﻿Vol. 66.] AXXIYEESAEY ADDEESS OF THE PEESIDENT. lxix 



of human evolution would be greatly simplified, but for the 

 existence of such a being far more cogent evidence is required 

 than any which has so far been forthcoming. 



In endeavouring to trace out the ancestry of Man, we must next 

 proceed to the other members of the Primates, among which 

 Fithecanthrojms is by far the most human. Unfortunately, our 

 knowledge of this creature rests on very fragmentary material, 

 and is lamentably incomplete. We possess a cranial calotte, three 

 teeth, and a femur ; but that is all. The calotte is far from perfect, 

 it has lost a great part of the glabellar region, and presents no trace 

 of sutures. It is scaphocephalic, probably in consequence of 

 premature synostosis, and is so far abnormal. Signs of a pathological 

 condition are also presented by the femur, which has suffered from 

 exostosis. 



In the absence of sutures, and the consequent impossibility of 

 determining the position of the bregma and lambda, it is dangerous 

 to attempt any exact comparison of the characters presented by 

 the cranial calotte : the elaborate measurements that have been 

 based on the conjectural position of the bregma, and on the inion, 

 which cannot be regarded as a trustworthy point of reference, are 

 useless and misleading. Yet, despite its defects, the calotte has 

 furnished a surprisingly large amount of valuable information. 

 Dr. Dubois has obtained a cast of the interior which throws much 

 light on the configuration of the brain ; this presents simian as well 

 as human characters, so far as can be judged from the description, 

 which is not accompanied by figures. 



The probable capacity of the original cranium has been estimated 

 at 855 cubic centimetres ; so many uncertainties, however, enter 

 into the calculation that these figures cannot be regarded with 

 much confidence. The actual capacity may have been slightly 

 greater, but it is not likely to have been less. 



If future discoveries should show that the estimated capacity is 

 approximately correct and not far removed from the average for 

 the species, then it would represent a true annectant stage between 

 the cranial capacity of Man and that of the apes. This will be 

 seen from the accompanying diagram (fig. 6, p. lxx). The first 

 curve to the right represents the distribution of cranial capacity in 

 a European race (Tyrolese men), the next in Australian aborigines 

 (men), the third in Australian aborigines (women), the fourth is a 

 purely hypothetical curve for Pithecanthropus , the fifth also hypo- 

 thetical for the gorilla. The numbers representing the maximum,. 



