The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-02-10
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in a cave at Neandcrthal- two three years be-
forc-a Uranium which has ever since been
famous the Neandcrthal skull. the type specl-
men of what modern biologists are disposed 10
/ regard as distinct species of man, Homo
neanderthalenss. Like others Of the same type
since discovered at Spy. it is sngularly Siinian
in character-low-arc with rccedlng iorehead
and enormous protuberant eyebrows Nheh IL
was first exhibited TO the scientists at Berlin
by DR.. Fuhlrott in 1857 its human character
was doubted by some of the witnesses; oil tha''
however, there is no present question. -.
This interesting find served TO recall Win
fresh significance some observations that had been
made in France and Belgium long generation
earlier, but whose bearings had hitherto been
ignored In 1926 NM. Journal and Christol had
made Independent discoveries of what they be
, Hevcd to be human fossils in the caves of the
south of France and in 1927 DIR. Schmerling had
found in the cave of Engis. in Westphalia.
fossil bones of even greater significance Schmer-
ling's explorations had been made with the
utmost care and patience. At Engis ne mao
found human bones, including skulls, informing
led with those Of extinct mammals OF the mann
moth period in a way that left no doubt in ms
mind that all dated from the same geological
epoch. He had published full account oil ms
discoveries in an elaborate monograph issued IN
1898.
The reception now accorded prehistoric
ancestor by the progressive portion OF the sclen-
tifc world amounted to an ovation, but the uh-
scientific masses, the other hand notWlth-
standing their usual iondness for tracing re-
mote genealogies, still gave the men OF Engis
and Neandertha the cold shoulder. Nor were all
OF the biologists quite agreed that the con
temporaneity of these human fossils with the
animals whose remains had been mingled with
them had been fully established. The bare pos
sibilty that the bones Of man and OF animals
that long preceded him had been swept together
into the caves in successive ages, and IN some
mysterious way internnngled there, was ciuhs
TO by the conservatives 6 last refuge But
even this small measure of security was soon 10
L., ,al bnra IN
ers NJ EdOusrd Lartet and Mr.. Henry Chrlsty'
in exploring the caves OF Dordogne, uneaf theu a
bit OF evidence against which no such Objection
could be urged. This momentous eHhiDit WAS
bit of ivory a fragment of the tusk OF man.
moth on which scratched rude but I'M
mistakable outline portrait o. the mammoth
itself. II all the evidence as TO man antiquity
before presented was suggestive merely. here at
last was demonstration; for the caVe-uWellng
man could not well have drawn the picture OF the
mammoth unless he had seen that animal ana 10
admit that man and the mammoth mad Deeh
contcrnporaries was TO concede the entire ca'e
So soon. therefore. as the full import Vf ms
most instructive work of art came to be reallze
skepticism as to mans antiquity was slienced
for all time to come
The other chapters of the book are
equally interesting, and not the least so is
the last. which deals with unsolved prob
lens Among these the author menuons
the nature of gravitation. the ultimate
destiny of the earth, the generalization of
sociological problems. He makes the
rather daring statement that it may. at
some future time, be possible to produce
life in the laboratory, by the proper cor
relation of the same universal forces
which produced it in the past. Altogether,
the whole work can hardly fail to be in
teresting to anyone who cares for scien-
tific information presented in a popular
form CNew York: Harper & Bros. s2.50)