THE TEETH OF PRIMATES. 417 



Some exception must however be taken to such general 

 statements : thus the Esquimaux not uncommonly have the 

 wisdom teeth small and sometimes crowded out of place ; 

 and amongst the African races instances on the one hand of 

 the wisdom teeth being small, and on the other, of fourth 

 true molars existing, are to be met with. 



Nevertheless, for the present, a case in which the wisdom 

 teeth are very small can hardly be called a typical well-de- 

 veloped European mouth. 



In many low races (Bosjesman, Negro, Australian, New 

 Caledonian, Caffir) the second lower molar has five cusps, 

 just like the first : this is so in the anthropoid apes, but in 

 European races the fifth cusp is generally wanting in the 

 second lower molar. 



It is not a little interesting thus to find that the differ- 

 ences which serve to distinguish the teeth of the lowest 

 savage from those of an European, are to a certain extent the 

 same with those that mark the step from a Quadrumanal to 

 a human dentition, though of course the divergence of the 

 dentition of the savage from that of the ape is far greater 

 than is that of the European from the lowest savage. 



It is very possible that the larger development of the 

 jaws of the savage may be simply due to the harder work to 

 which they are put while he is growing up. And after the 

 attainment of adult proportions, the teeth of such a man 

 become greatly worn down by reason of the hard and often 

 gritty nature of his food. 



It was pointed out by Mr. Mummery, in a very instructive 

 paper (" Transactions of the Odontological Society," vol. iL^ 

 new series, 1869), that destructive wearing down of the 

 teeth was of very common occurrence amongst rude ( ! ) races, 

 while the contrary is true of highly Civilised races ; this was 



(*) To those races mentioned by Mr. Mummery may be added the 

 mound builders of North America, whose teeth were always worn down to 

 an excessive extent. 



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