MAN FROM THE FARTHEST PAST 
only fair to say, however, that there has been much 
divergence of opinion among English, French, and Amer- 
ican scientists as to the period to which the Piltdown re- 
mains are to be assigned. But all are agreed that they 
are extremely ancient and date from a very early period in 
the Ice Age, or Pleistocene period, if not indeed from the 
still earlier Pliocene. 
The Piltdown skull is plainly that of an adult, probably 
a female, of over thirty years of age. One of the most 
striking things about it is its extraordinary thickness; its 
walls measure from eight to twelve millimeters, or roughly 
twice the thickness of an average modern European 
skull. 
From the fragments of the cranium, together with the 
portion of the lower jaw and the loose canine, a number of 
prominent authorities have attempted with infinite pains 
to reconstruct the whole skull. The principal efforts of 
this sort are those of Sir A. Smith Woodward, of Dr. Elliot 
Smith, of Sir Arthur Keith, and of J. H. McGregor of 
New York. These reconstructions differ somewhat in size 
and in details, but all agree in regard to certain char- 
acteristics. 
In the opinion of Smith Woodward, a detailed examina- 
tion of the bones of the skull as far as preserved “‘proves 
the typically human character of nearly all the features 
they exhibit.” Keith believes that “except for the thick- 
ness of the skull bones, the head was shaped and balanced 
as in us.” It is a skull that “in its general conformation 
does not differ materially from human skulls of the modern 
type” (Fig: 25): 
The capacity of the skull has been estimated by the 
different authors who attempted its reconstruction as 
follows: 
RECONSTRUCTION APPROXIMATELY 
Second Smith’ Woodward sv... 30.0 ss... 1,300 C.Cc 
Mest Sirah rity eee an a yr Sha 1,200 ¢.c 
Reithgrs..)) daca ea Na sects we Biel mee 1,400 C.c 
