66
Quadrumana
part of imitation, and by no means
so complctc as the sirnilitude, from
rvl'rich, horvevcr, it procecds as an
irnnrcdiatc cffect. The aPc has a
€ireatcr rescmblanr:e to rrs in his
body and rnembers, than in the
use he rnakes of thcrn. Ry observing
him attentivcly, wt' easily pcrcei'"'e,
that all his movements are brisk,
internrittent, and precipitous; and
that, in order to comPare them rvith
those of man, we must adoPt an-
other scale, or rather a differcnt
model. All the actions of the aPe
arc derived from his education,
which is purely animal. To us they
appear ridiculous, inconsequent, and
extravagant; because, by referring
thern to our o\!'n. we assume a
falsc scale, and a deceitful mode of
lncasuring. As his nature is viva-
cious, his temperament rvarrn, his
dispositions pctulant, and none of
his af{ections have been softened or
restrained by education, all his
habitudes are excessive, and tcsemble
more the movements of a rnaniac
than the actions of a ntan, or even of
i'r peaccable animal. It is for this rea-
son that we find him indocile, and
that l're receives rvith difficulty tlte
impressions rve wish to make on hirn.
He is insensible to caresses,and is
rendered obedient by chastisement
alone. He may be kept in captivity,
but not in a domestic state. Always
melancholy, stubborn, r'epugnant, or
making grimaces, he may be said
to be rather conquered than tamed.
The species, of course, h;rve never
becn rendcred domestic in any part
of the rvorld, and, consequently, is
farthcr removed from man than
Part One/1699 to 1856
rnost other anirnals: for docility im-
plies somc analogy between the giver
and the receivcr of instruction. It is
a rclativc quality. whic.h cannot be
cxertecl but u'lrt'rr there is a certain
number of conlmon faculties on
both sides, that differ only between
thernselves,becausethey are active in
the master and passive in the scholar.
Norv, the passive cpalities of the
ape have less relation to the active
qualities of man than those of the
dog or elephanr. wlro require no
more than good treatrnent to com-
municate to them the delicate and
gcntle sensations of faithful attach-
nrent, voluntary obedience, grateful
scrvice, and unreserved devotion.
In relative qualities, therefore,
the ape is farther removed from
the humzrn race than most other
animals. His temperament is also
veny differe nt. Man can inhabit
every climate. He iives and multi-
plies in the northern as rvell as the
southern rcgions of the earth. But
tl.re ape exists r,vith difficulty in tem'
peratc countries, and can nrultiply
only in those rvhich are rvarm. This
difference of temperament imPlies
others in organization, which, though
conccaled. are not the less real; i
must likewise have a great influe
on his natural dispositions.The ex'
cess of ireat, which is necessarY
the constitution and vigour of thls
animal, renders all his qualities and
affections inordinate. No ot
cause is requisitc to account for
petulance, his salaciousness, and
other passions, rvhich aPpear to
equally 'n'iolent and disorderly.
Thus the ape, rvhich phi
Bluntenbach/ Bimanus.
as rvell as thc vulgar, have regarded infcrior to many others in his rela-
rs ii being difficult to define, and tive porvers, and still lnorc csscn-
t'hose ttature rlas at least equivocal, tially different fron thc hurtran race
:rnd internediate bctween that of by his nature, his tcnlpcrament, and
r r r : r nl t n d t h e a n i m a l s , i s . i r r f a c t . tire tirne nccessart' to his education,
rrothing but e real brute, endoued gcstation. growth, and duration of
t'ith the cxternal nrark of humanitv. lifc; that is, bv all the rcal habitudes
but dcprived of thought, and of u'hich constitutc *,hat is called
every faculty rvhich properly consti- Nature in a particular being.
tutes the hurnan species; a brute
Order I: Bimanus. Order II: Quadrumana
J ohann F riedrich Blumenbach
1 7 7 9 ,r 7 B 0
Order I.-Bimanus hitn, are the porvcr of u.,alking erect
(for rvhich his rvhole for n, but
1. Horno. particularly the basin-like rlape of
Erectusbimanus. his hip-bones, the reiative propor-
Nlentum prominulunr. tion of his thighs and arnrs, and the
Dentes aequaliterapproximati; inci- rvide soles
of his feet, arc calcula-
sores inferiores erecti.
tcd) ; the facility with which he uses
tw'o perf ect fuinds; and the promi-
Spccies 1 .-Sapicns. A,Ian} A-
ncncc of his chin, u'ith thc perpendic-
Irrong the external characters by
t r h i c l i N l a n i s d i s t i n g u i s h e d .n o t o r r l y ,
ular direction of the lorver incisor
:ront :rnirnals in
teeth.
