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TENE

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 52

EARLY MAN IN SOUTH: AMERICA

BY

ALES HRDLICKA

Curator of the Division of Physical Anthropology
U. S. National Museum

IN COLLABORATION WITH

W. H. HOLMES BAILEY WILLIS
Head Curator of the Department of Anthropology Member of the United States Geological Survey
U. S. National Museum
AND
FRED. EUGENE WRIGHT anp CLARENCE N. FENNER
Petrologist Assistant Petrologist

Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington

Die ech a 4

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFIOE
1912

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Stuy 14 tO

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION,
~ BurEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY,
Washington, D. C., June 2, 1911.

Str: Five years ago the Bureau published as Bulletin 33, under
the title ‘Skeletal Remains Suggesting or Attributed to Early Man
in North America,” the results of Doctor Hrdli¢ka’s comprehensive
researches on that subject. I now have the honor to submit for
your consideration the manuscript of “ Early Man in South America,”
the work of the same author in collaboration with Prof. W. H.
Holmes, Mr. Bailey Willis, of the United States Geological Survey,
and Messrs. Fred. Eugene Wright and Clarence E. Fenner, of the
Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
and to suggest its publication, with your approval, as Bulletin 52
of the Bureau’s series.

Yours, very respectfully,
F. W. Hones,

Ethnologist in Charge.
Dr. CHartes D. WatcortT,

Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D. C.
II

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PREFACE

Between the years 1899 and 1907 the writer carried on a series of
investigations with regard to the various skeletal remains which
suggested or were attributed to ancient man in North America.
These studies resulted in a number of publications,’ culminating in a
general treatise comprehending the whole subject, which appeared as
Bulletin 33 of the Bureau of American Ethnology. The results of
the investigations seemed at first to lend support to the theory of
considerable antiquity for some of the remains presented as evidence,
as, for example, the two low skulls discovered at Trenton, New Jersey.
Subsequent researches however, cleared up most of the uncertain
points and the entire inquiry appeared to establish the fact that no
specimen had come to light in the northern continent, which, from
the standpoint of physical anthropology, represented other than a
relatively modern man.

The possibility of discovering osseous remains of man of geologic
antiquity in North America still exists, but, as was brought out in
the studies referred to, any find to be accepted as establishing the
existence of such man would have to be unequivocally authenticated
by the anthropologist and the geologist working in cooperation. The
various conclusions reached in these studies seem to have been quite
generally accepted and no further discoveries of osseous remains
pointing to the presence of early man in this part of the world have
been made.

While occupied with the subject of man’s antiquity in North Amer-
ica, the writer became more directly interested in the reports of re-
lated discoveries in South America, particularly in Argentina. It was
soon found, however, that these reports, or at least those dealing with
the finds of human remains up to 1907, were singularly incomplete
and unsatisfactory. The records of the many cases were full of
defects and uncertainties which, owing to the distance of the field and
other difficulties, seemed insurmountable obstacles preventing the
formation of a definite opinion as to the merit of any of the finds.

1 The Crania of Trenton, N. J., and their Bearing upon the Antiquity of Man in that Region; in Bulletin
of the American Museum of Natural History, XV1, pp. 23-62, New York, 1902.

The Lansing Skeleton; in American Anthropologist, N. S., V, 323-330, Lancaster, Pa., June, 1903.

A Report on the Trenton Femur (written in 1902), published with E.Volk’s The Archeology of the Del-
aware Valley; Papers of the Peabody Museum, v, Cambridge, Mass., 1911.

Skeletal Remains Suggesting or Attributed to Early Man in North America; Bulletin 33 of the Bureau
of American Ethnology, pp. 1-113, pls. I-xXx1, figs. 1-16, Washington, 1907.

Vi

VI PREFACE

But before the close of the year which marked the conclusion of the
writer’s inquiries relating to ancient man in North America (1907),
there appeared in Argentina an important résumé of the evidence
relating to the man of the Pampean formations in that country, by
Lehmann-Nitsche and a number of his associates, and this was soon
followed by the reports on the apparently epoch-making discoveries
of the Tetraprothomo (1907), Diprothomo (1909), and Homo pampezus
(1909), by F. Ameghino, all! of which stimulated to a high point the
writer’s interest in the question of early man in the “es pet conti-
nent. Then, with the earnest aid of Prof. W. H. Holmes, who has
always had much at heart the impartial solution of the problest of
man’s antiquity in America, and through the good offices of the
present Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, it became possible
for the writer to visit Argentina. In recognition of the importance
of expert geologic evidence in studies of this kind, it was arranged that
the writer should be accompanied by a competent geologist, ac-
quainted with formations in other parts of the world allied to those of
the pampas. The selection for this service fell on Mr. Bailey Willis,
of the United States Geological Survey, who had done important work
on the loess and related formations in North America and in China.

The chief objects of the expedition were the examination of the skele-
tal remains relating to early man that are preserved in Brazil and in
Argentina; the study of at least the principal localities and of the
deposits from which the finds were reported to proceed; and the dis-
covery, if possible, and the collection of osseous, archeologic, or other
specimens bearing on man’s antiquity.

It was hoped that the work on the ground, carried to such extent as
the circumstances might allow, would make it possible to form more
definite conclusions concerning the individual finds than the litera
ture on these warranted, and that possibly by means of new discover-
ies additional light might be shed on the whole subject of early man in
South America, particularly in Argentina.

The journey was undertaken, it should be explicitly stated, with no
prejudice or preconceived opinions, though in view of the defertias
reports skepticism concerning certain details or finds was unavoidable.

Argentina was reached ss in May, 1910, and the stay of the
writer in the country lasted two months and that of Mr. Willis some-
what longer; almost all of this time was given to the researches here
recorded. The Argentine men of science, Srs. Ameghino, Ambrosetti,
Lehmann-Nitsche, Moreno, Outes, Roth, and others, received Mr. Willis
and the writer very cordially and facilitated their work with a liberality
that has left a lasting impression and has placed them under many
obligations. Sefior Moreno and Professor Ameghino, with his brother
Carlos, were particularly helpful; without their aid a large portion of
the work could not have been accomplished. The specimens which it

PREFACE VII

was important to examine, even those the descriptions of which had
not yet been published, were placed freely at the disposal of the
writer and his colleague; Professor Ameghino and his brother accom-
panied them, notwithstanding the inclement season, for nearly three
weeks from point to point along the coast where vestiges of ancient
man or his forerunners were believed to have been discovered; H.
Santiago Roth visited Alvear with Mr. Willis; and de Carles, at the
instance of Professor Ameghino, accompanied the party to the distant
Ovejero. Finally, through the good offices of Sefior Moreno, the
writer received most valuable aid from the provincial authorities of
Patagonia and from several prominent citizens of the city of Carmen.
Sincere thanks are due to all of these gentlemen and to many others
by whom assistance was rendered.

The first weeks of his stay were given by the writer to the study of
the available skeletal material attributed to ancient man or his fore-
runners, in the Museo Nacional, the Facultad de Filosofia y Letras,
and the Museo de La Plata; while Mr. Willis devoted his time to
the examination at the same institutions of the many samples of
baked earth, scoriz, and other objects, believed to exhibit the activi-
ties of ancient man. Besides this, spare time was utilized by visits to
places in Buenos Aires which show exposures of the local formation,
and especially to the docks where the Diprothomo skull had been dis-
covered, in search of first-hand information concerning this find.

On May 24 Mr. Willis and the writer set out for the coast, along
which the more important specimens had been discovered, and a few
days after, at Mar del Plata, were joined by Professor Ameghino and
his brother Carlos. Examinations were made of the coast from north
of Mar del Plata to the Barrancas de los Lobos (see maps, pls. 1, 21;
figs. 1, 2), a section very important from the standpoint of arche-
ology and geology; of the more inland Laguna de los Padres, the
neighborhood of which was occupied up to late historic times by a
small body of Indians; of the coast about and to the northeast cf
Miramar, a region interesting archeologically, geologically, and
because of finds, slightly farther to the south, of two ‘‘fossil ’? human
erania; of the Necochea and the Arroyo del Moro parts of the coast,
highly interesting because of recent finds there of a number cf ‘‘fossil”’
human skeletons; and finally of the Monte Hermoso barranea, which
yielded the Tetraprothomo.

On the completion of the foregoing work, Professor Ameghino and
his brother returned to Buenos Aires, the writer set out for the valley of
the Rio Negro, whence came many years ago the ‘fossil’? Patagonian
erania, while Mr. Willis proceeded to visit certain of the inland hills
for the purpose of supplementing his geologic observations on the coast,
thence to the localities of Arroyo Siasgo and Alvear, the former the
site of a recent find of “‘fossil’’ man, and the other a well-known place

VIII PREFACE

that has given many examples of baked earth and other apparent
evidonces of man’s antiquity. Early in July Mr. Willis and the
writer returned once more to Buenos Aires, completed as far as possi-
ble the work of research there, and then started with Sr. de Carles
for Ovejero, a locality in the northwestern part of Argentina, which in
the last few years has yielded a relatively large quantity of ‘‘fossil”’
human bones. Subsequently this trip was extended, for geologic as
well as anthropologic purposes, to Tucuman, San Juan, and Mendoza.
From the last-named place Mr. Willis returned to Buenos Aires, while
the writer crossed the Andes on his way to Peru.

The writer left Argentina feeling that the time at his disposal there,
though utilized to the utmost, was al too brief. The country aboum
in anthropologic problems and material and large sections as yet
have not been explored. But the opportunities suggested by these
considerations belong to the future. The writer and his colleague
were not able to visit some of the places where remains of presumably
ancient man were found, because, the discoveries having been made
many years ago by men no longer among the living, the exact localities
are not known. There was no time to conduct more extensive
excavations, and even the examinations of some of the specimens
could have been made with advantage more detailed. The main
objects of the journey had been accomplished, however, so that fur-
ther particulars could not be expected to change or augment mate-
rially the essentials of the evidence. Whatever doubts remain are
of such nature that only by justifiable inference and strictly scientific
field work can it be hoped to effect their final solution.

Unfortunately the general results of the inquiry here outlined are
not in harmony with the claims of the various authors who reported
the several finds. As will be seen by the details, the evidence is, up to
the present time, unfavorable to the hypothesis of man’s great antiq-
uity, and especially to the existence of man’s predecessors in South
America; and it does not sustain the theories of the evolution of man
in general, or even of that of the American man alone, in the southern
continent. The facts gathered attest everywhere merely the presence
of the already differentiated and relatively modern American Indian.

Avast

CONTENTS

Te General considerations, by Ales Hrdlicka./.......2.-.-.......---:----
TI. Enumeration of the South American finds relating to early man, by Ales
Lelie L623 apsteyty lal beam atl lee ae pe a A le ee Lae ee

Til, General eologic notes, by Bailey Willis.-:..-......-.-----------------
Arne ter iy Mie re tc en hoo Fe caren ei ness ss US
General sector deacripuOn. <6... os wg o = =a ge= see i +

@ Warped eomitemtal surance oc. sae ke oak ames tebe os

Digan peta eit 2 olan ara ore ana oe pe ban oe eh = ve =

Upper Pampean and Post-Pampean......-..---.----------

aT eC CU OF Te PMURPAD oh 6 as as ia eon wee a Pe een

Summary or senlogic retinue. 22205... ce me een = os

Report on shells collected by Ale’ Hrdli¢ka and Bailey Willis, in
ements, DY Wil: Ho DAU be oe ee een = =n

nV. Wnerts coctda- score, by alley Willis: 2.525... ..--~=- - 42. s25---+--4-
IDA Sled Ui jeghs lar Shell © Wc fon egg ge ar a aie ea) 2 Sg

V. Petrographic study of the specimens of loess, tierra cocida, and scoria
collected by the Hrdlitka-Willis expedition, by Fred. Eugene Wright

SUE GUST EYEE RI: [ae L251 ies eee na rg aoe 298 eae
TEU Tis EOS 01 5 4a Sie ee ah ee eee ee mR = Seas Ee os eRe
Wescrmiionn Gr Specimens... 2)... 222... 5 e oe ee ee eee a
Specimens erom buenos Aires ~~ 2-2. 22 eee ee

Sperinnais ttomt ANVedt oo np an ne

Specimens from the vicinity of Mar del Plata........-.---.----

Specimens from Miramar and vicinity........-.--------------

Specimens from the vicinity of Necochea......---.-----------

Specintens from’ Monte Hermioso__-..--------------.------+--

Specimens irom Iio Colorado... ---..-..------------ +--+ == 2°

Sneewmen mum pal bls. 2... cress anno e nse ne = 9

TUTE ECITTE tya pitt) Aen ee eee er ee Piers a ae een er
General conclusions and summary... .2--. =... - . .--- ane e es
SRE ER eee et eee Ss Sn ie sia cine wees ete S =
Petrographic-microscopic examination of bones collected by Doctor
Te Dec lithe G8 ae bed reches eae ee oe ra
VI. Peculiar stone industries of the Argentine coast, by Ale’ Hrdlicka.....--
VERT Forges yh Roc stipe aa ten plaice gh aie a
Pier Aepilig anine SUOOMRNE Y= ete naq-t se ~ na - 2m = heen tence +

hie. ““braicen-stone. MnOMsiint ts 22 ooo cet ene tax ste
TPE PSUS sor) 1 fe age Metcalfe Sg eae a ae
Worked stones of reputed geologic antiquity. -.......-----------
CUSTER SISTEM Rg aL eae td ee
Notes on Playa and Campo Peralta, by Bailey Willis. .-..---.-----
Notes on Punta Porvenir, by Bailey Willis..........---.----------

x CONTENTS

VI. Peculiar stone industries of the Argentine coast—Continued.
Stone implements of the Argentine littoral, by W. H. Holmes......
Northern group... /..22...2+ -=.- seme we eels ere
Use of beach pebbles.2:-:- 22-52) va cepa eee aes
Chipped’ white quartaties: 92... 225225. eee
Domestic utensils... - - edo Fse es eeo la utes fo Dees ae
Southern group—Rio Negro District...............----.-------
Ethnic bearinge:... 8-2 oo: see ee Cea Sy ae EA BA
Chronologie bearing... <a pesbae shee ase ee
Earthen wate «<6 es202 ce pee ope ead aero eee
VIT. The skeletal remains of early man in South America, by AleS Hrdlitka.
The Quatermary Waitt one ct eee Oe ee ee ae ek es a a

Reporis om Inind’s collections.) os, us mca as 3 ee
Critical wemadricy 72 25's ones Se ee eee ee
The Carcarafid, bones...-...-.---- Shor Re hs bah ce See AMES aie
Historical notes and previous observations.............----
Criiveal remarks. 522... 8 are Seite ke eee ee
he ancient Pataroniana.-4-. ) 3. 5 ce teth ae Set pA ie ee
History and observations on the specimens.......--.---.--
Critical Temarkss.:- > 22coeh ete job eee Ce eee
The Arroyo de Friastunds. 252-2). .42- seh ee eee eee ce
Historical notes and previous observations..............---
Critical moments 3 oo) oct bed eee ote ee ec

Historical notes and previous reports. ........-...-.....--
Critica] romariaits Seep rte feo oa ten pete cee eee re
‘ThevHonteztelaniskeletomy ses. 28.2 tee Ae Ae co ae
History and reports.......--.-.-- ioicit Betige bie ae at eee
Cine OES ee eri. Si Sks oak a be toe oe
RG IE ORICR IU tes isin Sad ani, IE ca
Historical remarks and earlier reports............-...-.-.-.
Eaamimaion by the writere.. <2. 283-2 ees ee ee see
he samborombon skeletons. -: 3). 42255. 252554 «2 ean eee
History ane Teports...2.3 22. 2As kb oles SPR ee ers
Citical Pomarks. on. oe eect pees oe ene

Hastory and earlier Teporte.. ¢55-5- =. cae eee = ae
Examination by the writer. tn.» 4. soa eee ee
Critical remarks*: = 0b Se eee ee
Human remains from Ovejero and neighborhood.............-..
Reports and histoty see oh onc > are eee ee
Observations by the writer. ....2.--.-.-.2 <4 tee eee
The Ovejero skeletal material......-......-.---.------

Critical remarks on the Ovejero region finds........-.....--
Notes on the locality of Sotelo, by Bailey Willis.......-...-
dhe Tertiary man.@ * -.2<.- 2-253 - bas eee eee eee
The Baradero skeleton: ...< -.:2..2.3-2223 eee ee oe
History and. reports. i. i. -6 5.04 pee eee eee
Critical remarks... -° . saies. 25000 'o. eee eee eee ae
Homo caputinclinatus—the Arroyo Siasgo skeleton..........----
History atid earlier reporis......--... 9 sence ses poe ae <==
Examination by the writer. -cco.ea= «-eeeeeee eee eee eee

CONTENTS

VII. The skeletal remains of early man in South America—Continued.
The Tertiary man—Continued.

Homo caputinclinatus—the Arroyo Siasgo skeleton—Continued.
Geir 8 5S Ree ee Oe Sn eee eee
Observations on the Arroyo Siasgo find, by —o Willig... 0.

