LONDON'S FIRST WOMAN

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 95, 16 January 1926, Page 14

LONDON'S FIRST WOMAN

All that remains ot the first-known Londoner—a woman wno Uvea t lit asanas ui years iieiore tile dawn ot recorded Inslory —uub uoeii piuced in *1 gtUbS case ui lue Lotuon University. i at t ot uer rusoHised skull was touuu during leeont excavations in Leadenliull .■,'tieei, and iroin this Irugmeilt 1 lu.essur uiliot Ninth, the anthtoj.oiogist, has reconstructed a good deal ot the woman’s n.story, including the inct that Ue wuld talk:.

The discovery wus made in Stone Ago gravel gt.lt. below the surl'ace, and consists ot the posterior two-thirds of tho brain case. It was broken by a workman, but the iraguients were rescued by a foreuian.

“The woman was between 40 and 50 years of age,” Professor binith told a representatue of the “Daily Chronicle,' “ami nearer 50 than 40. The reversal oi the uscal a.-ymmetry of the brain case indicated tbit she was left-handed, and other tacts show her to have been a sleiiderly-built woman, although most of the men of that period were of big stature. At the side of the skull was a protuberance at a point connected with the relationship of speech to the brain, and tins indicates that she could talk, lie had always maintained that speech was an essential distinction of the human race at the beginning, ii’ie probably had a very coarse luce, with no more than a snout tor a nose. The brain capacity was small,- slightly less than that of the lowest aborigine found iu Au -tralia.

“The owner of the skull probably lived from 15.01 H) to 20,060 years ago, but that was conjecture, for we had no material for dating these things. 'Slid wms certainly the oldest known Londoner. The next oldest Londoner of whom w-e had remains heloneed to the Neolithic period, and was several thousands of years more recent than this.” Profes nr Smith added that the skull had been broken before it began fo be fossilised, ami this Indicated tjmt the wnnian had not Peen buried at .the spot whore the remains were found, out the skull had been swept there by the Thames when it was a much larger stream.

To clean paints that is not varnished take a flannel, squeeze it nearly; dry out of warm water, and dip it in a little whiting. Anply it to tliu paint, and with a little rubbing it will instmtlv remove grease, smoke, or other stains. Wash with warm water and rub with a soft cloth. Tn darning stockings hold the darning wool for a minute or two over the spout of a settle of boiling water. This shrinks the wool, and when the stockings are washed there is no fear of mended parts shrinking and so tear stray from surrounding parts, so that the " stockings last much longer.

Styles in hosiery have changed since the davs when mother was a girl. Can vou imagine the sensation she would have caused bv such a display of hosiery as that given bv the modern girl. They were such unlovely cotton affairs, too—small wonder skirts were worn long To-day lovelv Silk Sheen Hosiery.' is the vogue, and it is priced at onlv 5/11.-—Advt.

For the after-theatre supper Peck’s “Anchovette” Fish Paste on hot buttered toast—delicious and appetising.— Advt. 2