others between the ages of five and ten years. The result is entirely confirmatory of the opinion I have already advanced, and also coincides with the observations of Mr. Estlin.[^[18]]

What the masticated substances were, has not been ascertained; but the teeth of some Hindoos, even in early life, are as much worn away as those of the Egyptians. The latter, as a general rule, are remarkably free from decay, and in a number of instances the whole set remains unbroken. There are various examples in which the teeth appear to have been extracted; thus reminding us of the statement of Herodotus, that there was a class of physicians whose attention, like that of our modern dentists, was bestowed exclusively upon these organs.

The Nose.—A review of the preceding Anatomical details, and a glance at the accompanying delineations, will serve to show that the form of the nose in the Caucasian series was straight, or slightly aquiline, as in the Hindoo; more prominent, as in the Pelasgic tribes; and long, salient, and aquiline, as in the Arabian race, and more especially in the Semitic nations of that stock.

It may be here observed, that the nasal bones have in many instances been more or less broken in forcing a passage through the ethmoid bone, for the purpose of removing the brain. This operation, which appears to have been almost uniformly practised at Thebes, was comparatively unusual at Memphis; for of the twenty-six heads from the latter necropolis, five only are perforated; while of the fifty-five Theban crania, all are perforated but two; and in a third the ethmoid is so little broken that the brain could not have been removed through the orifice. I moreover detect three instances of complete perforation of the nose, in which the brain had been extracted through the foramen magnum, by cutting the neck half across behind; the bandages being folded over the incision. The absence of the ethmoidal perforation in the oldest heads from Memphis, and in many others of a later date from the same necropolis, leads me to suppose that the brain may have been primitively removed through the foramen magnum; and that its extraction through the nose, as already suggested, may have been a subsequent refinement of the embalming art. Again, the different provinces of Egypt may have had peculiar and conventional details in this as in other usages; for all the heads from Ombos and Maabdeh have the ethmoidal opening; all those from Abydos and Debod are without it; while of the four from Philæ, one is perforated and three are not.

Denon long ago pointed out a peculiarity of the Egyptian profile, as seen in the remarkable distance between the nostrils and the teeth. This feature, with a small receding chin, is of frequent occurrence both in the mummies and on the monuments.

Position of the Ear.—Every one who has paid the least attention to Egyptian art, has observed the elevated position which is given to the ear; and I have examined my entire series of heads, in order to ascertain whether this peculiarity has any existence in nature, but I can find nothing in them to confirm it. The bony meatus presents no deviation from the usual relative arrangement of parts; but the cartilaginous structure being desiccated, and consequently contracted, may not afford satisfactory evidence. Clot Bey and other authors have remarked an elevation of the ear in some modern Copts; and the traveller Raw, quoted by Virey, notices the same feature in the Hindoos, and it is said also to exist in degree in the Jews. There may, therefore, be some foundation for this peculiarity of Egyptian sculpture and painting; but I feel confident that in nature it is nothing more than an upward elongation of the auricular cartilages, without any modification of the bony meatus. It has also occurred to me that the appearance in question may be sometimes owing to the remarkable vertical length of the upper jaw in some heads (those represented Plate [IV]., Fig. 2, and Plate [V]., Fig. 2, for example,) in which it is manifest that the ear would possess a remarkable elevation in respect to the maxillary bones, without being any nearer to the top of the head than usual. These hints may possibly afford some clew to a satisfactory explanation of an almost invariable rule of Egyptian art.

Dr. Prichard (Researches Vol. II., p. 251,) has given an abstract of some observations made by M. De La Malle, on the mummies contained in the Museum of Turin. “In the skulls of these [six] mummies, as well as in many others brought from the same country, although the facial angle was not different from that of European heads, the meatus auditorius, instead of being situated in the same plane with the basis of the nose, was found by M. De Malle to be exactly on a level with the centre of the eye”! Unless M. De Malle is an anatomist, and accustomed to comparisons of this kind, I can imagine that he might be deceived by the mere position in which the head was placed for inspection; for the more the face is drawn downward, the higher will be the relative position of the ear, until it may be brought on a level either with the nostrils or the eye, at option. I am the more disposed to offer this suggestion because we are told that in the mummies in question “the facial angle was not different from that of European heads.” I need hardly remark, however, that the higher the external meatus of the ear, the less will be the facial angle; so that M. De Malle’s two observations manifestly contradict each other.

