190 FOSSIL MEN. 



the real meaning of the enormous strength of the 

 thigh-bone, and the flattened condition of the leg in 

 this and other old skeletons. It occurs to some 

 extent, though much less than in this old man, in 

 American skeletons. His skull presents all the cha- 

 racters of advanced age, though the teeth had been 

 worn down to the sockets without being lost, which 

 again is the character of some, though not of all, 

 aged Indian skulls. The skull proper, or brain-case, 

 is very long, more so than in ordinary modern skulls, 

 and this length is accompanied with a great breadth, 

 so that the brain was of greater size than in average 

 modern men, and the frontal region was largely and 

 well developed. In this respect this most ancient 

 skull fails utterly to vindicate the expectations of 

 those who would regard pre-historic men as approach- 

 ing to the apes. It is at the opposite extreme. The 

 face, however, presented very peculiar characters. 

 It was extremely broad, with projecting cheek-bones 

 and heavy jaw, in this resembling the coarse types of 

 the American face ; and the eye-orbits were square, 

 and elongated laterally. The nose was large and pro- 

 minent, and the jaws projected somewhat forward. 

 This man, therefore, had, as to his features, some 

 resemblance to the harsher type of American physiog- 

 nomy, with overhanging brows, small and transverse 

 eyes, high cheek-bones, and coarse mouth. He had 

 not lived to so great an age without some rubs, for 

 his thigh-bone showed a depression which must have 

 resulted from a severe wound, perhaps from the horn 

 of some wild animal, or the spear of an enemy. 



