L I B R.AFLY OF THE UN IVERSITY or ILLINOIS F"A V. 2(23 Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. University of Illinois Library CONTENTS Part I PAGB List of Illustrations 7 Foreword 13 Preface 15 SECTION I: OUTLINES OF AFRICA I. Physiography and Nature Notes 19 Physical Features 19 Climate 30 Vegetation Zones 32 Animal Life 51 II. History 72 Kinds of Evidence . • 72 Datable Events 73 III. Prehistory 91 Fossil Man 91 Stone Implements 99 Archaeological Technique 99 Europe 101 North Africa 106 East Africa 118 South Africa 123 The Congo Region and West Africa 132 Rock Paintings and Engravings 137 Stone Monuments and Buildings 152 IV. Physical Anthropology 161 Technique 161 Negroes 163 Western Negroes (Table 1) 165 Central Negroes (Table 2) 172 South and Southwestern Negroes (Table 3) 175 Eastern Negroes (Table 4) 177 Nilotic Negroes (Table 5) 180 Semites, Hamites, Half-Hamites (Table 6) 186 Hamites (Northern) 194 Hamites (Eastern) 194 Half-Hamites 202 Pygmies (Table 7) 202 Khoisan People (Bushmen and Hottentots) (Tables 7, 8) 210 Comparison of Physical Types 220 Stature 220 Head Form 222 Nose 222 3 4 Contents PAGE Human Origins and Migrations 226 Paleontology 226 Dispersal of Physical Types 227 The Concept of Race 229 Differentiation 231 Environment 232 Hybridization 233 Quantitative and Qualitative Differences 234 African Migrations and Mixtures 240 Pygmies and the Khoisan 240 Negroes 243 Hamites and Semites 248 V. Congenital Anomalies, Deformation, Ornaments, and Clothing 255 VI. Psychology 276 VII. Languages and Literature 288 Language and Culture 288 Classification of Languages 289 Bushman Languages 291 Sudanic Languages 293 Bantu Languages 296 Hamitic and Semitic Languages 299 Writing (Table 9) 302 Proverbs 309 Folklore 311 Songs and Poetry 316 Sign and Whistling Languages 318 , Drama 319 Symbolic Messages and Drum Language 320 Field Records 322 SECTION II : THE CULTURE AREA CONCEPT I. Topography and Culture 325 II. Hunting Cultures 329 Bushmen 329 Pygmies 341 III. Pastoral Pursuits 349 IV. Camel Keepers of the Sahara 361 The Tuareg 361 The Tibesti Plateau 372 The Libyan Oases 375 V. Semitic and Mohammedan Elements 379 The Arabian Background 379 TheKababish 380 Mohammedanism 387 Arab-Berber Culture 393 VI. Agriculture 398 Contents 5 PAGE Part II SECTION III: BASIC ELEMENTS OF NEGRO CULTURE Introduction 407 I. Sexual Life 409 Courtship and Marriage 409 Polygamy 417 Divorce 419 Other Sexual Relations 424 II. Education of Children 429 Pregnancy and Infancy 429 Home Influence, Games, Dancing, Music 442 Initiation into the Tribe 45g III. Social Organization 469 Kinship Terms (Tables 10, 11) ' 469 The Family 475 Clans and Totems 434 The Village and the Kingdom 495 IV. Social Controls 49g Secret Societies 493 Age-Groups 502 Law 506 V. Social Conflicts 52i Warfare and Head-hunting 52i Slavery 533 VI. Religion 541 Difficulties of Study 54]^ The Idea of God 542 Sacred Kings 548 Survival after Death, and Ancestor Worship 556 Religion and Conduct 565 Sacred Animals 567 Medicine-men 57O VII. Economic Life 586 Agriculture 586 Domestic Animals 594 Hunting 596 Fishing 602 Nature Lore and Collecting 604 Commerce 609 Arts and Handicrafts 613 Ritual and Occupation 642 SECTION IV: THE EUROPEAN PERIOD I. Exploration 649 Maritime Enterprise 649 The Sahara and the Niger 654 The Congo and Zambezi Rivers 661 South and East Africa 666 The Nile and Northeast Africa 668 6 Contents PAGE II, European Governments 672 The Partitioning of Africa 672 Independent Territory 673 Britain 674 France 681 Belgium 684 Portugal 684 Italy 685 Spain 688 III, Welfare of Africans 690 Health and Population 690 Labor Laws 696 Education and Administration 698 Anthropology and Government . 710 IV, Suggestions for Research 720 History of Anthropology 720 The Present 722 The Future 725 Bibliographies Periodicals 728 Authors 733 Political Areas 836 Sources by E. V. Prostov 840 General Index 867 Bibliographical Index 921 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Text Figures PART I PAGE 1. Unloading natron, Baya Seyarum, Lake Chad 27 2. Types of landscape, a. Parkland scenery near Sokoto, Nigeria, river bed in drought, b. Dense forest bordering a river, Cameroons . . 33 3. Parkland scenery on high plateau, Abyssinia (from photograph by A. M. Bailey). Field Museum-Chicago Daily News Abyssinian Expedition 35 4. Sandy Pliocene desert southwest of Dahshur Pyramids, Egypt (cour- tesy of Oriental Institute, University of Chicago) 36 5. Gebel Rakhmaniyyah with Pliocene platform, Wadi Madamud, Egypt (courtesy of Oriental Institute, University of Chicago) . 37 6. Semi-desert with thorn bush, near Hawash, Abyssinia (from photograph by A. M. Bailey). Field Museum-Chicago Daily News Abyssinian Expedition 39 7. Baobab tree and semi-desert scenery (from painting by Field Museum Staff Artist, Charles A. Corwin) 40 8. a. North African oasis with date palms. Phoenix dadylifera (from painting by Field Museum Staff Artist, Charles A. Corwin). b. Oil palm, Elaeis guineensis 43 9. a. Borassus palm, Borassus flabellifer. b. Dum palm, Hyphaene thebaica 45 10. a. Raffia palm, Elende, Angola. 6. Climbing a palm, Cameroons . . 47 11. a. Euphorbia menelikii, Abyssinian plateau, desert type of vegetation, 15 meters high (after F. Rosen, from G. Karsten and H. Schenck). b. Termite hill, Cameroons 49 12. African water-hole, southern Abyssinia. Black rhinoceros. Grant's zebra, common eland on extreme left. Grant's gazelle (from group in Field Museum) 53 13. Domestic animals, a. Fat-tailed sheep, b. Long-eared Syrian goat. c. Fat-rumped sheep, d. Keltic breed of long-snouted pig .... 57 14. Hyrax, Abyssinia. Scale about 1:20 (from group in Field Museum) . . 60 15. African cheetahs. Scale about 1:36 (from group in Field Museum) . 61 16. African hyenas, a. Spotted, b. Striped. Scale about 1:24 (from groups in Field Museum) 63 17. Mongoose, southwest Africa. Scale about 1:3 (from specimen in Field Museum) 65 18. a. Aardvark. Scale about 1: 15. b. Pangolin. Scale about 1 : 8 (from specimens in Field Museum) 66 19. Catfish, Clarias senegalensis. Scale about 1:3 67 20. African weaver-birds and nest. Scale about 1:6 (from specimens in Field Museum) 69 '"21. African paleoliths. Scale about 7: 12. a. Paleolith of brownish tinge, plano-convex, worked on convex side. Ormiston, East Griqualand. b. Paleolith of gray stone, trimmed with coarse flakes both sides, ridges well worn, Vaal River Gravel, Barkly West, on bed rock under 24 inches of gravel, c. Paleolith, Mousterian type, Somali- land. Presented by H. W. Seton-Karr. d. Paleolith, Mousterian type, of white quartzite, Somaliland. Presented by H. W. Seton- Karr. e. Paleolith, Mousterian type, brown quartzite, Somali- land. Presented by H. W. Seton-Karr. /. Paleolith, chisel shaped, grayish color, Taungs, South Africa 105 7 8 List of Illustrations PAGE *22. African stone implements. Scale about 2:3. a. Stone celt of reddish color, Neolithic, Ashanti. b. Gray stone implement, Mousterian type, Glen Grey Hills, Queenstown, Cape Province, South Africa. c. Brown stone implement, Mousterian type, provenance same as (6). d. Gray stone implement, Smithfield culture, Mousterian type, flat one side, De Keil Oost, Orange Free State, South Africa. e-j. Crescentic implements and core (g) of the Wilton type. Western Free State, South Africa 107 *23. African implements of stone and bone. Scale about 2:3. a, h-k. Collected by Miss Caton-Thompson and presented to Field Museum by British School of Archaeology in Egypt, a. Flint implement with serrated edge, Qasr Sagha, Faiyum Desert, Egypt. b. c. Flint point, Cap Blanc, French Mauretania. d-g. Bone awls, Wilton culture, Robbery Cave, South Africa, h. Long flint flake retouched at point, Faiyum Desert, Egypt, i. Neo- lithic javelin point of flint. Old Lake Basin, Faiyum Oasis, Egypt. j-k. Neohthic arrowheads of flint, Faiyum Desert, Egypt, l-n. Flint arrow heads, NeoHthic, Cap Blanc, French Mauretania . . . 113 24. Rock paintings and engravings, a. Paintings from Ennedi, Sahara, after Passemard and Saint-Floris. Size not given, color red. b. Rock engravings, Sahara, after Barth. Size about 3 by 4 feet. c. Engraving of white rhinoceros. South Africa, after Oilman. Technique furrowing and pointing, lightly pecked. Scale 1:8. d. Painting, South Africa, after Stow and Bleek. Rhinoceros hunt, hunters wearing hartebeests' heads. Painting on rocks at Kareefontein on Caledon River, Ladybrand District. Color black, size 18 by 35 inches 139 2-5. Negro types, Ogbomosho, Nigeria, a. Bini man. b. Jekri youth . 166 26. Negro types, Ovimbundu, Angola, a. Modified Negro type. b. Typi- cal Negro features 167 27. Bari man, near Juba. Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge, copyright) 182 28. Bari man, near Juba. Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (courtesy of Marvin Breckinridge, copyright) 183 29. Bedouin Arab of Tunis, North Africa 185 30. Bedouin Arab of Tunis, North Africa 187 31. Well-educated, Arabic-speaking type, Tunisia, Berber features . . .189 32. Bedouin Arab woman, Tunisia, North Africa 191 33. Bedouin Arab woman, Tunisia, North Africa 192 34. Pure Saharan Berber (Tuareg) type (after M. G. Grandidier) . . . .193 35. Egyptians of Luxor, a. Hamitic type. b. Showing Negroid and Hamitic mixtures (after photographs by H. Field) 195 36. Amharic-speaking Abyssinians, Addis Ababa (after photographs by A. M. Bailey). Left, hair-dressing indicates that he has killed a lion. Right, Amharic-speaking Abyssinian, Addis Ababa. Field Museum-Chicago Daily News Abyssinian Expedition 196 37. Eastern Hamitic types, a. Hadendoa, sword on back (courtesy of Sudan Government Railways), b. Somali (courtesy of Th. T. MoUison, Anthropologisches Institut der Universitat Munchen) . 197 38. Abyssinian (Amharic-speaking, left). Black Falasha (right), and Abys- sinian ibex (from photograph by A. M. Bailey). Field Museum- Chicago Daily News Abyssinian Expedition 200 39. Masai warriors, Kenya, Half-Hamites 203 40. Pygmy chief, northeast Aruwimi River. Stature 4 feet 2 inches. Wears strip of okapi skin round waist (from photograph by Mrs. Delia Akeley, copyright) 205 List of Illustrations 9 PAGE 41. Bambuti Pygmies, Ituri Forest, a. Male. b. Mother and child (from photograph by E. Heller) 207 42. Bambuti Pygmies, Ituri Forest, a. Female, b. Male (from photo- graph by E. Heller) 209 43. Bushman, Cassinga, Angola 211 44. Bushmen, Gomodino Pan, Kalahari Desert (courtesy of Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) 218 45. Bushmen, Gomodino Pan, Kalahari Desert (courtesy of Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) 219 46. Bushmen, Gomodino Pan, Kalahari Desert (courtesy of Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) 221 47. Bushwoman, near Gemsbok Pan, Kalahari Desert, wearing forehead band of ostrich-eggshell beads (courtesy of Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) 223 48. Hottentot man, front and side views (after G. Fritsch) 225 49. Albinos, a. Albino woman, Vachokwe, Cangamba, Angola, b. Partial albino, Akikuyu tribe, Kenya 257 50. Scarification, a. Munshi woman, Katsina Ala. b. Angas man, near Pankshin, Nigeria 259 51. Dental mutilation, a. Esele man, Angola, b. Sara man. Lake Chad . 261 52. Personal ornament, a. M'Bunda woman, teeth mutilated, Cangamba, Angola, b. Esele woman wearing nose-pin, Angola 263 53. Negrillo and dwarf, a. Batwa, cross between Negro and Pygmy, Kasai, Congo, a somatic type. 6. Dwarf, Kano, Nigeria, con- genital malformation 264 54. Personal ornament, a. Distension of ear lobes, Kikuyu boy, Kenya. b. Cranial deformation and tooth mutilation, woman, Ruwen- zori (from photograph by E. Heller) 265 55. Berg Damara woman, with Herero headdress, South West Africa (from photograph by Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) 267 56. Unclothed types, a. Luvando girls, southwest Angola, b. Angas women wearing leaves, near Pankshin, Nigeria 268 57. Personal ornament, a. Bolewa girl, Potiskum, Nigeria, b. Shuwa Arab girl, Maiduguri, Nigeria 269 58. Fulani clothing and ornament, near Shendam, Nigeria 271 59. Hausa types, male and female, of Kano, Nigeria 272 60. West African clothing, a. Yoruba children, Ibadan, Nigeria, b. Fulani chiefs, near Shendam, Nigeria 273 61. Mohammedan education. a. Mallam of Bida, Nigeria, writing Koranic texts, b. School in Kano market, Nigeria 307 62. Bushman kneeling to shoot, Koatwe Pan, Kalahari Desert (from photograph by Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) 331 63. Bushwomen, Gomodino Pan, Kalahari Desert, filling ostrich eggshells with water (from photograph by Arthur S. Vernay, copyright) . 335 64. Bambuti Pygmies, southern border Ituri Forest (from photograph by E. Heller) 343 65. Huts of Bambuti Pygmies, Ituri Forest. Built near place where ele- phant was killed by Pygmies (courtesy of Mrs. Delia Akeley, copyright, 1930) 344 66. Cattle-keeping Vakwanyama, Angola, a. Woman with hide skirt and leather belt. b. Man wearing omba shells and hide loin- covering 353 67. a. Cattle of the Ovimbundu, Elende, Angola, b. House of cattle- keeping Vakwanyama, Angola 355 68. a. Transport by cattle, Maradi, French Niger Territory, b. Portu- guese riding an ox, Elende, Angola 357 10 List of Illustrations PAGB 69. Tuareg caravan, near Zinder, French Niger Territory 363 70. Tuareg of Timbuktu (from photograph by John F. Jennings). Straus West African Expedition 365 71. Ba'ij Bedouin, near Kish, Iraq (from photograph by H. Field) . . . 378 72. Bedouin tent, typical of Arabia and north Africa (from photograph by H. Field) 380 73. North and west African architecture, Kano, Nigeria 381 74. a. House in Kano, Nigeria, north African Mohammedan style. b. Musicians at Ilorin. On left player of algaita a north African instrument ■ 389 75. African horsemen, a. Dejazmatch Ayalu, ruler in Simien Mountains, Abyssinia, b. Horseman with mail shirt, Potiskum, Nigeria (from photograph by A. M. Bailey). Field Museum-Chicago Daily News Abyssinian Expedition 391 76. Houses of agricultural Negroes, a. Village scene, Cameroons. b. House with painted walls, near Bailundu, Angola 399 *77. Musical instruments from Angola, a. Dumb-bell basket rattle, Vachokwe, Cangamba. b. Wooden flute, Ovimbundu, Elende. c. Gourd instrument played by rubbing grooves with a stick. d. Ankle rattles made from seed pods, Ovimbundu, Bailundu. e. Instrument with iron keys on a wooden board, Ovimbundu, Elende. /. Musical bow, Ovimbundu, Elende. g. Strip of rattan; can be bent to form a musical bow. h. Frictional instru- ment, played by rubbing a stick on the grooves. One end of the bow is placed against the performer's teeth 449 78. Initiation rites, a. Newly circumcised boys, Vachokwe, Cangamba, Angola, b. Vachokwe boys confined after circumcision, Can- gamba, Angola 461 79. Initiation ceremonies, a. Whipping ceremony, Fulani tribe, Shendam, Nigeria, b. Women in charge of novices, Vanyemba, Ngongo, Angola 463 80. Village defence, a. Door in palisade, Ovimbundu, Ngalangi. b. Stra- tegic site on hill-top, Vasele, Angola 523 81. Vakwanyama warriors with tufted spears, bows, and throwing-clubs . . 525 82. Funeral rites, a. Bearers of a corpse, Ovimbundu, Elende. b. Grave near Caconda, Ovimbundu 559 83. Sacred reptiles, a. Python which has swallowed a goat, eastern Congo. Photograph by E. Heller b. White crocodile, Ibadan, Nigeria. . 569 84. Sacred groves, a. Priests of Ife, Nigeria, in charge of terra-cotta heads. b. Terra-cotta heads in sacred grove, Ife 573 85. Curing the sick. a. Vachokwe tribe, Cangamba, Angola, b. The cupping operation, Vachokwe, near Ngalangi 577 *86. Magical figure studded with nails, Loango Coast, mouth of Congo River . 579 *87. Head-piece of wood covered with skin, to be sewn to a medicine-man's costume, Balessing tribe, Cameroons 581 88. Granaries, Angola, a. Near Ngalangi, a clay and wattle structure. b. Vakwanyama, a basket under a thatch 589 89. Long-horned ox, Kukawa, Lake Chad 594 90. Negro hunters, a. Ocimbundu near Elende, Angola. b. Munshi near Katsina Ala, Nigeria 597 91. a. Hunter's trophies, Ovimbundu. b. Hunter's tomb, Ovimbundu, Luimbale 599 92. Wandorobo, hunters of Kenya. Houses are like those of Ituri Pygmies . 601 93. Food collecting and fishing, a. Beehive, eastern Angola, b. Fisher- man in bark canoe, Vachokwe, Cangamba 605 List of Illustrations 11 PAGE 94. a. Ukwanyama man preparing hides by treading, b. Fishing by a weir at Maiduguri, Nigeria 607 95. Canoe of papyrus reeds, Buduma, Lake Chad 608 96. Carved wooden drum, Bamendjo tribe, Cameroons. Scale about 1:8. . 615 *97. Wood-carving, Nigeria, a. Stool, Nupe, Bida. Scale about 1:10. b. Stool, Munshi, Katsina Ala. Scale about 1:7. c. Adze and knife for carving stools, Bida. Scale about 1:10. d. Figure of Elebiti, deceased medicine-man, Yoruba, Ife. Scale about 1:4. e. Modern wood-carving, Benin. Scale about 1:4. /. Doll, Yoruba, Ogbomosho. Scale about 1:6. g. Sandal, Buduma woman. Lake Chad. Scale about 1:6 617 *98. Carved wooden boxes for kola nuts, Benin. Scale about 1:2 618 *99. Carved wooden staffs and clubs, Ovimbundu and Vachokwe, Angola. Scale about 1:10. a. Ovimbundu, Elende. b. Vachokwe, Cangamba. c. Ovimbundu, Elende. d. Vachokwe, Kuchi. e. Ovimbundu, Elendi. /. Staff of dead king, from hut in which relics of kings are kept, Ngalangi. g. Vachokwe workmanship, obtained from an Ocimbundu, Elende. h. Staff of office, a cere- monial paddle, carried by headman of Lioko, a village of Ngalangi. i. Throwing-club for killing game, Ovimbundu, Elende. j. Swagger stick, Ovimbundu, Elende 619 *100. Wood-carving, Ovimbundu, Angola 621 *101. Ornamented gourds, Nigeria. Scale about 1:7. a. Gourd dyed indigo, Bida. b. White incised gourd, Ogbomosho. c. Black wooden bowl, Potiskum. d. Gourd dyed red, scraped to form patterns. e. Gourd with incised and burnt patterns on a yellow surface, Maiduguri. /. Gourd, incised and burnt on yellow surface, Nupe, Bida 623 102. Wood-carving, Angola. a. Medicine-man's figurine, Ovimbundu, Cuma. 6. Head of club, Vachokwe, Cangamba. c. Hair comb, Vachokwe, Mona Quimbundo. Scale about 1:2 (from sketch by LucileWard) 625 103. Grove, Ife, sacred to Ogun, patron of blacksmiths. Contains first hammer and anvil of Ogun. Remains of a sacrificed dog are on the anvil 627 *104. Bronze-casting from Benin. Scale about 1 : 4 628 *105. Beaten brasswork, Nupe tribe, Bida. Scale about 1:5. a. Round bowl. b. Ewer for water, used by Mohammedans for washing hands before prayer, c. Oval tray. d. Woman's copper anklets, Buduma, Lake Chad. e. Round tray, Bida. /. Arm dagger and brass scabbard, g. Vessel for kola nuts 631 106. Making pottery, Ogbomosho, Nigeria, a. Polishing a pot with a pebble. b. Firing insides of pots 633 107. a. Winding cotton, Iseyin, Nigeria, b. Making the base of a pot by pounding clay, Kano, Nigeria 637 108. Weaving by men. a. Weaving cotton, Kano, Nigeria, b. Weaving raffia fiber, Cameroons 638 109. Woven Kabyle rug (presented to Field Museum by Mr. Homer E. Sargent) 639 *110. Beaded gourds for holding palm wine. Scale about 1:5 640 *111. Beaded wooden stool, central Cameroons. Scale about 1 : 5 641 ♦From objects in Field Museum. Objects from Angola were collected by the Frederick H. Rawson-Field Museum Ethnolosical Expedition to West Africa, 1929-1930. 12 List of Illustrations MAPS ^^^e" 1. Approximate positions of principal tribes and places mentioned in the text. Scale: 1 inch=804 miles 16 2. Climatic and vegetation zones. Scale: 1 inch= 1130 miles 32 3. Tentative scheme for distribution of language families. Scale: 1 inch= 804 miles 288 4. Culture areas shown approximately by shaded boundaries and broken lines. Arrows indicate Mohammedan influence. Scale: 1 inch=880 miles 324 5. Approximate political boundaries of European possessions. Scale: 1 inch=804 miles 672 FOREWORD Dr. Hambly and I fully realize that this source book is far from perfect; yet an industrious and unbiased attempt has been made to bring together within the covers of one book a summary of all the most important facts that are known about Africa. This alone is a meritorious task, since the book contains more information about Africa, and a better bibliography of the literature for that continent, than any other work in English with which I am acquainted. Possibly the linguist, the physical anthropologist, and the archaeologist will hoist the flag of battle, will bear down on the section about which he knows most, and will utter loud protests. The charge will be that the section under fire is not adequately treated and that Dr. Hambly is not a "specialist" in that field. We freely admit that more might be written concerning any one of the many topics that are treated herein, but excess of detail would obscure the main issues and would add greatly to the cost of production. This source book merely attempts to assemble and discuss the significant results of anthropological work in Africa, and for this reason meets an urgent need. Paul S. Martin November 1, 1937 13 PREFACE In a recent presidential address to the Royal Anthropological Institute the Reverend E, W. Smith asked, "What do we know of Africa? The answer can be summed up in a few words: Very little as yet. Whatever department we examine, the tale is much the same. We have only scratched the surface of things hitherto. But it is something to see the immensity of the task confronting us if we are to gain sure knowledge of Africa and its inhabitants." The truth of this statement m.ight at first glance discourage the idea of preparing a general survey. But there is a strong argu- ment in favor of summarizing information gleaned up to the present, co-ordinating this knowledge, interpreting the data as far as possible, pointing out the unsolved problems, and so providing a basis for further research. No attempt has been made to compile an encyclopedia. Rather, an introductory textbook has been prepared, because experience has proved that students too often begin a study of some specific and in- tricate African problem without a groundwork of geography, biology, history, and general ethnology. To disarm the criticism of experts in linguistics, physical anthropology, and prehistory, it is necessary to emphasize the purpose of the book. The work is a general elementary introduction, which aims at presenting African people and their .problems briefly, simply, and as a whole. In the address quoted, the President urges breadth of view in anthropological treatment. He advises that we "lift our eyes from the tasks in which we are engaged and take a glance at what our fellow workers are doing on the other side of the hedge, remembering that no one problem is solved until all problems are solved." Section I is a broad introduction to the salient facts of physiogra- phy, biology, archaeology, physical anthropology, and the distribu- tion of language families. The second section views the continent in the light of culture area concepts, with emphasis on the fact that these zones, though characterized by specific traits, are not isolated. The overlapping of zones is fully recognized, so as to avoid a false impression of simplicity and clear demarcation. In the third section the division of the great forest zone and its periphery into cultural subdivisions has not been attempted. The object has been merely to summarize and to classify the factual 15 16 Source Book for African Anthropology material with which students will have to deal, since the time is not yet ripe for plotting the zones of distribution with precision. A task of this kind cannot be successfully attempted until additional field work has been done. Nevertheless, an approximate distribution of some traits is given, and certain broad areas of characterization are recognized, but in general the section is limited to a discussion of social, religious, and economic traits that can fairly be called funda- mental to Negro culture. Finally, the European period is introduced, with an account of exploration, partitioning among European powers, and a summary of the problems affecting the welfare of Africans under a foreign administration. The greatest danger arising from an attempt to condense is the tendency to leave a false impression of simplicity and finality. But a large bibliography is provided and fully used in the text to point the way to further exposition of debatable themes, whose expansion would make too great a demand on the space available. During the preparation of the Bibliography of Authors I have frequently had the advantage of advice and assistance from my librarian colleague, Eugene Victor Prostov, who kindly prepared the final bibliographical section dealing with sources for African research. These sources Mr. Prostov classified according to the political divisions of Africa. Maps and line drawings have been prepared by Staff Illustrator Carl F. Gronemann. For assistance in preparing the chapters on physical features and nature study I am indebted to my Field Museum colleagues. Dr. B. E. Dahlgren and Mr. Paul C. Standley, botanists; Dr. Wilfred H. Osgood, Mr. Karl P. Schmidt, Mr. Rudyerd Boulton, and Mr. A. C. Weed, zoologists; also Mr. Sharat K. Roy, geologist, all assisted in choice of literature, selection of photographs, and read- ing of proofs. Wilfrid Dyson Hambly D7, 162 53 les, F7, 174 Sahara, A2, B2, C2, D2, E2 Salisbury, F6, 227 Sandawe, F5, 292 Sanga, E4, 228 San Salvador, D5, 229 Sao Thom6, C4, 230 Segu, B3, 231 Sekondi, B4, 232 Semi-Bantu, C4, D4 Semliki, E4, 233 Senegal, A3, 234 Sennar, F3, 111 Senussi, El, E2, E3 Serer, A3, 235 Shari, D4, 236 Shendy, F3, 237 ShiUuk, F4, 238 Shire River, F6, 208 Sierra Leone, A4, 239 Sinai, F2, 240 Siwa. E2. 241 ^«\^v,te«'' 0^ ^^^ \vu«'i\^ tf ' 1. ApproxiiiKite positions of principal tribes and places mentioned in the text. Scale 1 inch=804 miles. Abeokuta, C4, 1 f Domey, C4, 2 Abydos, F2, 3 Abyssinia, F3, F4, G3, G4 Accra, B4, 4 Acholi, F4, 5 Adowa, F3, 6 Agades, C3, 7 Ahaggar (Hoggar), C2, 8 Air (Asben), C3, 7 .\kamba, F5, 9 Akikuyu, F5, 10 Albert Edward Nyanza, F4, U Albert Nyanza, F4, 12 Alexandria, El, 13 Algeria, CI Algoa Bay, E8, 264 Angas, C4, 15 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, E3, F3 Angola, D5, D6 Arabs, HI, CI, Dl, El, A2, E2, E3, F3, F5 Arkenu,E2, 16 Asben (Air), C3, 7 Ashanti, B4, 17 Asmara, F3, 18 Assuan, F2, 19 Atakapane, C4, 20 Atbara, F3, 21 Atlas Mountains, Bl, 01 Auen Bushmen, D7, 22 Auled Ziane, CI, 23 Aurta Mountains, CI, 24 Azande, E4, 25 Bagesu, F4, 27 Baggara, D3, E3 Bahima, Fo, 28 Ba-ila, E6, 29 Bailundu, D6, 30 Bakongo, D5, 31 Bakuba, E4, 32 Baluba, E5, 33 Bambala, D4, 34 Bambara, B3, 35 Bambata Cave, E7, 36 Bammako, B3, 37 Bamum, D4, 38 Bangala, E4, 39 Bangweolo, E6, 40 Bantu, D4, E4, G4, D5, E5, F4, F5, D6, E6, F6, D7, E7, F7 Banyankole, F5, 41 Banyanzi, E5, 50 Banyoro, F4, 42 Bapidi, F7, 43 Bari, F4, 44 Baringo, F4, 45 Barotse, E6, 46 Basuto, E7, 47 Bathonga, F7, 48 Batwa, D5, E5 Bavenda, E6, 49 Bechuana, E7, 51 Bedouin Arabs, Bl, CI, Dl, El, E2, E3 Beira, F6, 52 Beja, F3, 63 Belgian Congo, E4, D5, E5 Benghazi, El, 54 Benguela, D6, 55 Benin, C4, 56 Benue, C4, 57 Berbera, 03, 58 Berbers, Bl, CI, Dl, El, A2 Beri Beri, D3, 59 Bilma, D3, 60 Bingerville, B4, 61 Bini, C4, 62 Blantyre, F6, 63 Blue Nile, F3, F4 Bolewa, C4, 64 Boloki, E4, 65 Bornu, D4, 66 Boskop, E7, 67 Brazzaville, Do, 68 British East Africa (Kenya), F4 Broken Hill, E6, 69 Buduma, D3, 70 Bulawayo, E7, 71 Busa, C3, 294 Bushmen, D7, E7 Bushongo, Do, 72 Buzu, B3, C3, D3 Cacorula, D6, 73 Cairo, E2, 74 Calabar, C4, 75 __ Cameroons, D4, 76 Cangamba, D6, 77 Carthage, CI, 78 Casablancji, Bl, 79 Cavally Kivcr, B4, 80 Chad, D3, 81 Chamba, C4, 82 Congo, D4, E4, D6, Eo Cyrenaica, El Dahomey, C4 Dakar, A3, 83 Damaraland, D7 Damergu, C3, 84 Danakil, 04, 85 Dar-es-Salam, Fo, 8G Darfur, E3 DeAar, E8, 87 Dinka, F4, 88 Doko, F4, 89 Durban, F7, 90 Efik, C4, 91 Egba, C4, 92 Egypt, E2, E3, F2, F3 Ekoi, D4, 93 Elende, D6, 95 Elisabethville, E6, 96 Elmenteita, F5, 94 Elmina, B4, 97 El Obcid, F3, 98 Eritrea, F3, 99 Ethiopia, F3, F4, 03, 04 Ewe, C4, 100 Falashas, F3, 101 Fan, D5, 102 Fashi, D3, 103 Fernando Po, C4, 104 Fez, Bl, 105 Ftons, C4, 2 Freetown, A4, 106 French Guinea, A3 French Niger Territory, C3, D3 French Sudan, B3 Fulani, A3, B3, C3 Galla, F4, 107 Gambia, A3, 108 Oambos, D6, 109 Oanawuri, C4, 110 Oebel Moya, F3, lU Ohadames, CI, 112 Ghana, B3, 113 Ghat, D2, 114 Gibraltar, Bl, 115 Oondokoro, F4, 116 Grahamatown, E8, 117 Grootfontein, D7, 118 Guinea Gulf, C4, 119 Hadendoa, F3, 120 Hamites, Bl, CI, Dl, El, Fl, A2, B2, C2, D2, E2, F2, A3, B3, C3, D3, E3, F3, 03, F4, G4 Hausa, B3, C3, D3 Heikum Bushmen, D7, 121 Herero, D7, 122 Hiechware Bushmen, E7, 123 Hoggar (Ahaggar), C2, 8 Hottentots, D7, 124 Huambo (Nova Lisboa), D6, 126 Huila, D6, 125 Ibadan, C4, 127 Ibibio, C4, 128 Ibo, C4, 128 Ido, C4, 128 I!6, C4, 62 liaw, C4, 129 Ijebu, C4, 92 Ilorin, C4, 130 Ituri Forest, E4, 131 Ivory Coast, B4, 132 Jagabub, E2, 134 Jagas, D6, 133 Jebba, C4, 135 Jibu (Jukun), C4, 136 Jibuti (Djibuti), 03, 137 Jos Plateau, C4, 15 Jukun, C4, 136 Kababish, E3, 138 Kabylea, CI, 24 Kaduna, C4, 139 Kagoro, C4, 140 Kalahari, E7, 141 Kanembu, D3, 142 Kano, C3, 143 Katanga, E6, 144 Katsina, C3, 143 Kenya, F4 Kharga, F2, 146 Khartum, F3, 147 Khrumirs, CI, 148 Kilimanjaro, F5, 150 Kimberley, E7, 151 Ki™, E5, 162 Kona (Jukun), C4, 136 Konakry, A4, 163 Konkomba, C3, 154 Kordofan, E3, 155 Kotonou, C4, 156 Kowar Oasis (Bilma), D3, 60 Kpelle, B4, 157 Kru, B4, 158 Kulra, E2, 159 Kuka, D3, 160 Kumasi, B4, 161 Kung Bushmen, D7, 162 Kuruman, E7, 163 Kussassi, C4, 164 Lagos, C4, 156 Lango, F4, 165 Latuka, F4, 166 Liberia, B4, 167 Libyan Desert, E2. 14 Limpopo, F7, 168 Loanda, D5, 169 Loango, D5, 170 Lobito Bay, D6, 171 lokoja, C4, 172 Lome, C4, 173 Lourenco Marques, F7, 174 Lualaba, Eo, 175 Luderitz Bay, D7, 176 Lumbwa, F5, 177 Lunda, Do, 178 Maiduguri, D3, 179 Makalanga, F6, 130 Makurdi, C4, 181 Mandingo, B4, 182 Maradi, C3, 184 Masai, F5, 186 Massawa, 03, 186 Matabele, F6, 187 Matadi, D5, 188 Mauretania, A2, B2, 189 Midgan, F3, 190 Mombasa, F5, 191 Monbuttu, E4, 183 Monomotapa, E6, 192 Morocco, Bl, CI Mossamedes, D6, 193 Munshi, C4, 136 Murzuk, D2, 194 Mweru (Moero), E5, 195 Nairobi, F5, 195 Naivasha, F5, 196 Nakuru, F6, 196 Nama Hottentots, D7, 124 Namib Bushmen D7, 197 Nandi, F4, 198 Naron Bushmen, E7, 200 Natal, E8, 199 Ngalangi, D6, 201 Ngami, E6, 202 Ngongo, D6, 201 Niger, B3, C3, C4 Nigeria, C3, D3, C4 Nile, F2, F3, F4 Nilotic Negroes, F4, 44, 38, 207 Nova Lisboa (Huambo), D6, 126 Novo Redondo, D6, 203 Nuba, E3, 204 Nubia, F2, 205 Nuers, F4, 207 Numidians, CI, 206 Nupe, C4, 130 Nyasaland and Nyasa Lake, F6, 208 Obongo, D6, 170 Ogbomosho, C4, 130 Ogowe, D5, 102 Okavango, E6, 202, E7, 141 Old Calabar, C4, 75 Omdurman, F3, 209 Onitsha, C4, 210 Orange Free State, E7, 151 Ouenat, E2, 16 Ovambo, D6, 211 Ovimbundu, D6, 126, 201, 73 Pankshin, C4, 15 Parakou, C4, 212 Pietermaritzburg, E7, 213 Pillars of Hercules, Bl, 115 Pokomo, 05, 214 Port Elizabeth, E8, 264 Port Florence, F4, 215 Port Harcourt,C4, 216 Port Herald, F6, 217 Portuguese E:.st Africa, F6, F7 Portuguese O linea, A3, 218 Portuguese W. Africa (Angola), Do, I Potiskum, D3, 221 Pretoria, E7, 119 Principe, C4, 220 Pygmies, se-. Batwa, Doko, Itu Obongo, ^ ^mbuti Quilimane, Fl, 149 Rabat, Bl, 2^2 Red Sea Pro Rhodesia, F6 Rift Valley, ' Rilt valley, ; 4, fo Rio de Oro, i 2, 224 Rovuma Riv Rudolf, Lakf nee, F3, 53 223 4, F5 F6, 225 F4, 226 Sahara, A2, B2, C2, D2, E2 Salisbury, F6, 227 Sandawe, F5, 292 Sanga, E4, 22S San Salvador, D5, 229 SSo Thora^, 04, 230 Segu, B3, 231 Sekondi, B4, 232 Semi-Bantu, C4, D4 Semliki, E4, 233 Senegal, A3, 234 Sennar, F3, 111 Senussi, El, E2, E3 Serer, A3, 235 Shari, D4, 236 Shendy, F3, 237 Shilluk, F4, 238 Shire River, F6, 208 Sierra Leone, A4, 239 Sinai, F2, 240 Siwa, E2, 241 Sokoto, C3, 242 Somali, 04, 243, 244 Somaliland, British, 04, 243 Somaliland. French, 03, 137 Somaliland, Italian, 04, 244 Songhai, B3, 245 South West Africa, D7 Spanish Guinea, D4, 246 Stefani, Lake, F4, 247 Suakin, F3, 250 Sudan, B3, C3, D3, E3, F3 Suez Canal, Fl, 261 Suk, F4, 252 Swahili, F5, 248, 249 Swakopmund. D7, 253 Swaziland, F7, 254 Tabello, C3, 7 Tabora, FS, 266 Tafilet, Bl, 256 Tahoua, C3, 267 Tanganyika, Lake, and Territory, F5 268 Tangier, Bl, 269 Teghaza, A2, 260 Temne, A4, 239 Teso, F4, 262 Tete, F6, 263 Tibbu, (and Teda), D3, 261 Tibesti, D3, 261 Timbuktu, B3, 265 Timgad, CI, 266 Togoland, B4, 267 Transvaal, E7, 268 Tripoli, Dl, 269 Tripolitania, Dl Tsavo, F5, 270 Tshi, B4, 4, 97 „ ^„ Tuareg, B2, 02, D2, B3, 03 Tuggurt, CI, 271 Tunisia, CI, 272 Turkana, F4, 273 Tyipungu, D6, 125 Uganda, F4, 274 Ujiji, F5, 276 Umpata, D6, 125 Vaal River, E7, 276 Vai, B4, 167 Vakwanyama, D6, 211 Vanhaneca, D8, 109 Vascle, D6, 277 ^^^ Victoria Falls, E6, 278 _ Victoria Nyanza, F4, 21o Wachagga, F5, 150 Wadi Haifa, F2, 279 Wahehe, F5, 280 Waikoma, F6, 281 Walflsh Bay, D7, 282 Wambuti, B4, 233 Wandorobo, F6,_283 Wanyamwezi, F6, 284 Wayao, F6, 285 White kile, F2, F3, F4 Windhoek, D7, 286 16 Yalala Falls, D5, 288 Yaunde, D4, 287 Yola, D4, 289 Yolofs, A8, 290 ■i, Yoruba, C4, 291 Zaire (Congo), D5 Zambezi, E6, F6 Zande, (Azande), E4, 2o Zanzibar, F6, 293 Zaria, 03, 294 Zimbabwe, F6, 295 Zinder, C3, 296 Zulu, E8, 297 Zumbo, E6, 298 SOURCE BOOK FOR AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY Section I: Outlines of Africa SOURCE BOOK FOR AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY I. PHYSIOGRAPHY AND NATURE NOTES Physical Features Although the primary aim is a description of the cultures of Africa it is impossible to understand the great migi'ations and the modes of life, together with the distribution of languages and physical types, without a preliminary survey of the continent itself. The size, shape, and position of the land mass, the mountains and valleys, the river systems and lakes, and the distribution of minerals and types of soils have profoundly affected the history and development of Africans and Europeans. CONTINENTAL JUNCTIONS AND HUMAN MIGRATION Since theories of continental connection (Wegener, 1922, trans, by Skerl, 1924; and Perrier, 1925) relate to periods before the advent of man, they may be omitted. But the question of African-European land bridges in the early Pleistocene is of importance to anthro- pological study of Africa. Sollas (1924, p. 132) describes bridges by way of Malta and Sicily in the Chellean culture period of the Pleisto- cene, but these assumptions have been challenged recently (Wood- ward, 1935, p. 130). Students of African archaeology will therefore have to reserve their final judgments respecting human migrations in the early Pleistocene. Unless the geological time of subsidence of a land bridge is ascertained, a hypothesis for explaining the wanderings of people is extremely unreliable, but fortunately some land connection between Africa and Asia is known. The peninsula of Sinai in northeast Africa connects that continent with Arabia and farther Asia ; and the justifiable assumption is that this land bridge has existed throughout the whole development and wanderings of man. At the southern end of the Red Sea the narrow strait of Bab-el-Mandeb separates Arabia from Africa, and ready transit between Arabia and Africa at this point was no doubt possible during a long prehistoric period even without a land bridge. The probability of such communication will be seen when we make a comparative study of the physical measurements of Arabs of southwest Arabia with anthropometric data for inhabitants of the opposite coast. 19 20 Source Book for African Anthropology The latest discoveries of fossil mammals in the caves of Palestine and Syria, as interpreted by Miss Dorothea M. A. Bate, show that during the early half of the Pleistocene period, Asia and North Africa were much more closely connected than they have been since. The country was comparatively well watered, with luxuriant vegeta- tion and forests, and mammals could readily migrate both east and west. Even an animal so characteristic of Africa as the warthog (Phacochoerus) was then living in Palestine. The connection of Asia with Africa was thus as definite as the connection of Asia with Europe; and the explanation of the partial identity between the Pleistocene mammals of Africa and Europe is probably that they had a common source in Asia and diverged west in two different directions, one southwards, the other northwards (Woodward, 1935, p. 131). SIZE AND COAST LINE The area of Africa is twelve million square miles, four times that of the United States of America. The distance from north to south is about five thousand miles, and the breadth a few hundred miles less. Such great dimensions are best appreciated by remembering that the distance from New York to San Francisco is about three thousand miles. Africa is situated on the hottest part of the earth's surface. The continent is almost bisected by the equator; hence, the greater part of the land lies within the tropics. Africa has a coast line that is short and unbroken in relation to the great surface, and this fact is important in relation to climate, exploration, and commerce. The sea always has a moderating elfect on land temperatures because water is more constant in temperature than a large mass of land. Consequently, proximity of the ocean tends to warm the land in winter and to cool it in summer. But the coast of Africa has inlets which are small in size and number compared with the surface area; hence the moderating effect of the sea on inland temperatures is not appreciable. In early days of exploration, journeys were made more difficult by the absence of inlets, and even as late as 1870 Stanley's name of the "Dark Conti- nent" was well chosen, since most of the interior was at that time unexplored. In addition to retarding exploration, the absence of natural harbors is an obstacle to commerce. At some ports on the west coast vessels anchor almost a mile from the shore to discharge passengers and cargoes into surf boats which are paddled ashore by native crews. But this natural disadvantage of the west coast is Physiography and Nature Notes 21 yielding to engineering skill, which has been directed toward building breakwaters and dredging natural inlets. SURFACE CONTOURS AND HUMAN LIFE In addition to location, shape, and coast line the biological importance of internal features should be considered. Deep depres- sions and high mountains affect climate, natural products, and the culture of the inhabitants. Mountains form barriers to communi- cation, while depressions like that of the Rift Valley in northeast Africa have determined the direction of migratory peoples. Volcanic disturbances have affected the survival and distribution of human and animal life, though doubtless many great cataclysms occurred before man had established himself in Africa. Yet Leakey (1936a, pp. 25-26) offers the hypothesis that a convulsion resulting in the formation of the Rift Valley led to the extinction of a very large number of species of animals that formerly flourished in Kenya, and he adds, "If my view is correct, it is not impossible that man too was wiped out in the regions round the Great Rift Valley, Certainly we know that whereas four distinct culture groups were in existence in Kenya before the formation of the Great Rift Valley, only two are present in the deposits which represent the period immediately following it." Africa is a plateau with an average height of two thousand feet above sea level. In east Africa the mountains Ruwenzori, Kenya, and Kilimanjaro are the principal elevations. Kilimanjaro, which is capped with snow throughout the year, attains a height of 19,321 feet, while Ruwenzori (16,800 feet) is an important elevation between lakes Albert and Albert Edward Nyanza; but Ruwenzori, unlike some adjacent mountains, is not an ancient volcano. Traveling from low to high altitudes gives a convincing demon- stration of the effects of elevation on temperatures. In a few hours the heat of the coast region of Portuguese West Africa can be exchanged for cold winds of a high plateau four thousand feet above the sea, where nightly temperatures fall almost to the freezing point. In Nigeria a journey northward from the coastal belt of dense, moist forests having a high temperature combined with great humidity leads to a plateau region whose nightly cold approaches freezing point. When the journey northward is continued for a few hundred miles the dry heat of the desert forms a sharp con- trast with the moist heat of the forest belt. In flat, open desert 22 Source Book for African Anthropology great extremes of temperature are experienced between day and night, especially in the period from October to December when the Harmattan wind is blowing. This wind causes an exceptionally rapid fall of temperature after midnight. Before studying human life the basic fact has to be grasped that Africa, owing to vast area and differences in elevation, has many and varied ranges of temperature and moisture, with consequent diversity of plant and animal life. There exist, however, definite climatic zones which will be described later. Geological formation has affected climate, not only by determining elevation but by the formation of great lakes. Victoria Nyanza, which is twenty-six thousand square miles in area, also Mwero and Bangweolo, do not belong to the Rift Valley system, but occupy depressions in the general level of the plateau. On the contrary, lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa, both of which are valuable aids to communication, lie in the Rift Valley. Lake Tanganyika is of particular interest because of a rich fauna. Animal life includes many fish and mollusks peculiar to this lake, a fact which proves long isolation from other fresh-water systems. Geologi- cal factors have been responsible for the formation of lakes with their riverine connections, and these lacustrine features have influenced climate, communication, and food supply (J. W. Gregory: 1896; 1920, pp. 13-47; 1921. E. B. and S. Worthington, 1933). Willis (1936) in a section "Historical Retrospect" has surveyed theories of rift formation advanced since 1825. He compares the views of Beaumont, Suess, Gregory, Wayland, Krenkel, and others who have attempted to explain the way in which force may be exerted to cause a parting of the earth's crust, in such a manner that two or more adjacent strips become displaced and a rift valley is formed. The bearing of these geological arguments on human life will be fully realized in reading chapter HI, which deals with culture sequences of the stone age. RIVERS AND HUMAN ENTERPRISE Formative influences which determined the height of the plateau regions, the position of valleys, and the direction of inclines also marked out the courses of four principal rivers, the Nile, Niger, Congo, and Zambezi, for the details of which Fitzgerald (1934) should be consulted. Of these the Nile is the most familiar because of its Biblical connection and the mystery which surrounded its source and annual Physiography and Nature Notes 23 rise. So far back as A.D. 60 the Roman Emperor Nero sent two centurions on a journey of discovery, and their record shows that the expedition penetrated the marshes of the upper Nile, where live the tall Nilotic Negroes, Dinkas, Shilluks, Nuers, and Anuak, The impressive stature of these tribes was described, and in addition to this the centurions mentioned their difficulty in cutting a way through the floating vegetation of the marshes. In the year 400 B.C. the Greek philosopher Aristotle guessed at the cause of floods along the course of the Nile, when he stated that the annual rise of the river was due to the melting of snow combined with summer rains in Ethiopia (Abyssinia), where the tributaries Blue Nile and Atbara have their origin. Usually the Nile rises at the end of June and continues in flood until the end of September, when a height of twenty-five feet above low level is generally recorded at Cairo. Should the rise exceed this there is danger to life and property, but an abnormally low rise means famine and poverty. The civilization of Egypt, which is one of the most impressive instances of the growth of a complex culture, has depended on this annual overflow of the river, which left a deposit of mud and a sur- plus of water that could be conducted for long distances through irrigation canals. Modern engineering, especially the dam at Assuan, is an apt instance of man's successful effort to make himself less dependent on natural phenomena, for the waters can now be impounded and released at will. That the Egyptians themselves fully realized their dependence on the flooding of the Nile Valley is clear from their mythology and sacred texts. The old Egyptian word quern refers to the deposit of black mud left by the receding waters, and the ta-mera of ancient Egyptian literature describes the inundation. The following brief paragraph will serve to illustrate the influence of geographical con- ditions on economic welfare and spiritual beliefs. Egyptians of 3500 B.C. had certainly no accurate knowledge of the true source of the river and the cause of its floods. Sacred texts refer to the Nile god as the "hidden one" whose "secret places" were a matter for conjecture. Mythology taught that the Nile surrounded the whole world, and that the river was part of a celestial ocean on which sailed the boats of the Sun god. Egyptian pictures show the source of the Nile as a cavern guarded by a hippopotamus-headed goddess who is armed with a large knife. Another illustration por- trays two gods wearing papyrus and lotus blossoms respectively; one of the deities represents the northern and the other the southern 24 Source Book for African Anthropology part of the river. One picture shows a Nile god in his cavern pour- ing out the waters of the White and Blue Niles. A hymn to the Nile god has been translated from a papyrus in the British Museum. Thou waterest the fields which Ra hath created. Thou givest life unto all animals. Thou art the friend of bread and drink. Thou fillest the storehouse and makest the granaries to overflow. The River Congo, though shorter than the Nile by a thousand miles, has a greater volume of water than any other African river. The length of the Congo is three thousand miles — about the breadth of the United States. The river is not straight, however, but makes a large northward curve which acts as a drainage system for the for- ested area of central Africa. The wide estuary is situated about the middle of the west coast. Far from the shore the sea is yellow in color, and at the point where the incoming tide clashes with the out- ward rush of the river a bar of foam, seaweed, and driftwood has been formed. The Niger, with a length of 2,600 miles, makes a great horseshoe formation in west Africa. For more than two thousand years the location of the estuary was unknown, and no river, with the excep- tion of the Nile, has been of such great historic interest. The Niger and its tributary Benue are the principal water highways for the whole of west Africa. The Zambezi, 1,600 miles long, drains a large area in the southeast of the continent. The process of differential erosion is of importance in connection with a study of river systems, because the unequal hardness of the strata has led to formation of cataracts that have impeded explora- tion and commercial development. On the Nile are four cataracts. The Niger is obstructed by the Busa Rapids. The Yalala Falls obstruct the Congo. Narrowing of the River Zambezi at the Vic- toria Falls provided crossings above and below the cataract, and over these constrictions of the river passed human migrations from the east side of the continent. MINERALS AND CIVILIZATION The early geological processes, including tilting of strata, have been responsible for the outcropping of mineral deposits that have affected human activities both ancient and modern, from the time when stone-age man sought beds of flint, until the recent rush for gold and diamonds. The oasis of Kharga is situated a hundred miles west-by-south of Abydos on the River Nile. Airplane photographs taken by Lady Bailey indicate that the part of the Libyan desert in which the oasis Physiography and Nature Notes 25 is situated is a scene of complete desolation, though the oasis itself contains wells and the remains of conduits cut by Romans and Persians. Miss Caton-Thompson (1931a, 1931b, 1932) states that Kharga shows one of the most remarkable flint-chipping areas that it can ever have been the lot of man to see. Here are querns and hand- rubbers for grinding grain, flint flakes, and chipped axes. A more advanced technique is illustrated by translucent flint arrowheads, and there is evidence of a stone-age industry which in some of its aspects antedated the historical period (4000 B.C.) by thousands of years. Evidently the early sites of stone-age man were geologically determined by the presence of suitable material. During millions of years the mineral wealth of Africa lay untouched, until at last man discovered the economic importance of metals and made them play a part in his culture. The mining and forging of iron by Negroes has given rise to several hypotheses respecting the origin and dispersal of these industries. But, what- ever the history may be, the fact remains that iron ore is abundant near the surface, and the blacksmith's art was well developed among Negroes before the arrival of Europeans. The origin of the bronze-casting industry of west Africa is un- known, but the art flourished before the European period began, and the making of the alloy depended on the occurrence of tin and copper. Again, the copper mines of Katanga in the southern Belgian Congo have been important in human affairs in both ancient and modern times. The eagerness of Europeans to exploit these mines has led to the development of new railways and river-boat services. Before the use of European currencies became general, copper from Katanga was made into large units of exchange shaped like a letter X, and this currency was carried far and wide by native caravans. Mungo Park (1799, p. 285) described native methods of washing the soil for gold in west Africa. Some of the valuable metal was fashioned into personal ornaments, but much of it in the form of gold dust was traded across the western Sahara to Teghaza in ex- change for salt from that region. The native gold industry lured Europeans, who finally explored and annexed the country. History of the