Homo sinemento—Arroyo del Moro; Necochea.. _ Jos eee
Whe weroveulel Morotimad: 1) 222. 2.21 ).20525.-..--2+--+-----------

Cieeryions by ine Wilber... 2. .Se-s32 5b = 22-5 ee - +++
Examination of the skeletal remains ........-----.---------------
Geologic notes on the Laguna Malacara (Arroyo del Moro) re-

som, Dy Batley Willis... 22. 2. -eyentess222 2 s2ce ese + 2-22.
General conclusions regarding Homo sinemento, by A. H.....----

LER VIS 700 7 el a ee ee Bee: ee ee Sei
be sane nOl co s22- 20 8 apa des ees - See Ge ee <=
Whe Miramar (ie lier) SielerOn. . 2s ns. lo ee. ate ces se 54.2

Pesce ye AG PUR: (ae sact nose sae Stee tae = seen. 2 t= dh as
G@prctyamone by tie Witer- +.) 2.0-s5...4.--5.-08ee-~e-+.52>
Skeletal remains relating to Homo pampzxus, from neighbor-
Mandan Necoched. jcos22-5<-6- 5. +s she ccus ea eR: - ee eae
Fisstiory ane) PeMGnMa: Js e..0s xcs eas s- = 2- == 2 ames = - 23
Oiinervailoriaiby the Wiel 24. econ 245 a Ree + 2 Eee
Geologic notes on the Necochea region, ber Bailey Willis........
Mine meenenen WRG: <2 .0....5c5- Syuseas 208 2 Neeetaeeres >< > ee
Final remarks on Homo pampzus, by A. H .....-.--------------

PE AROIVGNIO PULICIRIE ....05°- 2-2 ede pn as oe eee - eee
JEWS Peles Is 00a fs Oe ee PE ORS ec ea
The writer’s examination of the specimen........-.-.-.----------

Amtnrapoloric €baracterishics......- 24 5--.---252.--=s>--p--%
OVARIES ITS HON A Rae ee aR ee ee eee eee
Aadiioual reports. on Wiprothomo- << -)..--. 22-22-0222 - ee ssce
Notes on the Diprothomo find, by Bailey Willis........--.--.---
Concluding remarks on the Diprothomo, by AleS Hrdlicka......-

TEOMA AT OEMS? | fea s eee atte wt as ewes Stoel State
arprey emiere pnts na ses Meet ante as ocle oe tina's tees Sel =

The reported features of the atlas. :-.0....--...-.-522-2+--:-

The reported features of the Monte Hermoso femur. --..-.-.-

HCL GU Raye OM Peet 7): eee Re eS ee ae ee
Monte Hermoso: Geologic notes, by Bailey Willis........-..-..-.
Examination of the skeletal parts attributed to the Tetraprothomo,

| geal) sli ial "2s ie pel ene ei ee a pe a ee

ite Monte Merging Abin. Sopot. eoecs= oot ea. Sates 23'S

The Tetraprothomo femur, from Monte Hermoso -.--.--.--.--.--
Final remarks on the Monte Hermoso specimens. .....-----------

Wallen GreneralnconClisloMseter same sh oes eee oleate en aia.~ ater oles =
IX. List of publications relating to the skeletal remains of early man and his
PLCCUTSORS 1M SOME GAMOMER er. 2. goa ne ean ova ane cine an aee ese

XI

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Macc 7 sas any

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PLATE

ILLUSTRATIONS

Page
ihe Map oF central eastern Arsemting !2! 22 22.2 22 See 16
a barrancas del Norte, Mar-del Ptatas. 2225 Sees ai
or batrancas:del Norte, Mar del Plata" 025. 22 SS ns ee on
Bee EVO le aMenge F457 ee ta eck oe eee a PL ee ee ae 30
ee banksion tne baranearau sam Woremzo-cs.. 2. eI Pee. 30
Beplatrationmae: los LOU LAs ooo oa ert I RL ®. ao
in Oeotias irom the Argentine coasts sos. 71
Seesconlce irom-the Arcentime’ coasto- 222 so. Se Pee 80
97 Canrpo: Peralta, near Mar del Plata?) A 2 Pot) 2 114
AEP wEVaiRrOMeN eee te er rene eee es See oy Wale Se 117
it Canipo eeralin, near Marder Priests sss. .set to sone ee ose 118
eee Orote UC lel ae woes Men ee ce ote meee SOMES ote 137
id Arrowheads: of jasper'and agate. 222. 252-202 Tee t ee. 144
iy erlano-comver kmite hiades: 225.222 Pee cee se eee 147
15. Pottery fragments from vicinity of Puerto San Blas................- 151
16. A Lagoa Santa skull. (After Séren Hansen) .............---..-.--- 183
17. A Lagoa Santa skull. (After Séren Hansen) ....................-. 183
18. Skull of Fontezuelas. (After Séren Hansen) ...........-..-..-..- 216
19. Left femur of Fontezuelas skeleton. (After Lehmann-Nitsche) .... 221
20. Tibiz of Fontezuelas skeleton. (After Lehmann-Nitsche) ......-. 221
21. Map of the littoral of Mar dei Plata and Chapalmalan. (After
PREERCHERPESAO) Ee Oren) Se) Wet eben BY. aa ee PU ia tse Bs ete oat oe RE VAY
22 eeiumanrskeletonvinesitm, mean Sotelo sates: shee ad oo.k eos e.- 246
Pepe ares MSG LeL eye 59 od NS ead ISON eR edhe | 257
ie aeme eeTby ek SEED SEE Ae UT eee. oC eo Wee EO ke Le 266
Pee AC MOL er AAS ns he kee ye AS date Bo peed Dk oaiea 270
PAS TR. or gO NS 1 SSR Se pe ey See SEG 270
Sih WAGROR OWS) SAM ha A ae Se ee ee a nA ee te ee 271
Pee CTE AOR ley SLE MS es erin ge SEL RN at Be 2 271
20 eccavetion aear Laguna, Malaecara (9023220 Tesh ee aati ne Pees 2 277
le Malaearafor Moro): skal Nigh Was 4 2 Six eee etd. 280
oily iat ne ora (Or Moro Waele Nets dal Wee se eee. Slee ele 280
oc.) Walncatai(ar Mero), skull Mo. bo 2244 eats ob bands eb Bache oe- 280
Gone Malacarce(ahsNOro ms rsullING. 62a - si nes sh pees Seed windows Mee ae 284
oa. Malacars dor Mono) set No pee na. ts bos lece thts eiduseeeee wee. 284
35. Miramar (La Tigra) skull. (After Lehmann-Nitsche).............. 290
36. Miramar (La Tigra) skull. (After Lehmann-Nitsche)............-- 290
37. Fossilized Patagonian skull from vicinity of Viedma, on Rio Negro... 301
38. Skull of Homo pampxus and Patagonian skull...................... 301
So. wo bataeominn Sts sre. Br stk Mee ect MN ial cs eas - 301
a) ertiwdan sid Patagonian skulls. 5. 5 /MRt Soo. eg be ele 301
a}; Pateeone aid Avinara sicilig ches eee mu. lf 301
42. Fragment of skull from vicinity of Necochea....................... 312
er NCC OME MULE INGE MUU A Ce ae «2286s 5 ed ax Be ahaici Jos xivlegcvicie +e ~~ - 312

XIV

Prater 44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
ol.
52.
53.
d4.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.

66.
67.
68.

Figure 1.
oe

19.

20.

ILLUSTRATIONS

Neeoches skull (No: 5008.25. 0... Ss.c pte 5 Sam ae eee ane ee
Necochea skull No. 5008. (After Mochi).................-......-
Grave of ‘‘fossil” skeleton near the sea at Necochea...............
Excavation fordry doeksos--: - et. 4isae ee ee
Finished dry dock..s2.c5, cas c ceeeus= eee ee ong fon ee
The original of the Diprothome skull —_ se, 2-2 2-6 - se. nee ee
The original of the Diprothomo skull. ._=:2.2.....-.2-4--+-----<25
Sagittal curve of Diprothomo and of male Piegan skull
Modern Indian skulls—glabellar region
Modern masculine Patagonian skull
Skull of Diprothomo—-profile =.4:. 1. 8.-te asic 2 antes eae
Calotte of Diprathomo-... 2204: 22 2 post ee eee ee
“Middle Pampean” formation. (According to sa ee fo ee
Monte Hermiosos:; = S2Jcc 2.58 Oj sae ee bed ee gees: Ses
Monte ‘Hermoso: 3 o.:-2 ho; pewepeatt deed 6d 2-fper pene
Atlases of Tetraprothomo and adult Indians..........-----.-.--.-..--
Atlases of Tetraprothomo, Indians, and apes............-.---------
Atlases of Tetraprothomo, Indians, and apes
Atlases of Tetraprothomo and Indians... ~.-.....- 222-22 -2:s+62- 2
Atlases of Tetraprothomo, Indians, and apes........-------.-..----
Monte Hermoso femitr’.. - -- sc 3. .- ade eae: aba asee eee eee
Femora of Tetraprothomo and lower animals...........-....--------
Femora of Tetraprothomo, apes, and man..............-------------
Feniora of Tetraprothomo, apes, amd mam. io. 2..<¢<542B-2<-k-8- AE
Femora of Tetraprothomo, apes, and man ..:.......--..-.---+-+--:.

Map of the Provincelon Baenos Wires: 2 — So STs oe ee
Map of the Argentine coast from Mar del Plata to the Barrancas de
hos Hokus aes Se ewe. tee SE ee eee ee

3. Anvil of limestone (Mar del Plata) SOS e eee te ae ris ee eee ee
4. Anvil-stone of quartzite (Punta Mogote)..............-.-----------
5.
6
ch

Bowlder hammer of felsite, with battered ends (Miramar)...-.----

. Hammer of felsite, with battered ends and pitted sides (Necochea). -
. Hammer of quartzite, with pitted faces and battered end and sides

(Canipo' Peralta)... .. 22-22% - 2-52-22 epee ee eee Cee eee

. Hammer of quartzite, with deeply scarred and pitted faces (Mar del

. Discoidal pitted hammer of quartzite, with beveled periphery. . - -
. Hammer made of a felsite bowlder, with pitted sides (Necochea). -
. Chipped quartzite hammer, with battered periphery (Mar del Plata).
. Small hammer of greenish felsite (Necochea)..........-----------
. Roughly grooved hammer of quartzite (Campo Peralta)..........--
. Neatly shaped grooved hammer of sandstone (Punta Mogote)....---
. Quartzite pebbles chipped at both ends, having a shuttle-like out-

line (Comipomeateny <--> -.-- 3-5 Son ee ee

. Small jasper pebbles, one chipped at both ends and the other at

oné‘end ‘only (Campo Peralta) !. <1 520. 2202 fee- 2 see eee cece

. Pebbles chipped into subrectangular forms: Jasper (Campo Peralta);

felsite/(Miramar) 2/2 ..22 4... .c hee See eee oe

. Jasper pebbles chipped irregularly from the side (Campo Peralta

and: Neeochea): .. - - -.<.22520 ee ee ee ee oe
Flakes from black jasper pebbles specialized for use as knives or
serapers-(Necochea)....5252.2% 52 2+ > oes eee Reece
‘Tlie several forms of flakes, «2.20.22» ss se ones epee es awe

Fiecure 21.
Pyne

23.

24.

25.

26.
27.

28.
29.

30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
30.
36.
37.

38,

39.
40.

41.

42.
43.
44,

45,
46.
47.
48.
49,

50.

51.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The principal percussive methods of stone flaking..............-.-.
Adventitious origin of the crescentic edge and the gouge shape of
(hie CON emnee Ms see fe Me OS aren no he ge Sea ose
Examples of flaked pebbles from Argentina and District of
PTO Sek oe ON ees ee Oe ee
Chipped implements of black jasper (Arroyo Corrientes and
Nee) oa te ee ee oreo Wer ois Bia aia ee Cae See
Spikelike forms of black jasper pebble derivation, possibly rejects
from arrow making (Miramar and Necochea) ........----..-----
Scrapers of jasper (Necochea and Monte Hermoso).............--
Nucleus of quartzite from which flakes have been removed
pepaatpor Persian ie. ee case ates Ae pee SES eee. S-
Arrow points of quartzite (Campo Peralta).............--------.--
Quartzite scrapers of duck-bill type (Campo Peralta and Neco-
(CGI RO" Getae ne he Ob DO See age PR Oe Ch por eA eee Sor ea ae ae
Hafted Tehuelche scraper of duck-bill type, made of green bottle
glass (Hatcher collection, southern Patagonia) .........--...-..--
Plano-convex blades of white quartzite, showing the carefully
chipped convex faces and the profiles (Campo Peralta)....-..--
Narrow high-backed blade of quartzite (Laguna Malacara) and
spikelike form of quartzite (Playa Peralta)..................---
Quartzite muller-pestle of exceptional size and shape (Campo
Rs epee tro kh es cece Ke as ne ee 5 20a
Pestle of gritty sandstone (Mar del Plata)...........-...-.-....-
Mortars of sandstone (San Blas District and Viedma)...........-
Mullers: Granite, well-polished (Viedma); sandstone (San Blas
IEE Aah IRSA, Ono Sia ds wae ae Sa ee eee
Pestles: Quartzite pestle of cigar shape (San Blas District); sand-
stone pestle, fragment (San Blas District). .........-...--.-.--
Axlike blade of sandstone, bearing engraved design (Puerto San
LOLS Ee ie ls ne Sere a
Hammer-anvil of quartzite, used secondarily asa muller (Viedma) .
Leaf-shaped blades of brown jasper, probably rejects of manufacture
STEW] 2: Sp Sais Me eee) eae a Os ee gee a en a oe,
Series of jasper leaf forms representing successive steps in the spe-
Ciahizaion of arrow points (San! Blas)< (2220242325. 2s.-25 2 3-
Drill-pomt-ot jasper (ean Blas). 5252 te ek ot ioe doen ee
Teeth from the Carcarafié skull. (After Gervais)................-
Transverse section of the stream Frias, demonstrating the geological
constitution of the strata at the point where the fossil man of
Mercedes was found, together with a plan of the excavation made
Ga Pe ene FOMIANNG... 0 n. aoe oie esa oa.ce ase reba ea sees ss
Skull of Arrecifes, norma lateralis. (After Lehmann-Nitsche)...- -
Skull of Chocori, norma lateralis. (After Lehmann-Nitsche). ..---
Ovejero skull Now? \teide view) Ae eos. fh oc bd sek dee es ee Ss
Tibia of Baradero: Transverse section of the shaft.........---.---
Lower jaw of modern man, showing only a slight chin prominence;
unidentified, but either white or Indian................-.....-
Norma lateralis of Diprothomo fragment and Ameghino’s ‘‘ comple-
tion’’ of such fragment, compared with norma lateralis of Alsa-
iio l (Aiter: Schwalbe.) 2.20455 Seer so8 fo. 2 See cece
piite Mante PeriGsa fOHtGY . 3... 2: =~ <a tien we co cceie ss s5 ts neon

140

142
142
148

143

144

144
145

145

146
146
186

199
227
240
248
261

285

309

- 370

; iy ee Stor: oie he
4 a Pe ea hy ‘_
Bin mbt Ah i aise ny ie. coe
ma cea as

ys abs att b } ea: iT

e4f ay vs

KARLY MAN IN SOUTH AMERICA

By Aves HrpwiéKa.
In collaboration with

W. H. Homes, Bawwey Wiis, Frep. EUGENE WRIGHT, AND CLARENCE N. FENNER
I. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
By Aves HrpuicKa

In dealing on a large scale with a subject of so great importance as
man’s antiquity, it seems appropriate to consider briefly at least,
before taking up the details of research, the essential conditions on
which judgments regarding the various problems involved must
depend. These conditions, or criteria, are of prime consequence, yet
are often so simple as to be self-evident. But notwithstanding this,
they are not infrequently lost sight of by the very students who need
most to keep them clearly in view. :

The antiquity of any human remains, skeletal or cultural, antedat-
ing the historic period, can be judged of only from the association of
such remains with geologic deposits the age of which is well-deter-
mined, and with the remains of other organic forms, the place of
which in time and in the evolutionary series is known. In the case of
osseous specimens great weight attaches also to the morphologic
characteristics and to the organic and inorganic alterations of the
bones.

