Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1926-01-13
AFTER GUESSING LINK"
Scientists Hot on His TraiiA in the
Cobb Desert in Asia.

Bigger and better dinosaur eggs"
to the extent of forty almost perfect
specimens, have been unearthed by
Roy Chapman Andrews, the noted
scientist and explorer, who recently
arrived in this country after an ex-
ploration trip in the Cobb Desert of
Asia. Poi. Andrews also found re-
mains of human culture in Asia
that antedates the European culture
of the same type by 10000 years,
and indicates that prehistoric man
originated in Asia and then spread
to other parts of the world, and CON
elusive evidence that the ice sheet
which once covered both Europe and
America, never touched Asia, and
that Mongolia is the oldest continu-
ously dry land in the world.
Other discoveries were a gigantic
petrified redwood forest in Asia that
probably was the ancestor of the
present California redwoods.
The oldest mammal skulls in the
world, remains of transitional NAM
mails that were just being evolved
from the reptile stage, and bones of
the largest mammal that ever ex-
listed.
Definite hints that the celebrated
missing link may not be missing
so many years longer.
These things were found by the
third Asiatic expedition of the
American Museum of Natural History
Prof Andrews plans to return next
April to head a fourth expedition.
1--WE proceed on the theory that
the great plateau of central Asia,
where continuous land life has been
possible for a longer time than at
any other section of the earth's sur
face, is the point of origin for much
of the reptilian and mammalian life
of the world" Prof. Andrews said
"Our discoveries do much to bear
out this theory. We found evidence
of the existence in Mongolia of sew
eral great groups of mammals that
previously we're known only from
America or Europe. In most cases
the Asiatic remains seem to be older
than their American or European
counterpart, and it is at least posi-
BILE that Asia was the fountain head
of many of these species, including
man.
1--WE found no human bones on this
trip. We did find, however, extern
sive traces of human culture, such as
implements, drawings and weapons,
and we confidently expect that we
shall find human bones on later ex
petitions
"The missing link is still missing.
The stages of evolution can be traced
without a break from primitive
forms of unicellular water life sue
cessively though the fishes, reptiles,
birds to mammals and down through
the various species of mammals, I'M
til there should be a common an
cestor for man and his cousins, the
present anthropoid apes.
THAT immediate common ancestor,
or missing link has not been
found. We are on his trail, how
ever, and the forms of life already
discovered in Asia are so old, and
continuous existence there has been
possible for so long, that we think
Asia is the logical place to look for
him.
"The discovery of the petrfied red
wood forest was made by DR.. Ralph
w. CLANCY, formerly of the Uni
versity of California. This forest eX-
listed in OligOcene times, about
3 100000 years ago, and extended in
Manchuria from Mukden almost to
Vladjvostok. The trees were closely
similar to the giant redwoods of Cali
fornia, and inasmuch as Asia and
America were once connected by
land, it is entirely possible that the
California redwoods descended from
the Asiatic variety. With the fos-
SLICED redwoods were remains of the
accompanying trees, alder, maple and
oak.
"The skulls of primitive mammals
that we found were most interesting.
These mammals existed 10000, 900
years ago, during the age of reptiles,
and they were at the very beginning
of the transition from reptiles to
mammals In the entire history of
paleontology only one other such
skull has ever been found We found
six The animals are of two classes
-marsupials and muti-tuberculate-
and were about the size of rats,
"The oldest remains of prehistoric
man that we found were crude stone
scrapers of Mousterian type. that in
Europe are cOntemporaneOus with
the Neanderthal man. A late pale
olithc culture, corresponding to the
Azilian of Europe, and probably
twice as old, was discovered. We
named these people dune dwellers,'
because they inhabitated the sand
dunes on the shores of ancient lakes.
They date back 10000 years.
The expedition headed by Prof.
Andrews, consisted of forty men
twelve Americans, two British, four
teen Mongols and twelve Chinese.
1t travelled 5000 miles in the Cobb
Desert, of which 1900 miles was ex-
ploration in new country
TIE assure strong and healthy teach
ers in public schools of Connecticut,
all applicants for admission to nor