Union of South Africa is concerned with the cupidity of prospectors and company promoters who have coveted the gold and diamond mines. In this scramble for wealth the inter- ests of native Africans have generally been neglected. Negroes have gathered from long distances in response to demands for labor in the 26 Source Book for African Anthropology mines, and not infrequently they have failed to understand the nature of the labor contracts to which they agreed. Moreover, work under- ground and the life in compounds have proved physically and morally injurious, while native social organization has been disrupted at its source by withdrawal of the male population. For a time Chinese labor was introduced into the mines, but the resulting complications of a social and political kind led to the discontinuance of this practice. Clearly, the presence of gold and diamonds, a geological factor, has determined the course of south African history, and in Lunda, northeast Angola, the social conditions of Africans are deeply affected by the presence of diamond mines. Although Gautier (1928) doubts the maritime formation of the Sahara (p. 5) he rightly insists on the biological and historical impor- tance of salt deposits. Teghaza in the northwest Sahara has through- out historical times been important for production of salt, an industry which has proved a stimulus to caravan trade, and a cause of com- mercial rivalry and warfare. From Bilma in the southern Sahara salt cakes are traded east, west, and south, and the supplies are still responsible for annual caravan trade on a large scale between Bilma and the southeast side of the Air Mountains. Buchanan (1926, p. 73) describes the concourse from the great trade centers of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, and Zinder, until a caravan of seven thousand camels was assembled at Air. Another valuable deposit that influ- ences human activities is the beds of natron on the shores of Lake Chad. The oval cakes are traded for long distances since the potash is a valuable ingredient in the drinking water of domestic animals (Vischer, 1910, p. 301). Fig. 1 shows the unloading of cakes of natron at Baya Seyarum on the western shore of Lake Chad. Trade in minerals resulting directly from geological factors, has been responsible for great physical, cultural, and linguistic interchanges. Without dogmatic acceptance of a theory of geographic deter- minism the control of geographic factors over human life can clearly be demonstrated for the continent of Africa. Our future studies of culture areas will illustrate the adaptability of man, but the data will likewise stress his limitations. Advances in engineering and biological science will profoundly affect the present status of human communities in Africa, solving old problems of adjustment and creating new ones. But throughout this flux nature will play a part, perhaps capriciously by climatic changes, and the picture is one of unending battle to secure a series of temporary adjustments between man and his environment. >> (a PQ 27 28 Source Book for African Anthropology future research To prepare the way for future anthropological study better maps of Africa are needed. I thought when traveling in Angola in the year 1929 that available maps were astonishingly incomplete and inaccu- rate. For many parts of Africa revision of the spelling of place and tribal names is urgent. The confusion and difficulty likely to arise from preparing a gazetteer of tribal names will be realized by consulting J. Maes and 0. Boone (1935), whose excellent summary of Belgian Congo tribes shows that certain tribal names may be spelled in a dozen different ways. Sometimes the names are entirely differ- ent though they designate the same people. In topographical research there is need of great endeavor; for example, on the subject of soil erosion (Hobley, 1933; Champion, 1933), and the utilization of underground supplies of water (A. B. Thompson, 1933). The local geological researches of E. J. Wayland (1934) in Uganda are typical of the concentrated surveys necessary to explain human prehistory in geological terms. E. B. and S. Worthington (1933) have directed attention to the geological and biological importance of the lake systems of east Africa, but many more studies of this type are required. To expand these introductory remarks and to prepare the way for intelligent comprehension of Africa as a whole several types of literature are available. READING RECOMMENDED For one beginning a course on Africa I would recommend as preliminary general reading a few of the older books (Drummond, 1899; W. Reade, 1864, 1872), outmoded, perhaps, yet of human qualities, humor, and insight that preserve their value. The summary of E. W. Smith (1935) should be carefully read, and as elementary textbooks C. G. Seligman (1930) and Hambly (1930a) will provide useful introductions. In German, Buschan (1922) has provided a digest of African ethnology. Both Hambly and Buschan are concerned principally with the material cultures of geographical zones. Huxley (1931a) has given in "Africa View" a gen- eral survey of the geological and biological factors entering into human life in east Africa, together with an appraisal of educational and social problems. R. R. Marett's "Anthropology" (1912) is a bright and stimulating introduction, touching on the antiquity of man, race, environment, language, social organization, law, religion, and morality. Physiography and Nature Notes 29 The general theory of geographic determinism is expounded by Huntington (1907, 1914, 1915, 1926), Semple (1914), C. E. P. Brooks (1925), Forde (1934), Pomfret (1935), and Bowman (1934). The most comprehensive modern work in French is "La g^ographie humaine" in three volumes by Brunhes (1925). W. M. Davis (1911) has contributed a helpful discussion showing the role of geographical factors in the development of South Africa. Dixon (1928) has provided valuable summaries of the geographical and many other important factors that are instrumental in building a culture pattern. Dixon is not specifically concerned with Africa but with general principles that can be applied to African study. As an example of the detailed study of local conditions in relation to human life Hudson's (1935) survey of a district in Northern Rhodesia is recommended. Among works of reference of an encyclopedic kind various hand- books are available. The "South and East African Year Book," with atlas (S. and G. G. Brown, 1935), also "Uganda" (Thomas and Scott, 1935), are typical source books available in preparation for regional research. Other thesaurian works of value in African research are Keane (1907), Gsell (1913), Krenkel (1925, 1928), and Haughton (1935). E. Torday's revision (1930) of Herbert Spencer's "Descrip- tive Sociology of African Races" contains a map with tribal locations designated by numbers, a key to which is provided. Roome (1925) has published a tribal map that will prove of service, though great improvement is necessary when further study has given tribal taxonomy a sure foundation on somatic, linguistic, and cultural grounds. We need some logical tribal grouping. A large folding orographical map published by the National Geographic Magazine, Washington (1935), gives political divisions, railways, and motor roads. Sources of information respecting maps are the National Geographic Society, South Kensington, London; E. Stanford, 43 Whitehall, London; H. M. Stationery Office, Kings- way, London; the Royal Anthropological Institute; and the Inter- national Institute of African Languages and Cultures, London. Fitzgerald's compendium of African geography (1934) contains ninety maps, and the work is an indispensable companion for African study. Of these sources for cartography perhaps Stanford is the most valuable, since his catalogue contains lists and specimens of maps in great variety. Use also the Times Atlas. With this equipment a beginning may be made in the study of climatic and biological conditions in relation to human development. 30 Source Book for African Anthropology Climate cultural changes Anthropologists are primarily concerned with African climatic zones as they exist today, and with the climatic changes that have affected human development since the beginning of the Pleistocene period; hypotheses relating to more ancient changes are only of theoretical interest (Skerl, p. 22). Geological and climatic changes have resulted in a discontinuous distribution of fossils and living animals. Lakes have dried up, and forests once continuous are now separated by hundreds of miles of parkland and semi-desert. The principal geological events of the Pleistocene period, with which our study of human life begins, were the alternating advances and retreats of the polar ice sheets in the northern hemisphere, and there is the possibility that these Pleistocene glaciations were con- temporaneous throughout the world. Present research seeks to correlate European glaciations with changes of humidity in Africa, and a scheme of synchrony between European glaciations and east African pluvial periods has been prepared (E. W. Smith, 1935, p. 16) from the data of E. J. Wayland (1934), Leakey (1935), and C. E. P. Brooks (1931). As an illustrative study of the relationship between climate and man in south Africa an article by Smuts (1932) may be quoted as an example of the regional research which is only in its infancy. The author uses the events of the Pleistocene as a general framework for geological and climatic events both in Europe and south Africa. He points out that "we have now reached a stage in our south African archaeology when we may fairly use the Pleistocene as a working hypothesis, testing it with the geological and archaeological knowl- edge we have already gathered." Table I (Smuts, 1932, p. 101) enumerates Pleistocene periods and climates in Europe; then follows a description of European terminology from pre-Chellean through Mousterian and Aurignacian to Solutrean phases, thence to Magda- lenian, Azilian, and Tardenoisian cultures. Table II, headed "European Pleistocene," gives a sequence of hypothetical dates with their associated climates, stone cultures, and types of fossil man, and a similar table (p. 108) is given for east African climates. Table VI makes chronological comparison between European Pleistocene glaciations, south African pluvial phases, and the occurrence of the lower, middle, and upper stone-age artifacts in south Africa. Doubtless, geologists and archaeologists might find herein much for contention, and a student must accept the schemes as tentative. Physiography and Nature Notes 31 The actual degree of accuracy in correlation is not the important point; we are concerned chiefly with a method whose extension to parts of Africa other than the north, east, and south may ultimately lead to a better understanding of the relationship between geological events, climatic change, and cultural sequences. General Smuts emphasizes the logical connection between the sciences. Speaking of south Africa he says (p. 112), "Our inadequate geology is now impeding our further progress in archaeology," but he points out that the necessary advance is being made by C. van Riet Lowe, who is collating evidence of pluvial periods in the Pleisto- cene from study of the terraces of the Vaal River. In connection with the subject of climatic changes, and their effects on human and animal life, L. S. B. Leakey's chapter entitled "Glimpses of Kenya's Past" (1936b) provides a non-technical intro- duction. For another area, the Sahara, Gautier (1928, Mayhew's translation, 1935, pp. 54, 60-61, 109) affords an excellent summary of geological and climatic changes with emphasis on the relation of these to human, plant, and animal life. Gautier states (p. 61), "The facts which we have established then are these : that the Sahara appears to have been a desert during very remote and diverse geological eras. But in the Quaternary age, which was the geological period immediately preceding our own, a sharp change of climate in respect to humidity was experienced in the Sahara as well as in Europe and other parts of the world. During this period portions of the Sahara were furrowed by mighty rivers, and for the desert was temporarily substituted the steppe, thus opening to the tropical fauna a route to the Mediterranean." The Saharan rivers were not, however, powerful enough to reach the sea and to establish normal drainage. During the moist period the Atlas Mountains became the home of a residual fauna, some of which remained in existence even into our own historical times. The Carthaginian elephant was one of the last relics of this fauna, and the animal might have survived longer but for the depredations of Roman ivory hunters. climate and population In studying human settlement in relation to humidity and tem- perature some figures collated by Westermann (1934, p. 303, quoting R. Uhden, 1931) deserve consideration, and these should be studied with reference to Fitzgerald's maps (Figs. 8, 9, pp. 34-35; Fig. 10, p. 41; and Fig. 14, p. 108), showing distribution of temperatures, rainfall, population, and types of vegetation. 32 Source Book for African Anthropology Westermann states, "The present population of Africa according to recent census figures is about 130 millions, possibly less, making a density of four persons per square kilometer. In the steppe lands, most of which do not allow of agriculture but are fit only for cattle nomads, as, for example, in the region south of the Sahara, there is scarcely one person (in French Equatorial Africa 1.5) per square kilometer. Even in the forest district of the Congo where there is an abundant supply of rain the population reaches only 1-1.5 per square kilometer. The savannah lands show a relatively dense population. In northern Nigeria the density rises to almost 46. The greatest congestion is found in the oases of the Sahara and in a few favored places, as on the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro, where 125 persons live on one square kilometer. Kavirondo is also a densely populated country. The greatest density is reached in Egypt. The valley of the Nile has 400 persons per square kilometer, and the purely agricultural Egyptian province Menufie 684." Vegetation Zones For our present purpose a simplified diagram (Map 2) will suffice to indicate the climatic zones that are of primary importance in the study of plant life and culture areas. Zone 1 is equatorial forest, which occupies a broad belt north and south of the equator. A narrower, westerly continuation of this belt stretches along the coastal region, which comprises the political divisions of Cameroons, Nigeria, Dahomey, Ashanti, the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. This dense forest region is one of great humidity combined with a fairly high but constant temperature. Near Lagos, for example, the average temperature is about 80° with little variation either seasonally or by day and night. This is not an exceedingly high temperature, but owing to excess of moisture the heat is oppressive (Fig. 2, b). At Kano in northern Nigeria a dry heat of even 150° is not so enervating. Zone 2 is modified equatorial forest. The rainfall is less and the vegetation is more sparse than in Zone 1. Zone 3 is parkland having adequate moisture, scattered forest, and open plains with tall grass that gives shelter to herds of antelope. In the eastern parkland zone are the largest herds of big game, and many regions within the zone are suitable for raising cattle (Fig. 2, a, Fig. 3). Zone 4 is true desert of stones or billowy sand interrupted by high plateau some of which is volcanic and attains a height of eight >^v:^:!:::::::::::::::::: < :;^o^t^;^:-t^^.^^' Dense. £QuQf-o^t9f fof^esf-^ Mocfffie(y E^quat-ofi&i ror-esr RQ^HfBn^ .i'l^t^^ fS^ 'sS^.'ii! Fig. 2. Types of landscape. a. Parkland scenery near Sokoto, Nigeria, river bed in drought, b. Dense forest bordering a river, Cameroons. 33 34 Source Book for African Anthropology thousand feet. The chief elevations are Air (Asben), Hoggar Moun- tains, and Tibesti. Fertile oases depending on permanent under- ground water occur at wide intervals. Rainfall is either non-existent, or heavy rains may occur locally at long intervals and for veiy short periods (Figs. 4, 5). Zone 5 is a grassland area of moderately high temperature and seasonal rainfall, sometimes with droughts. The region is transi- tional from parkland to semi-desert. Zone 6 is semi-desert with high temperature and scanty rain- fall, somewhat uncertain in time and quantity. The chief vegetation is thorny scrub, euphorbias and areas of coarse grass (Figs. 6, 11, a). Zone 7 is of a warm, temperate, Mediterranean type with local variations of heat and moisture due to differences in elevation. Examination of Map 2 shows a repetition of climatic zones north and south of the equator. Modified forest and parkland, also grasslands, are to be found surrounding the dense equatorial forest. In the southwest is a strip of coastal desert and semi-desert, and warm temperate zones occur in the extreme northwest and southeast of the continent. The comparisons of temperature, rainfall, and vegetation in these zones, which have somewhat similar locations north and south of the equator, are only approximate. Similar climates have not, however, imposed a uniformity of human modes of life. In the Kalahari Desert Bushman hunters have met conditions in their own itinerant way, but without any livestock. On the contrary, nomads of the corresponding semi- desert region north of the equator keep horses, cattle, and possibly camels. In the dry steppes of Kordofan, the whole organization is seasonally changed by splitting a tribe into small bands, each of which under its sheikh settles near a waterhole for the dry season. RAINFALL It is undesirable to give here statistics of rainfall, since these are readily available in the works of Fitzgerald (1934) and Knox (1911), but two extremes are portions of Cameroons, with an annual fall of 300 inches, and the region of Walfish Bay in the southwest, with an annual record of 0.3 inch, an almost negligible supply. The wet seasons are reversed north and south of the equator. Thus in Angola the dry season extends from April to the end of September, then in the period September to March rains come from the northwest. North of the equator, for instance, in Nigeria, heavy rainfall occurs between April and October, but following the final tornadoes of Fig. 3. Parkland scenery on high plateau, Abyssinia (from photograph by A. M. Bailey). 35 a. E >> 36 s Q. >, be 3 s 13 T3 J3 C CIS cs 05 O cd O 38 Source Book for African Anthropology November the dry season sets in. In some areas of Africa the distribution of rainfall is more complicated than that described, for in addition to the two main seasons, wet and dry, periods of the "little rains" are important (F. Jung, 1932; W. Koops, 1935). Since mountains and plateaus intercept moisture, rainfall depends on elevation. In Angola the wet winds originating in the northwest are bereft of moisture before they reach the coast; consequently, a strip of seaboard has in some years a fall that is scarcely measurable. The dryness of the Sahara Desert is due to deflection of moisture- laden winds whose direction is determined by the shape of the Gulf of Guinea. The forest region of the Guinea coast has a heavy fall, but by the time the winds have reached the southern Sahara they are dry. In the far northwest of Africa westerly winds bring moisture to Algeria and Morocco, but the Atlas Mountains intercept the greater part of the downpour. Hence, the winds are dry when they reach the northern Sahara, and that area is screened from a supply of rain on both its southern and northern extremities. The Kalahari Desert in the southwest of the continent results from similar causes. Southeast trade winds bring a heavy fall of rain to Zone 7 at the coast, but after crossing the high country they reach the Kalahari as dry winds. These facts are of primary importance in studying section II, "Culture Areas." introduced plants The history of each plant provides a theme for inquiry that leads into a wide field of literature, especially that relating to early voyages of discovery. If a plant is not indigenous to Africa, research tries to discover the first dependable date of introduction, the country of origin, and the point at which it was introduced into the new habitat. If botanical, linguistic, and historical research is successful, there is a possibility of tracing the routes along which the plant was dispersed, the agencies of dispersal, the reasons for acceptance or rejection, and the part played by the innovation in modifying cultures. B. Laufer (1919) emphasizes a point of distinction between the introduction of a plant itself and the adoption of a custom associated with the plant. For example, indigo plants are indigenous to Africa, but the custom of making dye from them may have been introduced by Arabs who recognized the plants and knew how to utilize them. A similar argument applies to the henna plant and its use as a cos- metic. Cotton plants and gourds (Cucurbita) are of doubtful origin. m J2 Si 2 ."s en >> 39 40 Source Book for African Anthropology Castor-oil plants are possibly indigenous and coffee is a native of Africa. Probably Africa is indebted to Asia for the banana, jack- fruit, coconut palm, date palm, fig, flax, millet, olives, sugar cane, and rice. But most recent research makes it doubtful whether rice cultivation began in China, India, or Africa (Nature, vol. 138, 1936, p. 1104, Editorial note). The evidence supporting such hypothesis is viewed in detail by A. de Candolle (1890) whose work remains a classic, and more recently by B. Laufer (1919) in "Sino- Iranica." Alldridge (1901) has published a very useful and well- FiG. 7. Baobab tree and semi-desert scenery (from painting by Field Museum Staff Artist, Charles A. Corwin). illustrated book describing cultivated products and forest timbers, not from the historical but from a practical point of view. Some of the most important food plants of Africa were introduced from America during the period of slave trade between the west coast of Africa, Brazil, and the West Indies. At present millions of Africans use as their staple crop maize, which was introduced into west Africa by Portuguese voyagers, probably early in the sixteenth century. This grain is grown in forest clearings, but it thrives best of all in upland regions where tropical heat is tempered by elevation. The plateau regions of central Angola provide ideal situations for Physiography and Nature Notes 41 cultivation of maize in large quantities. The history of the intro- duction of maize and a note on the slow acceptance of the grain as a food for human beings is given by Hambly (1934a, p. 118) from unpublished notes supplied by the late Dr. Laufer. From America came groundnuts (peanuts), Arachis hypogaea, which are now widely cultivated for food by Negro tribes and in some localities for export. The nuts were brought in slave ships to serve as food on the return voyage. In northern Nigeria during November the groundnut crop for export stimulates an extensive caravan trade near Kano. Another valuable contribution from America is manioc, a root crop, several species of which are cultivated in forest clearings over an enormous area in the forest and parkland. The New World contributed sweet potatoes {Ipomaea Batatas), a tropical vine of Convolvulaceae. Yams (genus Dioscorea), of which Dioscorea saliva and Dioscorea alata are the most common varieties, are cultivated in Africa. Probably all the cultivated yams of Africa are of Old World origin. Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), probably American in origin, are somewhat widely cultivated in open country such as that of central Angola. The papaya {Carica Papaya) and the guava, a shrub of the genus Psidium, have been introduced from America, but though appreciated by Europeans, the fruits of these trees cannot be said to form an important item of native diet. The introduction of tobacco from America has had an important influence on African culture, trade, and social customs, with which the use of this narcotic has become associated (Laufer, Linton, Hambly, 1930). This leaflet summarizes historical evidence for introduction and diffusion of the commodity, and information is given respecting cultivation, preparation of smoker's tobacco and snuff, the associated habits, and types of apparatus used for smoking. A few brief notes on plants of economic importance which are characteristic of Zones 1-7 may now be added. ZONE 1 In Zone 1, the central equatorial region of great heat and mois- ture, the most important products are the palms and the banana. The wine palm, Raphia vinifera, sometimes called the bamboo palm, produces a sap that yields an intoxicating drink when fermented; from the base of the leaf a fiber named piassava is obtained. The oil palm, Elaeis guineensis (Fig. 8, h), the raffia palms (Fig. 10, a), and the coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, are all of great economic value. In the forest zones of west Africa men mount the trunks of oil and wine palms by placing their feet flat against the trunk of the 42 Source Book for African Anthropology tree and leaning backward on a fiber rope that supports the body. The climber advances upward by a series of jerks until he nears the head of the tree. He then uses his machete to cut slits to which small gourds are attached for collection of the sap, in case of the wine palm (Forde, 1937b, p. 43). From an oil palm he cuts off clusters of nuts (Fig. 10, 6). Sarbah (1908, pp. 232-250) has given a useful account of the oil palm. The thick, reddish juice is a staple ingredient in vegetable stews, and large quantities of the oil are exported for making soap. Coconut palms thrive in the east and west coastal, equatorial regions, and the dried kernels, known as copra, are exported for making soap and candles. In Sierra Leone the cores from clusters of oil palm nuts, when burned, yield potash for use in making soap (Alldridge, 1910, p. 336). From the leaves of the raffia palm many Negro tribes make fiber skirts, mats, and baskets. Raffia fibers are dyed and woven into colored patterns with simple looms. The raffia weaving of the Bushongo in the southwest Congo region and of some tribes of southern Nigeria is of great artistic merit. The use of the banana (Musa) in the forest zone is well exempli- fied by Kollmann (1899, p. 12) who describes the place of this fruit in the domestic economy of the Waganda tribe. "He cooks the banana in large earthen pots covered by banana leaves. He roasts it at the fire; crushes meal from it; uses the fibres for all kinds of wicker work, and for tying up and fastening his work; the leaves serve him as table cloth; from the viscous sap of the trunk he pre- pares a kind of soap ; and a valuable drink somewhat like lemonade, and greatly liked by Europeans, is obtained from the fruit." Not everywhere in the tropical zone does the banana function so impor- tantly, but the account is typical of the way in which domestic economy focuses about one or more principal vegetable products. Rice flourishes in hot moist regions, but it has a sporadic and not a general distribution in Africa. Rice is grown in Sierra Leone, along the upper Niger, near Lake Chad, in the Nile Delta, near the sources of the Congo and the Kasai, in Tanganyika, especially in a coastal strip south of Zanzibar, and over a large part of Madagascar. Production of sugar cane in a strip on the west coast north and south of the equator, sporadically in the Nile Valley, in southeast Africa, and in northeast Madagascar is principally a European enter- prise employing native labor. The distribution of maize in Zone 1 is very wide, since the plant can be cultivated in forest clearings, although it grows better still Fig. 8. a. North African oasis with date palms, Phoenix dactylifera (from painting by Field Museum Staff Artist, Charles A. Corwin). b. Oil palm, Elaeis guineensis. 43 44 Source Book for African Anthropology in more open country bordering the denser forest. The grain thrives in fairly high plateau regions to an elevation of 4,000 feet. Generally the grain is grown by natives for their own consumption as a staple food and for brewing beer, but a large area in south Africa is devoted to production of maize for export. Fitzgerald (1934, Fig. 30, p. 192) shows the most intensive cultivation to lie north and south of Basutoland. Before 1820, maize (Indian corn), which is known in south Africa as mealies, was little known in Cape Colony and not until 1880 was its production of any consequence. Maize, though little used as food by Europeans in south Africa, is the staple of native diet, and in 1928 more than half a million tons was exported. Manioc (cassava), Manihot utilissima, is very commonly used as food in the forest area and a broad periphery of that region. The Ovimbundu distinguish five varieties by name and have for each a specific method of cultivation and preparation for food (Hambly, 1934a, pp. 146-147). Yams and sweet potatoes, together with maize and manioc, are the four staples of a mid-section of Africa covering more than a third of the total area. They are all rich in starch, but in regions where the oil palm thrives the oil is added to crushed yams, so giving a mixed diet. The wealth of timber in forests of Zone 1 is to a great extent unexploited but research goes forward at schools of forestry such as that established at Ibadan in Nigeria. Negro wood-carving in hard mahogany and ebony has attained maximum development in the Ivory Coast, Ashanti, Dahomey, Nigeria, Cameroons, and the southwest Congo. Study of trees, their properties, and the extent to which the timbers are utilized has been too frequently neglected by ethnologists. Hambly (1934a, pp. 138-140, 161) has given a list of Umbundu names for trees, together with notes on the economic values of the timbers to the Ovimbundu. Unwin (1920) and H. H. Johnston (1906) have prepared descriptions of west African forests and forestry; the former is technical, the latter pictorial and popular. A useful technical work on west African forestry has been compiled by J. Hutchinson and J. M. Dalziel (1931). ZONES 2 AND 3 In Zone 2, which is a region of attenuated forest and parkland, and in Zone 3, which is a transition area from thin bush to semi- desert, several staple grains are produced. Here a student will encounter difficulties in nomenclature. Some clarification of naming is given by Robbins and Ramaley (1933). "Sorghum is related to some of the common American e ^ A Cli a S 03 45 46 Source Book for African Anthropology prairie grasses of the genus Andropogon, and indeed sorghum is sometimes considered as belonging to that genus, but at present it is more often designated as Holcus Sorghum. The plants require high temperatures and are sensitive to cold ; they can resist drought since they have a low water requirement and are not readily injured by hot winds. The sorghums have relatively few diseases and insect enemies." Durra is a sorghum widely cultivated in the eastern Sudan and northeast Africa under climatic conditions that give no rainfall from September to May. In west Africa durra is locally called Guinea corn, and in south and southeast Africa, Kafir corn. "The term millet does not refer to a definite botanical group (species, genus, or tribe). Agriculturally speaking, the word 'millet' now embraces a number of annual cereal and forage grasses which have comparatively small seeds, abundant foliage, and fibrous root system. Most millets belong to the genera Chaetochloa, Echinochloa, Panicum, Pennisetum, and Eleusine. The water requirement of millets is less than that of the sorghums." (Robbins and Ramaley, 1933, pp. 90-92.) Eleusine is a genus which is composed of grasses with many- flowered spikelets. Eleusine coracana is a valuable edible grain cultivated in India and east Africa. Sesame (simsim) is an East Indian herb; Sesamum indicum has flattish seeds which, owing to their oil content, have a nutritive value. K. Schumann (Editor, A. Engler, 1895, pp. 31-87) has given a section of his compendium to a description of maize, millets, eleusine, sorghums, and other nutritious grasses of east Africa, and a key to cultivated varieties of durra in this region is added. In the western part of Zone 2, where the forest becomes more sparse, several trees are of great economic importance. Borassus flabellifer var. aethiopum (Fig. 9, a), a variety of the Palmyra palm of India, is known in Liberia as the fan palm. This palm has large round fan-shaped leaves which are used by the natives for thatching, for basketry, and as writing tablets. Sugar and wine are made from the sap. The fruits can be eaten either roasted or pre- served, and when ripe they yield a yellow dye. The dum palm (doum, or dom), Hyphaene thehaica (Fig. 9, b), provides pliant straw for making mats, hats, baskets, and bags. These palms can thrive in somewhat arid areas of Zone 5. The shea-butter tree, Butyrospermum Parkii, of the dry savanna lands, has a variety of uses. A solid white fat is obtained from the o C s o bO C <1 ^3 S w 47 48 Source Book for African Anthropology seeds, and this can be used either as food or as an illuminant. Meek (1925, vol. 1, p. 143) and M. Park (p. 203) have described shea-butter and the manufacture of soap from this fat. Another conspicuous tree of the dry zone and one which extends into semi-desert regions is the baobab (Fig. 7), Adansonia digitata (Verdoorn, 1933). Accord- ing to Meek (1925, vol. 1, p. 146) the flour crushed from the fruit is used in making porridge known as kunu, and the leaves are a season- ing for soup. The Fulani frequently add baobab pod juice to their milk, and the bark fiber is used locally for door curtains, knapsacks, string, and ropes. The name kola is applied to a large genus of African trees of the chocolate family (Sterculiaceae) having capsular fruits containing large seeds. Cola acuminata, often known as Cola vera, furnish most of the kola nuts of commerce. In west Africa the nuts are cere- monially handed at receptions. Their caffeine content gives them value as a stimulant. In the Nupe country of Nigeria, north of the denser forest zone, groves of kola trees are cultivated and nuts are produced for export. Further research would be of interest in collating infor- mation about the customs associated with the use of kola nuts. Thus, in establishing a blood brotherhood between two men a nut is divided, and each of the men eats that part of the nut which is smeared with the blood of his "brother." The distribution of the indigo plant and its uses have been dis- cussed by Laufer (1919, pp. 370-371, 585) and some notes on the subject of dyeing with indigo in west Africa have been collated by Hambly (1935a, pp. 415-417). Meek has described the routine of work on a present-day indigo farm (1925, vol. 1, p. 123). In the dry regions throughout Zone 6 acacias yield various gums of commerce. Bartholomew (1912, p. 38) indicates on an economic map of Africa a distribution of gum-exuding trees in Mauretania and in the hinterland of Morocco and Algeria. The region of distribution extends across Africa in the dry Zone 6, border- ing the southern Sahara and extending through Kordofan, to the east of the Nile and into Abyssinia. Throughout this long but narrow belt the gathering of gums, bringing them to local markets, and packing them for export are of great economic and social im- portance, since the industry determines native modes of life. ZONE 4 'I In the oases of Zone 4, which is the true desert, and in the Nile Valley, date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are of primary importance o (V has written an introductory treatise. Travelers and residents have failed to bring home or to send from Africa varieties of beans, millets, sorghums, manioc, groundnuts, and other flora, in quantities which will allow of plotting detailed topographical distributions, while analysis to determine food values is only in its infancy (E. B. Worthington and other contributors, 1936\ This does not mean that work of collation from ethnological researches would have no present value. Some notes on food plants and their domestic preparation and use are given in the majority of ethnological monographs. The Bulletin of Kew Royal Gardens, London, is important Jor example, Xo. 1. 1937^. Many valuable articles dealing with plant ecology' in south Africa are to be found (,SAJS. and Journ. S. Af. Botany). In the pages of Mem- oires de la Societe des Sciences Xaturelles du IMaroc botanical information for north Africa is given, and for this area Chevalier's work (1932^ is ser\'iceable. Xorton's article il923'i describes plants of Bechuanaland and their uses to Africans. J. M. Dalziel (,1916) published a Hausa botanical vocabulan,'. Shantz and Marbut i,1923) have \\Titten on vegetation and soils of Africa. The pictorial survey of plant life by Karsten and Schenck .1904> is excellent. Much valuable material is to be found in the Bulletin du Musetmi d'Histoire Xaturelle, Paris, especially in articles by A. Chevalier. The Im- perial Forestry Institute. Oxford, publishes lists of African flora. Putnam's "Economic Atlas" helps v^ith the study of distribution, and X'ewland 1 1922 1 is a valuable source for information on plants of economic value in west Africa. But, in relation to the size of the continent, the subjects of plant ecology and ethnobotany, with regard to both the latitudinal and the vertical distribution of plants, have not advanced beyond the pio- neering stage. The t^-pe of research needed is one which secures the cooperation of ethnologists and ethnobotanists for the preparation of a compendium with topographical maps. Anim.\l Life Studj' of the fauna of Africa should be carried out in close con- junction with that of climate and plant life. The three taken to- gether, and considered in relation to the ecological regions on Map 2, prepare the way for study of culture areas (section II). With regard to ecological study Bartholomew's "Atlas of Zoogeography" (1911) is of primary importance, since the work permits of a detailed 52 Source Book for African Anthropology comparison between distribution of animals and such human occu- pations as hunting, fishing, herding cattle, and breeding camels. Without attempting a complete survey, a summary of the princi- pal forms of animal life will be made with a view to showing the importance of these in native economy, occupation, religion, and folklore. Beginning with Mammalia, to which most of the large domesticated animals belong, we pass to Aves, Pisces, Amphibia, Reptilia, and Orthoptera. For purposes of scientific reference the Cambridge Natural History (Harmer and Shipley, Editors, 1895) will be of great general service. For popular reading and excellent photographs, G. T. Hutchinson (1922-24) will be found serviceable. Another work of general botanical and zoological importance is edited by Schouteden (1928), and issued periodically. P. A. Buxton (1925) has produced an informative regional study, "Animal Life in Deserts," and for biological study of the Sahara, of a non-technical kind, Buchanan (1926) will be found useful. I would advise, also, the reading of Carpenter (1925), who gives a regional survey of the natural history of east Africa. An excellent regional survey of the fauna of Liberia and parts of the Belgian Congo is given in a report of the Harvard Expedition (1926-27), for which Strong (1930) is the editor of numerous articles contributed by specialists. Sudan Notes and Records contains many contributions of zoological interest, and the Journal of the Uganda and East Africa Natural History Society is valuable for both ethnology and biology. For giving a biological background which will lead to an intelli- gent understanding of African beliefs and customs and the association of these with animal life, the following works are of value: Selous (1895), one of the greatest of African hunters, Bland-Sutton (1911), Statham (1922), Roosevelt and Heller (1915), Akeley (1923), and de Ramecourt (1936). MAMMALS Among the fauna of Africa no animal has been of greater importance than the elephant. Ivory has been a source of wealth for native chiefs, who buried the tusks in their compounds and regarded the cache as a reserve which at any time could be converted into other forms of wealth. Ivory has also played an important role in African art and religion. European demand for ivory gave an impetus to exploration, the slave trade, and the desire to acquire African territory. Masudi, an Arab geographer (A.D. 983), states ci3 O m < g O 0) "o.S +^ 2 <1^ = c-hS o 53 54 Source Book for African Anthropology that Arabic ships brought ivory from Africa to Arabia, whence it was transported to India and China (Laufer, 1925). The African elephant, which differs from the Indian genus in formation of the skull, shape of the teeth, and size of the ears, has a distribution from 10° north of the equator to 20° south of that line. The belief prevails that the African elephant, unlike his Indian relative, is untamable. This is untrue, for at Api in the northeast Belgian Congo domestication has been achieved. A wild herd is stampeded so that the calves may be roped. These are kindly treated, fed by hand, washed, and fanned with leaves. In six weeks the captives are so tame that they are allowed to accompany the domestic herd to pasture. Finally, the elephants are harnessed to carts and made to draw heavy loads of timber. But this kind of transport does not justify the time and expense required for the capture and training. The Roman historian, Livy, gives an account of the use of elephants by the Carthaginian leader, Hannibal, about the year 217 B.C., and there is no doubt that the Carthaginians tamed the African elephant. Blunt (1933) has collated useful information pertaining to African elephants, their distribution, and the past and future of the ivory trade. Other authorities on the African elephant are Marius Max- well (1924) and Marcuswell Maxwell (1930). The history of the camel in Africa has been a debatable subject. Bones of camels found in the Pleistocene strata show that these animals were part of the ancient fauna of Africa at the time of early stone-age man, but proofs of the use of camels even in the early historical periods of Egypt are lacking. The camel was known in Egypt possibly as early as 3500 B.C., for an earthen figure of this animal has been found in a predynastic grave at Abydos. But the camel does not play any part in Egyptian mythology; neither have Egyptians left drawings of camels, though Egyptian murals give numerous representations of cattle, horses, and donkeys (Erman, 1894, p. 493; Caton-Thompson, 1934, No. 24; Flamand, 1906). Gautier (Mayhew's translation, p. 124) states that the camel was first imported into Egypt during the Persian conquest of 525 B.C., but for several centuries the camel did not make its way westward. Archaeological evidence occurs in the form of Saharan petroglyphs, whose grouping, according to Monod (1932), shows pre-cameline and cameline cultures of the Sahara in the central region of Adrar Ahnet. Rodd (1936, pp. 206-208) describes the nomadic and sedentary life of the Tuareg of the present day, and shows how both modes of Physiography and Nature Notes 55 life are dependent on the rearing of camels. He reviews the historical testimony of Roman writers who described north Africa, and he arrives at the conclusion that the camel was not used for transport in Africa until the Arabian camel was so employed about the second century of the Christian era (see also A. E. Robinson, 1936). The camel is used as a draft animal and a beast of burden in some of the dry regions of southwest Africa, but introduction of the animal into that area is an instance of modern European enterprise, and as such is unimportant compared with the typical camel cultures of the Sahara. The use of horses in Africa (Figs. 70, 75) is of importance, since the breeding of horses, the manufacture of their accouterments, and employment of them in warfare, have affected Negro culture through Arab influence. Horses were known in Egypt in Dynasty XII, about the year 2466 B.C., but the animals were not bred there until several centuries later; by that time the Egyptians had learned the use of horse-drawn chariots in warfare. In Dynasty XXII horses were plentiful in Egypt, and in I Kings 2 : 28, there is the statement that King Solomon had horses brought from Egypt; this would be about the year 966 B.C. In Egyptian warfare horses were harnessed in pairs for drawing chariots, but there is no evidence that they were used for riding (Erman, 1894, pp. 490-493). Hannibal used horses for his cavalry, and he took Numidian horsemen from north Africa to Italy for his campaign against the Romans. These historical facts show that horses were part of a north African culture more than four thousand years ago, and from that time onward there has been dis- persal with introduction of new breeds intermittently. Horses are used chiefly in the region of north Africa between the desert and the forest ; namely, the semi-desert and parkland country which extends across the continent. Although dryness is a general characteristic of this region, and droughts may be prolonged, wells are sufficiently numerous to enable horses to make the journey. An African warrior named Rabeh (Von Oppenheim, 1902) crossed this territory with thousands of horsemen about the year 1895. He harried the country around Lake Chad, until he was defeated and killed by the French in the year 1900. A remarkable journey made by horses was that of Mansur's troops, who marched from Morocco across the western Sahara about four centuries ago. His objective was the Songhai empire in the northern bend of the River Niger, and his success was due to the feeling of security of his enemies, who never anticipated a column 56 Source Book for African Anthropology from the direction of the desert. Thousands of camels were used for transport of water supplies, and the attacking force was divided so that not too great a demand was made on the wells of one route (Bovill, 1926). Up to the year a.d. 1900 horses were commonly used in the campaigns of northern Nigeria, where each of the rulers had a large body of troops. British conquest ended this internal strife in the year 1903, when the Fulani and Hausa were subdued, but there yet remain troops of horse which are ceremonially used by native chiefs. Fig. 75, b shows a horseman of the bodyguard of the Emir of Fika. The rider is clad in a coat of mail and a metal helmet. Fig. 75, a illustrates the equine accouterments used in Abyssinia. Horses quickly contract disease from the bite of the tsetse fly; therefore, their distribution is limited by the occurrence of this pest. Horses are bred near Sokoto in northwest Nigeria, and in Bornu in the northeast of the country. In every marketplace blacksmiths and leather workers produce iron bits, hobbles, stirrups, saddles, bridles, and ornamental saddle-covers. The most handsome cattle are the long-horned animals of Bornu in Nigeria (Fig. 89) and Damaraland in southwest Africa, and later it will be possible to show that many tribes of east Africa are so organized that every aspect of their lives is closely related to their herds. These are tribes of a true cattle culture (section II, chap. III). Other divisions of cattle breeders have to be considered; namely, nomad tribes of Kordofan, and the Fulani of west Africa, whose cattle are used for transport. In addition to these functions of cattle, there are important instances of the use of riding oxen by Europeans. Lindblom (1931) has mapped the distribution of this practice. Dutch farmers of south Africa use ox-carts, and this kind of transport may also be seen in Angola. In Angola and elsewhere a European may be seen riding an ox which is guided by reins attached to a brass rod passed through the septum of the animal's nose. A saddle is provided, and to this are attached broad, brass stirrups (Fig. 68, 6). The rate of travel is about three miles an hour, the same pace as that of a baggage camel. In Egypt and north Africa oxen are used for turning wheels which pump water for irrigation. The historical arguments relating to breeds of cattle in Egypt have been summarized by Erman (1894, p. 443). He points out that in addition to the old long-horned race there appears to have been an introduction of the short-horned humped variety about the period of the New Empire. Recent discussions of the historical aspects of Fig. 13. Domestic animals, a. Fat-tailed sheep, b. Long-eared Syrian goat. c. Fat-rumped sheep, d. Keltic breed of long-snouted pig. 57 58 Source Book for African Anthropology domestication of animals in Africa have been offered by Kroll (1928, pp. 177-290), and Hilzheimer (1930, pp. 472-483). Crossing of principal breeds has occurred, and Meek (1925, vol. 1, p. 118) dis- tinguishes five main types of cattle in Nigeria. H. H. Curson (1935, 1936) has described some parent breeds of African cattle. Donkeys, overloaded and distressed with sores, are used in Egypt, where the ass was a beast of burden more than five thousand years ago. From the north coast of Africa to within a few degrees of the equator donkeys are used for transport. In some parts of the eastern Sudan and Abyssinia are wild asses that introduce new blood into the diminutive stock owned by natives. The female asses are left at night in places where they are visited by wild asses. The donkey, like the ox, is used for purposes other than transport. In the Atlas region of Algeria and Morocco may sometimies be seen a primitive plow to which are harnessed a woman and a donkey, for among the Kabyles women perform all the heavy agricultural work. Pigs are widely kept except by Mohammedan tribes. A slim, long-snouted pig is described by Europeans as a Keltic breed, and, in addition to this, strains of every European variety of pig may be seen. Sheep of Syrian origin, and also goats, are widely dispersed. Hutchinson (1922-24, vol. 1, pp. 469-470) pictures breeds of sheep domesticated in Africa. The Egyptians had a domestic sheep