From the geologic standpoint, consideration of the antiquity of
human remains involves not merely unquestionable stratigraphic
identification, but, preeminently, the question, unnecessary in general
in dealing with bones of animals, of possible introduction subsequent
to the formation of the matrix which enclosed them.

On the morphologic side, in turn, we encounter the important and
often very difficult task of distinguishing between characteristics nor-
mal to a definite stage of evolution and those due to reversion or other
causes affecting only individuals. And in regard to the post-mortem

21535°—Bull. 52—12——1

S BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52 *

alterations in the bones, great difficulties are encountered in the way of
a precise physical and chemical determination of the changes that
exist, and especially in the evaluation of their chronologic significance.

In general, to establish beyond doubt the geologic antiquity of
human remains, it should be shown conclusively that the specimen or
specimens were found in geologically ancient deposits, whose age is
confirmed by the presence of paleontologic remains; and the bones
should present evidence of organic as well as inorganic alterations,
and show also morphologic characteristics referable to an earlier type.
In addition, it is necessary to prove in every case by unexceptional
evidence that the human remains were not introduced, either pur-
posely or accidentally, in later times into the formation in which
discovered.

It will be plain to every critical reader that the age of a find relating
to early man in which the above-mentioned requirements have not
been satisfied can not be regarded as definitely settled. To accept
any specimen as representative of man of a definite geologic period on
evidence less than the sum total of these criteria would be to build
with radical defects in the foundation. It will be far more profitable
to anthropology to wait for discoveries that will fulfill the conditions
named than to accept cases, howsoever satisfactory they may seem to
some, that leave in the mind of the unprejudiced and experienced
observer serious doubt as to the true age of the remains.

Two of the above-named requisites, namely, the morphologic evi-
dence of the bones and their post-burial alterations, call for further
consideration.

On the basis of what is positively known to-day in regard to early
man, and with the present scientific views regarding man’s evolution,
the anthropologist has a right to expect that human bones, particu-
larly crania, exceeding a few thousand years in age, and more espe-
cially those of geologic antiquity, shall present marked morphologic
differences, and that these differences shall point in the direction of
more primitive forms.

Man can not have arisen except from some more theroid form
zoologically, and hence also morphologically. No conclusion can be
more firmly founded than that man is a product of an extraordinary
progressive differentiation from some anthropogenic stock, which
developed somewhere in the later Tertiary, among the primates. He
began, then, as an organism that in brain and in body was less than
man, that was anthropoid. From this stage he could not have
become at once as he is to-day, though in some stages of his evolution
he may have advanced by leaps, or at least more rapidly than in
others. He must have developed successively morphologic modifi-
cations called for by his advance toward the present man, and have

HRDLICKA] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 3

lost gradually those features that interfered with his advance or
became useless—progress which is still unfinished. We know these
to be the facts, (1) because all organic form is essentially unstable,
plastic, reactive to changing influences, and to this law man’s com-
plex and relatively delicate organism can form no exception; (2)
because the best-authenticated skeletal remains of early man show
without exception a more cr less close approximation to more primi-
tive primate forms; (3) because these older human forms show, in
- general, more theroid features in proportion to their geologic antiq-
uity; and (4) because morphologic differences have occurred in
numerous historic groups of mankind within relatively recent times,
are very apparent to-day in the various ‘“‘races” of man, and are
constantly arising in tribes, in lesser groups, in families, and in
individuals.

Evolutionary changes have not progressed and do not progress
regularly in mankind as a whole, nor even in any of its divisions.
Such changes may be thought of as a slowly-augmenting complex of
zigzags, with localized forward leaps, temporary haltings, retrogres-
sions, and possibly with even occasional complete cessations. Thus
it would not be reasonable to expect that at any given date in the
past or present all the branches or members of the human or proto-
human family would be of absolutely uniform type. At all periods
some individuals, and even groups, were doubtless more advanced
than others from the ancestral and nearer the present human type.
Nevertheless, the morphologic status of man in each geologic period
had, unquestionably, its boundaries, and there is no evidence or
probability that two human beings, a geologic period or more apart,
could be so closely related in form that their crania or skeletons
would show strictly one and the same type.

The antiquity, therefore, of any human skeletal remains which do
not present marked differences from those of modern man may be
regarded, on morphologic grounds, as only insignificant geologically,
not reaching in time, in all probability, beyond the modern, still
unfinished, geologic formations. Should other claims be made in any
case, the burden of definite proof would rest heavily on those advanc-
ing them.

Other considerations bearing on this point have been brought forth
in the writer’s report relating to ancient man in North America,!
which should be read in connection with the present work. The
essence of the subject is that the expectation of important form dif-
ferences between all human skeletal remains of geologic antiquity and
those of the present era is justified; that the differences presented by

1 Bulletin 33 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.

4 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

the older remains should point in the direction of zoologic inferi-
ority; and that where important structural differences pointing to -
an earlier evolutionary stage are not found in the human skeletal
remains which are the subject of study, and especially where the
given crania and bones show close analogies with those of a modern
or even of the actual native race of the same region, the geologic
antiquity of such remains may well be regarded as imperfectly sup-
ported, in fact, as improbable.

As to the evidence that anatomic changes in man or, more precisely,
in his skeleton, have taken place during the present epoch, particu-
larly during historic times, the following points deserve attention:

The earliest skeletal forms approximating closely to those of pres-
ent man occur in Europe in the latter part of the paleolithic epoch,
assigned to the Upper Quaternary. They belong to the so-called
Aurignacean and Solutrean cultural periods. Yet even here, as
shown especially by the very important Maska collection,' there are
numerous and important characters distinguishing the skulls as well
as other bones from those of the whites and even from those of the
more primitive races of to-day. It is only when the Cro-Magnon and
the latest Grimaldi skeletal remains are reached, both regarded as of
the latest ‘“‘diluvial’”’ age and possibly more recent, that we find forms
corresponding closely to historic man.

Numerous changes, however, have taken place in various groups
of mankind ever since the time of the Man of Cro-Magnon or of Gri-
maldi. These have been more pronounced in some regions than in
others but there are no examples of complete morphologic standstill.
The inhabitants of Egypt have been repeatedly pointed to as an exam-
ple of the stability of human characters. Their skeletal remains are
now known for a period extending over 5,000 years. The Egyptians
sprang apparently from a single physical type and while there were
subsequent accessions to the population, they were in general of peo-
ple of the same type. After reaching the valley of the Nile this group
of humanity continued to live relatively isolated and under much
the same environment. For thousands of years they had in general
the same occupations, the same diet, the same habits and customs,
and changed but slightly in the grade of their civilization. Here
were almost ideal conditions for maintaining stability of physical
type, and there is no doubt that a closer approximation to such sta-
bility has been realized than in other known regions of the world.
Yet, as the writer, who made a journey to Egypt largely for the pur-
pose of investigating this subject, has shown already in a preliminary

1 MaSka’s collection from Predmost, Moravia, as yet unpublished but being studied, embraces more
than a dozen skeletons of man, eres Docanedas with the mammoth, in a relatively excellent state of pres-
ervation, from the Solutrean,

HRDLICKA] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 5

writing,’ and as was shown lately by G. Elliot Smith and Derry also,’
the susceptibility of the organism to modification, even under these
exceptionally uniform environmental conditions, has not been over-
come, and numerous changes in the Egyptian skeleton between the
predynastic and middle dynastic, and again between that and the
Coptic period, excluding from consideration the influence of negro
infusion, are perceptible. In other countries such changes have been
more pronounced. In Russia, Bohemia, Germany, France, England,
cranial alterations have taken place within the last 2,000 years, all of
which can hardly be explained by migration or admixture. In the
American Indian many territorially localized morphologic modifica-
tions have become manifest within relatively recent times, for almost
every tribe to-day possesses some distinguishing marks of body as
well as of skeleton; and further modifications are certainly now tak-
ing place in the Indian with changing conditions.

All these facts bear evidence strongly against the persistence of
the same type of man in any region from the Pleistocene or an
even older period to the present. The fundamental causes of this
incomplete stability are, on the one hand, the nature of the human
organism, which like every other organism is in its ultimate analysis
a chemical complex, living by chemical change and subject to physi-
cal and chemical influences, and on the other the variability of these
influences. So long as the chemical status of the organism, especially
that of the developing organism and of the perpetuating or genera-
tive elements of the species, is not in absolute and lasting harmony
with the environment, so long, it is safe to say, will absolute fixed-
ness of structure and form be impossible. This expresses the case in
its extremes without considering its complexity, and applies to the
ultimate components and coordinations of the organism, but the
principle, which reduced to the simplest terms is that of action and
reaction between the protoplasm and the environment, holds good for
all variations in the human body. The bearing of these considera-
tions in connection with the theme in hand will be more clearly
apparent as the several special parts of this report are presented.

The second important subject which calls for brief discussion in this
place is that of the alterations of bones after burial. Such alterations
are partly organic, partly mechanical, and partly chemical, and may
be classed as follows:

(1) General decay and disintegration; (2) loss of organic substance
through bacterial or mineral agencies; (3) partial mechanical loss of
organic and chemical elements, through erosion; (4) covering by

1 Note sur la variation morphologique des Egyptiens depuis les temps préhistoriques ou prédynastics; in
Bull. et Mém. Soc. d@’ Anthr. Paris, 5me sér., X, 1909, pp. 143-4.

2 Smith, G. Elliot, and F. Wood Jones, The Archeological Survey of Nubia, 4°, 2vol., Cairo, 1910. Also
Smith, G. Elliot, and D. E. Derry, Bulletin 6 of the same Survey, Cairo, 1910, and G. Elliot Smith, The
People of Egypt, in The Cairo Sci. Jour., No. 30, m1, Alexandria, 1909.

6 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

mineral substances that adhere; (5) simple mechanical or sedimental
filling of the bone cavities by mineral substances; and (6) lithifica-
tion, 1. e., conversion, more or less complete, of the bone into stone
or ore through both infiltration and the replacement by other ele-
ments or compounds of the original inorganic constituents of the
osseous structure.

These classes of alterations are but rarely met with isolated or
perfect, existing more frequently in various combinations and in
various stages of incompleteness. Occasionally also one process
may have superseded another, a condition especially apt to appear
when the location of the specimen happens to be changed, or when
the bone is acted on by water differing in mineral composition from
that with which it came previously in contact.

The nature of the alterations depends altogether on the minerals,
particularly those in solution, and perhaps also on the gases which
come in contact with the skeletal remains,' the bones themselves,
though differing to some extent chemically as well as physically, being
on the whole fairly constant in composition. The conditions to
which any particular bone is subject may be favorable or unfavor-
able to its alteration. The unfavorable conditions are those that bring
about a rapid destruction of the bone, or a dearth or absence of such
agencies as are capable of producing changes in the bone that make
for durability; the favorable ones are the presence of modifying
agencies, while destructive potencies are slow. Bones in dry sand or
in a dry crypt, or in peat, where bacteria and fungi can not exist and
where neither corrosive liquids nor gases occur, can undergo but
little alteration; but if exposed for a time to air, sand blast, growing
roots, or to water or gases of corrosive qualities, they will show
scaling, erosion, or other forms of loss of substance; in acid soil or in
a wet, warm, aerated mold they will disappear; in a limestone
cave through which water percolates they will be covered with
stalagmite, or cemented with earth, stones, shells, etc., and lose
rapidly their organic matter; in a shell-heap or in calcareous ground,
or where washed by mineral water or reached by underground water
carrying minerals in solution, they will be partially infiltrated with
lime and may be lined with and covered by a deposit, their inorganic
constitution may be more or less changed and in some cases they
will become thoroughly petrified. The rapidity of the various proc-
esses is proportionate to the nature, quantity, and facility of access to
the bone of the various reagents.

It follows from what has been shown that alterations of any nature
in a bone are first of all indications of the conditions under which the
bone has existed or, briefly, of the environment of the specimen, and

1 See data adduced by Gratacap, L. P., Fossils and Fossilization; in The American Naturalist, Xxx,
Phila., 1896, 902 et seq.; xxx1, Phila., 1897, 16 et seq.

HRDLICKA] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS : q

only secondarily and in a very uncertain manner of the time required
for the consummation of the changes.

Alterations produced in different bones are often seen to be alike,
even though thespecimens come from different localities and sometimes
from apparently different investing conditions. This is explainable
only on the assumption that the real conditions in the different places
were similar. As the whole process of post-mortem change in bone
is largely of the nature of chemical reactions, it will always lead, with
the same elements, to much the same result. But such similarity of
modification is no index of the quantity of the available reagents, of
the facility of their action, or of the period during which they acted
in the various cases and places, and hence alone is no measure of
time. Two bones that show a like degree of ‘‘fossilization”’ are
therefore not necessarily contemporaneous or even nearly so. This
applies even to bones from the same locality, for some may have been
subjected, through differences in depth or localized variation in soil
or amount of moisture, to considerably different influences. For the
same reason even the two extremities of the same bone may present
differences in color, weight, and in other qualities.

Another important point is that each locality, each kind of soil,
must necessarily have a limit to its possible effect on a bone, or at
least there must be a point beyond which further alterations in the
bone, unless new conditions set in, are extremely slow. Such limit
reached, the bone may continue in the same place for ages as an inert,
neutral object, and resemble closely other bones from the same cave,
layer, or deposit, introduced at a much later time, but which likewise
may have reached the limit or nearly the limit of their possible altera-
tions under the local conditions.

The above facts demonstrate the futility of utilizing alterations in
bones as a chronologic index. Yet it is this very unreliable factor of
‘‘fossilization”” of human bones that is principally responsible for the
“neopling’”’ of North America, and especially of South America, with
‘‘fossil’” ancient human forms.

The foregomg considerations make it clear that while geologically
ancient bones may be confidently expected to show more or less
decided alterations of both organic and inorganic nature,’ such
alterations alone can never become a criterion of antiquity.

In conclusion, it is necessary to refer to a certain class of other
phenomena observed occasionally in connection with human and
especially with animal bones, and sometimes brought forward as
proofs of man’s antiquity. This applies to the split or splintered
bones and to those that show various scratches, striz, cuts, or perfo-
rations, which appear to be due possibly to human agency.

1Jn very rare instances remains of some of the most recent but now extinct animals have been found
apparently but little altered, but the date of death in these few cases has never been accurately determined.

8 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

It is seen in prehistoric European stations that in order to extract the
marrow ancient man often broke the long bones of animals killed, but
it does not follow that all similar fragments of bones have a like origin.
The bones of dead animals, especially those of large size, often lie
exposed for a considerable length of time on the surface of the ground.
Animals die at pools where they become mired, or in localities where
other animals pass, as can be seen in numberless cases on the prairies,
deserts, pampas, and elsewhere. Their bones may be split longi-
tudinally by the action of the elements, and are apt to be broken in
every possible way by the feet of animals, by falling or rolling stones,
or by pressure within the earth, and the fragments may differ in no
way from those produced by man breaking long bones to extract the
marrow. So far as the writer has been able to learn and so far as he
can conceive, there is no safe means of distinguishing between the
fracture effect of a blow by man on bone recent or ancient and that
of a stroke on such bone by the hoof of an animal or by impact of
falling stones or earth, fragmentation by the teeth of large carnivores,
or, in the case of buried skeletal remains, crushing by the weight and
movements of the earth. With-all this in view, it is difficult to see
how fragments of bones of any kind can of themselves ever mate-
rially assist in establishing the fact of man’s agency, and especially of
his presence at the time when the animal whose bones are found
split or broken, lived and died.

