W. L. H. Duckworth

“ Turning once more to the subject of human remains, the evolution of educated opinion and the oscillations of the latter deserve a word of notice. For instance, in 1863, the Engis skull received its full and due share of attention. Then in a period marked by the discoveries at Spy and Trinil, the claims of the Engis fossil fell somewhat into abeyance. To-day we see them again and even more in evidence. So it has been with regard to details. At one period, the amount of brain contained within the skull of the Neanderthal man was underestimated. ”

“ A. Up to a certain point, the evidence is strikingly favourable to the hypothesis of human evolution. By this is meant the gradual development of the modern type of skeleton found in association with a large and active brain, capable of manifesting its activity in a great variety of ways. Most of the oldest human skeletons just described, differ from this type. Although a difference cannot be demonstrated in respect of cranial capacity, yet those older skeletons are usually distinguished by the heavier jaw and by stout curved limb-bones of such length as to indicate an almost dwarf stature. ”

“ Of all the discoveries of ancient remains, whether possibly or certainly human, two in particular stand out pre-eminently in marked relief. The specimens thus distinguished are known as the remains of Pithecanthropus erectus, on the one hand, and on the other a jaw-bone which is attributed to a human type described (from the locality of the discovery) as Homo heidelbergensis.
The geological antiquity assigned in each instance [Pg 2] is greater than that claimed for any bones acknowledged unreservedly to be human. ”

“ The fact that the thigh-bone might easily have passed as that of a man, while the skull-fragment is so divergent from all modern forms as to be scarcely human, is of great interest. The contrast between the indications provided by the two bones was remarked at once. Some writers, rejecting certain other evidence on the point, then drew the inference that the human thigh-bone had been evolved and had arrived at the distinctive human condition in advance of the skull. ”

“ For when a human being first employed stones as implements, natural forms with sharp points or edges would be probably selected. The first early attempts to improvise these or to restore a blunted point or edge would be so erratic as to be indistinguishable (in the result) from the effects of fortuitous collisions. While such considerations are legitimately applicable to human artefacts of Oligocene or Miocene antiquity, they might well appear to be less effective when directed to the Pleistocene representatives where signs of progress might be expected. ”

“ In fact, a human thigh-bone may be much less straight and less slender than that of arboreal animals such as the Gibbon, the Cebus monkey, or the Lemurs (especially Nycticebus) . The [Pg 9] famous Eppelsheim femur is straighter than, and as slender as that of Pithecanthropus. It was regarded at first as that of a young woman, but is now ascribed to an anthropoid ape. And in fact, even if the skull-cap and thigh-bone of Pithecanthropus should be retained in association, it seems that the title ‘erectus’ is not fully justified. ”

“ Apart from their abundance, the fragmentary character of the human bones is very remarkable. The discovery that one particular stratum in the cave consisted mainly of burnt human bones has suggested that some of the early inhabitants of the Krapina shelter practised cannibalism.
Indeed this view is definitely adopted by Professor Kramberger, and he makes the suggestion that the remains include representatives of those who practised as well as those who suffered from this custom. Both young individuals and those of mature age are represented, but very aged persons have not been recognised. ”

“ The male skeleton has the right arm flexed, but the left extended (as in the cases of La Chapelle, Le Moustier, and La Ferrassie) .
It is practically certain that the skeletons do not belong to an epoch represented, as regards its culture or fauna, by strata lower than that which supported the human remains. This conclusion is very important here. For the evidence of the stone implements accompanying the human bones is fairly definite: it points to the Mousterian age. ”

“ The ‘sub-boulder-clay’ skeleton, discovered near Ipswich in 1911, was in an extraordinarily contracted attitude. Many parts are absent or imperfect, owing to the solvent action of the surroundings, but what remains is sufficient to reveal several features of importance (cf. fig. 29) .
Save in one respect, the skeleton is not essentially different from those of the existing representatives of humanity. The exception is provided by the shin-bone. ”

“ It is therefore necessary to treat the bones separately. If this is done, there is no reason to regard the thigh-bone as other than that of a large monkey of one of the varieties known to have inhabited South America in prehistoric as well as in recent times.
The vertebra is more interesting. It is small but thick and strong in a degree out of proportion to its linear dimensions. Professor Lehmann-Nitsche supposes that it may have formed part of a skeleton like that of Pithecanthropus, that is to say that it is not part of a pygmy skeleton. ”

“ Professor Dubois assigned the bones to one and the same skeleton, and for this he has been severely criticised. Apart from arguments affecting the geological age of the specimens, the question of their forming part of a single individual is very momentous. For if two skeletons are represented, one may be human, while the other is that of an ape. ”

“ It leads to the expectation that the fauna in general will have a ‘southern,’ as contrasted with an ‘arctic’ aspect. From the study of the Rhinoceros it appears that the Mauer Sands are probably the most ancient in order of time, that the strata of Taubach are the latest of the three and that Elephas antiquus will occur there (as indeed it does) .
The other animals mentioned clinch the evidence for the Pliocene resemblance, and (at latest) the early Pleistocene antiquity of the Mauer Sands and the high-level terrace gravels. ”

