Page:Early Man in Britain and His Place in the Tertiary Period.djvu/353

] whom we are indebted for admirable maps, based on the army returns for each department from 1831 to 1860. These show the number of exemptions per one thousand conscripts on account of their not coming up to the standard of height of 1⋅56 metres (= 5 feet 1 inches), and therefore indicate the average stature in each department. The intimate relation of stature to the prevalent complexion may be gathered from the following table of exemption per one thousand, the "départements noirs, gris, et blancs" being occupied respectively by dark peoples with black hair and eyes, people with brown hair and gray or brown eyes, and people with light complexions and eyes;—

From this it is evident that the exemptions are nearly thrice as many in the "départements noirs" as in the "départements blancs," and we may therefore conclude that the swarthy (see Fig. 113) inhabitants of France at the present time are the shortest, and the fair the tallest. The "départements noirs" are mainly centered in the old province of Aquitania of Augustus, in which the jet black eyes and hair and swarthy complexions of the natives strike the eye of the traveller. We may, therefore, conclude that these characters have been handed down by direct descent from the ancient Aquitani or Basques (Aquitani, Auski [Auch], Eusques, Basques, Vascones), with comparatively little change from the infusion of new blood since the time of the Roman