206 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 83 



The human hones are, for the most part, in pieces. Notwithstand- 

 ing their defective condition, however, the collection impresses the 

 student forcibly by its scientific importance. As in the case of the 

 Mauer jaw, the Neanderthal skeleton, and the other specimens de- 

 rived from early man in Europe, the material bears the unmistakable 

 stamp of genuineness and preciousness to anthropology, impressions 

 which are wanting in later remains and in the case of finds that are 

 merely urged as amcient. 



The bones represent, as already mentioned, the remains of at least 

 20 individuals of both sexes, ranging from childhood to ripe adult 

 age. The fragmentation of the skulls (pis. 47-55) lower jaws and 

 some of the long bones is excessive, and of such a nature as strongly 

 to suggest that it was caused otherwise than by accidental breaking 

 or crushing. A number of the fragments show also the effects of 

 burning, and one specimen, a portion of the supraorbital part of a 

 frontal, presents some cuts. These different conditions, together with 

 the absence of many parts of the skulls and bones, with a total lack 

 of association of the fragments and the commingling of the human 

 with the animal bones, led Gorjanovic-Kramberger to the opinion, 

 now generally shared, that the remains represent the leavings of 

 occasional cannibalistic feasts and are not burials. 



The Krapina bones are whitish, yellowish, or light brownish in 

 color. They are not of great weight, but a chemical examination has 

 shown that they are much altered in constitution, particularly in the 

 fluorine-phosphates proportions. 



The long and other bones of the skeleton show the Krapina man 

 to have been, as compared with central European white man of today, 

 of moderate stature and of strong, though, except for the powerful 

 jaws, not excessive muscular development. Some individuals were 

 very perceptibly weaker than others. As to form, particularly in the 

 upper extremities, the bones in general are perceptibly more modern 

 in type than those of the Neanderthal or Spy man, nevertheless they 

 present, as well shown by Professor Gorjanovic-Kramberger, numer- 

 ous and important primitive features. 



The fragments of the skulls show that the bones of the vault were 

 more or less thicker than they are in the white man of today. The 

 crania were of good size externally, but the brain cavities were 

 probably below the present average. The vault of the skull was of 

 good length and at the same time fairly broad, so that the cephalic 

 index, at least in some of the individuals, was more elevated than 

 is usual in the crania of early man. They were also characterized, 