“ The fauna is entirely Pleistocene, if we except such a trifling claim to Pliocene antiquity as may be based upon the presence of Rhinoceros merckii at Krapina.
The results of this enquiry shew therefore that genuine Mousterian implements are of Pleistocene age, that they were fabricated by human beings of a comparatively low type, who lived in caves and were by occupation hunters of deer and other large ungulate animals. ”

“ The reconstructed skull contains teeth which are large and in the incisor region (i.e. in front) are much curved downwards in the direction of their length. But this, though probably correct, is yet a matter of inference, for only a couple of teeth (the second premolars of the left side) were found in situ. And so far no detailed description of these teeth has appeared. The mandible is of extraordinary dimensions; very widely separated ‘ascending rami’ converge to the massive body of the jaw. The sigmoid notch is almost as shallow as in the Mauer jaw. The chin is retreating or absent. ”

“ In comparison with that antiquity, Lyell believed the historical period ‘would appear quite insignificant in duration.’ As to the course of human evolution, it was possible even at that early date to quote Huxley's opinion ‘that the primordial stock whence man has proceeded need no longer be sought ... in the newer tertiaries, but that they may be looked for in an epoch more distant from the age of the Elephas primigenius than that is from us.’
The human fossils at the disposal of those authors included the Neanderthal, the Engis, and the Denise bones. ”

“ With regard to the three alluvial deposits, the Rhinoceros provides a means of distinction not indicated by the elephantine representative, and the presence of R. etruscus is a test for very ancient deposits. From what has been stated above, it follows that of the three localities the Mauer Sands have the more ancient facies, and it is significant that here also the human form proves to be furthest removed from modern men. But the other localities are not clearly differentiated, save that the Taubach strata are perhaps the more recent of the two. ”

“ But to return from this digression to the objections against the Pithecanthropus erectus, it must now be explained that the very contrast between the thigh-bone and the skull-cap in respect of these inferences, has been used as an argument against the association of these bones as part of one skeleton.
The objection may be met in two ways at least. For instance, the thigh-bone may yet possess characters which lessen its resemblance to those of recent men, but are not recognised on a superficial inspection. ”

“ Fragmentary remains of a human skeleton: the mandible is the best preserved portion; unfortunately the front part has been broken off so that no conclusion can be formed as to the characters of the chin. Otherwise in regard to its proportions, some resemblance is found with the mandible of the Spy skull (No. 1) . More important and definite is the direction of the grinding surfaces of the molar teeth. In the lower jaw, this surface is said to look forwards. The interest of this observation consists in the fact that the tooth from Taubach presents the same feature, which is unusual. ”

“ The contracted attitude of the skeleton, and our familiarity of this as a feature of neolithic interments, taken together with the fact that the skeleton does not differ essentially from such as occur in interments of that antiquity, are points in favour of the neolithic age of the specimen. On the other hand, Mr Moir would urge that man certainly existed in an age previous to the deposition of the boulder-clay; that the implements discovered in that stratum support this claim ”

“ The suggestion is now advanced that a comparatively slight increase in activity might result in the production of such ‘Neanderthaloid’ characters as massive brow-ridges and limb bones. (Of existing races, some of the aborigines of Australia would appear to exemplify this process, but to a lesser degree than the extinct type, since the aboriginal limb bones are exempt.) Professor Keith adopts the view that the Neanderthal type is ancestral to the modern types. ”

“ By a curious coincidence, Professor Keith, in rebutting the whole hypothesis, makes a statement not irrelevant in this connexion. For he opines that ‘the characters which separate these two types of men (viz. the Aurignac and Neanderthal types) are exactly of the same character and of the same degree as separate a blood-horse from a shire-stallion.’ Now some zoologists have paid special attention to such differences, when engaged in attempts to elucidate the ancestry of the modern types of horse. ”

“ In 1855, Morlot took in hand the work of charting the extent of several Swiss glaciations. At last the possibility of a subdivision of the boulder-clay was realised, and it was demonstrated by the researches of Sir A. Geikie [41] (1863) . But such division of the boulder-clay leads directly to an inference of successive [Pg 116] periods of deposition—and when the earlier opinion (whereby the boulder-clay was regarded as a submarine deposit) was partly abandoned in favour of its origin as a ‘ground-moraine,’ the plurality of glaciations was still more strongly supported. ”

“ If the apes be thus rejected, the next question is, Would the Mauer jaw be appropriate to such a cranium as that of Pithecanthropus? I believe an affirmative answer is justifiable. It is true that an excellent authority (Keith [7] ) hesitates on the ground that the mandible seems too massive for the skull, though the same writer recognises that, in regard to the teeth, the comparison is apt. This is a difficult point. For instance the H. moust. hauseri (cf. Chapter II) has a mandible which is far ‘lower’ than the capacity of the brain-case would lead one to expect. ”

“ It is thus clear that a high value attaches to these specimens if they be regarded as documents testifying to the course of human evolution. When the bones are examined, the contrast they provide with all human remains is so marked as to emphasise at once the necessity for a thorough and critical examination of their structure. ”