The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-03-14
2. y 70 .; q S.
sHEAT+ AND HEADS
It Is Supposed That the Sun VIII Harde
- = - & the Human Skull.

.ssi,s the human SRuus
One of, the most interesting things men
toned by Professor Vfrchow In his little
book, entitled edical .Remembrances
OF an egyptian Journey in which he
describes an excursion up the Nile as far
as the first cataract, is that the broken
lskulls on. the first great sepulchral falds,
dating from Roman times, are as thick
and hard as Herodotus says those Of the
alain Egyptians were In comparison with
the brittle ones Of the Peraians. The
Greek historian explains this by athibu-i
ting Tito the early exposure Of children
to the heat Of the sun; and in many parts
of Upper Egypt the German travellers
actual found young children thus e1-
posed during their parents absence in.
the fields In Immense clay bowls resem-
bling In shape q champagne glass with q
stem, into which they were put without
shelter.
This discovery by Professor Virohow
is interesting, because it at once suggests
the question whether the proyerbial
thickness Of the skull Of the negro has
not been caused BY exposure. to the sun,
and whether It is peculiarly. of savages
OF tropical countries that their skulls
are thicker and harder than those Of the
inhabitants Of temperate and colder.
countries Students .oS croniology, have.
never made any investigation to ascer-
tain whether the skulls Of different races,
vary in degrees Of hardness. It would
be almost imp possible to make such an
inquiry. AS iswen known, the human;
skull Increases In hardness from child.
hood tosmaturity and age. "a miscels4
laneous election OF kulb:of amy given
people would therefore; ;bsof no valueins
such an investigation.
. To obtain a collection OF skulls Of a
number Of nationalities, that should be
taken from SUBJECTS all Of the same age,
to have them all similarly prepared and
IN sufficient numbers to make 1t possible
TO draw any general conclusions from
their comparison with each other, would
be manifestly impossible. More atten-
,tion has been given to the relative thick
ness Of different skulls, or rather to their
weight, from which their thickness may
be inferred.
OF the large collection Of crania in tho
Army Medical museum at Washington
the thickest are those Of negroes and
Alaskan Indians. Tho skulls Of other
Indians, both Of North and South Amer
lea, in tropical or temperate climes, and
of the Eskimo, do not appear to be par
ticularly thick. Among the ancient Peru
.vian skulls recently received by the mu-
scum, and the ancient orania collected In
Arizona last summer, there are frequent
individual variations in thickness, but
no tendency to unusual thickness. The
conclusion from these facts is that expos
ure to the sun probably does not cause
thickness of the human skull. In con-
nection with this subject, it is interesting
to note that among the Australians the
sinus frontalis IS generally found to be
solid in the males, instead Of being bo!-
low, as In the skulls Of other races This
bone in the male Australians generally
extends straight across the head, the
lower side oyerhanging the eyes 60 that
they seem to look out from under IT.,
while In the North American Indians q
modification Of shape deprives them Of
that heavy look about the forehead. The
heavy sinus frontalia of the Australians,
Of course, increases the weight Of the
skull. Il.-American Analyst.