Page:History of Early Iran.pdf/34

18 trace the ancient Sumerian face eastward among the peoples of Afghanistan and Baluchistan, even to the valley of the Indus.

The most important element, however, appears to have been roundheaded. In the present population of the plateau, at least in the eastern portion, there is a very striking group of roundheads, who are more numerous in the uplands than on the plain. Some may be related to the Dravidians of India, in particular to the Tamil-speaking peoples, among whom there is a marked brachycephalic element. The stature of others is often rather tall, with frequently a marked correlation between this stature and fairness of skin. Such features might argue for an admixture with Nordics; but recalling the fairness of some European Alpines, we might also conjecture that these present-day peoples are the remnant of a proto-Alpine race. If the daring suggestion that the so-called "Armenoids" originated in Turkestan be accepted, the hypothesis that the early inhabitants of Iran were primarily of this stock would be strengthened. Philol-