第 8 节
作者:痛罚      更新:2021-04-30 16:09      字数:6878
  supraciliary ridge; would convert the Australian brain case into a form
  identical with that of the aberrant fossil。
  And now; to return to the fossil skulls; and to the rank which they
  occupy among; or beyond; these existing varieties of cranial
  conformation。  In the first place; I must remark; that; as Professor
  Schmerling well observed ('supra'; p。 300) in commenting upon the Engis
  skull; the formation of a safe judgment upon the question is greatly
  hindered by the absence of the jaws from both the crania; so that there
  is no means of deciding with certainty; whether they were more or less
  prognathous than the lower existing races of mankind。  And yet; as we
  have seen; it is more in this respect than any other; that human skulls
  vary; towards and from; the brutal typethe brain case of an average
  dolichocephalic European differing far less from that of a Negro; for
  example; than his jaws do。  In the absence of the jaws; then; any
  judgment on the relations of the fossil skulls to recent Races must be
  accepted with a certain reservation。
  But taking the evidence as it stands; and turning first to the Engis
  skull; I confess I can find no character in the remains of that cranium
  which; if it were a recent skull; would give any trustworthy clue as to
  the Race to which it might appertain。  Its contours and measurements
  agree very well with those of some Australian skulls which I have
  examinedand especially has it a tendency towards that occipital
  flattening; to the great extent of which; in some Australian skulls; I
  have alluded。  But all Australian skulls do not present this flattening;
  and the supraciliary ridge of the Engis skull is quite unlike that of
  the typical Australians。
  On the other hand; its measurements agree equally well with those of
  some European skulls。 And assuredly; there is no mark of degradation
  about any part of its structure。  It is; in fact; a fair average human
  skull; which might have belonged to a philosopher; or might have
  contained the thoughtless brains of a savage。
  The case of the Neanderthal skull is very different。  Under whatever
  aspect we view this cranium; whether we regard its vertical depression;
  the enormous thickness of its supraciliary ridges; its sloped occiput;
  or its long and straight squamosal suture; we meet with ape…like
  characters; stamping it as the most pithecoid of human crania yet
  discovered。  But Professor Schaaffhausen states ('supra'; p。 308); that
  the cranium; in its present condition; holds 1033。24 cubic centimetres
  of water; or about 63 cubic inches; and as the entire skull could hardly
  have held less than an additional 12 cubic inches; its capacity may be
  estimated at about 75 cubic inches; which is the average capacity given
  by Morton for Polynesian and Hottentot skulls。
  So large a mass of brain as this; would alone suggest that the pithecoid
  tendencies; indicated by this skull; did not extend deep into the
  organization; and this conclusion is borne out by the dimensions of the
  other bones of the skeleton given by Professor Schaaffhausen; which
  show that the absolute height and relative proportions of the limbs
  were quite those of an European of middle stature。  The bones are
  indeed stouter; but this and the great development of the muscular
  ridges noted by Dr。 Schaaffhausen; are characters to be expected in
  savages。  The Patagonians; exposed without shelter or protection to a
  climate possibly not very dissimilar from that of Europe at the time
  during which the Neanderthal man lived; are remarkable for the
  stoutness of their limb bones。
  FIG。 31。Ancient Danish skull from a tumulus at Borreby:  one…third of
  the natural size。 From a camera lucida drawing by Mr。 Busk。
  In no sense; then; can the Neanderthal bones be regarded as the remains
  of a human being intermediate between Men and Apes。  At most; they
  demonstrate the existence of a man whose skull may be said to revert
  somewhat towards the pithecoid typejust as a Carrier; or a Pouter; or
  a Tumbler; may sometimes put on the plumage of its primitive stock; the
  'Columba livia'。  And indeed; though truly the most pithecoid of known
  human skulls; the Neanderthal cranium is by no means so isolated as it
  appears to be at first; but forms; in reality; the extreme term of a
  series leading gradually from it to the highest and best developed of
  human crania。 On the one hand; it is closely approached by the
  flattened Australian skulls; of which I have spoken; from which other
  Australian forms lead us gradually up to skulls having very much the
  type of the Engis cranium。  And; on the other hand; it is even more
  closely affined to the skulls of certain ancient people who inhabited
  Denmark during the 'stone period;' and were probably either
  contemporaneous with; or later than; the makers of the 'refuse heaps;'
  or 'Kjokkenmoddings' of that country。
  The correspondence between the longitudinal contour of the Neanderthal
  skull and that of some of those skulls from the tumuli at Borreby; very
  accurate drawings of which have been made by Mr。 Busk; is very close。
  The occiput is quite as retreating; the supraciliary ridges are nearly
  as prominent; and the skull is as low。  Furthermore; the Borreby skull
  resembles the Neanderthal form more closely than any of the Australian
  skulls do; by the much more rapid retrocession of the forehead。  On the
  other hand; the Borreby skulls are all somewhat broader; in proportion
  to their length; than the Neanderthal skull; while some attain that
  proportion of breadth to length (80:100) which constitutes
  brachycephaly。
  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 primaeval 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。
  End