In the annexed plates the reader will find seventy-four accurate delineations of mummied heads, among which he will search in vain for the alleged peculiarity of the Egyptian ear. It is equally absent in the Pelasgic, Egyptian, Semitic, and Negroid forms: and yet the Egyptians, on their monuments, bestowed it alike on the people of all nations, of all epochs, and of every condition in life. See Plate [XIV].

Complexion.—On this point our evidence is, perhaps, less conclusive than on most others connected with Egyptian ethnography. Yet, meagre as it may seem, we cannot pass it by without a few remarks.

Herodotus, in the passage already cited, (p. 115,) speaks of the colour of the Egyptians as if it were black; yet this is evidently a relative, and not an absolute term. This remark applies, also, to the hackneyed fable of the two black doves, who are said, in mythological language, to have flown from Egypt, and established (at least one of them) the oracle of Delphi. Here, again, Herodotus supposes that because the doves were black, they must have represented Egyptian personages. But the Greeks, observes Maurice, called every thing black that related to Egypt, not excepting the river, the soil, and even the country itself; whence the name [Greek: Ermochymios]—the black country of Hermes.

Again, in reference to the statement of Herodotus, on which I have already, perhaps, too largely commented, it may be well to give the evidence of another eye-witness, that of Ptolemy the geographer, who is believed to have been born in Egypt. He wrote in the second century of our era, and his observations must consequently have been made something more than five hundred years later than those of Herodotus. His words are as follow:—“In corresponding situations on our side of the equator, that is to say, under the tropic of Cancer, men have not the colour of Ethiopians, nor are there elephants and rhinoceroses. But a little south of this, the northern tropic, the people are moderately dark, ([Greek: êrema tynchanousi melanes],) as those, for example, who inhabit the thirty Schæni, (as far as Wady Halfa, in Nubia,) above Syene. But in the country around Meroë they are already sufficiently black, and there we first meet with pure Negroes.”[^[19]]

Here is ample evidence to prove that the natural geographical position of the Negroes was the same seventeen centuries since as it is now; and for ages antecedent to Herodotus, the monuments are perfectly conclusive on the same subject. I could, therefore, much more readily believe that the historian had never been in Egypt at all,[^[20]] than admit the literal and unqualified interpretation of his words which has been insisted on by some, and which would class the Egyptians with the Negro race.

On the monuments the Egyptians represent the men of their nation red, the women yellow; which leads to the reasonable inference that the common complexion was dark, in the same sense in which that term is applicable to the Arabs and other southern Caucasian nations, and varying, as among the modern Hindoos, from comparatively fair to a dark and swarthy hue. “Two facts,” says Heeren, “are historically demonstrated; one, that among the Egyptians themselves there was a difference of colour; for individuals are expressly distinguished from each other by being of a darker or lighter complexion: the other, that the higher castes of warriors and priests, wherever they are represented in colours, pertain to the fairer class.”

That the Ethiopians proper, or Meroïtes, were of a dark, and perhaps very dark complexion, is more than probable; and among other facts in support of this view, we find that the mother of Amunoph III., and wife of Thotmes IV., who was a Meröite princess, is painted black on the monuments. Thus the different complexion of the great divisions of the Egyptian nation must sometimes have been blended, like their physiognomical traits, even in the members of the royal family.

