Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 3.djvu/338

 324

THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

The first of the above tables indicates that the dolichoce- phalic populations of north Italy with their strain of Aryan blood are superior in economic capacity to the brachycephalic adjoining. The second table, on the other hand, indicates that as between two groups both mainly Mediterranean the group containing somewhat more of the brachycephalic element is superior to the more purely dolicho-Mediterranean group. If now the two tables be taken in conjunction, it will be seen with special clear- ness that the two groups, mainly brachycephalic, of northern Italy, are far superior to the two groups, mainly Mediterranean, of southern Italy. The tables indicate then that in economic efficiency, Homo EuropcBus ranks first, Homo Alpinus second, and the Mediterranean third.

Law of Social Stratification. In countries inhabited jointly by the Mediterranean and the other races the former has the least propor- tionate representation among the more influential and more highly educated classes. We turn again for illustration to the Italian data of Livi. The following table 1 shows clearly that among the comparatively brachycephalic people of the northern part of Italy, the percentage of dolichocephalic persons is greater, the percentage of brachycephalic persons is less, among the scholarly classes than among the peasants ; whereas, among the southerns (mostly dolicho-Mediterraneans) the reverse is the^case :

Localities with an average index of

Per cent, of brachycephalic indi- viduals, indexes of 85 or above

Per cent, of dolichocephalic indi- viduals, indexes below 80

Among students

Among peasants

Among students

Among peasants

85 or above

52.7

64.7

6.8

S-i

84 to 85

36.6

53-5

15.0

7.0

83 to 84

31-7

47-7

15-2

II.4

82 to 83

24.2

27.7

24.2

25.3

81 to 82

21.0

22.1

29.9

33-6

80 to 81

I5.I

14.2

32.4

38.9

79 to 80

12.7

9.0

43-8

50.7

below 79

6.2

3-6

57-5

70-7

The explanation is that in the north where the population is in some degree composed of the descendants of Aryan immi

1 LlVI, Anthropologia militare, p. 91.