They have been subjected to so searching a scrutiny and
discussion since they were found in Java in 1891 and 1892 that
there is now a general agreement as to their nature. At first
some of the experts thought that they were the remains of an
abnormally low man, and others that they belonged to an
abnormally high ape. The majority held from the start that they
belonged to a member of a race almost midway between the highest
family of apes and the lowest known tribe of men, and therefore
fully merited the name of "Ape-Man" (Pithecanthropus). This is
now the general view of anthropologists.
The Ape-Man of Java was in every respect entitled to that name.
The teeth suggest a lower part of the face in which the teeth and
lips projected more than in the most ape-like types of Central
Africa. The skull-cap has very heavy ridges over the eyes and a
low receding forehead, far less human than in any previously
known prehistoric skull. The thigh-bone is very much heavier than
any known human femur of the same length, and so appreciably
curved that the owner was evidently in a condition of transition
from the semi-quadrupedal crouch of the ape to the erect attitude
of man.
Pages:
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430