536 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 31 



circumstances under which the fossils were deposited differs from 

 those revealed in Java and in Sussex respectively. The remains of 

 the Peking man were not deposited by running water in river 

 gravels, but left by their original owners on the floor of a cave of 

 Ordovician limestone where they and a large series of mammals dwelt 

 in Early Pleistocene times. Hence the geological age is certain. 

 The elements of doubt which arise in the case of Pithecanthropus and 

 Eoanthro'pus do not arise in the case of Sinanthropus. 



Nearly 30 years ago Doctor Haberer purchased in a druggist's 

 shop in Peking a collection of " dragon's bones " which he sent to 

 Prof. Max Schlosser in the University of Munich. Shortly after- 

 wards, in 1903, Professor Schlosser published (in Abh. konigl. Ba- 

 yerisch-Akad., Wiss. Math. Phys. KL, vol. 22, pp. 20-21, 1903) a mem- 

 oir under the title " Die fossilen Siiugethiere Chinas nebst einer Od- 

 ontographie der recenten Antilopen," giving his identifications of the 

 series of fossil remains he was able to recognize among this collec- 

 tion of Chinese drugs. On pages 20 and 21 of this memoir there is 

 a section called " The Description of the Primate Types," which is 

 of such exceptional interest and importance that I shall translate 

 that portion of the description which is defined as " ? Anthropoide 

 g. n. et sp. ind." ? In his account Professor Schlosser says, " In the 

 collection recently sent by Doctor Haberer from Peking there was 

 a left upper third molar, either of a man or a hitherto unknown 

 anthroj)oid ape. This tooth is completely fossilized and is quite 

 opaque. Moreover it exhibits between its roots a reddish clay such 

 as is found only in teeth which belong to the Tertiary period and 

 are earlier than the loess. Hence it is probable that a Tertiary age 

 should be ascribed to the specimen. Unfortunately the tooth is al- 

 ready much damaged and its surface corroded by the roots of plants, 

 so that the original appearance of its surface can not be accurately 

 determined." After giving an account of the position of the various 

 projections on the surface of the crown in comparison with other 

 teeth, and describing the form of the body of the tooth and its 

 roots with their respective measurements. Professor Schlosser pro- 

 ceeds to consider how to determine the zoological status of the orig- 

 inal possessor of the tooth. The form of the tooth and morphology 

 of the roots are distinctly manlike. On the other hand the state of 

 preservation of the tooth makes it clear that it is of remote antiquity, 

 possibly as old as the Tertiary period, which suggests the improb- 

 ability of it belonging to the genus Homo. 



In fact the Tertiary existence of any type of man is not yet 

 established. Hence the possibility has to be considered whether 

 this tooth may belong to a hitherto unknown genus of anthro- 

 poid ape, which in the structure of its teeth approached more 



