REVIEWS 695 



dealt with by Mr. Southwell, who is publishing a separate report through the 

 Government of Bengal. 



As might have been anticipated by those who have followed the development 

 of zoological research in recent years at the Indian Museum, the present volume 

 is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the local faunas of India, quite apart 

 from the very special interest it possesses from a bionomical standpoint, owing to 

 the peculiar seasonal changes of the water in the lake. There is one matter for 

 regret, and that is Dr. Annandale was unable to arrange for a study of the avi- 

 fauna of the lake. From a visit the reviewer paid to the lake in 1908, the ornithology 

 of the lake would appear to be of quite exceptional interest, and we trust that Dr. 

 Annandale will be able to make good this deficit before the completion of the 

 report on the fauna. The plankton may well be left for the future, and since it is 

 certain to be of extraordinary interest, it may well form the subject of a special 

 report. Short of the establishment of a temporary zoological station for at least 

 twelve months on the shores of the lake, preferably at Satpara, it is to be feared 

 that the fauna cannot be completely investigated ; though one must not deduce 

 from this that those groups already reported on have not been adequately dealt 

 with. 



J. T. Jenkins. 



ANTHROPOLOGY 



The Antiquity of Man. By Arthur Keith, M.D., F.R.S. [Pp. xx + 519, 

 with 190 illustrations.] (London : Williams & Norgate, 191 5. Price 

 10s. 6d. net.) 



The appearance of a book by Prof. Keith on the antiquity of man is an event 

 of great interest to students of this difficult subject. There exist wide differences 

 of opinion among scientists both in regard to the antiquity of man as we know 

 him and in regard to the age of that humanoid family of which true man is but 

 one of several very distinct species. Now Prof. Keith is one of the leading 

 protagonists of what we may call the extreme school, the school that attributes to 

 man a very high antiquity, and thus a full statement of his case will be welcomed, 

 for, whether or not one agrees with the author, all must admit that there is 

 nobody in the English-speaking world more competent to present the extreme 

 case than he. 



The problem is studied in this book mainly from the anatomical point of view, 

 Neolithic man, Late Palaeolithic (Deutolithic) races, the Neandertal, Heidelberg,, 

 and Javan species, human remains in America and Africa, all these subjects are 

 discussed in turn. Nearly two hundred pages are given up to the consideration 

 of the famous Piltdown or Sussex skull, which was discovered in 19 12 by Mr. 

 Charles Dawson, and is regarded as the type of a new species and a new genus,. 

 Eoanthropus dawsoni. As is well known, even outside scientific circles, Prof- 

 Keith had a keen controversy with Dr. Smith Woodward and Prof. Elliot Smith 

 about the reconstruction of this skull from the fragmentary pieces of bone that 

 were unearthed. The difficulties of this reconstruction are very fully discussed 

 by the author, in chapters which are unavoidably very technical in character. 

 Indeed, the whole book makes difficult reading, and is only suited for that portion 

 of the public which possesses a considerable knowledge of anatomy. 



Not the least interesting section of the book is that which deals with fossil 

 man in North America — a subject often ignored by British writers. Remains of 

 Homo sapiens have been found in that continent in strata believed to represent 

 the last interglacial age, and these remains would therefore be roughly con- 



