THE SKELETON 



51 



FIG. 33. SKULL OF A CHILD SEVEN YEARS OLD. 

 (One-third natural size.) 



rounded or oval bony case, which contrasts strongly with the 

 incomparably smaller one of the Orang (Fig. 36) and Gorilla, with 

 their enormous external 

 ridges and protuberances. 

 These latter animals, like 

 all the Anthropoids, differ 

 from Man in the great 

 development of the face, 

 and especially of the jaws, 

 which in Man are sub- 

 ordinate to the cranium. 

 If, however, young stages 

 of the Anthropoid are com- 

 pared (Fig. 35), this dis- 

 tinction becomes less strik- 

 ing; for, as is well known, 

 not only the whole head 

 but the features of the young Ape bear a decided resemblance to 

 those of the human foetus. Indeed, it is certain that the diverg- 

 ence begins after birth, the characteristics of each type becoming 

 more and more marked as age advances (cf. Figs. 35 and 36). 



The chief cause 

 of the distinction 

 clearly lies in the 

 greater_ development 

 of the human brain. 

 In the higher Verte- 

 brates the brain must 

 be regarded as the 

 dominant organ of 

 the head; and in 

 Man it continues to 

 grow even into the 

 prime of life, the 

 cranial capacity at- 

 tained reaching in 

 the male Caucasian 

 an average of 1500 cubic cm., and the brain a weight of from 

 1375 to 1400 gr. 



With regard to the cranial capacity of the lower races of man- 

 kind, observations made by the cousins Sarasin on the Veddahs 

 of Ceylon are of special interest. In them, not merely the skull 



FIG. 34. SKULL OF AN AUSTRALIAN FROM THE MURRAY 

 RIVER. (One-third natural size.) 