Again, the fact is often overlooked that along with fragmentary
long bones offered as evidence of man’s agency are found fragments
of other bones, without medulla and hence without the marrow for
which bones are broken.

As to scratched, striated, incised, or perforated bones, it is suffi-
cient to call attention to the fact that a sharp edge or point driven by
force of any kind may produce simple effects similar to those due to
an implement wielded by the human hand. Only in cases in which
there is clear evidence of design may human agency be established.
Mere possibilities or probabilities can not be accepted as positive
evidence in dealing with the important problem of man’s antiquity.

Many scratches found on bones are doubtless accidental, produced
during the excavation, handling, or transportation of the specimens.
As to the strie and incised markings, in order to be accepted as
due to human agency, it should be shown conclusively that they can
not be attributed to other causes, as, for example, to the teeth of
some rodent or carnivore, which sometimes cut as clearly and deeply
as would a knife. It is often difficult and frequently impossible to
distinguish cuts due to human agency from those due to animal
agency. In some cases, however, we may detect the animal agency
of the cuts by their lack of purpose (from the human point of view),
by their parallel arrangement or similarity of direction (usually

HRDLICKA] GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 9

transverse to the axis of the shaft), by their presence on the ends or
edges of the specimen, and by their close similarity in character.

As to perforations and grooves found in bones, it may be said
that many of the most neatly made are due to insects or worms.
Numerous examples of this kind due to worms were seen by the
writer in the latter part of 1910, during excavations on the
Isthmus of Panama. Roots also may produce perforations, especially
by enlarging nutrient canals, which are lable to be mistaken for
marks of artificial origin.

It is plain from the preceding remarks that, unless the opening in
a bone presents evidence of design or other characteristic such as
makes its human origin plainly manifest, it can not be accepted as
artificial and is worthless as evidence of man’s agency.

Moreover, even in cases in which perforation in or markings on
bones are readily recognized as of human origin, it does not follow
that man lived contemporaneously with the animals to which the
bones belonged. To be of value as evidence on this point, it must
_ be shown that man worked the bone during the life of the particular
species and not later.

As to the bones of fossil animals which show the effects of fire, it
needs only to be remarked that in order that such specimens should
become available in any case as evidence of man’s antiquity, it
would be necessary to prove that the fire was due to the agency of
man, and that the man was contemporaneous with those animals.

These various considerations, even though stated very briefly,
indicate the complexity of the subject of evidence relating to the skel-
etal remains of man or those suggesting man. They show the neces-
sity of taking into account every circumstantial detail regarding each
distinct discovery of human skeletal parts and the necessity of
scientific accuracy in weighing the observed conditions. It might
seem that all the precautions above outlined should necessarily
characterize any scientific procedure in this field, but it will be seen
in the perusal of the following pages of this paper how readily some
of these principles are slighted and even wholly neglected.

ae

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mee CH re Th ite fr by yilt rif Pater ot

od oo Heh q iit’ ‘ one TP! 1 1 5 OTT yi a! er

II. ENUMERATION OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN FINDS
RELATING TO EARLY MAN

By ALes HrpuiéKa

The discoveries, so far as published, of industrial and skeletal
remains suggesting man’s antiquity in South America, are restricted
to Brazil and Argentina.

Brazil presents only one group of finds of this class, namely, those
of the Lagoa Santa caves, in the Province of Minas Geraes. They
consist of a relatively large series of skeletal remains of man and a
single stone implement, which collectively have been considered as
probably belonging to Quaternary times.

In Argentina, on the other hand, discoveries of relics attributed
to ancient man and even to man’s precursors, have been very numer-
ous. These began with some débris of ‘‘fossil’? human bones from
the Rio Carcarana, in the northern part of the Province of Buenos
Aires, and with two ‘‘fossil” human crania reported from the valley
of the Rio Negro, northern Patagonia. Subsequent finds, numbering
in all several thousand specimens and including both human bones
and what are assumed to be traces of human activity, with the
exception of those from Patagonia and of the so-called Ovejero re-
mains, have all been obtained from the Province of Buenos Aires.

The determinations of the geologic age of the numerous Argentine
finds by the local authors who have reported on them are considerably
at variance. There are in the main, however, two groups of opin-
ions, one represented by Florentino Ameghino, the other by Santiago
Roth and R. Lehmann-Nitsche. Below is given the classification of
these finds by Ameghino, according to the geologic age assigned them
by this author; the classifications of the other observers are more
restricted in the number of finds regarded as ancient, and offer in
general more moderate estimates of the ages of the specimens.

il

12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Skeletal remains of, and other indications pointing to, early man in South America, and
their geologic age, according to F'. Ameghino !

Period Epochs and stages

Recent

Remains extant

Platean. Querandine transgression

Quaternary Post-Lujanean hiatus

Lujanean and corresponding marine
transgression

Homo sapiens

Skulls of Arrecifes and Ovejero

Post-Bonaerean hiatus

superior

Bonaerean{ Prt ae

‘Fontezuelas, Arroyo de Frias, ,

Samborombén, Baradero, |
Chocori skulls and skeletons | Homo caputin-
| Cclinatus skele-

Belgranean transgression

ton (Siasgo)
Industrial vestiges

Post-Ensenadean hiatus

1
1
I
| Homo sinemento
| (Moro)

4

Pliocene Cuspidal Ensenadean

Homo pampzus, or Prothomo: Miramar (La
Tigra), Necochea skeletal remains

Inter-Ensenadean transgression

Stone industry

Basal Ensenadean

Industrial vestiges

Pre-Ensenadean

Diprothomo platensis skull

Post-Puelchean hiatus

Puelchean and corresponding trans-
gression

Industrial vestiges

Post-Chapalmalean hiatus
Superior Miocene

Chapalmalean 2.

Industrial vestiges

Post-Hermosean hiatus

Hermosean Tetraprothomo argentinus, atlas and femur
Lower Miocene Industrial vestiges (?)
Oligocene Industrial vestiges
Upper Eocene Patagonian Industrial vestiges of man’s precursors

1 Based on the table published by that author in his Le Diprothomo Platensis, in Anales del Museo
Nacional de Buenos Aires, x1x (ser. iii, t. xm), 1909, p. 124, and supplemented by more recently announced

discoveries.
2 Written also Chapadmalean.

The ‘‘industrial vestiges’’ can receive in this report, with two im-
portant exceptions, only general consideration. They consist of four

HRDLICKA] FINDS RELATING TO EARLY MAN 13

main groups, namely: (1) Baked earth, or tierra cocida; (2) scorie;
(3) used or worked stones; and (4) used or worked bones.

On the basis of these and the above-enumerated human specimens,
coupled with the presence in South America of certain small fossil
monkeys, Ameghino advanced the theory that mankind evolved on
that continent, that it was represented there in the course of time
by a number of genera of intermediary beings and by several species
of man himself, and that he spread thence over the rest of the world.
This. elaborate theory can be given in this report only brief space;
for the many details which it involves it will be necessary to consult
Ameghino’s original publications (see Bibliography). The following
table, from Ameghino’s Le Diprothomo Platensis (1909, p. 206), shows
the views of that author as to the sequence of the evolution, though
later his conceptions on that subject were probably even further
developed.

AMEGHINO’S SCHEME OF MAN’S EVOLUTION

Hominid

Homo Homo

sapiens ater Anthropo-

_ Homo Pithecan- Pseudhomo morphide
primigenius thropus heidelbergensis

Homo sapiens

Homo pampzus

-
ae
Saag

.

Prothomo “
{ -
1 s /
H ows /
Diprothomo a /
platensis “ J

Triprothome.~ Homo-
simius?

Tetraprothomo
argentinus

Hominide-------~~~
primitive

Anthropops

Homun-

culidzs Homunculus

Pitheculites

Clenialites

14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Having thus indicated in brief the status of the subject of remains
relating to early man in South America at the time of the visit of the
writer and Mr. Willis to Argentina, it is now appropriate to present
the results of their observations. In general these lead, as already
indicated, to conclusions different from those of the several Argentine
authors, especially Ameghino, who have studied the anthropologic
character, and have estimated the ages, of the various specimens.

II. GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES

By Battey Wits

IntTRopuUCcTORY NOTE

The following geologic description is restricted to the writer’s
observations and to deductions from them. During four months,
May to August, 1910, which he spent in Argentina, he visited the
vicinity of Buenos Aires, the right bank of the Parana as far north
as Rosario, the eastern part of the Province of Buenos Aires and the
coast from Mar del Plata to Bahia Blanca, and the Sierra de la
Ventana; all with reference to studies of the Pampean and _post-
Pampean terranes. Outside of this region his journeys extended to
Tucuman on the north, to San Juan and Mendoza on the west, to
Neuquen on the southwest, and to the Rio Colorado, including its
delta, on the south. (See maps: Pls. 1 and 21; figs. 1 and 2.)

The writer is under great obligations to Dr. Florentino Ameghino
and also to Prof. Santiago Roth, who not only gave valuable time
to accompany his colleague, Doctor Hrdlitka, and himself, but also
most generously and frankly discussed the geologic phenomena.
Their intimate knowledge and great experience entitle their views
to the most serious consideration. The writer is happy to know
that in many respects his inferences from observed facts agree with
theirs, especially as to the Miocene and Pliocene age of much of the
Pampean terrane.

He regrets that certain geologic relations, when interpreted in the
light of his experience in other lands, lead him to conclusions that
differ from theirs. There are some points on which they do not agree
between themselves, notably as to the classification of the divisions of
the Pampean. This problem is one that requires further investigation,
both stratigraphically and paleontologically. The superficial forma-
tions of the pampas and of the coast are interpreted by the writer
as of very recent origin. It is in them that human remains have
been found. Were the remains as old as the deposits they would
be geologically recent, but they are even younger, since the evidence
of occurrence and character in every case that the writers could
examine showed that the bodies had been buried in or had accidentally

reached the positions in which they were found.
15

16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The writer leaves to his colleague, Doctor Hrdlitka, all discussion
of the anthropologic facts; but the physical evidence leads to con-
clusions identical with those indicated by anthropology and leaves
no legitimate doubt that geologically ancient man has not yet been
found in Argentina.

GENERAL GEOLOGIC DESCRIPTION
WARPED CONTINENTAL SURFACE

The area which it is necessary to discuss in connection with the
problem of the antiquity of man in Argentina comprises the Province
of Buenos Aires (pl. 1 and fig. 1) and portions of the provinces and
territories adjacent to it on the northwest and southwest. This region
is an ancient land surface, many geologic ages having passed since it
was submerged beneath the sea. Its mass consists of very old rocks
that may be described as quartzites and dolomites, and of still older
granite and schists. The marine sediments of comparatively recent
geologic date (Mesozoic and Tertiary) that make up a large part of.
the Andes are not found in the area, which was an island when the
ocean flowed over the site of the Cordillera.

It is a geologic axiom that any old land is surely worn down by
erosion to a plain, unless it is disturbed by the internal forces of the
earth in such a manner as to renew the old mountain ranges or to
produce new ones. This land of Buenos Aires was thus planed.
The plain may be recognized where the ancient rocks are not covered
by superficial deposits and it extends no doubt beneath the entire
area of the pampas. But that plain, which was once level, is no
longer so. Reference is not here made to the plain of the pampas,
across which the railroads are graded, but to the eroded surface of
the crystalline rocks that lies beneath the superficial deposits of the .
pampas. At Buenos Aires it is buried to a depth of more than 300
meters. Beneath the Rio de la Plata it probably lies still lower.
In the mountains of Cérdoba, in the Sierra Tandil, and in the Sierra
de la Ventana that old plain is raised to an altitude of several hun-
dred meters. Thus, that which was formerly nearly level is now
depressed or elevated according to the part of the region considered,
and we may truly say that the surface of the old land is warped.

The warping involved changes of altitude. Some areas now stand
higher than they did; others lie lower; but the process of erosion
tends to restore a flat surface by removing the elevations and filling
the hollows. In the sculptured forms of the upraised plains or
mountains we may read the history of the uplift. On the other
hand, the depressed areas become valleys of great rivers or embay-
ments of the sea and, being more or less filled with sediment, contain
the record of subsidence in the strata of the deposit.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

Joe 65° 60°

BULLETIN 52

Gre amuilla
<S

PLATE 1

55°

25°

30°

Mar del
Mire

ils :
a Blancane edchea’

Plata
1am

% Cabo Corrientes

MAP OF CENTRAL EASTERN ARGENTINA

Showing on a large scale the parts of Argentina in which human remains of supposed geologic an-

tiquity have been discovered.

40°

q

wet

e Fidip my

oat se OM

‘*
J
- > -
» ‘
i
» ‘i by
7 i
—
Pf) 7
7 _ -

WILEIs] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES rr

In warping, the old land of Buenos Aires on the whole was depressed
during a long period. It has recently been raised again, though not
to its former general altitude. There were, or are, two regions of
greatest depression, one of which is the embayment of the Rio de la
Plata, the other the bay of Bahia Blanca; each of these extends far

Punta Piedras

PROVINCIA
DE
BUENOS AIRES

Cabo Sn.Antonio

; S

e Bah
Monte Hermoso

°Bahia

Blanca

.)

nTi°

[a - 40°

60°

Fig. 1. Map of the Province of Buenos Aires.

inland. The intervening area did not sink so deep and within it lie
the exceptional zones that were raised and became the Sierras of
Cordoba, Tandil, and de la Ventana.

Over the sinking region superficial deposits of mud were spread,
partly by rivers and partly by winds, and these constitute the

21535°—Bull, 52—12 2

18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Pampean formation or terrane. They are no doubt thickest where
the old rock floor lies deepest—in the downwarps of the Rio de la
Plata and at Bahia Blanca.

These two facts—that there is a continental surface which was
eroded on the ancient crystalline rocks, and that the surface, being
warped, became generally covered with the Pampean formation—
are the fundamental facts of the later geologic history of the pampas.
To these we may add the note that the region is now elevated and
subject to erosion.

PAMPEAN TERRANE

That portion of the geologic history which concerns the discussion
of the antiquity of man relates to the Pampean terrane. Whence
were the materials derived? How were they deposited? What dis-
tinct episodes of the long process may be recognized? To what
epochs of geologic time do these episodes correspond? In what con-
nection do they stand with man?

It has been said that the Pampean was deposited most abundantly
in the deep downwarps which are now the embayments of the Rio
de la Plata and the Bahia Blanca. In each of these there developed
a system of rivers, whose modern representatives are the Parana and
Uruguay in the one embayment, in the other the Rio Colorado and
and its long northern tributary, the Gran Salado (Rio Curacé of
some maps). These rivers, or their predecessors, brought, distributed,
and laid down the muds which were gathered in the process of denuda-
tion of upper watersheds and which consisted of the characteristic
soils of the several headwater regions. In the one case that was
central and western South America. The soils were heavy clays,
containing much iron and of various shades of brown to deep
brownish-red. Much of the Pampean terrane that les north of
the Sierra de la Ventana, was derived from that region and has that
general character. The Colorado River system, or its ancestors, on
the other hand, flowed from the Andes and brought down sands
in large volume, as well as clays, producing light-colored, sandy
varieties of the Pampean terrane, which are sometimes so unlike
the brown clays that they are not called Pampean, but are de-
scribed as Tertiary sandstones. Within the area of the Province
of Buenos Aires there rose, moreover, the heights of the Sierra Tandil
and de la Ventana, which were eroded by rains and by winds, and
which contributed more or less sand, together with clays, to the
deposits laid down near the hills or in the valleys of streams which
may have flowed from them.

Thus the sources of the Pampean earths were very unlike. The
accumulation of so great a mass required a long time, during which
conditions changed. Nevertheless, the Pampean terrane is on the
whole a remarkably uniform and monotonous deposit, several agen-

WILLIS] GENERAL GEQLOGIC NOTES 19

cies, among which wind has been the dominant one, having worked
the material into a uniform condition.

Alluvial deposits, composed of unmodified river mud, such ag
rivers carry and deposit in regions of abundant rainfall and vegetation,
consist of coarse as well as of fine clays and sands. They contain
also more or less carbonaceous matter derived from vegetation. But
alluvium, which is spread and dries on flats that for any reason are
not covered by vegetation, is sorted by winds, the fine clay being
blown out and the coarse stuff being left behind. By being blown
about or against one another the sand grains are worn down. There
is also chemical disintegration. By many repetitions the process
results in a fine flour of the most enduring universal substances,
aluminous clay, silicious sand, and oxide of iron. Of such is the
Pampean terrane.