at a remote period, while other breeds have been introduced by way of the Sinai peninsula at unknown periods (Fig. 13). Although the history of domestic animals is difficult to unravel, several truths can be accepted. The African buffalo has never been domesticated ; therefore the breeds of cattle now found in Africa are not the descendants of African buffaloes. Domesticated pigs are not descended from wild pigs of African forests, since these animals have not been domesticated in any part of the continent. Domestic dogs which are present in all villages are not bred from wild dogs. These hunt in packs and in appearance they bear some resemblance to hyenas. Cats were domesticated, worshipped, and mummified locally in ancient Egypt, but they are not commonly found in African villages today. Instances of the domestication of feral cats by African natives, and the distribution of domesticated cats among Bantu Negroes are subjects discussed by H. Kroll (1928, p. 183). Hahn (1896) published an early standard work on the domestication of animals, containing many references to African animals. Chief among wild animals which are of importance to African hunters are antelopes of many species. These abound in the park- Physiography and Nature Notes 59 land region which surrounds the central forest zone. In the grass- land, too, and even in semi-desert the grass is high enough to shelter herds of antelope, while gazelle may be seen in true desert country where expanses of waterless desert are broken by rocky hills. In Africa the only deer (Cer\idae) are Cervus elaphus harhanis and Cervus dama, in the extreme north. The antelope (Bovidae) should not be described as deer since anatomical differences exist. Deer shed their horns, but this is not characteristic of antelopes. The largest African antelopes are the eland (Fig. 12, extreme left) and the roan, while the smallest is the dik-dik, only twelve inches high at the shoulders, with a body no larger than that of a rabbit. The giraffe (Laufer, 1928), rhinoceros, hippopotamus, zebra, and okapi have all been important in hunting communities, and with the exception of the okapi and the hippopotamus, all find their natural habitat in the open country on the fringe of denser forests, especially in Kenya and Tanganyika Territory. The white rhinoceros, which has really little claim to the name "white," occurs with very local distribution in the Upper Nile region and in south Africa. The pygmy hippopotamus is found only in Liberia. The gradual spread of civilization, together with the depreda- tions of hunters, both European and African, has restricted the range of many animals (Hobley, 1929-30). In a later chapter dealing with archaeology it will be possible to show that rock engravings of giraffe, ostriches, and other animals indicate their former presence in regions where they have not been seen within the memory of living people. In addition to rock engravings and pictographs in colors, the evidence of past distribution is based on osteological discoveries, and the observation of Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans. From the ethno- logical point of view the migration of animals is important, for when such movements occur, possibly as a result of changing climate, the activities and migrations of human beings are also affected. The okapi, a name given by the Bambuti Pygmies of the Ituri Forest in the northeast Belgian Congo, has special claims to interest. Pygmy hunters showed the skin of an okapi to the German explorer W. Junker, in 1878, though Junker did not see a living okapi, and the animal was at that time unknown to zoologists. The okapi, an entire skin of which was sent to England in 1901 by Sir H. H. John- ston, is a member of the giraffe family. Affinity with giraffes is shown by the structure of the skull and teeth. Some Pygmy tribes hunt this animal, whose skin is valued for making belts which are worn by men only. 60 Source Book for African Anthropology The hyrax (Fig. 14), also known as the coney and rock rabbit, appears to belong to the order of rodents, but the outward form is deceptive. Examination proves that the hyrax belongs to the order of ungulates or hoofed animals which we have been considering. The creature is so exceptional as to require a zoological division of its own, namely, the Hyracoidea. Zulu tribes of southeast Africa are exceptionally skilled in sewing together skins of hyrax to make ^ ^-3^g%^ Fig. 14. Hyrax, Abyssinia. Scale about 1:20 (from group in Field Museum). long fur cloaks called karosses. Leakey (1936b, pp. 36-39) gives informative notes on the habits of this animal. Chief among the carnivorous animals are lions, leopards, hyenas (Fig. 16, a, b), wild dogs, foxes, and jackals. Bears have been seen rarely and only in the extreme northwest, where the fauna approxi- mates that of Europe. Most of the carnivorous animals play a part in native stories, hunting, and beliefs of a sacred kind. Lions and leopards are sometimes the sacred emblems of chiefs, and in describ- ing Negro religion, beliefs in the reincarnation of human souls in these animals will be described. Some medicine-men assert that they are able to send their souls into leopards or hyenas, so tempora- rily controlling the creatures. Or the belief may be maintained that I Physiography and Nature Notes 61 a man can turn himself into an animal, or that he may by magical means inflict this metamorphosis on an enemy. A leopard has been the symbolic animal of the most important secret society of west Africa. Members of the society dressed themselves in leopard skins and armed themselves with claws. So equipped they slew a victim and ceremonial cannibalism followed. The ingenuity of Bushman and Pygmy hunters, and the ritual that accompanies hunting among Negroes make the study of animal Fig. 15. African cheetahs. Scale about 1:36 (from group in Field Museum). life of deep interest. The fauna of Africa has affected art and handi- crafts by providing motifs for wood-carvers, metal workers, and rock sculptors. When considering ideas of a totemic kind the importance of animal emblems will be observed. These zoomorphic symbols have a religious and a social significance; therefore, a mysti- cal relationship exists between a totem animal and the members of the clan, or between a person and his individual totem (chap. III). In some parts of Somaliland and Abyssinia cheetahs (Fig. 15), which are similar to leopards in appearance, are used for hunting, just as they are in parts of northern India and Persia. A hooded cheetah is taken to the chase, and when in sight of a gazelle the hood 62 Source Book for African Anthropology is removed. This form of hunting is not common in Africa and the region of occurrence suggests diffusion from Asia. The civet, which is closely related to the mongoose (Fig. 17), has a restricted commercial use. It is sometimes kept in captivity and made to discharge from its caudal glands a musk-flavored substance used in manufacturing a perfume (Meek, 1925, vol. 1, p. 149). Among carnivorous animals should be mentioned the striped, the spotted, and the brown hyenas, which are typically nocturnal scavengers that feed on the kill of other carnivores. But hyenas at times enter camp and steal living animals. The jaws and shoulders are extremely powerful, yet the hind quarters slope with a suggestion of weakness in comparison with the fore quarters (Fig. 16). Gnawing animals (rodents) are numerous in Africa. The order includes large forest rats, small rats and mice of many species, ground squirrels and tree squirrels, the jerboa (in desert regions), the porcu- pine, and the hare. The last-named is a great favorite in Negro folklore because of his cunning, which is directed toward deceiving the larger and stronger animals. The jerboa is common in Egypt and the Sahara, where it is easily recognized by its method of hopping on its long hind legs in kangaroo fashion. Porcupines are widely distributed south of the Sahara; the Ovimbundu use the quills of these creatures for making a special head ornament for medicine-men. Among the insectivores, moles and shrews are of common occur- rence; the former range over almost the whole of Africa south of the equator. The bats (Cheiroptera) are distributed over the whole of Africa, and there are also flying foxes with a more limited dis- tribution just north and south of the equator. The true vampire, which is a blood-sucking bat, is limited to South America. Allen, Lang, and Chapin (1917) have written a monograph on African bats with a section on native beliefs and customs connected with these creatures (pp. 493-494). Creatures belonging to the Edentata or toothless animals are the aardvark and the pangolin (Fig. 18, a, h). The former, whose name is a Dutch word meaning earth pig, is found in no part of the world except Africa, where it is fairly common in the east, south, and southwest. The body of the aardvark is about five feet in length, the ears are long, and the hide is scantily covered with hair. With strong claws the aardvark digs in the sides of termite hills, and licks up the ants with a whiplike tongue that shoots out from a tubular I ♦i# J \ ns1n'F;-.lfi(l:f"^Jr^- «• Spotted. 6. Striped. Scale about 1:24 rf rem groups in Field Museum). 63 64 Source Book for African Anthropology mouth. Recent research indicates that resemblances of the aardvark to the anteaters and pangolins are superficial. The aardvark is now separately classified as Tubulidentata. The pangolin, Smutsia temminckii, which is sometimes called the scaly anteater or manis, is somewhat similar in appearance to the armadillo of South America. The points of comparison are the long tapering snout, the armored covering, and the strong claws used for digging in termite hills. The scaly covering of the pangolin is, however, distinctly different in structure from that of the arma- dillo. The pangolin has a wide geographical range in Africa, from 10° N. Lat. almost to the southern extremity of the continent. AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES Frogs and toads are numerous among the amphibians. The most important reptiles are crocodiles and pythons. The African crocodile is regarded by some tribes as a sacred reptile, and today at Ibadan in southern Nigeria a sacred white crocodile is kept in the custody of a priest (Fig. 83, 6). In former days food offerings, including human sacrifices, were made to white crocodiles. The whiteness is genuine albinism which occurs in reptiles, though some- what rarely. Useful works of reference are Ditmars' "Reptiles of the World" (1910), and reprint (1936). Pythons have a general distribution everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, and although they thrive in a moist habitat and swim freely, they are equally adaptable to open and fairly dry country. There are several species, of which Python sehae, the largest (Fig. 83, a) may attain a length of twenty-five feet. The vertebrae are supposed by several tribes to be a cure for rheumatism. A village chief in Angola presented me with a necklace of these bones, which he declared to be a certain cure. The fat of the python is thought by some tribes to have curative properties, and sometimes the gall bladder is used for magical practices. The section dealing with African religions shows how important the python has been in a system of python worship which was carried on in Uganda, and in west Africa at several centers (Hambly, 1929a, 1931a). The con- strictor snakes of Africa must, by zoological classification, be called pythons. Those constrictor snakes designated as boas have their habitat chiefly in South America, and there is a species in Madagascar. The spitting cobra is not a figment of the traveler's imagination. These spitting snakes are widely distributed in Africa, and they do. Fig. 17. Mongoose, southwest Africa. Scale about 1:3 (from specimen in Field Museum). 65 6 Fig. 18. a. Aardvark. Scale about 1:15. b. Pangolin. Scale about 1: (from specimens in Field Museum). 66 Physiography and Nature Notes 67 as often reported, rear themselves to squirt their venom at human beings. Many authentic records attest the effect of the poison, which causes severe ocular inflammation. African tales of fire- spitting serpents may be founded on this fact. There is also good zoological ground for folklore stories of double-headed snakes. Some snakes taper at both ends, and in addition to this peculiarity they have a habit of raising the hinder part when approached ; therefore, casual observation suggests the presence of two heads. Serviceable works of reference are Ditmars (1932), K. P. Schmidt (1923), and Loveridge (1936). The last-named gives a list of African reptiles and amphibians in the collections of Field Museum of Natural History. Tortoises are mmierous in Africa, and there is no creature so well described in folklore tales. The tortoise is generally represented ,i^^^^^^^^ Fig. 19. Catfish, Clarias senegaknsis. Scale about 1:3. as using great cunning to outwit the larger and faster animals. In the market of Ibadan, Nigeria, large tortoises are sold as food, and snakes are eaten by many Negro tribes. FISHES In African rivers and lakes live many species of edible fish whose capture by nets, weirs, spearing, poisoning, drag-baskets, and lines provides an extensive study relating to the economics of food supply. Beliefs in the sacredness of catfish survive in Liberia and Nigeria. At If^ in the latter territory I was taken to a pool of sacred catfish (Fig. 19). At first no movement could be seen; then, as my guide agitated the water and threw in a little meal, the pond became alive with catfish, some of considerable size. Because of its sacred character the catfish was often a design on bronze plaques made in ancient Benin, where religion and art were closely connected. Boulenger (1909-16) has a standard work on the fishes of Africa. 68 Source Book for African Anthropology BIRDS Birds are too plentiful and widely distributed to discuss in detail. To the Egyptians the ibis was a sacred bird which was mummified and buried ; there was also the sacred hawk of Horus, and at present many religious beliefs center in bird life. I found among the Ovim- bundu that three birds were reverenced. Esuvi is a bird with power to catch spirits of the dead, so making them die a second death. It flies by night. Other sacred birds of the Ovimbundu are one onduva, the plantain-eater, Turacus livingstonii, whose feathers are used by kings and medicine-men, and another onjimbi, an owl. Bubo maculosus, whose cry is a premonition of death. The bird life of Africa includes vultures, which are protected by law because they are efficient scavengers. In some villages they may be seen associating themselves with poultry and remaining near human habitations. Among common birds are hornbills of great size, kingfishers, parrots, nightjars, egrets, hawks, eagles, flamingoes, and weaver-birds (Fig. 20). The secretary bird, some- what larger than a stork, plays a useful part in devouring snakes. Of all birds, perhaps the ostrich has been the most important in the economics of African hunters, and the bird has been domesti- cated in south Africa, where ostrich farming for the sake of the plumes is a notable industry. Laufer (1926) has discussed the importance of the ostrich in ancient and modern times. Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert use the eggshells as receptacles for water (Fig. 63) either in transport or for storing in a cache. Eggs and ostriches are a valuable source of food supply, while the shells are made into disk-shaped beads that are highly valued as personal ornaments and trade objects by Bushman tribes. In ancient times engraving ostrich eggshells was a form of art in Egypt and north Africa, and this practice the Bushmen still follow, though the engravings are of an elementary geometrical kind. In many Negro tribes collecting eggs is part of the routine work of women and children, and feathers for decorative head- dresses are valued by some tribes, for example, the Suk and the Masai (Fig. 39), who use ostrich feathers. But feathers of small birds are sometimes equally important for decoration and as sacred emblems. The pink tail feathers of the African parrot, Psittacus erithacus, are sold in Nigerian markets. Poultry is important over the whole continent, though the breeds, except where crossed with European importations, are diminutive. The future offers great opportunity for improving the weight of the Physiography and Nature Notes 69 birds and increasing their egg production. Domestication of the Guinea fowl has formed the subject of a brief article by D. Newbold (1926). European ducks may be seen in many parts of west Africa. For reference a student has several standard works. Reichenow (1900-1901) has produced several volumes on the birds of Africa, Fig. 20. African weaver-birds and nest. Field Museum). Scale about 1 : 6 (from specimens in and one of the volumes is an atlas of distributions. Stark (1900) has described the birds of south Africa, and Ramsay (1923) has provided a "Guide to the Birds of Europe and North Africa." Bannerman's volumes (1930) describe birds of tropical west Africa. Other authorities are Meinertzhagen (1930) for Egypt; Belcher (1930) for Nyasaland; Priest (1933) for Southern Rhodesia; and Chapin (1932) for the Belgian Congo. 70 Source Book for African Anthropology LOCUSTS, FLIES, etc. The locust is the most destructive of the Orthoptera, to which order crickets, grasshoppers, and the praying mantis belong. The mantis is important in the folklore and religious beliefs of Bushmen and Hottentots. At present there is no effective means of suppressing the swarms of locusts which appear periodically in almost all parts of Africa. Digging ditches to trap the creatures during the crawling stage of their existence, inoculation with disease, and the use of sodium arsenite fumes (Illustrated London News, 1934, p. 561) have all been tried as remedies, but with only a measure of success. H. B. Johnstone (1924, pp. 91-101) has described the structure and habits of the family Acridiidae, to which most of the destructive locusts belong. He mentions various species and their phylogenetic relationships. From the egg stage the "hoppers" pass through several skin-castings before attaining the mature winged condition. The occurrence of solitary and swarming phases for many species of locusts has now been definitely established. Locusts are an article of diet in regions as far apart as Morocco, Angola, and the Kalahari Desert. They are roasted and eaten at once, or preserved in fat and salt. The small animal life of Africa is most important of all, because these are pestiferous forms that determine the welfare of human beings and animals. The most detested of these pests used to be the mosquito Stegomyia Jasciata (formerly Aedes aegypti), because it is the carrier of yellow fever, which still breaks out periodically along the coast from Sierra Leone to Cameroons. The female Anopheles mosquito carries the germs of malaria fever, which may attack mildly or fatally. Africans are by no means immune from malaria, and repeated attacks are serious because of the lowered resistance they induce. Almost as deadly are the tsetse flies, Glossinia palpalis and Glossinia morsitans, which are carriers of trypanosomes of sleeping sickness. These pests have an important influence on the distribu- tion of human settlements and the keeping of cattle. The jigger, a word derived from the West Indian chigoe, is a flea, which was introduced into Africa from South America. It bores under the toe nails, where the egg sac sets up a severe inflammation. Failure to remove the sacs leads to pedal deformity and loss of toes. There are many species of parasitic worms that breed in water and spend part of their life cycle in the bodies of human beings or animals. Some of these worms affect the lymph system, so causing elephantia- sis, while other forms attack the bladder and intestines. Physiography and Nature Notes 71 Imm's "General Textbook of Entomology" (1924) is perhaps the most useful compendium for reference. For understanding the nature of tropical diseases and their menace to native and European welfare, Strong (1930) should be consulted. The volumes edited by R. P. Strong are reports of the Harvard expedition to Liberia and the Belgian Congo (1926-27), and perusal of the notes on malarial and yellow fevers, filariasis, yaws, syphilis, leprosy, and sleeping sickness will prepare the way for understanding of problems of native welfare and European survival (section IV). Simpson (1912, p. 353) brings out clearly the way in which trypanosomiasis in horses and cattle affects human endeavor and the distribution of cultures. Near Lokoja 60 per cent of the horses brought into the town develop this disease within a year, and of these 50 per cent die of the disease within the same period. In conclusion of a brief study of animals in relation to man, one more instance, and this an example from entomology, may be quoted. Dicke (1932, pp. 792-796) has discussed the influence of the tsetse fly on the history of south Africa. He advances the hypothesis that the central movement of Bantu migration into south Africa was checked by the tsetse-fly belt which stretched across the northern Transvaal, and the territories north of it. In addition to the probable effect of tsetse-fly belts in native migration and cattle-keeping, the fly has influenced the course of European history by determining the direction of roads and railways. In 1847 the Boers defeated Umsili- katsi in Southern Rhodesia, and in 1851 they were victorious over Sechele in Bechuanaland, yet they took no advantage of the situation, because the tsetse fly prevented immediate occupation of territory. But, by the time the fly-infested areas had diminished and passages had opened through these Boer territories, British influence had secured a footing in Bechuanaland and Southern Rhodesia, so check- ing Dutch expansion. 11. HISTORY Kinds of Evidence The data available for study of African history and prehistory fall into two main divisions: (1) Direct evidence afforded by datable writings; (2) indirect evidence, or inferential testimony. Direct evidence is available for Egypt from 4000 B.C. onward through the early dynasties, the Middle Empire and the New Empire, through Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab occupations. Datable evidence can be given for the activities of Carthaginians from about 900 B.C. and a chronology of Arab incursions from A.D. 700 onward is fairly reliable. This is written documentary evidence, the oldest form of which is Egyptian papyri of hieroglyphs, thence through the demotic and hieratic forms to Coptic. Latin and Greek histories, Punic inscriptions, and a large body of Arabic texts form the remainder of the direct evidence up to the fifteenth century, at which time European exploration began with voyages of the Portuguese. These documents taken collectively furnish a foundation of fact, but the period they cover is short in relation to the prehistory of man in Africa, and inquiry is soon forced backward into an undocumented period of indirect evidence that accumulated before 4000 B.C. Indirect evidence includes the following studies: Valuable among the data available for prehistoric research are those of archaeology. Working in conjunction with geologists, archaeologists study stone implements, rock carvings, paintings in caves and on exposed rocks, stone monuments, and the remains of human habitations. The physique of African races has been studied to a limited extent by anthropometric methods. Human skeletal material, especially that which is deeply buried, undisturbed, and ancient, has been examined for evidence concerning early types of man. This paleon- tological evidence is so far very meager. African languages are now demanding a thorough scientific study with special reference to their structure and interrelationship, and the fact is encouraging that, despite the absence of written languages for the bulk of the population, traditions of historical events have been orally transmitted from one generation to another. Old people are often valuable informants, while mythology and folklore preserve records of historical events and exalted individuals who appear as culture heroes. At the courts of Negro kings are to be found officials 72 History 73 whose principal duty is to memorize tribal history and genealogical tables. The outline of African languages demands a separate chapter, while the distribution of different modes of life and the study of somatic traits also need individual consideration. Therefore, the present chapter is restricted to a review of the facts of datable history, and of prehistory examined in the light of archaeological investigation. Splitting a problem into component parts does not mean that the sections are not logically connected. On the contrary, the data that are classified under different headings are actually unified; the subjects merely represent different angles from which historical problems can be reviewed, and the synthesis will be made later when sufficient data have been accumulated. In this chapter examination of historical and prehistorical evidence proceeds from datable events to the less clearly interpreted facts of archaeology. Datable Events egypt and asia There is no part of the world whose ancient history has been more thoroughly studied than that of the Nile Valley. The results of concentration on archaeological and historical research in Egypt during a century at least are particularly helpful, since Egypt is connected with Asia, which was the original home of some present- day African people, languages, and customs. The history of Egypt from the earliest times to 500 B.C. has been compressed into one volume with a detailed scheme of chronology (Breasted, 1910; in German by Erman, 1923). The workmanship of stone implements from Egypt attests the fact that some predynastic Egyptians had mastered the difficult art of flint knapping. In Neolithic times these skilled lapidaries made slender flint armbands, while the finely serrated edges of sickles, and ripple-flaking that is done by pressure, were well executed. Flint arrowheads were of the best workmanship. Moreover, there were implements of copper in some of the predynastic graves, and bronze, which is an alloy of copper and tin, was known in Egypt at an early date, but iron work was rather late in making an appearance. Flinders Petrie's work "Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt" shows the high standard of workmanship attained in weaving with the verti- cal cotton loom, leatherwork, making beads of stone and glass. 74 Source Book for African Anthropology ivory-turning, wood-carving, basketry, pottery, and jewelry of gold and silver. In addition to the evidence of skilled handwork, many examples of which have been recovered from royal tombs such as that of Tut- Ankh-Amen, the Egyptians are known to have had a complex religion and philosophy. Sacred writings, notably the "Book of the Dead," explain the Egyptian outlook on life, death, and the journey of the spirit to the judgment halls of Osiris. There the heart was weighed in the balance, and the deceased had to recite the negative confession before forty-two judges, denying the sins of adultery and false witness, and in substance abjuring all the human weaknesses which are proscribed by the Ten Commandments; these are possibly a derivative from the Egyptian code (Petrie, 1923). The journey to the land of shades was not an easy one, a fact which is attested, not only by sacred writings and pictures describing the combats of the spirit with serpents and other monsters, but also by the wrapping of amulets in the swathings of the mummy. In order to avoid damage to mummies the contents of the wrappings are now studied at Field Museum by means of X-ray photographs which indicate the nature and position of amulets and the technique of the embalming process. The photographs also indicate the presence of fractures and methods of reducing them, while diseases of bone are in some instances clearly shown (Moodie, 1931). The spread of the practice of mummification from Egypt has been discussed by the late-G. Elliot Smith (1929) but his belief in a world-wide diffusion from Egypt has been freely criticized and is not generally accepted. Egyptian mythology was particularly rich in explanatory stories. Thus Toth is described and pictured as a scribe who stands by the god Khnemu. The latter is molding men on his potter's wheel, while the former marks off the span of each life by cutting notches on a palm stem. In this way human origins and destinies were accounted for by etiological stories. The communal life of the Egyptians was complex, for in addition to a hierarchy of priests, who were the custodians of documents that they themselves compiled, there were sacred kings, tax-gatherers, military organizations, corv^es of labor for public works, and a commercial system that sent caravans south to the Sudan and east to the Red Sea. National life was focused in the king, whose strength and longevity depended on spiritual power, which was ceremonially renewed in a temple by laying the royal hands on an image of Ra, the Sun god. History 75 Art and sculpture were closely associated with religious belief, mythology, and handwriting, which progressed from a system of hieroglyphs to a cursive hand. The importance of handwriting can- not be overestimated, since the social and religious structure, together with the material progress, is described in documents that cover a period from about 3500 B.C. up to the Greek and Roman occupations, and beyond them to the period of Arab conquest of Egypt in the seventh century of the Christian era. That some diffusion of beliefs and customs from Egypt has taken place is certain, but no comprehensive study has yet shown the effects of culture contacts of the Nile Valley on social systems of Africa. Several anthropologists have, however, called attention to some arresting similarities between certain traits of Egyptian and Negro culture (Delafosse, 1900; Meek, 1931a, passim; Talbot, 1926, passim; C. G. and B. Z. Seligman, 1932, p. 34; H. R. Palmer, 1936b). G. E. Smith (1929) and Perry (1926) present the broadest possible views of the world-wide spread of Egyptian or Heliolithic culture. The number of traits that spread from the Nile Valley, the distance they traveled, and the degree of modification they experienced are uncertain. But the following may be instances of the spread of cultural traits from Egypt to other parts of Africa. The Egyptian idea of the king as a sacred being, on whose vigor national welfare depended, led to the custom of killing decrepit kings, so that the prosperity of the country might not be impaired. Up to recent times this custom of killing the king prevailed in Uganda, among the Shilluk of the Upper Nile, and in west Africa among the Yoruba (C. G. Seligman, 1933). The Bahima, a Hamitic tribe of Uganda, practiced the Egyptian custom of brother and sister marriages within the royal family so that the dynasty might be preserved. The fact that Hamites penetrated the Nile Valley, advanced down the eastern side of Africa, and exerted an influence on Negro west Africa, should not be forgotten when attempting to explain the distribution of these apparently Egyptian customs, which might perhaps be more correctly described as Hamitic rather than specifi- cally Egyptian (C. G. Seligman, 1913, pp. 593-704). The Egyptians believed in a spiritual double, which after death visited the tomb where offerings and material comforts were pro- vided, and to this ethereal counterpart of the body the name ka was given. In Ashanti a similar belief exists, for the kra escapes from the body of a dying person, whose gasps are said to be due to the exertion 76 Source Book for African Anthropology of the kra in an uphill journey to the spirit world (Rattray, 1927a, pp. 153, 318). Use of a funeral boat by the Jukun of Nigeria and the digging of shafted burial chambers resemble Egyptian practices. The hierarchy of gods, the elaborate priesthoods, and the worship of sacred animals among the Yoruba and the Ashanti may perhaps be added to traits that may have been derived from the Nile Valley. Personal observa- tion and reference to the writings quoted suggest that Ashanti, Dahomey, and part of Nigeria have similar cultural traits relating to kingship, theology, and art, and that these coordinated traits show resemblance to the Egyptian system, though there is always the possibility of independent development. Much more detailed com- parison is necessary to make a demonstration. Egypt has acted as a cultural gateway to Africa from Asia, and in the Nile Valley many Asiatic traits have been absorbed, utilized, perhaps changed in form, and then passed on. Reference has been made to the cultivated plants and domestic animals which may have entered Africa by way of Egypt, and to the observations already made should be added data from an article by H. H. Johnston (1913, pp. 375-417). This writer believes that humped cattle came from India, and that the short plump goat is a native of Syria, while the same country is mentioned as the probable home of the Roman- nosed goat with long hair and pendent ears. Domestic fowls were probably introduced from India, Syria, and Persia. Some breeds of horses, Arabian camels, long-horned cattle, and fat-tailed sheep are probably Asiatic in origin, and there is a possibility that rice and wheat first came from Mesopotamia. As the story of African contacts with Asia is unfolded, and the function of early Semites, and later Arabs, as culture carriers is made clear, there is a natural tendency to examine African cultures with the purpose of isolating the borrowed elements. Da Barros (1777-78) is a standard work of consultation for the history of Arabs in east Africa. Hirschberg (1931, pp. 272-275) has discussed Arabian, Persian, and Indian influences in east Africa, and Stuhlmann (1910) called attention to east African methods of working in iron and brass that show Arab and Persian influence. Hirschberg demon- strates similarity between systems of time reckoning near Lake Victoria and those used in early Arabian and Persian times. Schoff (1912) has written a valuable commentary on an ancient document, "The Periplus of the Erythrean Sea" (circa A.D. 60), giving an account of Arab voyages on the coast of India and lower east Africa. History 77 The Midgan hunters of Somaliland use a bow resembling the sigmoid Asiatic form, and in Abyssinia there are in use round shields whose prototypes are Asiatic. Two musical instruments, not of African origin, are widely used in north and west Africa. One of these is a pottery drum having a piece of hide as a tympanum, and the other instrument, which has a variety of forms, is a kind of fiddle provided with horsehair strings. A small bow strung with the same kind of material is used for playing the instrument. L. Frobe- nius (1922) has described and plotted the distribution of these and other alleged Asiatic traits, which he has discussed more fully in "Kultur-Geschichte Afrikas" (1933). Contacts between Egypt and Persia have been frequent and prolonged, and in view of the early manufacture of chain armor (Fig. 75, h) in the latter country, there is almost a certainty that this form of protection for man and horse entered Africa by way of Egypt. In addition to a Persian origin of chain mail (Laufer, 1914) there may be truth in the statement that the Crusaders on their way to and from Palestine, from the eleventh to the fourteenth century, introduced some of the chain mail. Making silver wire, beating out vessels of brass, also casting in bronze, are not usual and indigenous handicrafts of Negroes, and all the evidence suggests migration of these traits over north Africa, and into the western part of the continent. In Ashanti cloth is orna- mented with designs stamped on the material by wooden blocks, which is a well-known Persian method. The shaduf , a lever for raising water from wells, is used in northern Nigeria and this is known to be a device used in ancient Egypt. H. Ling Roth (1917, pp. 113-150) offers the opinion that the vertical cotton loom of Egypt may have migrated along the north African shore, across the Sahara, and into Nigeria. The reed canoes and harpoons used by the Buduma of Lake Chad are definitely like those pictured in ancient Egyptian drawings. Almost everywhere in Africa coiled basketry is made by a technique that was employed in Egypt five thousand years ago. Those who favor independent invention as an explanation of the occurrence of like forms would point out that the similarities might occur through convergence as a result of similar needs, the presence of identical materials, and existence of certain obvious ways of manufacture. Yet adoption is easier than invention, since creative genius is rare, and a detailed examination of the subject might prove 78 Source Book for African Anthropology that the cultural influence of Asia and Egypt has been widely diff iised in north Africa. We need, however, an accurate time scheme. In the 18th dynasty (1600 B.C.) Egypt founded an empire in western Asia, and about this time Egyptian armies occupied the Sudan south of Egyptian territory, where Negro kingdoms exercised considerable power. Rameses III invaded and conquered the south of Palestine several centuries later, after which exploit he marched through Syria and returned to Egypt laden with spoil. But in 680 B.C. the Egyptians encountered misfortune when their country was invaded by Esarhaddon, King of Assyria, who con- quered Memphis. A century and a half later, the Nile Valley was under the dominion of Persian rulers. In addition to acknowledging Egypt as a focal point for the reception and distribution of Asiatic traits, the importance of Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Arabs should be considered in chronological sequence, for each of these influenced the culture of Egypt and other parts of north Africa. A valuable summary of his- torical events in north Africa with special reference to the eastern Libyans has been prepared by Bates (1914), who presents an exten- sive bibliography of Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and modem French sources. The history of the Libyans is considered in two main periods: namely, from protodynastic times to 1000 B.C., and from that date to the Arab conquest in the seventh century of our era. From Egyptian texts and sculptures inferences are drawn respecting the dress, tattooing, material culture, religion, and social life of the Libyans. For modern history of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan see MacMichael (1934). PHOENICIANS The date at which the Phoenicians separated from the Semitic matrix to which they belong is unknown, but a thousand years before the Christian era the Phoenicians were a thriving commercial nation occupying a narrow strip of seaboard at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. This territory, about three hundred miles long and thirty miles wide, was named Phoenicia by the Greeks. Expansion on the landward side was checked by the mountains of Lebanon, and by hostile tribes, the Philistines, to whom the Phoe- nicians paid tribute. Although of such small size, Phoenicia con- tained twenty-five cities, of which Tyre and Sidon were the most important. Of the former city Zechariah said, "Tyre did build herself a stronghold and heaped up silver as dust, also fine gold as the mire of the streets." History 79 The language of the Phoenicians was a Semitic tongue having affinities with other Semitic languages, namely, Hebrew and Arabic. Punic is the name given to the Phoenician dialect spoken at Carthage, and though a dead language it has been studied from inscriptions near Carthage and other Phoenician settlements of north Africa. Some of the signs employed in Punic survive as elements of the T'ifinagh alphabet, which is still written by a few Tuareg (Table 9, p. 303). The religious beliefs of the Phoenicians recognized a pan- theon of gods, one of which was Moloch, to whom human sacrifices were offered. M. A. Levy's "Phonizische Studien" (1856-70) is an old but standard work on Phoenician history and customs. The Phoenicians were concerned chiefly with trade, and war- fare formed no part of their ambition. The Carthaginians were satisfied with local conquests and the enlisting of mercenary troops from Berber and Negro tribes in the neighborhood of Carthage, but no subjugation of the far hinterland was attempted. Cultural influences spread through the agency of trade, which was carried on round the west coast as far as territory now known as Sierra Leone. In view of early Phoenician enterprise, there is no difficulty in believing that some cultural traits from north Africa reached the coast of west Africa, either by sea or across the Sahara. Bovill (1933a, chap. 2, pp. 13-22) gives a summary of Phoenician discovery and states that possibly Hanno reached Gabun River, north of the Congo estuary. He believes that the historical evidence is sufficient to suggest an overland trade from Carthage to the western Sudan. The archaeology of Carthage has been described by Ehrenberg (1927), Gsell (1913-28: vol. 2, pp. 1-92; vols. 1-4, passim), and Hard (1934). H. R. Palmer (1931) has discussed the west coast voyage of Hanno, a Carthaginian. The Phoenicians were expert makers of purple dyes, linen, woolen goods, cotton fabrics, silk, glass, and pottery. Copper was obtained from the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean, while longer voyages were made through the Strait of Gibraltar to the Scilly Islands near the coast of Britain, where tin was obtained. The amalgamation of tin and copper forms bronze. The Phoenicians were well acquainted with the method of terracing hillsides, a process which was necessary in their homeland in order to increase the area of cultivation. To what extent these factors of Phoenician culture were transmitted to west Africa will possibly remain undetermined, for cultural resemblances are only suggestive and not conclusive. 80 Source Book for African Anthropology J. L. Myres (1901) presents a photograph of pottery in the market at Khoms or Lebda in Tripoli, the modern representative of Leptis Magna. The pots illustrate in a remarkable way the extent to which successive cultures may flood an area without extinguishing old cultures. The pots definitely preserve bronze age, Phoenician, Graeco-Roman, and early Arab types. Among the Yoruba of Nigeria certain forms of art, including terra cotta heads and stone figures of human beings, bear some resemblance to Phoenician style (Delattre, 1896; Cagnat, 1909; Kelsey, 1926). Monolithic pillars and stone circles of Gambia and other parts of west Africa may also be due to Phoenician influence. At If^ in Nigeria (Fig, 84) priests in charge of a certain sacred grove where terra cotta heads are preserved have robes and mitered head- dresses resembling those shown in some Carthaginian sculptures, and these factors, combined with the Phoenician traits previously mentioned, may be intrusions into Negro culture (Hambly, 1935a, pp. 464-468). During eight centuries Phoenician power was consolidated in the Mediterranean, but about two centuries after the founding of Carthage the state of Rome came into existence (753 B.C.). At first the Romans struggled for independence against the Etruscans of northern Italy. Later they consolidated their power and defeated the Greeks, but for a long period the issue of the struggle between Rome and Carthage was doubtful. Hannibal, Carthaginian statesman and general, crossed from north Africa into Spain, thence by Alpine passes into Italy, where he dominated the situation for thirteen years. He was finally expelled (Livy, XXI, XXii). The Romans, who were not originally a maritime people, built a fleet, and from that time onward they took aggressive measures against Carthage. A series of conflicts known as the Punic wars ended in the utter destruction of Carthage in the year 146 B.C. GREEKS AND ROMANS From this period Roman power in the Mediterranean was extended and stabilized, and today roads, aqueducts, and remains of cities such as Timgad and Tebessa attest the thoroughness of the Roman occupation. Cyrenaica became a Roman province, as also did Egypt, which, on the death of Cleopatra, about thirty years before the birth of Christ, was ruled by a Roman prefect. Bovill (1933a) shows a map of the Roman Empire extending about four hundred miles inland from the Mediterranean. The tribes known History 81 as Garamantes occupied territory now called the Fezzan. The Gaetuli lived in northwest Africa, and the Nobatae and Blemmeys in the Nile Valley. Bates (1914) has brought together a series of ethnographical maps of north Africa according to data from Herod- otus, Scylax, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Pliny, Ptolemy, and Arabian geographers. Newbold (1928) has discussed these classical sources, and Milne (1898) has prepared a "History of Egypt under Roman Rule," Boissier (1899, 1901) has written descriptions of the archae- ology of Roman Africa in Algeria and Tunis. Bunbury (1883) has published a compendium on the Greek and Roman period in Africa. Gautier (1937) has made an important contribution. Under Roman dominion Christianity was founded in Egypt, and tradition says that St. Mark preached the gospel in Alexandria about A.D. 69. Despite persecution, the new religion became en- trenched, though often under debased forms which incorporated the deities and magical rites of the religion of ancient Egypt. In desert monasteries the scriptures were translated into Greek and Coptic. The spread of Christianity (A.D. 50-400) is important when studying the ethnology of Abyssinia at the present time. Actuated by religious zeal, and to some extent compelled by persecution, Coptic monks carried Christianity into Abyssinia in the fourth century, from which time the Abyssinian church has existed. The schisms of the early church led to the formation of sects known as Gnostics, Monophysites, and Nestorians, whose views differed respecting the theological background of Christianity. Divergent creeds evolved respecting the divinity of Christ, the nature of the Holy Ghost and the Trinity, and the extent to which factors of Egyptian religion might be incorporated in the Christian faith. Three centuries before our era Greek rulers named Ptolemies administered the region of the Nile Delta (Mahaffy, 1899), and before this the Greeks, and their forerunners the Aegeans, had made daring voyages, in rivalry with Phoenician competitors. Ptolemy I founded the Alexandrian Library and Museum, and his successor built the Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria, a beacon which was regarded in ancient times as one of the seven wonders of the wo?:ld. Pending further archaeological work in the hinterland of north Africa, an estimation of the inland spread of Greek culture would be premature, but linguistic research by H. R. Palmer (1932, p. 305) has shown the existence of Greek words in Kanuri, a language spoken north of Lake Chad in central Africa. Some characters 82 Source Book for African Anthropology of the Greek alphabet have been incorporated into T'ifinagh, a script known to a few Tuareg. Notwithstanding the importance of Greek maritime enterprise along the north coast, the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C., and the rule of the Ptolemies, the Greek period bears little relation to the history and ethnology of Africa as a whole. Although the Roman Empire had completely annihilated her Phoenician rival, Roman power in north Africa was not uncontested. Berber tribes, who are part of the northern Hamites, revolted, notably under Jugurtha. To the Romans this man was a rebel; to his countrymen he was a patriot. The defeated Jugurtha fled, only to be betrayed to his Roman enemies, who, according to custom, paraded him through the streets of Rome, and then allowed him to perish in a dungeon. Opposition to the Roman Empire was not confined to the northern coast of Africa. Warlike Libyan tribes of the desert west of the Nile, and Hamitic and Negro tribes on the eastern banks of that river demanded constant alertness on the part of Roman garrisons. Latin names for these tribes occur repeatedly in the works of Roman historians, but the identification of the ancient names with present- day tribes is not always certain (Bates, 1914, p. 132; Palmer, 1936b). Mention has been made of the journey of Roman centurions to the Upper Nile, and it seems probable that Julius Maternus crossed the Sudan through Kordofan to the oasis in which Bilma is situated. From this point he appears to have returned to Fezzan in Tripolitania. Roman explorers of two thousand years ago returned from Saharan exploration with stories of a great river, the Niger, which drains the greater part of west Africa. Reports of this river were in circulation even in the time of Herodotus in the fifth century before Christ, and the information brought back by Julius Maternus, A.D. 150, served to stimulate geographical interest, until at last the mystery of the Niger's course was solved by the Landers in the early part of the nineteenth century. After several centuries of sovereignty in north Africa and Egypt, Rome experienced shattering defeat such as she had inflicted on the Phoenicians and Greeks. From northern Europe came Teutonic tribes, the Vandals, who wrested the north African provinces from Rome and sacked the city of Rome itself in the year A.D. 455. Cultural traits of the Romans are not known to have penetrated far inland, but the Yoruba of Nigeria have a structure for collecting rain, and this bears a resemblance to the Roman impluvium. Some History 83 horsemen of the Bauchi plateau, Nigeria, wear protective metal shin-guards which are not unlike Roman greaves. Yet, on the whole, the influence of the Roman conquest appears to have been confined to the northern littoral. Contact with Negroes influenced the literature and art of Greece and Rome (Beardsley, 1929). BYZANTINE INFLUENCE The importance of Byzantium should be recognized, since a cer- tain architectural style and many