84 NEANDERTHAL SKULL. CHAP. v. 



and so far from any part of the occipital region extending beyond 

 it, this region of the skull slopes obliquely upward and forward, so 

 that the lambdoidal suture is situated well upon the upper surface 

 of the cranium. At the same time, notwithstanding the great length 

 of the skull, the sagittal suture is remarkably short (41 inches), and 

 the squamosal suture is very straight. 



* In human skulls, the superior curved ridge of the occipital bone 

 and the occipital protuberance correspond, approximative^, with 

 the level of the tentorium and with the lateral sinuses, and con 

 sequently with the inferior limit of the posterior lobes of the brain. 

 At first, I found some difficulty in believing that a human brain 

 could have its posterior lobes so flattened and diminished as must 

 have been the case in the Neanderthal man, supposing the ordi 

 nary relation to obtain between the superior occipital ridges and the 

 tentorium; but on my application, through Sir Charles Lyell, 

 Dr. Fuhlrott, the possessor of the skull, was good enough not only to 

 ascertain the existence of the lateral sinuses in their ordinary posi 

 tion, but to send convincing proofs of the fact, in excellent photo 

 graphic views of the interior of the skull, exhibiting clear indications 

 of these sinuses. 



' There can be no doubt that, as Professor Schaaffhausen and 

 Mr. Busk have stated, this skull is the most brutal of all known 

 human skulls, resembling those of the apes not only in the prodigious 

 development of the superciliary prominences and the forward ex 

 tension of the orbits, but still more in the depressed form of the 

 brain-case, in the straightness of the squamosal suture, and in 

 the complete retreat of the occiput forward and upward, from the 

 superior occipital ridges. 



' But the cranium, in its present condition, is stated by Professor 

 Schaaffhausen to contain 1033'24 cubic centimeters of water, or, in 

 other words, about 63 English cubic inches. As the entire skull could 

 hardly have held less than 12 cubic inches more, its minimum 

 capacity may be estimated at 75 cubic inches. The most capacious 

 healthy European skull yet measured had a capacity of 114 cubic 

 inches, the smallest (as estimated by weight of brain) about 55 

 cubic inches, while, according to Professor Schaaffhausen, some 

 Hindoo skulls have as small a capacity as about 46 cubic inches 

 (27 oz. of water). The largest cranium of any Gorilla yet measured 

 contained 34' 5 cubic inches. The Neanderthal cranium stands, 

 therefore, in capacity, very nearly on a level with the mean of the 

 two human extremes, and very far above the pithecoid maximum. 



( Hence, even in the absence of the bones of the arm and thigh, 



