WHOLE VOL, SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN HRDLICKA 285 



the wild animals, there remain besides the skull only the hardest parts 

 of the long bones of the adults, while adolescents and especially chil- 

 dren disapi^ear entirely. Also if the bodies had been thrown out they 

 would not have been torn to pieces on the spot, within a few yards of 

 the habitations, but would have l>een dragged to a safe distance. 

 Besides which, it is inconceivable that human beings with such brains 

 as already possessed by the Neanderthalers would simply throw out 

 the bodies of their dead in front of their habitations and leave them 

 there with all the consequences. 



Taking everything into consideration it seems more likely that the 

 human skeletal remains at La Quina are those of regular inhumations. 

 The idea that an intentional burial must leave forever a discernible 

 trace of the disturbance is not sustainable. It is found time and again 

 with Indian burials that no such disturbance can be perceived. It is 

 well to recall that the bodies are covered with the same substances 

 that have been excavated from the fossa into which they were laid ; 

 and that through rains and other causes there takes place in the course 

 of time a packing which quite equals that of the original deposits, and 

 which, unless there was a penetration of a very definite layer of sharp 

 sand or gravel, leaves eventually no indications. How true all this is 

 may be appreciated from a reflection of what happens with the body 

 itself. The decay of the soft parts diminishes greatly its volume. It 

 also means the presence of a great quantity of organic materials. Yet 

 all this invariably disappears in old graves and the bones become 

 thoroughly enveloped in whatever materials were originally above and 

 about them. There are, moreover, very strong indications of inten- 

 tional burials in most if not all the other cases of Neanderthal 

 skeletons. 



OBSERVATIONS ON THE SKULLS AND JAWS 



(Hrdlicka) 



Very detailed and excellent descriptions of the La Quina skulls 

 and jaws are given in his publications by Dr. Henri Martin. If the 

 writer prefers to give in this place his individual observations it is 

 for the sake of greater uniformity with the remaining reports in 

 this treatise, all of which are in large measure from his original 

 observations. 



THE ADULT SKULL 



The vault. — The skull places itself clearly, by all its characteristics, 

 within the range of the Neanderthal type. At the same time the 

 specimen has not a little of individuality ; some of its features are 

 very primitive and in some respects the specimen is quite puzzling. 