Thus the Pampean, in the physical and chemical constitution of its
materials, is a product of processes which require the interaction of
rivers and winds. On the Arctic plains of northern Siberia, where
the great rivers flood vast areas and retreating leave them bare, or in
the immense delta of the Hwang River in eastern China, we may
find modern illustrations of the Pampean conditions.

Climate is a factor of the first importance in modifying the effect of
wind on alluvial deposits. Wind can not raise dust from surfaces
that are frozen, moist, or sufficiently covered with vegetation, and it
does not erode them. If alluvial deposits are dry and bare, wind does
erode even plane surfaces, and when confined by the configuration of
the surface to a hollow, orchannel,it erodes rapidly. That the material
of the Pampean has been blown about and sorted by wind is clearly
proved by its uniform fineness, and hence we might conclude that the
pampas have been arid and bare. But the Pampean is in large part
a river deposit, such as the Hwang River has spread over the vast
delta plain of China, and has been distributed by floods in a similar
delta. The terrane contains abundant remains of large herbivorous
animals, which lived on grass that must have grown rankly and in
profusion. Thus there must have been rainfall sufficient to nourish
vegetation. These evidences of aridity and humidity appear to be
contradictory, but they are readily explained by geographic relations
and by changes of climate.

The geographic relations of the Hwang River are to the point.
The river rises in the mountains of central Asia, flows through desert
basins, and descends to the head of its delta heavily laden with desert
dust. The delta plain which is built of that dust is comparable in
extent with the pampas of South America. The rivers that now
flow from the Cordillera of Bolivia and Argentina southeastward also
cross desert basins, which are arid because the mountains take the
moisture from the air currents. They have been more or less arid

s

20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

ever since the uplift of the mountains occasioned the erosion which
produced the Pampean sediment, and it is reasonable to infer that
the fineness of the deposit is due to eolian sorting in the desert regions
through which the rivers flow. This inference probably could not be
extended to sediments derived from central Brazil, but it may be
stated that the Pampean terrane which is so derived is less charac-
teristically eolian than that which occurs farther west and south.

The parallel with the Hwang River may be extended to the action
of the wind in the delta plain. During the winter months, in North
China, when there is no rain or snow and no protecting vegetation
dust is constantly in the air and dust storms are serious. Eolian
drifts accumulate in eddies and lees. Similar conditions have existed
during the formation of the Pampean, for it comprises both relatively
modern and older deposits of a strictly eolian character occurring
with others laid down by the river waters or in ponds.

It is possible that the geographic and seasonable conditions which
have been described may be found sufficient to explain the various
aspects of the Pampean terrane. But it is possible also that climatic
cycles have been an important factor in determining the variation and
succession of deposits in South America as they have been in the
northern hemisphere. In order to present this question in the light
of some of the known facts, we may digress at this point from the
description of the Pampean terrane to a discussion of the climatic
changes which characterize the Quaternary period in the Northern
Hemisphere.

Here this period is distinguished from the Tertiary epochs which
preceded it by the rigor of climate which occasioned the glaciation of
northern Europe and northeastern North America. Ice fields of
great extent spread from centers so conditioned by excessive snowfall
and comparatively low temperature that they served as gathering
grounds for the great névé which supplied the ice.

These centers were determined by meteorologic and also by topo-
graphic conditions. In North America two of them were situated in
the great plains of northern Canada; another was in the northern
Cordillera. In Europe the principal fields whence proceeded the dis-
persion of the ice were in northern Germany and in the Alps.

We were wont to speak of the Quaternary and of the glaciation
which characterized it as though it were a single glacial period with-
out intervals of milder climate. But this concept, which marked an
early stage in the investigation of glacial deposits, has long since
given way to the recognition of at least four epochs of glaciation and
three epochs of general interglacial climate in those regions where the
phenomena are most fully developed.

The several epochs of the Quaternary have received names which
differ somewhat according to the center from which the ice spread.

WILLIS] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 91

Students of Alpine glaciation recognize the Gunz, Mindel, Riss, and
Wurm stages, the Gunz being the earliest and the Wurm the latest
glaciation, which spread from the Alps upon the plains of southern
Germany. In the United States the deposits which were laid down
by successive ice sheets that flowed from the great center in Labrador
are known as the Wisconsin, Illinoian, Kansan, and Jerseyan. Those
which spread from the other center in Keewatin, west of Hudson Bay,
are similarly known as the Wisconsin, Illinoian (or Iowan), Kansan,
and Nebraskan (or Pre-Kansan).

The deposits which have received these names have been traced
_ over large areas in the respective regions in which they occur, and
have been identified in each separate field as constituting in each case
a sequence of formations due to recurrent glaciation, while between
the deposits which indicate the former presence of ice there are found
others whose character and included fossils demonstrate the existence
of an intervening epoch of milder climate. Thus it is seen that the
Quaternary period corresponds in duration with the development and
retreat of at least four continental ice sheets, and that its time scale
is marked off into eight epochs, namely, four which were characterized
by glaciation and four which were marked by milder climate. We
live in the latest of the milder epochs.

Having in mind the alternation of glacial and interglacial climatic
epochs which have been distinguished in the Northern Hemisphere, it
is reasonable to inquire whether the Pampean yields any evidence of
similar climatic variations. Its general aspect is monotonous and
readily suggests an initial inference that the general conditions of
deposition were similarly uniform. But there are many local details
which demonstrate the alternate action of wind and water, and hence
in each such locality the alternation of climatic conditions favorable
to one or the other agency. Inso far as we may be justified in corre-
lating the sequence of conditions in one locality with those in another,
we may establish a presumption of general climatic epochs and of
changes somewhat similar to those of the Northern Hemisphere. Let
us hasten to say that this statement is not meant to imply that the
Pampean formation contains a record of glacial and interglacial con-
ditions. The writer has not observed the slightest evidence of glacial
deposits in any part of the Pampean. Glacial deposits are entirely
wanting in the delta deposits of the Hwang River, which the Pampean
formation most closely resembles, and the origin of the Pampean
material is to be sought rather in the region of the deserts, as has
already been explained, than in one of the glacier-covered mountains.
The fact that the loess deposits of the Mississippi Valley and of central
Europe owe their origin to glaciers does not affect this statement, for
the loess deposits of China, which are far more extensive, are inde-
pendent of glacial origin. But the alternation of climate, of which

ou BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (pun, 52

there is evidence in the Pampean, is from humid to arid and back to
humid, probably a number of times. It is theoretically probable that
the epochs of humid climate were the more genial and those of arid
climate the more rigorous as regards temperature, but of that we have
as yet no satisfactory evidence.

With these suggestions we may consider some of the evidences of
climatic variation in the Pampean.

Sections of the Pampean are to be seen at various points along the
eastern coast of Argentina and have been observed by the writer
north of Mar del Plata, in the Barrancas de los Lobos south of that
city, and along the coast farther southeastward at Miramar, Necochea,
and Monte Hermoso. The sections were carefully studied in each
locality, but since we require here only an illustration of the kind
of evidence of climatic change that may be adduced, it will suffice
to describe a characteristic relation observed in the Barrancas del
Norte, north of Mar del Plata.

The Barrancas del Norte are sea cliffs which vary but little from
an average height of 10 meters. The constituent materials are
earths which differ in color, texture, and arrangement, and which
inclose secondary deposits of carbonate of lime forming more or less
irregular bodies. The earths are characteristic loams of the Pam-
pean terrane. They are very fine and uniform and usually very free
from sands; pebbles, except those of the secondary limestone, are
entirely wanting. In color, they present shades of brown which
may be described as dark or reddish or fawn-colored. Gray tones
also occur and certain strata are distinctly greenish. They are often
compared to the Chinese deposits, to which Richthofen gave the
name loess, and they share with the material the quality of uniform
fineness. They are more compact, however, and exhibit many
details of constitution and structure not found in loess, while at the
same time they usually lack the columnar structure nearly always
characterizing loess.

In the Barrancas del Norte the constituent formations might be
variously classified as forming two, three, or four distinct horizons.
From summit to base of the cliff one may recognize—

Plain: Meters.
Black soil derived from the Pampean by the introduction of humus and
possibly by accumulation of dust in the grass.............--.-.------- 1
Fawn-colored to gray, or reddish, or yellow-brown Pampean earths, very
irregularly distributed and varied in structure............-.------------ 4-8
Greenish, stratified, sometimes sandy, but in general earthy, deposits not
AEWAVANPPOBEI Ges ts cde oe etn - ooo once ee one | ee eee ee eee 0-2
Dark brown, very compact, dense earths, often sandy and constituting an
edrtity nandstonee). io... so) 725 2 Ge ER Re eee 0-3

WILLIS] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES a

The basal stratum of dark-brown, often sandy earth, marked by
compactness and homogeneity and frequent stratification, is a con-
tinuous formation, which has the characters of eolian material redis-
tributed by waters. The writer has seen very similar deposits in
China in the banks of the Grand Canal south of Tientsin, where the
material was loess redistributed in the vast delta of the Hwang River,
but it was less compact. As the formation is homogeneous so far
as traced in the Barrancas del Norte, and as it is very similar to the
Pampean formations which extend from the Barrancas de los Lobos
for many scores of miles southward, we can not ascribe it to strictly
local conditions. On the contrary, it represents a general phase of
erosion and deposition which corresponds apparently to the removal
of fluvio-eolian formations from some one region and their redepo-
sition where they are now found. The writer is inclined to regard
this formation and similar deposits as due to river work on confluent
flood plains and consequently as made during a relatively humid
period.

The upper surface of the basal formation in the Barrancas dei Norte
is eroded and the hollows are filled by later deposits, sometimes of one
character, sometimes of another. Characteristic examples are rep-
resented in the illustrations (pls. 2, 3). It will be seen that the for-
mation was carved by an agent that undercut the sides and rounded
the bottoms of the hollows, leaving masses with sharp points or
edges in relief. Wind produces these effects in this material, whereas
water cuts channe!s having nearly vertical walls. Thus it would
appear that wind erosion, which is favored by, if not dependent on,
aridity, succeeded an epoch of deposition that was conditioned by
humidity. The eroded surface is not deeply carved but the extreme
relief of about two meters which it exhibits is probably near the
limit of height which the brown earth could maintain. It is impos-
sible to say how much may have been removed above this surface,
and we are thus left in doubt so far as this occurrence in the Bar-
rancas del Norte is concerned whether the erosion was local and tem-
porary or was occasioned by a general change. The phenomenon
recurs, however, in other exposures of the formation at Miramar and
at Necochea, and appears to be characteristic of the zone which
is now laid open along the coast. Thus it is not improbable that
the area of erosion was a broad one due to a somewhat general climatic
and geographic change.

In the Barrancas del Norte the eroded surface of the Ensenadean
comes into contact with several formations, which are unlike in color
and constitution. The one which covers the longest stretches is a
greenish stratified deposit formed of Pampean earth, which has been
somewhat deoxidized. Similar greenish deposits occur here and there

24 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

in the Pampean terrane up to the more recent formations, where they
may be identified by their topographic relations on the present sur-
. face as having formed in ponds or lakes. The reduction of the iron
oxide to which the green color is due is a natural effect of the presence
of organic matter that gathers in ponds. Ameghino was the first
to recognize their lacustrine origin. In the Barrancas del Norte
they are sharply contrasted in color with the dark-brown Ensena-
dean, and the eroded surface is direct evidence of an interval between
the episodes of deposition.

The eroded surface of the lower stratum worked out by wind and
not by running water no doubt presented more or less extensive
hollows in which pools or ponds would form and water-laid sediments
would accumulate, provided there was sufficient rain. The deposits
are water-laid and appear to constitute evidence of a return to con-
ditions of greater humidity than had existed during the episode of
erosion.

The formations which succeeded the lacustrine deposits where the
latter occur, or which rest on the lower brown earth where the lacus-
trines are wanting, are of two kinds. There is a fine whitish or light-
gray stratum which exhibits the vertical structure characteristic
of eolian loess and which also possesses the fmeness and uniformity
of wind-blown dust. The light color is peculiar and is not explained
by any field observation. This white or gray loess is locally con-
formable to the brown sandy earth and again is separated from it by
pockets of pink pebbly loess described below.

The formation which may be called pink pebbly loess, according to
its color and constitution, is a fine-grained, light reddish-brown
deposit, which includes small pebbles of the same material. The
texture, homogeneity, and structure are eolian. The pebbles also
could have been formed only by wind action, since the loess of which
they consist would readily melt down in water and lose its form. The
formation thus suggests arid conditions. It occurs characteristically
in wind-eroded hollows which are more or less undercut, and thus it
indicates the activity of the wind as it erodes and fills. Were it not
for the intervening lacustrine formation there would be no reason
for separating the episode of erosion during which the basal stratum
was sculptured from the episode of erosion and filling which is marked
by the pebbly loess, and the climatic variation would be simply
from more humid to more arid. But the occurrence of the lacustrine
deposits in the hollows cut in the basal stratum and the fact that
they are themselves sometimes cut out by the hollows filled by the
pebbly loess indicate that between two episodes when wind erosion
was favored, presumably by aridity, there was an interval of pre-
cipitation adequate to produce ponds.

WILLIs] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 95

The horizon of the whitish-gray loess and of the pink pebbly loess
is characterized by great irregularity of deposits, and is thus dis-
tinguished from the higher horizon immediately overlying them,
which is occupied by a fawn-colored eolian earth most examples of
which are a structureless loess, but some of which exhibit columnar
structure. The fawn-colored loess is the highest of the formations
in the Barrancas del Norte and forms the upper third to half of the
bluff. It is continuous with the pink pebbly loess, which changes
gradually in color and loses the pebbly inclusions from below upward.
It is strongly contrasted in color with the whitish-gray and the plane
between them is clearly marked, but is flat and not eroded. Thus the
fawn-colored loess may be regarded as the upward continuation of
these two dissimilar deposits with which it corresponds in being of
wind origin. It merges upward into the black soil, which is derived
from it.

In the foregoing descriptions of the original characters of the for-
mation in the Barrancas del Norte, the secondary feature, the occur-
rence of limestone masses, or tosca, has purposely been omitted, it
being regarded as a deposit from ground waters subsequent to the
deposition of the earth in which it occurs.

There are two horizons in the Barrancas del Norte at which lime-
stone is strongly developed. One is near the base of the cliff, some-
- what less than a meter below the upper surface of the dark-brown
sandy earth that forms the base of the exposed section. There is a
heavy horizontal plate of limey rock, in many places two-thirds of a
meter thick, and fairly constant in occurrence. According to the
writer’s understanding of the process of tosca formation, it represents
the zone or horizon within which the ground water rises and falls,
while diffusing by capillary action and evaporating from the surface.
The conditions which are most favorable are those of semiaridity.
The density and continuity of the residual lime deposit constitute a
measure of the time during which the action continued at the hori-
zon, and as this formation is both dense and continuous it appears to
correspond to a notable episode. Thus, the lower plate or stratum
of tosca strengthens the evidence for an arid or semiarid epoch, fol-
lowing the deposition of the brown, sandy alluvium.

The upper horizon of strongly developed tosca is at the base of
and in the fawn-colored loess that constitutes the upper third or
half of the barrancas. The limey rock occurs in irregular branching
masses that are longer vertically than horizontally and are more or
less separated from one another. The forms and occurrence are
adjusted to the structure of the loess, which is itself irregular and
occasions their irregularity. This horizon seems to indicate an
episode of climatic condition favorable to evaporation—semiaridity—

26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

but the surface of the ground during that interval appears not to
have differed from the present surface. The writer regards this tosca
zone as evidence of a drier epoch antedating the present relatively
humid one.
Tosca occurs irregularly at other levels or without reference to a

particular level in the loess deposits. Some of it has been displaced
and reburied; some has been washed and rolled. It is evident that
local conditions have favored the deposition of secondary lime at
various times, if not usually, throughout that part of the Pampean
period which is represented by this section. But during two epochs
the relations of surface- and ground-water level were particularly con-
stant for a sufficient time in each case to produce especially heavy
deposits. The first of these epochs coincides with the period of
passage from the alluvial deposition represented by the dark-brown
earth at the base to the period of aridity that succeeded. The second
does not correspond with any time-interval observed in the section,
but with a later episode.

