The Washington herald., 1907-04-07
OLDEST MAN IS DEAD
His Prehistoric Skull Dis
covered Near Omaha.
DIFFICULT TO FIX HIS AGE
Scientists, However, Think 1t Prob
able That HE Passed Away About
100000 Years AgO-More Ancient
Than Famous NeanderthaI Bones.
Fertile subject for Conjecture.


of the oldest man In the world. Near
Omaha there was discovered recently a
skull that may be more ancient than the
famous Neauderthal skull, hitherto Der
lieved to be the oldest actual skeleton
relic of prehistoric man.
How long ago man, that is, speaking,
thinking man. us distinct from anthropoi-
dal ape. existed is problematical. 1t is
only by the bones and relics he left be-
hind him that men of science can even
hazard a guess, and before his time how
many ages of primitive men lived and
died, leaving not a trace of any sort be-
hind them, scientists hesitate to hazard
a guess.
The great Psychologist, Chevalier Bun
sen, fixed the beginning of the human
period at 20O00 years b. c., but from
there it went up by scientific leaps and
bounds. to Prof. Hunt, a former presi-
dent Of the British Anthropological So
ciety who places it as far back as 5000
600 years. DIR. Fnhlrott, the discoverer
OF the Neanderthal skull, more eonserva-
tiveN fixed the age of his fossil at be
tween 100000 ana 100000 years.
scientists DHGc Ds ages
But all this is hardly more than the
merest conjecture, and no more profitable.
Scientists do not date history by years.
centuries. or even aeons. Thep date by
ages.
Huxley believed that man existed
when a tropical fauna and flora flour
lshed in our northern cline" Sir Charles
LyeIl admitted his belief that human re-
mains will yet be found in the P1tocene
strata" and Sir John Lubbock extended
that to the Miocene
Any way il is pretty generally agreed
that prehistoric man is pre-Glacial. and
for convenience sake his so-far discov-
cred history has been generally referred
to as the stone age" and divided into
three periods The names by which they
are usually called are. EOlithic. or dawn
Of the stone age" PaleOlithic, or AN
cient stone age" and Neolithic. or new
stOie age
From a purely unscientifc standpoint
this can be best described as the period
when man discovered that stones We're
good TO build houses with. and throw at
things; when he hit upon the fact that
they made better weapons and tools when
Clipped or broken to a sharp edge; and
better still when polished. and still further
sharpened by being rubbed one against
the other
NeanderthaI skull Imperfect.
DIT. Fuhlrott found the Neanderthal
skull. 1t isn't much of skull, only the
top of the head, and in size and shape
resembling cocoanut shell. sawed
Iengthwise. and about ! II inches deep,
indicating an order Of mentality barely
above if any. that of an ape
And here is where the recently Giscov-
cred Omaha skull puts forth its claim
to be the oldest relic eXtant Of man. If
the Neanderthal skull is that OF a man.
a reasoning, speech-making man. il prob
ably is the oldest, but II IL is only the
remain of "a superior orser of ape the
skull from Omaha has the better title.
In regard TO cRis point Prof Fairfield
Osborne. Of Columbia University, vino
went all the way from New York 10 Ne
braska especially to inspect this prehis-
tOric fragment of primeval man. infers
from measurements. that this latter dis
cOvery shows a pronounced intellectual
development, though Of very low order,
while the Neauderthal skull is that of a
mere beast
A better idea of the type of the Mean
derthal man was obtained from later dis
coveries at Spy, in Belgium. in 1856 OF
Ilese Spy skeletons. Prof. Huxley says:
''rhe anatomical characters bear out con
illusions hardly hatteTing to the appear
ance of the owners. They were short but
powerfully built with strong. curiOusly
curved thigh bones the lower ends Of
which were so fashioned that they must
have walked with "A bend AT the knees.
Their long depressed skulls had very
81 stH haf Ia
slJped away from the teeth downward
and backward. in consequence Of the alb
sence Of that specially characteristic fea-
ture of the higher type of man. the chin
prominence Thus these skulls are not
only eminently Neanderthaloid. but they
supply the proofs of the parts wanting in
the original specimen
The CaIaveFns Find.
The second skull to interest the scienti-
fc world was the famous Calaveras skull.
found at the bottom of "a deep mining
shaft. in that county OF California Tho
skull was taken from gravel deposit
considerably more than 100 feet below the
level Of the earth by the owner OF the
niue, "a certain Mattison. in February.
1866 Unfortunately. Mr.. Mattison was not
scientific student. and much valuable
data which might have been secured at
the time of the discovery were lost for
ever.
At first it was though; TO far antedate
the NeandeTthal discovery. but at the
same time 1t was also strongly suspected
Of being a hoax.
The Calaveras skull is at present in the
Peabody Museum of Archaeology in Cam
bridge. It is that of a very old man.
Several pieces of charcoal were found
-Hyss ind
of the use of fire on the part of the orig
inal owner of the skull. In regard 10 in
te!lectual development, it is ages more
advanced than she Neanderthal skull, and
not far behind that of the modern lower
order of Indian.
was Not IFOax.
The idea that the Calaveras skull was
merely a miners practical joke is consid-
cred absurd. That would require a more
complete knowledge Of geological and aa-
thropologicaI science than any scientist
to-day possesses. Besides, the similar
discoveries of human relics in tertiary
strata from under separated parts of the
auriferous gravel beds, would have re-
quired that an army of many thousand
practical jokers be called on to plant
all these Jokes
There is one fact, however, that throws
cloud upon the title of the Calaveras
relic Is the skull at present in the Pea
body Museum at Cambridge the same
skull discovered in Mr. Madison mine?
In 1868 it was learned that the matrix.
or incrustations. around this skull failed
10 agree with the material that should
incrust bones found in the auriferous
gravel deposits The skull is of undoubt
ed antiquity, Older by ages than Bret
Hartes Bowers of Missouri" but is it
that of an auriferous gravel man? Sci