PREFACE 



In 1914 the writer published a small treatise on " The Most Ancient 

 Skeletal Remains of Man." * The object of the publication was to 

 furnish reliable data, including as far as possible original observations 

 and measurements, on the older and more valuable skeletal remains 

 of man. The scope of the presentation was limited to the remains of 

 human forms that differed substantially from those of the later pre- 

 historic time and those of the present. The demand was such that 

 the edition was soon distributed, and in 1916 the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion reprinted the treatise in nearly the original form. This second 

 edition also was soon exhausted. 



Since 1916 a number of important new discoveries have been made ; 

 moreover, the writer, in the course of several additional trips to 

 Europe, has examined personally, and in some cases repeatedly, the 

 originals of both the older and the more recent discoveries. Also, 

 notwithstanding the fact that many valuable contributions on the sub- 

 ject have appeared in print within the last decade, there is still to date 

 no publication which deals with the ancient skeletal remains of man 

 in any manner approaching completeness. In view of all this, and 

 because of the many requests received for such a publication, it was 

 felt that the preparation of a new and larger work should be under- 

 taken ; and the present volume is the result. 



The principal aim of this book is to furnish accurate and, as far as 

 possible, complete information on the earlier skeletal remains of man. 

 If this object can be achieved, or even closely approached, then the 

 publication should be one of permanent reference value, and further 

 light on the problems involved, including further discoveries, may be 

 dealt with in addenda. 



'Ann. Rep. Smithsonian Inst, for 1913, pp. 491-552, 41 pis., 12 figs., 1914. 



