XV. 

 THE OEIGIN OF MAN. 



Considered geologically, man has but a brief his- 

 tory. As to the length of time he has been here, 

 judging from his remains and works of art, Le Conte 

 says: "It may be 100,000 years or it may be only 

 10,000 years, but more probably the former than the 

 latter." He further says that " The earliest men yet 

 found are in no sense connecting links between man 

 and ape." * 



The Engis skull, one of the most ancient that has 

 been discovered, is said to be " a well-shaped, average 

 human skull." 



The Mentone skull is of " average or more than 

 average " size, having a facial angle of 85°, while the 

 Neanderthal skull, which is also very ancient, is of 

 lower type, but " is in no respect intermediate" be- 

 tween man and ape, being " truly human." 



In the Aurignac cave in France were found the 

 bones of several human skeletons mingled with those 

 of various extinct mammals, such as the Cave-bear, 

 Cave-lion, Cave-hyena, Mammoth, Irish Elk and oth- 

 ers. The presence of the bones of these extinct 

 mammals shows that the human remains are prob- 

 ably quite ancient. 



Le Conte says: "The conclusion reached by M. 

 Lartet is, that this was a family or tribal burial place; 

 that in the cave along with the bodies were placed 

 funeral gifts in the form of trinkets and food; and 



* Elements of Geology, p. 601. 

 230 



