Sir Grafton Elliot Smith and Work on Early Man in China

Abstract

IN looking back over the history of the research on early man in China, it is of interest to realize how precarious was the adventure we entered upon. At the present time, we have five more or less complete skulls, four large skull-fragments, twelve mandibles, and nearly one hundred isolated teeth—indeed an imposing sum of specimens of Sinanthropus. However, the impressive point in this history is the fact that the vital generic characteristics of the distinct hominid were deduced from a diagnosis based, not upon this large number of specimens, but upon one single molar tooth. This specimen, which heralded a period of great scientific activity, was placed at our disposal in 1927 by the late Dr. Davidson Black.