hkdliCka] skeletal REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 211 



then produced from a case the still-existing fragments of the human 

 remains from Saladero to compare them with those which I now 

 submitted to him. He declared at once that the two were of equal age 

 and belonged to the Pampean formation. The written statements of 

 Burmeister, however, are not in accord with these remarks. In one 

 passage he expresses himself as follows : ^ ' I saw myself the teeth 

 said to be fossil, but could not distinguish the same by any character- 

 istic from the teeth of ancient Indian skulls.' Tliis observation could 

 not have applied to anything except the human remains from Saladero 

 which I brought him in 1877 and among which there were a large num- 

 ber of teeth. At this time Burmeister was evidently not convinced of 

 the existence of man during the formation of the Pampean deposits ; 

 but why did he mention only the teeth, which are subject to the 

 least change, and not also the fragments of other bones, which he 

 himself declared later to be of the same age with the Glyptodon. P] 

 Every specialist who sees these bones must recognize that they proceed 

 from the Pampean formation, because of the characteristic calcareous 

 concretionary matter which adheres to them and even fills some 

 of the medullary spaces." 



Lehmann-Nitsche ^ examined such of these fragments as are stiU 

 preserved in the Museo Nacional at Buenos Aires. He found two 

 pieces of the left femur and a number of teeth. As to the femur, he 

 reports that the cavities of the spongy part and the medullary canal 

 are completely filled with solidified calcareous matter; the external 

 layer, where it still exists, is of a light-yellow color and adheres 

 strongly to the tongue; at the same time the bones are very friable. 

 Anatomic observations were almost impossible owing to the frag- 

 mentary condition of the specimens. So far as could be seen, there 

 were no remarkable features. ' ' The teeth, nine in number, show all 

 grades of wear ; the enamel is perfectly preserved and presents in some 

 places particles of tartar incrustation, easy to detach; the roots adhere 

 to the tongue." The dimensions of these teeth are not unusual. 

 As to age, the find is regarded by Ijehmann-Nitsche as Quaternary, 

 Superior Pampean. * 



Critical Remarks 



Judging from the position of the body and the natural relations 

 of all the parts, the Saladero skeleton can be regarded only as repre- 

 senting an undisturbed, ordinary interment. The sitting position 

 is found occasionally in Indian burials and is a modification of the 

 contracted posture, which was general. It was due possibly to the 

 effects of rigor mortis on the body before preparation for burial. 



1 Burmeister, H., Dcseription physique de la Republique Argentine, m, Buenos Aires, 1S79, p. 42. 



2 No such statement was found in the writings of Burmeister.— A. H. 



3 Nouvelles rcehcrches, etc., p. 2.53. 



* Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fosil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Est., Las Paz, Bolivia, vi, 1910, 

 pp. 3(33-306. 