. g e n e r a l ,b u t f r o n t Thc female, besidc thc peculiar
tlie Apes which most closely resemble
forrn of the bosorn in the bloom
I See f,awrence's of life, possessestrvo other characters
., Lectures on the
'loturol History ot' Man. London, lBl9. of distinction frorn the male, and
,rr'r,.rvith l? plates.
all othcr anin.rals, r,'iz. a periodical
"Order I: Bimanus. II: Quadrumana." A Manual of the Elements of Natural
II.isto.ty.'l'ranslared Ly R.'l-. Gore. Section +. pp. :i4 4?. W. Sirnpkin and R.
M a r s h a l l , l , o n d o . , 1 8 2 5 . " I . O r d n . B i m a n r i s . -i L qradrr-arr..,i Hand.b,eh
der Naturgeschichte. Dietrich, G6ttingen, 17'tg, 1780.
6B
discharge of blood during a certain
numbcr of years; and a Particular
part in the sexual organs, the ab-
sence or destruction of which forms
a physical sign of loss of virginity,
and lvhich, at least as far as regards
its form and position, has not been
rcmarkcd in any other animal.
As to the mental faculties of man,
excepting thc sexual propensity, he
presents few tra.ces of instinct, and
of thc mechanical kind none. On
the other hand, hc is exclusively in
possession of reason, and of speech,
which he has invented, and which
must not be confoundcd with the
voicc, existing from birth, and even
in those born dumb. From these
two exclusive privilcges is derived
the peculiar perfectibility by rvhich
he is elevated above the rest of the
animal creation.
Man is, in himself, a defenceless,
helpless, creature. No other animal
continues so long in a state of
infancy; no other is so long before
it obtains its teeth; no other is so long
before it can stand; no other arrives
so late at puberty. Even his greatest
advantages, Reason and Speech, are
but germs, developed, not spontane-
ously, but by external assistance,
This
cultivation, and education.
necessity of assistance, and his
numerous urgent wants, prove the
natural destination of man f.or social
connexion. On the contrary, it is not
so easy at once to decide, whether
the proportion in all parts of the
world of the number of males to
females born, and the relative pro-
portion of the periods during which
both sexes are capable of propagat-
ing the species, be such as to render
Part One / 1699 to 1856
it certain that man is destined else-
whcre for rnonogarny, as v'ell as in
Europe.
His residencc and his diet are
both unrestlicted; he inhabits the
rvhole habitable earth, and feeds
upon the varied matcrials derived
from thc organized creation. Reia-
tively to his moderate bulk, and in
comparison with other mammifera,
hc reaches a very advanced age.
Tlierc is but one species of the
genus Man; and all people of every
time and every climate with which
we are acquaintcd, may have origi-
nated from one common stock.2 All
national differences in the forrn and
colour of the human body are not
rnore remarkable nor more inconceiv-
able than those by which varieties
of so rnany other organized bodies,
and particularly of domestic ani-
mals, arise, as it were, under our
eyes. All these differences too, run
so insensibly, by so many shades and
transitions one into the other, that
it is impossible to separate them by
any but r.'ery arbitrary limits. I con-
ceive, however, that the whole
human species may be most con-
veniently dir,'ided into the following
five Races3:
1. rrrn, oAUcASIANRACE
(Abbitd. Nat. Hist. ()egenst. Tab'
3 and 51.) Colour morc or less
2 I have spokenof this subject in m/
'l'reatise
de Generis Humani Varietatt
Natiad. 3d Edition.
