THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN 13 



numerous that as we have established our cultural chronology 

 upon European discovery, so we must base our conception of 

 human antiquity and evolutionary lines largely upon European 

 material. For Europe is small, accessible, and the home of an 

 enthusiastic band of workers whose efforts have been untiring 

 and whose results are already at hand, although much will 

 come to light in the future. 



PREHISTORIC HUMAN SPECIES 

 Pithecanthropus erectus 



Taken in order of chronological sequence, the Asiatic Pithe- 

 canthropus stands first, as it does in most respects in the char- 

 acteristics which it betrays. Found in 1891 in the deposits of 

 the Bengawan River, near Trinil, on the island of Java, these 

 fragments of humanity are most meager, but such as they are, 

 they throw a flood of light on human origins. It is to be re- 

 gretted, however, that their owner, Doctor Dubois, a Dutch 

 army surgeon, now professor of physical geography in the 

 University of Amsterdam, will not permit their further study 

 by his colleagues. Our knowledge therefore is based on Du- 

 bois's own admirable researches, together with the wide- 

 spread replicas of the external aspect of the calvarium, which 

 have enabled some independent conclusions to be drawn. The 

 remains include the skull-cap, three teeth (M 2 left, M 3 right, 

 P 2 left) , and a left femur, the last bearing an exostosis indica- 

 tive of injury or disease. These probably pertain to a single 

 individual, although they were found scattered through some 

 twenty yards of space and were not all discovered at the same 

 time. This scattering precludes the possibility of intrusive 

 burial, however. The most careful search has failed to reveal 

 any further fragments, although a special expedition under 

 Madame Selenka, which brought to light the third tooth, 

 carried on extensive excavations. So much has been written 



