The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1914-01-16

Aurignacian age, bears most striking resem
blance to him of the Magdalenian age. supposedly
a much more developed individual.
Compare this man Of La Colombere with the
middle one of the three human faces from the
cave of Marsoulas, shown on this page. He has
the same respectable skull development, much
more like that of the possessor of the Pitdown
skull than that of the ape-like "Neanderthal man
and his congerers. The nose, it will also be
noted is very similar to that of the Marsoulas
man, likewise the heavy chin.
So much for the contentious OF the Frenchmen
who have made this remarkable find. Backed up
though they by good arguments, 1t Is not like
ly that they will be swallowed without struggle.
On the contrary, they will probably be the cause
of still another controversy to add to the already
stormy annals of anthropology For there is un-
doubtedly another side to the question.
First as to the pictures just found of La Colon
biere In spite of the fact that those similar to
them-including the human faces of the cave of
Marsoulas--are generally ascribed by Frenchmen
not to the Aurignacian but to the later Magdalen-
ian age others think them productions of Aurig-
nician artists. If this latter theory is accepted,
the man" of La Colombiere is simply one more
to add to the scanty gallery of Aurignacian depic
tons OF human beings. Even If he proves to be
that and nothing more, he will be accounted
precious find, but naturally his value will not be
so enormous as those who have found him and
those who share their views would have us be-
leve
Second, as to whether the man of La Colon
biere proves that we are descended from the
NeanderthalSpy-La Chapelleaux-Saints race or
the race represented by him of the Pitdown skull.
There too, matters are by no means as easy
they look to the sanguine Frenchmen. Plenty
of learned men who have studied the subject of
the descent of man are of the opinion that man
may be descended from neither of these interest
ing groups they contend that both of these races
may have become extinct and that mankind
sprang possibly from which appeared
later
The latest news from abroad shows that the
man of La Colombiere has already set learned
tongues to wagging against each other. Already
Messrs. Mayet and Pissot, the savants who found
him, have a hornets nest about their In
London Mr.. ]. Leon Williams, writing in the Illus
trated London News has placed himself on record
as foe to the belief that he of La Colombiere is
the earliest picture of Mr.. Williams idea
is that we have to do here not with faithful de-
lineation of the human form but with cariea-
ture. He writes:
"As Messrs. Mayet and Pissot say the drawing
is very clear, especially the face and upper part
of the head. The back of the head and the neck
do not seem to very well defined in the pho
tograph.
"The discoveries speak of this drawing hav-
ing none of the characteristics represented by the
Neanderthal, Spy La ChapelleauxSaints
skulls In their opinion, the head resembles the
fossil skull of Chancelade. They say
1.-The head is large, the forehead round and
prominent (bombre) rising slightly obliquely.
The face is long. as though pulled out from be-
low upward and is distinctly projected forward
the chin is prominent, and has a short beard in
dictated by small lines; the is long and very
thick; the eye is indicated by two curved lines,
and has an indefnable expression
In this detailed description it is quite evident
that DIR. Mayet and M. Pissot believe that we have
here something in the nature of a realistic draw
ing of Aurgnacan man. This is confirmed by
oil urfh -fat az
ly found any engraved figures that teach us any
thing definite about the exact form of contour of
the human face of the Aurignacian Solutran
periods, and that this want has now been filled
by their discoveries
with these statements and conclusions find
1t impossible to agree At least two other en-
cravings of the human face have been previously
discovered one in the Grotte des Fees in the
Gironde and the other in the FontdeGaume at
\ Les Eyzies (Dordogne D.
Il think 1t will be clearly seen that the great
interest in this new discovery lies not in the be-