THE BRAIN Oi PREHISTORIC MAN yj i 



tluir |)rc'\ . There is even some remote suspicion that the human remains may 

 have come to tlieu' last restmg place in the Bone Cave in a snnilai' manner. A 

 elelt in the rool of tlie cave near its lar end, where a human skull was clis- 

 eo\erecl, suggests the possibilitx that the men or women whose hones were 

 found may ha\x' lalh'ii into the ea\'ern m relatively recent times. 



Three important details usuall\- liel|)lul in the chronological assignment 

 of human lossils were wanting in connection with tlu"si' Rhodesian rt-lics: 

 ( i) the actual iossilization ol the bones; (2) the ])resence ol t'\tinct mammals 

 or otiier ammals; 1:;) tlu' existe'nce o( stratiligraphic identiiieations. No 

 inh'reiK'i' may \)v draw n concerning the exact natuix' ol this human cU'posi- 

 tory. It may ha\-e been either accidental or the result ol a buna! ceremony. 

 I'urt lu'rmore, little exidenci', such as tlu' collateral discovery ol paleolithic 

 impK'meiits, ma\ be adduced to shi'd light on the antic|uit\ ol tlu' Rhodesian 

 man. ^ et, certain leatures, especiall\ ot the skull, ha\e convinced eminent 

 authoritus ol the great age and specilicit\' ol this race. Elliot Smith, lor 

 example, belie\es that the Rhodesian man is "a long lost and strangelx 

 exotic cousin" ol tlu' human lamily circle. He bases his opinion on the 

 striking peculiarities ol the Rhodesian lace w hich lie calls the most primitive in 

 id I the genus Homo. This lace isalsomorcdjrutal than t hat ol au\ know n human 

 being, living or extinct. Its enormous exebrow ridges are bigger e\en than 

 those oi the most archaic human, the Ja\an a|:)e-man, and recall the condi- 

 tions seen m gorilla. There is no indication ol a groove at the side ol the nose 

 marking the boundary between it and the lace, such as is constant in all 

 races ol mockan man, even m the Negro, Mongol and Australian types. The 

 merging ol the nose with the lace to form what m other animals is called a 

 snout and regarded as a peculiarly signilicant mark ol the beast is known only 

 III one otht'r extinct member of the human lamilx, i.e.. Neanderthal man. But 

 the I^hodesian's nose is e\'en more apt'-like than that ol the Neanderthal. 

 .Another remarkal)le leature ol the facial skt'leton is the <M"eat size ol the 



