The Descent of Man

whether any character can be named which is
distinctive of a race and is constant. Savages,
even within the limits of the same tribe, are not
nearly so uniform in character, as has been often
asserted. Hottentot women offer certain
peculiarities, more strongly marked than those
occurring in any other race, but these are
known not to be of constant occurrence. In the
several American tribes, colour and hairiness
differ considerably; as does colour to a certain
degree, and the shape of the features greatly, in
the Negroes of Africa. The shape of the skull
varies much in some races (17. For instance,
with the aborigines of America and Australia,
Prof. Huxley says ('Transact. Internat. Congress
of Prehist. Arch.' 1868, p. 105), that the skulls of
many South Germans and Swiss are "as short
and as broad as those of the Tartars," etc.); and
so it is with every other character. Now all naturalists
have learnt by dearly bought experience,
how rash it is to attempt to define species by
the aid of inconstant characters.