The chronicle=news., 1913-04-12
SKULL Of most
ANCIENT Man


Interested in the history OF the hui
man race WAS announced at tho Geo
logical Society. when Charles Daw-
son of I.cscs. and Dr. a. Smith Mood
ward. the keeper OF the geological
department Of the British Museum.
displayed TO AN eager audience u
part OF the Jaw and u portion Of the
skull oi the most ancient inhabiinnt
of England. II no, of Europe.
The first Of the remains were dis
covered more than year ago by Mr..
Dawson in u gravel deposit near Pitt
Down Common. close TO rckfild. Sus-
sex. Mr.. Dawson. who IL n keen stu
dent OF pnleontOlogy. soon made his
great iind known TO DIR. Smith Wood
ward. and tn. two worked together
in IA strenuous endeavor to recover.
II possible. Yet other parts Of tho
skeleton. and especially the rest OF
III. skull. But their efforts have
only resulted In obtaining more parts
OF tn" skull and half OF the mnndible
Nevertheless. the remains thus far
recovered leave no possible doubt
that they represent not merely n
fossil man. but man who must he
regarded ms affordinH us u link with
our rcmoi. ancestors. the apes. and
hence their surprising Interest
The evidence for the interprrta-
iion which has hen placed On them
Is incon,rovcrtiblc. says ". =. ry-
craft. In the illustrated News. In the
first place. the lower Jaw Is unmis-
;akably apc-likc. while presenting
other feturcs indubitaly human. II
In apc-like In its massivencss. In the
absence Of ~ peculiar ridge along the
Inner surface which In the typical
human Jaw is extremely wcil-mnrkcd
and serves for the attachment OF
muscles concerned with the act OF
swallowing. Another siminn feature
Is th-s hortness and great breadth OF
the upper branch. whereby tho jaw
Is hinged to tho skull As to the
teeth Of this ancient ErIton. II will
suffice to remark that they resemble
those Of the celebrated Heidelberg
Jaw. and In 30 far are Of the human
type. but they are npc-iikc In the
greater length OF their grinding sur
face. Hut there In reson to suspect
that tn" canine or eye" teeth pro.
1cctcd at amy rate. slightly above tho
level Of the rcst-nn ap"-likc char
actcr met with In savage races today
though never TO the same extent ns
In apes.
Another Rpc-likc character Ia af-
iordcd by the trend Of the grinders.
which shows that the teeth In tho
complete jaw must have run In n
straight parallel series. not In n
horseshoe curve as In modern men.
The fragments of the Uranium re.
veal no less Interesting features.
Fortunately the hinge for the jowcr
Jaw Is preserved. and this Ia en-
phntically human In type. since II
forms u deep cavity and not n shall
low depression. Again. this region
of the skull displays what among
anntomists Is known M "mastoid
Process. large. rounded or cone
shaped boss OF bone to which Is at
tachod a large band-shapcd muscle,
serving to draw the head downwards
upon the chest or sideways toward
the shoulder. In the apes this mas
told process" is wanting.
Happily. enough or the skull has
been found to allow OF the rcstora-
ton OF the whole OF the cranial por-
ton. which incloscs the brain. And
this shows us that the bcctling brow
so excessively developed In the celc-
hrated fossil man Of Java discovered
some years ago were In the Sussex
man far less developed. while the
brain capacity OF this ancient man
had lust under two pints. which Is
nearly twice as much as that OF the
highest apes. though considerably
legs than that of the average Euro
rcan. which is. roughly. about two
pints and u half.
or the forepart OF the face that
is to say. OF the eye sockets, nose
and upper jaw-wc as yet know
nothing. nor have even traces been
found of the trunk and limbs. and
we fear that these have been lost
beyond recall.
And now II will be asked how long
ago did this man live and what did
he look like when alive? As to the
first question, no definite answer
can he given: we can only say, sew
cral hundred thousand years ago."
perhaps million. But this much is
certain: he lived during the early
part OF what is known as the Pleis-
tocche age. and near enough to the
period known as the Plioccnc to
make 1t certain that his immediate
forbears must have lived during that
period. thus justifying the forecasts
OF Pliocene man. which authorities
from time to time have made. Indeed
the celebrated Heidelberg jaw is re-
garded by some as belonging to the
Pliocene: and the jaw OF the Sussex
man now under discussion Is of a
sun more primitive character. 1t IL
enough. for the present. at any rate
to say that the gravel in which he
has so long rested is of nearly tho
same age as the Norfolk Forest bed,
And now word or two as to his
probable appearance and mode of
lie. and the creatures which he
chased. and was occasionally. in
turn. chased by. AS to his personal
appearance one would not like to
dogmatize. but, with the help of Mr..
~ Hos.