Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-30
BONES DISCOVERY
REEVES ARGUMENT
ON PRIMITIVE MAN
Skeleton Buried in Texas
River Bank Studied by
Scientists.
PSYCHOLOGIST BELIEVES
IT PALEOLITHlC DEPOSIT
Curator Of Anthropology Disputes
Evidence of Earlier Race Than
Indians in America.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

10 inches of soil in Texas river bank,
promises to reopen the controversy over
the antiquity Of man in America, IN
which Washington scientists have taken
a prominent part.
DR.. Walter Hough, curator OF an
thropology Of the National Museum, mas
lust returned from Central Texas, after
inspecting these fossil bones He founo
them in such a condition, however. that
he would not venture an opinion on
their age. DR.. Cyrus N. Ray, president
of the Archaeological Society of Texas,
js convinced that the skeleton Is that
of a human being who inhabited that
part of America in paleolithlc times,
possibly even that of pre-human pre-
cursor Of man.
Found by Cowboy.
The skeleton came to light when
COWBOY found two human femur bones
protruding from the bank. He called 1t
IN the attention of local Psychologists,
who were struck by the peculiar geo.
logical formation and proceeded to ex-
cavate. They found the bones lying
under 10 inches of soil in clearly
defined strata, which showed evidence
of not having been disturbed since tney
were laid down. -.
The skeleton was folded at the nips
bones we're in place, including com .
nlete skull cap and a lower jaw with all
the teeth. This skull lay nat under
large stone which had crushed 1t so
that an expert in physical anthropology
will be required to rebuild it, DR.. Ray S
nrelinninary examination indicated that
there was very little space in the skull
above the level of the eyebrows. which
he interprets as indicating brain
which had not quite reached the human
level. Parts of the skull were unusually
, thick.
The geological history of the site In
dictates that the body first was buried
about two feet deep in a stratum OF
sandy clay loan. Then the river over.
flowing. its banks through a period OF
, many thousands Of years placed the
other five soil strata on top OF 1t. There
was no evidence that any Of these
strata except the last had been dis
turbed. Old inhabitants say that the
river overflows about once IN Is years,
Age Is Disputed.
The burial is doubtless very old. DR..
Hough says. but he is not convinced
that 1t is more than a few thousand
wears old while the Texas Psychologists
would place It from $4,000 to 100000
years in the past. This would indicate
| that a race of primitive men inhabited
America before the coming of the
| Indians from Asia. which Is known to
have occurred not more than 10000
years ago. What became OF the ancient
race If It existed, nobody knows. The
description Of the skeleton given by the
| Texas investigators Is roughly similar to
of Europe. who is believed to have lived
| just before the coming Of true men,
| the ancestors Of the present human
| race, but who already had reached a
very crude culture.
There have been so many disap-
points. Dr. Hough said that anthro-
| biologists are loath to pronounce any
1 skeletal material found in the West
ern Hemisphere extremely old. The
combination Of a skeleton primitive in
| appearance and the geological strata
indicating great age is always worthy
of investigation, but both may be pure
ly accidental Thus there are human
beings living today with extremely
! primitive skulls and from the earliest
times the dead were disposed of by
burial.
Will Study Site.
Expeditions from the American
Museum of Natural History and from
the University of California will study
! the site this Summer in the hope Of
securing more material. There are
some indications that it was an ancient
camp site, either of an Indian tribe
or of the mysterious primitive people
and there may be more similar graves
II three or four skulls should be found
with low-beetling supra -orbital bones
halfway betwee- those of man and the
apes all buried in a similar geological
environment, 1t would be hard to ex-
plain as a coincidence.
Very little is known about the arch.
eology of Texas. DR.. Hough said, al.
though it must have been inhabited by
Indian tribes long before the discovery
of America. He brought back severa
we'll made flint instruments which he
believes were used for scraping the
hides of buffalo to make clothing. The
people who made these, probably
tribe Of rowing hunters, were quite diff
ferent from the alleged primitive hui
mans. Numerous letters are received
at the National Museum, DIR. Hougf
said, describing sensational diScoverle:
which do not hold up under 1nvestl
CATION. Often such reports are made
by scientific men who have venturet
outside their own specialties.
Goes to Alaska.
Meanwhile DR.. Ales Hrdlicks, whit
after numerous Investigations has be-
come one of the foremost opponents o.
the theory that man may have existed
on this continent before the coming o.
the Indians. has left Washington fol
Alaska. where he will explore the Yukor
River banks this Summer for more evi
dence of mans migration from the Fa
North Dr. Hrdlicka believes that tn,
Yukon was the path followed by thu
original migrants from :; Kamchatk;
southwark into the heart of Nortl
! America.
He will start at Dawson. the almos
deserted capital of the Klondyke, ant
proceed in chartered boat to various
mission stations and Indian villages
where buried evidences of a prehistori
culture have been reported. He viii
investigate especially the famous paint
ed cities of the dead. Lacking instru
ments to dig graves in the frozen soil
the ancient people placed each bod.
: on the surface and built a woodel
structure about it to protect it from tn
wild animals. Some of these still ar
: standing.