22 



The Thirty- Fourth General Meeting. 



skeletons have been discovered in the quaternary deposits of a cave 

 at Spy, in the province of Naraur, and have been reported upon by 

 M. Fraipont in the 1 Bulletin de TAcademie Royale des Sciences 3 in/ 

 Belgium. The following are reported by M. Fraipont to be the 

 peculiarities in which these skeletons depart from the human form, 

 and approach that of the anthropoid apes. The superciliary ridges 

 are more developed, and the forehead more shelving than those of 

 any existing race of men, in which respect they resemble the oraug, 

 gorilla, and chimpanzee. The chin is more receding than those of 

 any existing race of men. The forward curve of the femur is also 

 greater than in any existing race of men, and the angle and size of 

 the articular surface of this bone and the tibia is such as to show 

 that the individuals must have walked with their legs slightly bent. 

 In other respects the skeletons are pronounced strictly human. 

 These appear to be the latest facts revealed to us by the earliest 

 specimens of our race. If they militate against some cherished 

 dogmas, we have nevertheless no alternative but to accept them if 

 they are established on sufficient evidence. I cannot myself see 

 how human conduct is likely to be affected disadvantageously by 

 recognising the humble origin of mankind. If it teaches us to take 

 less pride in our ancestry and to place more reliance on ourselves, 

 this cannot fail to serve as an additional incentive to industry and 

 respectability. Nor are our relations with the Supreme Power 

 presented to us in an unfavourable light by this discovery, for, if 

 man was created originally in the image of God, it is obvious that 

 the very best of us have greatly degenerated. But if, on the other 

 hand, we recognise that we have sprung from inferior beings, then 

 there is no cause for anxiety on account of the occasional backsliding 

 observable amongst men, and we are encouraged to hope that, with 

 the help of Providence, notwithstanding frequent relapses towards 

 the primitive condition of our forefathers, we may continue to im- 

 prove in the long run as we have done hitherto." 



Earl Percy said he was sure he should be expressing the opinion 

 of the Meeting i£ he proposed a hearty vote of thanks to General 

 Pitt- Rivers for the very interesting lecture he had delivered to them. 

 He did not know whether he should call it a lecture or not. He 