The interpretation of the Barrancas del Norte which the deposits —
and contacts suggest to the writer may therefore be provisiaay
stated as follows:

The (n+1) episode Brown earthy loess—alluvial humid
The (n+2) episode Wind erosion—tosca formation semiarid

The (n+3) episode Lacustrine ; humid

The (n+4) episode Wind erosion and loess deposits semiarid to arid
The (n+5) episode Tosca formation semiarid

The (n+6) episode Black earth humid

In this section Ameghino distinguishes three distinct deposits,
which he has named Ensenadean, Bonaerean, and Belgranean.
The writer likewise recognizes three episodes of deposition, namely,
the (n+1), +3), and (n+4) divisions of the above climatic scale.
The criteria on which he bases his divisions are, however, not of a
character to permit him to correlate them with the formations at the
type localities from which they are named by Ameghino. He feels,
moreover, that the criteria by which to distinguish the climatic divi-
sions of Pampean time require further study before complete confi-
dence can be placed in the conclusions.

The characteristics which mark the Pampean terrane in the section
of the Barrancas del Norte may be recognized in numerous other sec-
tions along the coast: For instance, at the Barrancas de los Lobos,
south of Mar del Plata, near Miramar, near Necochea, and also at
Monte Hermoso (a few miles east of Bahia Blanca). The basal
stratum exposed in the Barrancas del Norte may be traced to the
Barrancas de los Lobos, where it lies in the upper part of the cliffs
above some 10 meters of similar material, which is exposed between
it and the sea. The lower formation is somewhat darker in color

‘QVJINS PapO1a-PUIM OY} WO ssa0] Jo WIsodap pu ped Jeseq UseM4Jeq ‘WOISOda JO s}Oaya 07 anp ‘AJTWIIO;UOOUN SUIAMOYS

VWLV1d Tad YVW ‘SLYON 13dq SVONVUYVE

@ alv1d ¢S NILSTING ADOIONHLA NVOINSWV JO NV3HyNg

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 3

BARRANCAS DEL NORTE, MAR DEL PLATA

Showing unconformity, due to effects of erosion, between basal bed and deposit of loess.

v
winits) GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 97

than the upper, but exhibits similar evidences of erosion and eolian
deposition. At Miramar and Necochea the formation, which is
exposed in the low bluffs also, consists of loess-like alluvium, the sur-
face of which has been eroded and filled in by wind. Similar char-
acters may be seen at Monte Hermoso and, as shown in plates 2 and 3,
at Mar del Plata. According to Ameghino, the exposure at Monte
Hermoso shows at the base a member of the Pampean terrane which
is even older than the lowest exposed in the Barrancas de los Lobos.
There is nothing in the lithologic or physical characters of the
deposit which would enable one to form an opinion on this point.
Ameghino’s view is based on the faunas of the respective localities.

Whatever the relative ages of the various deposits that are to be
seen in the sea cliffs of the eastern coast may be, they all exhibit the
evidence of identical physical conditions and point to alternations of
humidity and aridity during the time of their distribution.

It is not necessary to pursue in detail the geologic and chrono-
logic problems connected with these older formations of the Pam-
pean, for the present investigation is concerned primarily only with
those formations which are related to the problem of man’s existence
in the region, and the writers have not been able to find any evidence
which would show that he lived during Pampean time. Human
remains have been found, so far as the writers have been able to
observe, only in recent deposits, some of which are classed by them
as the Upper Pampean and others as post-Pampean formations. The
later phases of the Pampean may now be considered.

UprerR PAMPEAN AND Post-PAMPEAN

To Dr. Santiago Roth the writer is indebted for having pointed out
the distinction between the Upper Pampean and the Middle Pampean
of Roth’s classification, as exposed in sections near La Plata; near
Anchorena, on the Rio de la Plata above Buenos Aires; in the Arroyo
de Ramallo; and at San Lorenzo, near Rosario. Doctor Ameghino
designated as Upper Pampearm two deposits seen at and near Mar del
Plata.

All of the deposits which were thus referred to the Upper Pam-
pean are characterized by the features which distinguish eolian loess.
The material is finely pulverent, not firmly consolidated, often colum-
nar in structure; it is light-gray or fawn colored and contains sec-
ondary limestone only in relatively small amount as compared with
the older Pampean formations. It is a formation which obviously
is composed of material eroded by the wind from the older Pampean
and redeposited in favorable localities in the form of eolian drifts.
It does not appear probable, considering the conditions of develop-
ment and the present irregular distribution, that the Upper Pampean
ever formed a widespread mantle in the region of its occurrence. It

98 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buun, 52

is distinctly a drifted formation and occurs with the irregularity
which characterizes drifts.

It is doubtful whether we may safely speak of an Upper Pampean
epoch in the sense of a definite division of geologic time. We have
seen that eolian loess occurs as a characteristic constituent of the
older Pampean terranes. The material for the formation of eolian
drifts has been available and winds to erode and redeposit it have
been active in later epochs also. From the time when the earliest
alluviums of the Pampean terrane were formed to the present,
deposits possessing the physical characters of the Upper Pampean
have been developed. Thus it seems impracticable to distinguish an
Upper Pampean formation on physical characters alone. There is
paleontologic evidence, but it rests primarily on the physical, for the
biologic lines of descent can not be established except by observation
of the stratigraphic sequence. Those fossils which have been found
in the superficial eolian loess have been assigned to the Upper Pam-
pean, because they occurred in a position above the older Pampean
and in material having Upper Pampean characteristics. In these
criteria, however, there is nothing by which to distinguish the oldest
Upper Pampean loess from the most recent, and it is not impossible
that the range of time represented by such loess deposits corresponds
with a large part or all of the Quaternary period.

While the writer is thus in doubt as to the stratigraphic and chron-
ologic value to be given the term Upper Pampean, there are cer-
tain relations which serve to set an earliest date before which the
Upper Pampean did not develop in the superficial position in
which it is now recognized. These limiting relations are physio-
graphic and climatic. As will be seen by referring to the description
of the Arroyo de Ramallo, to that of Mar del Plata, and to other
occurrences of the Upper Pampean, the Upper Pampean deposits
occupy peculiar positions in the eroded surface of the older forma-
tions. In so far as this may be generally true they could not have
been deposited until after the surface had been eroded, and the ero-
sion could not have taken place until the older formations had been
elevated above base level. There is thus a recognizable effect of
deformation which intervenes between the Upper Pampean and any
older formation.

The Upper Pampean did not develop, however, immediately after
the elevation of the region. The relations which may be seen between
Buenos Aires and Rosario show that shallow valleys were formed by
small confluent streams that grew out of the Parana and that they
afforded the appropriate locus for deposition of the Upper Pampean.
(Plate 4.) Valley erosion by these local streamlets does not seem
consistent with simultaneous valley-filling by winds. The two seem

WILLIS] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 29

to have been distinct in time, the latter succeeding the former. Thus
we may probably recognize an episode during which the alluvial
plain formed by the surface of the older Pampean was raised to its
present altitude above base level, an episode of humid climate dur-
ing which the drifts of eolian loess, the Upper Pampean, were
deposited. As those drifts are now cut through by the streamlets, a
later episode of erosion is distinguishable, which appears to coincide
with the present time.

‘Upper Pampean”’ thus gains a certain definiteness as a geologic
term by virtue of the physical relations in which the characteristic
deposits occur, and may have value in systematic classification if it
be limited to deposits formed during that episode of aridity which
preceded the present humidity. The writer has not seen enough of
the field, however, to know whether such a distinction is valid or not,
and it does not appear that the term has been thus critically applied.

Post-Pampean deposits fall into four classes, namely: Lacustrine,
alluvial, dune, and marine formations, all of which are dependent on
topographic features as they now exist. In order to develop the
conditions of deposition, it is necessary to describe the topography and
the Atlantic coast of the pampas with reference to their origin and
stage of growth. We will take up first the topography of the pampas.

The word pampa, signifying ‘‘flat plain,’ describes the pampas
correctly only in so far as it applies to the general aspect of the surface.
One must look beyond the foreground in order to see the extraordinary
flatness of the pampas. In detail they are not flat, and yet in the
foreground itself there are rarely those inequalities of the surface which
are common in plains traversed by running streams, even where they
are least eroded. The absence of running water and of the landscape
forms which it produces is one of the most striking though negative
phenomena of the Argentine plains. The characteristic surface form
of the pampas is a gentle hollow or an equally imperceptible swell,
each of them entirely devoid of line or sharp accent and each melting
without distinction into the other. A horseman galloping over the
apparently dead level surface sinks partly out of sight like a ship
beyond an ocean swell and remains perhaps below the plane of vision
while he rides a mile or more. A rabbit startled from the grassy flat
is lost in sameness of color until he suddenly appears in silhouette
against the sky as he tops the swell and beyond it disappears. These
broad hollows and swells have no systematic relation to any structure
of the Pampean earths, nor to any system of drainage. They are
probably related to the prevailing direction of the winds which pro-
duced them, whether such winds be those of the present climatic
episode or were those of a preceding time; but if such a relation exists

the forms which may betray it will be discovered only by careful
-

30 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

topographic mapping. Nevertheless, the wind origin of the surface
features of the pampas is obvious in the general form of the hollows
and swells. Anyone who has studied a loess-covered landscape knows
the long sweep from plain to mountain which is the characteristic
form of equilibrium that is produced where the wind is deflected
upward from the plain. Like the slope of equilibrium of the beach it
varies in declivity with the material and the force of the moving ele-
ment, and like the drumloid curve produced by ice it is definitely
characteristic of the fashioning medium. The pampas everywhere
bear the impress of the wind which has scoured, hollowed, and molded
their vast flat expanses of fine brown earth.

The surface which is thus characterized as an effect of wind sculp-
ture is modified along the right bank of the Parana, in what is now
the most humid region of the Province of Buenos Aires, by stream
erosion. A number of small valleys have their rise in the pampa and
extend more or less directly to the river. Those which the writer has
particularly examined are at Alvear and Ramallo; another is crossed
by the railroad near Baradero. These are but examples of similar
valleys of erosion which occasion the frequent up and down grades on
the Ferrocarril Central between Buenos Aires and Rosario. The
Arroyo de Ramallo is characteristic. (Pl. 4.)

The Arroyo de Ramallo debouches into the Parana with a low flood
plain about a kilometer in width. Between 2 and 3 kilometers from
the Parana the little valley is much narrower and is bordered by
steep banks and low bluffs. A kilometer higher up the stream has
been dammed and affords a fall of about 3 meters. Its channel
extends a very considerable distance farther back into the plain, but
only as a shallow talweg.

The little valleys of which the Arroyo de Ramallo is a type are in
an early stage of development. They are due to little confluent
autogenous streams that have grown back from the Parana into the
pampas and as yet have reached no more than a youthful growth.
Their history embodies, it is true, the early episode of erosion, which
was followed by partial fillmg with eolian loess, and most recently by
reexcavation of the talweg, but when we consider the softness of the
Pampean earths as opposed to the eroding power of a stream, we are
obliged to recognize that these little streams have accomplished but
a small amount of erosion.

In the photograph shown in plate 5, we see the bank of the Parana
at San Lorenzo, above Rosario. The level Pampean plain extends at
an elevation of 12 to 15 meters above the river and ends in nearly
vertical bluffs, which are scarcely attacked by erosion. Talus is also
wanting and the scarp is very young. It overlooks the wide channel

le a

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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 5

BANKS OF THE PARANA AT SAN LORENZO

WILLIS] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 31

of the Parana and the alluvial islands on the farther side, and it is
apparent that the great river is corrading—literally cutting away—the
bank faster than talus or gullies can develop. But though the river is
a powerful agent of erosion it has not accomplished a great deal in
widening its flood plain at this favorable pomt. The work is only
begun.

In describing the warped surface of the old continent it was stated
that the Parana and the Rio dela Plata occupied a downwarp.
Southwest of their depression the Pampean plain rises very gently in
an upwarp to an altitude of between 30 and 40 meters above sea.
The highest part of the plain lies ina line which trends from northwest
to southeast, some 50 kilometers southwest of Buenos Aires. About
50 kilometers still farther southwest there is another depression whose
axis is approximately parallel to that of the Rio de la Plata and which
is occupied by one of the several salt rivers (Rio Salado) of the coun-
try. This depression constitutes the eastern portion of the Province
of Buenos Aires, in latitude 36°, and is an area in which extensive
drainage canals have been thought necessary. The general elevation
of the plain rises from near sea level to 25 meters in the valley of the
Salado, but there is no perceptible slope and the extraordinary flat-
ness of the surface is such that during the rainy seasons of wet years
rain water has stood over many square kilometers where during drier
years there spread the grassy plain. The channel of the Salado,
meandering through this flat, is shown in the photograph (pl. 25).
It will be noticed that the river is in a peculiar state of equilibrium.
It is not deeply corrading, neither is it aggrading the channel. It
has sufficient fall to carry away the silt which it brings and therefore
does not build up its banks above the neighboring plain, as is the habit
of rivers in their deltas, nor does it appear to be obstructed. Yet its
force is not sufficient to excavate its channel to a greater depth below
the surface than is required to carry its waters. The river may be
said to flow practically at base level. The writer observed these
relations in the vicinity of the stations called Villanueva and General
Belgrano, and noted them as an illustration of a surface which,
although elevated considerably above sea level, and traversed by
streams, does not exhibit any of the features sculptured by running
water. This condition may be attributed to the fact that confluent
streams have not yet developed on the gentle slopes that descend
from the northeast and from the southwest toward the Rio Salado.
Due allowance must be made for the effects of wind erosion, which
has produced very broad and shallow hollows in the plain, in which
the rain waters gather and evaporate instead of running off. Never-
theless, the period of time is short during which such a surface, when

32 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

elevated, may retain its integrity. The drainage systems have not
had time to develop since the Pampean was warped up to its present
position.

Thus observations of the effects of erosion along the Parana and in
the valley of the Salado show that streams have done very little work
on the Pampean formation. Indeed, the features which they have
sculptured are insignificant. Hence, the elevation of the pampas may
be regarded as recent. If, however, it should appear on further study
that stream erosion has been retarded by the peculiar character of
the pampas to a greater degree than now seems probable, and that
there have been one or more epochs of aridity during which stream
erosion was reduced to practically nothing, there would be reason for
extending the time that has elapsed since the uplifting of the surface,
and it might be that this later history would cover the Quaternary
period.

It has already been stated that those eolian deposits, which are ~
characterized as Upper Pampean by both Roth and Ameghino, lie in
hollows sculptured in the surface of the Pampean, and the same holds
true for the still younger deposits of alluvium and dune sands: All of
these, including the Upper Pampean, appear to the writer to fall in
the Quaternary. It may or may not follow that the earlier Pampean
formations were deposited during the later Tertiary (Pliocene and
late Miocene), though this is probable; but they also may be in part
of the Quaternary age.

ATLANTIC COAST OF THE PAMPAS

If now we turn from the consideration of the pampas to that of the
eastern coast of Argentina, we must recognize at once that the coast
line has reached its present position by virtue of wave erosion on the
uplifted mass of the Pampean. In order to place this proposition in
its appropriate relations, we may consider the development of the
coast as the result of the attack of the ocean on the inert mass of the
Pampean earths.

A shore is fashioned by waves and currents, driven chiefly by winds.
In the course of their attack they destroy headlands, build bars,
spits, and beaches across embayments, and eventually establish a
coast which is adjusted to and in equilibrium with their activities.
A young coast is distinguished by irregularity, an old coast by
smoothness. On a young coast the wave-cut terraces and sea cliffs
are conspicuous features; on an old coast the cliffs due to wave action
are modified or obliterated by subaerial erosion. It may happen
that sea cliffs cut in enduring rock stand for a relatively long time,
but a cliff of earth, however compact, is a very transient feature.

