Anthropologists generally speak
of any one with an index of 75 (or where the breadth is 75% of the
length) and below this as dolichocephalic, or long-headed; from 75 to 80
is the class of the mesocephalic, intermediates; while above 80 is that
of the subbrachycephalic and brachycephalic, or round-headed. For the
most part, the Old Americans fall into the intermediate class, the
average index of males being 78.3 and that of females 79.5.
Barring a few French Huguenots, the Old Americans considered here are
mostly of British ancestry, and their head form corresponds rather
closely to that of the English of the present day. In England, as is
well known, the round-headed type of Central and Eastern Europe, the
Alpine or Celto-Slav type, has few representatives. The population is
composed principally of long-headed peoples, deriving from the two great
European stocks, the Nordic and the Mediterranean. To the latter the
frequency of dark hair and brown eyes is probably due, both in England
and America.
While the average of the Old Americans corresponds closely to the
average of the English, there is a great deal of variation in both
countries. Unfortunately, it is impossible to compare the present
Americans with their ancestors, because measurements of the latter are
lacking.
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