3 Compare the Charts of the World,
coloured according to this division, in
the lst Vol. of Archius liir Ethnographie
und Linguistirk. Von J.F. Bertuch und
J.S. Vater.
Blumenbach/ Bimanus. Quadrumana
rvhite, with florid cheeks; hair long,
soft, and brorvn (running on the
or.re hand into white, on the other
into black) ; according to thc Euro-
pean idcas of beauty, the fonn of
thc face and skull most perfect. It
includes all the Europeans, r,r'ith the
cxception of thc Laplanders; the
l\'cstern Asiatics on this side of thc
Ob, the Caspian Sea, and the Gan-
gcs; lastly, the northcrn Africans;
eltogether the inhabitants of the
r.orld known by the ancient Grecians
:rnd Romans.
2. rrl.n trroNcolrAN RACrI
(Abbild. Nat. Hist. Gegenst. Tab.
1.) Mostly of a pale yellorv (some-
tirnes like a boiled quince, or dried
lernon peel) ; with scanty, harsh,
black hair; with half closed, and
epparently tumid e1'elids; a flat face,
and lateral projections of the cheek
hones. This race includes the re-
nr:rining Asiatics, excepting the
\[llays; in Europe, the Laplanders;
lnd, in North America, the Esqui-
nraux, extending from Behring's
Strait to Labrador.
3. rrrr E?HroprAN RAcE
(Abbild. I{at. Hist. (}egenst. Tab.
.i.) Black in a greater or less degrec;
trirh black frizzly heir: jaw project-
Ing folwards; thick lips and flat
nosc. Composed of the remaining
Africans, r.iz. the Negroes who pass
lnto tlic Nrloors by means of the
Forrlahs, in the samc manner as
',tlrcr r'aricties merge into
one an-
otlter in consequcnce of their inter-
<oursc u'ith a neighbouring people.
69
n
li
4. rnl, AMERTcAN RAcll
(Abbild. Nat. Hist. Geger.,t.Tab.
;l
2.)tr{ostly tan colour or cnnamor.
brown (sometimes like ru,: of iron
or tarnishcd copper) ; with ,traight.
coarse, black hair; r,r,'ithr wide.
though not a flat face, anC strongli.
marked features. Comprise, all the
Americans, except the Esciimaux.
5. rrre MALAyAN RACE
(Abbild. Nat. Hist. Gegt,.;t.Tab
4.) Of a brown colour, froro a clear
rnahogany to the darkest clove or
chesnut brorvn; with thic;. black.
bushy hair, a broad nose, nd wide
nrouth. To this class belong the
South Sea Islanders, or inhabitants
of the fifth part of the worki; of the
Marianne, Philippine, l\{olucca, anc
Sunda Isles, &c., rvith rhe true
Malays.a
The Caucasian rnust, on even
physiological principle, be consid-
ered as the primary or inrermediatt
of thesc five principal Races. Thr
trvo extremes into which it has
deviated, are on the one hand the
Mongolian, on the other the Ethio
pian. The other two Races forn.
transitions between them; rheAmer-
+ "Each of these five Raceiincluder
two kinds of people, which are more
or less strikingly distinguishedby their
form. Thus, for instance, the Hindoo;
may be considered as a subdivision cr
secondaryRace, distinct from theCauca-
sian; the Chinese and Japanesefron
the Mongolian; the Hottentotsfrom the
Ethiopian; the North Americansfror:
those in the Southern part of the Neu
World; and the black Papoos of Neu,
Holland, &c. from the brorvnOtahe:
tans and other Islanders of rhe Pacifi;
Ocean." Beytr, zur Natur. Ce:chichte, '.
1h- p. 72 of the 2d Edition.
 70
ican betwecr-r tl-rc Caucasian and
N'Iongolian; and tire Nlalayan be-
tween thc Caucasian rnd Ethio-
pian.5
It is unnecess:rry to recount all
the fabuious imap;inations with which
the Natural History of tlie human
specieshas been burdened; to notice
a feu' horvever'; -The supposed
Patasonian giants have sunk in the
relations of trar.'ellers, from Nlagel-
lan's times down to our own, from
trvelve feet to ser,'enand a half, and
at last are but little taller than any
other nren o{ good stature.