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WILLIS] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 33

The eastern coast of Argentina is composed, to a great extent, of
sea cliffs of the Pampean earths. Many of these are too steep to climb
and are frequently undercut by the waves that beat against the base.
Their height depends on the elevation of the plains and is usually not
more than 10 to 15 meters, but in the Barrancas de los Lobos, south
of Mar del Plata, the cliffs attain an altitude of 28 meters. (See
pl. 6.) As one walks beneath these bluffs of clay and notes the fallen
masses of earth disintegrating at the foot of the cliff, one can not but
recognize that the present coast line is a transient thing. It evidently
changes measureably from decade to decade and no feature of 1t can
be many centuries old. Thus no bank or slope or eroded surface
between the plain and the beach, nor any deposit built upon such a
slope, can be considered to be older than very recent.

The coastal deposits which may be observed along the recent coast
of Buenos Aires are of three kinds: Beach, dune, and coquina forma-
tions. The beaches are deposits of sand formed between the base of
the cliffs and the sea and are usually so narrow that they are covered
by the rising tide. Except as subordinate features at the foot of the
bluffs, they are entirely wanting. Sometimes their shoreward limit
is formed of dunes.

Dunes are conspicuous features. These occur wherever there is a
source of sand and a surface upon which they can accumulate. They
appear to be absent only where the sea cliffs are so steep and high that a
dune can not find lodgment. Even then sand is blown into the hollows
wrought by wind and waves in the face of the cliff, and lies in banks
and festoons which sometimes simulate interbedded sandy strata.
The universal activity of the wind and its efficiency in transporting
sand constitute most striking facts in the present condition of the
coast. The writer’s observations cover particularly the stretch from
Mar del Plata to Bahia Blanca, but the data regarding the direction
and frequency of winds are available for the stretch from Buenos
Aires to Bahia Blanca. In his work on the climate of the Republic of
Argentina,' Davis gives two tables, one for Buenos Aires and the other
for Bahia Blanca, which embody the results of observations taken
three times daily and referred to a scale of 1,000 monthly observations.
The original data are arranged with reference to the months and eight
points of the compass, namely, north, northeast, east, and so forth.
For our purpose we may group these observations into two classes,
one representing winds which may be said to blow from the sea, and
the other those which blow from the land. The first class comprises
winds from northeast, east, southeast, and south, and the second those

1 Davis, Gualterio G., Clima de la Reptiblica Argentina, Buenos Aires, 1909, pp. 41-44,
h635°— Bull. 52—12 3

34 | BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [punn. 52

from southwest, west, northwest, and north. The figures taken from
Davis’s tables then yield the following:

: Buenos Aires Bahia Blanca
Month = =
NE. to S. | SW. toN. | NE. toS. | SW. to N.

DORUONY ook sede Ha ene een Canons CR Ce eee ane 685 315 389 611
GIP UGK Y wis cco elucbeus Suna se eakns eee ans Soe eee ee 593 393 376 624
Mayen 20s Ranta sc crea oes gue see eee ee eee 677 323 308 692
Worl . he. 22a eae to cney Oe ces Cen ta coeee ede Seas 555 445 235 765
MAY foc soc see eRe er ee 446 554 151 849
WANG «can 156 55 coma cade aed ane ea eee ea eee ! 422 578 136 864
SOY oi. ncn in Sanaa anes Green se ees See ae ae 486 514 207 793
edges 2. 2, eset epee ee ee iene Soe 587 413 225 775
Soptoember.... 2... Ascsactensews can saus cee seeanncsss aks | 668 337 280 720
ate ber fon. oak ccs Soo eee Chetan eee ew ech gee 703 297 353 647
NOWVOIDDETS oo = Ss. acs Soon Care ee es 668 | 332 376 624
GOIN NER. <n. oc An wn ccs Sse anne Sine Sv eb eae ER ass 646 | 364 | 334 666

7,131 | 4, 805 | 3,370 8, 630

These figures show that at Buenos Aires the winds blow far more
frequently from the sea than from the land, whereas at Bahia Blanca
the reverse is the case. Davis comments on this fact and states that
if the data were to be given for a number of intermediate stations it
would be seen that the variation in frequency of the winds changes
from north to south in a regular manner in obedience to a physical
law. An examination of the isobaric and isothermal charts for differ-
ent seasons, accompanying Davis’s work, shows clearly the nature of
this law and its relation to the observed variation. According to the
same official source of information, the mean annual velocity of the
wind at Buenos Aires is 15.8 kilometers per hour and there is no
month in the year in which the mean monthly velocity falls below 13
kilometers per hour. At Bahia Blanca the annual mean is 14.9 and
the least monthly mean is 10.2.

The effect of the barometric and thermometric conditions is to
produce winds which, along the northeastern coast of the Province
of Buenos Aires, blow prevailingly on shore, and this condition
extends to a point south of Mar del Plata. The coast then trends
away southwest, while the prevailing direction of the wind veers in
the same direction, but through even a greater angle, so that as we
go from Mar del Plata southwestward toward Bahia Blanca the pre-
vailing winds blow more and more nearly in a direction parallel to
the coast. The effect of these relations on the work of the wind is
seen in the distribution of sand dunes, which become high and
numerous and occupy a relatively broad belt along this shore where-
ever the sea cliffs do not prevent. @

By reference to the local description of the coast northeast of
Necochea it will be seen that there are older and younger dunes, which

WILLIS] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 35

clearly belong to different episodes of development. The older ones
lie inland in a zone behind the younger. They are grass-grown and
sink away to low mounds till they merge into the plain. Where the
drainage is ponded behind them there are little lakes. Beneath
them is a layer of black earth representing the soil of the former
plain over which the dunes advanced with the advance of the sea
upon the coast. The younger dunes are composed of moving sand.
They rise directly from the existing beach, to which they are obvi-
ously related, and form a zone a kilometer or more in width. They
vary from less than 10 to more than 20 meters in height, rise in a
long, wind-wrought curve from southeast to northwest, and on the
northwest side are as steep as the sand will lie.

At the mouth of the Rio Quequen, near Necochea, the dunes are 12
to 15 meters high and advancing from the southwest have pushed
the river northward so that it flows through a restricted channel
beneath a cut bank in the loess 12 meters high. At Monte Hermoso
the zone of large grass-grown dunes is 3 to 5 kilometers wide, and the
dunes themselves attain a height of 25 meters or more above the sea.
Monte Hermoso is a dune 27 meters in height, the upper 20 meters
being sand and the base consisting of the Monte Hermoso formation.
These brief descriptions will suffice to indicate the effective work
which is being accomplished by the wind along this stretch of coast,
and to make it clear that the dunes are a strictly coastal formation
dependent on the proximity of the sea, formed from the beach sands,
and moved by the winds whose prevailing direction depends on exist-
ing relations of land and sea. More detailed descriptions are given
in the accounts of the specific points visited.

The coguina which forms on the eastern coast of Argentina is
intimately related to the dunes in origin, since the wind is the chief
agent in its production. But, whereas the sand dunes are developed
by the more regular winds, the coquina is the product of the storms.
It consists chiefly of broken shells mingled with sand and gravel, but
includes also any pebbles or other large objects, such as bones, which
may happen to occur with the sand. It is usually more or less
indurated, and this character, together with the fact that it contains
fragments of fossils identical with those which occur in the under-
lying Pampean, has led to its being considered a Tertiary formation.
The writer regards it as strictly equivalent in character and origin
with the coquina of the Florida coast, in regard to which we may
quote the following description: !

“One of the most common of the marine Quaternary deposits is the
coquina which occurs at various points along the coast. This con-
sists of a mass of more or less water-worn shells cemented by calcium-
carbonate. The amount of cement is seldom great enough to close

1Sellards, E. H., State Geologist, in Second Annual Report of Florida State Geological Survey, 1908-09,
p. 153, :

36 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL, 52

the openings between the individual shells, though in some localities
the process of cementation has proceeded far enough to produce a
rather compact fossiliferous limestone. There is usually more or less
sand present, which is commonly in the form of thin lamine separating
the shell beds, and various gradations from sand rock to shell rock
may be noted along the Florida coast.”

Sellards quotes from an account published by James Pierce in 1825,
in the American Journal of Science:

“Extensive beds of shell rock of a peculiar character occupy the
borders of the ocean in various places from the River St. Johns to
Cape Florida. They are composed of unmineralized marine shells
of species common to our coast, mostly small bivalves, whole and
in minute division, connected by calcareous cement. I examined
this rock on the Isle of Anastasia, opposite St. Augustine, where it
extends for miles, rising 20 feet above the sea and of unknown depth.
It has been penetrated about 30 feet. In these quarries horizontal
strata of shell rock of sufficient thickness and solidity for good build-
ing stone alternate with narrow parallel beds of larger and mostly
unbroken shells, but slightly connected. - * * The large Spanish
fort and most of the public and private buildings of St. Augustine
are constructed of this stone. The rock extends in places into the
sea with superincumbent beds of new shells of the same character.”

In the report from which these quotations are given the Quaternary
is divided into Pleistocene and Recent and the coquina is placed in
both Pleistocene and Recent, along with beach sands and eolian
deposits. The various deposits of coquina along the coast have
repeatedly been observed and studied by both Dall and Vaughan,
and their Quaternary age has been determined by these observers.

From the example of the coquina of the Florida coast we learn that
indurated formations may be even as modern as the Recent epoch.
They may also be Pleistocene, and the question of age determination
depends in a large measure on their relation to other formations or
to physiographic features. Paleontologic evidence also has bearing,
but there are two conditions which may qualify it. The life range of
species may cover the time of development of different masses of
coquina which are physiographically distinguishable, for the move-
ments and accidents of coastal development are constantly affording
new and different conditions under which shells may be assembled
and cemented. Again, in case a coquina contains remains of both
living and extinct species, the latter belonging to an older formation
from which they may be derived, we can not accept with any confi-
dence the evidence of these older fossils as to the age of the coquina.

The coquina of the Argentine coast may then be studied with
reference to its constitution, hardness, and the capacity of existing
agencies to cement it; in regard also to its relation to the existing

wittss] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 87

coast line and the special features thereof; and finally as to the fossil
content. .

The Argentine coquina is composed, in the several places where
the writer observed it, of materials derived directly from the adjoining
strand. The sand, the pebbles, the larger stones, and the shells are
all identical, so far as they possess similar characteristics, with those
which make up the latest beach deposits. The sand is both white
and black, being composed of grains of quartz and of various dark
grains derived from volcanic rocks. The pebbles are in large part
those which have been styled ‘‘Patagonian,’”’ because they are the
same as those which form the widespread pebble deposit of the
Patagonian plateaus. They are brought along the shore by the pre-
vailing northerly drift of the inshore currents. The shells and shell
fragments are those of thick-shelled bivalves which occur in limited
quantities on the beach and live in adjacent waters. Thus, as
regards constitution, the coquina is identical with the beach.

The physiographic relations of the coquina are definite. It occurs
only in immediate relation to the present coast within reach of the
waves or spray. It usually lies at the beach level. In one case,
however, namely, at the mouth of the Arroyo del Barco, to the
south of Mar del Plata, the coquina occurs up to a maximum alti-
tude of 9 meters above the beach; and again at the Boca del Moro,
north of Necochea, it was observed just above the modern beach,
lying in a slope continuous with the beach, but eroded by gullies.
At the Arroyo del Barco the coquina lies in an angle of the coast, at
the head of the Playa de Peralta, where it is open to the storm waves
of the Atlantic and at a point where the converging shores concen-
trate them and give them exceptional force. At the Boca del Moro
the occurrence of the coquina may be within the reach of an unusual
storm, but it is not unreasonable to postulate that the shore currents
have built out the sandy beach and have thus widened the strand
sufficiently to remove the zone of former wave action from that
of the present breakers. Another occurrence of this formation is
on the slope of Punta Porvenir, south of Mar del Plata. It there
consists of a mingling of sand and loess and extends from the low
bluff back of the beach to a distance of 110 meters from the shore,
that is to say, to the limit which may be reached by spray from the
storm waves breaking on the prominent point. It was in this deposit
that the Ameghinos found the carapace of a glyptodon associated
with hand-worked stones. Just north of Punta Piedras at Mar del
Plata the coquina occurs on the beach in the lee of the quartzite
point, where the waves have washed in the material which goes
to make up the conglomeratic and pebbly deposit. It also consists
largely of shells and is cemented by lime. A peculiar interest
attaches to it because it appears to underlie a portion of the bluff,

38 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (uors. 68

which is here composed of eolian loess. This loess is assigned to
the Upper Pampean and still greater age is allotted to the coquina
beneath it. The coquina is riot to be séen in section beneath the
loess, but is said to have been struck in numerous wells that were
put down through the bluff. This lee, or sheltered place, behind
which the coquina occurs, was produced when the waves cut out the
little bay that is now protected by the quartzite of Punta Piedras,
and the eolian deposit, like the coquina, is genetically related to
the present strand line.

The fossil content of the coquina is well known to consist of shells
of living species, but is said to include also shells and bones of extinct
ee A number of specimens brought by the writer from the
localities where he examined the coquina, between Mar del Plata
and Necochea, contained shells of living species only. In one
fragment a shell of an extinct species was found; the specimen
came without a label and the locality from which it was derived
could not be identified with certainty.

In the coquina at Arroyo del Barco, Doctor Hrdlitka and the
writer observed a bone which was too firmly imbedded in the rock to
be secured, but which appeared to be a jaw or pelvis, possibly of
an ungulate. Ameghino stated that the formation contains bones
of extinct species peculiar to the Pampean formation (Knsenadean)
upon which it rests. In view of the fact that the coast is eroded
from this same formation and that any bones contained in it must
be washed out and swept along with the beach sands and gravel,
it is to be expected that the more massive ones or portions of them
may have become imbedded in the coquina. It is said that delicate
or articulated bones have been found in the formation. They could
hardly survive in such a deposit as that at the Arroyo del Barco,
as it is composed of very coarse material which could be moved
only by use of considerable force, but the mingled loess and sand
of Punta Porvenir might bury lighter objects, either weathered out
upon the surface of the underlying Pampean or contemporaneous
with the recent deposit. Thus the carapace of the glyptodon
found on Punta Porvenir may be a fossil from the older Pampean
(Ensenadean) or it may indicate the survival of that species down
to the recent time when the coast developed in its present position
and the eolian deposit was formed. In this case the paleontologic
evidence must derive its significance from the more direct and
unequivocal stratigraphic and physical relations.

SUMMARY OF GEOLOGIC RELATIONS

In the preceding pages the facts which the writer regards as most
essential to an understanding of the geology of the region under
review have been briefly sketched. They may be summarized as
follows: ++

wintrs] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 39

1. Beneath the Pampean is an ancient land surface which was
formerly a plain or nearly so, it having been long subjected to ero-
sion. The plain subsided and became covered with the alluvium
of rivers which brought silt from the north and especially from the
west. The rate of subsidence and the rate of sedimentation were
related to one another somewhat as they now are in the Mississippi
embayment, so that the surface of the river deposits remained
above sea level although the mass was sinking. Marine deposits,
therefore, do not enter the area.

2. The alluvial deposits constitute what is now called the Pam-
pean terrane. They resemble the deposits which are made by the
Hwang River in the delta plains of eastern China, and which consist
of eolian loess redistributed by river action. The loess of China
originates in the deserts of central Asia, and by inference the Pampean
earths originated under similar arid conditions. The lands to the
east of the Andes now have an arid climate because the high moun-
tains dry out the western winds. If this hypothesis of the origin
of the Pampean earths be valid there is a relation between the Pam-
pean and the Cordillera, since the elevation of the Cordillera was
required to establish the genetic conditions for the production of the
loess that was subsequently deposited asthe alluvium of the Pampean
terrane. By this hypothesis it seems probable that most of the
Pampean is of late Tertiary age, but there is nothing in the process
of deposition which precludes ushomany age for ie later part of
the formation.