works of art are described as Byzantine (Diehl, 1890). The adjective is derived from the name of the town Byzantiimi, which was founded about 657 B.C. on the shores of the Bosporus, where now stands the Turkish city of Istanbul (Constantinople). From the time of its cultural maturity under Justinian in the sixth century of our era, the city of Byzantium spread an influence that affected the art and architecture of eastern Europe and north Africa until the twelfth century. The Byzantine style, which is exemplified by the mosque of St. Sophia in Constantinople, and St. Mark's in Venice, is highly ornamental, having elaborate carvings, mosaic work, floral decora- tions at the heads of columns, lofty domes, and vaulted arches. The Byzantines (Dalton, 1911) worked in gold, ivory, textiles, and silver with a skill that has certainly affected the crafts of north Africa, and possibly even those of west African Negroes. The Tuareg of the Sahara use the design of the cross for the hilts of their swords and daggers. They have this design on the wooden posts of their camel saddles, and as a neck ornament some persons wear an Agades cross. An art form of this kind might arise independently, but on the contrary there may be truth in the suggestion that these designs are derived from a Christian motif which was common in Byzantine decoration. JEWS The part played by Jews in this complex history of north Africa is not one which is important for the continent as a whole, yet the presence of colonies of Jews in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Tripolita- nia, Egypt, and Abyssinia is of sufficient interest to call for comment. After becoming detached from the Semites of southwest Asia, the Israelites, who evolved a written language called Hebrew, at a later date settled for a period in Egypt. The story of their serfdom under the Egyptians, their exodus, wandering, and consolidation in Palestine are matters of Biblical history, which also gives a clear 84 Source Book for African Anthropology account of their social organization under a patriarchal system in which the oldest male ruled the family. The Bible makes clear a gradual evolution of religious thought, moral codes, laws of inherit- ance and succession, along with anthropological data describing taboos, omens, magical practices, and witchcraft (J. G. Frazer, 1927). Much of the lore of the Old Testament is recognizable as Semitic, and as such was shared by Phoenicians, and later by Arabs. We should therefore recognize that wherever Jews settled in Africa they tended to establish Semitic customs, as, for example, circimicision and use of the scapegoat, which were of remote antiquity among the Semites of Arabia (W. Robertson Smith, 1889, p. 296; 1907, pp. 57, 61). Three centuries before Christ large settlements of Jews existed in Lower Egypt, where Alexandria was one of their chief centers of commerce. Gradually these Jewish colonies extended along the north coast of Africa, through Cyrenaica, and even to Mauretania in the far west. The destruction of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70 no doubt added to the population of these African settlements, and it is certain that Jewish immigrants were numerous when the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the fifteenth century. The most important southward migration of Jews was probably that of about A.D. 115. Two routes were followed, one by way of Air, Niger, and Senegal, and the other from Morocco through Mauretania. In the oases of the Sahara the Jews preserved their identity, but in the Sudan they were absorbed into the native population (Bovill, 1933a, p. 27). The origin of the Jews in Abyssinia is unknown. Evidently the Jews, named Falashas (Fig. 38, right), have mingled with some dark- skinned strain, possibly Negroes of Abyssinia, for they are darkly pigmented; hence the name Black Jews. The Falashas segregate themselves from all other sects, including Christians, and in church organization, belief, and ritual they jealously guard many Old Testa- ment beliefs and practices. The part which Jews have played in the history of south Africa has been described by L. Herrman (1930). "Hebrewism of West Africa," by J. J. Williams (1930), is a com- pilation that should be critically consulted. There are therein some informative data relating to infiltrations of ancient Semitic beliefs and customs. These are, however, treated as being specifically Jewish. ARABIAN CULTURE More important than any of the historical facts yet mentioned is the part played by Mohammedan culture. Mohammed, who was History 85 born early in the seventh century of our era, added traits of reHgion, government, law, and art to the fundamentals of early Semitic life. Then, under an impetus of religious fervor, the Arabs, with Semitic background now carrying the new factors of Koranic teaching, swept into the Nile Valley, which they conquered in a.d. 641. Gibb (1926) has provided a useful synopsis of Arabic literature together with a bibliography, and Lane-Poole (1901) has given a succinct account of the Arab dynasties in Egypt. From the Nile as a focus the Arabs spread along north Africa and established Kairwan near the site of the ruined Carthage. Then they continued westward and crossed into Spain, where the archi- tecture of southern cities such as Granada attests Arabian influence. Under Tarik the Omayyad caliphs of Egypt ruled north Africa from the Nile to Morocco until the middle of the eighth century. About this time the Omayyad dynasty was overthrown by the Abbasids, of whom the well-known Harun-al-Rashid, a famous caliph of the "Arabian Nights," was a distinguished ruler. Through Arab rule, which extended to north India and Persia, cultural con- tacts between north Africa and the middle east were effected. In the eleventh century there spread along north Africa and across the Sahara into the Sudan a wave of Arab conquest, carrying Mohammedanism and cultural adhesions that have been summarized by Hambly (1935a, pp. 462-463). The influence of the Mohammedan expansion on arts and handicrafts has been well described by Dimand (1930) in a beautifully illustrated guide to these works of art in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. This second invasion was far more important than that of the seventh century, the effects of which were somewhat transient. The later Arab invasion imposed the Mohammedan religion on the Tuareg and other Saharan tribes, and in addition the kingdoms of the Niger were affected by religious and other cultural influences of the Arab conquerors. Further, the rule of Arab dynasties in the Nile Valley gave an impetus to tribes of Hamitic culture, who traveled westward and imposed their physique, language, and culture on some Negro tribes of west Africa. The most important of these, tribes traveling westward were the Zagawa, who penetrated the western Sudan where they stimulated the Mali Empire and the Soninke Dynasty (Bovill, 1933a, p. 48; MacMichael, 1912b, pp. 288-344; Palmer, 1928). Following the Beni Hillal and Soleim Arab invasions of north Africa, the Mohammedanizing of west African Negroes proceeded steadily. The process of overlaying Negro and Hamitic culture 86 Source Book for African Anthropology with Mohammedan beliefs and practices continues at the present time, and although local resistance has occurred, notably among the Mossi of the middle Niger and the pagan tribes of the Bauchi plateau, it may be said that Islamic influence has profoundly affected Africa north of the equator. It is true that some Negro tribes have no more than a superficial acceptance of Mohammedanism, for the converts do not pray, observe the festivals, or know the precepts of the Koran. But, on the contrary, a further study of physical anthropology, languages, and modes of life will prove the deep penetration of Arab influences in some regions. In this connection the different possibilities of miscegenation should be borne in mind. Physical mixture of Arabs and Negroes has occurred, for Arabs had concubinage with their Negro slaves, and some persons of Negro physique will describe themselves as Arabs because they or their ancestors were honored slaves in an Arab household. Language may be adopted without physical mix- ture or the transmission of culture; or, again, a cultural trait, for example, the Mohammedan religion, may be accepted by tribes which still retain their own languages and other cultural elements. The Tuareg, for instance, have taken Mohammedanism as their religion, but they have not intermarried with Arabs; they retain their own language, Tamashek; and they regard Arabs as their enemies. Mohammedanism advanced across the Sahara into the Negro kingdoms of west Africa not only by conquest. Large numbers of Mohammedan ascetics, named the almoravides or marabouts, preached the tenets of their faith and organized their followers on a military basis. Under Ibn Yacin the almoravides were consolidated, and when he was killed in A.D. 1057 control passed to Abu Bakr, then to Yusuf, his nephew. In 1062 Yusuf founded Marrakesh and captured Fez. He then entered Spain and took Granada, but the almoravides were finally expelled from Spain and defeated by Berber tribes of north Africa. From the bend of the River Niger to Lake Chad a succession of empires was founded by tribes of Negro blood, with some infusion of Hamitic elements of physique, language, and culture. An outline of historical events in the western Sudan has been given by Maurice Delafosse (translation by Fligelm.an, 1931), and H. R. Palmer (1928) has made many important contributions to our knowledge of this period. At present only a small amount of archaeological work has been done on sites of west African Negro civilizations, and further research among documents of the period A.D. 1050-1500 is necessary. History 87 Yet the outline of events is known. At intervals new documents are acquired, or some of those which have been in European archives for many years are translated (Palmer, 1936b). The powerful kingdom of Ghana on the Niger was mentioned for the first time by Masudi, who died A.D. 956. Ibn Haukal visited the site a few years later, and El Bekri gave a fairly detailed descrip- tion of the city in the eleventh century. Archaeological excavations by Bonnel de Meziered in the year 1914 have confirmed the descrip- tion of El Bekri (Monteil, 1932). For several centuries the states of Ghana and Songhai flourished simultaneously. The history of Songhai is intimately connected with the powerful kingdom of Melle, which was built up by the Mandingo. Melle reached its zenith in the period 1308-31, at which time the empire covered the western Sudan, including the state of Songhai and the Tuareg town of Timbuktu. Ibn Batuta, who visited Melle in 1352, makes clear that the Melle Empire was the most important political, religious, and commercial center in the Sudan. By the end of the fifteenth century Melle had been overthrown and succeeded by Songhai, which in turn was devastated by El Mansur of Morocco in 1591. The writings of Ibn Edrisi (1099-1154), Ibn Batuta (1325-54), and Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) were all valuable historical contributions. In the sixteenth century Leo Africanus described his travels across the Sahara, and from the bend of the Niger to Lake Chad, thence across the desert again to north Africa. This exploration provided data which were all that historians and geographers had for guidance during the following two hundred years (for translations see W. M. Slane, El Bekri, Ibn Batuta, Ibn Haukal, Ibn Khaldun, and Leo Africanus). ZIMBABWE AND THE ARABS In connection with Arab penetration of Africa the Zimbabwe ruins of the southeast should be briefly described. The ruins, which are built on the site of ancient gold mines, are historically connected with the trading activities of Arabs on the lower east coast of Africa, about A.D. 1000, but the racial identity of the builders and the date of construction are unknown (see also A. T. Curie, 1937). For many years the Zimbabwe ruins had a romantic reputation based on an alleged connection with King Solomon, circa 1000 B.C., whose supplies of gold were said to have come from this region. The name Zimbabwe is used by the Makalanga tribe of Southern Rhodesia for the dwelling of a principal chief, and it is natural that such a 88 Source Book for African Anthropology name should be transferred to any well-built structure. The Ellipti- cal Temple has a circumference of 830 feet, and the enclosing wall is 15 feet thick and 32 feet high. The structure is built of stone blocks made from material that is abundant on the surrounding kopjes, and the blocks have been trimmed to fit with accuracy, even though no mortar has been used. It could not be said that Negroes never build with stone, but the Zimbabwe structures suggest a foreign influence for the planning and supervision of the architecture. C. G. Stevens (1931) has suggested a clironology for the several types of architecture which he illustrates in detail. European interest in Zimbabwe began in the year 1867, when Phillips and Renders discovered the ruins during bush travel. Four years later, Karl Mauch stated that the ruins were a copy of King Solomon's temple, an unwarranted statement, but one that aroused popular interest and imagination. In 1892 T. Bent collected many of the objects which are now in the South African Museum, and in the course of his observations came to the conclusion that the site had a Syrian origin. Following the work of Bent considerable damage was done by curio hunters, who are said to have taken a thousand ounces of gold ornaments. The site was subsequently examined, though not completely, by R. N. Hall (1895-1903), and a little later by Randall Maclver (1906), who expressed the opinion that the ruins were not of great antiquity. Arabian geographers of the ninth and tenth centuries of our era describe a land of Zendj in the hinterland of the present port of Beira in Portuguese East Africa, where African natives had supplies of gold. A trade in gold between Africa and India is also mentioned in these chronicles. Da Barros, writing in 1552, spoke of a fortress of dry walling called Zimbabwe, already old, and the source of super- stitions and folklore among Negroes and Arabs. As early as 1721 Da Costa suggested that King Solomon obtained gold for his temple from Zimbabwe, and the belief was perpetuated for more than two centuries. In the neighborhood of Zimbabwe soapstone is found, and this is readily worked into ornamental forms; for example, Bushmen of today make it into bowls for tobacco pipes. It is not surprising, therefore, that excavations at Zimbabwe should yield objects of soapstone. These include columns, bowls, birds, and objects said to be an imitation of the phallus. Carvings of the male sexual organ have suggested the former presence of fertility cults and phallic worship as part of the religious exercises of ancient inhabitants. History 89 The site has yielded fragments of Chinese porcelain, dark blue glaze of Persian make, Arabian glass, gold bangles, crucibles and furnaces for smelting gold, spindle whorls of soapstone and clay, and types of black pottery and red ware that resemble present-day products of potters in the neighborhood. Ingots of copper in the form of a letter X and molds of the same shape have been discovered. Bronze was used from the earliest period of the site, and analysis of the alloy, which contains 12 per cent of tin, indicates considerable metallurgical ability. The tin and copper could have been obtained locally. Iron and evidence of its manufacture occur at the lowest levels of excavation. A recent survey of Zimbabwe has been made by Miss Caton- Thompson (1929) who has published a summary of the historical facts, the conflicting hypotheses of archaeologists, and the results of personal excavation. Another summary and bibliography has been compiled in Italian by Cipriani (1932), who gives an extensive bibliography. The presence of imported beads in bed-rock levels is crucial evidence for fixing an approximate date for the earliest foundations. Experts are of the opinion that the beads are of a type made in India in the ninth and tenth centuries of our era, and any date earlier than a.d. 200 for the origin of the buildings is improbable. A period of four centuries, probably a.d. 900-1300, is allowed for the rise, prosperity, and collapse of the civilization that existed at Zimbabwe. This, however, should not be regarded as a final judg- ment, for the ruins are still under investigation. Lowe (1936, pp. 282-289) reports that at Mapungubwe in the northern Transvaal excavations have yielded gold beads and gold ornaments, colored beads, Chinese porcelain, ivory, copper, bronze, and iron. Some of the objects resemble those discovered at Zimbabwe, and there is evidence of a widely spread medieval culture. In the year 1517 Arab dynasties in Egypt were overthrown by the Turks, who had taken Constantinople in 1453, and the Ottoman Empire became a power in north Africa. But in 1584 a Turkish fleet was defeated by the Portuguese near Mombasa, and Turkish suzerainty slowly succumbed before attacks of the English and French, until Turkish rule in north Africa was definitely ended during the World War of 1914-18. The foregoing summary of datable events has brought our historical survey up to the European period of exploration and con- quest, which will be described in section IV. The historical review of Egyptians, Phoenicians, Romans, Greeks, and Arabs has peeled 90 Source Book for African Anthropology off only a surface layer of the cultures of man in a restricted part of Africa, and the period we have dealt with is almost negligible com- pared with the total lapse of time since Pleistocene man first made his appearance in Africa. Prehistoric evidence has, therefore, to attempt a reconstruction of African history over a long era extending from early Pleistocene times to 4000 B.C. The duration of the Pleistocene period is a matter of conjecture and controversy, but according to Schuchert and Dunbar (1933, p. 432) "all students of Pleistocene history now agree that the entire duration of the Pleis- tocene was at least several hundred thousand years. It probably exceeded a million years." There is uncertainty, too, as to when the Pleistocene ended and the Recent period began, but perhaps a duration of 25,000 to 30,000 years is a fair estimate of the length of the Recent period. I III. PREHISTORY Fossil Man In the "Descent of Man" Charles Darwin (1892, p. 155) writes: "In each region of the world the living mammals are closely related to the extinct species of the same region. It is, therefore, probable that Africa was formerly inhabited by apes closely allied to the gorilla and the chimpanzee; and as these two species are now man's nearest allies, it is somewhat more probable that our early pro- genitors lived on the African continent than elsewhere. But it is useless to speculate on this subject; for two or three anthropomor- phous apes, one the Dryopithecus of Lartet, nearly as large as a man, and closely allied to Hylobates, existed in Europe during the Miocene age; and since so remote a period the earth has certainly undergone many great revolutions, and there has been ample time for migration on the largest scale." Of the anthropoid apes perhaps the gorilla has attracted most attention popularly and scientifically. The distribution of this ape is limited to a belt of equatorial Africa north and south of the equator, but the chimpanzees are more widely distributed. The interest of physical anthropologists has been specially concentrated on the anatomical characters of chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans, and gibbons (the two latter not found in Africa). All these anthropoids are regarded as members of a primitive primate stock which ultimately produced Homo sapiens, though anthropologists are not fully agreed on the lines of evolution. A simple exposition of the phylogenetic relationship of the anthropoids to man will be found in the works of Coolidge (1929), Keith (1929), and Hooton (1931). In addition to the tailless apes of Africa there are many species of monkeys with tails, which are not, however, used for hanging from the branches of trees. This prehensile habit is followed by monkeys of South America, but not by African monkeys. Dogfaced baboons are common in rocky hills of Africa. Baboons play a prominent part in Negro folklore, and they entered into the mythology and spiritual beliefs of the Egyptians, who represented them pictorially. But the gorilla and the chimpanzee are the two extant African forms that are of primary interest in a scheme of human evolution. Hooton (1931, p. 381) states that "Africa's contribution to the history of higher primate evolution is already generous." The 91 92 Source Book for African Anthropology principal items are Parapithecus, the eariiest fossil monkey yet known; Propliopithecus, the first anthropoid ape; Dryopithecus moghareTisis, most ancient of the giant primates; Australopithecus, alleged to be a humanoid ape of the Pliocene ; and Homo rhodesiensis, the gorilla-browed specimen of the Broken Hill mine. Yet, despite Hooton's optimism respecting this evidence from Africa, a glance at a map prepared by E. W. Smith (1935, p. 31) indicates that very few sites have yielded remains of ancient man. Of the nineteen sites marked on the map, nine are clustered east of Lake Victoria Nyanza, four in a narrow area in the extreme south- east of the continent, and only three in the north, leaving most of the twelve million square miles with no evidence whatever. Hooton (1931) and E. W. Smith (1935) have provided a summary of these discoveries, but to use the words of the latter "there is as yet not much to be told," and one might add that the little which is known is controversial. Let us see how debatable points arise, and how the conclusions of experts differ. Since several accounts of fossil man have stressed the writings of Keith (1929, 1931) and G. E. Smith (1927), we will glean our data from an article by Hrdlicka (1926, pp. 173-204), who in 1925 visited the site where Homo rhodesiensis was discovered in 1921. At once Hrdlicka touches on the circumstances of discovery, and these were of the kind that are bound to lead to differences of opinion when fragments are examined. "The lack of precise information on certain important points was soon felt by students of the subject; and it now seems that even what was known at first suffered some subsequent confusion. There was a desire for more data regarding the position of the skull, its surroundings, the cave itself, and its fillings. The nature of the animal bones in the cave, and other points were not sufficiently well documented." Hrdlicka then reviews the literature that had accumulated from the time of the first newspaper reports, and, during all this, "errors of a serious nature have crept into the accounts of the circimistances of the discovery, and these have already materially affected important conclusions." ' "Five months after the discovery the skull, a number of human as well as other bones were brought to England by the manager of the mine." Here again we see from Hrdlicka's narrative how discussion and divergent views arise. Quoting Hrdlicka (p. 102), "Above all, it became an accepted idea that several human bones brought to England with the skull were found with the cranium Prehistory 93 and belonged to the same individual or the same people, and from the characteristics of these bones deductions were made as to the morphological and even chronological status of the Rhodesian man." Of Rhodesian man Hrdlicka says, "The skull itself is positively not the skull of any known African type of man or their normal variants. Neither is it any known pathological monstrosity such as giantism or leontiasis. It is a remarkable specimen, of which the age, provenience, history, and nature are still anthropological puzzles. Morphologically, the skull is frequently associated with the Neanderthal type of Europe. This may be fundamentally correct, but only to that extent. In its detailed characteristics the specimen is in some respects inferior, in others superior, to anything known as yet of the Neanderthal man." Hrdlicka continues with a record of his interrogation of persons connected with the find, and when eyewitnesses were not available for questioning, some information was gained through correspondence. For the views of Pycraft (1928), we must turn to a report on "Rhodesian Man, and Associated Remains" (p. 46). "Highly specialized in some particulars, the skull must nevertheless be regarded as of a relatively low type, having a definite resemblance to the skulls of Neanderthal man, with which race it has affinities." Some criticism of Pycraft's work is given by Hrdlicka (p. 117), and one point to which exception is taken is Pycraft's recognition of a new genus, Cyphanthropus, for the Rhodesian skull. A protest from W. E. Le Gros Clark (1928) shows how cautious one should be in accepting a single report, even from competent authority. Pro- fessor Clark's criticism reads: "Mr. Pycraft has given a description of the skeletal remains and, basing his evidence on these, has seen fit to create a new genus of Hominidae — Cyphanthropus. There are a number of points in his description which call for criticism, but since the evidence of the pelvis has been so remarkably misinter- preted, and since this bone is the most important indication for the creation of a new genus, I will confine my remarks to this part of the skeleton." The criticism then points out that the evidence for regarding a portion of the left ilium as belonging to the Rhodesian find is not convincing. The account continues to expose alleged errors that led Pycraft to reconstruct a pelvis with an acetabulum which "bears no resemblance to any Primate." Pycraft's orienta- tion of the pelvis is questioned, and in conclusion the critic states: "When these curious errors are rectified, it will be seen that, according to the diagnosis given by Mr. Pycraft on page 49 of his 94 Source Book for African Anthropology monograph, the genus Cyphanthropus depends entirely on certain features of the skull. I find it impossible to believe that a comparison between the Rhodesian skull and the skulls of Neanderthal man will justify the creation of a separate genus for the former." Keith states (1931, p. 117) that in brain and skull Rhodesian man is so primitive that were we moved by anatomical evidence alone we should place him at the very beginning of the Pleistocene series of cultures, but if we give geological evidence full weight, it does seem possible that he may have survived long enough to become con- temporary with Neanderthal man in Europe. Keith then turns to discussion of the criticism passed on his conclusions by Hrdlicka and by Pycraft. Sir Arthur thinks that "in the case of the Rhodesian find there should not be any hesitation in assigning the tibia to the skull; in texture, preservation, conformation, and colouring the tibia answers to the skull." The question of associating the limb bones with the skull is of primary importance, for, in Keith's opinion, "did we know only his skull we should regard him as a possible ancestor of Nean- derthal man; his limb bones separate him widely from Neanderthal man and reveal his close relationship to neanthropic or modern man." After recapitulating the observations of Pycraft and the criticism offered by Le Gros Clark, Keith concludes with the verdict that there is no need for a new genus named Cyphanthropus, or "stooping man"; the original name Homo rhodesiensis given by Sir Arthur Smith Woodward is appropriate. Furthermore, "Rhodesian man has certain points of kinship to Neanderthal man, but stands in his major characters nearer the ancestral line of modern man." Keith (1931, p. 53) thinks that Australopithecus, the Taungs skull, recovered from a matrix by Professor Dart, is in all essential features an anthropoid ape. "It shares so many features with the two surviving African anthropoids — the gorilla and chimpanzee — that, to account for their common heritage, we must suppose that all three have come from the same stem. The features wherein Australopithecus departs from living African anthropoids and makes an approach toward man cannot be permitted to outweigh the pre- dominance of its anthropoid affinities." Minute examination of the evidence, and especially of that relat- ing to teeth, size of brain, and endocranial cast, leads Keith to the conclusion (1931, p. 116) that the evidence is best explained by supposing Australopithecus "to have sprung as a branch of the phy- lum which gave us the gorilla and the chimpanzee, and not, as Prehistory 95 Professor Dart contends, from the root of the human phylum. That Australopithecus should manifest humanoid characters more promi- nently than either the chimpanzee or the gorilla need not astonish us; the great anthropoids and man have a common inheritance drawn from the same stem. In brief the discovery at Taungs has given us not a human ancestor but an extinct cousin of the gorilla and chimpanzee." Dr. P. Alsberg (1934, No. 179) has presented some criticism of Sir Arthur Keith's comments relating to the geology, biology, and morphology of the Taungs skull, which Alsberg regards as possibly human. He concludes: "If we were to paint a theoretical picture of the first stages of man, we should necessarily arrive at a form such as the Taungs child presents: the jaws are beginning to recede, the brain is about to increase. If Dr. Broom's opinion is correct that the Taungs creature belonged in the time of the Lower Pliocene, then the geological antiquity would also not bar the supposition that the being was human. The Taungs race would then represent a human stage far older than the Trinil (Java) race, and correspondingly much more primitive." Past experience has emphasized the need for caution in drawing conclusions from fossilized fragments of bone. But a written report by R. Broom (1936) establishes the importance of a recent discovery at Sterkfontein near Krugersdorp in the Transvaal. The fossils consist of the base of a skull, part of the face, and a good maxilla with three teeth. Apparently these fragments represent the skull of a large-brained anthropoid ape belonging to the same genus as the Taungs ape. Probably these fossils represent a skull which had a length of 145 mm. from glabella to occiput, a maximum parietal width of 96 mm., and a capacity of 600 cc. The brow ridges are moderately well developed, and there are two fairly large frontal sinuses. The skull is clearly that of a fairly large anthropoid, more closely allied to the Miocene and Pliocene species of Dryopithecus than to the j living chimpanzee and gorilla. The skull may have been of the same ' genus as the Taungs ape, but of a different species. Dr. Broom concludes: "It seems moderately certain that during I the greater part of the Pleistocene and possibly during the Pliocene, ' large, non-forest-living anthropoids flourished in south Africa, and not improbably it was from one of the Pliocene members of this group i that the first man was evolved," We must, however, await further discussion before accepting these statements as final. 96 Source Book for African Anthropology If we accept Homo rhodesiensis as somewhat Neanderthaloid, and Australopithecus as possibly simian, there remains the important Boskop skull, which is definitely himian, for inclusion in the phylo- genetic tree. The finding of the Boskop skull in 1913 has been followed by more recent discoveries that help to establish the relationship of the Boskop type to other races of south Africa. Keith (1931, p. 123) states that F. W. Fitzsimmons has discovered more than fifty burials of the Boskop type "and it has been demonstrated that the Boskop type merges into a later people, the Strandloopers. The Strand- loopers in turn merge into the smaller-headed Bushman and Hotten- tot types. The Boskop type (length 205 mm., breadth 154 mm., capacity 1630 cc), if not a direct ancestor of the Bushman, yet stands near the line which evolved into this type. Occasional Bushmen possess large heads of the Boskop type." Keith (1931, p. 117) states that on the information available Boskop man may be regarded as Late Paleolithic in date, practicing a culture corresponding to the Aurignacian in Europe. Fish Hoek Bay is situated about fifteen miles due south of Cape Town, and in Skildergat Cave on the shore of the bay B. Peers and his son, assisted by A. J. H. Goodwin and M. R. Drennan, have unearthed skeletons of Bushman type. According to Keith (1931, p. 132) a skull from a deep stratum is that of a Bushman of primitive and remarkable kind having a cranial capacity of 1600 cc. Keith (p. 139) is of the opinion that all recent evidence points to south Africa as the evolutionary cradle of the Bushman type. This view of the Bushman type as being evolved in south Africa is, as our archaeological evidence will show later, contrary to a somewhat general opinion of prehistorians, who think of the Bushman type as having migrated from north Africa. We may not, however, dismiss the phylogeny of the Bushman with ease and assurance; there are too many conflicting hypotheses. These have been collated and discussed by Dreyer (1931) in what he calls "The Bushman-Hottentot-Strandlooper Tangle." In this article the author compares the views of Drennan, Stow, P^ringuey, Shrubsall, Broom, Vedder, Spannus, Lebzelter, Hirschberg, and Bayer, of whose writings he gives a bibliography. There is no con- clusion concerning the genetic relationship of Bushmen, Hottentots, Strandloopers, and Boskoids, but the article is useful in giving the outline of a complex problem and in showing how far we are from a solution of that problem. jy Prehistory 97 Before we leave the subject of fossil man of south Africa, the dis- covery known as Springbok man, from eighty miles northeast of Pretoria, should be mentioned. Keith (1931, p. 146) has provided an illustration of the skull and mandible as restored by Dr. Broom, and after discussing details of the measurements Keith concludes that "he was a tall strong fellow with a big brain, a long and wide head, and a drawn out face, great mandible and small teeth, a type which we cannot fit into any African racial type known to us. He was cast in a mould altogether different from the Boskop and Fish Hoek men — big-brained and small-faced type." Keith (p. 152) concludes that Springbok man "represents a Negroid or Hamitic type which made its way southward in pre- historic times probably carrying with him the Aurignacian culture of his time." This Springbok man serves as a geographical though not an anatomical link between the discoveries in lower south Africa and those of Tanganyika and Kenya. The work of Leakey has aroused much interest and criticism, but at the moment there is no final judgment on several important points. The alleged antiquity of some of the fossil human bones is, however, dubious. In "Adam's Ancestors," Leakey (1934b) has given a succinct account of his work in east Africa in the past decade, and this is a simple introduction to his more technical works which have been listed in the bibliography. Beginning with Dr. Hans Reek's discovery of a human fossil at Oldoway, Tanganyika Territory, in 1914 (Reck, 1931), Leakey summarizes the data relating to human fossils since discovered in Kenya. After considerable controversy, it is now generally agreed that this skull can be assigned to the period of the Upper Pleistocene, at about the same period that the Cro-Magnon race flourished in Europe. At one time (Leakey, 1934b, p. 203) thought the Oldoway skeleton was associated with tools of the cultures known as Chellean and Acheulean, very early European stone-age periods, but later research indicated that the Oldoway skeleton was not nearly as ancient as the fossil animals and the stone-age implements found in the same deposit. The skeleton is really to be associated with the later Kenya Aurignacian culture, and to this culture also belong human skeletons found (1928-29) in a rock shelter known as Gamble's Cave II in the Elmenteita region of Kenya Colony. Leakey (1936a, pp. 172-173) plainly states what he means by the Negroid affinities of these fossils. The skulls from Gamble's Cave had straight faces 98 Source Book for African Anthropology instead of the prognathous faces of tjrpical Negroes, but in shape of the forehead they represented the Negro type. Before considering the skeptical views that now prevail, let us take a statement of Leakey (1934b, p. 206). He summarizes the evidence relating to the Kanam mandible found near Homa Moun- tain, Kavirondo Gulf, Lake Victoria Nyanza. "The various animal remains from the same stratum have also been examined with a view to determining the age of this fragment of ancient man. As a result of our studies we can say now that the Kanam mandible represents the oldest yet discovered true ancestor of modern man." Leakey calls attention to details of the teeth which led him to separate his specimen from Homo sapiens and to create a new species Homo kanamensis. The evidence of geology, fossil animals, and stone tools dated the Kanam mandible as Lower Pleistocene. The first skull fragments found by Leakey at Kanjera led to further research and the discovery of fragments of a human skull in an undisturbed stratum near the place where the first fragments had been unearthed. Leakey (1934b, Plate X) shows the two reconstructed Kanjera skulls and the Kanam mandible fragment. A study of associated fossil animals and implements of Chellean type, together with the geological evidence, supported the view that the Kanjera men belonged to the early part of what Leakey calls Middle Pleisto- cene (Lower Pleistocene of other classifications). In "The Stone Age Races of Kenya," Leakey (1935) gives a detailed account of Lower Pleistocene man. Homo kanamensis, also of Middle Pleistocene man of Kanjera, and of Upper Pleistocene man, whose remains are associated with the Upper Kenya Aurignacian culture, phase C. From Leakey's expression of his own opinions, we may turn now to some damaging criticism of his evidence. Boswell (1935) says, "The chief object of my visit was to study the geology of the deposits from which the Kanam mandible and the Kanjera No. 3 skull frag- ments were obtained, for Dr. Leakey had come to the important conclusion that these remains of Homo sapiens type occurred in situ in beds of Lower Pleistocene and Middle Pleistocene Age, respec- tively. Unfortunately, it has not proved possible to find the exact site of either discovery." The criticism calls attention to some con- fusion of photographic records, and states that "the date of entomb- ment of human remains found in such beds would be inherently doubtful. — In view of the uncertain location of the Kanam and Kan- jera sites, and in view also of the doubt as to the stratigraphical horizons from which the remains were obtained, and the possibility Prehistory 99 of disturbance of the beds, I hold the opinion that the geological age of the mandible and skull fragments is uncertain. It is disappoint- ing, after the failure to establish any considerable age for Oldoway man (of Homo sapiens type) that uncertain conditions of discovery should also force me to place Kanam and Kan j era man in a 'sus- pense account.' " For an answer to this criticism, see Leakey (1936a, pp. 155-156; 1936c). The osteological data collected by Bertholon and Chantre (1912, pp. 234, 239, 243) for Neolithic people of north Africa, and for the dolmen builders of that region, will be given in connection with archaeological data for north Africa. From the small amount of evidence relating to fossil man in Africa, a few examples have been chosen to illustrate the need for intensive and coordinated research in geology, archaeology, and paleontology. The existing osteological evidence is far too slender to support any theory of the origin of man in Africa, and divergent views respecting the phylogeny of the skeletons and fragments so far discovered indicate that much methodical excavation has to be done before we can support a hypothesis for the origin and genetic relationship of the divergent physical types now inhabiting Africa. These brief notes have touched only the most startling discoveries, and the aim has been to avoid details of measurement and description which can be derived from the works quoted. A student must realize firstly the paucity of data, then the equivocal nature of the evidence. It would be misleading, however, to give the impression that the literature on this subject is small, for though discoveries of major importance are few, excavation is always in progress, and recent publications of Galloway, Drennan (1935), Wells (1935a, b), Schepers (1935), and Goodwin and Malan (1935), are typical of present research which may at any time lead to a discovery of primary importance. Since the fossilized remains of man and his precursors are at present so inadequate as prehistorical evidence, we must turn to the facts of geology and archaeology in the hope of illuminating the dark pages of the Pleistocene. Stone Implements archaeological technique The successful work of Egyptologists, and the wide publicity given to their discoveries — often of a spectacular kind — has brought to archaeology a deep interest and romance. But success in the 100 Source Book for African Anthropology reconstruction of Egyptian history has perhaps aroused too great optimism respecting possible application of the same technique in other parts of Africa. Systematic excavating has been done in Algeria, Kenya, and south Africa, but owing to the remoteness of the stone-age periods concerned, and the absence of writing, the precision of the Egyptol- ogist in giving not only sequences, but dates, can never be attained. The work of a professional archaeologist is a skilled occupation which should never be confused with the efforts of treasure hunters who have ruined sites by indiscriminate digging for the sake of amusement and publicity. Scientific excavating is a slow, system- atic process involving a survey of the ground by use of a theodolite and a plane-table. Not only should an archaeologist be a surveyor; he must in addition have a knowledge of geology and cartography. Trial pits and trenches are dug, and if an undisturbed stratification exists the excavator considers himself fortunate. Geological knowl- edge leads to an estimate of the relative ages of the deposits and the probable lapse of time required for the formation of each stratum, but the actual dating in terms of years is always hazardous. An excavator is particularly careful to ascertain whether the deposits have been disturbed either by man or by natural agency, for, if the strata have been mixed, objects such as pottery, stone implements, and human and animal bones which now lie together may not have been contemporary. It may be that objects have been washed from one stratum to another, and, if this possibility is not recognized, confusion and incorrect inferences are inevitable. Archaeology is becoming more and more the work of specialists. A zoologist or paleontologist may be asked to identify existing genera and species of wild or domesticated animals whose bones are dis- covered. Physical anthropologists report on human fossils, their sex, race, and antiquity. Potsherds, beads, and porcelain are arti- facts requiring special study, while dendrochronology (estimation of the age of timber from consideration of the rings) is again a recent and special development of technique. A botanist is asked to identify grains and plants, which he is sometimes able to do by microscopic examination of fragments of food in pottery vessels. Among the specialists are chemists and metallurgists, whose analyses are sought. In recent years the airplane has been used in archaeological surveys of the Zimbabwe ruins and the prehistoric sites on the oasis of Kharga in the Libyan Desert. In Egyptology astronomical observa- Prehistory lOl tions have been important in relation to chronology. Thus, almost every branch of science has made some contribution to archaeology. The technique of excavating naturally depends on the nature of the site. An ancient cemetery may be divided into squares, each side of which measures twenty meters. Each of these large squares is then divided into five-meter squares, and plans of each square are drawn so that an excavator can record the exact position and level of each object that is found. Photographs of skeletons and other objects are made in situ, and the objects are numbered and stored, with samples of the matrix soil, in cabinets bearing the numbers of the squares and the level from which they were taken. The aim is to secure a permanent record of the site so that an accurate recon- struction on paper is possible after the excavations have been completed. In this way an archaeologist often obtains a sequence of cultures. In the lowest layers he may have found stone implements and pottery of a particular type, and these may be associated with human and animal remains of a specific kind, which do not occur in quite the same form and frequency in upper layers. Perhaps the higher levels yield more elaborate stone implements and more ornate pottery, and it may be that examination of human bones indicates that a racial intrusion modified the physical type of those whose bones were discovered in the lower strata. This digression concerning the method and function of archae- ology is necessary for the understanding of prehistoric problems of Africa, but it should be understood that very seldom does an archae- ologist have the opportunity of studying ideal stratifications, each of which contains all the kinds of evidence described above. Often he has to allow for distortion of strata and washing of objects from one level to another. More often than not, an excavator is handi- capped in his theories by paucity of evidence, so that wide scope for conjecture is left, and hypotheses are difficult to establish or refute. Or conflict may exist between the geological, osteological, and archaeological testimony. EUROPE Some preliminary consideration of the European Pleistocene glaciations, fauna, types of implements, rock paintings, and remains of fossil man is necessary for understanding the terminology and discussions now current in similar African studies. Research workers in north Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and south Africa make comparative 102 Source Book for African Anthropology studies of African and European stone implements for which the same terms, for example, Chellean, Acheulean, and Mousterian, are often used. In addition to this, stylistic affinities of European and African rock paintings and engravings are compared. In our survey of the archaeology of Africa only the main themes and the most important bibliographical items will be mentioned, but these references will lead farther afield, for each book and article has its own bibliography. In addition to the individuals mentioned, the following sources are of importance: Ebert (1924-32) has edited a "Reallexikon der Vorgeschichte." Much periodical literature exists in Revue Anthropologique, Revue Arch^ologique, Bulletins et M^moires de la Soci^t^ d 'Anthropologic de Paris, L'Homme Pr^historique, M^moires a I'lnstitut d'Egypte, Journal of Egjrptian Archaeology, and the publication of L'Institut de Pal^ontologie Humaine. L'Anthropologie has an index volume (1932), containing a list of contributors to the subject of European and African archae- ology. In the list of articles published by Abb^ H. Breuil, and by Breuil in collaboration with Obermaier, Peyrony, and other archae- ologists, a student will have a reliable guide to the most important prehistoric problems of Europe, and many for Africa. In the pages of the South African Journal of Science, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa, and Proceedings of the Rhodesian Science Association, are numerous archaeological reports which, taken alone, are inconclusive. Collated, as they must be in years to come, they will collectively explain many geological, archaeological, and osteological problems that are at present obscure. I feel sure, however, that a beginner will derive the greatest profit from a few textbooks before setting out on the task of summarizing periodical literature, which, for the main part, deals with specialized problems in a technical way. For studying European data many textbooks are available. W. J. Sollas (1924) begins his work "Ancient Hunters" with a descrip- tion of the great ice age in Europe and the way in which the climate of the whole world was affected by oscillations. Even on Mount Kenya near the equator the glaciers extended 5,400 feet lower than they do today. Similar evidence is afforded by other east African mountains, Ruwenzori and Kilimanjaro. The great ice age, and periodic changes of temperature during genial epochs between glaciations, profoundly affected flora, fauna, and the racial history of man. Sollas' study of the formation of glacial terraces (p. 22) by Prehistory 103 denudation and deposition is one which is intimately connected with the chronological sequence of types of implements found in these regions. "The great ebb and flow of temperature was at least four times repeated; four times have the glaciers enlarged their bounds, and four times have they been driven back into their mountain home (the Alps)." Useful notes on terminology are given (p. 118) when Sollas divides the Paleolithic series into two groups, an upper and a lower. In the Upper Paleolithic, starting from the most recent, are the Azilian, Magdalenian, Solutrean, and Aurignacian. Then, at the top of the Lower Paleolithic is the Mousterian, and below that the Acheulean and Chellean, all of which terms, together with several others, are constantly used in the terminology of African archaeology. A student should be familiar with forms of implements of these periods, and in this connection the British Museum "Guide to the Antiquities of the Stone Age" (Read, 1911, 1926) will be found serviceable, for in addition to European types many African paleoliths are sketched. At the end of the Paleolithic periods occur the Azilian and Tardenoisian, which are transitional from the last period of the Paleolithic (Magdalenian) to the Neolithic, or age of polished stone, with accompanying evidence of pottery-making and domestication of animals. Consideration of the river terraces of the Somme (Sollas) should not be neglected, for early in the study of African paleoliths the importance of such eroded terraces will be seen when comparing relative ages of paleoliths discovered in the Nile Valley, and along the Zambezi. Sollas' maps (1915, Figs. 74, 132) showing the geographical distribution of Mousterian and Aurignacian settlements in Europe are of importance in relation to the study of archaeology in north Africa. Engravings of the mammoth, of reindeer, and of convention- alized human forms, should be carefully considered, since constant reference is made to these in literature bearing on African picto- graphs. But a more extensive and clearer series of European Paleo- lithic art forms is given by Burkitt (1921), and a volume, "The Art of the Cave Dweller," is devoted to that subject (G. Baldwin Brown, 1928) ; Cartailhac and Breuil (1904) were among the first to publish excellent illustrations of paintings and engravings from the walls of caves in the Pyrenees, and a large tome of such mural art has been published by H. A. del Rio in conjunction with H. Breuil and R. L. Sierra (1911). 