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diff --git a/2933.txt b/2933.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..75cfb6a --- /dev/null +++ b/2933.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1597 @@ +Project Gutenberg's On Some Fossil Remains of Man, by Thomas H. Huxley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: On Some Fossil Remains of Man + +Author: Thomas H. Huxley + +Posting Date: January 6, 2009 [EBook #2933] +Release Date: November, 2001 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON SOME FOSSIL REMAINS OF MAN *** + + + + +Produced by Amy E. Zelmer + + + + + +ON SOME FOSSIL REMAINS OF MAN + +By Thomas H. Huxley + + + + +I HAVE endeavoured to show, in the preceding Essay, that the ANTHROPINI, +or Man Family, form a very well defined group of the Primates, between +which and the immediately following Family, the CATARHINI, there is, in +the existing world, the same entire absence of any transitional form or +connecting link, as between the CATARHINI and PLATYRHINI. + +It is a commonly received doctrine, however, that the structural +intervals between the various existing modifications of organic beings +may be diminished, or even obliterated, if we take into account the long +and varied succession of animals and plants which have preceded those +now living and which are known to us only by their fossilized remains. +How far this doctrine is well based, how far, on the other hand, as our +knowledge at present stands, it is an overstatement of the real facts of +the case, and an exaggeration of the conclusions fairly deducible from +them, are points of grave importance, but into the discussion of which +I do not, at present, propose to enter. It is enough that such a view of +the relations of extinct to living beings has been propounded, to lead +us to inquire, with anxiety, how far the recent discoveries of human +remains in a fossil state bear out, or oppose, that view. + +I shall confine myself, in discussing this question, to those +fragmentary Human skulls from the caves of Engis in the valley of +the Meuse, in Belgium, and of the Neanderthal near Dusseldorf, the +geological relations of which have been examined with so much care +by Sir Charles Lyell; upon whose high authority I shall take it for +granted, that the Engis skull belonged to a contemporary of the Mammoth +('Elephas primigenius') and of the woolly Rhinoceros ('Rhinoceros +tichorhinus'), with the bones of which it was found associated; and that +the Neanderthal skull is of great, though uncertain, antiquity. Whatever +be the geological age of the latter skull, I conceive it is quite safe +(on the ordinary principles of paleontological reasoning) to assume +that the former takes us to, at least, the further side of the vague +biological limit, which separates the present geological epoch from +that which immediately preceded it. And there can be no doubt that the +physical geography of Europe has changed wonderfully, since the bones +of Men and Mammoths, Hyaenas and Rhinoceroses were washed pell-mell into +the cave of Engis. + +The skull from the cave of Engis was originally discovered by Professor +Schmerling, and was described by him, together with other human remains +disinterred at the same time, in his valuable work, 'Recherches sur les +ossemens fossiles decouverts dans les cavernes de la Province de +Liege', published in 1833 (p. 59, 'et seq.'), from which the following +paragraphs are extracted, the precise expressions of the author being, +as far as possible, preserved. + +"In the first place, I must remark that these human remains, which are +in my possession, are characterized like thousands of bones which I have +lately been disinterring, by the extent of the decomposition which +they have undergone, which is precisely the same as that of the extinct +species: all, with a few exceptions, are broken; some few are rounded, +as is frequently found to be the case in fossil remains of other +species. The fractures are vertical or oblique; none of them are eroded; +their colour does not differ from that of other fossil bones, and varies +from whitish yellow to blackish. All are lighter than recent bones, with +the exception of those which have a calcareous incrustation, and the +cavities of which are filled with such matter. + +"The cranium which I have caused to be figured, Plate I., Figs. 1, 2, is +that of an old person. The sutures are beginning to be effaced: all the +facial bones are wanting, and of the temporal bones only a fragment of +that of the right side is preserved. + +"The face and the base of the cranium had been detached before the +skull was deposited in the cave, for we were unable to find those parts, +though the whole cavern was regularly searched. The cranium was met with +at a depth of a metre and a half [five feet nearly], hidden under +an osseous breccia, composed of the remains of small animals, and +containing one rhinoceros tusk, with several teeth of horses and of +ruminants. This breccia, which has been spoken of above (p. 30), was a +metre [3 1/4 feet about] wide, and rose to the height of a metre and +a half above the floor of the cavern, to the walls of which it adhered +strongly. + +"The earth which contained this human skull exhibited no trace of +disturbance: teeth of rhinoceros, horse, hyaena, and bear, surrounded it +on all sides. + +[Illustration: FIG. 23.--The skull from the cave of Engis--viewed from +the right side. 'a' glabella, 'b' occipital protuberance, ('a' to 'b' +glabello-occipital line), 'c' auditory foramen.] + +"The famous Blumenbach [1] has directed attention to the differences +presented by the form and the dimensions of human crania of different +races. This important work would have assisted us greatly, if the +face, a part essential for the determination of race, with more or less +accuracy, had not been wanting in our fossil cranium. + +"We are convinced that even if the skull had been complete, it would not +have been possible to pronounce, with certainty, upon a single specimen; +for individual variations are so numerous in the crania of one and the +same race, that one cannot, without laying oneself open to large chances +of error, draw any inference from a single fragment of a cranium to the +general form of the head to which it belonged. + +"Nevertheless, in order to neglect no point respecting the form of this +fossil skull, we may observe that, from the first, the elongated and +narrow form of the forehead attracted our attention. + +"In fact, the slight elevation of the frontal, its narrowness, and +the form of the orbit, approximate it more nearly to the cranium of +an Ethiopian than to that of an European: the elongated form and the +produced occiput are also characters which we believe to be observable +in our fossil cranium; but to remove all doubt upon that subject I have +caused the contours of the cranium of an European and of an Ethiopian to +be drawn and the foreheads represented. Plate II., Figs. 1 and 2, and, +in the same plate, Figs. 3 and 4, will render the differences easily +distinguishable; and a single glance at the figures will be more +instructive than a long and wearisome description. + +"At whatever conclusion we may arrive as to the origin of the man from +whence this fossil skull proceeded, we may express an opinion without +exposing ourselves to a fruitless controversy. Each may adopt the +hypothesis which seems to him most probable: for my own part, I hold it +to be demonstrated that this cranium has belonged to a person of limited +intellectual faculties, and we conclude thence that it belonged to a +man of a low degree of civilization: a deduction which is borne out +by contrasting the capacity of the frontal with that of the occipital +region. + +"Another cranium of a young individual was discovered in the floor of +the cavern beside the tooth of an elephant; the skull was entire when +found, but the moment it was lifted it fell into pieces, which I have +not, as yet, been able to put together again. But I have represented the +bones of the upper jaw, Plate I., Fig. 5. The state of the alveoli and +the teeth, shows that the molars had not yet pierced the gum. Detached +milk molars and some fragments of a human skull proceed from this same +place. The Figure 3 represents a human superior incisor tooth, the size +of which is truly remarkable. [2] + +"Figure 4 is a fragment of a superior maxillary bone, the molar teeth of +which are worn down to the roots. + +"I possess two vertebrae, a first and last dorsal. + +"A clavicle of the left side (see Plate III., Fig. 1); although it +belonged to a young individual, this bone shows that he must have been +of great stature. [3] + +"Two fragments of the radius, badly preserved, do not indicate that the +height of the man, to whom they belonged, exceeded five feet and a half. + +"As to the remains of the upper extremities, those which are in my +possession consist merely of a fragment of an ulna and of a radius +(Plate III., Figs. 5 and 6). + +"Figure 2, Plate IV., represents a metacarpal bone, contained in the +breccia, of which we have spoken; it was found in the lower part above +the cranium: add to this some metacarpal bones, found at very different +distances, half-a-dozen metatarsals, three phalanges of the hand, and +one of the foot. + +"This is a brief enumeration of the remains of human bones collected +in the cavern of Engis, which has preserved for us the remains of three +individuals, surrounded by those of the Elephant, of the Rhinoceros, and +of Carnivora of species unknown in the present creation." + +From the cave of Engihoul, opposite that of Engis, on the right bank of +the Meuse, Schmerling obtained the remains of three other individuals +of Man, among which were only two fragments of parietal bones, but many +bones of the extremities. In one case a broken fragment of an ulna +was soldered to a like fragment of a radius by stalagmite, a condition +frequently observed among the bones of the Cave Bear ('Ursus spelaeus'), +found in the Belgian caverns. + +It was in the cavern of Engis that Professor Schmerling found, incrusted +with stalagmite and joined to a stone, the pointed bone implement, which +he has figured in Fig. 7 of his Plate XXXVI., and worked flints were +found by him in all those Belgian caves, which contained an abundance of +fossil bones. + +A short letter from M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire, published in the 'Comptes +Rendus' of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, for July 2nd, 1838, speaks +of a visit (and apparently a very hasty one) paid to the collection of +Professor 'Schermidt' (which is presumably a misprint for Schmerling) +at Liege. The writer briefly criticises the drawings which illustrate +Schmerling's work, and affirms that the "human cranium is a little +longer than it is represented" in Schmerling's figure. The only other +remark worth quoting is this:--"The aspect of the human bones differs +little from that of the cave bones, with which we are familiar, and of +which there is a considerable collection in the same place. With respect +to their special forms, compared with those of the varieties of recent +human crania, few 'certain' conclusions can be put forward; for +much greater differences exist between the different specimens of +well-characterized varieties, than between the fossil cranium of Liege +and that of one of those varieties selected as a term of comparison." + +Geoffroy St. Hilaire's remarks are, it will be observed, little but an +echo of the philosophic doubts of the describer and discoverer of the +remains. As to the critique upon Schmerling's figures, I find that the +side view given by the latter is really about 3/10ths of an inch shorter +than the original, and that the front view is diminished to about +the same extent. Otherwise the representation is not, in any way, +inaccurate, but corresponds very well with the cast which is in my +possession. + +A piece of the occipital bone, which Schmerling seems to have missed, +has since been fitted on to the rest of the cranium by an accomplished +anatomist, Dr. Spring, of Liege, under whose direction an excellent +plaster cast was made for Sir Charles Lyell. It is upon and from a +duplicate of that cast that my own observations and the accompanying +figures, the outlines of which are copied from very accurate Camera +lucida drawings, by my friend Mr. Busk, reduced to one-half of the +natural size, are made. + +As Professor Schmerling observes, the base of the skull is destroyed, +and the facial bones are entirely absent; but the roof of the cranium, +consisting of the frontal, parietal, and the greater part of the +occipital bones, as far as the middle of the occipital foramen, is +entire or nearly so. The left temporal bone is wanting. Of the right +temporal, the parts in the immediate neighbourhood of the auditory +foramen, the mastoid process, and a considerable portion of the squamous +element of the temporal are well preserved (Fig. 23). + +The lines of fracture which remain between the coadjusted pieces of the +skull, and are faithfully displayed in Schmerling's figure, are readily +traceable in the cast. The sutures are also discernible, but the complex +disposition of their serrations, shown in the figure, is not obvious +in the cast. Though the ridges which give attachment to muscles are not +excessively prominent, they are well marked, and taken together with +the apparently well developed frontal sinuses, and the condition of the +sutures, leave no doubt on my mind that the skull is that of an adult, +if not middle-aged man. + +The extreme length of the skull is 7.7 inches. Its extreme breadth, +which corresponds very nearly with the interval between the parietal +protuberances, is not more than 5.4 inches. The proportion of the length +to the breadth is therefore very nearly as 100 to 70. If a line be drawn +from the point at which the brow curves in towards the root of the nose, +and which is called the 'glabella' ('a') (Fig. 23), to the occipital +protuberance ('b'), and the distance to the highest point of the arch of +the skull be measured perpendicularly from this line, it will be found +to be 4.75 inches. Viewed from above, Fig. 24, A, the forehead presents +an evenly rounded curve, and passes into the contour of the sides and +back of the skull, which describes a tolerably regular elliptical curve. + +The front view (Fig. 24, B) shows that the roof of the skull was very +regularly and elegantly arched in the transverse direction, and that the +transverse diameter was a little less below the parietal protuberances, +than above them. The forehead cannot be called narrow in relation to the +rest of the skull, nor can it be called a retreating forehead; on the +contrary, the antero-posterior contour of the skull is well arched, so +that the distance along that contour, from the nasal depression to the +occipital protuberance, measures about 13.75 inches. The transverse arc +of the skull, measured from one auditory foramen to the other, across +the middle of the sagittal suture, is about 13 inches. The sagittal +suture itself is 5.5 inches long. + +The supraciliary prominences or brow-ridges (on each side of 'a', Fig. +23) are well, but not excessively, developed, and are separated by a +median depression. Their principal elevation is disposed so obliquely +that I judge them to be due to large frontal sinuses. + +If a line joining the glabella and the occipital protuberance ('a', 'b', +Fig. 23) be made horizontal, no part of the occipital region projects +more than 1/10th of an inch behind the posterior extremity of that line, +and the upper edge of the auditory foramen ('c') is almost in contact +with a line drawn parallel with this upon the outer surface of the +skull. + +A transverse line drawn from one auditory foramen to the other +traverses, as usual, the forepart of the occipital foramen. The capacity +of the interior of this fragmentary skull has not been ascertained. + +The history of the Human remains from the cavern in the Neanderthal may +best be given in the words of their original describer, Dr Schaaffhausen +[4], as translated by Mr. Busk. + +"In the early part of the year 1857, a human skeleton was discovered in +a limestone cave in the Neanderthal, near Hochdal, between Dusseldorf +and Elberfeld. Of this, however, I was unable to procure more than a +plaster cast of the cranium, taken at Elberfeld, from which I drew up +an account of its remarkable conformation, which was, in the first +instance, read on the 4th of February, 1857, at the meeting of the Lower +Rhine Medical and Natural History Society, at Bonn. [5] + +Subsequently Dr. Fuhlrott, to whom science is indebted for the +preservation of these bones, which were not at first regarded as human, +and into whose possession they afterwards came, brought the cranium from +Elberfeld to Bonn, and entrusted it to me for more accurate anatomical +examination. At the General Meeting of the Natural History Society of +Prussian Rhineland and Westphalia, at Bonn, on the 2nd of June, 1857, +[6] Dr Fuhlrott himself gave a full account of the locality, and of the +circumstances under which the discovery was made. + +He was of opinion that the bones might be regarded as fossil; and in +coming to this conclusion, he laid especial stress upon the existence of +dendritic deposits, with which their surface was covered, and which +were first noticed upon them by Professor Meyer. To this communication +I appended a brief report on the results of my anatomical examination +of the bones. The conclusions at which I arrived were:--1st. That +the extraordinary form of the skull was due to a natural conformation +hitherto not known to exist, even in the most barbarous races. 