504 ANNUAL. REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 



aux-Saints, MM. Capitan and Peyrony discovered in the deposits of 

 la Ferrassie a whole series of skeletons of the same period and no less 

 well preserved ; while not far from there, at La Quina, Dr. H. Martin 

 made similar finds of equal interest. Thanks to all these important 

 discoveries, it has been possible to study the Mousterian man of 

 our country, the Homo neanderthalensis, in as complete a manner as 

 possible, in all parts of his bony framework, which is to-day better 

 known to us than that of many present-day savages. The multi- 

 plicity of discoveries has enabled us to demonstrate the very in- 

 teresting homogeneity of this archaic type. This constitutes a great 

 step forward in the domain of human paleontology, and the mind 

 of the Prince of Monaco was keenly alive to it. 



The first in chronological order of these discoveries, that of the 

 man of La Chapelle-aux-Saints, caused a great stir. After its 

 presentation in purely scientific publications, the press, made it 

 known to the public, which evinced a keen interest in it. At this 

 time innumerable visitors passed through my laboratory in the 

 museum to see the skull which had already become famous, and 

 these visitors came from every social and intellectual class of the 

 capital. The Prince of Monaco himself joined this pilgrimage. 

 He came to see me one summer afternoon. Greatly impressed by the 

 sight of this venerable osteological specimen, he stayed for a long 

 time contemplating it, examining it from all sides, studying the 

 peculiar details of its morphology. Then evening came on; the 

 setting sun flamed beyond the dome of the Pantheon and the more 

 slender silhouettes of the other monuments of Mount Sainte-Gene- 

 vieve. There, in this beautiful setting, the Prince made me a part 

 of a new project which he had been considering for a long time and 

 which he now decided to put into execution. He requested me to 

 prepare for him a plan of organization for an institute of human 

 paleontology. 



His mind had been keenly struck by the contrast presented by 

 the immense interest and the philosophical importance of our 

 studies and the paucity of means of action heretofore put at the 

 service of human paleontology, truly a French science, though 

 almost ignored by the powers that be in the official, academic, and 

 university circles of our country. And in his great generosity he 

 wished to be the Prince Charming to this new Cinderella. He 

 clearly defined his purpose in the first phrase of the letter which 

 he wrote on November 23, 1910, to the Minister of Public Instruc- 

 tion in announcing his intentions : 



" In the course of my busy life," he said, " I have often regretted 

 that in the intellectual movement of our time more prominence has 

 not been given to the study of the mystery which envelops the 



