As far back as 1886 the value of the Neandertal skull was greatly
enhanced by Fraipont's discovery of two skulls and skeletons from Spy
in Belgium. These are excellently described by their discoverer,[114]
and are regarded as belonging to the same group of forms as the
Neandertal remains. In 1899 and the following years came the discovery
by Gorjanovič-Kramberger of different skeletal parts of at least
ten individuals in a cave near Krapina in Croatia.[115] It is in
particular the form of the lower jaw which is different from that of
all recent races of man, and which clearly indicates the lowly
position of _Homo primigenius_, while, on the other hand, the
long-known skull from Gibraltar, which I[116] have referred to _Homo
primigenius_, and which has lately been examined in detail by
Sollas,[117] has made us acquainted with the surprising shape of the
eye-orbit, of the nose, and of the whole upper part of the face.
Isolated lower jaws found at La Naulette in Belgium, and at Malarnaud
in France, increase our material which is now as abundant as could be
desired. The most recent discovery of all is that of a skull dug up in
August of this year [1908] by Klaatsch and Hauser in the lower grotto
of the Le Moustier in Southern France, but this skull has not yet been
fully described. Thus _Homo primigenius_ must also be regarded as
occupying a position in the gap existing between the highest apes and
the lowest human races, _Pithecanthropus_, standing in the lower part
of it, and _Homo primigenius_ in the higher, near man. In order to
prevent misunderstanding, I should like here to emphasise that in
arranging this structural series--anthropoid apes, _Pithecanthropus_,
_Homo primigenius_, _Homo sapiens_--I have no intention of
establishing it as a direct genealogical series. I shall have
something to say in regard to the genetic relations of these forms,
one to another, when discussing the different theories of descent
current at the present day.[118]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account