2nd. That +these remarkable human remains belonged to a period antecedent to the +time of the Celts and Germans, and were in all probability derived +from one of the wild races of North-western Europe, spoken of by Latin +writers; and which were encountered as autochthones by the German +immigrants. And 3rdly. That it was beyond doubt that these human relics +were traceable to a period at which the latest animals of the diluvium +still existed; but that no proof of this assumption, nor consequently +of their so-termed 'fossil' condition, was afforded by the circumstances +under which the bones were discovered. + +[Illustration: FIG. 24.--The Engis skull viewed from above (A) and in +front (B).] + +"As Dr. Fuhlrott has not yet published his description of these +circumstances, I borrow the following account of them from one of his +letters. 'A small cave or grotto, high enough to admit a man, and about +15 feet deep from the entrance, which is 7 or 8 feet wide, exists in +the southern wall of the gorge of the Neanderthal, as it is termed, at a +distance of about 100 feet from the Dussel, and about 60 feet above +the bottom of the valley. In its earlier and uninjured condition, this +cavern opened upon a narrow plateau lying in front of it, and from which +the rocky wall descended almost perpendicularly into the river. It could +be reached, though with difficulty, from above. The uneven floor was +covered to a thickness of 4 or 5 feet with a deposit of mud, sparingly +intermixed with rounded fragments of chert. In the removing of this +deposit, the bones were discovered. The skull was first noticed, placed +nearest to the entrance of the cavern; and further in, the other bones, +lying in the same horizontal plane. Of this I was assured, in the most +positive terms, by two labourers who were employed to clear out the +grotto, and who were questioned by me on the spot. At first no idea was +entertained of the bones being human; and it was not till several weeks +after their discovery that they were recognised as such by me, and +placed in security. But, as the importance of the discovery was not at +the time perceived, the labourers were very careless in the collecting, +and secured chiefly only the larger bones; and to this circumstance it +may be attributed that fragments merely of the probably perfect skeleton +came into my possession.' + +"My anatomical examination of these bones afforded the following +results:-- + +"The cranium is of unusual size, and of a long elliptical form. A +most remarkable peculiarity is at once obvious in the extraordinary +development of the frontal sinuses, owing to which the superciliary +ridges, which coalesce completely in the middle, are rendered so +prominent, that the frontal bone exhibits a considerable hollow or +depression above, or rather behind them, whilst a deep depression is +also formed in the situation of the root of the nose. The forehead is +narrow and low, though the middle and hinder portions of the cranial +arch are well developed. Unfortunately, the fragment of the skull that +has been preserved consists only of the portion situated above the +roof of the orbits and the superior occipital ridges, which are greatly +developed, and almost conjoined so as to form a horizontal eminence. It +includes almost the whole of the frontal bone, both parietals, a small +part of the squamous and the upper-third of the occipital. The recently +fractured surfaces show that the skull was broken at the time of its +disinterment. The cavity holds 16,876 grains of water, whence its +cubical contents may be estimated at 57.64 inches, or 1033.24 cubic +centimetres. In making this estimation, the water is supposed to stand +on a level with the orbital plate of the frontal, with the deepest +notch in the squamous margin of the parietal, and with the superior +semicircular ridges of the occipital. Estimated in dried millet-seed, +the contents equalled 31 ounces, Prussian Apothecaries' weight. The +semicircular line indicating the upper boundary of the attachment of the +temporal muscle, though not very strongly marked, ascends nevertheless +to more than half the height of the parietal bone. On the right +superciliary ridge is observable an oblique furrow or depression, +indicative of an injury received during life. [7] + + mm. [8] + + The length of the skull from the nasal + process of the frontal over the vertex + to the superior semicircular lines of the + occipital measures.............................303 (300) = 12.0". + Circumference over the orbital ridges and + the superior semicircular lines of the + occipital......................................590 (590) = 23.37" or 23". + Width of the frontal from the middle of + the temporal line on one side to the + same point on the opposite.....................104 (114) = 4.1"--4.5". + Length of the frontal from the nasal. + process to the coronal suture..................133 (125) = 5.25"--5". + Extreme width of the frontal sinuses...........25 (23) = 1.0"--0.9". + Vertical height above a line joining the + deepest notches in the squamous border + of the parietals...............................70 = 2.75". + Width of hinder part of skull from one + parietal protuberance to the other.............138 (150) = 5.4"--5.9" + Distance from the upper angle of the + occipital to the superior semicircular + lines..........................................51 (60) = 1.9"--2.4". + Thickness of the bone at the parietal + protuberance...................................8. + --at the angle of the occipital................9. + --at the superior semicircular line of + the occipital..................................10 = 0.3" + +"Besides the cranium, the following bones have been secured:-- + +"1. Both thigh-bones, perfect. These, like the skull, and all the other +bones, are characterized by their unusual thickness, and the great +development of all the elevations and depressions for the attachment +of muscles. In the Anatomical Museum at Bonn, under the designation of +'Giant's-bones,' are some recent thigh-bones, with which in thickness +the foregoing pretty nearly correspond, although they are shorter. + + Giant's bones. Fossil bones. + mm. mm. + Length.....................................542 = 21.4"......438 = 17.4" + Diameter of head of femur.................. 54 = 2.14"..... 53 = 2.0" + " of lower articular end, from + one condyle to the other................ 89 = 3.5"....... 87 = 3.4" + Diameter of femur in the middle............ 33 = 1.2"....... 30 = 1.1" + + +"2. A perfect right humerus, whose size shows that it belongs to the +thigh-bones. mm. + Length.....................................312 = 12.3" + Thickness in the middle.................... 26 = 1.0" + Diameter of head........................... 49 = 1.9" + + +"Also a perfect right radius of corresponding dimensions, and the +upper-third of a right ulna corresponding to the humerus and radius. + +"3. A left humerus of which the upper-third is wanting, and which is +so much slenderer than the right as apparently to belong to a distinct +individual; a left 'ulna', which, though complete, is pathologically +deformed, the coronoid process being so much enlarged by bony +growth, that flexure of the elbow beyond a right angle must have been +impossible; the anterior fossa of the humerus for the reception of the +coronoid process being also filled up with a similar bony growth. At +the same time, the olecranon is curved strongly downwards. As the bone +presents no sign of rachitic degeneration, it may be supposed that an +injury sustained during life was the cause of the anchylosis. When the +left ulna is compared with the right radius, it might at first sight be +concluded that the bones respectively belonged to different individuals, +the ulna being more than half an inch too short for articulation with a +corresponding radius. But it is clear that this shortening, as well +as the attenuation of the left humerus, are both consequent upon the +pathological condition above described. + +"4. A left 'ilium', almost perfect, and belonging to the femur: a +fragment of the right 'scapula'; the anterior extremity of a rib of the +right side; and the same part of a rib of the left side; the hinder +part of a rib of the right side; and lastly, two hinder portions and one +middle portion of ribs, which from their unusually rounded shape, and +abrupt curvature, more resemble the ribs of a carnivorous animal than +those of a man. Dr. H. v. Meyer, however, to whose judgment I defer, +will not venture to declare them to be ribs of any animal; and it only +remains to suppose that this abnormal condition has arisen from an +unusually powerful development of the thoracic muscles. + +"The bones adhere strongly to the tongue, although, as proved by the +use of hydrochloric acid, the greater part of the cartilage is still +retained in them, which appears, however, to have undergone that +transformation into gelatine which has been observed by v. Bibra in +fossil bones. The surface of all the bones is in many spots covered with +minute black specks, which, more especially under a lens, are seen to +be formed of very delicate 'dendrites'. These deposits, which were +first observed on the bones by Dr. Meyer, are most distinct on the inner +surface of the cranial bones. They consist of a ferruginous compound, +and, from their black colour, may be supposed to contain manganese. +Similar dendritic formations also occur, not unfrequently, on laminated +rocks, and are usually found in minute fissures and cracks. At the +meeting of the Lower Rhine Society at Bonn, on the 1st April, 1857, +Prof. Meyer stated that he had noticed in the museum of Poppelsdorf +similar dendritic crystallizations on several fossil bones of animals, +and particularly on those of 'Ursus spelaeus', but still more abundantly +and beautifully displayed on the fossil bones and teeth of 'Equus +adamiticus', 'Elephas primigenius', etc., from the caves of Bolve and +Sundwig. Faint indications of similar 'dendrites' were visible in a +Roman skull from Siegburg; whilst other ancient skulls, which had lain +for centuries in the earth, presented no trace of them. [9] + +"The incipient formation of dendritic deposits, which were formerly +regarded as a sign of a truly fossil condition, is interesting. It has +even been supposed that in diluvial deposits the presence of 'dendrites' +might be regarded as affording a certain mark of distinction between +bones mixed with the diluvium at a somewhat later period and the true +diluvial relics, to which alone it was supposed that these deposits were +confined. But I have long been convinced that neither can the absence of +'dendrites' be regarded as indicative of recent age, nor their presence +as sufficient to establish the great antiquity of the objects upon which +they occur. I have myself noticed upon paper, which could scarcely +be more than a year old, dendritic deposits, which could not be +distinguished from those on fossil bones. Thus I possess a dog's +skull from the Roman colony of the neighbouring Heddersheim, 'Castrum +Hadrianum', which is in no way distinguishable from the fossil bones +from the Frankish caves; it presents the same colour, and adheres to the +tongue just as they do; so that this character also, which, at a former +meeting of German naturalists at Bonn, gave rise to amusing scenes +between Buckland and Schmerling, is no longer of any value. In disputed +cases, therefore, the condition of the bone can scarcely afford the +means for determining with certainty whether it be fossil, that is to +say, whether it belong to geological antiquity or to the historical +period.' + +"As we cannot now look upon the primitive world as representing a wholly +different condition of things, from which no transition exists to +the organic life of the present time, the designation of 'fossil', as +applied to 'a bone', has no longer the sense it conveyed in the time of +Cuvier. Sufficient grounds exist for the assumption that man coexisted +with the animals found in the 'diluvium'; and many a barbarous race may, +before all historical time, have disappeared, together with the animals +of the ancient world, whilst the races whose organization is improved +have continued the genus. The bones which form the subject of this paper +present characters which, although not decisive as regards a geological +epoch, are, nevertheless, such as indicate a very high antiquity. It may +also be remarked that, common as is the occurrence of diluvial animal +bones in the muddy deposits of caverns, such remains have not hitherto +been met with in the caves of the Neanderthal; and that the bones, which +were covered by a deposit of mud not more than four or five feet thick, +and without any protective covering of stalagmite, have retained the +greatest part of their organic substance. + +"These circumstances might be adduced against the probability of a +geological antiquity. Nor should we be justified in regarding the +cranial conformation as perhaps representing the most savage primitive +type of the human race, since crania exist among living savages, which, +though not exhibiting, such a remarkable conformation of the forehead, +which gives the skull somewhat the aspect of that of the large apes, +still in other respects, as for instance in the greater depth of the +temporal fossae, the crest-like, prominent temporal ridges, and a +generally less capacious cranial cavity, exhibit an equally low stage +of development. There is no reason for supposing that the deep frontal +hollow is due to any artificial flattening, such as is practised in +various modes by barbarous nations in the Old and New World. The skull +is quite symmetrical, and shows no indication of counter-pressure at the +occiput, whilst, according to Morton, in the Flat-heads of the +Columbia, the frontal and parietal bones are always unsymmetrical. Its +conformation exhibits the sparing development of the anterior part of +the head which has been so often observed in very ancient crania, and +affords one of the most striking proofs of the influence of culture and +civilization on the form of the human skull." + +In a subsequent passage, Dr. Schaaffhausen remarks: + +"There is no reason whatever for regarding the unusual development of +the frontal sinuses in the remarkable skull from the Neanderthal as an +individual or pathological deformity; it is unquestionably a typical +race-character, and is physiologically connected with the uncommon +thickness of the other bones of the skeleton, which exceeds by about +one-half the usual proportions. This expansion of the frontal sinuses, +which are appendages of the air-passages, also indicates an unusual +force and power of endurance in the movements of the body, as may +be concluded from the size of all the ridges and processes for the +attachment of the muscles or bones. That this conclusion may be drawn +from the existence of large frontal sinuses, and a prominence of the +lower frontal region, is confirmed in many ways by other observations. +By the same characters, according to Pallas, the wild horse is +distinguished from the domesticated, and, according to Cuvier, the +fossil cave-bear from every recent species of bear, whilst, according +to Roulin, the pig, which has become wild in America, and regained a +resemblance to the wild boar, is thus distinguished from the same animal +in the domesticated state, as is the chamois from the goat; and, +lastly, the bull-dog, which is characterised by its large bones and +strongly-developed muscles from every other kind of dog. The estimation +of the facial angle, the determination of which, according to Professor +Owen, is also difficult in the great apes, owing to the very prominent +supra-orbital ridges, in the present case is rendered still more +difficult from the absence both of the auditory opening and of the nasal +spine. But if the proper horizontal position of the skull be taken from +the remaining portions of the orbital plates, and the ascending line +made to touch the surface of the frontal bone behind the prominent +supra-orbital ridges, the facial angle is not found to exceed 56 +degrees. Unfortunately, no portions of the facial bones, whose +conformation is so decisive as regards the form and expression of the +head, have been preserved. The cranial capacity, compared with the +uncommon strength of the corporeal frame, would seem to indicate a small +cerebral development. The skull, as it is, holds about 31 ounces of +millet-seed; and as, from the proportionate size of the wanting bones, +the whole cranial cavity should have about 6 ounces more added, the +contents, were it perfect, may be taken at 37 ounces. Tiedemann assigns, +as the cranial contents in the Negro, 40, 38, and 35 ounces. The cranium +holds rather more than 36 ounces of water, which corresponds to a +capacity of 1033.24 cubic centimetres. Huschke estimates the cranial +contents of a Negress at 1127 cubic centimetres; of an old Negro at 1146 +cubic centimetres. The capacity of the Malay skulls, estimated by water, +equalled 36, 33 ounces, whilst in the diminutive Hindoos it falls to as +little as 27 ounces." + +After comparing the Neanderthal cranium with many others, ancient and +modern, Professor Schaaffhausen concludes thus:-- + +"But the human bones and cranium from the Neanderthal exceed all the +rest in those peculiarities of conformation which lead to the conclusion +of their belonging to a barbarous and savage race. Whether the cavern in +which they were found, unaccompanied with any trace of human art, were +the place of their interment, or whether, like the bones of extinct +animals elsewhere, they had been washed into it, they may still be +regarded as the most ancient memorial of the early inhabitants of +Europe." + +Mr. Busk, the translator of Dr. Schaaffhausen's paper, has enabled us +to form a very vivid conception of the degraded character of the +Neanderthal skull, by placing side by side with its outline, that of the +skull of a Chimpanzee, drawn to the same absolute size. [10] + +Some time after the publication of the translation of Professor +Schaaffhausen's Memoir, I was led to