Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 51.djvu/739



THE anthropology of Italy has a very pertinent interest for the historian, especially in so far as it throws light upon the confusing statements of the ancients. Pure natural science, the morphology of the genus Homo, is now prepared to render important service in the interpretation of the body of historical materials which has long been accumulating. Happily, the Italian Government has assisted in the good work, with the result that our data for that country are extremely rich and authentic The anthropological problems presented are not as complicated as in France, for a reason we have already noted—namely, that in Italy, lying as it does entirely south of the great Alpine chain, we have to do practically with two instead of all three of the European racial types. In other words, the northern Teutonic blond race is debarred by the Alps. It does appear in a few places, as we shall take occasion to point out, but its influence is comparatively small. This leaves us, therefore, with two rivals