576 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



the face is probably the largest ever seen in man, and at first 

 sight appears astonishingly ape-like. The inflation of the bone 

 of the brow produces supraorbital ridges almost as stout as 

 those of a gorilla, only partly divided in the middle of the 

 forehead and somewhat less produced at the lateral angles. 

 The ridges overhang immense quadrangular orbits, and the 

 ape-like aspect is further increased below the eyes by the 

 inflation of the maxillary bones, which in ordinary man are 

 indented. The great length (or depth) of the face below the 

 eyes is also striking, for it is nearly as long as that of a gorilla. 

 The opening of the nose, however, is placed and shaped 

 exactly as in man, and the nasal bones roofing the cavity are 

 entirely human. Except that there is no indent at the upper 

 end of the nasal bones where their gently curved surface passes 

 gradually into that of the brow-ridges, the whole arrangement 

 is indeed very similar to the corresponding region of an ordinary 

 modern Australian skull. The essentially human inferior nasal 

 spine occurs at the middle of the lower border of the nasal 

 opening, and the floor of the nasal cavity passes uninterruptedly 

 outwards into the plane of the face, while the sharp lateral 

 edges of the opening are continued slightly downwards on the 

 face, exactly as in the Australian. 



The large face of Rhodesian Man, as thus described, finds no 

 parallel even in the lowest existing races of men. It is only 

 comparable with the face of the extinct Neanderthal or Mous- 

 terian Man, which is also remarkably large and retains the 

 inflated brow-ridges and maxillary bones as an inheritance 

 from ape-like ancestors. The geological age of Neanderthal 

 Man is known, for his remains are found in the caves of Western 

 Europe definitely associated with those of the mammoth, 

 reindeer, w^oolly rhinoceros, and other animals which lived in 

 this part of the world during the middle of the Pleistocene 

 period. If, therefore, we can determine whether the face of 

 Rhodesian Man is intermediate between that of Neanderthal 

 Man and the ancestral apes, or whether it is of a more advanced 

 form, we find compensation for the lack of clear geological 

 evidence in the Broken Hill cave and are able to infer the relative 

 age of the new Rhodesian species. 



A student of fossils turning to this problem will bear in 

 mind two general principles which seem to be now well estab- 

 lished. He will remember that, when a race of animals begins 

 to develop skeletal excrescences, it has reached the end of its 

 course and will not give rise to any higher race. He will also 

 remember that when, during the progress of evolution, a part 

 becomes reduced in size and then enlarges again, this secondary 

 enlargement will generally be on a new plan, not a mere reversion 

 to the old pattern. A student of apes and monkeys will also 



