OCTOBEE 18, 1901.] 



SCIENCE. 



619 



the cranium. Following this is a diagram 

 showing Zevglodon at the bottom and Ziphius 

 as the most highly modified genus at the top, 

 other genera, recent and fossil, being indicated 

 in their proper positions at either side. This 

 portion of the work is replete with information 

 and abounds in references to other papers. 

 There are, however, two points to which it 

 may be well to call attention : The first of 

 these is the assumption that Zeuglodon is the 

 ancestor of the toothed whales, the other is 

 the assumption that Zeuglodon had a highly 

 developed dermal armor, amounting in fact to 

 a carapace. Both of these conclusions should 

 for the present be held in abeyance, as neither is 

 as yet proven. This may perhaps be modified 

 somewhat by saying that under the term Zeu- 

 glodon are included two perfectly distinct gen- 

 era, Basilosaurus and Dorudon, and that while it 

 seems very improbable that the former left any 

 descendants, the structure of the latter is much 

 nearer that of modern whales and these may 

 be descended from that genus. There is, how- 

 ever, a large undescribed cetacean, indicated by 

 vertebrse in the U. S. National Museum, found 

 in the Eocene of Alabama and a knowledge of 

 this form may throw some light on the problem 

 of the origin of modern toothed whales. As 

 to the defensive armor of Zeuglodon it may be 

 well to discuss this at length later ; for the 

 present it may be said that the fine material 

 collected by Mr. Schuchert for the U. S. Na- 

 tional Museum shows nothing more than a few 

 dermal ossicles, about the size of one's fist, of a 

 rounded shape and slightly keeled on one edge. 

 Had there been any extensive dermal armor it 

 seems likely that it would have been collected, 

 or at least seen, by Mr. Schuchert. 



F. A. L. 



ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF 

 CALIFORNIA. 

 A DEPARTMENT of anthropology has, as we 

 have already noted, been established by the 

 regents of the University of California. The 

 work of this department, for the present, will 

 be anthropological research and the formation 

 of a museum. Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst has for 

 several years been collecting a large amount of 

 valuable material from the several expeditions 



she has established, particularly in Egypt, in 

 Peru and in California. These collections she 

 gives to the University at Berkeley. The Uni- 

 versity has also a large collection from Alaska, 

 presented by the Alaskan Commercial Com- 

 pany ; and it is known that other collections 

 are to become the property of the University 

 when the museum is established. There are 

 also now in the University many archeological 

 specimens and human crania obtained from 

 various parts of the state. For the storage and 

 preservation of all this valuable material a 

 temporary fire-proof building of brick and iron 

 is to be erected at once. It is believed that 

 this action will also be an incentive to the 

 friends of the University to provide the funds 

 for a museum building adequate for the proper 

 exhibition of the collections in all departments. 



As an encouragement to others and as an ex- 

 pression of her great interest in the new de- 

 partment, Mrs. Hearst, who is one of the 

 regents and a most generous patron of the 

 University, makes a gift of $50,000 a year for 

 five years for anthropological research. This 

 amount will be devoted to continuation of the 

 work in Egypt and in South America and to 

 securing Greek and Roman antiquities ; also to 

 a thorough research of the archeology and 

 ethnology of California, with particular refer- 

 ence to investigations of the deposits from the 

 supposed Pliocene gravels to recent times, with 

 the object of discovering when man first ap- 

 peared on the Pacific Coast ; also to a study of 

 the many Indian tribes of California, their 

 languages, myths and customs. For this work 

 several parties are already in the field. 



At present there will be no regular courses 

 in the department, but university lectures on 

 special topics in anthropology will be given 

 from time to time. The first of these lectures 

 was delivered on September 20 by Professor F. 

 W. Putnam, who was invited to outline the 

 purpose and scope of the new department and 

 the methods of anthropological research. This 

 was followed by a lecture on the study of the 

 Indians by Miss Alice C. Fletcher ; and the 

 third lecture is to be by Mrs. Zelia Nuttall on 

 the picture-writing of the ancient Mexicans. 



Dr. A. L. Kroeber and Mr. P. E. Goddard 

 have been appointed respectively instructor 



