Abstract
PROF. ELLIOT SMITH'S announcement in another column of this issue that Dr. Davidson Black has reconstructed still another skull of Peking man from material obtained from the now famous cave of Chou Kou Tien is assuredly welcome though perhaps not entirely surprising. Four skulls and teeth belonging to probably six individuals have now been obtained from this source, and it is therefore evident that the fortunate explorers have lighted upon what must have been the final resting place and perhaps the home of a family group or horde of this type of early man. So far, no implements have been found which would determine the cultural horizon of Peking man, but the conditions of discovery are such as to afford grounds for hope. It is at any rate fortunate that the association of the remains with fossilised bones of animals assigned with some confidence to the Lower Pleistocene appears to place the date beyond question. Dr. Davidson Black has pronounced his latest skull to be that of a young adult male, while that found in December last is said to be that of a young woman. Comparative study of the two will no doubt be fruitful of results. A first inspection of the new skull has already yielded a new character of the nose in which it presents a marked difference from the Piltdown skull. A more detailed examination of the two skulls than is yet possible will be necessary before it can be determined what are the precise relationships of Peking man and other early types. It is already clear, however, that these remains will make possible a further advance in the reconstruction of man's ancestral forms. Prof. Elliot Smith is sailing for China on Aug. 14, and in this connexion the results of his personal examination of the material will be awaited with the keenest interest.
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[News and Views]. Nature 126, 211–216 (1930). https://doi.org/10.1038/126211a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/126211a0
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