Furfooz
Encyclopedia
The Furfooz, Furfooz race or Grenelle-Furfooz Men, alongside the Cro-Magnon
and Grimaldi Man
were the first anatomically modern humans
of the European Upper Palaeolithic.
, the archaeologist Édouard Dupont discovered a prehistoric lower jaw. A further excavation the following year led to the discovery of other cranial remains, including a complete skull. Of these two crania, one was brachycephalic (round-headed), while another mesocephalic.
In scientific literature from the late 19th and early 20th century, the skulls from Furfooz were considered to represent a round-headed early racial type in Upper Paleolithic
Europe, distinct to the Cro-Magnon
and ancestral to the Alpine race
.
period, or slightly earlier from 20,000 - 15,000 years ago.
) which was unearthed at Grenelle
(Paris, France) in 1870. In the scientific literature of John Lubbock
(1890), Samuel Laing
(1892), Arthur Keith
(1912), Henry Fairfield Osborn
(1916), Madison Grant
(1918) and Amadeus William Grabau
(1921) the findings became known as the "Grenelle-Furfooz Men" or "Furfooz race". Earlier Quatrefages de Bréau
in his Crania Ethnica (1875) popularised the view that the brachycephalic (round-headed) Grenelle-Furfooz Men were a distinct racial type to the dolichocephalic (long-headed) Cro-Magnons and prognathic Grimaldi Man
. However the cranial index of the Grenelle and Furfooz skulls were different, as one of the Furfooz crania was not broad, but mesocephalic. Paul Broca
(1877) thus proposed that the mesocephalic crania of the Upper Paleolithic
was the result of admixture between the long-headed Cro-Magnons and the broad-headed Furfooz race. Giuseppe Sergi
in his work The Mediterranean Race (1901) however rejected this view (p. 192) but it was generally agreed that the crania at Grenelle and Furfooz were ancestral to the broad-headed Alpine race
.
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
and Grimaldi Man
Grimaldi Man
Grimaldi man was a name given in the early 20th century to an Italian find of two paleolithic skeletons, supposedly showing negroid traits. When found, the skeletons were the subject of dubious scientific theories on human evolution, partly fueled by biased reconstruction of the skulls by the...
were the first anatomically modern humans
Anatomically modern humans
The term anatomically modern humans in paleoanthropology refers to early individuals of Homo sapiens with an appearance consistent with the range of phenotypes in modern humans....
of the European Upper Palaeolithic.
Discovery
In 1866 in the cave of Trou de la Naulette, within the village Furfooz in the Belgian province of NamurNamur (province)
Namur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur...
, the archaeologist Édouard Dupont discovered a prehistoric lower jaw. A further excavation the following year led to the discovery of other cranial remains, including a complete skull. Of these two crania, one was brachycephalic (round-headed), while another mesocephalic.
In scientific literature from the late 19th and early 20th century, the skulls from Furfooz were considered to represent a round-headed early racial type in Upper Paleolithic
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
Europe, distinct to the Cro-Magnon
Cro-Magnon
The Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
and ancestral to the Alpine race
Alpine race
The Alpine race is an historical racial classification or sub-race of humans, considered a branch of the Caucasian race. The term is not commonly used today, but was popular in the early 20th century.-History:...
.
Age
The remains at Furfooz are dated to the MagdalenianMagdalenian
The Magdalenian , refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 BP to 9,000 BP...
period, or slightly earlier from 20,000 - 15,000 years ago.
Racial Identification
The crania at Furfooz were linked in earlier scientific sources to another brachycephalic skull (but dated to the early NeolithicNeolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
) which was unearthed at Grenelle
Grenelle
Grenelle is a neighbourhood in southwestern Paris, France. It is a part of the 15th arrondissement of the city.The area takes it name from Latin Garanella, meaning a wooded area where rabbits live...
(Paris, France) in 1870. In the scientific literature of John Lubbock
John Lubbock
John Lubbock is the name of:*Sir John Lubbock, 1st Baronet *Sir John Lubbock, 2nd Baronet , English banker*Sir John Lubbock, 3rd Baronet , English banker, barrister, mathematician and astronomer...
(1890), Samuel Laing
Samuel Laing (science writer)
Samuel Laing, , was a British railway administrator, politician, and influential writer on science and religion during the Victorian era.He was born at Edinburgh on the 12th of December 1810...
(1892), Arthur Keith
Arthur Keith
Sir Arthur Keith was a Scottish anatomist and anthropologist, who became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Hunterian Professor and conservator of the Hunterian Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons in London...
(1912), Henry Fairfield Osborn
Henry Fairfield Osborn
Henry Fairfield Osborn, Sr. ForMemRS was an American geologist, paleontologist, and eugenicist.-Early life and career:...
(1916), Madison Grant
Madison Grant
Madison Grant was an American lawyer, historian and physical anthropologist, known primarily for his work as a eugenicist and conservationist...
(1918) and Amadeus William Grabau
Amadeus William Grabau
Amadeus William Grabau was a German-American paleontologist and geologist who was born on January 9, 1870 in Cedarburg, Wisconsin in the United States and died on March 20, 1946 in Peking, China. He was employed as faculty at MIT and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute...
(1921) the findings became known as the "Grenelle-Furfooz Men" or "Furfooz race". Earlier Quatrefages de Bréau
Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau
Jean Louis Armand de Quatrefages de Bréau was a French naturalist.- Life :He was born at Berthézène, in the commune of Valleraugue , the son of a Protestant farmer. He studied medicine at Strasbourg, where he took the double degree of M.D...
in his Crania Ethnica (1875) popularised the view that the brachycephalic (round-headed) Grenelle-Furfooz Men were a distinct racial type to the dolichocephalic (long-headed) Cro-Magnons and prognathic Grimaldi Man
Grimaldi Man
Grimaldi man was a name given in the early 20th century to an Italian find of two paleolithic skeletons, supposedly showing negroid traits. When found, the skeletons were the subject of dubious scientific theories on human evolution, partly fueled by biased reconstruction of the skulls by the...
. However the cranial index of the Grenelle and Furfooz skulls were different, as one of the Furfooz crania was not broad, but mesocephalic. Paul Broca
Paul Broca
Pierre Paul Broca was a French physician, surgeon, anatomist, and anthropologist. He was born in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde. He is best known for his research on Broca's area, a region of the frontal lobe that has been named after him. Broca’s Area is responsible for articulated language...
(1877) thus proposed that the mesocephalic crania of the Upper Paleolithic
Upper Paleolithic
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age as it is understood in Europe, Africa and Asia. Very broadly it dates to between 40,000 and 10,000 years ago, roughly coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity and before the advent of...
was the result of admixture between the long-headed Cro-Magnons and the broad-headed Furfooz race. Giuseppe Sergi
Giuseppè Sergi
Giuseppe Sergi was an influential Italian anthropologist of the early twentieth century, best known for his opposition to Nordicism in his books on the racial identity of ancient Mediterranean peoples...
in his work The Mediterranean Race (1901) however rejected this view (p. 192) but it was generally agreed that the crania at Grenelle and Furfooz were ancestral to the broad-headed Alpine race
Alpine race
The Alpine race is an historical racial classification or sub-race of humans, considered a branch of the Caucasian race. The term is not commonly used today, but was popular in the early 20th century.-History:...
.