study the cast of the Neanderthal +cranium with more attention than I had previously bestowed upon it, +in consequence of wishing to supply Sir Charles Lyell with a diagram, +exhibiting the special peculiarities of this skull, as compared with +other human skulls. In order to do this it was necessary to identify, +with precision, those points in the skulls compared which corresponded +anatomically. Of these points, the glabella was obvious enough; but when +I had distinguished another, defined by the occipital protuberance +and superior semicircular line, and had placed the outline of the +Neanderthal skull against that of the Engis skull, in such a position +that the glabella and occipital protuberance of both were intersected by +the same straight line, the difference was so vast and the flattening of +the Neanderthal skull so prodigious (compare Figs. 23 and 25, A.), that +I at first imagined I must have fallen into some error. And I was +the more inclined to suspect this, as, in ordinary human skulls, the +occipital protuberance and superior semicircular curved line on the +exterior of the occiput correspond pretty closely with the 'lateral +sinuses' and the line of attachment of the tentorium internally. But +on the tentorium rests, as I have said in the preceding Essay, the +posterior lobe of the brain; and hence, the occipital protuberance, and +the curved line in question, indicate, approximately, the lower limits +of that lobe. Was it possible for a human being to have the brain thus +flattened and depressed; or, on the other hand, had the muscular ridges +shifted their position? In order to solve these doubts, and to decide +the question whether the great supraciliary projections did, or did +not, arise from the development of the frontal sinuses, I requested Sir +Charles Lyell to be so good as to obtain for me from Dr. Fuhlrott, the +possessor of the skull, answers to certain queries, and if possible a +cast, or at any rate drawings, or photographs, of the interior of the +skull. + +[Illustration: FIG. 25.--The skull from the Neanderthal cavern. A. side, +B. front, and C. top view. One-third the natural size, by Mr. Busk: the +details from the cast and from Dr. Fuhlrott's photographs. 'a' glabella; +'b' occipital protuberance; 'd' lambdoidal suture.] + +Dr. Fuhlrott replied with a courtesy and readiness for which I am +infinitely indebted to him, to my inquiries, and furthermore sent three +excellent photographs. One of these gives a side view of the skull, and +from it Fig. 25, A. has been shaded. The second (Fig. 26, A.) exhibits +the wide openings of the frontal sinuses upon the inferior surface of +the frontal part of the skull, into which, Dr. Fuhlrott writes, "a probe +may be introduced to the depth of an inch," and demonstrates the great +extension of the thickened supraciliary ridges beyond the cerebral +cavity. The third, lastly (Fig. 26, B.) exhibits the edge and the +interior of the posterior, or occipital, part of the skull, and shows +very clearly the two depressions for the lateral sinuses, sweeping +inwards towards the middle line of the roof of the skull, to form the +longitudinal sinus. It was clear, therefore, that I had not erred in +my interpretation, and that the posterior lobe of the brain of the +Neanderthal man must have been as much flattened as I suspected it to +be. + +In truth, the Neanderthal cranium has most extraordinary characters. +It has an extreme length of 8 inches, while its breadth is only 5.75 +inches, or, in other words, its length is to its breadth as 100:72. +It is exceedingly depressed, measuring only about 3.4 inches from the +glabello-occipital line to the vertex. The longitudinal arc, measured +in the same way as in the Engis skull, is 12 inches; the transverse +arc cannot be exactly ascertained, in consequence of the absence of the +temporal bones, but was probably about the same, and certainly exceeded +10 1/4 inches. The horizontal circumference is 23 inches. But this +great circumference arises largely from the vast development of the +supraciliary ridges, though the perimeter of the brain case itself is +not small. The large supraciliary ridges give the forehead a far more +retreating appearance than its internal contour would bear out. + +To an anatomical eye the posterior part of the skull is even more +striking than the anterior. The occipital protuberance occupies the +extreme posterior end of the skull, when the glabello-occipital line +is made horizontal, and so far from any part of the occipital region +extending beyond it, this region of the skull slopes obliquely upward +and forward, so that the lambdoidal suture is situated well upon the +upper surface of the cranium. At the same time, notwithstanding the +great length of the skull, the sagittal suture is remarkably short (4 +1/2 inches), and the squamosal suture is very straight. + +[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Drawings from Dr. Fuhlrott's photographs of +parts of the interior of the Neanderthal cranium. A. view of the under +and inner surface of the frontal region, showing the inferior apertures +of the frontal sinuses ('a'). B. corresponding view of the occipital +region of the skull, showing the impressions of the lateral sinuses ('a +a').] + +In reply to my questions Dr. Fuhlrott writes that the occipital bone +"is in a state of perfect preservation as far as the upper semicircular +line, which is a very strong ridge, linear at its extremities, but +enlarging towards the middle, where it forms two ridges (bourrelets), +united by a linear continuation, which is slightly depressed in the +middle." + +"Below the left ridge the bone exhibits an obliquely inclined surface, +six lines (French) long, and twelve lines wide." + +This last must be the surface, the contour of which is shown in Fig. +25, A., below 'b'. It is particularly interesting, as it suggests that, +notwithstanding the flattened condition of the occiput, the posterior +cerebral lobes must have projected considerably beyond the cerebellum, +and as it constitutes one among several points of similarity between the +Neanderthal cranium and certain Australian skulls. + +Such are the two best known forms of human cranium, which have been +found in what may be fairly termed a fossil state. Can either be shown +to fill up or diminish, to any appreciable extent, the structural +interval which exists between Man and the man-like apes? Or, on the +other hand, does neither depart more widely from the average structure +of the human cranium, than normally formed skulls of men are known to do +at the present day? + +It is impossible to form any opinion on these questions, without some +preliminary acquaintance with the range of variation exhibited by human +structure in general--a subject which has been but imperfectly studied, +while even of what is known, my limits will necessarily allow me to give +only a very imperfect sketch. + +The student of anatomy is perfectly well aware that there is not a +single organ of the human body the structure of which does not vary, to +a greater or less extent, in different individuals. The skeleton varies +in the proportions, and even to a certain extent in the connexions, of +its constituent bones. The muscles which move the bones vary largely +in their attachments. The varieties in the mode of distribution of +the arteries are carefully classified, on account of the practical +importance of a knowledge of their shiftings to the surgeon. The +characters of the brain vary immensely, nothing being less constant than +the form and size of the cerebral hemispheres, and the richness of the +convolutions upon their surface, while the most changeable structures +of all in the human brain, are exactly those on which the unwise attempt +has been made to base the distinctive characters of humanity, viz. the +posterior cornu of the lateral ventricle, the hippocampus minor, and +the degree of projection of the posterior lobe beyond the cerebellum. +Finally, as all the world knows, the hair and skin of human beings may +present the most extraordinary diversities in colour and in texture. + +So far as our present knowledge goes, the majority of the structural +varieties to which allusion is here made, are individual. The ape-like +arrangement of certain muscles which is occasionally met with [11] in +the white races of mankind, is not known to be more common among Negroes +or Australians: nor because the brain of the Hottentot Venus was found +to be smoother, to have its convolutions more symmetrically disposed, +and to be, so far, more ape-like than that of ordinary Europeans, are +we justified in concluding a like condition of the brain to prevail +universally among the lower races of mankind, however probable that +conclusion may be. + +We are, in fact, sadly wanting in information respecting the disposition +of the soft and destructible organs of every Race of Mankind but our +own; and even of the skeleton, our Museums are lamentably deficient