In the last few days a very important And has been made. It is a small piece of a temple bone that its exactly tke missing portion of fragmentary human skull found previously en the same spot. What sot particular interest about this bbone, is that the break line and the edies are slightly smooth and round ed, proving that it was purposely broken (ie, not accidentally) before became fossilized. Now this helps answer the much-disputed ques~ lion: under what circumstances did the human skulls come into the cave where they have been found?
Charcoal, askes, the burnt bones of animals, og also stone and bone impiements, have been found in the fame place as the human remains, thus proving that the cave was undoubtedly Inhabited by man at various limes. "Yet it is remarkable that, witly the exception of three pieces, no traces of any other bones of the human body have been found there. It seems impossible that all the human skeletal remains have disappeared completely in the course of ime and yet that the skulls and jawbones have remained. The only logic cal conclusion is that man himself brought the remains into the ca by preference the brain cases a jaws.
'Two alternative theories have been' put forward to account for this. Even to-day, among certain primitive tribes, the custom exists of carrying round fon one's person the skull or jaw of fa deceased wife or child. Ageinst this, however, it is argued, that if that were the reason for the presence of the skulls in the eave at Choukoutien, one would expect to find complete skulls. Yet, with one exception, no complete brain cases have been found. Moreover, if these skulls had been brought into the cave complete and had been smashed later by the collapse of tke cave root, for Instance, the fragments of the same skull ought to have been found lying} lose together on one spot. That not the ease.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.