104 Source Book for African Anthropology Burkitt (1921, pp. 33-60) has an extremely useful chapter describ- ing man in relation to geology in which he gives types of imple- ments that enable archaeologists to subdivide major Paleolithic periods into upper, middle, and lower sections; such nomenclature will be found in descriptions of African stone implements. Burkitt discusses paleontological evidence of climatic conditions and tabu- lates the lists of animal bones associated with arctic, steppe, and warm conditions. Burkitt (p. 23) states that "the question of the periodicity of the Ice Age, that is, of the recurrence of glacial and inter-glacial periods, has been a matter of heated controversy. There are those, chief of whom are Dr. Albrecht Penck and Dr. Hugo Obermaier, who affirm that there were four glaciations. Others, including M. Boule, are content with three, whilst others again, especially geologists in the north, claim that there was only one glacial period. As has been suggested it may be merely a question of latitude, and further north where the mean annual temperature is obviously lower, the inter-glacial period would necessarily be shorter and cooler. — These four glaciations have been named after four little rivers that flow from the northern slopes of the Alps: Wurm (the latest), Riss, Mindel, and Giinz. Between each of these periods there were warmer inter-glacial periods ; these were the Giinz- Mindel between the Giinz and the Mindel glaciations according to the Penckian scheme, then the Mindel-Riss between the Mindel and the Riss glaciations, and the Riss-Wiirm between the Riss and the Wiirm glaciations." Familiarity with these fundamentals of European geology is necessary for understanding the tentative schemes suggested by archaeologists working in east and south Africa. In connection with this preparatory study MacCurdy (1924) will be of great service. In archaeology, as in other new sciences, terminology grows rapidly, and this difficulty MacCurdy has met by providing a glossary of archaeological and paleontological terms. It should be noted that the word Capsian (Vaufrey, 1933) is the equivalent in northern Africa of the Upper Paleolithic period, named from Capsa, the Latin for Gafsa (Tunis). The word Levalloisean is sometimes used in African archaeology; the adjective is derived from European terminology used in describing a flint implement occurring in certain late Acheulean and early Mousterian deposits. Maglemosean is the Scandinavian equivalent of the Azilian. MacCurdy (1924, vol. 1, p. 27) provides a table of the "Chro- nology of Prehistory," which is more detailed than the tables previ- Fig. 21. African paleoliths. Scale about 7:12. 105 106 Source Book for African Anthropology ously mentioned. Thus he divides the Neolithic, from more recent times backward, into Carnacian, Robenhausian, Campignian, Maglemosean, and Azilian-Tardenoisian. An account of the ice age and the types of Paleolithic implements found in Europe is followed by a well-illustrated section on Paleolithic art, and a summary is given of the discoveries of fossil man in Europe, NORTH AFRICA With this European terminology and an outline of European geological and archaeological data in mind, we may now turn to the systematic archaeology of north, east, and south Africa. Then we can consider the less developed investigations in west and central Africa, where surface finds, and not excavations, are the chief sources of archaeological information. Our studies may be centered about stone implements, rock paintings and engravings, and megalithic monuments. For terminology of north African archaeology see Leakey's comments (1936a, pp. 99-110). A useful starting point for the study of paleoliths of north Africa is C. G. Seligman's article (1921a, with bibliography) in which he describes his attempt "to obtain definite stratigraphic evidence as to the antiquity of implements exhibiting a technique which in Europe would be classed as Chellean, Acheulean or Mousterian." The sites visited were Abydos, Thebes, Tel-el-Amarna, Meir, and the Wady Sheikh. Seligman states (p. 117), "The implements themselves may be classified as follows, the 'period' given in the second column being that to which they would be assigned if they were of European origin. The hand-axe with borer point, crescents, and the tortoise point have no European parallels." Seligman's list includes hand-axes of Chellean and Acheulean form and finely worked ovates of Acheu- lean type; of Mousterian pattern are points, side-scrapers, borers, concave scrapers, tanged spear- and arrowheads. The forms desig- nated Mousterian are not specially typical of the Mousterian but are so grouped because of the localities in which they were found, stratigraphy, and patination. As Capsian or transitional to that type are mentioned concave end-scrapers, nose end-scrapers, and end-borers. "From a morphological standpoint the River-drift types are unmistakable. The Mousterian types, as far as the points, scrapers, and borers go, are equally typical and can be paralleled precisely by west European forms. A certain number of specimens cannot • I '^ • k I Fig. 22. African stone implements. Scale about 2:3. 107 108 Source Book for African Anthropology readily be referred to either a Chelleo-Acheulean or Mousterian technique. If the west European forms be taken as standards, some of these would be regarded as Aurignacian of the coarser type." Seligman is inclined to regard some Egyptian forms as highly devel- oped Mousterian types that have been modified by Capsian influences from North Africa. The geological argument to show that some of Seligman's material is Pleistocene and Paleolithic is given (p. 136). In conclusion (p. 142) he states that, although the majority of the implements, River-drift, Mousterian, and Capsian, show a patina due to long exposure on the desert, there are implements of a highly developed Mousterian type which do not show the Paleolithic patina. These are found in situ in undisturbed gravels geologically of Pleistocene age. Some imple- ments of Mousterian type and a few of River-drift and Capsian pattern are not patinated. They resemble specimens found in un- disturbed gravels and appear to have been weathered out of the cliff in geologically recent time. The illustrations of paleoliths of the eastern Egyptian desert shown by Sterns (1917a) are useful for comparison with the types discussed by Seligman. Sterns' article is, however, mainly a cata- logue with notes on patination. After discussing the resemblance of Egyptian types to such European forms as the Chellean, Acheu- lean, and Mousterian, he remarks that "type alone is no safe criterion for the correlation of specimens from widely separated areas. It has been clearly demonstrated that similarity of form does not necessarily mean proximity in time." When making comparative study of Paleolithic implements from Europe with similar types from north, east, and south Africa, typological resemblances alone will not suffice to establish contemporaneous development of similar industries in different areas. An archaeologist should be able to show that the fossils associated with each type are of the same period. In each of the areas under comparison the same types of implements should occur in the same sequence, and evidence of this kind ought to be obtained from the intervening area. Then the spread of a succession of cultures over the whole area, probably by human migrations, becomes a tenable hypothesis. In Egypt at Kharga, stratigraphy of Paleolithic discoveries is a subject to which Miss Caton-Thompson and Miss E. W. Gardner have contributed. Their report of 1933 refers to discovery of Neolithic implements of Faiyum type between the Kharga Oasis and the Nile Valley, and the oasis itself offered an opportunity Prehistory 109 of studying the stratigraphical succession of stone-age industries. A large number of specimens of a specialized Mousterian industry- was obtained. Caton-Thompson's report (1932) examines the geo- logical evidence and shows a sequence in situ of Acheulean, Levalloisean, Middle Paleolithic (Pre-Sebilian), At^rian, Capso- Tardenoisian, and Neolithic. The report of 1933 showed that the third season materially enlarged the evidence for greater vertical and horizontal distribution of the types of artifacts described in the report of 1932. When studying the geology of Egypt and the types of implements in relation to stratigraphy, three comprehensive reports (1929, 1933, 1934) of the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago, are available under the authorship of K. S. Sandford, and of Sandford and Arkell in collaboration. In his foreword to the first volume (1929) Professor James H. Breasted emphasizes the need for continued geological work in the Nile Valley and points out that without the cooperation of geologists archaeology can make no substantial advance. The objects of the expeditions, therefore, were " to search the geological formations for imbedded human handiwork or other traces which would date in geological terms the earliest human occupations of the Nile Valley; and to follow such traces as far down toward the historic epoch as possible; and second, to investigate the geological background of prehistoric man in northeastern Africa, so that all natural formations containing human artifacts might be geologically dated and their genetic place in the geological sequence determined within as narrow limits as possible." There is no evidence of Pliocene man in Egypt but there is ample stratigraphical testimony of a succession of stone-age cultures throughout the Pleistocene. In this period, when rainfall was copious, Paleolithic man hunted along the banks of the Nile and over the surrounding hills and plateaus. Instead of dry wadies, there existed plentiful streams and the landscape was covered with vegetation. Of great interest to archaeologists are the terraces showing where the Nile flowed above its present level, and in many of these terraces, bordering both the main river and its one-time tributaries, are the artifacts of Pleistocene man. The succession of implements in the various terraces is briefly summarized (Sandford and Arkell, 1933, p. 86) and a map (p. xvii) showing localities of investigation is given. In the 100-foot terrace in Nubia and Upper Egypt, Chellean and Chellean-Acheulean implements have been found, but not in the 110 Source Book for African Anthropology older beds, and again in the 50-foot terrace these forms occur. "The Mousterian technique reached an exceedingly high standard at the time of the 10-foot terrace, and the beautiful workmanship seen in the implements here figured (Plate XXXII) represents the typical Mousterian of Upper Egypt at its best." During the following period of silt accumulation, the previous high standard was not maintained, and almost imperceptibly the flakes became thicker and lost their fine edges and retouch. The shape also changed from a broad-based leaf to a rectangle or a point. To these changes in Mousterian forms the term Sebilian has been applied (Sandford and Arkell, 1933, Plate XLII; Vignard, 1923). "Distinct from the Lower or Middle Sebilian is the Upper Sebil- ian, which has essentially neanthropic character of workmanship, and suggests the introduction into this part of the Nile Valley of Capsian or Capsian-like influences from north Africa or elsewhere. The apparent hiatus between Middle and Upper Sebilian industries, reflected in their geological positions, suggests that some event of considerable importance to humanity took place at this time. At present there is insufficient evidence to judge what it was, but we suspect that the growth of deserts here and elsewhere had set in motion those migrations which continue at the present day among the desert population." In the third report, which is devoted to wider archaeological and geological surveys and a correlation of the results, the Lower Paleo- lithic stage of the Pleistocene is described (Sandford, 1934, pp. 53- 65), then the Middle Paleolithic (pp. 66-80) and finally the transition to Late Paleolithic and Neolithic times. Bibliographically this volume is of great service in a survey of the contributions of A. Pitt-Rivers, C. G. Seligman, W. M. F. Petrie, J. de Morgan, E. Vignard, G. W. Murray, Miss E. W. Gardner, Miss G. Caton- Thompson, H. Breuil, and Bovier-Lapierre. Seligman (1921a) is regarded by Sandford as the originator of modern work on prehistoric archaeology and stratigraphy in the Nile Valley, though half a century ago A. Pitt-Rivers (1881) found implements in situ at Thebes in gravels now recognized as of Mousterian age. With regard to the transition from Middle to Late Paleolithic times Sandford states (1934, p. 81) that Egyptian archaeology is in need of a term to describe the cultures that followed the Mousterian, or Middle Paleolithic, industry. "Upper Paleolithic" suggests the European, Aurignacian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian, none of which seems to be normally represented in Egypt, though Vignard has dis- Prehistory 111 covered an industry which he considers to have Aurignacian affinities, and he associates the Upper Sebilian with the Tardenoisian industry. Sandford decides on using the term "Late" Paleolithic as corre- sponding to "Upper" in Europe, and to late Mousterian, Mousterio- Capsian, and Capsian in north Africa. Sandford (1934, p. 81) refers to a gradation of implements which, in their earlier stages, may be grouped together as "Late Mous- terian and Early Sebilian," and this group merges into Middle Sebilian. The term Sebilian is derived from the village of Sebil on the Kom Ombo plain. The typology of the Upper Sebilian artifacts in flint and other hard rock is dominantly microlithic, with affinities to the Capsian culture. With regard to human bones associated with implements from Kau and Kom Ombo, Sandford (1934, p. 86) states that examination by Arthur Keith, D. E. Derry, and G. Elliot Smith indicates that the people whose bones were discovered were "more akin to the pre- dynastic Egyptian than to any other race of which we have full knowledge." A summary of the stratigraphy of archaeological discoveries, which is given in tabular form (Sandford, 1934, p. 126), begins with primitive implements of Chellean and Chelleo-Acheulean types in the 100-foot terrace, and traces the refinement of these forms through the 50-foot and 30-foot terrace to the Egyptian Mousterian types of the 10- to 15-foot terrace of Upper Egypt and the 25-foot gravels of Middle Egypt. This Mousterian culture is then traced out in the silts and degradation gravels of Upper and Middle Egypt, through Lower, Middle, and Upper Sebilian, to the Neolithic period. For study of the Neolithic period in Egypt the following works are of importance: E. W. Gardner and G. Caton-Thompson (1926, 1933); Caton-Thompson (1927); Brunton and Caton-Thompson (1928); Reisner (1923); and (in German), Junker, who summarizes a considerable amount of periodical literature relating to Neolithic Egypt. G. Caton-Thompson (1926, p. 315), after completion of her inventory of the Faiyum culture, quotes the belief of Flinders Petrie that in studying the Faiyum culture we are dealing with the arti- facts of a people of Solutrean kinship and northeastern origin. Petrie postulates a trek of Solutrean people about 15,000 B.C. from perhaps the region of the Caucasus into the Nile Valley, bringing their advanced civilization with them. He believes the Faiyum and Badarian people are offshoots of these Solutreans, Miss Caton- 112 Source Book for African Anthropology Thompson regards the Faiynm culture as a late stage of Neolithic. "The Badarian is still more advanced; he makes beautiful fine pottery, uses copper, and employs glazes." The Badarians were of ordinary predynastic type with a slight Negroid admixture. Miss Caton-Thompson examines the Solutrean theory (pp. 316-318), but does not find support in typology, in distribution of the types of implements, or in geological stratification. The flint forms of the Faiyum industry extend to Siwa Oasis and to Kharga Oasis and "there is little doubt that when these oases are examined a similar general culture will be revealed." Caton-Thompson is certain (p. 322) that the Badarian, Faiyum, and Nubian groups have a common origin, and that this origin will prove to be an autochthonous proto-Libyan element whose ancestral home is yet to be discovered (for Neolithic Egyptian implements see Fig. 23, a, h-k). With the manufacture of pottery in Egypt and the association of sherds with Neolithic implements, a new branch of archaeological work opens up. An excellent approach to ceramics is given by Frankfort (1924) in a well-illustrated discussion of "Mesopotamia, Syria, and Egypt, and Their Earliest Interrelations," for which a large bibliography is provided. This work is indispensable for students who wish to begin their archaeological studies with the Neolithic period in north Africa, and such studies lead directly into the dynastic and datable period, circa 4000 B.C. With regard to Lower Paleolithic man in the region of what is now Morocco and Algeria, there is abundant evidence. Siret (1925) gives many illustrations of typical forms of coup de poing from Morocco, and of side-scrapers and end-scrapers from the same region. Notes on stratigraphy are wanting, and the objects appear to be surface finds that have weathered out from their original gravels. Further information on Paleolithic north Africa is given by Arambourg (1934) and by Zoli (1935). The two journals, M^moire, Archives de I'lnstitut de Pal^ontologie Humaine, and Bollettino della Reale Societa Geografica Italiana, in which these articles respectively occur, are two valuable sources of information. The latter often supplies data about a part of north Africa where research is now conducted by Italians. When, however, we approach the study of Middle and Upper Paleolithic discoveries in northwest Africa there is abundant evidence of stratification and a succession of types; these are related at least morphologically to European Mousterian and Aurignacian patterns. Burkitt (1921, p. 106) says: "Nor is the profound alteration in Fig. 23. African implements of stone and bone. Scale about 2:3. 113 114 Source Book for African Anthropology industries the only change that we find when we come to Upper PaleoHthic times. Man himself has changed; we have to do with a new race far more elevated in the scale." Burkitt agrees with the hypothesis that when Neanderthal man disappeared in Europe his place was taken by a true Homo sapiens, the Cro-Magnon race, which probably came from north Africa. Of the Aurignacian (Capsian, or Getulian) stone culture in north Africa, Vaufrey (1933) has recently written a well-illustrated article showing many types of Capsian points, and he has provided a map on which are plotted stations of Upper Paleolithic culture near the north African littoral from 10° W. Long, to 10° E. Long. In summarizing the data relating to the Capsian industry, Vaufrey (p. 480) distinguishes three chronological groups: namely, (1) Cap- sien typique; (2) Interg^tulio-n^olithique and Capsien supdrieur; and (3) N^olithique de tradition capsienne. For all of these types, he provides numerous illustrations. The third stage shows a develop- ment of microliths, and the intrusion of arrow points of Saharan type is to be noted. To the third phase of the Capsian also belong polished axes and pottery sherds (Fig. 23, 6, c, l-n). Despite the difference of types, the industries of the Capsian form a homogeneous block, the climax of which is reached in the fine microlithic points of trapezoidal and triangular form. From the typological point of view, the Capsian appears to Vaufrey as an industry of Mesolithic or perhaps final African Paleolithic character, and he deprecates any attempt to make this Capsian industry the ancestor of the Aurignacian in Europe, to which culture the Capsian is probably junior. According to Vaufrey (1933, p. 481), the geological evidence is not favorable to views demanding antiquity for the Capsian. "Where should we search for ancestral forms of the Capsian?" he asks, and states that typologically certain Sebilian forms from Kom Ombo in Egypt may be the prototypes. But though such affiliations of types exist in Tunisia and Kom Ombo, all the facts are in favor of a late introduction of this Upper Paleolithic industry into Africa, and the archaeological data are unfavorable to a hypothesis that describes Africa as the home of Homo sapiens. A brief summary of features of the Capsian culture may be obtained from Menghin (1931, pp. 177-188) who marks out four primary divisions: (1) A Mediterranean division that flourished in north Africa when the climate was moist and game was plentiful; (2) a European Capsian or Tardenoisian ; (3) an east African; and Prehistory 115 (4) a south African Capsian culture. Later, in dealing with the archaeological literature for east and south Africa, we shall be better able to judge the legitimacy of applying the term Capsian so widely. Menghin (1931, p. 48) recognizes two main divisions of the Neo- lithic age in north Africa. The older of these cultures is found in caves of Oran where Capsian implements occur together with arrow points of Neolithic form and crude pottery. In the younger division of the north African "Grotten Kultur," the Capsian type of imple- ment disappears and improved sherds of pottery are found. These Neolithic cultures exist in the southern and central parts of the western Sahara, where stone implements indicate the spread of a hunting culture from the north, and an agricultural culture from the south. The former contributed arrowheads and javelin points, while the latter culture gave axes and grinding stones. In pursuing further these north African studies. Collie (1928) will be of service in describing the European Aurignacian period and its alleged African parallels. The report deals chiefly with European geology, archaeology, and fossil man, but references to north African problems are numerous. Changes of climate in north Africa are discussed (p. 16), and the chapter on fauna of the Aurig- nacian age is a simple summary of paleontological facts showing that Aurignacian man had access to abundant animal life. Mechta man is described (p. 18) and Collie describes the first bearers of Aurignacian culture in Africa as a breed possibly of Mousterian and Negroid or some other parentage. Of the male skeleton from the Mechta site (Constantine, Algeria), Collie says, "The skull has very strongly developed and prominent supraorbital ridges which are not individualized but extend as a bar across the forehead. The head is dolichocephalic but not platycephalic; viewed from above the skull is pentagonal. The nose is fial, the eye orbits small. In respect to the brow ridges both the male and female skulls are Neanderthaloid, but the total resemblance is not close — yet on the other hand these people are not Cro-Magnons. They are an inter- mediate group and it seems best to classify them apart under the title of Mechta man or the Mechta race." Collie recognizes the need for caution in making any final pro- nouncement on fossilized human bones from Mechta, but (p. 29) he thinks that several types of people moved over the north African plateau in the Aurignacian period, but none of them were of the true Cro-Magnon type that is associated with the European Aurig- 116 Source Book for African Anthropology nacian culture. Collie, supporting his views with testimony from Breuil and Obermaier, leans toward an African origin of the European Aurignacian culture and is inclined to agree that a pre-Aurignacian, or pre-Capsian, race seems to have come from Africa. According to hypothesis this race, which was not Neanderthaloid but approached the Homo sapiens type, entered southern Spain during the Chellean- Mousterian ages bearing a new-stone culture, which combined with the stone culture then in Europe to produce a culture that we now call Aurignacian. But caution is again necessary, for we have already seen (Vaufrey, 1933) a discussion of the Capsian cultures and a reluctance to accept them as a parental form of the European Aurig- nacian. Still less did Vaufrey favor the idea that north Africa had given birth to a new Homo sapiens. Collie continues to discuss the various views that have been held respecting types of Cro-Magnon men in Europe and the possibility that the types survive, with admixtures, at the present day (pp. 30-35). Information respecting the remains of prehistoric man in north Africa has been summarized by Bertholon and Chantre (1912, vol. 1, pp. 234-243), who find that Neolithic people in the region of Gafsa and Tebessa had small bones and a feeble muscular develop- ment. They were of medium height, long-headed, and mesorrhine. The orbits were microseme, the face was short and broad with a tendency to prognathism, and the cranial sutures were simple. Two main types are distinguishable: (1) a mesaticephalic Negroid type; and (2) a short, dolichocephalic, mesorrhine type, with a large glabella and a Neanderthaloid aspect. The fossil skull and skeleton from Asselar, 220 miles northeast of Timbuktu, has been discussed by Leakey (1936a, p. 177), who summarizes the evidence of Boyle and Vallois. Probably the skele- ton is a representative of the ancestral Negro stock of central Africa. Hooton (1925, pp. 192-207) discusses the relation of the Guanches and other ancient inhabitants of the Canary Islands to the so-called "Race of Cro-Magnon," and supports a belief in the hybrid character of the Cro-Magnons. In his introduction to anthropometric research on the Cap-Blanc skeleton of the Upper Paleolithic, G. von Bonin (1935) surveys the literature bearing on physical characters of the Upper Paleolithic populations of Europe. He asks (p. 18), "Are they really racially homogeneous or do they represent several dis- tinct races? Can they be traced in subsequent or perhaps even in modern races?" His answers to these questions (p. 51) are non- committal, but in view of his personal research and that of colleagues Prehistory 117 the opinion is offered that "there is no statistical reason to regard the Upper Paleolithic as racially mixed." In answer to the second question, there is the possibility of an occasional manifestation of Cro-Magnon characters among modern populations. "But such observations might be explained equally well on another ground but that of atavism." Since the Canary Islands may be regarded as the most westerly extension of north Africa, there is reason to search there for soma- tological, linguistic, and cultural evidence of north African migra- tions that traveled westward to the utmost limit. The nearest of the islands is about sixty miles from the African coast. Hooton (1925, pp. 298-303) has given a "Tentative Reconstruction of the Prehistory of the Canary Islands." He believes that the first settle- ment of the archipelago probably occurred in the Neolithic period with the arrival of dolichocephalic, mesorrhine, short-statured brunets of Mediterranean race with some Negroid mixture. "These settlers probably came from the mainland of Africa south of Morocco or from the region of Wadi Draa. They brought with them domesti- cated sheep and goats, a chipped-stone and bone industry, but they probably had no knowledge of cultivated cereals and did not make pottery. They may have spoken some proto-Berber language." The second invaders were brunet whites with some Mongoloid features whose center of distribution in north Africa was the Gulf of Gabes and eastern Tunisia. "They introduced into the Canary Islands the cultivation of barley, the use of crude and usually unornamented pottery, the sling and pellet. This brachycephalic group survived in its purest cultural form in Gomera — these people mixed with the Mediterranean-Negroid carriers of the Archaic culture, in Gran Canaria, Teneriffe, and Gomera." Almost contemporary in arrival with the Alpine-Mongoloids were a tall, blond, dolichocephalic people, with long faces and narrow noses. Before arrival in the Canary Islands, these invaders had a strong admixture of the Alpine-Mongoloid type. These third invaders, who came from the Atlas ranges of Morocco and Algeria, formed a ruling caste. They probably spoke an early Libyan language. Mixture of these third arrivals with the broad-faced brachycephals of the second incursion produced a hybrid type with a long head and a broad face, often of large stature and probably of light pigmenta- tion, with brown, red, or blond hair. "This is the so-called Cro- Magnon type." 118 Source Book for African Anthropology A fourth invasion affected chiefly the eastern islands, and to existing peoples were added dolichocephalic, leptorrhine brunets of the Mediterranean type. The people of the fourth invasion intro- duced much better and more elaborate ceramic forms distinguished by decoration in color. The intruders understood the cultivation of wheat, and they used pottery stamps for making designs on their bodies. A brief survey of the region of north Africa from the Canary Islands to Egypt has indicated that a sequence of stone-age periods can be traced backward from the Neolithic through culture phases that in broad outline resemble the Mousterian, Acheulean, and Chellean phases of Europe. From study of implements in the Nile Valley terraces, the Paleolithic age is known to recede far into the Pleistocene. Yet cultural changes did not always merge one into another, and in the Nile Delta region there is evidence of a new- stone-age culture imposed from without by people of unknown origin. The Canary Islands also afford an illustration of superimposed cultures contributed by a succession of peoples of different physical types. These immigrants traveled westward from the Atlas region, and study of skeletal remains in the western terminus of their migration indicates the presence of four main somatic types with their derivatives produced by mixture. Concerning the origin of these types, their exact line of migration, and their phylogenetic relation- ship to other African and European types, great uncertainty exists, and although a sequence of cultures is established, we have only the vaguest knowledge of the actual tim.e intervals involved. Yet the evidence from north Africa indicates a definite advance in archaeo- logical research, and we may say that at least the foundations of a sound technique have been established. A table of Leakey (1936a, p. 114) is a useful summary of north African stone-age sequences. EAST AFRICA In appraising the present position of archaeological work in east Africa, reference should first be made to Leakey (1931, pp. 1-4), who summarizes the archaeological data for Kenya, Uganda, and Tan- ganyika before the year 1926, and despite recent criticisms this is still our best source of information. Before that date no detailed archaeological investigations had been carried out in Kenya, but surface implements had been found and some stone tools had been discovered in situ. Distinct phases of culture had been recognized, but sequences had not been established. To this period of study belong the discoveries of Seton-Karr (1909), who found at Jalelo, Prehistory 119 about ninety miles northwest of Berbera in Somaliland, a site where stone implements were manufactured. The collection included heavy Paleolithic forms, coup de poing of quartzite and chert from high ground, also Neolithic lanceheads, arrowheads, and scrapers from lower ground where flint occurred. For Paleolithic types of implements, see Fig. 21. But Leakey states that, despite the paucity of archaeological data from east Africa before 1926, E. J. Wayland had established a scientific basis of research in Uganda. Wayland's research had included the collection of stone implements of various periods and cultures, and he had produced evidence of three main culture groups which he called Kafuan, Sangoan, and Magosian. Wayland had anticipated present research by advancing the idea of a glacial- pluvial correlation as a foundation for studying the sequence of east African stone-age cultures. These preliminary researches led to the formation of an East African Archaeological Expedition, which in 1926 started work in Kenya, where investigations were concentrated on the lake basins of Nakuru, Elmenteita, and Naivasha. Here Leakey found evidence of three pluvial periods, separated from each other by arid periods. The vision of archaeological research was widened, and the objectives included not only the establishment of cultural, geological, climatic, and paleontological sequence, but the correlation of these with corresponding changes and phenomena in Europe, north Africa, and south Africa. Leakey (1931, p. 38) gives a list of terms applied to culture sequences in Kenya. Beginning with the most recent, these are: Njoroan, Gumban B (Nakuru culture), Gumban A, Kenya Wilton, Elmenteitan, Kenya Late Aurignacian and Kenya Still Bay (con- temporary), Kenya Aurignacian and Kenya Mousterian (contempo- rary), Nanyukian, Kenya Acheulean, and Kenya Chellean. Leakey then describes the typology of the cultures and the geological and paleontological evidence on which the arrangement is based. A table giving the hypothetical synchronizing of culture phases with wet and dry climatic phases is given by Leakey (1931, p. 33). A more detailed tabulation is offered by the same author (1934d, p. 146), and a revised table (1935, p. 6). The latest table given by Leakey (1936a, p. 75) shows an evolution of types of implements from the Kafuan or primitive pebble culture to the Njoran or Neolithic. This later tabulation works upward from the extremely simple Kafuan culture through the Oldowan to Chellean I, all of which are 120 Source Book for African Anthropology Lower Pleistocene, corresponding to the European Chellean and pre-Chellean periods. On the left of the table is an indication of climatic changes in Europe during the advance from Kafuan to Chellean I. The scheme further shows that during the Middle Pleistocene a cultural advance was made from Chellean II to Acheu- lean V in east Africa, corresponding with similar culture periods in Europe during the Mindel and Riss glaciations. At the bottom of the Upper Pleistocene, the scheme shows Acheu- lean VI, Nanyukian, and other phases leading up through Basal Aurignacian to Aurignacian and Levalloisian. In the upper part of the Upper Pleistocene are the Upper Aurignacian and Kenya Still Bay cultures. The Elmenteitan and Magosian cultures are the uppermost of the Upper Pleistocene cultures. The Elmenteitan has replaced the Kenya Aurignacian and the Kenya Still Bay has changed to the Magosian. The climatic changes during this cultural evolu- tion in Kenya have been described by Brooks (Leakey, 1931, Ap- pendix B), who shows a parallelism between glacial periods in Europe and pluvial periods in east Africa. The most recent pluvial period, the Nakuran, he dates 850 B.C.; before this came a dry period. The Makalian pluvial is thought to have occurred from 10,000 to 2500 B.C., and before the Makalian came a dry period. The Upper Gam- blian pluvial of east Africa possibly synchronized with the Wiirm glacial period in Europe, and the Lower Gamblian was contemporary with the Riss Glacial. A dry period in east Africa preceding the Lower Gamblian is correlated with the Mindel-Riss inter-glacial of Europe. And the most ancient pluvial, the Kamasian of east Africa, was contemporary with the Mindel glacial and the Giinz glacial periods of Europe. Brooks (1931, Appendix B) believes that this tentative scheme of synchrony has a high degree of probability. For continuing the study of archaeology, geology, and climatic change in east Africa, the contributions of E. J. Wayland (1930, 1934), of Wayland and M. C. Burkitt (1932), and of O'Brien (1936) are of primary importance. Taking these in chronological order, Wayland (1930, p. 475) states that the facts, as we know them in Uganda, favor belief in the occurrence of two pluvial periods in the Pleistocene. So far as dating goes, these appear to correspond with a pair of recognized glacial periods; Pluvial 1 was to some extent contempo- raneous with the Giinz and Mindel glaciations, while Pluvial 2 was approximately contemporaneous with the Riss and Wiirm glaci- ations. The pluvials were separated by a dry interpluvial period — all the evidence favors the view that these two pluvial periods Prehistory 121 were true pluvials because they occurred at the same time over wide areas of the earth's surface. In continuing this inquiry, Wayland (1934) gives a historical sur- vey of archaeological and geological research in Uganda, and he provides a table giving further geological and climatic details of the pluvial periods and cultural phases in Uganda. A summary of archaeological types and sequences (p. 351) indicates that the pebble culture, which had possibly started in Late Pliocene time, developed slowly. "During Part I of the second pluvial period, though not at the beginning of it, Man began to use lumps of quartzite from which to fashion his tools; he soon became expert in cleaving his tough rock, and before long enormous flakes were being detached. Pebbles were not completely abandoned, however, and for some purposes they are used to this day. In Karamoja (N. E. Uganda), for example, the blacksmiths use hammer stones; and boulders, brought to an edge, provide a sort of anvil for shaping spears." Following the Kafuan "pebble" culture came a pre-Chellean phase of stone artifacts, some of which are Clactonian in technique. "The Chelleo-Acheulean and Sangoan cultures developed side by side, the former being a culture of the valleys and the latter of the hills." Present information suggests that the Sangoan developed into the Mousterian culture. The Homa evidence, which cannot be accepted as final, suggests that the local Mousterian developed into the Still Bay culture. "The Aurignacian appears to have been a foreign influence which came, presumably, from the north, or more likely north-east, for in that direction Aurignacian sites are commonest — indeed, they would seem to be decidedly rare elsewhere in Uganda. From the Aurignacian arose microlithic industries such as the Magosian and Wilton. In the Magosian a dying Still Bay influence is apparent." In Uganda no pottery is definitely known until the Wilton culture appears. But Leakey (1931, p. 103) states: "The question of the existence of pottery in Palaeolithic times has always been a vexed one, but there can be no doubt whatever of the presence of two pieces of pottery in the upper Kenya Aurignacian deposits in Gamble's Cave II." A student should, however, be very cautious in making deductions from this small amount of evidence. The Magosian culture in Uganda has formed the subject of an article by Wayland and Burkitt (1932), who describe and illustrate these artifacts in detail, classifying them according to the levels at 122 Source Book for African Anthropology which they were found and commenting on their resemblance to the products of the Wilton industry in south Africa. A valuable resume of archaeological work in Uganda has been prepared by O'Brien (1936). He begins with the oldest culture, namely, the Kafuan; this he describes as a "pebble" culture which in every particular is "the most primitive recognizable in Africa," and definitely prior to the Oldowan of Leakey. In the Kafuan industry, the flaking of the pebbles was merely a reduction of the natural edges to produce small cutting and chopping tools. These Kafuan tools mainly occur in terrace gravels deposited by rivers of the first pluvial phase. Younger gravels yield evidence of early Oldowan types, the type tool of the true Oldowan being a crude chopper. Following a European nomenclature, O'Brien describes the Cro- merian culture characterized by the striking of large, crude flakes. The evidence implies that this Uganda Cromerian culture belongs to the interpluvial phase, and that the culture continued into Pluvial II (Kamasian) times, as part of the Sangoan mixture of types. "The true Chellean does not occur widely in Uganda. There appear to be several stages, however, which seem to conform to the normal succes- sion as seen in other parts of Africa." A worker of the Chellean culture carried out his chipping with the intention of producing two edges and perhaps a point. This technique is in contrast to the earlier single-edged chipping of the Kafuan-Oldowan cultures. Definite stages from the Chellean to the Acheulean have not yet been discovered in Uganda. For many years the Tumbian culture has been known in both the French and the Belgian Congo, and it is found also in Uganda. At present we do not know whether the Tumbian development was a lateral branch of the Acheulean, or whether the Acheulean at an advanced stage borrowed features of a Tumbian culture already existing in the Congo. The Levalloisian culture appears between Lower Acheulean and Upper Acheulean, and finally develops into the Still Bay phase. The important features of the Levalloisian culture are its longevity and wide distribution over Uganda. Possibly the lack of a Uganda Aurignacian culture in any way comparable to the Aurignacian of Kenya may be due to the rarity of suitable material. The Magosian culture is Mesolithic. The Neolithic culture of Uganda is a "widespread industry of microlithic type, without polished tools, occurring abundantly in caves and Prehistory 123 shelters, and in the open. The tools include lunates, minute tapering backed-blades, and small scrapers. Pottery is always associated, at any rate in home sites, and is always well-made." The Neolithic industry is late, perhaps only a few centuries old. For a criticism of O'Brien, see Wayland (1937). SOUTH AFRICA The history of archaeological work in south Africa is in outline a repetition of the development of technique in the north and east of the continent. The literature may be conveniently grouped in four divisions: (1) discoveries of stone implements, chiefly surface finds of the period 1870-90; (2) early attempts to study typology, sequences of patterns, and stratification; (3) specialized articles dealing exclusively with one small site or one type of implement; and (4) recent articles and books summarizing the foregoing contributions, welding the information, and advancing theories respecting the relationship of stone-age cultures of north, east, and south Africa. J. Sanderson (1878) called attention to current tales of the Kafirs relating to a stone-using people who preceded them, and he notes the continued use of stone as weights for digging-sticks, hammers, and grinders. Sanderson states that the first scientific interest in stone implements from Natal may be dated about 1871. The imple- ments described by Sanderson are referred to as knives for cutting skins, scrapers for preparing skins, piercers of quartz for drilling holes, molding tools for making pottery, and chisels for cutting wood. Some of the implements were found near Durban from one to four feet below the surface, but on the evidence of W. D. Gooch (quoted by Sanderson) some of these forms were shown to have a very wide distribution. A few years after the publication of Sanderson's article, Gooch (1881) placed the study of stone implements on a scientific basis by taking cognizance of types of implements, their topographical dis- tribution, the character of the deposits in which they were found, and the nature of the material from which they were made. The topographical scheme of Gooch included the division of south Africa into districts "which the apparent grouping of types or forms of the implements found in them seemed to suggest." Various Paleolithic forms are illustrated, and the article concludes with a table giving a description of implements, geological position, and district where found. To this inaugural period also belong the contributions of Feilden (1883), Penning (1886), and Leith, Frames, and Penning, all of 124 Source Book for African Anthropology whom wrote in 1898. Leith deals with cave deposits, shell mounds, and coarse stone implements, among which are eoliths traceable to high gravels. Leith sees a close typological correspondence between stone implements from the chalk of Kent and those from plateau gravels in the Transvaal. T. Rupert Jones (1899) described thirteen large paleoliths from Swaziland. He remarks on the impossibility of suggesting a chronology for these implements, for the relative ages of the gravels in which they were found are undetermined. It was known, however, that the implements were found in gravel terraces of different ages cut out by the River Embabaan. The illustrations show a large ovate form and two long, narrow specimens. Kingston (1900) explored some caves on the coast between Mossel Bay and Port Elizabeth. The excavation was not thorough, but the author states that "we arrived, by a series of soundings in various places, at a very fair idea of the. nature of the deposits and even of the manner of life of the former inhabitants." The objects found included long, narrow implements of flaked quartzite, arrowheads of stone, a bone scoop, a shell ornament, pounders, and heavy perforated stones. The caves had been occupied at different levels by Strand- loopers. Some stone implements found in the valley of the Zambezi were described by Lamplugh (1906) and by Balfour in the same year. The implements were lying on the bottom of the broad outer valley, and their occurrence in the high gravels assigns to them a great antiquity. With one exception the implements were discovered at the surface, and a geological section (p. 164) is given to show the position of the artifact which was found in situ at a depth of five feet. Lamplugh concludes that most of the implements, which are rude paleoliths, were left in their present position when the Zambezi flowed in the higher valley for some distance below the present falls. Balfour (1906) describes a Paleolithic type of implement from the Victoria Falls region. In type he compares this implement to those of the River-drift (Chellean) period in northeast Europe. The implement, though found on a road which was under construction, was traceable in origin to a sand pit near-by. The sand pit was in an ancient deposit of coarse gravels, laid when the river was running at a height perhaps 15 to 20 feet above its present level at this point. The site, patination, and abraded surface of the implement point to great antiquity, and the resemblance in type to some European River-drift implements led Balfour to remark that "the combined evidence seems to point strongly to a strict correspondence of con- I Prehistory 125 ditions in the two widely separated regions, to a like condition of culture, in both cases of great antiquity. Whether it is legitimate to assign to these Zambezi implements as remote a date as that given on geological evidence to the implements of our own River- drift must be determined by further examination of the older Zam- bezi deposits." (For south African Paleoliths, see Fig. 22, h-d.) The publication of P^ringuey's (1911) dissertation on the stone ages of south Africa marked the beginning of a really intensive study of south African archaeology. Moreover, there is a definite expan- sion of speculation respecting analogies of types from south Africa and Europe. Referring to coarse, heavy paleoliths, P^ringuey (p. 8) says of the south African forms: "The Chellean type is the Chellean form of the Palearctic regions. This is indubitable. But the types that might correspond with the Aurignacian, Solutrean, and Magdalenian cultures, especially the last, have an indescribable facies of their own which may be said to be South African. On the other hand the pygmy implements, and others with the bord abattu of the French, cannot be very readily distinguished from the English, French, and Indian implements of the same type, except, of course, by the material of which they are made; but they more closely approximate the Algerian and Morocco examples." After a brief review of European typology Peringuey (p. 17) begins his survey of the different types of south African Paleolithic implements and states that he has no difficulty in dividing the bouchers into several types, owing to their appearance or facies, or to the material of which they are made. He then describes the manufacture and probable uses of the bouchers. The geological evidence for establishing the relative antiquity of implements is said to be inadequate. The survey includes an account of a Neolithic period, though the term is perhaps not justified, and some description is given of pottery, ornaments, and craniology of the Strandloopers, all with a view to summarizing the information available in the year 1911. But it is evident that the prehistorical studies are a long way from