THE TEETH OF FOSSIL MAN 459 
apparent in the canine teeth of human adults and gorilla 
(tig. 169). The dividing ridge on the Piltdown crown 
has been worn away and only a deeply bevelled chewing 
surface is left. Which surface does it represent — incisor 
or canine ? I think it is incisor ; the bevelling or excava- 
tion of the crown has been caused by the upper lateral 
incisor. There is no mark or impress on it of the corre- 
sponding upper canine tooth. The canine of the female 
gorilla, represented in fig. 169, shows the kind of wear 
which results from the lateral incisor rubbing or biting 
agaiiist the lower canine, but on the lateral aspect of the 
crown the upper canine has worn a distinct impression. 
Thus in the manner in which it has become worn by use, 
the Piltdown canine differs from all known human and 
anthropoid teeth. 
In the discovery at Piltdown, then, there was revealed, 
for the first time, a human race in which the canine teeth 
were pointed, projecting, and shaped as in anthropoid 
apes. That we should discover such a race, sooner or 
later, has been an article of faith in the anthropologist's 
creed ever since Darwin's time. In The Descent of Man 
a picture is drawn of man's immediate ancestor, one of 
the stipulated characters being that " the males had great 
canine teeth, which served them as formidable weapons." 
Everyone who has made a special study of human teeth 
— their form, growth, and eruption — has been obliged to 
have recourse to the theory of descent to explain the 
numerous facts which come under the notice of the 
anatomist. In fig. 170 is represented a dissection of the 
face of a child, aged three years, to show certain of these 
dental characters. In each half of the upper and lower 
jaw is a set of five milk teeth — two incisors, a canine, and 
two molars. The crown of the first permanent molar, 
which erupts in the sixth year, is seen buried behind the 
second milk molar. The canines have constricted necks 
and sharp, conical crowns ; indeed all the milk teeth are 
constricted at the neck — a character which can also be 
noted in the Piltdown teeth. When the child bites, the 
conical crown of the upper milk canine passes into the 
