114 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.83 



color to the skull, the other is distinct.' The male femur is in two 

 parts, with the middle portion missing ; the breaks are old and both 

 fragments show superficial slivering from knocks. 



The writer feels strongly that these bones should not be associated 

 with the Rhodesian skull. They are all in every respect of modern 

 form and size. They may belong to the contents of other parts of the 

 cave, or at least to entirely different human beings. All, with the 

 exception of the tibia, show old breaks, which may be an indication 

 of cannibalism. At least it may be said that it would be unsafe, before 

 further evidence may throw more light upon the matter, to build on 

 the basis of these bones any conclusions as to the skeletal characters 

 of the original owner of the Rhodesian skull. 



As to studies of the Rhodesian remains, Dr. A. Smith Wood- 

 ward gave two preliminary notices of the find," and notes on the 

 skull were published later by Eugene Dubois,' Sera,* Martin," Ham- 



^ In this connection the writer is glad to print the following letter referring 

 to something that may, but apparently does not wholly, account for the differ- 

 ences in color and consistency of the bones (particularly one of the femurs) in 

 question : 



Department of Geology, British Museum (Natural History), 



2 March, 1926. 

 Dear Dr. Hrdlicka : 



I have just had occasion to read your letter of the 12th November, 1925, ad- 

 dressed to Dr. Bather. In it you state that the skeletal remains from Broken 

 Hill differ from the skull and from each other in colour and state of mineralisa- 

 tion. May I point out that this is not really the case, and that the reason for 

 varying colour is a difference in method of treatment by the preparators? The 

 skull was painted over with a thin solution of shellac soon after it was received 

 here; this darkened the colour a little. The remainder of the bones, with the 

 exception of the two innominates, were soaked in " wulfite " about 12 months 

 ago. This caused the dark colour and also increased the weight very considerably. 

 The innominates have not been treated in any way ; they represent the original 

 condition of all the others. 



Yours truly, 



(Signed) Arthur T. Hopwood. 



^ Woodward, Arthur Smith, A New Cave Man from Rhodesia, South Africa. 

 Nature, Vol. 108, pp. 371-372, 1921; The Problem of the Rhodesian Fossil Man. 

 Sci. Progress, Vol. 16, pp. 574-579, 1922. 



•* Dubois, Eugene, On the Cranial Form of Hnmo ncandcrthalcnsis and of 

 Pithecanthropus ercctus Determined by Mechanical Factors. Konink. Akad. 

 Wetensch. Amsterdam, Vol. 24, pp. 313-332, 1922. 



"Sera, G. L., Rivista di Biologia, Vol. 4, p. 2, 1922. 



" Martin, R., Der neue Schadelfund von Rhodesia. Mannus, Z. f. Vorgeschr., 

 1922. 