presenting a relevant and connected story of physical types, their succession, wanderings, and achievements. Among articles of importance dealing with special sites and specific types of implements are the following: N. Jones (1920) describes the evidence for four successive periods of prehistoric occupation at Taungs. From the earliest period are water-worn hand-axes of all shapes and degrees of workmanship; then, more recent, are some flakes and scrapers of diorite which are not water- 126 Source Book for African Anthropology worn. A still more recent period produced specialized implements of chert with a careful secondary chipping. A final period is charac- terized by the presence of implements and chips produced by Bush- men. A stratification of stone cultures at Tiger Kloof is also considered in this article. Further examples of local studies are those by N. Jones (1924, 1930), Gardner (1928), Goodwin (1929), and Armstrong (1931). N. Jones (1924) states that the country between Bulawayo and the Zambezi River is particularly rich in stone implements, chiefly hand-axes, "strikingly similar to those of Chellean and Acheulean age in Europe." Similar types of early Paleoliths are found abun- dantly in British Bechuanaland. In addition to the river gravel implements, the Later Paleolithic is represented in Rhodesia by implements discovered in caves of the Matopo Hills and in super- ficial deposits. These flake-implements with Aurignacian facies are regarded as the work of Bushmen. But between the remote period known as the River-drift, and the Aurignacian period, there is a gap which is yet without an archaeological bridge. The peculiar interest of the Sawmills site, situated fifty-five miles northwest of Bulawayo, lies in the fact that "we have here two distinct periods of human activity, an older and a newer, both clearly separable by geological methods." The article gives illustrations of stone implements from the older terrace, of "fabricators," of cres- centic scrapers, and of microliths. The later implements as a whole show clear resemblance to Aurignacian forms of Europe, but such evidence does not permit the assumption that the Bushmen who fashioned these implements were of the race responsible for an Aurig- nacian culture in Europe. Possibly the Bushman derived his knowl- edge of stonecraft from an earlier race, "but so far as present research has carried us in South Africa, we are here in the realm of pure conjecture." Father Gardner's article (1928), with numerous illustrations, gives a clear idea of the typology of the Wilton stone-age industry, which includes a variety of scrapers and crescents. N. Jones (1930) also describes a particular phase of stone-age culture, the rostro- carinate, a term borrowed from Reid Moir's nomenclature for some late Pliocene and early Pleistocene implements of East Anglia. Jones (p. 73) states, "The occurrence of this primitive form of implement is of special interest in that it points strongly to the identity of the race that evolved it both in Europe and South Africa." This is, however, a strong statement, which will, I think, have to be Prehistory 127 regarded with great mistrust. Jones continues to describe the se- quence of implements from the site where the rostro-carinate imple- ments were found, at Hope Fountain, Rhodesia. He regards the Hope Fountain industry as a developing series extending from the Chellean to the early Acheulean. Armstrong's (1931) description of excavations in a Bambata cave emphasizes a development in archaeological technique, and the opening remarks indicate a broad outlook on the possible inter- relation of European and south African archaeological problems. Bambata Cave in the Matopo Hills south of Bulawayo contains deposits and a frieze of wall paintings (p. 240). "Two sections were systematically excavated to the bed-rock of the cave, a maximum depth of 20 feet 3 inches, and yielded a complete sequence of deposits varying from Lower Paleolithic (South African Acheulean), to a Microlithic culture [Fig. 22, e-j], believed to be ancestral to the Wilton culture of the Cape. The succession of cultures was found to be in close agreement with the European sequence." A careful investigation was made into the nature and age of alluvial deposits near Bambata Cave, and the artifacts of these deposits were used as a standard for correlating the deposits with definite stages in the occupation of Bambata Cave. "Implements from the Lower Palaeo- lithic horizon of Bambata Cave were correlated with those collected in numerous Rhodesian river valleys." The Zambezi gravels south of Victoria Falls were visited and evidence was obtained relative to the distribution of the Lower Paleolithic series of implements found there. The relation of these implements to stages in the erosion of the Zambezi gorge was studied. Armstrong (p. 248) cautions against a free use of European archaeological terms unless these are modified by prefixing the words "south African." One should be careful also not to assume that similar artifacts from Europe and south Africa are contemporaneous. In conclusion (p. 273), Armstrong states that the excavation of Bam- bata Cave has given the first south African example of a stratified sequence of cultures from Acheulean to Wilton; the latter is the African cultural equivalent of the European Tardenoisian. An important result of the work in Bambata Cave was the evi- dence of long occupation of the cave by Mousterian man, the entry of Homo sapiens, and the fact that these two races occupied the cave alternately, each preserving a pure culture. This discovery agrees with that of Leakey, whose excavation in certain Kenya gravels led him to conclude that the two races were contemporary there. With 128 Source Book for African Anthropology regard to this statement, a student should be warned that the evi- dence for the occupation of Bambata by two races, Mousterian and Homo sapiens, is cultural and not osteological. The further conclu- sions of Armstrong will be quoted verbatim later in this chapter, since they are of importance in our summing up of the cultural relationship of stone-age man in north, east, and south Africa, and in Europe. The research of Armstrong has brought our inquiry to a point where a selection of recent literature (1927-32) should be made in order to continue the discussion of cultural sequences in south Africa and their possible external relationships, Goodwin (1927) refers to a new school of archaeological thought in south Africa, and a tendency of this school to take over the Euro- pean terminology, sequence, and even dating. "The result has been chaotic." Goodwin then outlines a scheme of classification, typology, and cultural sequence which has been adopted as a working basis by the South African Association for the Advancement of Science. It is extremely important that a student should memorize this scheme, since all discussions make use of the terminology. Two main divisions are recognized for south Africa, the earlier stone age and the later stone age. The earlier period lasted thousands of years, and the period ended possibly three thousand years ago, though precise dating is quite impossible. Dr. P^ringuey's term, Stellen- bosch, for the main culture of the earlier stone age has been retained. The main types of this culture are coups de poing of well-known forms, oval, almond-shaped, pear-shaped. A second culture of the earlier stone age is the Victoria West, and a third the Fauresmith. Following the earlier stone age, and probably overlapping, is a later stone age, of which the first industry is the Still Bay, somewhat similar to the Solutrean of Europe, with pressure technique produc- ing a lanceolate implement about two inches long. The Still Bay was followed by the Smithfield and Wilton cultures, which were probably contemporary and may have extended into modern times. The Smithfield culture consists mainly of duckbill-shaped end-scrapers, and with these are associated other forms of scraper, stone borers, bored stones, ostrich-eggshell beads, stone rings (armlets), pottery, also human bones. The Smithfield industry is similar to the Lower Capsian or Lower Aurignacian. The human bones are of that general type known as "Bushman." For a tabular statement of these south African culture sequences, see Leakey (1936a, p. 97). This table is Leakey's personal interpretation of the data. I Prehistory 129 The chief implements of the Wilton industry are the lunate crescent, end-scraper, horseshoe scraper, and thumb-nail scraper, and with these are associated pottery similar to that of the Smith- field culture, bone implements (Fig. 23, d-g), Bushman skeletal remains, and cave paintings. All evidence considered, the Wilton culture is identical with the last phases of the Capsian of Spain and north Africa, in which implements were all of the pygmy variety. The Wilton industry survived to the year 1870 at Kimberley. In conjunction with Goodwin's summary of the classification of stone cultures in south Africa, his "Handbook to the Collection of Stone Implements in the South African Museum" (1926) should be read. On page 24 appears a diagram illustrating the possible origins and interrelations of the stone-age cultures of Europe, north Africa, and south Africa. This guide summarizes the stone-age cultures of Europe and pictures Aurignacian man starting from the east and arriving at the Mediterranean Sea. There the migration split in two, one part following the northern shore while the other part continued along the north coast of Africa. "The northern branch took with them the true Aurignacian culture, which was to oust the lower culture of the less advanced Neanderthal race. The African branch carried the Capsian culture which was later to pass across Africa and from there into Italy and Spain across the great land- bridges which split up the Mediterranean Sea into three or four separate areas." Furthermore (p. 8), Goodwin pictures the culture of Capsian man of north Africa, and draws inferences of his physical appearance from paintings in the caves of Spain. In connection with the Capsian culture, Goodwin notes the introduction of the bow and arrow into Europe, the clothing of men and women, the physical trait of steato- pygy (large buttocks), the beginning of ceramics, and the piercing of large stones to serve as weights for digging sticks. "We now know that our own south African Bushfolk are culturally the same as these long-dead north Africans who spread into Southern Europe. Whether or not they are physically the same is so far impossible to say. His culture, however, can be traced in east Africa and Uganda, and reappears in the Union over the whole of the central portion. The technique of the 'Bushman' paintings is identical with the technique of Spain, the materials used are the same, the same attitudes are seen, and the same disposition to depict action rather than objects." These brief articles by Goodwin serve as an introduction to a comprehensive work by Goodwin and C. van Riet Lowe (1929), who 130 Source Book for African Anthropology survey the whole classification of implements in south Africa from the Stellenbosch industry through all the periods mentioned by Goodwin (1926, 1927) to the Wilton and some Neolithic elements. For a brief summary, with appreciation and criticism of this work, Menghin (1933, pp. 370-371) should be consulted. A detailed summary of the prehistory of south Africa is Lebzelter's (1930) "Vorgeschichte von Slid- und Siidwestafrika." A geographical survey of sites is made and information is given concerning types of implements, their topographical distribution, and chronological succession. The work is amply illustrated with plates and text figures. Our digest has now advanced from a period of preliminary observation, through an experimental stage of classification and speculation to evolution of a definite technique of excavation, strati- fication, and typology, thence to the wider hypotheses relating to the genetic relationship of cultures widely separated geographically. This broader archaeological view requires further discussion, since these hypotheses of wide outlook are the ultimate aim of many workers, whose separate observations and minor excavations are of little importance if left without coordination. Armstrong (1931, p. 274) makes generalizations that agree well with those of Goodwin: "The excavations [Bambata Cave] have also revealed the effect of fusion between elements of Mousterian culture and the Capsian culture of the Neanthropic immigrants, and the discoveries have indicated the possible origin, and line of evolution of the European Solutrean technique. Striking evidence has been obtained for the correlation of the early Rhodesian cave art with the culture of the Neanthropic immigrants, which, together with the Capsian character of the associated culture, establishes an important link with the Aurignacian culture of Europe and supports the evidence in favour of a common origin for the two cultures in the Capsian of North Africa. "In the light of the evidence, together with that derived from Mr. Leakey's discoveries in East Africa, I am inclined to the opinion that Homo sapiens evolved the Capsian culture in the region of the Sahara Desert, and that the increasing aridity and ultimate drying up of that region supplied the impulse which drove him out in suc- cessive bands, northwards into Europe and south-east, by way of the Rift Valley and Great Lakes of Eastern Africa, into Rhodesia and beyond. There he apparently found a population of Mousterian i Prehistory 131 culture and probably of a Neanderthaloid stock, over which, after an interval of dual occupation of the country, the new-comers became dominant. Possibly there was a fusion of blood, but there is clear e\'idence of a strong cultural fusion." Armstrong further points out similarity between the Wilton microlithic culture and that which is so widespread over east and north Africa. Both find expression in the European Tardenoisian, and these similarities imply a migratory movement from a center in northern Africa. The evidence for this migration in Africa from north to south is very strong; the route followed is that for the earlier spread of the Capsian. The discovery in the Bambata excavations of the presence of a pygmy burin in this Wilton culture, and its confirmation on almost every site visited, is an important one which establishes a closer link with the European pygmy cultures. A presidential address by Lowe (1930) is a valuable contribu- tion to our present summary of the development of archaeological work in south Africa. The address passed from historical develop- ment of archaeological interests to a choice of nomenclature. The need for caution in using such terms as Chellean was impressed, and the value of a south African terminology was defended. The speaker expressed the opinion that "the big problem in south Africa is the correlation of cultural and human remains, first with each other, and then with the various Pleistocene Pluviations and earth movements. Then the big problem for all prehistorians will centre largely on the Glacio-Pluvial correlation, for, until this is solved, it is impossible for us to recognize relative time horizons." The work of Leakey and Solomon in east Africa was referred to as "a great link in a great chain." Lowe (p. 104) expressed the opinion that paleanthropic man reached and inhabited Europe. He urged further study of geology and climatology, and the more numerous and thorough excavation of such sites as caves and rock shelters, river terraces, and raised beaches. In a somewhat later address (1932) he again justifies the departure from European archaeological nomenclature, but he recognizes resemblances between south African and European forms, and he tabulates the main divisions of the Lower Paleolithic cultures in south Africa with their European type equivalents. In completing a study of the three major regions of Africa where systematic archaeology has advanced appreciably, the generaliza- tions of Leakey (1931, pp. 238-239) should be read. He repeats the h>TDothesis with which we are already familiar: namely, that of a westward migration of Aurignacian man from Asia. On two main 132 Source Book for African Anthropology lines the immigrants advanced, the one into western Europe by Palestine and the Caucasus, the other through Arabia into east Africa about the Straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, thence via Somaliland into the Sudan and north Africa. This hypothesis would account for the fact that the Aurignacians in Kenya are so much earlier than in north Africa or in Europe. There is, however, a rival hypothesis favoring the origin of the Aurignacians in the southeast Sahara. Professor M. C. Burkitt (Wayland and Burkitt, 1932, p. 378) demonstrates that the Magosian culture of Uganda has affinities with the Wilton and Still Bay cultures of south Africa. In both east and south Africa (p. 379) a cross-fertilization of cultures resulted from contacts of middle-stone-age people and the later Neanthropic arrivals. Burkitt suggests that the area now known as Uganda may have been the cradle of that modification of Neanthropic man who developed the Wilton industries of south Africa. The consensus of opinion favors cultural and also racial migrations from north Africa into southern Europe, and down the east side of Africa into the southern part of the continent. For a comparative table of all African stone-age cultures, see Leakey (1936a, p. 136). Consult also page 188 for discission of the part played by diffusion and parallel- ism in determining cultural resemblances. Leakey accounts for resemblances of Solutrean, Aterian, and Still Bay cultures on the grounds of "parallel evolution," and he explains the various micro- lithic cultures of Africa in the same way. Yet the truth often lies in allowing for a combination of the two processes. THE CONGO REGION AND WEST AFRICA Archaeological work in these areas is definitely less developed than in the three regions, north, east, and south Africa, for which the data have been summarized. In fact, one may say that so far as stone implements are concerned the archaeological outlook for central and west Africa is in the primary stage of observation. The period of systematic excavation, and the formation of hypotheses respecting the internal sequence and outside relationships of the Congo and west African stone-age cultures, have not yet been attained. In 1899, Stainier published in the "Annales du Muse^ du Congo Beige" a brief report on stone implements of the Congo, where the first specimens appear to have been found in 1885, and in 1891 a stone-age station was discovered by M. J. Cornet near Katanga. Since that time numerous specimens have been unearthed at localities Prehistory 133 shown on Stainier's map. These localities are peripheral about the main Congo River and its affluents, and no stations are marked within the heart of the forest region. This may be due to absence of excavations in the densely wooded interior; naturally the greater number of discoveries were made in making railways and roads in the more accessible outer regions. Yet it may be that stone-age invaders did not reach the internal forest regions. Stainier (p. 13) is unable to date the objects with any certitude, but it is probable that they are Neolithic; some of them are indubit- ably so, as, for example, polished axes and arrow-points. But side by side with the neoliths are paleoliths of the same material and of Chellean form. Tradition is absent, and the temporal relationship of stone to iron is unknown, but iron and copper are abundant; therefore, transition from the use of stone to metals may have been rapid. Menghin (1925, p. 518) has prepared a bibliography of con- tributions to archaeology of the Congo from the year 1887, together with a list of the types of implements found, their provenience, and the institutions where they are deposited. In Menghin's compendium, "Weltgeschichte der Steinzeit," indexed references to the Congo stone age will be found under the word "Tumbien." Rakowski (1921) reports on a collection of Neolithic stone imple- ments from the Welle region of the Congo, now deposited in the Belgian Colonial Museum at Tervueren. A list (p. 155) details the provenience of these implements, and a map showing the sites is given. "Only four of the forty-six specimens have been found in the earth, all the others ha\ang been collected on the surface. Of these four specimens three happen unluckily to have been found by natives, who discovered them in the beds of small rivers, or embedded in the banks of dry water courses. One specimen only has been found in situ by a white man. No. 34, from Lubumbashi on the Upper Luapula. It was extracted from alluvial drift 13 feet below the surface." The majority of the implements are made of hematite iron ore; some are of greenstone (diabase), and others of a bright greenish rock, much weathered. The specimens may be divided typologically into seven categories which are illustrated by outline drawings. A short bibliography (p. 64) is appended. A collection of stone implements from the Congo, now in the Trocadero, Paris, has been described by Breuil and Kelley (1936). Apart from Menghin's speculation (1925, p. 553) regarding the possibility that the Tumbakultur in the lower Congo and west 134 Source Book for African Anthropology Africa is part of the Graebnerian Kulturkreis, we have no theories of the origin of the Congo stone age. Archaeological work for this region is not much more advanced than that of south Africa fifty years ago. In west Africa the position of prehistoric archaeology, though backward, is more advanced than in the Congo region. Some of the principal discoveries of archaeological interest for west Africa have been summarized by Hambly (1935, pp. 379-388) who gives a short bibliography. Desplagnes (1907, pp. 22-38) describes workshop sites where stone implements were made in various localities notably near to Lotokoro and Gao. The types of instruments, varying from crude coups de poing to various burins, scrapers, and arrowheads (Des- plagnes, Plate XV), indicate that the technique ranges from rough Paleolithic forms to small Neolithic instruments of quartzite. Some typically Neolithic stations are distinguished by the presence of fragments of iron and abundance of well-ornamented pottery frag- ments. Desplagnes asks (p. 29) whether invaders from the north brought a knowledge of iron to primitive Niger fishermen of the stone age; such a suggestion is favored by the different types of tombs that may be seen near the workshops. Undoubtedly the age of stone persisted for a long time and was prolonged into the iron age. In tumuli of the Niger region under discussion are weapons of copper and of iron together with Neolithic stone implements (Desplagnes, Plates XVI-XVIII). A range of archaeological observations of this kind, showing a sequence of cultures, is definitely in advance of our knowledge of the Congo stone age. But for the main part, west African imple- ments are surface finds, usually celts, though Braunholtz (1926) has described both Paleolithic and Neolithic implements from Nigeria. To this list Balfour (1934a) adds a note on "cleavers" of Lower Paleolithic type. This is a pattern dominant in south Africa south of the Zambezi, and the further dispersal of this "cleaver" in Africa is of interest. Polished celts and their ceremonial use at the present day have been described by Dwyer (1903), and by Balfour (1903). Dwyer states that celts are connected with the reverence of the Yoruba for the Thunder God, Shango, who is said to use such stones as messengers. The antiquity of polished stone celts is discussed by Rattray (1923, pp. 322-331). Although the stones are of a sacred character I Prehistory 135 because of their association with Nyame, the Sky god, from whom they are supposed to have originated, many people know that the stones are of human manufacture, and that some of them were employed recently. Rattray is of the opinion that "transition from the Neolithic to the iron age was not sudden. The stone implement [Fig. 22, a] and the iron one that was eventually to oust it must have been for a time used side by side in forest and field." Meek (1925, vol. 1, pp. 51-56) notes a variety of paleoliths in west Africa gener- ally, and a few roughly flaked types of implements which might be regarded as being of early-stone-age type have been found in the Northern Provinces of Nigeria. Meek gives a list of early stone implements discovered in the tin mines of the Bauchi Plateau. Some of these are of the Paleolithic "river drift" type of Europe, and some could be described as Mousterian in form. A list of polished celts, arrowheads, and scrapers from Naraguta is given (p. 51). Meek remarks that primitive Africa probably passed directly from the stone age to the iron age, but Riitimeyer (1911) shows that stone and bone are used at the present day. He mentions a bone-pointed spear of the Shilluk, and a stone-headed club of the Ja-luo. Stone hammers, anvils, and grain pounders are today extensively used. In Cameroons, Migeod (1925, pp. 252-258) found polished stone axes and some paleoliths between Victoria and Yola. The imple- ments are classified by Migeod as Paleolithic-rough-hacked, Paleolithic-flaked, and Neolithic, Since the stones were not associ- ated with stratified beds, but were merely covered by a thin layer of soil resting either on granite rocks or on Eocene sandstone, the geo- logical formation does not aid inquiry into the antiquity of the implements. With further reference to the Neolithic age in Came- roons, Fourneau (1935, pp. 67-83) gives information respecting mate- rials used, sizes and shapes of the implements. Laforgue (1931, p. 463) attempts to classify prehistoric zones of west Africa into three main sites in each of which some distinguishing industry predomi- nates. The main zones are (1) Saharienne, which extends north of the 18th parallel; (2) Sahelienne, between 14° and 18° N. Lat.; (3) Soudanaise. Laforgue details what he considers to be the distinguishing types of artifacts for each of these regions, and con- cludes by pointing out the fact that most of the implements dis- covered in west Africa are without geological information. The obvious need is for systematic excavation of numerous sites with a view to determining stratification and the relative ages of the various types of implements. Prehistoric pottery has not been 136 Source Book for African Anthropology carefully studied, though Laforgue states that in Zone 2 pottery is abundant and often artistic. Rattray (1927a, pp. 295-301) describes prehistoric pottery of Ashanti, which differs radically from that made today. Some of the ancient, highly ornate pottery was found with celts, and Rattray inclines to the view that this early pottery was made by unknown people to whom the present Ashanti were strangers. This pottery has been further discussed by Wild (1934b, pp. 203-215), who notes the occurrence of the pottery with stone celts of several forms, but no associated human bones have been dis- covered. Information is inadequate for dating the pottery, but certain historical considerations suggest that makers of the coarse red ware were carrying on their craft in the seventeenth century. A vast amount of skilled and organized research is necessary to bring the archaeology of west Africa to the level of attainment reached in the north, east, and south of the continent. The need is for more systematic excavation in many areas, together with accurate geological surveys, the two being an essential step toward the co- ordination of west African archaeological discoveries with those in other parts of the continent. Apart from the question of stone implements, their types, dis- tribution, and chronology, west Africa has some minor archaeological puzzles, though these have no known connection with the stone age. Curious statuettes of stone and clay from Sherbro Island and Liberia have been described by Neel (1913a, pp. 419-443). According to Joyce (1905), no information is available respecting the makers of nomori figurines such as are used by the Mende of Sierra Leone. Such statuettes are placed under small shelters in the fields and offerings of food are made to them, or the figurines may be chastised to make them comply with the wishes of their owner. Constant tribal incursions into this region where nomori figures are now found, but not made, might account for the rapid disappearance of the art of making them. The soft stone of the figurines wears quickly; therefore, the abrasions and weathered appearance may erroneously suggest antiquity. Addison (1934) provides excellent illustrations of nomori, and he explains that in Mende nu or no means a person and mori or moli means to ask a question. Nomori may contain good or bad spirits who will answer questions and fulfill requests. Approach to the nomori is usually made through a medicine-man. Terra cotta heads and the priesthood associated with them at If^, Nigeria, have been photographed by Hambly (1935, Plates CLIV, CLVI, CLVII), who summarizes (pp. 466-468) some of the views Prehistory 137 respecting a possible Carthaginian or Egyptian origin of a craft which is unique. Other illustrations of these objects may be seen in Frobenius (1913, vol. 1, Plates VI, IX). These nomori of Sierra Leone, and terra cotta heads of Ife, with stone monuments of that region, cannot yet be shown as part of a general archaeological problem. And in west Africa, as well as in other parts of the con- tinent, are stone structures of unknown origin and age which will have to be considered later. Rock Paintings and Engravings Literature bearing on the regions of Africa in which stone imple- ments have been found should now be searched for evidence of artistic expression. The association of works of art with types of stone implements should be noted, and the testimony of paintings and engravings should be added to the other evidence bearing on migrations of lithic culture and of stone-age races. Examples of prehistoric art can be conveniently considered in northern, eastern, and southern divisions, though there are no clear geographical lines of demarcation between the northern and the eastern examples. The territory where rock sculptures and paintings are found extends from Algeria to Libya, through Nubia and Kordofan into Tangan- yika Territory and south Africa (for comparison of styles, see Fig. 24). As with the study of stone implements, we have in connection with primitive art a period of preliminary observation resulting in notes and short articles that evince a growing interest in the subject. The observations become extended geographically and the sites are more thoroughly described. Finally, there is an attempt to unify pictorial with other archaeological evidence, and hypotheses respect- ing the migrations of early cultures are formed, NORTH AFRICA Barth (1857, vol. 1, pp. 197-200) portrays rock engravings in the Wadi Telisagh^ near Murzuk, where sandstone blocks were covered with drawings "made with a firm and steady hand, well accustomed to such work, and cut to a great depth." A sculpture (p. 197) represents a group of three individuals of the following character and arrangement. To the left is a tall human figure with a long, narrow, horned head. I could not agree with Barth that this is the head of a bull; the tapering head is m.ore like that of an antelope. This anthropomorphic person carries a bow and arrow in the left hand. On the right of the picture is a similar individual, and between them a horned animal. Barth observes that the sculpture has nothing 138 Source Book for African Anthropology of a Roman character but some particulars call to mind the Egyptian sculptures, or again the sculpture may have been executed by some one who had been in contact with a civilized people, possibly the Carthaginians. Barth does not suggest that the sculptures may be due solely to the genius of a primitive people. Bates (1914, p. 94) gives the most feasible explanation of this petroglyph as a hunting scene in which the two males are disguised with the head skins of animals so that they may approach close to their quarry. Barth remarks on the absence of the camel from the sculptures, and the fact that at the time the sculptures were made oxen were used for transport in that region. Other sculptures show the ostrich and the buffalo. These examples given by Barth are of great importance in further comparative study of prehistoric art in Africa. The technique of engraving, and above all the distinctive style show undeniable affinities with a phase of art, examples of which have been observed in southern Spain, north Africa, Kordofan and south Africa. Among early papers on the subject of rock engravings, Gautier (1904) should be consulted with regard to pictures from Zenaga. The antiquity of the drawings representing elephants, ostriches, and the extinct Buhalus antiquus is uncertain. These animals per- sisted until Carthaginian and Roman times, and the engravings are not necessarily extremely ancient, yet in the opinion of Gautier they are probably the work of prehistoric, stone-age man. For a summary of what is known of the north African Pleistocene animals, consult A. S. Romer (1928). A southwesterly extension of the art of rock engraving is noted by Desplagnes (1907, pp. 77-84) in the French Sudan, but many designs are painted, not sculptured, and they appear to belong to a late Libyan-Berber and Tuareg class of inscriptions. To this class of inscriptions belong the examples discussed by Bates (1914, pp. 73-85, 160) and by Bertholon and Chantre (1912, vol. 2, pp. 503-518). Both works make a comparative study of Libyan, Punic, and Tamashek symbols. Bates (p. 85) states that no inscription in Libyan characters has yet proved older than about 400. B.C. The early observers are agreed that on stylistic ground alone the engravings such as those recorded by Barth are sui generis, and despite our ignorance of origins and chronology two classifications can be made: (1) rock engravings of animals, probably made by prehistoric, stone-age man to represent the game he followed; and (2) relatively recent engravings of camels, together with Libyan and I Fig. 24. Rock paintings and engravings. 139 140 Source Book for African Anthropology T'ifinagh symbols. Excellent examples of the second class are given by Zeltner (1913, pp. 171-184). He points out that the evident use of a sharp engraving tool of stone for making incised drawings does not assure the antiquity of the sketches. Some of the drawings, which were clearly made with a sharp stone point, include designs of camels and of a man clad in trousers. At an early stage in the observation of designs, Zeltner (1911, pp. 11, 12) remarks that those he illustrates from the French Sudan, though in some superficial details homologous to European and Algerian works, are completely separate from these in their general character. Zeltner summarizes the nature of the Sudanese cave paintings. These are always at easily accessible altitudes near the entrances to caves. The colors used are specified in detail, and Zeltner is convinced that the paintings were made by the artist's fingers. Geometric ornament dominates, and realistic representa- tions are few. Conventional representations of men and of animals recall the rock engravings of Hadjra-Mektouba in the Sahara, and of Egypt. The early work of Zeltner makes clear that further study will have to be strictly typological and technological. Schools of art have included incised sculptures, often on exposed rocks, and paintings in caves. Of the relative chronology of these, nothing defi- nite is known, but the changes of style and type suggest the work of different peoples and separate periods. The name of Flamand is prominent among students of rock sculptures of north Africa. A brief account of his views may be found in a short article (1914) describing two new sites of engraved rocks in south Algeria. The principal engravings belong to the prehistoric period, and among these the most notable are an antelope (bubale), a lion, and an ostrich. This paper is, however, only an introduction to a comprehensive work (1921) which is the most help- ful survey yet published. The author divides his thesis into five parts, the first of which is historical from about the year a.d. 1800. He then deals with techniques of prehistoric, Libyo-Berber, and recent engravings. The distribution of sites is discussed, and a separate section is devoted to pre-Libyan (Neolithic), and to Libyo-Berber and Mohammedan engravings, respectively. The illustrations, indexing, and discussion make the work preeminent. The collection of Saharan rock engravings and paintings (Fro- benius and Obermaier, 1925) shows a great advance in the technique of publishing the rock engravings and paintings, many of which are reproduced in their natural colors. For the main part, these rock Prehistory 141 engravings are of the Barth type, including excellent representations of horned cattle, ostriches, antelope, hyenas, lions, elephants, and wild asses, which show true affinity with some south African examples both in style and the subjects chosen, as well as in the technique of engraving. The text accompanying the pictures describes the phases of stone-age culture in north Africa. But there does not appear to be sufficient evidence to associate each of these phases with some specific form of art. The evidence produced is in the nature of a general comparison of the Paleolithic art of southern Spain and the art of north Africa, which on stylistic grounds is reasonably assumed to be the work of stone-age hunters. Ober- maier (p. 41) speaks of the necessity for grouping these north African rock pictures according to their styles and periods of production. He recognizes three main styles: (1) the realistic portrayal of animals; (2) a combination of this art with use of conventional forms whose meaning is not clear; (3) more modern Libyan and Tuareg art, with etchings sometimes superimposed on the old-stone- age engravings. During the past five years a new impetus has been given to the study of prehistoric art in north Africa by Monod (1932), Reygasse (1932, 1935), Passemard and Saint-Floris (1935), and Perret (1936). For further examples of African art, Frobenius (1930-31) and Breuil (1931) should be consulted. Selecting the more recent of Reygasse's publications, we have some excellent illustrations of the realistic school of prehistoric art from Tassili des Ajjers, situated west of the Tripolitanian frontier between Ghadames and Ghat. With the pictorial records of Rey- gasse should be compared those of Perret (1936) from the same region. Reygasse states that owing to the impossibility of associ- ating stone-age material with the engravings, which are exposed on rocks situated on high hills, a scheme of chronology for the works of art is at present impossible; neither can they be synchronized with similar works of art from prehistoric Europe. Yet these sculptures, in common with all rock engravings and paintings in the Sahara, fall into two main categories. On the one hand we have the ancient engravings, and in contrast to these the more recent Libyo- Berber art characterized by decadence of style and the appearance of the camel, which was not used in the Sahara until about a.d. 200. Reygasse, moreover, distinguishes two clear divisions in the art of Tassili des Ajjers. Firstly, there is the art of a primitive population of hunters and food-gatherers, and, secondly, there is the art of the 142 Source Book for African Anthropology first pastoralists. The basis of this classification is the study of different patinations of superimposed drawings, consideration of techniques, of the fauna, and lastly of costume and ornament. The art of the earlier period is readily distinguished by the presence of such tropical animals as the hippopotamus, rhinoceros, elephant, giraffe, antelope (bubale), Bovidae,and ostrich, which flourished before profound climatic changes took place. The drawings of the first pastoral people depict horses, oxen, and goats. The paintings, which are always in rock shelters, all belong to a pastoral age, and in association with some of these are Neolithic stone implements. Reygasse accepts the stylistic affinities of north African art of the old type with that of southern Spain and south Africa, and no observer who compares the drawings from these areas can fail to agree that resemblances are fundamental. That such analogies could arise de novo in separate centers seems impossible, and the argument for migrations of cultures and peoples is considerably strengthened by consideration of these works of art from the Sahara. For critical notes on the views of Reygasse, see "Nature," vol. 39, 1937, pp. 432-435. Beyond providing additional examples of the Bushman type of art, which are excellent, especially in the portrayal of human figures, Passemard and Saint-Floris (1935) have not attempted to solve stylistic and chronological problems. These observers have, how- ever, extended the geographical scope of observation by their careful records from Ennedi in the northeastern part of Chad Colony. In this region Tilho (1920) made some preliminary observations. The rock drawing he shows from the oasis of Yarda in Borku is of a somewhat recent type, with camels as the principal motif. Two papers dealing with the work of classification of styles, chronology of styles, and resemblances between art forms in north Africa and Europe have been published by E. S. Thomas (1926) and by Kiihn (1927). The former sets out to make a study of drawings from ancient Egypt, Libya, and the south Spanish caves, and he has summarized his results by tabulating a large number of drawings in parallel columns. The designs are geometrical, together with conventionalized forms of human beings and animals. The pictures are assembled from many localities and from the works of various observers (p. 387), and a series of notes on the more impressive resemblances is offered. Ktihn opens his synthetic article by observing that the most urgent question connected with research into Paleolithic art is that Prehistory 143 of assigning dates to the north African pictures of the Sahara-Atlas region. The reasons for ascribing pictures to a Paleolithic or to a Neolithic age are analyzed (pp. 14-16), and the characteristics of the old- and new-stone-age patterns as given by Kiihn agree well with those we have just quoted from Reygasse. The evolution of style, the animals represented, the patination, the weathering of the incisions, the associated implements, and the introduction of figures of domestic animals, all aid in separating the older Paleolithic art from the Neolithic. Kiihn (p. 25) calls attention particularly to the resemblance between his illustrations (Nos. 15, 18) from Tiout and those of the Paleolithic period of cave art in France and Spain. Finally he gives a comparative series of drawings of animals from prehistoric Egypt, from the Sahara-Atlas region, and from French and Spanish sources, which support his argument for a widely diffused and specific form of Paleolithic art. LIBYA AND KORDOFAN Our r^sum^ must now make a geographical excursion into Libya where several observers of the past decade have copied rock engrav- ings. Newbold (1924, p. 64) portrays pictures of animals and human beings which he found incised on rock surfaces at Zolat el Hammad. Some of the engraved figures are indeterminable, but others clearly represent tailed and phallic men, elephants, giraffes, ostriches, oryx, and cattle. Newbold notes a distinction between the pictures of several sites of the region, namely, the presence or absence of engravings of camels. This is a factor which aids in determining the age of the pictures. Newbold is of the opinion that the drawings he saw were the work of southern Libyans known as Tamahu, who formed the ruling caste in Ethiopia about 300 B.C. The age of the drawings is at least 2,000 years, and may be as much as 4,500 years, since the Tamahu ranged over the Dongola and Haifa deserts as far back as 2500 B.C. The drawings are crude, and the style does not suggest close technical relationship with those north African rock pictures we compared with Bushman art. Some of the sketches (p. 76, Plate VII) are, however, a little suggestive of Bush- man style. A steatopygous human figure appears, and tailed human beings are shooting with bows and arrows. These pictures from the rocks at Gelti um Tasawir in Jebel Tageru might, I think, safely be classified with those we have previously relegated to a hunting stage of culture in the Paleolithic period. Taking Newbold 's pictures as a whole, they could perhaps, with further study, be grouped as (1) Paleolithic, (2) early historical, dealing with a Libyan culture of 144 Source Book for African Anthropology 500 B.C. and earlier, (3) the camel period from a.d. 200 onward. Newbold (1928, p. 263) impresses the difficulty of assigning dates to rock engravings in the Libyan Desert, since rock pictures and stone implements are surface finds, but he turns to Ptolemy and other geographical and historical sources to show the extension of a population of Garamantes, Mazices, and Nubae over wide territory now uninhabitable. Between one and three thousand years ago, there was much movement both vertical and lateral, in the Libyan Desert, and many oases now described as "lost" sheltered a popu- lation. So much is ascertainable from a study of place names in the writings of Egyptians, Romans, Greeks, and Arabs. From the data supplied by Newbold, we must learn to forget the present inaccessi- bility of desert regions when forming hypotheses of the migrations of peoples. The brief description of rock engravings at Ouenat given by Hassanein Bey (1924, pp. 353-366; 1925, pp. 203-205), and by King (1925, pp. 326-336) for other parts of Libya, should be supple- mented by Newbold's more detailed description (1928, p. 286). Newbold believes that, generally speaking, the pictures of Ouenat belong to the pre-camel era, and (quoting Abb^ Breuil) he indicates that the Ouenat series may be divided into several groups with a time sequence. Realistic ostriches and giraffes probably belong to the Upper Paleolithic age, and these are of the same style as the best Bushman drawings in South Africa. Among the other and more modern rock pictures of Ouenat, the incision of outline and the "pecking out" processes, both of which were used by rock engravers in south Africa, are distinguishable. Newbold remarks in conclusion that "until we can find associated and stratified implements or other remains on a rock-picture site, the chronology must remain vague." He offers a suggestion of four categories of Libyan rock pictures: (1) Bushman type, Late Paleolithic or Early Neolithic; (2) Early Libyan, Neolithic, predynastic, and Old Egyptian Empire; (3) Middle Libyan, Middle and Late Empire, down to the introduction of camels into the Sudan; (4) Roman, medieval, and modern. Among recent representations of ancient art from Ouenat north- east of Kufra are those described and illustrated in color by Murphy (1934, pp. 796-799) and by Calzoni (1933). These rock paintings were discovered by a Hungarian explorer. Count Almasy, whose contribution brings us closely in touch with Bushman styles at their best, and their technique supports the view of Newbold that Ouenat provides in general an example of the art of old-stone-age hunters. Prehistory 145 Parker and Burkitt (1932) show rock engravings from Nubia, west of the Nile. Figures of ostriches and cattle are included, but the camel is the dominant design. At a place in Kordofan, 145 miles west-southwest of Omdurman, H. A. MacMichael (1909) made records of rock paintings, including designs of men on horseback, hyenas, and giraffes, some of which have a technique resembling that of Insalah in the northern Sahara. But this technique from Kordofan is not particularly like that of the Bushmen. A. E. Robinson (1934) introduces his pictures from Kordofan and Meroe by summarizing the different techniques. A petroglyph means a picture incised, pecked, or made by percussion on the rock, whereas a petrograph is a drawing made with charcoal or pigment. Graffiti (scratches) are included with petroglyphs. As a rule, petrographs are found in caves or rock shelters, but petro- glyphs are more frequently carved on exposed rocks. Some of the figures shown are Egyptian petroglyphs of the historic period, but several percussion types of petroglyph from southern Egypt and the Sudan show the ostrich, the elephant, and the giraffe very crudely represented. Judging by style alone, these latter could belong either to a formative or to a degenerate period of the Paleolithic school. SOUTHEAST AFRICA The rock paintings of Tanganyika Territory form a geographical, and probably a definite cultural link also, between Bushman rock art of south Africa and pictures of the same style and technique in north Africa. Nash (1929) discovered rock paintings of reddish color near Kondoa Irangi. Some of the drawings are merely outlines, but others have been filled in with pigment. *'Most of the work is very crude and unfinished, yet in places quite skilful, especially where animals have been depicted, and that the artists were close observers of nature is shown by the perfect stance and curves which they gave, in particular, to the giraffes." Cul wick's (1931b) pictures, painted in white, on the slabs of rock shelters near Bahi, Tanganyika Territory, have a legendary history showing that the paintings were made by men who lived, according to Culwick's genealogy, about 250 years ago. Therefore, the art is of a date too recent to be considered with any examples hitherto discussed. But the ritual, past and present, that Culwick describes in connection with these paintings is of the utmost importance, and it may well be that we have today a glimpse of the magical background that was an incentive to the Paleolithic art of south Europe and north Africa. The paintings function in ceremonies of prayer and sacrifice for producing rain. 146 Source Book for African Anthropology The study of rock paintings in Tanganyika