The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4): A Plain Story Simply ToldThomson, J. Arthur (John Arthur)
Science
The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4): A Plain Story Simply Told
Thomson, J. Arthur (John Arthur)
Science
1. The first of these is represented by the scanty fossil remains known
as _Pithecanthropus erectus_, found in Java in fossiliferous beds which
date from the end of the Pliocene or the beginning of the Pleistocene
era. Perhaps this means half a million years ago, and the remains
occurred along with those of some mammals which are now extinct.
Unfortunately the remains of Pithecanthropus the Erect consisted only of
a skull-cap, a thigh-bone, and two back teeth, so it is not surprising
that experts should differ considerably in their interpretation of what
was found. Some have regarded the remains as those of a large gibbon,
others as those of a pre-human ape-man, and others as those of a
primitive man off the main line of ascent. According to Sir Arthur
Keith, Pithecanthropus was "a being human in stature, human in gait,
human in all its parts, save its brain." The thigh-bone indicates a
height of about 5 feet 7 inches, one inch less than the average height
of the men of to-day. The skull-cap indicates a low, flat forehead,
beetling brows, and a capacity about two-thirds of the modern size. The
remains were found by Dubois, in 1894, in Trinil in Central Java.
2. The next offshoot is represented by the Heidelberg man (_Homo
heidelbergensis_), discovered near Heidelberg in 1907 by Dr.
Schoetensack. But the remains consisted only of a lower jaw and its
teeth. Along with this relic were bones of various mammals, including
some long since extinct in Europe, such as elephant, rhinoceros, bison,
and lion. The circumstances indicate an age of perhaps 300,000 years
ago. There were also very crude flint implements (or eoliths). But the
teeth are human teeth, and the jaw seems transitional between that of an
anthropoid ape and that of man. Thus there was no chin. According to
most authorities the lower jaw from the Heidelberg sand-pit must be
regarded as a relic of a primitive type off the main line of human
ascent.
[Illustration: A RECONSTRUCTION OF THE JAVA MAN
(_Pithecanthropus erectus._)]
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