xxiv. i 3 EARLY HOMINIDS 6 4S 



bipeds, though it has not yet been established that the ilium was 

 placed as in man or that the gluteus medius and minimus acted as 

 abductors, f 



This complicated mixture of human and ape features makes it 

 difficult to assess the correct position of these fossils. They suggest 

 that the upright gait was not necessarily associated with a large brain. 

 Although the skull and dentition have undoubtedly many similarities 

 with those of man there are also great differences, especially in the 

 *Paranthropus type. These points make it doubtful whether the 

 Australopithecines lie close to the direct ancestry of man, which would 

 perhaps be unlikely in any case because of their late date. They may 

 well be descendants of the Pliocene population that gave rise to the 

 true hominids. 



13. Early Hominids, *Pithecanthropus 



Fossil remains that are beyond doubt those of creatures close to 

 man have been found from the first interglacial period of the Pleisto- 

 cene onwards. The most primitive type, ^Pithecanthropus, was first 

 named from fossils found in Java, but similar bones have since been 

 found in China; although named * Sinanthropus by some investigators 

 Pekin man is often included in the same genus as the Java man. These 

 creatures had a long, low brain-case, with low forehead, large brow 

 ridge, and a very thick skull (Fig. 413). The cranial capacity was about 

 900-1,000 c.c, much less than in modern men, but more than in any 

 known ape. The face was rather prognathous, the lower jaw long and 

 strong, but with a receding chin. The teeth were in general of human 

 type, but with large canines in the males. The head must have been 

 quite well balanced on the neck, for the mastoid processes were large. 

 Further evidence that the creature walked erect is found in the straight 

 and very modern femur, but the post-cranial skeleton is not well 

 known. 



The differences between these people and modern man are sufficient 

 to make the use of a separate generic name a convenience, yet they 

 must have been in many ways very like ourselves. There is evidence 

 from the caves of the use of fire and pottery, and also the bones there 

 show clear signs of being broken open for their marrow. There is, 



f The most recent Australopithecine finds have been referred to a separate genus *Zin- 

 janthropus, somewhat similar to *Paranthropus. Its canine teeth are even more human than 

 those of previous finds. Further interesting features are that the fossil was found in 

 association with primitive stone tools (Chellean or pre-Chellean) and finally that the 

 potassium-argon method gives a date of one and three-quarter million years for the stratum. 

 (Leakey 1961.) 