in +every part but the cranium. Skulls enough there are, and since the time +when Blumenbach and Camper first called attention to the marked and +singular differences which they exhibit, skull collecting and skull +measuring has been a zealously pursued branch of Natural History, +and the results obtained have been arranged and classified by various +writers, among whom the late active and able Retzius must always be the +first named. + +Human skulls have been found to differ from one another, not merely in +their absolute size and in the absolute capacity of the brain case, +but in the proportions which the diameters of the latter bear to +one another; in the relative size of the bones of the face (and more +particularly of the jaws and teeth) as compared with those of the skull; +in the degree to which the upper jaw (which is of course followed by +the lower) is thrown backwards and downwards under the fore-part of +the brain case, or forwards and upward in front of and beyond it. They +differ further in the relations of the transverse diameter of the face, +taken through the cheek bones, to the transverse diameter of the skull; +in the more rounded or more gable-like form of the roof of the skull, +and in the degree to which the hinder part of the skull is flattened or +projects beyond the ridge, into and below which, the muscles of the neck +are inserted. + +In some skulls the brain case may be said to be 'round,' the extreme +length not exceeding the extreme breadth by a greater proportion than +100 to 80, while the difference may be much less. [12] Men possessing such +skulls were termed by Retzius 'brachycephalic,' and the skull of a +Calmuck, of which a front and side view (reduced outline copies of +which are given in Figure 27) are depicted by Von Baer in his excellent, +"Crania selecta," affords a very admirable example of that kind of +skull. Other skulls, such as that of a Negro copied in Fig. 28 from Mr. +Busk's 'Crania typica,' have a very different, greatly elongated form, +and may be termed 'oblong.' In this skull the extreme length is to the +extreme breadth as 100 to not more than 67, and the transverse diameter +of the human skull may fall below even this proportion. People having +such skulls were called by Retzius 'dolichocephalic.' + +The most cursory glance at the side views of these two skulls will +suffice to prove that they differ, in another respect, to a very +striking extent. The profile of the face of the Calmuck is almost +vertical, the facial bones being thrown downwards and under the forepart +of the skull. The profile of the face of the Negro, on the other hand, +is singularly inclined, the front part of the jaws projecting far +forward beyond the level of the fore part of the skull. In the former +case the skull is said to be 'orthognathous' or straight-jawed; in the +latter, it is called 'prognathous,' a term which has been rendered, with +more force than elegance, by the Saxon equivalent,--'snouty.' + +Various methods have been devised in order to express with some accuracy +the degree of prognathism or orthognathism of any given skull; most of +these methods being essentially modifications of that devised by Peter +Camper, in order to attain what he called the 'facial angle.' + +But a little consideration will show that any 'facial angle' that has +been devised, can be competent to express the structural modifications +involved in prognathism and orthognathism, only in a rough and general +sort of way. For the lines, the intersection of which forms the facial +angle, are drawn through points of the skull, the position of each +of which is modified by a number of circumstances, so that the angle +obtained is a complex resultant of all these circumstances, and is not +the expression of any one definite organic relation of the parts of the +skull. + +[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Side and front views of the round and +orthognathous skull of a Calmuck, after Von Baer. One-third the natural +size.] + +I have arrived at the conviction that no comparison of crania is worth +very much, that is not founded upon the establishment of a relatively +fixed base line, to which the measurements, in all cases, must be +referred. Nor do I think it is a very difficult matter to decide what +that base line should be. The parts of the skull, like those of the rest +of the animal framework, are developed in succession the base of +the skull is formed before its sides and roof; it is converted into +cartilage earlier and more completely than the sides and roof: and the +cartilaginous base ossifies, and becomes soldered into one piece long +before the roof. I conceive then that the base of the skull may be +demonstrated developmentally to be its relatively fixed part, the roof +and sides being relatively moveable. + +[Illustration: Fig. 28.--Oblong and prognathous skull of a Negro; side +and front views. One-third of the natural size.] + +The same truth is exemplified by the study of the modifications which +the skull undergoes in ascending from the lower animals up to man. + +[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Longitudinal and vertical sections of the +skulls of a Beaver ('Castor Canadensis'), a Lemur ('L. Catia'), and a +Baboon ('Cynocephalus Papio'), 'a b', the basicranial axis; 'b c', the +occipital plane; 'i T', the tentorial plane; 'a d', the olfactory plane; +'f e', the basifacial axis; 'c b a', occipital angle; 'T i a', tentorial +angle; 'd a b', olfactory angle; 'e f b', cranio-facial angle; 'g h', +extreme length of the cavity which lodges the cerebral hemispheres or +'cerebral length.' The length of the basicranial axis as to this length, +or, in other words, the proportional length of the line 'g h' to that +of 'a b' taken as 100, in the three skulls, is as follows:--Beaver 70 to +100; Lemur 119 to 100; Baboon 144 to 100. In an adult male Gorilla the +cerebral length is as 170 to the basicranial axis taken as 100, in the +Negro (Fig. 30) as 236 to 100. In the Constantinople skull (Fig. 30) as +266 to 100. The cranial difference between the highest Ape's skull +and the lowest Man's is therefore very strikingly brought out by these +measurements. In the diagram of the Baboon's skull the dotted lines 'd1 +d2', etc., give the angles of the Lemur's and Beaver's skull, as laid +down upon the basicranial axis of the Baboon. The line 'a b' has the +same length in each diagram.] + +In such a mammal as a Beaver (Fig. 29), a line ('a b'.) drawn through +the bones, termed basioccipital, basisphenoid, and presphenoid, is very +long in proportion to the extreme length of the cavity which contains +the cerebral hemispheres ('g h'.). The plane of the occipital foramen +('b c'.) forms a slightly acute angle with this 'basicranial axis,' +while the plane of the tentorium ('i T'.) is inclined at rather more +than 90 degrees to the 'basicranial axis'; and so is the plane of the +perforated plate ('a d'.), by which the filaments of the olfactory +nerve leave the skull. Again, a line drawn through the axis of the face, +between the bones called ethmoid and vomer--the "basifacial axis" ('f +e'.) forms an exceedingly obtuse angle, where, when produced, it cuts +the 'basicranial axis.' + +If the angle made by the line 'b c'. with 'a b'., be called the +'occipital angle,' and the angle made by the line 'a d'. with 'a b'. be +termed the 'olfactory angle,' and that made by 'i T'. with 'a b'. the +'tentorial angle,' then all these, in the mammal in question, are nearly +right angles, varying between 80 degrees and 110 degrees. the angle 'e f +b'., or that made by the cranial with the facial axis, and which may be +termed the 'cranio-facial angle,' is extremely obtuse, amounting, in the +case of the Beaver, to at least 150 degrees. + +But if a series of sections of mammalian skulls, intermediate between +a Rodent and a Man (Fig. 29), be examined, it will be found that in the +higher crania the basicranial axis becomes shorter relatively to the +cerebral length; that the 'olfactory angle' and 'occipital angle' become +more obtuse; and that the 'cranio-facial angle' becomes more acute by +the bending down, as it were, of the facial axis upon the cranial axis. +At the same time, the roof of the cranium becomes more and more arched, +to allow of the increasing height of the cerebral hemispheres, which is +eminently characteristic of man, as well as of that backward extension, +beyond the cerebellum, which reaches its maximum in the South America +Monkeys. So that, at last, in the human skull (Fig. 30), the cerebral +length is between twice and thrice as great as the length of the +basicranial axis; the olfactory plane is 20 degrees or 30 degrees on the +'under' side of that axis; the occipital angle, instead of being +less than 90 degrees, is as much as 150 degrees or 160 degrees; the +cranio-facial angle may be 90 degrees or less, and the vertical height +of the skull may have a large proportion to its length. + +It will be obvious, from