It is aiso rendered more than
probable by pathological considera-
tions, that the Quimos o/ Mada-
gascar. set forth by Commerson as a
nation of pyemies. are nothing else
than a kind of cretins, or idiots,
5 It is allowableto supposethat the
people dispersed through the various
parts of the $.orld have, according to
thc differencesin the degree and dura-
tion of the influence of climate and
other causeso[ degeneration, either det.i-
ated still more from the form of the
primary race. or approximated more
closely to it. Thus, for example, tlie
Jakuts, Koraks, Esquimaux, and other
nations of the Mongolian Race, have
deviated considerablyfrom the Caucasian
Race; n'hilst on the other hand, the
Arnerican, placed at a greater distance,
but in a milder climate, has in an eqtral
degree approximated; and it is only at
the Southernextremityof the Continent,
in the frozen 'fierra del Fuego, that it
again recedesto the Mongolian. So also
the Ethiopian Race has passed to the
extreme of variation in the burning
regions of Africa, but passesinto the
Malayan in the milder climate of New
Holland, the Nerv Hebrides, &c. It is
unnecessaryto point orrt the influence
of the mixture of different Races,which
accidentallycome in contact u'ith each
other in their emigrations.
P a r t O n e l 1 6 9 9t o 1 8 5 6
rvith big heads and long arnrs, such
as arc mct with in the district of
Salzburgh, in the Par-s du \raud,
and in Piedmont.
So also thc r\lbinocs, Kacker-
lacken, or white Ethiopians,o are not
even a variety, nruch less a species;
but rathcr spccimens of disease,
conring rnorc rvithin the range of
Pathology than of Natural History.
The lromo troglodytes of Linnaus,
is an incomprehensible combination
of the history of the Albino result-
ing frorn discase, and of the Ourang-
outang: his homo lar, on the
contrary, is a true Ape.
ll'he childrcnT who have lived in
a savage state among brutes are
rvr-etchcd monsters in intellect, which
can no more be considered as per-
fect specimens of the mastcr-piece
of thc Creation, than other men
disfigured bv accident or disease.
The fables of men with tails, of
the natr:ral apron of the Hottentot
women. of the supposed natural de-
ficiency of bcard in the Americans,s
Syrcns. Centaurs, and others of the
6 f'hese rvhite Ethiopians, or Negroes
as they are called,must be distinguished
from tlre Negroes spotted uthite. One ol
these u'hom I saw in London, and a
specirnen of whose black and white
u'ooly hair I possess,is representedin mY
Abbild. Nat. Hist. Gegenst. Tab. 21.
from the life.
7 I have treated of ,hir -utr"t Inot"
fully in my Beytr. zur Natur. Geschichtc'
-l'h.
2 p. 13, 14.
B I have admitted a difference in
tlre strength of tho grorvth of hair in
the tr4ongolian and Malayan Races; but
the u ant of lreard in many American
nations is artificial,as much a, the small
feet of the Chinese lvomen. (the Struth'
opodes of the Eudoxus of Pliny.).
lJlumen bach / Binranu.s.Quadnrnrana 71
\irlrlc stllrlrl), can onl)' be excuscd b1, in snrall nurnber;9 u'hen taken young
rlrc sirnplc cirsy crcdulity of our it can, as lvell as the chimpans6 and
:rll('cStOrs. otlrcr apcs, be taught to perform a
r':rriety of actions, which horvever
nrust not bc confounded lvith its
II. Quadrun"Lana natural habits.
As Campcr has proved by dis-
llan'rrnifera r.vith four hands, scction, it is not capabic either of
rr.hiclt :rre requircd br. their rnode speech or of rvalking naturally in
of lifc and residence in trecs. They an upright posture.
.rr(. originally nativcs onlr.of the 2. Troglodyte.r. The Chimpans6.
'l'ropics- -S.
countrics bct$,een the nigra, macrocephala, torosa,
,.l Iistoire ]\taturelle de.r Singes, peints auriculus nragnis.
tl'apr)s Nature, par .|. D. Audebert. (Abbild. Nat. IIist. ClegenstT
. ab.
