i 4 8 PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 



as the Tertiary ungulates of North America. Consequently, an ideal long cherished by 

 students of human palaeontology seems to approach the point of realisation. 



The new discoveries present still another feature of note, viz. the completeness 

 and precision of information in regard to their position and surroundings when first 

 exposed. In this respect also they far surpass the earlier examples, and their value 

 in evidence is enhanced correspondingly. 



From all this it results that the type of the Neanderthal man is now recognised as 

 distinct, if not literally " specific;" in point of duration this type is shown to be re- 

 markably limited, for it is especially characteristic of the period known as the " middle 

 Palaeolithic " one. Up to December 1912 no definite evidence was on record to show 

 that this type as such was present either, before or after that division of the Palaeolithic 

 period. Although distinguished thus, the type of Homo primigenius is quite definitely 

 human, and the problems of its precise relations to other human types, and of its origin 

 and evolution, still remain to be solved. 



2. Significance of the Mauer and Trinil Discoveries. In relation to the whole 

 question of the evolution of man, the Mauer jaw, together with the Trinil fossils, 

 stands in a distinct category and transcends in value all other known.relics of the kind. 

 It will suffice here to recall the general result of the discussions raised by its discovery 

 and by its anatomical conformation. The title of Homo heidelbergensis, conferred on 

 the skeleton by its discoverer, indicates that on the whole it approaches the human 

 rather than the simian type. Yet the precise relation of H. heidelbergensis to H. 

 primigenius and //. sapiens is still an open question. Most probably we have to deal 

 here with an example of a collateral stock, but it is fair to regard the jaw as a piece 

 of material evidence as to the conformation of an early human ancestor. 



On the assumption that the Hominidae and the Simiidae (anthropoid apes) are 

 derived from a common ancestral stock, the particular ancestor indicated by the Mauer 

 jaw should be placed close to the point at which the human line (or lines) diverged 

 from the simian line of descent. But the expression " close to " needs further qualifica- 

 tion, for even thus three possibilities are evidently open, and all conform to that descrip- 

 tion. In fact, the exact point in question might be, (a) on the undivided line before 

 the point of division, (b) on the simian line of descent, (c) on the human line of descent. 

 The evidence of the Mauer jaw indicates a stage on the human side of the point of 

 divergence, i.e. the position described here as (c). 



We come now to the problem of the relation of Homo heidelbergensis (Mauer) to 

 Pithecanthropus, the famous fossil specimen from Trinil in Java. The latter is to be 

 regarded "like wise as indicating the former existence and the osteological characters 

 of another ancestral stage in human evolution. And like Homo heidelbergensis, again 

 the Javanese form suggests a stage close to the parting of the ways just mentioned. 

 No strong osteolcgical evidence forbids the close association of the Mauer fossil with 

 those of Trinil. But a difference is claimed to exist in the geological horizons of the 

 respective deposits which yielded the specimens. In any case the difference is not 

 very great; the recent work 1 of the Selenka expedition to Trinil tends to reduce the 

 interval, and further research may show that the geological evidence is less decisive 

 than would appear on the claims now made for it. 



The report of the Selenka Trinil-Expedition records also the finding of a tooth of 

 human aspect, said to be derived from a geological deposit more ancient still than that 

 which yielded the remains of Pithecanthropus. The discovery is thus of the highest 

 importance; for if this claim is substantiated, it would appear that a fully-evolved 

 human being existed in Java before Pithecanthropus. The tooth from Sonde (a 

 locality not far from Trinil) challenges therefore the most searching criticism. If 

 this be applied, the evidence will be found lacking in completeness, so that no firm or 

 final conclusions can be based upon the specimen. 



3. Results as Regards the Antiquity of Man. One general result of all the discoveries 

 is to strengthen the demand made in certain quarters for increasing the antiquity of 



1 Selenka, Die Pithecanthropus-Schichten auf Java, 1911. 