an inspection of the diagrams, that the +basicranial axis is, in the ascending series of Mammalia, a relatively +fixed line, on which the bones of the sides and roof of the cranial +cavity, and of the face, may be said to revolve downwards and forwards +or backwards, according to their position. The arc described by any one +bone or plane, however, is not by any means always in proportion to the +arc described by another. + +Now comes the important question, can we discern, between the lowest and +the highest forms of the human cranium anything answering, in however +slight a degree, to this revolution of the side and roof bones of the +skull upon the basicranial axis observed upon so great a scale in the +mammalian series? Numerous observations lead me to believe that we must +answer this question in the affirmative. + +The diagrams in Figure 30 are reduced from very carefully made diagrams +of sections of four skulls, two round and orthognathous, two long and +prognathous, taken longitudinally and vertically, through the middle. +The sectional diagrams have then been superimposed, in such a manner, +that the basal axes of the skulls coincide by their anterior ends, and +in their direction. The deviations of the rest of the contours (which +represent the interior of the skulls only) show the differences of the +skulls from one another, when these axes are regarded as relatively +fixed lines. + +The dark contours are those of an Australian and of a Negro skull: the +light contours are those of a Tartar skull, in the Museum of the Royal +College of Surgeons; and of a well developed round skull from a cemetery +in Constantinople, of uncertain race, in my own possession. + +It appears, at once, from these views, that the prognathous skulls, so +far as their jaws are concerned, do really differ from the orthognathous +in much the same way as, though to a far less degree than, the skulls +of the lower mammals differ from those of Man. Furthermore, the plane +of the occipital foramen ('b c') forms a somewhat smaller angle with the +axis in these particular prognathous skulls than in the orthognathous; +and the like may be slightly true of the perforated plate of the +ethmoid--though this point is not so clear. But it is singular to remark +that, in another respect, the prognathous skulls are less ape-like than +the orthognathous, the cerebral cavity projecting decidedly more +beyond the anterior end of the axis in the prognathous, than in the +orthognathous, skulls. + +It will be observed that these diagrams reveal an immense range of +variation in the capacity and relative proportion to the cranial axis, +of the different regions of the cavity which contains the brain, in +the different skulls. Nor is the difference in the extent to which the +cerebral overlaps the cerebellar cavity less singular. A round skull +(Fig. 30, 'Const'.) may have a greater posterior cerebral projection +than a long one (Fig. 30, 'Negro'). + +Until human crania have been largely worked out in a manner similar to +that here suggested--until it shall be an opprobrium to an +ethnological collection to possess a single skull which is not bisected +longitudinally--until the angles and measurements here mentioned, +together with a number of others of which I cannot speak in this place, +are determined, and tabulated with reference to the basicranial axis as +unity, for large numbers of skulls of the different races of Mankind, +I do not think we shall have any very safe basis for that ethnological +craniology which aspires to give the anatomical characters of the crania +of the different Races of Mankind. + +At present, I believe that the general outlines of what may be safely +said upon that subject may be summed up in a very few words. Draw a +line on a globe from the Gold Coast in Western Africa to the steppes +of Tartary. At the southern and western end of that line there live +the most dolichocephalic, prognathous, curly-haired, dark-skinned of +men--the true Negroes. At the northern and eastern end of the same line +there live the most brachycephalic, orthognathous, straight-haired, +yellow-skinned of men--the Tartars and Calmucks. The two ends of this +imaginary line are indeed, so to speak, ethnological antipodes. A line +drawn at right angles, or nearly so, to this polar line through Europe +and Southern Asia to Hindostan, would give us a sort of equator, around +which round-headed, oval-headed, and oblong-headed, prognathous and +orthognathous, fair and dark races--but none possessing the excessively +marked characters of Calmuck or Negro--group themselves. + +[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Sections of orthognathous (light contour) and +prognathous (dark contour) skulls, one-third of the natural size. 'a b', +Basicranial axis; 'b c, b1 c1', plane of the occipital foramen; 'd d1', +hinder end of the palatine bone; 'e e1', front end of the upper jaw; 'T +T1', insertion of the tentorium.] + +It is worthy of notice that the regions of the antipodal races are +antipodal in climate, the greatest contrast the world affords, perhaps, +being that between the damp, hot, steaming, alluvial coast plains of +the West Coast of Africa and the arid, elevated steppes and plateaux of +Central Asia, bitterly cold in winter, and as far from the sea as any +part of the world can be. + +From Central Asia eastward to the Pacific Islands and subcontinents +on the one hand, and to America on the other, brachycephaly and +orthognathism gradually diminish, and are replaced by dolichocephaly and +prognathism, less, however, on the American Continent (throughout the +whole length of which a rounded type of skull prevails largely, but not +exclusively) [13] than in the Pacific region, where, at length, on the +Australian Continent and in the adjacent islands, the oblong skull, the +projecting jaws, and the dark skin reappear; with so much departure, in +other respects, from the Negro type, that ethnologists assign to these +people the special title of 'Negritoes.' + +The Australian skull is remarkable for its narrowness and for the +thickness of its walls, especially in the region of the supraciliary +ridge, which is frequently, though not by any means invariably, solid +throughout, the frontal sinuses remaining undeveloped. The nasal +depression, again, is extremely sudden, so that the brows overhang and +give the countenance a particularly lowering, threatening expression. +The occipital region of the skull, also, not unfrequently becomes less +prominent; so that it not only fails to project beyond a line drawn +perpendicular to the hinder extremity of the glabello-occipital line, +but even, in some cases, begins to shelve away from it, forwards, almost +immediately. In consequence of this circumstance, the parts of the +occipital bone which lie above and below the tuberosity make a much more +acute angle with one another than is usual, whereby the hinder part +of the base of the skull appears obliquely truncated. Many Australian +skulls have a considerable height, quite equal to that of the average of +any other race, but there are others in which the cranial roof becomes +remarkably depressed, the skull, at the same time, elongating so much +that, probably, its capacity is not diminished. The majority of +skulls possessing these characters, which I have seen, are from the +neighbourhood of Port Adelaide in South Australia, and have been used +by the natives as water vessels; to which end the face has been knocked +away, and a string passed through the vacuity and the occipital foramen, +so that the skull was suspended by the greater part of its basis. + +[Illustration: FIG. 31.