408 



MAMMALIA. 



which are now restricted in their range to Africa and 

 Arabia. 



In South America, the Santa Cruz Formation (supposed 

 Miocene) of Patagonia yields fragmentary remains of Homunculus 

 and other genera, which are closely related to the apes still 

 inhabiting the warmer parts of the American continent. 



Of the immediate ancestors of man, family Hominidae, 

 scarcely anything is known from the discovery of fossil bones. 



Gl 



op 



FIG. 227. 



Profile Outline of the Skull of Pithecanthropus (Pe.), compared with those of a 

 Papuan, the men of Spy, the Neanderthal man (Nt.), Hylobates leuciscus 

 (HI.), Semnopithecus maurus (Sm.), and Anthropopithecus troglodytes (At.). 



GL, glabella; Jn., linea nuchae superior; Lni., linea nuchaa inferior. (After 

 Marsh.) 



Most of the evidence for the existence of the human race in 

 the prehistoric past consists in traces of intelligent handiwork 

 revealed by stone and other implements. A few discoveries 

 in the Old World, however, are worthy of consideration. 



The oldest known traces of a man-like skeleton seem to be 

 an imperfect roof of a skull, two molar teeth, and a diseased 



