A Last Contribution to Scottish Ethnology Author(S): John Beddoe Source: the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol
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A Last Contribution to Scottish Ethnology Author(s): John Beddoe Source: The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 38 (Jan. - Jun., 1908), pp. 212-220 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2843134 . Accessed: 28/06/2014 15:19 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 91.238.114.35 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:19:10 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 212 A LAST CONTRIBUTION TO SCOTTISH ETHNOLOGY. BY JOHN BEDDOE, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S. [WITH PLATE XVIII.] I PROPOs a little considerationof the progress of Scottish Ethnology,before enteringon any criticismof Mr. Gray's valuable paper (Journ.Roy. Anthrpp.Inst., xxxvii,p. 375). Fifty-fiveyears ago, wlhenI broughtout my Contributionto Scottish Ethnology, there were others already engaged in layinigthe foundationsof the subject. Daniel Wilson had anticipated the theory of the successioni of Neolithic dolicocephali and bronze brachys,wliich Thurnam afterwardselaborated; and ArthurMitchell had studied thephysiognomies of NorthernScotland, and carefully marked out three leading types. My observationsshowed the preponderanceof lighteyes with dark hair on the western,and of light eyes with light hair on the eastern,and especially the south-eastern,side of the country,with an increaseof dark shades in tl-hetowns. Next in order(in 1870) came my collectionsfor the Stature and Bulk of Man in the BritishIsles, printedin the AnthropologicalMemoirs, vol. iii. Among the reportssent in to me were man-yof great value; and some of those fromlunatic asylums were by distinguishedmnen, such as Sibbald, Aitken, Howden, Grierson, Lindsay. Noteworthydeductions were the great stature in the Merse, Upper Galloway and Kyle, the inferiorityof lunatics to the general population,the physical degenerationin the great towns. These are more or less confirmedby Mr. Tocher'srecent observationis on the inisane. Next in order came the observationson the West Highlanders,respecting stature,colour and craniomietry,contained in myRaces of Britain, 1885. The chief points were the good stature,1727 mnm.,the preponderanceof light eyes and dark hair,the large size anidlow breadthindex (76 27) of the head. Next followedan importantadvance due to Sir Win. Turner,who, dealing with a large quantity of material, showed the hithertounknown frequencyof brachycephalyin modern skulls from such districtsas East Lothian and Fife, but not,apparently, in the west. On Mr. Tocher'sstatistics of the insane,published by the HendersonTrust, I have already commented. They agree with mine of fortyyears ago in indicating a higherstature in Argyle and in the Border Countrythan elsewhere. He also agrees with me in showinga low cephalic index forArgyle, while over the whole northof Scotland his indices are high forBritain, 78 or more. His mean stature forthe whole of his materialis lower even than mine (65-86 inches or 1673 mm.), mine being 66-62 inches or 1692 mm.; but this differenceprobably arises not so This content downloaded from 91.238.114.35 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:19:10 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions JOHN BEDDOIE.-A Last Contributionto ScottishEthnology. 21E much froma real fall in average stature during the last generation,as froimithe fact that my directionsto miiyhelpers excluded idiots, persons not in good bodily health, and those under twenty-threeor over fiftyyears of ag,e,whereas his did not. I come now to the latest contributionto our subject,the pigmentationsurvey of Mr. John Gray and Mr. Tocher. The miiethodof collectingthe facts,viz., the coloursof the hair and eyes in all or most of the school children of Scotland, left, I think,little to be desired; though Mr. Gray rightlyregrets that standard colour-cardscould not be used, owingto the failureof the people employedto producesufficiently accurate onies. Many attemptshave been made in formeryears to producesuch cards,in factall -ofus, fromBroca downwards,who have been interestedin the subject,have tried -ourhands on such attempts; forexalmple, General Pitt Rivers nmadean endeavour, and tookgreat pains abouitit; but the result was a lamentablefailure. The tints were flat,and flat tints cannot representhair. I triedstripes witholut satisfyingT rnyself. The only man who