WHOLE VOL. SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN HRDLICKA 3 



problem of the chronological identification of human remains by- 

 means of the remains of the extinct animal forms has become, in 

 many cases, a matter for highly expert knowledge and most careful 

 consideration. One of the most common and serious errors in this 

 connection is to regard the skeletal remains of man in the same light 

 as his cultural objects. The animal remains have frequently a decisive 

 voice in the dating of a deposit. They are of similar value in dating 

 the cultural remains of man, except those that may have been buried 

 with a body. But their value becomes very uncertain when they are 

 called upon to date the bones of man himself, for the reason that, 

 since later Neanderthal times at least, man has interred his dead, 

 burying the bodies from two to four feet, or even deeper, in the 

 ground. In this manner human bones in many cases may have been 

 brought artificially into contact with older deposits and into associa- 

 tion with older remains of animals. This important factor, simple as 

 it is, is commonly forgotten by both the paleontologist and the pre- 

 historian. 



So far as the skeletal remains of early man are concerned, science 

 is now rich beyond the most sanguine expectations of the earlier 

 students of ancient man, and the material is of very great scientific 

 value. But there are still many important gaps ; there are many 

 secondary and yet important problems to be solved ; and there are 

 numerous uncertainties about some of the individual remains; all of 

 which intensifies greatly the need of more discoveries of skeletal 

 material, particularly from the earlier periods of man's existence. 



The present volume will be devoted essentially to the object of 

 giving the original accounts and the most reliable information in 

 general, on the skeletal remains of early man. These are without 

 question the most important objects for the student of man's 

 dififerentiation. 



In every case to be dealt with, the remains have been seen personally 

 and repeatedly by the author. Original measurements were taken by 

 modern and well-tested instruments, and the site of their discovery 

 was in each case visited and examined. A number of these precious 

 remains, as well as the sites from which they came, were reexamined 

 by the author as late as the autumn of 1927. 



The accounts to be given are intended to be fairly impersonal. 

 There will be no theory to defend, no side to be taken in any con- 

 troversy, though there may be suggestions where justified by the 

 general acquanitance with the field and perhaps by the better per- 

 spective of one who is not involved in any individual finds or opinions. 



In connection with his visits and studies the author has become 

 greatly indebted to a large number of eminent friends, to whom a 



