SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PILTDOWN DISCOVERY 289 



ceived as possessing a simian mandibular symphysis, a massive 

 jaw, large teeth, and probably a low forehead. Pithecanthropus 

 may possibly have exhibited all these primitive characters. If 

 this interpretation of the phenomena were established, it would 

 of course become necessary to remove heidelbergensis (and 

 possibly neandertalensis also) from the genus Homo. 1 



The suggestions thrown out in this paper suffice only to 

 show how little is certainly known of the inter-relationships of 

 the fossil Hominidae. It would be altogether premature to 



H sapiens. 



Eoanthropus. 



Fig. 5. 



attempt to dogmatise upon the rival possibilities ; none is free 

 from difficulties. I am, however, strongly inclined to think 

 that both the apes and Pithecanthropus have a low forehead not 

 because they are degenerate, but because they are immediately 

 descended from monkeys. And even in its more plausible 

 application to Neandertal man, I view the degeneracy theory 

 with considerable suspicion. 



1 Whilst the present article was in the press, Mr. W. H. Sutcliffe kindly sent 

 me a copy of his above-mentioned paper, of which I had only seen a preliminary 

 report. His main theme is a convincing criticism of pre-Aurignacian sapiens and 

 of eoliths, but I find that incidentally he adopts what I have called Hypothesis 3, 

 although without giving any reasons for his belief. 



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