The Malay archipelago : the land of the orang-utan ... - Wallace Online

462 APPENDIX.The Australians have also the lowest skulls ; then the Negroes ;the Polynesians and Papuans considerably higher and equal,and the Malay the highest.It seems probable, therefore, that if we had a much moreextensive series of crania the averages might furnish tolerablyreliable race-characters, although, owing to the large amount ofindividual variation, they would never be of any use in singleexamples, or even when moderate numbers only could becompared.So far as this series goes, it seems to agree well with theconclusions I have arrived at, from physical and mental charactersobserved by myself. These conclusions briefly are : thatthe Malays and Papuans are radically distinct races ;and thatthe Polynesians are most nearly allied to the latter, althoughthey have probably some admixture of Malayan or Mongolianblood.LANGUAGES.During my travels among the islands of the Archipelago, Icollected a considerable number of vocabularies, in districtshitherto little visited. These represent about fifty-sevendistinct languages (not including the common Malay andJavanese), more than half of which I believe are quite unknownto i^hilologists, while only a few scattered words have beenrecorded of some others.have been lost.Unfortunately, nearly half the numberSome years ago I lent the whole series to thelate ]\Ir. John Crawford, and ha\ing neglected to apply forthem for some months, I found that he had in the meantimechanged his residence, and that the books, containing twentyfiveof the vocabularies, had been mislaid ;and they have neversince been recovered. Being merely old and much batteredcopy-books, they probably found their way to the dust-heapalong with other waste paper. I had previously copied outnine common words in the whole series of languages, and theseare here given, as well as the remaining thirty-one vocabulai'iesin full.