P r r l i s , 1 7 9 7 . G r . f o l .) I l.) In the interior of Angola, Con-
go, &c., like the preceding species,
l. Sirnia.-A1rc. Ger. Affc. Fr. Singe. about thc size of a child of three
Habitus plus minus anthropornorphus, )'ears.
arrricula et manus fcre hurnana_-, 3. Lar.'fhe flibbon. (Horno Lar
nares anterlorcs. of Linnaus. )-S. brachiis longis-
l)enIes prinores incisorcs, .supra et sinris, talos attingentibus.
infra 4; laniarii solitarii, reliquis
(Schrcber. Tab. 3.) In both the
krngiorcs.
Indian Peninsulas, and in the
Ntloluccas: has a round face toler-
( ionfined to the Cld World; more
ably like that of man, rvith ',.ery long
trcarly approaching to rnan than thc
arms, and is of a black colour.
r t r r i n r a l so f t h c s u c c e c d i n g g e n e r a ,
4. Syluanus. The Barbary Ap".-
btrt casily distinguished frorn hirn,
S. brachiis corporc brevioribus, na-
not onl)' by the charactcrs already
tibus calr,'is.capitc subrotundo.
pointed out, but also by the cntire ( S c h r e b e r .T a b . 4 . )
In North
Iot'n, and particularly by the flat-
Africa, the East Indies, &c., the
ttt:ss of the loins and smallness of
strongest and the most common of
tlrc hips.
all the tail-less apes; it also rcadily
breeds in Europe, and is very docile.
Scarccly cliffercnt frorn the Inuus,
(zz.) u'rruour rArr.s
(Buffon's tr[agot). It has become
l. Satj,rus.l'he Ourang-outang.--- rvild at ()ibraltar, and breeds there
.
S- rufa. pilis Iongis
. r a r . i s . c a p i t c in a state of freedom.
(ltrboso, fronte tumida,
auriculis
trrirroribus.
9 Conscquently a very small species;
(Abbild. /\tat. IIi.rt. Cegen.rt. Tab. rrhilst the htrman, on the contrary,
1.2.and 22.) Confined amounting to about a thousand millions,
apparently to
tlre island of Borneo, i \ c c r l a i n l y t l : e l a r g e s ta m o n g m a m m i -
and even there ferous animals.
72 Part One / 1699to 1856 Blumenbach/ Bimanus. Quadrurnana

(b.) wrrrr rerr,s that of man; on the contrary, ip CAUDA (Schreber. Tab. JJ.) Brorvn, and
(.r)
5. Rostrata.The long-nosed Ape. rnany is more like that of the hog, S.A.PAJOUS- so small that it rvill fit in the shell
Cer. der langnasige . Afre. Fr. Ia particularly in the snout. In gener4l, L Seniculus.Ger. der rothe Briil-
of a cocoa nut.
Guenon d. long nez.- S. cauda thev are very untameable and lasciv-
ious. lollc. Fr. I'Alouate.-C. barbatus 5. Lemur.-Makis.
ntediocri, naso elongato, rostrato.
I. Hamadryas. (Cynocephalus.) rtrfus,gtttttLretumido. Nasus acutu-s,dentes primores sv-
(Abbild. Nat. Hist. Gegenst. Tab. (^4bbild. llat. IIist. Cegenst. Tab.
(]er. der Hundskopf. Fr. le Tartarin. periores 4; per paria remoti; infe-
13.) From the Sunda Isles. It is
-P. cinereus, auriculis comosis, 9/.) In troops in the great forests riores 4-6, porrecti, compressi,
simia, but not sima; being remark- incumbentes: laniarii solitarii, ap-
of []uiana, &c., rvhere it, together
able for its long proboscis-like nose. unguibusacutiusculis.