is continued by Cul- wick (1931b), who points out that peculiar objects of stone, not obtainable elsewhere in the neighborhood, were abundant in the shelters where the paintings occurred. The paintings from Singida and other sites cannot be placed in one group, and the chronology of the different styles is uncertain. But in the discussion which followed the reading of the paper, attention was drawn by Culwick and Burkitt to "a close resemblance in style and technique, between many of the Ilongero paintings and those of Rhodesia and south Africa, presumed to be of Bushman origin." My own opinion is that the paintings of animals (Culwick, Plates L-LIII) have in their realism and stance a very impressive resemblance to those forms of so-called Bushman art that we have assembled from north Africa. In type, the paintings are of the school of action and realism which Kiihn, Reygasse, and others have classed as Paleolithic. For further information on rock paintings of Tanganyika, see Arundell (1936). SOUTH AFRICA In reviewing the literature relating to rock engravings and paint- ings of south Africa, two points of primary interest are comparison of the works of art inter se with a view to establishing a chronology of style, and study of the petrographs and petroglyphs in relation to stone implements of various cultural levels, in the caves or other sites where the pictures occur. Then, more broadly, a comparison of south African art with that of the northern part of the continent, and with southern Europe, is a necessary coordination. Our historical study of south African paintings may well begin by reading H. Balfour's preface to Tongue's (1909) collection of a hundred Bushman rock paintings and engravings. Balfour states that the greater part of our first-hand information regarding the Bushman is derived from E. W. Stow's "Native Races of South Africa." According to Stow, there were two distinct branches of the Bushman people, who differed in their artistic methods as well as in their customs and language. Although both these groups are sup- posed to have reached south Africa from the north, they followed different routes. Stow refers to these groups as the Painters or Cave-dwellers and the Sculptors or Kopje-dwellers, respectively. Holub's scheme of four periods of art, three of gradual development and a fourth of decadence, is also mentioned by Balfour, who says that "the evidence upon which he bases his conclusions is not suf- ficiently clear to warrant acceptance without reserve. There is, however, valuable evidence afforded by patination of the rock sur- I Prehistory 147 faces, and this serves as a means of distinguishing the earlier examples from the latter, and emphasizes the fact that upon the whole the former are of a higher type than the latter." Balfour's preface, together with Tongue's introduction to the colored plates, gives a valuable r^sum^ of the information available about thirty years ago. Balfour concludes by mentioning the stylistic affinities of Bushman art and that of the cave period of the Paleolithic age in western Europe. He observes that archaeological excavation in caves of south Africa where paintings occur is necessary for investigating a possible cultural and physical relationship between Bushmen and cave dwellers of Europe. Since the publications of Tongue (1909) and of Moszeik (1910), several compendiums of Bushman art have been issued, and promi- nent among these is the album of Zelizko, who uses the petroglyphs collected by Holub about fifty years ago. Other albums are those of D. Bleek (1930), who reproduces the rock paintings collected by G. W. Stow, with introduction and descriptive notes; Obermaier and Kiihn (1930), whose work deals with rock paintings of southwest Africa; Lebzelter (1930); and Frobenius (1935). A recent work of conspicuous merit in this field is one by Wilman (1933), who has produced a book which will give the student a general survey of the problems to be solved and the methods that are being adopted. In addition to the representation of many engravings the work contains a large bibliography of 120 names, and a historical introduction which puts the reader in touch with the work accom- plished from 1824 to 1933. The distribution of the rock engravings of south Africa is then surveyed, and a map showing the occurrence of the sites is provided. Wilman's classification for south Africa gives four categories: Class 1 represents the oldest or "classical" styles, depicting animals with which the artists were familiar, as well as human beings, plants, and geometrical patterns. Class 2 contains the engravings which are derivatives from Class 1. In Division 3 the spoors of human beings and animals are represented, while Class 4 consists of scrib- blings of recent date. With regard to the chronological sequence of engravings, the majority of the "classical" styles are divisible into groups based on differences in technique, but misleading factors are found in the chemical composition of different rocks. On some surfaces rust and black oxide form readily, and lichens grow quickly, so that an un- warranted impression of old age is given. Differences of opinion 148 Source Book for African Anthropology exist respecting the tools used by the engravers, but a feasible hypothesis states that the boart (a form of diamond used for indus- trial purposes) may have been used. Who were the engravers? And do the stylistic differences justify an assumption of successive migrations? On the whole, the engravers showed more stylistic diversity than did the painters, yet some resemblance between the products of the engravers and the painters is evident. There are areas where paintings predominate, and localities where engravings are more numerous than paintings. M. Wilman inclines to the view that the early Bushmen to whom the works of art are ascribed were the phylogenetic forerunners of Bush- men who have produced recent engravings, but the osteological evidence for support or refutation of theories is too meager to be convincing. The modern belief that artists were actuated by im- pulses of magic and religion has possibly been overstressed. A study of the relative ages of rock paintings — Wilman dealt chiefly with engravings — may be followed from L. H. Wells (1933, pp. 131-157), who describes petrographs in the Cathkin Peak area, Natal. He selects paintings from the cave of the Eland, since these examples adequately illustrate the evolution of style. The series found in the remaining shelters confirmed the sequence found in the cave of the Eland, where, on the evidence of superposition, the paint- ings may be divided into eight main stages with four minor varia- tions; these stages are then summarized from the earliest to the most recent. Wells finally compares these styles of art with those of the four large stylistic groups of paintings in southern Africa: namely, an eastern group located in Southern Rhodesia, a western group in South West Africa, a central group in the eastern part of the Orange Free State, and a southern group in the Cape Peninsula. Technically and geographically, the Cathkin Peak paintings belong to the central group. All groups, though widely separated geographi- cally and in technique, are the work of peoples having the same cul- tural background. Discoveries in the cave earth together with the motifs of the paintings indicate that the Cathkin paintings of stages 2-8 were the work of a Bushman physical type, a purely hunting people, using the bow and arrow and practicing a late-stone-age culture. A later cultural factor is shown by paintings indicating the interests of a pastoral people. This distinction we have pre- viously observed in classifying the rock paintings and engravings of north Africa, where the pictures of hunters and game were Prehistory 149 described as the oldest Paleolithic type, and those including domestic animals were classed as Neolithic. As early as the year 1910, J. P. Johnson sought to correlate types of rock petrographs and petroglyphs with specific types of stone implements. He states that "Solutric petroglyphs" and rock paint- ings are distributed through the length and breadth of south Africa, and that the kind of surface available seemed to determine whether the artists would make engravings or paintings. This statement is, of course, at variance with a theory that correlates each type of art with a definite migration of artists. Johnson describes a primitive series of petroglyphs in the neighborhood of Vereeniging, where characteristic Solutric scrapers of chert are of common occurrence. He gives instructive illustrations that aid our study of style, showing technique which varies from pecking only the outline of an animal to filling in the whole interior of the petroglyph with either fine or coarse pecking. Attention is called to the limitations imposed on the skill of an artist by the difficult process of pecking or grooving with stone tools on a hard rock surface. Painting on a smooth surface obviously gave greater freedom to the craftsman, and in the latter form of art the artist departed from the single object to portray a complex motif, such as a hunting scene. Johnson's work does not, however, reveal any very specific relationship between types of art and patterns of stone implements. Coordination of the two main branches of archaeological evidence, namely, stone implements and pictorial art, is not yet far advanced for south Africa as a whole, but Armstrong (1931, p. 252) considers the depths at which different pigments were found in the floor of Bambata Cave in Southern Rhodesia. The pencils of hematite and ocher used in making the paintings provide a link between the paintings and the artifacts. The lowest pieces of coloring matter were balls of yellow ocher found at a depth of five feet. Red ocher was not found lower than 3 feet 6 inches, and the brown and red hematites were absent after the 2 foot 6 inch level, though frequent above that datum. The order in which the colors were found corre- sponds with the superposition of the wall paintings, the oldest being of yellow ocher, the raw supplies of which were found at the greatest depth in the cave floors. "It is noteworthy that the horizon upon which coloring material first occurred and which, presumably, masks the beginning of art in Rhodesia, is the point at which a distinct improvement in the technique of burins was noticed and from which horizon upward they were increasingly abundant." Armstrong 150 Source Book for African Anthropology attributes this improvement to a new wave of Neanthropic people, or influence, from the north. "If this correlation between the cave- paintings and the Upper Palaeolithic culture of South Africa is reliable, as I believe it to be, it provides a further and highly impor- tant link between it and the Upper Aurignacian of Europe, and supports the evidence for a common origin of both in the region of the Sahara of north Africa." The correlation of the Bambata cultures and cave paintings is further discussed by Armstrong (pp. 262-273), who finds from excava- tions near Bambata confirmatory archaeological evidence of the sequence of colors used in cave paintings, and this sequence agrees in color and style with that established for Bambata. The top cul- ture of the Maleme rock shelter was the Wilton, the implements of which prevailed to a depth of six inches; then followed a six-inch sterile layer, and below this an occupation layer containing typical Middle Bambata tools. Below twelve inches, the floor was sterile and the occupation by Neanthropic people appeared to be confined to the Middle Bambata phase. Following a general survey of stone-age cultures, Burkitt (1928) considers the pictorial art of south Africa (pp. 111-159). His work is one of compilation following a rather brief personal contact with south Africa, but as a general guide the book is of great utility. So also is a brief survey of Rhodesian archaeology by N. Jones (1926), who speaks from long personal acquaintance. He has a section relating to cave paintings and petroglyphs (pp. 66-73). These two works summarize an enormous amount of periodical literature and together they should be a student's vade mecum. With regard to the broader question of prehistoric south African art in relation to that of north Africa, P^ringuey (1906) expressed his opinion thirty years ago. He refers to the early records of Barth and reproduces the figures copied by that explorer near Ghadames; this picture P^ringuey interprets in the light of present-day Bush- man-Hottentot mythology. P^ringuey then summarizes some of the arguments in favor of an ancient Paleolithic origin of some north African pictures. He goes further: "The comparison of some of the rock-engravings of Southern Algeria and those of the Sudan with those of Southern Africa, the technique, the subjects reproduced, are strong evidences that the aborigines of the north and those inhabiting at one time South Africa were one race." Again, in both north and south Africa there is in the form of pygmy implements Prehistory 151 and bored ostrich-eggshell disks evidence of a new culture — the Neolithic — which is similar in form for the extremes of the continent. Thirty years that have passed since the preliminary speculations of P^ringuey have served only to elaborate and confirm his hypoth- eses. Such corroboration is to be found in an article by Abb^ H. Breuil (1930a), who, following a comparative study of rock art in Spain, north Africa, and south Africa, observes that "one should therefore be prepared to admit a real relationship between the paintings of eastern Spain and those of south Africa." Dart (1925) goes further in his interpretation of the cultural significance of some south African art. Taking evidence of Otto, who copied Bushman paintings from rock shelters of the Kei River Valley in the eastern portion of the Cape Province, Dart finds new historical explanations of peculiar art forms in the hypothesis that certain head-dresses and other peculiarities are the portrayals of visiting foreigners, including Egyptians, Arabs, Mesopotamians. But Otto believes, in opposition to the general consensus of opinion, that Bushman art is indigenous; it was created in situ. In conclusion of the subject of prehistory in south Africa, a presi- dential address by C. van Riet Lowe (1930) may be quoted to in- dicate what has been achieved and what remains to be done. Some of his observations respecting the need for more systematic excava- tions, observation of stratification, and correlation of cultural and human skeletal remains with one another and with the Pleistocene Pluviations, have been previously noted. With regard to prehistoric art in south Africa, Lowe states that in no area of equal size is there such a wealth and variety of primitive artistic expression. So far as is known, the earliest artists were rock engravers who portrayed some animals, for example, Buhalus bainii and Equus capensis, which are now extinct. This early art is associ- ated with the Smithfield culture, which has Capsio-Aurignacian and Mousterian affinities. The engravings belong largely to the Lower Smithfield culture, the culture of a Neanthropic folk who replaced the middle-stone-age tribes of south Africa, whose technique was very like that of Mousterian Europe. In the petroglyphic art, in which probably four stages are discernible, there is the naturalistic expression of a hunting people. In the Union of South Africa, the first rock paintings are to be associated with the Middle phase of the Smithfield culture, and by the time of the Upper Smithfield culture the art of cave painting had expanded both geographically and technically. "Many of them are 152 Source Book for African Anthropology indistinguishable from certain Capsian paintings of Eastern Spain. Correlation between this Eastern Spanish and certain phases of South African art is difficult, but there can be little, if any, doubt that these folk had a common origin." The order of succession is summarized: at first the engravers of the Lower Smithfield culture, then the engravers and painters of the Middle Smithfield, and, last of all, the true cave painters of the Upper Smithfield and Wilton. Lowe concludes by urging the necessity for preservation of existing engravings and paintings, and he stresses the need for copying pictures, to be accompanied by careful excavations of the cave floor or other adjacent ground so that the greatly needed task of correlating artifacts and paintings may be expedited. Stone Monuments and Buildings This general title has been selected to designate a great variety of constructions of stone, whose archaeological study has hardly begun. At present only a few miscellaneous notes can be offered respecting the occurrence of circles of upright stones, single megaliths (menhirs), tombs of stone, village enclosures, and hut circles. Topo- graphical distribution of these types, time sequence, associated stone implements, if any, are all matters for future research. Neither do the prehistorians know anything of the physique of the people who were responsible for an extensive use of stone in many areas where the Negro does not now build with that material. To a great extent, the stone builders passed away, leaving either no traditions or only a vague memory. Various publications give details of archaeological observations on the stone monuments of north Africa, Gambia in west Africa, Nigeria, Abyssinia, and Madagascar, But if the photographs and drawings of these are compared, there is no similarity of technique which suggests that these constructions were the work of immi- grants who were culturally similar. It is possible, however, that the intrusions were separated by long intervals, and that each migratory wave had a distinctive type of construction. In some regions, mono- liths have been erected, but in other localities the stones are arranged in circles. The stone monuments of north Africa are sometimes regarded as the work of the Mediterranean race, who were part of the Caucasian-Hamitic matrix whose successive intrusions affected Europe as well as Africa. Bertholon and Chantre (1912, vol. 1, p. 243) state that megalithic sepultures of north Africa have been constructed by a Berber popu- lation from the bronze age to advanced historical times. From Prehistory 153 observations based on three groups of skulls, containing twenty, three, and three examples, respectively, two main types are dis- tinguishable; namely, a tall, dolichocephalic, long-faced, leptorrhine people, and a brachycephalic people. The human bones associated with megalithic sepultures indicate that the physical types prevailing when the sepultures were erected were much the same as extant types in the same region. Meek (1925, vol. 1, p. 55) notes a wide distribution of circular stone walls, which are specially abundant on the Bauchi Plateau. At Naraguta the circles are clearly the remains of huts whose builders used more stone than is commonly used by tribes today. Some of the larger circles were no doubt temporary granaries similar to those used by the Angas at present. Other enclosures were probably cattle kraals, and a stone enclosure on a hill may have been a fort. Meek also refers to an extant custom of the Gwari of Fuka, who sur- round their graves with circular stone walls having an upright monolith. In the Ba-Ron district of Bauchi Province, stone bridges occur, and of the origin of these the local residents profess ignorance. Meek thinks that stone walling may be the work of Jukun invaders, and that circular forts may have been built in the middle of the sixteenth century. Monteil (1932, pp. 27-29) reviews some of the observations of his compatriots in west Africa and quotes M. de Gironcourt as the discoverer of two types of primitive funerary monuments of stone. The first group includes lithic structures, each composed of four stones arranged in a square. Tradition speaks of one stone as male, the others as females. The second type of monument consists of three long steles with rounded extremities, almost two meters high. The material does not occur locally but can be traced to D^bo whence it was transported to Dj^nn^. These tombs of chiefs are probably not more than a thousand years old. Maxwell (1898) and J. L.Todd (1903) briefly referred to stone circles of Gambia, and more recently H. Parker (1923) calls attention to two distinct types of stone monuments in that region. In addition to menhirs (isolated upright stones), circles of stone pillars have been recorded. The rate at which the soil rises and tends to cover the fallen pillars is not known, but the general conclusion does not favor extreme antiquity. P. Laforgue (1931) pictures successive waves of stone-building immigrants from north to west Africa, and Parker favors a hypothesis of Carthaginian origin. 154 Source Book for African Anthropology The Yolofs, a present-day tribe of Gambia, associate stone circles with the Earth Spirit, and resentment against excavation prevails. The statement that some of the builders of these monu- ments were acquainted with iron, rests on the single discovery of a barbed iron spearhead in undisturbed soil within one of the circles. Parker supports his Carthaginian hypothesis by mentioning the skill of the builders, the oval forms of the stones used, and the presence of holes in the tops of the upright stones. Possibly these holes were the containers of oil for primitive lamps such as the Carthaginians used. Hambly (1934, p. 207) records the existence of stone-built struc- tures in west-central Angola: "One of the sites has such a commanding view over extensive plains and valleys that the position would be almost impregnable. At the present day the line of fortifications is well marked by stone walls three feet high. These are composed of boulders to which the builders had ready access on adjacent hillsides. Large stones were no doubt rolled from the slopes to the small plateau chosen as a building site. This small plain lies midway between the hill crest and the valley. "At present this old site, which is enclosed by lichen-covered walls, is overgrown by tall grass and trees attaining twenty feet in height. Photography would be uninstructive unless a preliminary clearance were made — a formidable task owing to the density of vegetation. "In the center of the enclosure is a group of transported boulders possibly marking the site of a place of assembly. A search among the long grass reveals stone slabs and cylindrical crushers which were used for grinding grain over a very long period, as may be seen by the wear on the base stone; some thick stones are so worn as to be almost perforated. Weather-worn stones that were probably used as scrapers are to be found. Surface potsherds are of the material of which present-day Ovimbundu women make their cooking pots. These sherds mark the places now used by small nomadic bands, hence the surface pottery may have no connection with pre- Umbundu culture. "In the vicinity of this walled stone village are hillside cairns marking the sites of graves. These have been robbed by medicine- men in search of material for their charms. "The Ovimbundu have no traditions regarding the site, neither is there legendary or other evidence to show that the Ovimbundu ever made their villages of stone. The raising of a cairn of stones Prehistory 155 over the body of a hunter is, however, a present-day practice near Ganda and in the Esele country." At present, one can do no more than call attention to recent records of building in stone, and the recording of the instances to- gether here carries no implication of cultural connection. The data available represent the primary stage of observation, merely the recording of some archaeological puzzles, a stage through which prehistorians passed in their first contacts with stone implements and with rock pictures. Megalithic monuments of Abyssinia have been discussed by Neuville (1928), who refers to the researches of Verneau, Pottier, Kammerer, and Chudeau. The article shows how purely speculative are the classifications according to designs, and there is no sure foundation of archaeological or paleontological evidence on which to build a chronology; local tradition is almost entirely lacking. A comprehensive work by Azais and Chambard (1931) gives data of interest concerning the outward forms and the geographical dis- tribution of such megalithic monuments as dolmens, remains of ancient towns, tumuli, menhirs, and anthropomorphic stones, but historically a reader is left where he began. Azais (p. 179) gives the views of M. B^n^dite, who ascribes some of the stones to a cul- tural period of Egyptian origin, and of M. M. Pottier, who regards the Abyssinian lithic structures as part of a megalithic culture that spread from Asia to north and east Africa, and to western Europe, but whether to Africa first is unknown (p. 241). Evans-Pritchard (1935) has made a study of megalithic grave monuments in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, and it is possible that some of these are historically and culturally allied to some of the Abyssinian types. This question of the migration is an old, unsolved archaeological problem which was to the fore at the meetings of the British Associa- tion in 1912. Here G. Elliot Smith gave some points in favor of a migration of culture carriers with a tendency toward megalithic construction. Such a view, he argues, is more reasonable than that which postulates that every society has, at some stage of cultural development, a tendency toward megalithic building. Peet (1912) again stresses Elliot Smith's contention that the megaliths are often of like form and that they follow the natural routes of migration along littoral regions and not in the interiors. Peet thinks that the theory of trade relationships in the Neolithic period is inadequate to account for such a widely distributed method of megalithic build- ing, which was often associated with burial. He concludes: "There 156 Source Book for African Anthropology remains the explanation that megalithic architecture was practiced by some great race which at the end of the Neolithic age spread over parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, carrying this method of building with it." Supporters of such a theory of migration might find evidence in a paper contributed by A. L. Lewis, who describes stone monu- ments found in Madagascar. He summarizes the views of several archaeologists who have diverse opinions on the origin and function of Madagascan megaliths. Baudoin, quoted by Lewis, thinks that some stones are of great antiquity, and that they were erected by sun worshipers. On the contrary, certain local traditions point to the erection of the monuments only a few centuries ago in order to commemorate tribal victories. A large stone with a small one at the side is said to represent a conqueror and his vassal; other stones are regarded as tokens of gratitude to a chief or were erected to mark the founding of a new village. To assure fertility and easy parturition women grease the stones and rub against them. Stones placed as grave markers are connected with a cult of ancestors, and a person seeking ancestral protection rubs his hands on the effigy or sucks the breasts. Linton (1933, pp. 180-184, 197, 199) adduces some evidence respect- ing the erection of memorial stones and tombstones. This is a present-day practice for which are given some valuable details show- ing the method of transporting a heavy menhir. All the Menabe clan memorial stones are used as places of sacrifice, but sacrifice to the gens ancestors as a group is not the purpose of their erection. In Madagascar, as elsewhere, megaliths have no doubt served various purposes and no single statement will suffice to describe the periods, the types of stones, and their several functions. A very ancient uniform practice would probably give rise to diverse forms of building, and to the origin of new ideas in association with these. One may be assured that the historical explanation of existing megaliths with attendant beliefs and ceremonies is not a simple one. Linton has, however, made a valuable contribution in recording extant customs, since these, though perhaps recently revived, may be a recurrence of ancient traits. Within the past few years, several observers have called attention to building with stones that are placed together without cement. The Negro does not often build with stone today, and he seldom has any clear tradition of his forebears who brought together large boulders to form hut circles and village walls. Data relating to these Prehistory 157 are so meager that no estimate of age is possible, and there exists no evidence to connect utilitarian building in stone with the erection of megaliths which, so far as the evidence goes, were ceremonial. Records by Trevor (1930) of stone building in south Africa include a mention of stone-built villages which are found all over the Trans- vaal; in the Lydenburg district there are some stone-built kraals. With regard to the largest of these kraals, "neither the Boers nor the natives knew who had built it or what purpose it had served. It was there when the white man arrived — that is all that is known about it." The other items, all presumably relics of an extinct civilization, are dressed-stone building, conical towers, the use of curved batter, stone circles, terraced hills, and evidences of irrigation. A report on the stone huts of Vechtkop (Lowe, 1927) leads to the conclusion that these were built by the Leghoya or Bataung, who were Bantu invaders from the north early in the eighteenth century. This gives a very recent setting to the stone building of that area. A detailed study of terracing and irrigation of unknown date has been undertaken by G. E. H. Wilson (1932), who gives a map showing the distribution of these traits from Kenya to Nyasaland. The remains of these ancient works occur in Tanganyika, Abyssinia, Uganda, Kenya, and Northern Rhodesia, so forming a chain of evi- dence from north to south down a migratory route of the Rift Valley. But the question of construction of these works remains unanswered. The art of terracing is not lost, however ; it still survives in Tangan- yika in the neighborhood of Meru and Kilimanjaro. The Wambulu (Iraku) in the north and the Wabena of the south follow the practice. Tradition speaks of an alien and dominant race described by the words "tall," "bearded," and "enemy" or "stranger." A people called the Wamea are spoken of in connection with the ancient agricultural system and with the origin of rock paintings at Bahi. From the growth of large trees on the top of the terracing at Mufindi, Iringa Province, one may assume that the terrace was abandoned at least nine hundred years ago. Wilson attaches much importance to the fact that "wherever this ancient system of agriculture either exists or has not yet been forgotten, there are place-names beginning with 'Ru' foreign to the present nomenclature." Ex hypothesi, the old civilization came from the north and spread its influence along the Rift Valley and over the highlands surrounding the Great Lakes, until it perhaps reached Zimbabwe and "eventually developed into a great and separate nation, whose fame, reaching the seafaring peoples of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, caused them to establish 158 Source Book for African Anthropology trade routes and build factories, such as Rhapta, in order to open up communication and exploit the East Coast trade." This civilization of east Africa has been more recently discussed by Huntingford (1933), who refers to substantial enclosures of stone, hut circles, revetted walls, properly engineered roads, and irrigation. This combination he refers to as the Azanian culture, in order to distinguish it from stone-age cultures and Islamic ruins. Following a description of these evidences of civilization come the questions, who were the Azanians and when did they flourish? No definite answer can be given, but Huntingford surmises that a civilization which flourished in the Horn of Africa at some time during the first seven hundred years A.D. was destroyed by Islam, that its makers retreated southward through Kenya (where Islam never penetrated), and that the culture came to an end somewhere about the fourteenth or fifteenth century, possibly earlier. That the civilization was of Hamitic rather than Bantu origin seems to be an unescapable con- clusion. Huntingford agrees with Wilson that the Azanians were probably connected with the establishment of seaports named Adule (modern Zeila), Aromatophora (spice market), and Rhapta, though the time of origin and the present locations of these sites are not certain. Evidently the tentative dating of this well-developed stone- building culture of east and south Africa, if correct, does not justify the inclusion of the discoveries with prehistoric archaeology, since the time suggested for the building is well within our own era. Zimbabwe, which may represent the acme of this period of con- struction in stone, I have grouped with historical data, because the most recent pronouncement relegated the structures to a period between the ninth and thirteenth centuries of our era. With the exception of descriptions of Zimbabwe stone buildings, all important accounts of construction in stone have been written during recent years, so introducing a new field of inquiry into the antiquity, the somatic characters, the migrations, and the other traits of the culture carriers, much of whose work is now to be classed as a lost art. The details recorded indicate that any attempt to establish a cultural or chronological unity between the types of stone buildings, whether menhirs, dolmens, or walled enclosures, would be premature. On the grounds of typology, two major divisions, possibly representing two distinct incursions of stone-using people, are discernible. On the one hand, the dolmen-menhir type of structure may be ascribable to truly prehistoric and Neolithic Prehistory 159 invaders who traveled along the north of the continent and dowm the east side as far as Madagascar. On the other hand, the miscellaneous remains of utilitarian building in stone may be the survival of an early kind of construction, discouraged and finally supplanted by other methods brought by later migrants. That utilitarian building in stone, as well as the erection of cere- monial stones, might have several independent centers of develop- ment is not impossible; but by inference from the general data of invention and diffusion as seen in both ancient and modern times, and with due regard to the nature of the African routes along which the principal stone erections occur, a succession of independent muta- tions is far less likely than a gradual penetration of cultures which assumed local variations as the immigrant waves advanced. The extent of country over which the traits are manifest, and the associa- tion of several traits in east Africa, definitely suggest human migra- tion on a considerable scale rather than the handing on of traits by casual travel. CONCLUSION The foregoing summary has attempted to show that considerable progress, has been made in the study of African archaeology since the first observations of stone implements were recorded. Such knowledge as we have has been built up during half a century, but only in the past decade has there been methodical concentration, a visualizing of the problems, and an attempt to correlate the studies of geology, paleontology, and archaeology. More than a correlation of subjects is needed, however, and an attempt has been made to unify observations from southern Europe and from widely separated parts of Africa (Menghin, 1931, pp. 48, 51, 53). The advance has been considerable, but an enormous amount of systematic excavation remains to be done everywhere, especially in west and central Africa. With the task of exploring sites, the work of correlating the evidence of climatic change, geological stratifica- tion, types of implements, rock pictures, and fossilized human bones, must advance pari passu. The weakest link in the chain is the paleontological evidence respecting the somatic characters of the creators and carriers of the cultures we have discussed. The total amount of evidence respecting the physical appearance of African races through the Pleistocene is woefully small, and if the ultimate aim of archaeological research 160 Source Book for African Anthropology is to give definite information concerning human beings, their cul- tures and wanderings, we must regard the occurrence of human skeletons as being the crucial evidence for prehistoric migrations. The importance of typology has been stressed by Gorodzov (1933), and the necessity for classification cannot be denied. But, as Hooton says (1936, p. 104), the typological delusion can be "a sort of auto-hypnosis brought on by too concentrated and prolonged gaz- ing upon a single class of archaeological objects, as into a crystal. The archaeologist begins to see things which are not there." It is undoubtedly true that, despite the value of type studies of implements and rock pictures, and the association of these with one another and with the geological evidence, further anatomical material is essential. If the main purpose of archaeology is to give informa- tion concerning past races and their migrations, then the crucial evidence is the discovery of unchallengeable anatomical evidence. Until such testimony is forthcoming, we have to rely for our inferences on the indirect testimony of like stone-age cultures, their comparable geological sequences, and the stylistic affinities of prehistoric art in various regions. Leakey (1936a), "Stone Age Africa, "gives a summary of the archae- ology of the continent as a whole. Since my own compilation and that of Leakey were produced quite independently they should prove to be useful complementary studies. Leakey's work contains an extensive bibliography. IV. PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Technique In our endeavor to present a clear picture of the somatic traits of African peoples of the present day, many theoretical questions have been reserved until the final section of the chapter. There is one difficulty, however — that of nomenclature — that cannot be post- poned. We will at present avoid the use of the word race and speak of people, employing the word according to general everyday usage in the sense of persons or individuals. This will avoid the assumption that "race" has a clear connotation, and that definite biological ideas may be legitimately connected with the word. Unfortunately, there are in African ethnology some terms of unscientific origin which have been loosely employed with various biological, linguistic, and cultural implications. Our present concern is only with the use of the terms Hamitic, Semitic, Pygmy, Bushman, Hottentot, and Negro in their relation to physical anthropology. Further advances in anthropometry will no doubt provide an improved terminology, but until that is available the old nomen- clature, with certain explanations, may be made to serve our purpose. Let us for the present avoid the difficulty of precise definition, and of speculation respecting origins, by glancing at the series of pictures accompanying this chapter. If, in addition to making a careful inspection of these physical types, a student will turn to the following works, he will have in mind a clear mental picture of the general somatic traits that are associated with the terms used to designate people of different phylogeny and geographical distribution. Of considerable pictorial value and in some instances of statistical importance are the works of Weninger (1927), Fiilleborne (1906), Duggan-Cronin (1928-37), H. H. Johnston (1902a), and Weiss (1910). Bernatzik (1929) has published some remarkably fine studies of Nilotic Negroes. These references, in conjunction with Hambly (1934a and 1935a), will give a clear idea of Negro types in all parts of Africa. Barnard (1923) and Hambly (1930a) have brought together a variety of pictorial types in popular presentations. For Hamitic types of east Africa, C. G. Seligman (1913, 1917, 1925) and Cerulli (1935) should be consulted, while the work of Paulitschke (1888) contains excellent photographs of eastern Hamitic types. 161 162 Source Book for African Anthropology Bertholon and Chaijtre (1912), also Coon (1931), provide num- erous illustrations of Hamitic and Semitic types of north Africa, while Field (1935) has published a valuable statistical and pictorial source book for Semitic types, which may be regarded as the matrix from which African Semites were derived. Hoefler (1930) has produced some excellent illustrations of Ituri Pygmies, and more recently Schebesta and Lebzelter (1933) have supplemented their statistical study of Pygmies with a collection of photographs. For Bushman types, the best available are those taken by the Vernay-Lang Kalahari Expedition of Field Museum (Figs. 45-47). But more than a general mental impression of types is demanded ; therefore, to give precision to ideas of physical development some statistical work is necessary, and here another difficulty is encoun- tered. The fact is astonishing that, taking Africa as a whole, we have at our disposal very few series of anthropometric averages based on as many as one hundred individuals in the group. A series con- sisting of a hundred is usually considered to be a minimum for the working out of averages that can be safely regarded as a fair sample. When, in addition to this obstacle of paucity of data, we add doubts as to the method of sampling and the techniques adopted in taking the measurements, the data for comparative statistical study are small. Yet some legitimate samples of anthropometry exist, and other figures, if not relied upon too confidently, can be of value in showing general somatic trends. For understanding the data of this chapter, R. Martin's "Lehr- buch der Anthropologie" (1928) is of great service. Hrdlicka (1920), and Stibbe (1930) have produced elementary textbooks of physical anthropology, while L. H. D. Buxton (1932) and Buxton and Morant (1933) have written useful articles on the standardization of technique. For statistical work, Udny Yule (1912, 1924) is still sound, but Fisher (1932) and Gavett (1937) are regarded as the most useful of recent textbooks on statistics. So far as I am aware, no physical anthropologist has prepared a textbook of statistical method as applied to physical anthropology. At present, a student must learn his general principles and apply them to anthropometric data, but for the non-mathematical a textbook simplifying the erudite articles of "Biometrika" and translating some of them into clear arithmetical examples would be welcome. There is a great need for a textbook of statistics written entirely for the student of physical anthropology. Physical Anthropology 163 With regard to our tentative classification of physical types, which is based on pictorial study, the following divisions will serve as a basis for comparisons: (1) Negroes, western, central, eastern, southern, Nilotic. (2) Khoisan People (Bushmen and Hottentots). (3) Pygmies (chiefly of the Ituri Forest). (4) Hamites, northern (Berbers and Tuareg) and eastern (Somali, Beja, Hadendoa), Half-Hamites (the Masai). (5) Semites (Bedouin and other Arabs, Kababish of Kordofan). In connection with this research, an explanation of terms used in describing living subjects is necessary. Statures are given in milli- meters, and conversion to inches is readily made by taking 2.5 cm. to one inch. The cephalic index (C.I.) is a figure expressing the percentage relation of the maximum breadth of a head to the maxi- mum length. The nasal index (N.I.) expresses the relationship of the breadth of the nose to the length. In A. C. Haddon's tables (1925, p. 9), persons under 1480 mm. (58.25 inches) in height are said to be of pygmy stature. A measure- ment between 1480 and 1580 mm. (58.25-62.25 inches) indicates short stature. Persons of medium stature have height measurements between 1580 and 1680 mm. (62.25-66 inches). Tall people have a stature between 1680 and 1720 mm. (66-67.75 inches) or more. Head measurements made in many parts of the world show that most people have cephalic indices between 70 and 85. An index of 75 and under indicates a long head (dolichocephaly). Indices be- tween 75 and 80 express a medium formation (mesaticephaly). Broad-headed (brachycephalic) persons have cephalic indices of 80 and above. Nasal indices between 55 and 70 indicate narrow noses (leptor- rhine condition). Mesorrhine noses, that is, noses of medium breadth, have indices between 71 and 85. Platyrrhine noses have indices from 86 to 100. Seligman (1930, Appendix II, p. 252) gives a con- version table in inches and meters. Negroes Before considering the differences of measurement in topographi- cal groups of Negroes some attempt should be made to summarize the salient physical features of the Negro group as a whole. T. W. Todd (1928) in a search for specific bodily Negro features speaks of the proportions of the pelvis, the nose, the lips, and the interpupillary distance as "entrenched." American Negroes have long arms com- 164 Source Book for African Anthropology pared with the whites, and arm length is the controlling factor for length and breadth of the hand. The Negro has a narrow pelvis expressed in terms of his torso; the pelvis is narrow absolutely and relatively. The forearm of the Negro is a little long, the upper arm a little short compared with the proportions in white people. Furthermore, T. W. Todd (1929, p. 67) states: "We have been forced to the conclusion that, in our Negro hybrids, some features are more stable or more firmly entrenched than others, and that these features are mostly to be found in the face. Shall we conclude that this is a result of differential stability of hereditary pattern, or are we to assume that increasing homogeneity of our Negroes [see Her- skovits, 1928] is bringing about this stability of African form? Both factors may be at work. But since traits cannot again be imprinted in a stock from which they have once been expunged, the features in question must belong to the hereditary pattern." Figures 25 and 26 illustrate the more important somatic traits of the Negro, which have been summarized by Hooton (1931, p. 512) . Stature, robustness of torso, and length of limbs, are variable from one topographical group to another. To take two extremes, the Kru of Liberia are thick-set and of medium height, while the Vakwanyama of south Angola are tall and slender. Nevertheless, Hooton's summary gives the more important traits which can be regarded as truly characteristic of Negroes. The hair is woolly, black, coarse in texture, short on the head and sparsely developed on the face and body. The skin color is dark brown' (Ovimbundu) or nearly black (Dinkas), and the eye is similarly pigmented. There is pronounced facial protrusion (prognathism), and the lips are thick, puffy, and everted. The bridge of the nose is low, broad, and short, while the alae of the nostrils are thick and flaring; the nasal index is always in the platyrrhine group. The profile is concave or straight, rarely convex. These facial traits are clearly shown in the picture of a Bini of southern Nigeria (Fig. 25, a). Since our analysis is concerned chiefly with modal values, as indicated by frequency distributions that illustrate general trends, mathematical averages with their standard deviations and standard errors are unnecessary. But for those who wish to make a more thorough comparison of arithmetic means, two formulae are of ser- vice. For comparing fairly large groups in a population in order to determine whether the observed differences are significant, or whether they might have arisen from random sampling, the formula Mi-Mj > 3 V (PEi)2 + (PE2)2 Physical Anthropology 165 is appropriate. For comparing the averages of small groups to test the significance of the difference of the means, Fisher (1932, pp. 120- 124) uses the t test by use of the formula where A is the difference of the means, a the standard deviation of all the terms in the two series, and Wj, ?2j the number of terms in each series. Confining ourselves to the general class distribution of values for height, cephalic index, and nasal index of males only, we can compare these values for Negroes of different geographical regions. The terms "Bantu" and "Sudanic" Negroes should, if possible, be avoided in connection with divisions based on somatic traits, since the words have a definite linguistic connotation. Continued research may, however, justify the association of the terms "Bantu" and "Sudanic" with definitely different series of measurements, since somatic differences do exist between Negroes of the two main linguistic divisions, and within each of the groups. But paucity of anthropometric data prevents us from making definite statements that would at present correlate types of physique with linguistic divisions, WESTERN NEGROES {Table 1) Stature. — The longest series available are the 100 Bambara, Tukolor, and others measured by Weninger (1927), and the 100 Hausa measured by Tremearne (1911). Weninger's subjects were sampled from several tribes representing a wide area, as his map shows. With regard to Tremearne's data, the word Hausa is lin- guistic, and both Sudanic and Hamitic elements are in the speech. Moreover, as Tremearne points out, his subjects were gathered from a fairly wide area. These are, however, the largest and most homo- geneous samples we have from the western Negro region. Taking first the stature, we find that 28 per cent of Weninger's subjects have a modal stature of 1650-1700 mm., and 41 per cent are in the tall and very tall classes; about 10 per cent are short. Among Tremearne's Hausa, the height frequently is as follows: Less than 9 per cent are short, 77 per cent are medium to tall, and 14 per cent are very tall, giving measurements between 1750-1900 mm. Both Weninger's and Tremearne's men have the same modal value for height, namely, 1650-1700 mm. In Cameroons, the stature seems to fall somewhat if we take the frequency distribution of groups ^^^u^ ^ o O s V 166 a. < c S > o 167 m i 03 !