vii THE ANTIQUITY AND ORIGIN OF MAN 421 



1. The most important difference between man and such 

 of the lower animals as most nearly approach him is un- 

 doubtedly in the bulk and development of his brain, as 

 indicated by the form and capacity of the cranium. We 

 should therefore anticipate that these earliest races, who were 

 contemporary with the extinct animals and used rude stone 

 weapons, would show a marked deficiency in this respect. 

 Yet the oldest known crania (those of the Engis and Cro- 

 Magnon caves) show no marks of degradation. The former 

 does not present so low a type as that of most existing 

 savages, but is (to use the words of Professor Huxley) "a 

 fair average human skull, which might have belonged to a 

 philosopher, or might have contained the thoughtless brains 

 of a savage." The latter are still more remarkable, being 

 unusually large and well-formed. Dr. Pruner-Bey states that 

 they surpass the average of modern European skulls in 

 capacity, while their symmetrical form, without any trace 

 of prognathism, compares favourably not only with those of 

 the foremost savage races, but with many civilised nations 

 of modern times. 



One or two other crania of much lower type, but of less 

 antiquity than this, have been discovered; but they in no 

 way invalidate the conclusion which so highly developed a 

 form at so early a period implies, viz. that we have as yet 

 made a hardly perceptible step towards the discovery of any 

 earlier stage in the development of man. 



2. This conclusion is supported and enforced by the 

 nature of many of the works of art found even in the oldest 

 cave-dwellings. The flints are of the old chipped type, but 

 they are formed into a large variety of tools and weapons 

 such as scrapers, awls, hammers, saws, lances, etc., implying 

 a variety of purposes for which these were used, and a 

 corresponding degree of mental activity and civilisation. 

 Numerous articles of bone have also been found, including 

 well- formed needles ; implying that skins were sewn together, 

 and perhaps even textile materials woven into cloth. Still 

 more important are the numerous carvings and drawings 

 representing a variety of animals, including horses, reindeer, 

 and even a mammoth, executed with considerable skill on 

 bone, reindeer- horns, and mammoth -tusks. These, taken 



