356 SCIENCE PROGRESS. 



of races. There never was, nor ever will be, a pure race ; 

 love and war have kept, and will keep, races constantly 

 mixing. 



5. THE SKULL OF FOSSIL MAN CONSIDERED AS A 

 MASTICATORY APPARATUS. 



We may accept the size of the palate as an indication 

 of the degree to which the masticatory and alimentary 

 systems of fossil men were developed. We have only an 

 upper wisdom tooth to give us a clue to the Bengawan 

 palate, and we may infer that a set of teeth, such as the 

 Bengawan molar from its size and shape indicates, could 

 not be set in a palate less than 70 m.m. wide and 60 m.m. 

 long. The alveolar outlines of the lower jaws permit us to 

 infer that the palate in one of the Spy crania (supposed to 

 be that of a woman) was about 60 m.m. broad and 54 m.m. 

 long, and in the Naulette individual 65 m.m. broad and 

 about 62 m.m. long. In eight Australian crania of a type 

 resembling the fossil forms, the palates ranged in length from 

 55 to 64 m.m., the breadth from 60 to 72 m.m., the one 

 diameter commonly increases as the other diminishes. In 

 English palates 52 m.m. long and 56 m.m. broad are quite 

 common diameters. Amongst gorillas the palate frequently 

 measures 95 m.m. in length by 66 m.m. in breadth ; amongst 

 chimpanzees 82 x 61 m.m. ; and amongst orangs 94 x 70 

 m.m. From these figures it is quite plain that the palatal 

 areas of fossil man and certain Australians are greater than 

 the palatal areas of most modern men ; while, on the other 

 hand, the palates of anthropoids greatly exceed those of fossil 

 men. The brain capacities, on the contrary, are greatest in 

 modern man and least in anthropoids. An increase of the 

 cranial capacity appears to determine a diminution of the 

 palatal area. An increase of brain capacity indicates an 

 increased power of bringing more easily masticated food 

 within the reach of the individual, such as may favour 

 a reduction of the palate, masticatory and alimentary 

 apparatuses, with profit to the body — economy. 



The principle of the evolutionary progress of human 

 structure appears to lie in an increase of brain capacity, 



