Prehistoric manDuckworth, W. L. H. (Wynfrid Laurence Henry)
History
Prehistoric man
Duckworth, W. L. H. (Wynfrid Laurence Henry)
Prehistoric peoples
[Illustration: Fig. 8. Tracings (from skiagrams) of various molar
teeth. The specimen _K.o._ from Krapina shews the
conjoined roots characteristic of teeth found at Krapina,
and in Jersey at S. Brélade's Bay. The large pulp-cavity
of the Krapina teeth should be noted. _K.o._, _K.C._,
_K.E._, _K.G._, from Krapina; _H._ Mauer. (From
Kramberger.)]
This brief sketch of the cranial characters of the Krapina remains must
be supplemented by a note on the teeth. Great numbers were found, and
some of them are of enormous dimensions, surpassing those of the Mauer
jaw. But some of the molar teeth are further distinguished in a very
remarkable way, for the roots supporting the crown of the tooth are
conjoined or fused: they are not distinct or divergent as is usual. The
contrast thus provided by these anomalous teeth is well illustrated in
the accompanying figure (8, _Ko_). Now such fusion of roots is not
absolutely unknown at the present day; but the third molar or wisdom
tooth is most frequently affected. The occurrence is extremely unusual in
the other molar teeth of modern men. Yet among the Krapina teeth, such
fusion is striking both in its degree and in its frequency. So marked a
characteristic has attracted much attention. Professor Kramberger holds
the view that it constituted a feature of adaptation peculiar to the
Palaeolithic men of Krapina. In opposition to this, Professor Adloff
holds that the character is so definite and marked as to enter into the
category of distinctive and specific conformations. The discussion of
these views was carried on somewhat warmly, but yet to some extent
fruitlessly so long as the only known examples were those from Krapina.
Dr Laloy supported Professor Kramberger, and on the other side may be
ranged the support of Professor Walkhoff. But a recent discovery has very
substantially fortified the view adopted by Professor Adloff and his
supporters. For in a cave near S. Brélade's Bay in Jersey, the
explorations of Messrs Nicolle, Sinel and Marett (1910-1911) have brought
to light Palaeolithic human teeth of very similar form. They are said
indeed by Dr Keith to be precisely comparable to those from Krapina. The
conjoined roots of such teeth should be regarded therefore as more than a
peculiarity of the Palaeolithic men of Croatia, and rather as a very
definite means of assigning to a particular Palaeolithic epoch any other
instances of a similar nature. Space will not admit of more than a
simple record of two other features of the Krapina teeth. They are (_a_)
the curvature of the canine teeth and (_b_) the remarkable size and
extent of the 'pulp-cavity' (cf. Fig. 8, _Ko_) of the molar teeth. In
entering upon so protracted a discussion of this part of the evidence,
the excuse is proffered that, as may be noted in the instances at Trinil
and Taubach, teeth are remarkably well-fitted for preservation in the
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