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CHAPTER IV.

THE NOSE.

MONG peoples in whom the more prominent

types of nose are of usual occurrence- as among ourselves for example-the snub nose is always regarded as an inferior type, and, although it may give a certain vivacity to a woman's face, it is usually regarded by her as a trial. Conversely a

long, high, narrow, Roman nose is considered an aristocratic" nose. It is certain that the shape of the nose is generally regarded not only from an æsthetic point of view, but that to many minds it conveys an idea of weakness or strength of character, and also of social status. Certain types of nose are "better bred" than others, and, other things being equal, a man with a "good nose" is more likely to gain immediate respect than one with a "vulgar nose. Martial, in one of those epigrams which used to amuse and instruct the emperors of the Flavian family, said: "It is not everyone to whom it has been given to have a nose." Popular impressions may be illogical, and the prejudices of the folk

may be unreasoning, but they are all materials for anthropological and psychological study, and they may open up lines of thought that are suggestive and fruitful.

If

A well-formed nose is a distinctively human feature. you look at pictures of monkeys, from the low marmosets to the great tailless apes, you will at once notice how flat their nose is at the bridge. The proboscis-monkey (Nasalis larvatus) is the only member of the group that has a well-projecting

nose.

The nose is a very variable feature in mankind. We all recognize how a nose will make or mar a face, how it gives a countenance distinction or renders it insignificant. Much has been written on noses by physiognomists, and the appearance of the nose is greatly relied on by those who profess to be able to read a person's character by a scrutiny of the face.

Not less is a study of the nose of interest to the anthropologist, and it is this point of view solely which concerns us at present.

First of all it is necessary to distinguish between the external nose as seen on the living face, and the nasal skeleton as it is found on the skull-and we must also fix upon a definite terminology.

In the living nose we recognize the bridge, the tip, the ale nasi, or wings of the nose, which arise

from the cheeks in a rounded curve, and the nasal septum which separates the nostrils.

The height of the nose is the line from the central point of the root to the corresponding point at the angle which the septum makes with the upper lip; this spot is termed the sub-nasal point.

The breadth of the nose is the greatest breadth of the wings.

The depth of the living nose is the line from the sub-nasal point to the tip; this line is termed the base of the nose.

The length is the line from the root to the tip.

On examining the profile of a nose, two factors must be distinguished: (1) the general outline of the back or ridge of the nose; and (2) the inclination of the base of the nose with regard to the upper lip.

I. The general contour of the back of the nose is expressed by the following five terms: concave, straight, convex, high-bridged and sinuous. These form five main classes which can be variously subdivided.

1. The concave nose. The various kinds of concave or depressed nose agree in having a low bridge; this, as we have already seen, is a simian or ape-like character; it is also an embryonic feature, and it commonly occurs among young children. This type of nose is very frequently met with among the yellow races, and is not infrequent among women of the higher races.

This type may be defined in general terms as being short, depressed, broad, with a turned - up point.

2. The straight nose. The ridge of the nose is quite straight in the most characteristic forms, but it is often slightly sinuous. The nose may be short, low, and broad; but in the most developed type it is long, prominent, and narrow.

3. The convex nose. The ridge or back of the nose describes a nearly uniform convex curve from the root to the point. As in the last instance this type varies from short, low, and broad, to long, prominent, and narrow. The Jewish nose is the best known variety, and the Papuan nose belongs to the broad variety of this group.

4. The high-bridged nose. The upper portion of the bony part presents a strong and short convexity, below which the remainder of this bony part becomes nearly straight, and is continuous with the ridge of the gristly portion. The typical example of this type is the Roman nose (Fig. 10). It may be considered as a variety of the convex nose.

5. The sinuous nose. The upper part is convex, but the profile of the gristly portion, instead of continuing this curve as in the convex nose, or of taking a rectilinear direction as in the aquiline nose, is incurved. It thus results that the direction of the line is convex above, concave below the bony portion, and

Types of Noses in profile; from Topinard's Éléments d'Anthropologie Générale.

1, Straight, with a horizontal base; 2, convex or aquiline, with a depressed base; 3, concave or retroussé, with a reflected base; 4, high-bridged or busqué; 5, sinuous; 6, straight, flat type of the Yellow Races; 7, short, broad, nearly straight type of the African Negroes; 8, Melanesian type, broad, with the lower part forming a flattened and depressed hook.