has ever been moderately successful has been Topinard, who collected and arranged his material for all France witlh the assistance of irregularly striped and coloured diagrams, which, however, representedonly the nmediantints (our brown,the F'renichchctain clair,the German hellb-aunn);he also designed represelntationsof the median hues of eyes, dark grey, pale ashy brown,hazel-grey, light fawn and greell. With these one can producetolerably trustworthy indices of nigrescenceof both hair and eyes. It is as impossible,however, entirely to get rid of the personalequationi as it is to commandthe weather. Stunishineor shade,clear or dull sky,indoor or outdoor observation,must always affectour judgmelntof colour,which, one lneedsto r-emind oneself sometimes,is not an intrinsicquality of objects.' But internal evidence leads me to appreciate highly the workof these Scottish schoolmasters,from this point of view. Among the numeroussmall difficultieswith which one has to contenidin this kind of quest, is that of correctlycorrelating the hair-colouirof boysand ofgirls, the formergenerally short-croptand neglected,the latter long, outspread, combed, ,oftenwashed. Exposure to water,especially soapy water,sun and air, tends to -bleachthe tips and surface at least of the hair. Natural sexual differencesof this kind have not been verymuch studied; but my own observationspoint to greater pigmentationof eye, if not of hair also, amonlgfemales in Great Britain, and Havelock Ellis (Alan and Womanb,pp. 224-228) adduces a good deal of evidence to the same effectfrom other countries. The Scotch schoolmastersfind nio great .differenceon the whole, 22-81 per cent. of dark eyes in the girlsto 22-31 in the boys,and 26 57 of.dark hair to 26 27. There are several districts(e.g., Midlothian, Sutherland,Dunfermlilne) where the hair of the girls comes out much lighterthani that of the boys, and a few (e.g., Islay, etc., Nithsdale, Kirkealdy town) where I Topinard'sstandards are for use in brightsuLnlight. Their employment inScotlanrd woulld yieldtoo many blonds. p a This content downloaded from 91.238.114.35 on Sat, 28 Jun 2014 15:19:10 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 2 14 JOHN BEDDOE.-A -LastContribution to ScottishEthnology. their lhairis lighterancd their eyes are darker. Mr. Gray, a strona believer in sexual heredity,seemis to think that Queen Margaret may have brought the fair Saxon anlcestresEesof the Dunfermlinegirls fromEngland with her. I am more disposedto thinkthat the matronsof " grey Dunfermline" walshedtheir daughters' hair preparatoryto the inspection,especially when I note that the eye-index of the boys and girlsis identical. It is perhaps to be regrettedthat Mr. Gray dict not affixanything beyond mere ordinal numbers to his 110 or,more accurately, 1022 districts,as a mneansof identificatioin.In a large number of cases, in a majority indeed, theirboundaries do not correspondwith those of counties or otherwell- knownidivisions, and as laid down in the map are not strictlyaccurate. Tlhough I am probablyas well acquainitedwith Scottishtopography as mlostEngalishmenl, I cannot positivelyidentify some of these districts,especially the small ones- around Glasgow, anid in tlhetables which I have drawn oultfrom Mr. Tocher's figuresI have been obligedto trustto, and cite,the numeralsalonle in several cases- The inclusionof jet black amongthe categoriesof hair-colouris fullyjustified by the resultsof thiseensus. The personalequation mav inlterferehere as elsewhere, but less often than in the cases of " red" and " fair,"for examiiple, iu whichthe boundary is less distinct,and erroris easy. The average of jet black hair in Scotch childrenis set down at about 1-2 per cenit.in both sexes; but I findover 2 per cent. reckoned in fifteendistricts. In three of these this proportionis reaclledin boys only,though there is a considerablebut smiiallerexcess in the airls also. These arc Nos. 55 anid 56, East Fife; 95, East Ross; and 90, Lower Moray. In fiveit occursin girls only,these being 59, Stirlingshire,Menteith, etc. 93D,94, Beauly and Lochness; 103, Arran and Kintyre; 107, Uist; and 108, Lewis and Harris. 'The seven in whichboth sexes presentthis great excess of jet black are 70, 71, Athol and Breadalbane; 91, Strathspey; 99, Skye,W. Ross, Glenelg; 100, Mull, Morven, etc.; 97, Caithness East Coast; 70, Gowrie; and 18 (probably the town of Paisley). It will be seen that with the exception of the long- urbanizedPaisley, and of East Fife,an ancientseat of foreigncomlmerce, the