( S c h r e b e r .T a b . 1 0 . ) I n Egypt r'ith another species, (Cereop. Bel- Proximati.li
6. Silenu-r. The trl/anderow. Ger. emits a deafening noise,
and rbub.)
der Bartafie.-5. caudata, barbata, Africa to the Cape of Good I. Tardigradus. The Lori.-L.
plincipally on change of weather,
nigra, barba incana prolixa. I{ope. It is often representedin the ecaudatus.
:rncl rvhich is produced by a remark-
(Schreber. Tab. ll.) From Cey- hieroglyphics of the ancient Esyp- (Schreber. Tab. 38.)From Cey-
rble bony cavity in the larynx, placed
lon, &c.: old and scarcely recogniz- tians.l3 lon; of the size and colour of a
betr.vecn thc unusually large lateral
able represcntationsi0 of this ape 2..luforrnon. The ribbed faced squirrel; with slender legs, and
portions of the lon'er jarv.
have been transformed by the embel- Baboon. Ger. der Choras.-P. naso together rvith the next species, has a
2. I'aniscus. The Coaita.-C. ater,
lishments of subsequent copyistsll miniato ad latera carulescente. pointed claw on the index toe of the
( S c h r e b e rT. a b . 8 , 4 . B , 8 . ) F r o m ltaltnis tetradactylis, absque pollice.
into the supposed men with tails. (,,Schreber.Tab. 26 A. 26 B.) hinder foot, but on all the other
7. Cynomolgus. The Macaco. Ger. Ceylon, &c.: is near five feet high; toes a flat nail.
F)xtremely dexterous in the use of
die (insgemein so gennante,) Meer- has a singular appearance,from the 2. Mongoz. The Mongoz.-L.
its long prehensile tail.la
katze. Fr. le Macacque.-9. cauda bright coloured streaksupon and at
facie nigra, corpore et cauda griseis.
longa, arcuata, naribus bifidis elatis. the sides of the nose. (Scltreber. Tab. 39 A. J9 B.)
3. fuIaimon. The fuIandrilL-P. (b) cauoe
(Schreber. Tab. 12.) From Guin- Together with some similar species
uiolacea, glabra, profunde sul- SAGOUINS.
ea, Angola, &c.: nearly olive green. facie in Nladagascar and the neighbour-
Of true Apes with tails, that which c a t a . ;J. Jacchus. The Ouistiti. Ger. ing isies. The hinder are much longer
is most frequently brought to Eu- (Schreber.Tab. 7.) From Guinea, L'istiti.-C. juba pilosa alba ad than the fore feet. Its skin, Iike that
rope. the Cape, &c., rvirerev'hole drovesof gtrrusante aures, cauda uillosa an_ of ntany apes, has a peculiar smell,
them often plunder the vineyards rttLlata. nearly resembling that of an ant
3. Papio.-Baboon. Ger. Pavian. Fr. and orchards; much snaller than hill.
Babouin.-Facies prolongata, minus the preceding species.
anthropomorpha, nasus utrinque tu- 1'1 lhe singular manner in which
,
berosus,nates nuda, coccinea, cauda '1. Cercopithecus.-Monkey. tlrcy hang together, so as to Viage, &c. Madrid, 1748. fol. Vol. L
Ger. Meer' form a
,Ltain,Ior rhe purpose p. 144-49.
( plerisque)12 abbreviata. Dentes ut in of swinging them-
katte '-r\os lrom
15 Gotth. Fischer's Anatomie der
simiis. one tree to another on the
Auriculr et manus humane. opposite bants of a
river, is represented Ilakic. I B. Frankf. 1804. 4to. rvith
Nares laterales. tn the original edition
of Ant. de Ulloa's plates.
Also confined to the Old World.
Nates tectfr.
The head has little resemblance to
Dentes ut in simiis.
l0 Originally in Bernh. Von Brey-
denbach Reyss in das gelobt Land. The whole genus is confined to
Mainz, 1486. folio.
warmer parts of South
1l For instance, in Vol. VI. of
Martini's Translation of Buffon. rvhere the Indians commonly us€
l2 For the formidable baboon of as game.
Borneo (papio pongo) is tailJess, whilst
the cynocephalus may be said to be 13 See the Rouleau
long-tailed. publi6e par Cadet, 1805.