90 Original Articles, [Jan. 
and the occipital—including the additamentum, is well marked ; the 
sagittal suture—or joining of the parictals in the medio-longitudinal 
line of the skull—is obscure ; while the coronal suture—or joining of 
the frontal and parietals in front of, and at right angles to the last- 
named suture—is but faintly marked at the crown and obliterated at 
the sides. The bounding line of the temporal muscles (situated on 
each side of the skull in front of, and above the ear) is tolerably well 
defined. 
In general terms, the Neanderthal skull is of an elongated oval 
form, with a basal outline bearing much resemblance to that of the 
Negro cranium represented by Martin.* It is of large size, being 
about an inch longer than ordinary British skulls; in width, however, 
it does not much exceed them, The forehead, uncommonly low and 
retreating, terminates in front by enormously projecting brow or super- 
ciliary ridges, which, besides being very thick, slightly rounded on 
their anterior aspect, and rather strongly arched above the eye-sockets, 
extend uninterruptedly across from one side to the other. The outer 
orbital processes—or horns of the brow-ridges—are also unduly 
developed; being thick and projecting. On the whole, there is a 
remarkable absence of those contours and proportions which prevail 
in the forehead of our species; and few can refuse to admit that the 
deficiency more closely approximates the Neanderthal fossil to the 
anthropoid apes than to Homo sapiens. 
The greatest width of the skull is towards its posterior part, and on - 
a level not much higher than the mammillary region—a character 
which is essentially pithecoid or simial. In human skulls, the greatest 
width is considerably higher—usually on a line connecting the centres 
of ossification of the parietals:+ on the contrary, the Neanderthal 
cranium, like that of the Chimpanzee, is without any particular pro- 
minency where those centres may be assumed to be situated. 
In addition to possessing a low retreating forehead, the fossil skull 
is remarkably flattened at the vertex, which, according to Huxley, rises 
about 3:4 inches only above what is called the glabello-occipital 
plane :{ in Man, the corresponding part is generally about an inch 
higher. From the vertex there is a slightly curving fall both towards 
the front and the back, ending in the former direction at the origin of 
the brow-ridges, and in the latter, at the occipital tubercle. The curvin 
is more rounded and regular on the anterior half—particularly at the 
upper portion of the brow, which, in consequence, is somewhat pro- 
minent—than on the posterior half: on the latter, there is a slight 
depression just above the apex of the lambdoidal suture. The pos- 
terior fall of the Neanderthal skull, as a peculiarity, was first pointed 
out by Huxley, who remarks that “ the occipital region slopes obliquely 
upward and forward, so that the lambdoidal suture is situated well 
upon the upper surface of the cranium:” in other words, when the 
glabello-occipital plane is made horizontal, the apex of the lambdoidal 
suture is decidedly in front of the posterior tubercle. In ordinary 
* «Natural History of Man and Monkeys,’ Fig. 182, p. 120. 
+ Plate IL. Fig. 5, b. 
t See Plate I. Fig. 1, A A. 
