Vll 
the antiquity and origin of man 
421 
1. The most important difference between man and such 
of the lower animals as most nearly approach him is un- 
doubtedly in the bulk and development of his brain, as 
indicated by the form and capacity of the cranium. We 
should therefore anticipate that these earliest races, who were 
contemporary with the extinct animals and used rude stone 
weapons, would show a marked deficiency in this respect. 
Yet the oldest known crania (those of the Engis and Cro- 
Magnon caves) show no marks of degradation. The former 
does not present so low a type as that of most existing 
savages, but is (to use the words of Professor Huxley) “a 
fair average human skull, which might have belonged to a 
philosopher, or might have contained the thoughtless brains 
of a savage.” The latter are still more remarkable, being 
unusually large and well-formed. Dr. Pruner-Bey states that 
they surpass the average of modern European skulls in 
capacity, while their symmetrical form, without any trace 
of prognathism, compares favourably not only with those of 
the foremost savage races, but with many civilised nations 
of modem times. 
One or two other crania of much lower type, but of less 
antiquity than this, have been discovered; but they in no 
way invalidate the conclusion which so highly developed a 
form at so early a period implies, viz. that we have as yet 
made a hardly perceptible step towards the discovery of any 
earlier stage in the development of man. 
2. This conclusion is supported and enforced by the 
nature of many of the works of art found even in the oldest 
cave-dwellings. The flints are of the old chipped type, but 
they are formed into a large variety of tools and weapons — 
such as scrapers, awls, hammers, saws, lances, etc., implying 
a variety of purposes for which these were used, and a 
corresponding degree of mental activity and civilisation. 
Numerous articles of bone have also been found, including 
well-formed needles ; implying that skins were sewn together, 
and perhaps even textile materials woven into cloth. Still 
more important are the numerous carvings and drawings 
representing a variety of animals, including horses, reindeer, 
and even a mammoth, executed with considerable skill on 
bone, reindeer -horns, and mammoth -tusks. These, taken 