It is not, however, to be supposed that the Egyptians were really red men, as they are represented on the monuments. This colour, with a symbolic signification, was conventionally adopted for the whole nation, (with very rare exceptions,) from Meröe to Memphis. Thus, also, the kings of the Greek and Roman dynasties are painted of the same complexion.[^[21]]

Professor Rosellini supposes the Egyptians to have been of a brown, or reddish-brown colour, (rosso-fosco,) like the present inhabitants of Nubia; but, with all deference to that illustrious archæologist, I conceive that his remark is only applicable to the Austral-Egyptians as a group, and not to the inhabitants of Egypt proper, except as a partial result of that mixture of nations to which I have already adverted, and which will be more fully inquired into hereafter.

The well known observation of Ammianus Marcellinus, “Homines Ægyptii plerique subfusculi sunt, et atrati,” is sufficiently descriptive, and corresponds with other positive evidence, in relation to the great mass of the people; and when the author subsequently tells us that the Egyptians “blush and grow red,” we find it difficult to associate these ideas with a black, or any approximation to a black skin.[^[22]]

The late Doctor Young, in his Hieroglyphical Literature, has given a translation of a deed on papyrus of the reign of Ptolemy Alexander I., in which the parties to a sale of land at Thebes are described in the following terms:—“Psammonthes, aged about 45, of middle size, dark complexion and handsome figure, bald, round-faced and straight-nosed; Snachomneus, aged about 20, of middle size, sallow complexion, round-faced and straight-nosed; Semmuthis Persinei, aged about 22, of middle size, sallow complexion, round-faced, flat-nosed, and of quiet demeanour; and Tathlyt Persinei, aged about 30, of middle size, sallow complexion, round face and straight nose, the four being children of Petepsais of the leather-dressers of the Memnonia; and Necheutes the less, the son of Azos, aged about 40, of middle size, sallow complexion, cheerful countenance, long face and straight nose, with a scar upon the middle of the forehead.” In another deed of the same epoch, also translated by Dr. Young, an Egyptian named Anophris is described as “tall, of a sallow complexion, hollow-eyed and bald.”

Independently of the value of the other physical characters preserved in these documents, the remarks on complexion have a peculiar interest; for they show that among six individuals of three different families, one only had a dark complexion, and that all the rest were sallow.

From the preceding facts, and many others which might be adduced, I think we may safely conclude, that the complexion of the Egyptians did not differ from that of the other Caucasian nations in the same latitudes. That while the higher classes, who were screened from the action of a burning sun, were fair in the comparative sense, the middle and lower classes, like the modern Berbers, Arabs, and Moors, presented various shades of complexion, even to a dark and swarthy tint, which the Greeks regarded as black in comparison with their own. To these diversities must also be added others incident to a vast servile population, derived from all the adjacent nations, among which the sable Negro stood forth in bold and contrasted characters.

Dr. Wiseman, after a critical examination of the evidence in reference to this mooted question, has arrived at the following philosophical conclusion;—“It is not easy to reconcile the conflicting results thus obtained from writers and from monuments; and it is no wonder that learned men should have differed widely in opinion on the subject. I should think the best solution is, that Egypt was the country where the Greeks most easily saw the inhabitants of interior Africa, (the Negroes,) many of whom, doubtless, flocked thither and were settled there, or served in the army as tributaries or provincials, as they have done in later times; and thus they came to be confounded by writers with the country where alone they knew them, and were considered part of the indigenous population.”[^[23]]

External Configuration.—On this subject I have nothing to add but the following external measurements,[^[24]] (taken with my own hands,) derived from each group, and embracing all the denuded adult crania excepting two of the Semitic form.

Table I. Pelasgic Group.

The frontal diameter is taken between the anterior inferior angles of the parietal bones.

The vertical diameter is measured from the fossa between the condyles of the occipital bone, to the top of the skull.

The inter-mastoid arch is measured, with a graduated tape, from the point of one mastoid process to the other, over the external table of the skull.

The inter-mastoid line is the distance, in a straight line, between the points of the mastoid processes.

The occipito-frontal arch is measured by a tape over the surface of the cranium, from the posterior margin of the foramen magnum to the suture which connects the os frontis with the bones of the nose.

The horizontal periphery is measured by passing a tape around the cranium so as to touch the os frontis immediately above the superciliary ridges, and the most prominent part of the occipital bone.