The next step in our argument is to show that some fossil skulls possess, in a more or less degree, the features of the Australian skull—the degree of divergence from the normal European type being in direct proportion to their antiquity. The skull of the famous human skeleton discovered in 1856 in the cave of Feldhoven, situated at the entrance to the Neanderthal ravine, and since known as the "Neanderthal skull," presented such remarkable peculiarities that when first exhibited at a scientific meeting at Bonn, doubts were raised by several naturalists as to whether the bones were really human. Figs. 8 and 9 represent two views of this relic, outlined from figures published by Professor Huxley (Collected Essays, vol. vii., p. 180), from which its peculiar characters, especially the low, retreating forehead, may be seen at a glance.
Fig. 8.—Side view.
Fig. 9.—Top view.
The Neanderthal Skull (13). (After Huxley.)
The skull of one of the two skeletons, known as Les Hommes
