I2P 



NATURE 



[November 24, 19-to 



•of the Aurignac skull is 54-45- The excessive promin- 

 ■ence of the Neanderthal skull in the frontal region is 

 absent in the Aurignac skull, in which there is no develop- 

 ment of an undivided torus supraorbitalis. Corresponding 

 ■differences between the Aurignac and the Neanderthal 

 skulls are found in the posterior region. The marked 

 separation of the torus occipitalis transversus into a right 

 and left half, which characterises the Neanderthal skull, is 

 ■completely wanting in the Aurignac skull, of which the pos- 

 terior region exhibits a quite remarkable conical extension. 

 'Ihe place corresponding to the transverse inion prominence 

 of the Neanderthal type is occupied by a sharp transverse 

 ridge. The region of the planum nuchale lying below this 

 shows a slightly hollowed surface. 



\i\ adults of primitive types of men, the sinus trans- 

 versus does not coincide with the linea nuchae superior, 

 as in modern Europeans. This condition is found both 

 in the Neanderthal and in the Aurignac skull ; it is, how- 

 ever, not to be regarded as evidence of an affinity between 

 these two races, but merely as a character preserved from 

 a common primitive condition. 



In the temporal bone there is, in the case of the 

 Aurignac man, a considerable protuberance of the conical- 

 shaped mastoid, which contrasts strongly with the broad, 

 (ow mastoid of the Neanderthal skull. 



The cavity for the origin of the posterior belly of the 

 digastric muscle is, in the case of the Neanderthal skulls 



vergence phenomenon. It is to be regarded as such be- 

 cause It is essentially a superficial resemblance, and 

 exhibits great differences in its mode of origin Fo- 



, - , -- origin. Eor 



example, the temporal muscles have left their impriir 

 on quite different parts of the sides of the skull, from 

 which It IS to b? inferred that before the beginning of 

 this process the two skull forms were undoubfedlv 

 different, the orang having a higher forehead and a 

 smaller supraorbital prominence than the gorilla 



On the other hand, Klaatsch finds in the ratio of the 

 longitudinal and transverse diameters of the head of tho 

 humerus a morphological character which is important 

 for the determination of affinities. We can here select 

 only a few of the numerous details which serve as 

 vouchers for the affinity between the orang and th^ 

 Aurignac man on one hand, and between the gorill.i 

 and the Neanderthal man on the other. 



The spina tuberculi maioris and the sulcus inter- 

 tubcrcularis of the humerus in the case of Aurignac man 

 and the orang run almost straight down, while in the 

 case of Neanderthal man and the gorilla thev both describe 

 a medial convex curve. The peculiar rough insertion of 

 he pectoral muscle is common to the Neanderthal and 

 the gorilla. ^On the tibia, the relief of the posterior 

 the malleolus— the grooves for the flexor 



surface of 



NeamUrthaL ^"T^"^' 



Macro - 

 Jiegroids 



AICA 



\ 

 {Jorilloids 



Gorilla 



PUhecanJhropus 



South Sea 

 :»' islanders 



Vropiihecunttirop 



Tasmcuti/tns 



^Spy, Moustier), wide and fiat, and makes its appearance 

 behind the mastoid. In the Aurignac skull the digastric 

 groove is narrow and slight. 



The tympanicum is, in the Aurignac skull, of remark- 

 able delicacy, but is of considerable thickness both in the 

 Moustier and Spy remains (Neanderthal type). 



The formation of the facial bones also shows quite 

 fundamental differences in the two types. 



A fuller discussion of the anatomical details of the 

 *:keletons is outside the scope of a short article, and for 

 this the reader is referred, especially as regards the 

 anatomy of the extremities, to the original memoir. 



The second memoir lays claim to the widest interest, 

 especially as regards its conclusions about the general 

 biology of man, and promises to open up new paths for 

 the stiudy of the morphological details of the skeletons of 

 the primates. A series of special morphological results 

 leads to th* discovery of a parallel between the differ- 

 ences of the Aurignac and Neanderthal men, and the 

 differences of the gorilla £::d orang-utan. 



These considerations demand especially a rigid separa- 

 tion of accidental convergence phenomena from such 

 characteristics of morphological details which must have 

 been conserved by heredity alone, since they have no 

 demonstrable connection with functional adaptations. 



The external resemblance of the orang, of the gorilla, 

 and of man in the sagittal and occipital crests is a con- 



NO. 2143, VOL. 85] 



muscles-is deeper in the case of the orang than in the 

 case of the gorilla; the same distinction holds between 

 the Aurignac and the Neanderthal. On 

 the femur, the trochanter minor in the 

 case of the Neanderthal and gorilla is 

 further down the shaft, and projects 

 more inwards, while in the case of the 

 .'Xurignac and the orang it projects 

 backwards. The .Aurignac-orang type 

 exhibits also in the distal part a dis- 

 tinctly projecting, obliquely descending, 

 crista intertrochanterica ; in the 

 Neanderthal-gorilla type there occurs 

 that weakening of the ridge above the 

 trochanter minor to which Klaatsch 

 has already directed attention in the 

 Neanderthal femur. 



The shaft of the Aurignac femur is 

 remarkable for its extraordinary 

 straightness, and we find the same 

 character in general with the orang. 

 In contradistinction to this is the for- 

 ward convex bend of the Neanderthal 

 and gorilla femurs. 



Klaatsch supports his theory by 

 many more morphological details. Of 

 special interest are the congruence 

 phenomena which are shown by the 

 curve diagrams of the tibia to exist 

 between Aurignac and the orang and the gorilla and 

 Neanderthal, as well as the similarity of the shaft pro- 

 portions of the tibia of Spy and the gorilla. 



All these details show that there exists an affinity in 

 important morphological details between the Aurignac man 

 and the orang-utan and between the Neanderthal man 

 and the gorilla, and that this does not rest only on the 

 general impression produced by the graceful and slender 

 appearance of many of the parts of the orang and 

 Aurignac as contrasted with the rough and thick-set build 

 of the gorilla and Neanderthal. 



These considerations unfold to us promising views of 

 the coming problems of anthropology, and throw new 

 light on our present conceptions of the phylogeny of the 

 human race. From a study of the osteological details 

 we are driven to the conclusion that at a very early epoch 

 there branched off from the primeval common mass of 

 our forerunners — Propithecanthropi, as Klaatsch calls 

 them — a great western stream and a great eastern stream. 

 Inside each of these groups new segregations occurred 

 which led partly to the formation of races of anthropoid 

 apes and partly to the formation of races of men. 



The anthropoid apes are to be regarded as representing 

 the unsuccessful attempts and dashes forward towards the 

 goal of the definite creation of the human racei — sub- 

 merged branches of the primeval humanity which, in 

 adapting themselves to special conditions of life, were 



