460 W. J. Mc Gee—Crania of the Mound-builders. 
teeth have been found fully developed and the grinding sur- 
face nearly or quite as far worn down as in their anterior 
neighbors. n more mature crania the surface of the pos- 
terior molar is usually the largest and apparently the most 
worn down. Hence in the Mound-builder this tooth was not 
by any means rudimentary, but was a useful organ throughout 
nearly the whole of the lifetime of its possessor. 
odors Indian oecupies—if 
—an intermediate stage in development between that of the 
Mound-builder on the one hand and that of the Caucassian on 
the other. As to the period at which the tooth makes its 
appearance and when it reaches its full development, the writer 
has been able to learn nothing thus far. This point seems to 
have escaped the notice of ethnologists heretofore. The dif- 
ference in relative size and in the comparative maturity of 
these teeth is sufficient, however, in nearly all the specimens 
examined, to allow of their ready determination. Neverthe- 
less this rule could not be indiscriminately applied, as due 
allowance must be made for differences in age, etc., of the 
individual; but bilioth care and judgment the writer is con- 
vinced that it is competent. 
The greater enaegaet of the posterior molars seems to 
be common to the lower and earlier races. This peculiarity 
has been observed in several of the fossil skulls of paleolithic 
man exhumed in Europe, as in the jaw-bone from the cave of 
Naulette, Belgium, in which, as reported by the Belgian geolo- 
gists, the molar teeth increased in size backward. Dr. E. 
mbert, of Brussels, bas recently made an extensive collection 
of crania of various races, and has found that the posterior 
molar is relatively reer not only in the red but in the 
black races than in the Caucassian. The dentation of the 
e races. 
This morphological variation in the different stocks of ma 
kind is probably a concomitant of the principle of cchalinas 
tion if not directly codrdinated therewith. It has been shown 
all mammals since early cenozoic time; and Professor Marsh 
has shown that this i foe is manifested in a striking degree 
* Scientific aout. = ee 
BS Journal, IIT, Ooo, “iets p. 245. References to Professor 
5 dpunsane sivas ebdiaeniens 
