In conclusion, I may say, that the fossil remains of Man hitherto discovered do not seem to me to take us appreciably nearer to that lower pithecoid form, by the modification of which he has, probably, become what he is. And considering what is now known of the most ancient races of men; seeing that they fashioned flint axes and flint knives and bone-skewers, of much the same pattern as those fabricated by the lowest savages at the present day, and that we have every reason to believe the habits and modes of living of such people to have remained the same from the time of the Mammoth and the tichorhine Rhinoceros till now, I do not know that this result is other than might be expected. Where, then, must we look for primæval Man? Was the oldest _Homo sapiens_ pliocene or miocene, or yet more ancient? In still older strata do the fossilized bones of an Ape more anthropoid, or a Man more pithecoid, than any yet known await the researches of some unborn paleontologist? Time will show. But, in the meanwhile, if any form of the doctrine of progressive development is correct, we must extend by long epochs the most liberal estimate that has yet been made of the antiquity of Man. FOOTNOTES: [38] Decas Collectionis suæ craniorum diversarum gentium illustrata. Gottingæ, 1790-1820. [39] In a subsequent passage, Schmerling remarks upon the occurrence of an incisor tooth "of enormous size" from the caverns of Engihoul. The tooth figured is somewhat long, but its dimensions do not appear to me to be otherwise remarkable. [40] The figure of this clavicle measures 5 inches from end to end in a straight line--so that the bone is rather a small than a large one. [41] ON THE CRANIA OF THE MOST ANCIENT RACES OF MAN. By Professor D. Schaaffhausen, of Bonn. (From Müller's Archiv., 1858, p. 453.) With Remarks, and original Figures, taken from a Cast of the Neanderthal Cranium. By George Busk, F.R.S., &c. Natural History Review, April, 1861. [42] Verhandl. d. Naturhist. Vereins der preuss. Rheinlande und Westphalens., xiv. Bonn, 1857. [43] Ib. Correspondenzblatt. No. 2. [44] This, Mr. Busk has pointed out, is probably the notch for the frontal nerve. [45] The numbers in brackets are those which I should assign to the different measures, as taken from the plaster cast.--G. B. [46] Verh. des Naturhist. Vereins in Bonn, xiv. 1857. [47] Estimating the facial angle in the way suggested, on the cast I should place it at 64° to 67°.--G. B. [48] See an excellent Essay by Mr. Church on the Myology of the Orang, in the Natural History Review, for 1861. [49] In no normal human skull does the breadth of the brain-case exceed its length. [50] See Dr. D. Wilson's valuable paper "On the supposed prevalence of one Cranial Type throughout the American aborigines."--Canadian Journal, vol. ii., 1857. IV THE PRESENT CONDITION OF ORGANIC NATURE.