Page:Political History of Parthia.pdf/47



HE racial origin of the earliest Parthians is largely a matter of conjecture, since our few authorities differ widely from one another as to who they were and whence they came, and archaeological and anthropological evidence is not yet forth­coming. Skeletal remains from Mesopotamia cannot be expected to yield much information, for we know in advance that they contain a large percentage of na­tive population, a sprinkling of Macedonian or Greek stock, and possibly Negro, Chinese, Indian, and Mon­goloid individuals. Because of the heavy beards and the lack of detail, little if any anthropological infor­mation can be secured from the portraits on Parthian coins. Language provides no clue to the origin of the Parthians, for their speech as we know it was adopted