Types of mankind or, Ethnological researches : based upon the ancient monuments, paintings, sculptures, and crania of races, and upon their natural, geographical, philological and Biblical history, illustrated by selections from the inedited papers of Samuel George Morton and by additional contributions from L. Agassiz; W. Usher; and H. S. Patterson / by J. C. Nott, and Geo. R. Gliddon.

  • Josiah C. Nott
Date:
1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Types of mankind or, Ethnological researches : based upon the ancient monuments, paintings, sculptures, and crania of races, and upon their natural, geographical, philological and Biblical history, illustrated by selections from the inedited papers of Samuel George Morton and by additional contributions from L. Agassiz; W. Usher; and H. S. Patterson / by J. C. Nott, and Geo. R. Gliddon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    Baron Larrey, Dr. Ruppell, M. de Chabrol, and others. Some of these writers include in the same department the Abyssins, the native Egyptians and the Barabra, separating them by a broad line from the Negroes, and almost as widely from the Arabs and Europeans. The Egyptians or Copts, who form one branch of this stock, have, according to Larrey, a ' yellow, dusky complexion, like that of the Abyssins. Their countenance is full without being puffed; their eyes are beautiful, clear, almond-shaped, and languishing; their cheek- bones are projecting; their noses nearly straight, rounded at the point; their nostrils dilated ; mouth of moderate size ; their lips thick ; their teeth white, regular, but a little projecting; their beard and hair black and crisp.' 230 In all these characters, the Egyptians, according to Larrey, agree with the Abyssins, and are distinguished from the Negroes. The Baron enters into a minute comparison of the Abyssinians, Copts, and Negroes; concluding that the two former are of the same race; and supporting this idea with Egyptian sculptures and paint- ings, and the crania of mummies. M. de Chabrol, describing the Copts, says that they evince decidedly an African character of physiognomy; which, he thinks, establishes that they are indigenous inhabitants of Egypt, identifying them with the ancient inhabitants: — On peut admettre que leur race a su se conserver pure de toute melange avec le Grecs, puisqu'ils n'ont entre eux aucun trait de ressemblance.231 [This must be taken with many grains of allowance; for the present Copts are hybrids of every race that has visited Egypt: at the same time that his African physiognomy evidently means no more than that the character of countenance termed Ethiopian is not that of the Negro.—C R. &.] Dr. Ruppell has also portrayed the Ethiopian style of counte- nance and bodily conformation as peculiarly distinct from the type both of the Arabian and the Negro. He describes its character as more especially belonging to the Barabra, or Berberins, among whom he long resided; but he says that it is common to them, together with the Ababdeh and the Bishari, and in part with the Abyssinians. This type, according to Ruppell, bears a striking resemblance to the characteristics of the ancient Egyptians and Nubians, as displayed in the statues and sculptures in the temples and sepulchral excavations along the course of the Nile. The complexion and hair of the Abyssinians vary very much: their complexion ranging from almost white to dark brown or black; and their hair, from straight to crisp, frizzled, and almost woolly. Hence the deduction, if these are facts, that they must be an exceedingly mixed race. Dr. Prichard, in defining the Abyssinians, has taken much pains, as we have said, to prove that they, together with families generally of the eastern basin of the Nile, down to Egypt inclusive, not only are not Negro, but were not originally Asiatic races; display- ing somewhat of an intermediate type, which is nevertheless essen-