186 HUMAN FOSSILS. m 



" Below the left ridge the bone exhibits an ob- 

 liquely 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 par- 

 ticularly interesting, as it suggests that, notwith- 

 standing 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. 



