PHYLOGENY 



Pleistocene, the jaw was modern! Chemical tests showed that it had been 

 stained to simulate a fossil of great age. The teeth showed atypical wear, 

 and microscopic examination revealed file marks. X-rays showed that the 

 roots of the teeth were too long for the crowns, being actually of the size 

 of those of chimpanzees. In short, it was proven that a chimpanzee or 

 orang jaw had been deliberately modified to simulate a transitional stage 

 between ape and man. Thus the Piltdown man was proven to be a very 

 clever fraud. The story of its exposure, principally by K. P. Oakley, J. S. 

 Weiner, and W. E. LeGros Clark, is one of fascinating scientific detective 

 work. 



The Swanscombe Skull. If man was not in England 500,000 years ago, 

 the Swanscombe skull, discovered in 1935, leaves no doubt that he was 

 there 250,000 years ago. This skull consists only of the parietal ( left found 

 in 1935, right in 1955! ) and occipital bones, and is thus very incomplete. 

 It was found in deposits from the second interglacial period in association 

 with crude flint implements and the bones of elephants, rhinoceroses and 

 deer. The size and curvatures of the bones recovered closely resemble 

 those of modern man, but nothing is known of the face, nor of other parts 

 of the skeleton. On the basis of the bones available, one cannot point out 

 significant differences between the Swanscombe man and modern man. 

 But much more evidence is needed before the significance of Swanscombe 

 man can be properly assessed. 



The Steinheim and Galley Hill Skulls. A few more finds consist only 

 of single skulls or parts of skulls. The Steinheim skull was found near a 

 town of that name in Germany in 1933, and it is probably of the same age 

 as the Swanscombe skull. This skull suggests an intermediate between 

 Pithecanthropus and modern man. The general shape of the vault of the 

 skull is more modern, but the capacity is somewhat greater. The eyebrow 

 ridges are still very prominent, but the jaws are less projecting. At Eh- 

 ringsdorf, Germany, a much more advanced skull was found in deposits 

 indicating an age of about 120,000 years. This skull has a very large capac- 

 ity, 1450 cubic centimeters, which is in excess of the average for modern 

 man. On the other hand, the chin was not well developed. Two more skull 

 fragments of very modern appearance, found at Fontechevade, France, 

 in 1947 have been assigned to the third interglacial period. Thus H. Sapi- 

 ens may have been in western Europe 150,000 years ago. The Galley Hill 

 skull, discovered in 1888 in middle Pleistocene deposits of England, shows 

 no simian characteristics whatever, and it has been used to support a claim 

 to the great antiquity of modern man. But many anthropologists are 

 gravely doubtful about the correctness of the dating of tliis skull, and it 

 now appears to he of very much later origin. 



Neanderthal Man. The first human fossil to be found was a skull frag- 

 ment found in a cave at Gibraltar in 1848. The bones of this skull were 

 very thick. The eyebrow ridges were very prominent, the nose was broad, 

 and the jaws were massive. This skull did not attract much attention, but 

 eight years later, a similar skull cap together with a few ribs and limb 

 bones were recovered from a cave in the Neanderthal valley of Germany. 

 The remains became very well known under the name of Homo neander- 



192 



