HISTORY OF THE PRIMATES 589 



quently reported from both North and South America, but 

 these have not stood the test of critical examination, though 

 sujch examination has by no means disproved the presence of 

 Pleistocene Man in America. 



Dr. A. Hrdhcka has recently concluded a series of exhaust- 

 ive studies of the bones of eariy Man in both North and 

 South America and of the locaUties where these bones were 

 found. For both continents he has reached a negative result. 

 As to North America he says : "Thus far on this continent no 

 human bones of undisputed geologic antiquity are known." ^ 

 For South America the result is the same. "A conscientious, 

 unbiased study of all the available facts has shown that the 

 whole structure erected in support of the theory of geologically 

 ancient man on that continent rests on very imperfect and in- 

 correctly interpreted data and in many instances on false 

 premises, and as a consequence of these weaknesses must com- 

 pletely collapse when subjected to searching criticism." "The 

 conclusions of the writers with regard to the evidence thus far 

 furnished are that it fails to estabUsh the claim that in South 

 America there have been brought forth thus far tangible traces 

 of either geologically ancient man himself or any precursor 

 of the human race. 



"This should not be taken as a categorical denial of the 

 existence of early man in South America, however improbable 

 such a presence may now appear." ^ 



On the other hand, the coexistence in North America of 

 Man with several extinct species of mammals has been made 

 extremely probable, if not certain. One of the most striking 

 and best authenticated cases of this was the discovery by 

 Professor Williston in western Kansas of a flint arrowhead be- 

 neath and in contact with the skeleton of the extinct Bison 

 foccidentalis. Professor Russell found in lake deposits of 



' A. Hrdlicka, Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Ethnology, Bulletin 

 33, 1907, p. 98. 



2 Ibid., Bulletin 52, 1912, pp. 385, 386. 