£ cd ^ > 03 1^ OS 2 »- >.2 . 'S =« <^^ la o ■5 s. II « lO 1^3 • • 00 CX) 00 • • Oi 00 OS OJOOJ 1 5 2: 'Pi o ^g • • • t--* (M O CO Oi cu Z ,— .^— .w 00 o ^-.^-vO i-lt-CO00(M-^CO >. O O O O O OO-S C- 00 Oi O .— I eg CO <— ! I— I T— I I— I 05 -L 1 I J. I 1 I • OOOOOOOIM «Dt-OOOiOi— i(MO> T-l lOjA OOIO J5 lo o I's o lO ^"^ CD t> t- 00 00 ?D I I I I I • o w o m o ■^ CC «3 C- t- 00 t- o ti coos t~ t-'cf-^ Oi-^ CO i-H in T}< 0«3 CD C~CDCD oo OiO 7-i 1— 1 oo mo in CD 00 00 O CO IM i-i (M" — -^ ^oog ^ oino^vS i-H 1-1 T-l '-' 00 I I I ojoo OOO > CD u3oin o'-' CDt-t-_Q " ryj ^ « O J Si5 cj poo^~ , CO J2 ■ M Sfq • — ' Q.' — ' ^ ?^ 3 5^ >» (U (D Ol -S o WWW c 3 o 00 CO ^ f* ^_^ '--'^-'-— -^ ^o .03 3.^ £- cS CD o 3 ^O o >-• 03 ca 0) PQ 168 CO CO 1). ribut nts. a, 53;2g a eo y-l'a Qi ^_^ i remearne ( frequency ual measur o OS ^—' 1 «£> 1—1 OS 1— 1 o £ « H P3 Eh - 3 00 o <7j "-H c Z« t-C^OOOOOiCTlOO'— i'-i(M'~^ iiiiiii'TT'iT''^ -Hi-(oj 2S2d J X < a = 9 a. z Hi-i ^<=>S oiooiooioo""* t:-t--oooooia>,-( oj"^ I I I I I I I > • t-t-ooooa)05^t- -=»< o '^S'^d 00000000 > looiooiooioo ci lOtDCOt-C-OOOOOi- — I I I I I I I I S! ooooooooS ousomoiooio^ kOU5^;Ot-C~0000'~' ;^S P^S .— ( I-H 00 o a o ,-1 OC GO ■; S^ °< . o ^ en as o2 h, 1^ 5 03 i5 • a" S "Sis oo".22o OT3 O CO Ol^ r-H-2 T3-e 3-5; eg S Cog •3^ "5 y^-V,— v,^-^^— s .--.-— -(M .^^^ t-oa ;^J£_JOCO d-iS-d-CS-Si t- CO CO OIOOU3 10 lO U5 1^2 0500 I— ( 1-t 00 00 Ol Oi 1 1 1 1 10 10 t~ C~ 00 00 Oi OS 10 10 lO < C- 00 00 OS «D C- t-00 00 05 5 p* -e &t «> <1 § ,— srH ,— V Kl H 3 a Ht-i T-i CO 00 T-H -rt ^U3 CO M 10 CO -^ M -* t-CO t- t~ t- ^ t- 00 Ol T-I 10 10 1 » ^ t-C~ t- t-00 00 1 1 1 1 1 1 t-00 00 1 1 1 »-H Ui^C-OOOsO 0100 t- t- t- t- c~oo t~ t-00 w (>H H^ pq cc < s H (M 10 CO iX> 00 Cvl t~ t~ t~ T-H O t- 10 CO 00000 10 O 10 10 LO 10 to iX" t- c~ 1— I 7— I >— ( 1-H r-l I I I I I 00000 O lO O LO o lO lO «5 CO t~ 1-1 c— I 10 O lO t-00 00 I I I O lO o t-C-00 t-i-H t-00 I I m K o o (M T-(~ — 2pqml§ 8 ci O C4 o u o 170 Physical Anthropology 171 (not individuals) given by Montandon (1928) and by Malcolm (1925c). Montandon's data contain the figures of Malcolm and other observers. Malcolm gives forty groups (based on different numbers of measurements, all of them small), and eighteen of these groups, that is, nearly 50 per cent, are in the class interval 1600- 1650 mm., that is, one interval lower than the modal value of Wen- inger's and Tremearne's samples. Considering sixteen groups (comprising 188 males), Montandon's figures show that seven of these groups, about 50 per cent, fall in the class interval 1600-1650 mm. The Cameroons samples show a definite lowering of stature compared with more westerly groups of Weninger and Tremearne. Between Cameroons and the far west is the mid-course of the Niger, where Ruelle (1904) measured 100 Mossi and 78 Lobi. The former gave an average height of 1712 mm., and the latter 1754 mm., both definitely in the tall class. Figures given by Talbot (1916) show definitely a tall strain in the Kanembu, Buduma, and other tribes near Lake Chad. The six averages given are for five different tribes; there are two samples for the Buduma with 12 mm. difference. One sample for Buduma (32) gives 1742 mm. as the average, and the other sample (132) gives 1730 mm. as the average stature. The range of averages is therefore 1723 (Mundong tribe) to 1785 mm. (Banana tribe) ; all are definitely tall. The general impression is that the Negroes of the west are upper medium to tall except in Cameroons, where the medium height 1600-1650 prevails. Cephalic Index. — Let us consider the cephalic index for these western groups. Beginning again with our best samples, we find that 50 per cent of Weninger's Negroes have a C.L of 70-75, and 39 per cent fall in the class interval 75-80 per cent. These two intervals account for 89 per cent of the sample. With an index lower than 70 there are only 6 per cent, and with an index above 80 there are only 5 per cent. The average C.L is 74.6. The sample is predominantly dolichocephalic (50 per cent) with a strong mesaticephalic (39 per cent) tendency. In Tremearne's (1911) sample 51 per cent are dolichocephalic (C.L 70-75) and 27 per cent mesaticephalic (C.L 75-80). This distribution is almost identical with that of Weninger's sample. In the Cameroons samples a change in the frequency distribution of head form can be observed, for in comparison with the populations sampled by Weninger and Tremearne, the Cameroons population 172 Source Book for African Anthropology tends toward brachycephaly. Of the forty groups (not individuals) recorded by Malcolm, thirty-one (77.5 per cent) have averages that bring them into the mesaticephalic class (C.I. 75-80), Of nineteen group averages given by Montandon, seventeen are in the class interval 75-80. Therefore, despite the fact that the averages of many groups are based on small numbers, the general tendency toward brachycephaly cannot be doubted. Struck's (1922) data for cephalic indices in the Cameroons relate to sixty-one tribes, and 831 men con- tributed to the series; the number of measurements are not, however, distributed evenly among the sixty-one tribes represented. There are 61.6 per cent of the samples having the fairly high C.I. of 77-81. The Mossi and the Lobi of the mid-west region have dolichocephalic indices of 74.6 and 74.4 respectively, and the Lake Chad tribes measured by Talbot have, with the exception of the Banana (C.I. 77.3), a range of average indices from 71.7 for the Kanembu to 74.1 for the Bagirimi. Nasal Index. — A large number (85 per cent) of Weninger's Negroes had a nasal index between 80 and 110. The most important class intervals are 90-100 with 33 per cent of the population, and almost as large is the 80-90 class interval with 32 per cent of the population. The figures for Tremearne's Hausa indicate that their noses are narrower than among Weninger's Negroes. A glance at the Hausa (Fig. 59) shows modification of Negro features as compared with the Bini (Fig. 25, a), who is a typical Negro. Whereas only 7 per cent of Weninger's Negroes were in the 70-80 class interval, as many as 20 per cent, nearly three times as many, of Tremearne's Hausa have a N.I. from 70-80, which is low for a Negro population. There is no mistaking the change in the trend of the figures, for the shift of values in the Hausa curve is clearly toward the lower class intervals when compared with the Weninger Negro curve. The adequate samples of Ruelle give N.I. 104.6 for the Mossi and 102.7 for the Lobi; these tribes are therefore in the higher ranges of platyrrhine intervals. About 20 per cent of Weninger's Negroes were in the class interval of N.I. 100-110, but only 11 per cent of Tremearne's Hausa were in this hyperplat5rrrhine class. Talbot's series have ranges of tribal averages varying from N.I. 92.7 to 108.3. CENTRAL negroes (Table 2) Stature. — Inspection of the averages of stature for Belgian Congo tribes reveals the general prevalence of medium stature, and some tribe sshow an average close to the "short" division (1480-1580 mm.). 1 »- St C 0) O 0) ^ o O 3 ^3 rt be . ^- o •S^ _ 3 X C ^15 '55 . gEH ►^00 c9 -C^J —^Oi Hi >> (1922 n (1 thers. t-H o O ^b t) CT3 +J C3 3 cS C •S-o e;-m d 73 w C C O U o .SOS bfl3 cr cr OEa,^ ^ ^ j= g . 00 00 (M (M a> Oi --I 2: ?s 1— ( >— 1 922) >es, ages. : a f avei c c o . o __. ,ij J- ai_^ c -1^ .5 ck ( 7 tri ave re ar triba c o C o 3 ^Hs-i 0) M-i o c o c u'-i ox: o , _ M to to O, • — V 3-2 t3 O bo 00 -^ 3 gw'^ «> 0(M O bC>^ U c3. 00 00 O) 05 o o 2 X < a X Q a. Z o oooi o CO t~ t~ 00 00 I I I I t~ooaio t- t- c- 00 ■»!< lO to t~ t- t- c- t- I I I I t- t> t-t- OO Oi O f-l t- c~ 00 00 i-H >-( CO ■># c~ CO Tt" lO «5 c~ t- t- c~ c~ c~ I I I I I IM CO -^ 1/5 ?£> • CO ^ U5 • Irt C- 00 • CD «r) ?£> locj 00 o oi CO CD lO CD o ooo o 10 0*0 10 lO CD CD t- t> ooooo OiOOiOO lO lO CD CD C~ tf^ o -S) widiai»iades(rfS5aref%^ r if the pbtynrinae eal«9»7. Most of tlie groops iefinttrfy f faijiihui e but aildoiii touch the index of 100. MU iu tiie 1700-I7oO mm. -.a 1—1 ZJ s ce -^ 3 «:^ c? a"« +J CW 1 O 05 (h la 05 O . c ^ o C<1 o to ^ ;3 a> TSi-l CI go 3 JS jn fe 2 c 3 . > 2^'^ >> ^ M D, e III c« 1-, +J w ffi W < 2 dx fa <1 en; 03 K 12 O Q o O o (M lO 00 t- Oi CO o " T-H i-H (M (M Tf (M , CD«D-5j 05 o < a X o a. z I I I I I I I O looiflowiouo 2 t-OOOOOiOSOO-H 1— 1 1— 1 O lO t- c~oooo I I I I lo o tn o ;o t- t-oo ^^i-HOO Ti< O OS CO CO i-H -"a" ko CO 1— I ^ o ooo o oo to o in o u3 o "" lO CD * U3 t- t- t- C~ t- t- I I I I I . OO OOO o O U5 O lO O lO lo lo CO io t- 1- rH rH i-H -, «C t- 0) ,_l,_l ,-1 I— I uo ini -^ t- Oi 00 o coco CD t- v^' L"* L'— '"^ I— I tH T-|<3 a M 3 c« > :S rt > z^ t-o-rji -00 ;c t-i-t pq W <1 fc, o < a ft. Z usoini \o t~ -^oa5-*4D> 1 tn^ 3 >>c- CJ Ceo C rt cijii e4 ^^ i^ 178 w a OS . r-H CO -^- a> b£ s 3 Xi s .a to-a 1-1 OS >^ o CO CO c J' be X! 3 rt 0) > 00 i* rt to 13 ^^ r/1 -Q be i-< o ^ > CO 3 00 o +J ■iJ W J3 '-' CIS CO Z z; cj ►* « o — . > bo 00 t lO *; g +j ra ca rt « 2 CO r 0(M -' oO 3g z2 I .-I O 00 OS ' I -^ CO T-l 1-1 I I I I I I I I I I oiooiooiooirtom ;Dcr>t-c~oooooia500 ^ < I < o J X < a so a. Z OO t~ Tl< lO -^ I lO CO CO -^ lO c~ o c- t- t- t- t- t- 00 -I I I ' I 1 I O CJ CO -^ lO to c- t- t- t- t- t- t- t- (M t-OOOi I I I I I I I I 1— ICJCO-^W5i;Dt-00 t-t-C-t-t-t-t-t- ai ca CO OO O O 3 c3 >- O lO o lO GnCQ 3 CD ?£> t- t- tc 1^ ,_! ,—1 ,_( ,— I ^-' ro 03 A J, A A M a> W oooo 5j 5 . lO O lO O _c o '^^-v lOC£><^t-t3 cot-- • 1-Ht— It— It-H _ O"^ '* hH Ph — ' ' ma (-4 > 00 c a o o WW rt C t* 3 (UTS cd o3 cd - ca > ca hJ ca" CJ < ca ^►^ CO ^ ca'^ W 179 180 Source Book for African Anthropology averages being 94-95. Montandon's data for forty-four groups give a modal value of 85-90 for the N.L Only two of Montan- don's east African Negro groups have an index over 100, but 20 per cent of Weninger's western sample of 100 were in the 100-110 class interval. The Negroes with wider noses are on the western side of the continent. NILOTIC negroes {Table 5) Stature. — Out of sixteen tribal averages for the Dinka, Shilluk, Nuer, Bari, Turkana, Nuba, and Mandari, only one is below the 1700 mm. mark, namely, one of the Nuba groups having an average of 1698 mm. All Nilotic groups measured are definitely in the tall class, whereas in all other topographical samples the tall class was small. Two of our Nilotic samples touch the 1800 mm. mark^ — as an average. Cephalic Index. — The twenty-four samples of average cephalic indices clearly illustrate the dolichocephalic tendency of Nilotic Negroes, since eighteen of the samples are below the figure 75, and the mode is 73-74. That these Negroes have longer heads than other groups is shown by Montandon's range of averages, which are all in the low category 69.3-73.4, lower than those of any other group. Nasal Index. — There are four out of seventeen averages with a N.I. of above 100; and though the averages agree with those of our other Negro groups in lying chiefly between 90-100, there is among the Dinka, Shilluk, and Nuer a tendency to the hyperplatyrrhine con- dition. (Figs. 27 and 28 show front and side views of a Nilote of the Bari tribe.) SKULL MEASUREMENTS Measurements made on Negro crania are insufficient for a thorough comparison with data from the living. For both the living and the dead, the results are based on anthropometric samples which for the main part are too small to be reliable. Krum (1913, pp. 175- 181) measured eighty-four male skulls of the Wachagga of Kili- manjaro in northeast Tanganyika Territory. The modal value (19 per cent of the skulls) is 1400-1450 cc. for the cranial capacity, but nearly as many (about 17 per cent) are in the 1450-1500 cc. group. About 28 per cent of the skulls have a C.I. in the 70-75 category; the modal value is 75-80 C.I. for about 55 per cent of the skulls, and the remainder are brachycephalic, with a C.I. of 80-85. The modal value of the N.I. is 55-60, and in this platyrrhine group 45 per cent of the instances fall. Widenmann's (1898) group of bfi I— 1 C ■>j o >-l s O" co^^ ,^-^ ^s ^^s (M Oi"^ T-H W I— 1 r^ 1-H Oi 3 (V CO CO Eh •^ El, <^ c3 bo 3 ^ CJ ^ e-S s t3 S «3 d CO in ■-I cj ES O Omcq O c«co w 1-1 •J >> s ;s:H 0) CO ^-^ ° &" §'? 0< OJ t> c bo bo rt <» 2= c £J a; 03 o CO o o hJ 12; n o Eh O •J 5 ... -o oo> o?o cooi CO T-H 00 CO«5Ti< T-HO r> • • • • O OS O OS Oi • • • • T-H rH CO -^ 1— 1 CO o o i-H 00 oj OS OS <35 00 J>< OOC0C*00t^C£>i— ( ?S »-(05COO(mco(mcoo5c<1i-ht-(cO'-0"5^0 -t-O^O -CDOOCOOiMOOcOOO Cr-O0n 183 184 Source Book for African Anthropology thirty male and female skulls is too small to give reliable results. A. Hrdlicka's catalogue (1928b, pp. 107-127) gives some measure- ments for skulls of south African Negroes, Bushmen, and Hottentots. Benington's (1911-12) series of African skulls is too small to support an argument for racial differentiation. In his introduction to this article, Pearson also points out the possibility that skulls from one area may be heterogeneous. The minimum series ought to be 100 adult crania of one sex. The male series included 50 crania from the Batetela tribe of the Congo and 50 from the Gaboon, collected in the year 1864 by Du Chaillu. A series of eighteen male skulls was acquired in Gaboon by the same explorer in 1880. Particulars are given for the groups of Zulu, Angoni and other crania (pp. 294- 295), but the numbers are all small. Some general conclusions respecting the phylogenetic relationship of the samples, as revealed by the short series of measurements, are given (p. 33). The Gaboon and Congo series, despite differences, are regarded as "forming a fairly representative group which differs appreciably from the Kaffir- Zulu group." Formulae for calculating the capacity of Negro skulls from linear dimensions are given by Tildesley (1927), Isserlis (1914), T. W. Todd (1923), and Pearson (1904). Von Bonin (1934) has com- pared the results given by these formulae. Kitson's (1931) grouping, based on the coefficients of racial likeness, leads to the conclusions expressed on pages 298 to 300 of that article: "(a) Congo, Cameroons, Gaboon, Negroes from Egypt, Galla and Somali. The first three of these are from West Africa, which is generally supposed to be the home of the true negro; the Egyptian series probably came from the Sudan ; and the Galla and Somali are usually thought to be essentially 'Hamitic' in physical type. The first three, and possibly the fourth, represent Bantu-speaking peoples, but the Galla and Somali speak an Hamitic language. "(b) Kaffirs and Angoni. The physical similarity of these two southern Bantu-speaking peoples is not surprising. "(c) Tanganyika, Teita, and Hottentots. The close resemblance between the groups from Tanganyika Territory and Kenya Colony is to be expected from cultural evidence and from their geographical position, but it is surprising to find that they are linked up with the non-Bantu Hottentots, and that the last bear their closest resemblance to the Teita who are geographically further removed from them than are the peoples of Tanganyika Territory. ¥ Fig. 29. Bedouin Arab of Tunis, North Africa. 185 186 Source Book for African Anthropology "It must be admitted that there are several unexpected features of this classification which has been reached by purely statistical means. There is no close correspondence between the affinities of the types and their geographical positions. The Congo and Came- roons series may be supposed to represent the most typical West African races, but they are connected with those of East and South Africa by the Gaboon series which came from a district 800 miles further west than that from which the Congo crania were obtained. Kenya Colony lies to the north of Tanganyika Territory, but the Teita have closer relationships to the southern Angoni and Hotten- tots, while the Tanganyika tribes resemble more closely the Negroes from Egypt and the Galla and Somali. The suggested relationships of the Hottentots would certainly not have been expected. It must be noted that the Bushman and Hottentot series are less well authen- ticated than the others, but they are clearly differentiated from each other and still more clearly from the Kaffirs. "The present classification is only claimed to be a preliminary one, and it should not be rejected merely because it does not accord closely with the generally accepted theories of the relationships of the African races. These theories have been based almost entirely on very inadequate data obtained from the living populations. The material used in the present paper is also inadequate, but the use of purely quantitative methods applied to cranial measurements, which have many advantages over those of the living, appears to offer quite the most hopeful approach for future research in this direction. The most pressing need is for more and, if possible, longer series of crania of Negroes, Bushmen, and Hottentots." Semites, Hamites, Half-Hamites When dealing with the measurements of Negroes, we were able to avoid use of the linguistic terms "Bantu" and "Sudanic" by substituting topographical terms. There appears to be no alternative to the use of the words "Semitic" and "Hamitic," which have definite linguistic and cultural connotations. We have no specific terms to express the aggregate of somatic traits associated with either the word "Semite" or "Hamite," though photographs and anthropo- metric data make the distinguishing physical features perfectly clear. SEMITES {Table 6) A glance at Figs. 29 and 30, giving front and side views of an Arab of Tunisia, make clear the main features. Hooton (1931, p. 509) Fig. 30. Bedouin Arab of Tunis, North Africa. 187 188 Source Book for African Anthropology describes Arabs as being mainly of "Mediterranean race with slight admixture of Armenoid and possibly Nordic. The nose is aquiline and very leptorrhine, with thin nasal tip, high bridge, and compressed alae. The head form is very dolichocephalic with pro- truding occiput." This statement needs modifying, since there are two main divisions of Arabs, a dolichocephalic and a decidedly brachycephalic division. According to Hooton, the stature is medium, averaging 1650-1680 mm., and the build is slender. The color of the hair is black or dark brown, and the color of the eye the same. The skin color is olive brown. The face is elliptical, long, and narrow. The hair is wavy or curly, with medium texture. Some of the data in this general description may be verified by consulting C. G. Seligman (1917) and refemng to Table 6. Seligman (1917, p. 214) states that anthropometric records of Arabs in Africa and elsewhere are few and often incomplete. This, however, was written twenty years ago and to some extent the gaps have been filled, especially for Arabia and Iraq, though the African records are still scanty. Seligman's examination of fragmentary data brings him to the conclusion that southern Arabia has a pre- dominantly brachycephalic population, while in the north there is a dolichocephalic population. Seligman then turns to a discussion of the Arabs in Africa and notes that many so-called Arabs are Arabized Berbers. Fig. 31 gives an illustration of a man who, in my opinion, illustrates the term "Arabized Berber." Arabic is his natural tongue and he is a Moham- medan, but in physical type he corresponds well with the illustrations of Berbers shown by Coon (1931), Bertholon and Chantre (1912), and Bourrilly (1932). Seligman refers to the well-known westerly incursions of Arabs who have been absorbed into a Berber popula- tion from which they probablj^ differed little in stature and head form. In the hinterland of Tripolitania and Tunisia, however, there are many pastoral, semi-nomadic people, who are probably of predominatingly Arab blood. C. G. Seligman quotes Chantre (1904, p. 196) to show that some Eg^i^tian Arabs (Bedouins) have average cephalic indices ranging from 72.8 to 75.4, which agrees closely with Seligman's measurements of the Arab Kababish of Kordofan. The occurrence of brachycephalic skulls in ancient graveyards of Egypt and Tripoli, among predominantly long-headed populations, may be explained by regarding these as intrusions from southern Arabia. I —4 1 f*' Fig. 31. Well-educated, Arabic-speaking type, Tunisia. Berber features. 189 190 Source Book for African Anthropology Turning to Table 6, we have sufficient data to indicate what physical features might be expected in people of Arabized blood in Africa. For types of Tripolitania, see G. Miiller (1936). A report by H. Field (1935) shows that Arabs of Kish (396 measured) have an average stature of 1677 mm., a C.I. of 75.3, and N.I. of 61.1. They are therefore of medium stature, dolichocephalic, and leptorrhine (Fig. 71). Evidently the Arabs of south Arabia are appreciably shorter than those of Kish. They are brachy cephalic according to all observers, and the groups showing the highest brachy cephaly (mode 86-87) are those measured by B. Thomas (1932). The Arabs measured by Coon (1931) in northwest Africa show close agreement with Field's Kish series. The Arabs of Kish, com- pared with those of northwest Africa, have 6 mm. more in stature, are one point higher in cephalic index, and have somewhat narrower noses. A small sample (24) of Kababish have the greatest stature of our Arab samples; they are distinctly dolichocephalic, and, as might be expected, owing to long contact with Negro slaves, the N.I. is higher than that of other Arab groups. Shanklin's (1934, 1935) trans-Jordan Arabs are mesaticephalic with a modal value of C.I. 76-77 for 791 males. The details of Shanklin's distribution indicate the mingling of broad-headed and long-headed stocks. Classified according to villages, the average C.I.'s range from 74.7-78.8, and for the tribes the range of averages is 74.1-78.2. In Battara's (1934) review of the data of Aldobrandino Mochi, we have a classification of the figures relating to seventy-nine males of Eritrea and northern Abyssinia, who speak a Semitic language, Tigr^. If from the tables a frequency distribution is prepared, there is evidence that the stature is either tall or bordering on the tall class. There is a definite modal value between 1670-1730 mm., in which division 43 per cent of the individuals are classed. With regard to head form, 40.5 per cent are dolichocephalic, and 50.6 per cent are mesaticephalic; there is only one individual with an index above 80 (brachycephalic) , and only five individuals have an index below 70 (sub-dolichocephalic). The N.I. very definitely shows the leptor- rhine and mesorrhine condition prevailing. Of the total sample, 43 per cent are leptorrhine, 50 per cent mesorrhine, and only 7 per cent platyrrhine. In the Semitic groups, we clearly have a people of medium stature, and sometimes in the lower ranges of medium values. There are two Fig. 32. Bedouin Arab woman, Tunisia, North Africa. 191 Fig. 33. Bedouin Arab woman, Tunisia, North Africa. 192 d Eh pq 193 194 Source Book for African Anthropology distinct forms of head, namely, those that are definitely dolicho- cephalic and those that are brachycephalic. In all the groups tested, the nose is leptorrhine, but among the Kababish very close to the mesorrhine condition. We can find groups of Negroes with statures and cephalic indices similar to those of the Semites, but the narrow- ness of the nose among the Semites is a dependable distinction. HAMITES (northern) {Table 6) If we agree to accept the external origin of the Hamites, despite the views of Sergi (1901) and G. A. Barton (1934), who accord them an African origin, we have a picture of Hamitic incursions from south- west Asia. These incursions split into two main branches, a northern and an eastern. The illustrations of a Tuareg (Fig. 34) and of Egyptians (Fig. 35) show the features of the northern Hamitic group. Figure 37, portraying a Somali and a Hadendoa, gives an indication of the eastern Hamitic type. This type is also represented by two Amharic-speaking Abyssinians (Fig. 36). The measurements collated in Table 6 facilitate comparison of anthropometric data. Considering first the stature of the northern Hamites, the Tuareg (1725 mm.) are within the tall class, but all other groups, namely, the Berbers, are of upper medium height. The Tuareg are clearly dolicho- cephalic, with an index of 71.8, while the other groups are mesa- ticephalic, with average indices ranging from 75.0-77.3. In stature and in C.I., there is no definite distinction between these groups of northern Hamites and Negroes, except that the long-headed Tuareg are more dolichocephalic than any of the Negro groups, with the exception of some of the Nilotic Negro tribes. When, however, the nasal indices of the northern Hamites are considered, a condition fundamentally different from that of any Negro tribe is observed. All the northern Hamitic groups are decidedly leptorrhine and the averages of the N.I. for the several groups are remarkably close, with a range of only 63.5-66.5. HAMITES (EASTERN) {Table 6) In turning to the consideration of eastern Hamites, there is the difficulty of classification. Seligman (1930, p. 102) points out that the Ababda, who once spoke Bedawi, which is the Hamitic language of the Bisharin and the Hadendoa, have lost their old tongue and now speak Egyptian, while the Beni Amer speak a Semitic language called Tigr^. There is in the region between the Red Sea and the I«ifr^"^>,-tfr-f JSOBLi Fig. 35. Egyptians of Luxor, a. Hamitic type. h. Showing Negroid and Hamitic mixtures (after photographs by H. Field). 195 C4 3 ■3 a > o O c P c •.I -^ ^1 O 4J >_^ 00 O t, (H > ■OS o I— I H-s lO 00 — .23 5? CO s o -CI o CO CD d CO CO^"' 05 c! §.l a o E-t bo _g +3 o 3 cr >-i ^ IK ^^_^ ^•9. ^^^ . bO ttC dc^ CO cj 5£) IX> C- " CO " lO »« <» _ Km CO 6 o CO c-cg «£, O"© lO £i2i r^cQ^ ^^ •^ ^ ^ ^w^ CJ CTl C3 rt rt rt o S6 o o WC/2 Dan Gall Gall O S o 199 .^C^^ r^JSKRVBS^^^mBe-- 200 Physical Anthropology 201 Nile an overlay of Semitic speech and customs upon the Hamitic foundation, so perhaps there is justification for including in the eastern Hamitic group those whose original Hamitic traits have been submerged. With the exception of the Somali groups, which are all definitely in the tall class, the eastern Hamites are of medium height, showing fairly close agreement with the Berber groups of northern Hamites. We have, according to these data, only two tall groups of Hamites, the Tuareg (northern) and the Somali (eastern). Among the eastern Hamites, head form has a definitely rounder tendency than among the northern Hamites, and this may be due to some phylo- genetic relation between eastern Hamites and an ancient brachy- cephalic Armenoid people. The eastern Hamites are decidedly more platyrrhine than the northern Hamites, for, glancing down the column of figures for the N.I. of the northern Hamites, all are in the 60's, whereas the nasal indices of the eastern Hamitic groups are, with the exception of two Somali groups, all in the 70's. The eastern Hamitic groups are nearly all mesorrhine; the northern Hamitic groups are all leptorrhine. The measurements made by Sergi (1912) on sixty-nine male skulls of people he describes as modern Tigr^ give averages of 1501 cc. capacity, which is higher than that of most Negro tribes, a N.I. of 50.3, and a cranial index of 74.2. Adding two points to the cranial index, we have a C.I. of 76.2, in very close agreement with the indices for all the eastern Hamites quoted on Table 6. To bring the average N.I. of the skull series into form with the N.I. of the living, we may use a formula of Buxton and Thomson, discussed by Davies (1932, pp. 349-351). The formula N.I. (living) = N.I. (crania) X 2.327-38.08, when applied to the N.I. 50.3, gives N.I. 78.96, which is higher than that for the living groups considered in Table 6. On the whole, there is a close resemblance between the African Semites and the two geographical groups of Hamites. Both the northern and eastern Hamites have tall groups, but generally speak- ing, the Hamites and Semites are of medium stature. With the exception of the low dolichocephaly of the Tuareg, all the Sem.itic and Hamitic groups have a short range of C.I. from the higher ranges of dolichocephaly to moderate mesaticephaly. There is a difference to be observed, however, between Semites and northern Hamites on the one hand, and eastern Hamites on the other. The eastern Hamitic groups are not so leptorrhine as the northern 202 Source Book for African Anthropology Hamites and Semites. In fact, most of our samples of eastern Hamites have average nasal indices within the mesorrhine value. HALF-HAMITES A sample of ninety-one Masai (Fig. 39) gives a tall stature of 1700 mm., a rather low C.I. of 73.2, and a definite mesorrhine con- dition which is arrestingly different from that of Negroes. The Masai have a nasal index (76.2) which shows their intermediate position between Hamites and Negroes. The N.I. is, in fact, not much higher than that of the Ababda and the Bisharin, but the index is noticeably higher than that of the northern Hamites and the Semites. Pygmies Tables 7, 8 A thorough historical survey of the Pygmy question would begin with the writings of Aristotle and Herodotus; we are, however, con- cerned here with anthropometry, for which there is one incomparable source, that of Schebesta and Lebzelter (1933). The cultural pattern of Pygmy life is dealt with in section II, where references other than those bearing on physical anthropology will be found. Our modern study of Pygmies may begin with the writings of Du Chaillu (1867, p. 317), who explored the Gaboon region in the period 1865-70. He states that the Pygmies of that area were of a dirty yellow color, their foreheads were low and narrow, their legs were short in proportion to their trunks, and their eyes had a look of unutterable wildness. The average height of six women he meas- ured was 1400 mm., which is a little taller than that given by Sche- besta for Ef^ females. In the northeast Congo, the earliest observations that aroused anthropological interest were made by Schweinfurth (1874, vol. 2, pp. 140-143), Stanley (1891, vol. 1, p. 208), and W. Junker (1892, vol. 3, pp. 81-86). All these observers agree in their description of physical traits, and all remark on the simplicity of the hunting cul- ture, skill in tracking game, vivacity, adept dancing, and emotional instability. The few casual measurements are of no present impor- tance. Stanley observes that, in distinction from the Ituri Bambuti Pygmies, the Batwa have long heads, long narrow faces, and an expression that is sour, anxious, and querulous. These field observations of the period 1867-87 aroused great interest in anthropological circles, and the works of Hamy (1879), Topinard (1885), and Quatrefages (1887) resulted. In 1888 Flower measured two skeletons of the Aka Pygmies of the northeast Congo, Bsr^. .:» Xi S 207 208 Source Book for African Anthropology As an outward principle of classification Schebesta groups the northeastern Pygmies according to the languages they have adopted from surrounding Negroes. The Aka are a Sudanic linguistic group. The Basua, under which name there are many subdivisions living on the left bank of the Ituri, use an archaic Bantu speech. The Ef^, in the eastern forest region of the Ituri, are another linguistic division comprising the Mamvu, Mombutu, Balese, and Bambuba. The build of the Ituri Pygmies is heavy and clumsy, but there is no impression of stunted growth or malnutrition. The head is dis- proportionately large, the neck short, and the trunk long in propor- tion to the legs. The hands and feet are slender. In many men there is a powerful development of the thorax, and the breadth of the shoulders still further increases the appearance of disproportion. The gait is waddling and clumsy, and the toes are often turned inward. The skin color of a pure-bred Mombuti is grayish yellow, but mixture of Negro blood often gives a darker tint. The Bambuti are hirsute on face and body. Schebesta (p. 31) gives outline draw- ings of facial types, namely, the broad and the narrow. Despite the peculiarities of build one must distinctly understand that Pyg- mies are a specific human type, and not degenerative Negroes. The body odor is different from that of white people and Negroes, and must be regarded as a definite physical character of the African Pygmies. The Aka, who have felt the influence of the Mangbetu, deform the skulls of their infants by swathing the occiput. The Batwa of Kivu and Ruanda, when nomadic, resemble the true Ituri Pygmies, but the settled Batwa are taller and darker than the typical Pygmies. This modification will be discussed in more detail later when dealing with the effects of miscegenation. The Bacwa (singular Bocwa), of whom about 50,000 exist, are associated with the Nkundu Negroes. Lebzelter (p. 81) distinguishes six types of Pygmies and gives a list of the combined features distinguishing each. The purest breed is the Basua of the Babira, 82 per cent of whom are representative Pygmy types. The types are true Pygmy I, II, III; and Europoid, with narrower faces, narrower noses, and thinner lips. Other types are Negro I and II. Taking the Ef^ as a representative Pygmy group, we find that the stature of males is 1430 mm., the C.I. 79.4, and the N.I. 105.7. The list of measurements (Table 7) shows considerable variation in height, and some differences of C.I. and N.I. among the Pygmy groups, but all are of short stature, high cephalic index (about 80), and either S Cm 209 210 Source Book for African Anthropology very platyrrhine or definitely hyperplatyrrhine. For the Pygmy groups Schebesta and Lebzelter (1933, p. 22) have prepared a fre- quency distribution curve, showing that all males have a modal value of stature in the class interval 1440 mm.; females 1360 mm. The curve for pygmean groups shows two modal values for males, one in the interval 1520 mm.,* and the other at 1640 mm.; females 1480 mm. The C.I. for all true Pygmies is 80 for males and 78 for females. Again in the pygmean groups the females are a little more dolichocephalic than the males, the respectives indices being 77 and 78. In summing up, Lebzelter states, "We may say that the Pygmies of central Africa to whom alone, according to P. Schebesta, the historical name of Pygmies should be applied, are composed in the main of one race, only the Bambuti race, with the addition of a small percentage of Negroid and European elements." A comparative study of physical types of Pygmies may be made by consulting Figs. 40-42, 64, 65. Khoisan People (Bushmen and Hottentots) {Table 7) Alleged physical resemblance between true Pygmies and Bush- men tribes of the Kalahari Desert, south Africa, tends to disappear when a comparison of somatic traits is made. The average height of Bushmen differs in various localities, and the fact that the average height increases in the northern and eastern regions may be attributed to mixture with taller tribes of the southern Bantu Negroes. Bushmen, whether pure or mixed, are on the aver- age taller than true Pygmies. The head form of Pygmies tends to brachycephaly, with indices 77-80, whereas Bushmen, with cranial indices of 75-76, approach a dolichocephalic condition. The nasal index for Bushmen is high, but so far as the inadequate data show, the noses of Bushmen are not so broad as those of Pygmies. Both Pygmies and Bushmen have a yellowish tinge of the skin. The cheek bones of Bushmen are prominent, so also is the jaw. The eyes are set far apart, the lips project, and often the ear-lobes are joined to the cheeks. The arms and lower limbs are short in proportion to the trunk, whereas the Negro has long arms. The hair of Bushmen (Fritsch, 1916) differs from that of other Africans on account of the formation in small, closely coiled spirals that leave the scalp visible. The growth of facial and body hair is sparse, as it is with Negroes, but not with Pygmies. A comparison of Figs. 43-47, 62, and 63 shows the build and physiognomy of Bushmen. A DO 211 CO s ^ o c CO o C > ^ W 3 w iJ IS a t:-.-IU5CO«Dt-«£>kOlO Z^ o < a X a a. z O cUOJ I- t- 00 T ^_^ 00 « ■»1< ■-( o 1—1 (M O <3i >- r-H J3 :3 s w •>j< CO o ixi '>*(MOO(Mt:~-*00«D.-i •<* OS -^O eo-^ecc>joO(NOOO eg lo u5 m o lO «D CO (M >0 ■^ CO CO -^ c L g »N > OS 3 < o <— 1 .s o ca ca c '53 s a o 1 d d o CO >» s B .S O b(l _C '^ o 3 O" fa "-0 m bCl o 3 CO d o CO 05 b£ C O bo Cr a) - bfl » ^ jn •^ •«^ cr to ■^-d ^ ca "ca ca ca ca 'ca gS ^ c ca s (i (i ^ f-i ii § e J3 (U -< 3 ca ;=( ^" 3 d) WW bO c < be c 3 ca ca g Wczj 213 214 Source Book for African Anthropology TABLE 8 Measurements of Bushmen (Living) of the Middle Kalahari Desert {Taken by Dr. Rudolf Poch, Vienna, and published by kind permission) Height of Body Males Age Number Range Average 6-8 6 1062-1248 1157 10-12 4 1199-1418 1300 14-18 20 1444-1630 1535 20-29 36 1440-1715 1564 30-39 28 1413-1685 1557 40-49 23 1425-1650 1561 50-80 23 1398-1628 1536 Adult Males Tribe Aunin 34 1442-1703 1577 Heikum 8 1495-1685 1556 Makaukau 14 1519-1648 1584 Gabe 4 1398-1606 1491 Middle Kalahari 6 1457-1647 1554 Southern Kalahari 8 1418-1615 1477 Aikue 47 Females 1423-1715 1552 Age Number Range Average 10-12 4 1055-1258 1176 14-18 9 1303-1526 1423 20-29 20 1354-1603 1481 30-39 19 1351-1555 1473 40-80 13 1360-1580 1476 Adult Females Tribe Auriin 11 1354-1595 1492 Heikum 5 1360-1516 1443 Makaukau 9 1390-1534 1457 Gabe 3 1445-1463 1455 Middle Kalahari 3 1440-1475 1457 Southern Kalahari 2 1447-1480 1464 Aikue 23 1353-1603 1486 Hottentots 4 1465-1574 1523 Comparisons of the somatic traits of Bushmen and Pygmies have been made by W. H. Flov^^er (1888) who says, "The pecuhar oblong form of the skull, its vertical forehead, straight sides, the wide flat space between the orbits, the extremely small and flat nasal bones, and the absence of prognathism at once distinguish the skull of the Bushman from that of the Akka." The physiognomy of Hottentots (Fig. 48) bears a resemblance to that of southern Bushmen, but the former are taller and there are differences in head form. The statures of Bushmen fall in the short category, while the stature of Hottentots (1624 mm.) lies in the Physical Anthropology 215 TABLE ^—Continued Measurements of Bushmen (Living) of the Middle Kalahari Desert Brkadth of Head Males Age Number Range Average 6-8 5 130-139 134 10-12 4 128-134 132 14-18 17 135-146 140 20-29 27 134-149 142 30-39 20 134-149 144 40-49 15 133-152 142 50-80 14 Females 134-153 143 10-12 4 129-140 . 134 14-18 6 127-139 134 20-29 15 131-148 140 30-39 13 132-145 139 40-80 10 133-142 139 Adult Males Tribe Aunin 27 133-153 143 Makaukau 10 137-149 143 Aikue 46 134-152 141 Adult Females Aunin 10 136-143 139 Makaukau 7 134-142 139 Aikue 22 131-148 139 Length of Head Males Age Number Range Average 6-8 5 174-191 182 10-12 4 172-184 177 14-18 17 175-200 182 20-29 27 176-196 185 30-39 20 174-196 191 40-49 15 176-195 187 50-80 14 179-192 187 medium group. The heads of Hottentots are longer and less flattened than those of Bushmen. For seventy- three Hottentots the C.I. proved to be 72.9, which is in the lower range of dolichocephaly (Schapera, 1930, p. 61, quoting Schultze, 1928). The jaws of Hotten- tots are more prognathic than those of the Bushmen. In both Hottentot and Bushman tribes the women show a con- dition known as steatopygia, that is, a disproportionate fattening of the buttocks, which is further emphasized by an inward curvature of the lower part of the spine. This condition is illustrated by Hooton (1918) who has reproduced some sketches of early travelers. 216 Source Book for African Anthropology TABLE 8— Concluded Measurements of Bushmen (Living) of the Middle Kalahari Desert Length of Head Females 10-12 4 170-175 171 14-18 6 173-180 176 20-29 15 171-194 182 30-39 13 173-190 183 40-80 10 176-185 Adult Males 180 Tribe Aunin 27 174-196 188 Makaukau 10 179-196 187 Aikue 46 176-200 Adult Females 184 Aunin 10 171-188 181 Makaukau 7 179-184 181 Aikue 22 173-194 Length-Breadth Index Males 187 Age Number Range Average 6-8 5 69.63-77.65 74.04 10-12 4 72.82-75.72 74.31 14-18 17 72.02-79.55 75.52 20-29 27 69.79-80.34 76.40 30-39 20 71.66-81.76 77.40 40-49 15 74.19-80.42 76.30 50-80 14 70.16-81.82 Adult Males 76.15 Tribe Aunin 27 70.16-81.82 76.36 Makaukau 10 72.45-80.00 76.59 Aikue 46 71.43-83.52 Females 74.40 Age Number Range Average 10-12 4 74.86-82.35 77.98 14-18 6 71.75-81.76 76.38 20-29 15 73.60-82.45 76.60 30-39 13 72.53-80.85 76.93 40-49 10 74.05-78.77 Adult Females 76.30 Tribe Aunin 10 73.51-82.45 76.73 Makaukau 7 74.44-79.89 76.70 Aikue 22 72.53-80.35 76.26 The women of both Hottentot and Bushman tribes have their labia minora elongated. This is a congenital formation which is increased by manipulation. A summary of the meager anthropometric data for Bushmen and Hottentots is given by Schapera (1930, pp. 51-64). The figures Physical Anthropology 217 show every possible defect — ^paucity of data, failure to state the number of persons measured, mingling of measurements for both sexes, and failure to make statements respecting purity of blood in the small examples chosen; but, judging from the low variability of physical traits among different groups of Hottentots, the Hotten- tot type was established at a remote period. When measurements are made among a population which represents a recent mixture, the coefficients of variability are high as a rule. But, despite mixture, there are sometimes among the original population certain entrenched physical traits which tend to stability, regardless of the physical mixture and the influence it has on other less strongly entrenched somatic traits. Apparently the bodily characters of the Hottentots have had time to settle to a fairly uniform type. Professor V. Lebzelter recorded an extensive series of measure- ments on groups of Bushmen and Hottentots, but at present the published data are insufficient for an adequate survey. The fact is astonishing that the early research of Fritsch (1872) is probably the best account we have of the physique of the Khoisan. Plate 49 (Fritsch) gives shades of skin color, and Plates 30-48 show crania and skeletal details. Tables 1-4 (Fritsch) record cranial measure- ments. The Atlas accompanying the text contains a large number of artistic woodcuts showing the physiognomy of Bushmen and Hotten- tots. For data given in Table 8, I am grateful to Dr. Hella Poch who supplied the unpublished figures of measurements for Bushman males and females. Types of Bushmen are shown in Bantu Studies (vol. 10, No. 2, 1936). Shrubsall (1897) gives tables of measurements on the skulls of eight Hottentots and eight Bushmen. The method of testing cranial capacity, and probably other points of technique employed forty years ago, would, no doubt, be open to criticism, but the figures are among the best we have. Pittard has made a brief modern study of the craniology of the Griquas (1927) and of the Bushmen (1929), based on meager data, and he has, with Comas (1930), described the platymeric condition in Bushmen and Hottentots. Drennan (1932) has published an article on the order of eruption of permanent teeth among Bushmen. Weninger (1936) has made a comprehensive study of pigmentation of the skin in Bushman tribes. Broom's (1923) comparative study of the crania of Bushmen and Hottentots, though necessarily based on small samples, brings out some contrasts between the forms of Bushman and Hottentot skulls. \ 218 a S o O S w pq 219 220 Source Book for African Anthropology One arresting difference is the extreme dolichocephaly of a group of Hottentot skulls from old graves at Upington. The cranial indices of male skulls were 68.8, 68.4, 64.1, and 68.4. "The Hottentot skull differs from the Bushman type, not only in being extremely doli- chocephalic but in having a much greater height measurement." Comparison of Physical Types STATURE At the lowest end of the height scale are the Aka and Ef^ Pygmies with statures of 1429 mm. and 1430 mm. respectively. Then in ascending order are groups of Pygmy foundation plus Negro blood, with average group statures ranging from near the true Pygmy level to 1609 for the Balese. For Bushmen, tribal averages of statures range from 1477-1584 mm. (Table, 8), but figures are biased by small samples and adultera- tion. The only average for Hottentots (Naman) is 1624 mm. These measurements fall within the classification of short statures. The averages for Negroes of the western, central, eastern, and southern groups are mainly medium (1580-1680 mm.). But some Negro tribes are exceptions, since they fall in the tall class (1680- 1720 mm). Among western Negroes the tall people are the Kabila, Pepel, Ekoi, Hausa (just within the tall category), the Mossi, and the Lobi. Central Negro averages, with the exception of those for the Bushongo and the Azande (1747 mm. and 1701 mm. respectively), are all medium. In east Africa the only tall groups are a Mozambique sample (1686 mm.) and the Landins (1686 mm.); these are, however, only just within the tall category. The Baganda come close to the low limit of the tall group. South Africa has tall Zulu and Batonga groups, while the Bavenda are just outside the tall category. In Angola the Vachokue, Luena, Valuchazi, and Ovimbundu must all be classed as tall. Nilotic Negroes are all decidedly within the tall category; there are no border-line averages. Some groups have averages of more than 1720 mm. and must therefore be classed as very tall. The stature is lowest throughout the Congo region, so far as the averages for scattered tribes can be trusted. The Semites, with the exception of the Kababish (1709 mm.), are of medium height, and in the medium category most of the Hamitic groups have to be classified, with the exception of the >» 3 X W a Oh o (3 221 ^ 222 Source Book for African Anthropology Tuareg (1725 mm.) and the Rif (1686 mm.). In the eastern Hamitic groups only the Somali are tall; the range of the averages of four Somali samples extends from 1707-1740 mm. HEAD form The Pygmy and pygmean groups have a rounded head form in the higher ranges of mesaticephaly, or actually above the 80 line of demarcation. Higher mesaticephaly of about 78 is common in the central African region, and this fact, combined with the somewhat lower ranges of medium stature in that region, lends support to a theory of wide dissemination of Pygmy groups and their mingling with Negroes. The tribal averages for C. I. of Bushmen range from 74-77 (Table 8). For the main part the cranial indices of Negroes, no matter what their geographical situation may be, is in the higher ranges of dolicho- cephaly or in the lower ranges of mesaticephaly; generally the aver- ages are in the class interval 74-77. There is remarkable uniformity, except that the Nilotic Negroes definitely show a lower dolichocephaly than the other divisions of Negroes. Except for the brachycephaly of southern Arabia, which may have had some effect on African head forms, the Semitic groups have cephalic indices which differ little from the general trend of most Negro groups, and the same may be said of the cephalic indices of eastern Hamites. But the Tuareg (northern Hamites) are definitely long-headed. Together with Hottentots and Nilotic Negroes, the Taureg form a group in the ranges of low dolichocephaly (C. I. 71-73). NOSE The formation of the nose as expressed by the nasal index offers a distinction better than that afforded by either stature or head form. Pygmies are definitely hyperplatyrrhine and Negroes platyr- rhine. The Semites and Hamites are definitely leptorrhine, with the exception of the Ababda, Bisharin, Hadendoa, and Beni Amer, whose noses are just broad enough to bring them within the mesorrhine category. A few Negro tribes of northeast Africa, namely, the Baganda, Akamba, and Akikuyu, show a reduction of the platyrrhine condition which is characteristic of Negroes, especially the far western groups. Hamitic blood probably affected this trait, for in the Hamiticized Masai the nasal index is distinctly mesorrhine (76.2). In considering the value of stature, head form, and shape of nose as distinguishing criteria, we have to recognize that there is much .^^T**^ Fig. 47. Bushwoman, near Gemsbok Pan, Kalahari Desert, wearing forehead band of ostrich-eggshell beads (courtesy of Arthur S. Vernay, copyright). r 223 224 Source Book for African Anthropology overlapping of groups. In extreme cases such as those of Pygmies and Nilotic Negroes, the factor of height marks off the groups in a decisive way, and some other groups are isolated by the height factor in unmistakable manner, but many Negro, Hamitic, and Semitic groups show similar averages. The same may be said of head form with the exception already noted. There is, however, a very definite value in the nasal index as a criterion for establishing somatic group differences. We do not find, for example, that any of the average nasal indices given for Hamites and Semites could be confounded with those for Negroes; there is no overlapping of values as there is when comparing average statures and average cranial indices. Yet with more measurements, taken according to approved technique by people who were agreed on what they wanted to measure, the coefficient of racial likeness (C.R.L.) would be a valu- able mathematical way of giving precision to our ideas of difference and resemblance (Pearson, 1926; and in simpler form Kitson, 1931, p. 296; and G. von Bonin, 1931, p. 253). Anthropometric data from Africa seldom satisfy the conditions for a legitimate use of the C.R.L., but perhaps in future there will be the possibility of comparing major groups and subgroups within each of the major groups, with a view to establishing a graded series of coefficients showing the degree of group similarity or divergence with respect to a large number of traits. Let us suppose that we have two groups, A and B, under com- parison, and that the C.R.L. of A and B is required. Let it further be assumed that for both the A and B groups we have an adequate number of observations giving reliable averages for stature, head length, head breadth, height of nose, breadth of nose, bizygomatic width, height of face, cephalic index, nasal index, and face index. Let a — j be the averages for these traits in the A group, and a' — j' the averages for the same traits in the B group. Let A — J be the number of observations in the A group and A' — J' the number of observations in the B group. We then require