Page:The American Journal of Science, series 4, volume 1.djvu/520

482 from the other. The bone is very, long, its greatest length being 455mm. The shaft is slender and nearly straight. The general form and proportions of this femur are shown in figure 5, Plate XIII, with a human femur for comparison.

These various remains of Pithecanthropus were again described in detail and compared with allied forms by Dr. Dubois in his paper at Leyden, and in the discussion that followed, the whole subject was once more gone over by anthropologists, zoologists, and geologists, in a most thorough and judicial manner. To attempt to weigh impartially the evidence as to the nature of Pithecanthropus, presented by Dr. Dubois in his paper and by those who took part in the critical discussion that followed its reading, would lead far beyond the limits of the present communication. I can only say that this evidence was strongly in favor of the view that the skull, of Pithecanthropus is not human, as the orbital and nuchal regions show, while at the same time it indicates an animal much above any anthropoid ape now known, living or extinct. Opinions differed as to whether the various remains pertained to the same individual, but no one doubted their importance.

The varied opinions expressed in regard to the anatomical characters of each of the specimens have already been published, and need not be repeated here. Dr. Dubois, in his papers above cited, has met all the principal objections made to his views since he announced his discovery. He has also given full references to the literature, which promises to be voluminous as the importance of the subject becomes better known. Among the authorities thus cited may be mentioned Cunningham, Keith, Lydekker, Turner; Manouvrier, Pettit, Topinard, Verneau; Haeckel, Krause, Martin, Ten Kate, and Virchow, who have all taken part in the discussion.

After a careful study of all the Pithecanthropus remains and of the evidence presented as to the original discovery, the position in which the remains were found, and the associated fossils, my own conclusions may be briefly stated, as follows:

(1) The remains of Pithecanthropus at present known are of Pliocene age, and the associated vertebrate fauna resembles that of the Siwalik Hills of India.

(2) The various specimens of Pithecanthropus apparently belonged to one individual.

(3) This individual was not human, but represented a form intermediate between man and the higher apes.

If it be true, as some have contended, that the different remains had no connection with each other, this simply proves that Dr. Dubois has made several important discoveries instead of one. All the remains are certainly anthropoid, and if any of them are human, the antiquity of man extends back into the Tertiary, and his affinities with the higher apes become much nearer than has hitherto been supposed. One thing is certain: the discovery of Pithecanthropus is an event of the first importance to the scientific world.