CHAPTER VII 



THE HUMAN DENTITION 



Earliest known human type — The Heidelberg mandible — Euro- 

 pean Races during the Pleistocene — Homo aurignacensis — 

 Neandertal Man — Relation of the Neandertal Race to mod- 

 ern Man— The teeth of Neandertal Man — Modern Races — 

 The Tasmanian — The European dentition — Relative posi- 

 tion of the Negro — Effects of civilization upon White and 

 Negro Races — Parallelism in the evolution of Primates. 



GLACIAL OR PALEOLITHIC MAN 



In dealing with other families of Primates we have 

 endeavored to trace the line of evolution progressively from 

 some early or primitive form. In the case of Man we are un- 

 able to do this in a manner altogether satisfactory since no 

 human or directly pre-human type has yet been discovered 

 which can Avith certainty be assigned to a period more remote 

 than the early Glacial epoch. 



All the evidence presented by Man's body indicates his 

 origin in a cursorial, predatory type of Anthropoid which left 

 the trees at a comparatively early period in its evolution and 

 hence escaped the specializations exhibited by modern omniv- 

 orous and frugivorous Anthropoids but, on the other hand, be- 

 came adapted as a ground living animal, retaining the omniv- 

 orous habit and using its fore-limbs in the manufacture of 

 simple tools and instruments of assistance in obtaining and 

 preparing food. 



The earliest authentic example of the human race, namely, 

 Heidelberg Man (Fig. 49), is known only from the mandible 

 recovered from the valley of the Neckar about six miles from 

 Heidelberg. Although typically human this mandible presents 



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