ANCIENT MAN.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVIII, Issue 16821, 29 May 1919, Page 5

ANCIENT MAN.

REMAINS IN AtfSTTIALTA;

THE TALGAP SK CJLL.

"Tethir'ani,"' writing --in., the "Aus. tralasian" on the Talgai skull] remarks* that the 1 question of the antiquity ol man m Australia is one of great scientific and general interest. Although it has been the subject of much discussion by learned societies the evidences found have been few, and of Inconclusive character. While there has persisted a .general belief, that ;the arrival of man in Australia dates back to a very ancient time-; it was not until the publication of Dr.'S. A. Smith, of Sydney, m Dpcem'oer,; 1916,f;bf an aocount of the Tflgai.' skull that any claim was made that this high geological antiquity could be regarded as established. Prior to the investigation of the Talgai skull, the evidence, that existed was" rif aboriginal remains or im>ple<mertts believed to ha.ve fnnfid Mn"«- fro 1 Iwjwl-f-' flaws'of Victoria (the "Buninyoraig" bon.?, etc), or nf' the WarTri.n rr, Hr»nl fon+nrints, ; .anfl +>>q T-.-1-iTnnn and d"'n<io reli'v found in-

th<s Wellington' caves, and'other p'aoes. in association with 'fossils of extinct animals. ;,

The Talgai'slnill first came into promin.ence in - a somewhat dramatic way, during the Svd?>ev meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1914. It" was then viewed and discussed-bv such authorities as Professors G. Elliott Smith;; Sollas; and yon Luschan, as well as bv Australian investigators, 'Professors David, Wilson, Berry, and others. Subsequently Dr. S. A. Smith made. a. most careful examination of the : .'skull, the results of which are: embraced* in a. paper contributed by hint;to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal 'Society of London. The skull/itself was found in 1884 in a. 'Vashout" of the Dalrvjnplp Gtreekfc at Talg«i,-- north-west .the town "of Warwick, in South-Eastern Queensland. While'no.other fossil 'bpnos have yet been found at Talgai, num-erous-remains; of,...extiuet,.animals- are recorded from localities ten' miles .wayr: among: tbesV we:find the giant marsupia.T dipptodon,-the. nud the huge horned reptile megalania. The Talgai skull was-thickly encrusted and i highly mineralised and a I thong* the age of th.» bads iij which it was found is riot known, the skull; itself. witness of a very great age .indeed, according to those best qualified to judge such/matters. ,;:'' ;

" A PEEHTSTORIC YOUTH. Among many details'of'interest, possibly thc< most important features nro the shape "and size of the "braih-box,' the projecting lower face, and the nature of the teeth. At'the time of the death of the original owner of the skull, tb.3 wisdom; teeth had not heen cut, and from this and other evidence it is known that the skull is that of a i male youth. The skull bones had been intensely fractured, hut the form was preserved, owing to the filling and coating, of mineral matter that had ac--1 cumulated. It is somewhat remarkable that at the time of the first exhibition of the skull, in 1914. all the authorities, present agreed in accepting it, pending ! further detailed examination, as an .extremely primitive skull, of Protrt-Aus-tralinn type, and further a.grPed as to , the hiib. importance: of the discovery The detailed investigation has confirmed all states: r "T.h's fossil human skuM of a not yet ad"lt Proto-Anstralian presents the genp'-al rupture of a. cranium s:milar in all respects to the cranium of the Australian of to-day, combined with a. facial skeleton of undoubtedly v Australian type. in the palate ana teeth of which there are to be found. in conjunction with', the moat primitive characters, found in modern skulls, certain characters more ape-like than Have been observed in any living or extinct race, except that of Eoanthropus." In the latter part of 1918, a correspondent in a Bris'oane paper endeavoured to discredit the great age of this fossil, and: in reply, to his statements, the director of the Queensland -Museum (Mr Longman) thus summed ; up the facts concerning the. large can- ! ine tePth of the skull:—"The outstanding feature is the enormous development of the canine teeth, which are sufficient' in themselves to make this Queensland fossil famous throughout i the world. These teeth are elongated, ' and bear 'certain surfaces of. wear, I which definitely show that they not ' only , protruded beyond their fellows,

hut came into contact with the sides jof the teeth in the lower jaw-hi a.way ! which brings to mind the dentition ot tb-e young anthropoid apes. This resemblance is strengthened, by the and squareness of the whole dental arch, which- is in excess of the, measurements of any known aboriginal skull. It may be safely stated that this fossil adds considerably to our knowledge of the development, of : human beings,, and is another definite ' and undeniable fact of • the existence in tho past of men or proto-men which were of a lower grade than . any living to-day. The Talgai skull will take its pla.c-3 with other famous fossils, amongst which, may be- mentioned , Pithecanthropus erectus (the 'so-called ' ape-man of Java), the now numerous skulls of the Neanderthal typi*, _ the massive jaw (Mauer) found at Heifcle'.herrr, and the Piltd-own skull found in. . England."

' It will be renlised that ox.cellpnfc and long-looked-for evidence has now forthcoming regarding the antiquity of mw. in Australia. ~nd. that the hopes bas?d or. previously inconclusive hiit siic!i?-<H"-ive evidence, have corns almost to full reaction. The incline; of the Tal.ir.ii skull should . Ntirmilfttn se*vch, esDPciiillv jvmnTi.fr cava romrunn. p.nd in svih , bn.<sa.ltirj r?«posits, and lest vfilna'K'') ho lost, anv TBTPnins w found phinM ">-" submitted at one? t--» n. ••mthnr'ity, and n rncord i stances of their finding*