--An Australian skull from Western Port, in +the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, with the contour of the +Neanderthal skull. Both reduced to one-third the natural size.] + +Figure 32 represents the contour of a skull of this kind from Western +Port, with the jaw attached, and of the Neanderthal skull, both reduced +to one-third of the size of nature. A small additional amount of +flattening and lengthening, with a corresponding increase of the +supraciliary ridge, would convert the Australian brain case into a form +identical with that of the aberrant fossil. + +And now, to return to the fossil skulls, and to the rank which +they occupy among, or beyond, these existing varieties of cranial +conformation. In the first place, I must remark, that, as Professor +Schmerling well observed ('supra', p. 300) in commenting upon the Engis +skull, the formation of a safe judgment upon the question is greatly +hindered by the absence of the jaws from both the crania, so that there +is no means of deciding with certainty, whether they were more or less +prognathous than the lower existing races of mankind. And yet, as we +have seen, it is more in this respect than any other, that human skulls +vary, towards and from, the brutal type--the brain case of an average +dolichocephalic European differing far less from that of a Negro, +for example, than his jaws do. In the absence of the jaws, then, any +judgment on the relations of the fossil skulls to recent Races must be +accepted with a certain reservation. + +But taking the evidence as it stands, and turning first to the Engis +skull, I confess I can find no character in the remains of that cranium +which, if it were a recent skull, would give any trustworthy clue as +to the Race to which it might appertain. Its contours and measurements +agree very well with those of some Australian skulls which I have +examined--and especially has it a tendency towards that occipital +flattening, to the great extent of which, in some Australian skulls, I +have alluded. But all Australian skulls do not present this flattening, +and the supraciliary ridge of the Engis skull is quite unlike that of +the typical Australians. + +On the other hand, its measurements agree equally well with those of +some European skulls. And assuredly, there is no mark of degradation +about any part of its structure. It is, in fact, a fair average human +skull, which might have belonged to a philosopher, or might have +contained the thoughtless brains of a savage. + +The case of the Neanderthal skull is very different. Under whatever +aspect we view this cranium, whether we regard its vertical depression, +the enormous thickness of its supraciliary ridges, its sloped occiput, +or its long and straight squamosal suture, we meet with ape-like +characters, stamping it as the most pithecoid of human crania yet +discovered. But Professor Schaaffhausen states ('supra', p. 308), that +the cranium, in its present condition, holds 1033.24 cubic centimetres +of water, or about 63 cubic inches, and as the entire skull could hardly +have held less than an additional 12 cubic inches, its capacity may be +estimated at about 75 cubic inches, which is the average capacity given +by Morton for Polynesian and Hottentot skulls. + +So large a mass of brain as this, would alone suggest that the pithecoid +tendencies, indicated by this skull, did not extend deep into the +organization; and this conclusion is borne out by the dimensions of the +other bones of the skeleton given by Professor Schaaffhausen, which +show that the absolute height and relative proportions of the limbs +were quite those of an European of middle stature. The bones are indeed +stouter, but this and the great development of the muscular ridges noted +by Dr. Schaaffhausen, are characters to be expected in savages. The +Patagonians, exposed without shelter or protection to a climate possibly +not very dissimilar from that of Europe at the time during which the +Neanderthal man lived, are remarkable for the stoutness of their limb +bones. + +[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Ancient Danish skull from a tumulus at Borreby: +one-third of the natural size. From a camera lucida drawing by Mr. +Busk.] + +In no sense, then, can the Neanderthal bones be regarded as the remains +of a human being intermediate between Men and Apes. At most, they +demonstrate the existence of a man whose skull may be said to revert +somewhat towards the pithecoid type--just as a Carrier, or a Pouter, or +a Tumbler, may sometimes put on the plumage of its primitive stock, the +'Columba livia'. And indeed, though truly the most pithecoid of known +human skulls, the Neanderthal cranium is by no means so isolated as it +appears to be at first, but forms, in reality, the extreme term of a +series leading gradually from it to the highest and best developed of +human crania. On the one hand, it is closely approached by the flattened +Australian skulls, of which I have spoken, from which other Australian +forms lead us gradually up to skulls having very much the type of the +Engis cranium. And, on the other hand, it is even more closely affined +to the skulls of certain ancient people who inhabited Denmark during the +'stone period,' and were probably either contemporaneous with, or later +than, the makers of the 'refuse heaps,' or 'Kjokkenmoddings' of that +country. + +The correspondence between the longitudinal contour of the Neanderthal +skull and that of some of those skulls from the tumuli at Borreby, very +accurate drawings of which have been made by Mr. Busk, is very close. +The occiput is quite as retreating, the supraciliary ridges are nearly +as prominent, and the skull is as low. Furthermore, the Borreby skull +resembles the Neanderthal form more closely than any of the Australian +skulls do, by the much more rapid retrocession of the forehead. On the +other hand, the Borreby skulls are all somewhat broader, in proportion +to their length, than the Neanderthal skull, while some attain +that proportion of breadth to length (80:100) which constitutes +brachycephaly. + +In conclusion, I may say, that the fossil remains of Man hitherto +discovered do not seem to me to take us appreciably nearer to that lower +pithecoid form, by the modification of which he has, probably, become +what he is. And considering what is now known of the most ancient races +of men; seeing that they fashioned flint axes and flint knives and +bone-skewers, of much the same pattern as those fabricated by the lowest +savages at the present day, and that we have every reason to believe the +habits and modes of living of such people to have remained the same from +the time of the Mammoth and the tichorhine Rhinoceros till now, I do not +know that this result is other than might be expected. + +Where, then, must we look for primaeval Man? Was the oldest 'Homo +sapiens' pliocene or miocene, or yet more ancient? In still older +strata do the fossilized bones of an Ape more anthropoid, or a Man +more pithecoid, than any yet known await the researches of some unborn +paleontologist? + +Time will show. But, in the meanwhile, if any form of the doctrine of +progressive development is correct, we must extend by long epochs the +most liberal estimate that has yet been made of the antiquity of Man. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[Footnote 1: Decas Collectionis suae craniorum diversarum gentium +illustrata. Gottingae, 1790-1820.] + +[Footnote 2: In a subsequent passage, Schmerling remarks upon the +occurrence of an incisor tooth 'of enormous size' from the caverns of +Engihoul. The tooth figured is somewhat long, but its dimensions do not +appear to me to be otherwise remarkable.] + +[Footnote 3: The figure of this clavicle measures 5 inches from end to +end in a straight line--so that the bone is rather a small than a large +one.] + +[Footnote 4: ON THE CRANIA OF THE MOST ANCIENT RACES OF MAN. By +Professor D. Schaaffhausen, of Bonn. (From Muller's 'Archiv'., 1858, +pp. 453.) With Remarks, and original Figures, taken from a Cast of +the Neanderthal Cranium. By George Busk, F.R.S., etc. 'Natural History +Review'. April, 1861.] + +[Footnote 5: 'Verhandl. d. Naturhist.' Vereins der preuss. Rheinlande +und Westphalens., xiv. Bonn, 1857.] + +[Footnote 6: 'Ib. Correspondenzblatt. No. 2.] + +[Footnote 7: This, Mr. Busk has pointed out, is probably the notch for +the frontal nerve. The coronal and sagittal sutures are on the exterior +nearly closed, and on the inside so completely ossified as to have +left no traces whatever, whilst the lambdoidal remains quite open. The +depressions for the Pacchionian glands are deep and numerous; and there +is an unusually deep vascular groove immediately behind the coronal +suture, which, as it terminates in the foramen, no doubt transmitted +a 'vena emissaria'. The course of the frontal suture is indicated +externally by a slight ridge; and where it joins the coronal, this ridge +rises into a small protuberance. The course of the sagittal suture is +grooved, and above the angle of the occipital bone the parietals are +depressed.] + +[Footnote 8: The numbers in brackets are those which I should assign to +the different measures, as taken from the plaster cast.--G. B.] + +[Footnote 9: 'Verh. des Naturhist'. Vereins in Bonn, xiv. 1857. I am +indebted to H. v. Meyer for the following remarks on this subject:--] + +[Footnote 10: Estimating the facial angle in the way suggested, on the +cast I should place it at 64 degrees to 67 degrees.--G. B.] + +[Footnote 11: See an excellent Essay by Mr. Church on the Myology of the +Orang, in the 'Natural History Review', for 1861.] + +[Footnote 12: In no normal human skull does the breadth of the +brain-case exceed its length.] + +[Footnote 13: See Dr. D. Wilson's valuable paper "On the supposed +prevalence of one Cranial Type throughout the American aborigines."-- +'Canadian Journal', vol. ii., 1857.] + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's On Some Fossil Remains of Man, by Thomas H. Huxley + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON SOME FOSSIL REMAINS OF MAN *** + +***** This file should be named 2933.txt or 2933.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/3/2933/ + +Produced by Amy E. 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