3. During the deposition of the Pampean terrane eolian processes
involving erosion and redeposition were certainly active. They
appear to have been particularly active at certain epochs which
alternated with others of dominant fluviatile action. This alterna-
tion may have been local and have occurred in different places at
different times, but the phenomena as they are displayed in the
sections on the eastern coast of Argentina suggest that there were
one or more epochs when wind erosion prevailed over a wide area
and was favored by some special climatic condition, such as aridity.
The deposition of secondary limestone appears also to indicate
climatic variation, and the two lines of evidence—wind erosion and
limestone deposition—appear to coincide in their indications. Hence
it is inferred that Pampean history has been varied by climatic
change, and it is suggested that the ultimate subdivision of the
Pampean terrane into distinct formations will be based on climatic
variation. The writer has not formed any opinion as to the rela-
tions which might exist between such a classification and any of
those which may have been published. It would seem probable,
hewever, that no attempt to classify the Pampean terrane, a mass
of lenticular alluvial deposits produced by several rivers, according

AO BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY iden 83

to the methods that apply to more uniform marine strata, could
be successful. ;

4. The criteria by which the several more or less theoretic
divisions of the Pampean have been distinguished are primarily
lithologic—composition, texture, compactness, structure, and the
proportion of secondary limestone or tosca. The differences in these
characters are not marked. At first the writer did not easily recog-
nize them. Eventually he saw them without difficulty, but he did
not learn to rely on them as a means of classification. It seemed
to him that local conditions affecting the source of the material
and the character of the deposit might be more influential than
the greater or less age of the formation. It was apparent in clearly
exposed sections that deposits of distinct epochs might occur in
the same plane in close proximity or in contact with one another.
Sections are few and the distances between them are great. Under
these conditions the subclassification of the Pampean is a problem
of extreme difficulty, in which there is great liability to error.

5. If we turn from the physical to the paleontologic criteria as a
means of classification, we are confronted with the fact that the
sequence of faunas can be determined with certainty only when
we know the sequence of formations. But, inasmuch as we do not
surely know the succession of Pampean formations, we can not have
confidence in any theoretic development of faunas. There is urgent
need in this matter to withhold judgment and to preserve a conserva-
tive attitude of agnosticism in regard to the relative age of hypo-
thetic divisions of the Pampean terrane and the supposedly distinct
faunas.

6. Among the divisions of the Pampean which have been proposed
the distinction between the Upper Pampean and all older formations
of the terrane seems to be one of the safest. In many places there is
a distinct unconformity beneath the deposits of the Upper Pampean,
which is a result of uplift and erosion. Elsewhere there is entire
conformity, as, for instance, at San Lorenzo on the Parana, and
apparently continuous deposition from the older Pampean up into
loess deposits of the Upper Pampean type. This is not surprising,
for the surface of the pampas is now and has been in the past suffi-
ciently warped to bring’ about conditions of erosion in one locality
concurrently with those of continuous deposition in another. The
Upper Pampean is identified lithologically as an eolian loess. It is
eolian not only in texture and structure but also in distribution, and
occurs generally in drifted deposits rather than as a widespread
stratum. The conditions for its formation may have been peculiarly
favorable during some recent epoch of aridity, and if so the formation
would acquire a certain unity and individuality. But the writer is
satisfied that not all of the irregularities of ‘the surface which gave

WILtts] GENERAL GROLOGIC NOTES 41

rise to wind eddies, nor all of the loess drifts that accumulated in
them, can be assigned to a single epoch. He believes that the deposi-
tion of various local deposits of the Upper Pampean type has been
distributed over a considerable interval of time and is still going on.
If so, fossil remains found in them may be similarly distributed.

7. Although the pampas may be described as elevated plains, they
have suffered but very little erosion. The development of valleys
is in an incipient stage. There are extensive areas which are not
drained by streams, and the characteristic topographic form is a
shallow wind-scooped hollow. The flatness of the surface and the
meagerness of the rainfall undoubtedly retard the growth of erosion
channels, but the Pampean loess is easily eroded and can not long
have been exposed at the elevation and with the slopes which it now
exhibits, without dissection. Hence it is inferred that the elevation
is a result of recent warping. Some of the Upper Pampean deposits
occur in the incipient valleys tributary to the Parana. The valleys
are consequent on the slope due to elevation, and are therefore
younger, and the Upper Pampean drifted into the valleys is younger
still.

8. The coast of Argentina presents a line of sea cliffs and beaches
which are being vigorously attacked and are in process of constant
changes. The sea is constantly eroding the land, and the coast line is
geologically a very transient feature. It must shift from century to
century to a perceptible degree and can not have occupied its present
position at most more than a few thousand years. Upon this shifting
shore the winds and waves have built certain equally temporary
formations, among which the dunes are the most conspicuous and the
coquina is the most interesting, at least in the study of man’s supposed
antiquity. The physical evidence of the relation of the dunes and
the coquina to the recent coast line is definite and positive. Those
formations are as recent as the coast line is, and any organic remains
found in them, whether human or otherwise, or any artifacts which
they contain as contemporaneous deposits, must also be recent. The
only exception to this conclusion is found in the possibility that
fossils weathered out of older formations may become incorporated
in the younger.

REPORT ON SHELLS COLLECTED BY BaiLEyY WiILLIs AND A. HrpiicKA
IN ARGENTINA

By Wm. H. Datu

Geologist and Paleontologist, U. S. Geological Survey

The following is my report on the shells brought [by Dr. Hrdlitka
and Mr. Willis] from Argentina and submitted to me for de-
termination. The age of the various beds from which the speci-

42

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

(BULL, 52

mens come is difficult. to estimate, as the shells prove to be all of
recent species, that is, species still having, so far as known, living

representatives.

There is one specimen without label, and it proves

to be the only one carrying an extinct species.[']
Detailed notes:

U.S.
ee Gee Locality
numbers

1 5352 | Arroyo del Barco, south of Mar del
Plata, Argentina, May 31, 1910.

2 5353 | Mar del Plata, Pta Piedras, southeast
side (“ Inter-Ensenadean”’).

3 5354 | Punta Porvenir, south of Mar del Plata
(typical ‘‘ Inter-Ensenadean”’’),

4 5355 | Mar del Plata, 8 miles south of the city,
on the plain back of the seabeach,
southwest of Pta Mogote, May 25,
1910.

6 6356s} AUOS WalOs) a Plates <5. aeeeemeeeencass

8 5358 | Arroyo del Bareo, south of Mar del
Plata (‘‘Inter-Ensenadean’’), May
31, 1910.

9 5359 | Mar del Plata, north side H. W. (“In-
ter-Ensenadean’’).

10 5360 | Mar del Plata, north of mouth of Ar-
royo de Peralta, May 25, 1910, H. W.

11 5361 | South of Mar del Plata, on the southern
side of Pta Mogote, about one-half
mile from the lighthouse, May 26,
1910.

29 5371 | Mar del Plata, Argentina, 8 miles south
of city, at Punta Mogote.

30 5372 | Miramar, sea level coast } mile south
of the bathing houses; shell marl of
fresh-water lake, supposed by Ame-
ghino to be Lujanean, June 1.

12 5362 | Lake deposit from mouth of Rio
Quequen.,

7 5357 | Necochea, plain by the sea, 25 feet
above high tide, June 5, 1910.
13 5363 | ‘‘Inter-Ensenadean,’’ Boca del Moro,

1 Label lost during
tained.—A. H.

northeast of Necochea.

Observations

The shells in this lot comprise Glycymeris
longior Sowerby, Eutivela perpleza
Stearns, and Olivancillaria auricularia
Lamarck, all recent species.

Mactra patagonica and Orbigny and
Glycymeris longior Sby.

Glycymeris longior Sby.

Indurated beach gravel containing frag-
ments and worn valves of Glycymeris
longior Sby., and Mactra patagonica
Orb., later bored by Lithophaga and
perhaps other boring bivalves.

Loose sand with valves of Mulinia isa-
belleana Orb., Venus tehuelea Orb.,
Tagelus platensis Orb.; Petricula sp.,
Paludestrina sp., Columbella sp., and
Buccinanops gradata Desh.

Similar to the last but indurated, the
fragments somewhat larger and many
of them derived from sessile barnacles.

Glycymeris longior Sby.

Venerid shell, decorticated but resem-
bling Venus tehuelca Orbigny, now
living.

Worn valves and fragments of Glycymeris
longior Sby.

Blackish sand and earth with a few
minute apparently recent land shells
Succineaand Thysanophora (?),some of
them quite fresh.

Myriads of a single species Paludestrina,
which agrees with figures of description
of P. parchappii Orb., which that
author states inhabits nearly all the
streams and lakes of Argentina.

Paludestrina sp. and Bulimulus sp. both
probably recent, but perhaps unde-
scribed.

Loose sand containing minute worn frag-
ments of shells, probably bivalves.

Tegula corrugata Koch ( Tegula patagonica
Orb.).

transportation; specimen from the coast, but the exact locality can not be ascer-

wittis] GENERAL GEOLOGIC NOTES 43
U.S.
ae ae oonel Locality Observations
numbers
14 5364 | “Magdalena” (Necochea).-.......---- Indurated shell fragments of Venus
tehuelca, young Mulinia sp., Palude-
strina sp., probably estuarine assembly.

15 5365 | Terreno Guerrico, from black earth | Valve Glycymeris longior Sby.
above tosea. (Necochea).

16 5366 | Mouth of Rio Quequen, Necochea, | Bulimulus sp. (recent).
from barranca said by Ameghino to
be Ensenadean, more than 1 meter
below considerable, irregular layer of
tosca.

17 BEGir PANO WARN cee oso e ke omccetacd-s ...| Indurated caleareous sediment contain-

ing valves of the extinct Erodona (or
Azara) prisca von Martens; probably
Pleistocene.

112 | |e e Coast 25 miles north of Necochea, near | No shells; loess well indurated, with
the beach; so-called Eolian phase of scattered water-worn pebbles; many
“Tnter-Ensenadean”’ of Ameghino, root holes.
from beneath heavy layers of tosca;
at first identified by Ameghino as
“Ensenadean,’’ but distinguished
by black sand grzins.

19 5368 | Mouth of Rio Quequen, Necochea, | Looks like loess but shows no root holes;
fresh-water deposit forming barranca no shells.
on north side, June 9, 1910.

Dus oat Ws Be Coast 25 miles north of Necochea, bluff | No shells; indurated fine white sand
5 feet above beach; loess of the with numerous root holes.
“Ensenadean”’ of Ameghino from
just below that called ‘‘Inter-Ensena-
dean’”’ (contact not seen).

S| aera s otarncree Necochea, Argentina; plain by the sea, | No shells; material like the last.

25 feet above high tide, 200 yards
southwest of hotel; superficial harder
layer of ‘‘Inter-Ensenadean’’ forma-
tion beneath which the human skele-
tons were said to have been found,
selected by the man who dug up the
skeletons. ;

22 5369 | Coast 25 miles north of Necochea near | Contains a fragment of Glycymeris longior
Laguna Malacara; sand with shell Sby.
from digging near the hole where
skeletons were found in same mate-
rial, June 7,1910.

23 5370 | Coast 25 miles north of Necochea, near | Considerably bored by marine worms or
Laguna Malacara near beach; so- Cliona; contains Tegula corrugata Koch,
called “marine Inter-Ensenadean” and fragments of other shells.
of Ameghino; hard coquina.

Lie ea aes Coast 25 miles north of Necochea, near | No shells.
the beach; tosea from ‘‘Inter-

Ensenadean,’’ June 8, 1910.
Os) | |S 8 eae cee Coast 25 miles north of Necochea, 15 Do.

feet above beach; so-called ‘“‘marine
Inter-Ensenadean;”’ coarse sand, cal-
careous cement holding larger
tosca pebbles.

44 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [pun 52

(9st
Current | National . .
numbers| Museum Locality Observations

numbers

BOW Mate cige? Necochea; plain by the sea 25 feet |No shells.
above high water, 200 yards west of
hotel; tosca in recent sand, same as
last material, June 5, 1910. ;

Se ee ee Necochea, Argentina; plain by the sea | No shells, except fragments of sessile
25. feet above high tide, 200 yards barnacles, and unrecognizable shell
west of Necochea Hotel; selected by sand.

Ameghinoas “ typical Inter-Ensena-
dean,’’ June 5, 1910.

As already noted, the only sample contaming a species not now
living (so far as known) in the region is No. 17.

IV. TIERRA COCIDA; SCORIA
By Barney WILLIS

Tierra cocida, or burnt earth, occurs in the Pampean terrane at
various horizons, as shown by the researches of Ameghino, Roth, and
others. The material resembles brick, or in places scoria, and
occurs commonly in the form of small pebbles. Occasionally larger
masses have been found. Ameghino has described the tierra cocida
with accuracy and in great detail. Through his courtesy the writer
has beenable to verify the descriptions by examination of the original
specimens, which form part of the collections of the Museo Nacional
at Buenos Aires.

The burnt earth varies in character and color from brown or fawn-
colored loess, through various tints of pink or brick to dark iridescent
or black scoria. Some specimens are of close texture, like a fine-
grained brick, but the scoriaceous specimens are very porous. It
occasionally contains impressions of strongly ribbed grasses, and in
rare instances includes bits of carbonized grass stems, little bones,
and other things of organic origin. There are also specimens which
are distinguished by a dark color and slaggy appearance. These
are heavy, though scoriaceous, resemble volcanic scoria, and have

ebeen described as such. They have been found mainly on the coast
of the Province of Buenos Aires, where volcanic scoria may occur
as wash brought along the coast from tuffs in the territory of Rio
Negro. It is important in considering their character and origin
to distinguish between those which are washed up on the beach
and those which occur in the Pampean terrane, as will appear
presently.

The writer collected specimens of the so-called tierra cocida in
company with Doctor Ameghino and Doctor Hrdli¢ka on the eastern
coast, with Roth at Saladillo near Rosario, and alone in the delta
of the Rio Colorado south of Bahia Blanca. The last-mentioned
occurrence is modern, while the others pertain to the Pampean ter-
rane. Brief descriptions of the observations made in the course of
this work will be found in the following pages.

On visiting Saladillo with Doctor Roth, a section of the dark-brown
loess loam, which Roth classed as Upper Pampean, was found

45

46 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY | [BULL. 52

exposed by the little Rio Saladillo where it issues from a small
reservoir. Thirty to forty meters from the reservoir and close to
the stream is a layer 30 cm. thick, composed of the brown earth
with many little pebbles the size of a pea, more or less. Most of
these consist of secondary limestone or tosca, but pebbles of burnt
earth are not uncommon. They are precisely like little water-
worn fragments of brick. On following this horizon down the
valley, other bits of burnt earth were found, including one 2 cm. to
3 cm. in diameter. All of these were imbedded in the Pampean
earth. They exhibited no impressions and contained no inclusions
which might give a clue to their origin.

On the eastern coast, near Miramar, the sea cliff affords a section
of the Pampean terrane, in which Ameghino identifies two forma-
tions, the upper one of which he calls Ensenadean and the lower
one Chapalmalean. The latter is a brown ferruginous loess-loam
and forms the lower part of the bluffs. In it, at a height of 1 meter
above the beach, 8 kilometers north of Miramar, occurs a mass of
distinctly reddish, orange, and blackish earth, not bricklike, which
contrasts with the surrounding brown loess-loam. Its horizontal
length is about 1 meter; its thickness is 30 cm. The upper surface
is irregular and there are small isolated masses of the red surrounded
by the brown clay. The principal mass of red clay is 60 cm. long
and 10 cm. thick. It is banded in various shades of red. At the
bottom it is distinguished by a sharp contact, where it passes in
the distance of approximately a millimeter from the red into a
Jarger, dark-brown and black mass that fades away below into the
brown loess.

The red earthisa portion of the loess loam, which has been dehy-
drated. The darker brown color is also due, in all probability, to
a peculiar condition of the iron oxide. The black, which occurs
chiefly, if not exclusively, on joint planes in the clay, is caused by a
film of specular iron oxide.

This coloring might have been occasioned by a fire burning on
the surface that is now red. Similar effects of dehydration occur,
however, not infrequently as a result of a slow process of chemical
change, without heat, producing more or less distinct ferruginous
nodules. Fine ferruginous clays in which capillary moisture circu-
lates are favorable to the reaction. This is undoubtedly the expla-
nation of the particular occurrence observed in the Chapalmalean
north of Miramar.

In contrast to the preceding fogén, which the writer does not
class with the tierra cocida, there are certain specimens found
somewhat nearer Miramar, but also in Pampean terrane—whether
in that portion which Ameghino would class as Chapalmalean or as
Ensenadean, the writer is not sure. The specimens are small pieces of

WILLIS] TIERRA COCIDA; SCORLE. 47

red tierra cocida, and distinct masses of heavy black scorie ranging up
to 8 or 10 cm.in diameter. The latter resemble an opaque slag, im-
perfectly fused, and cooled from a pasty state into irregular individual
lumps. Each specimen of the four that were gathered was complete
in itself, not a fragment of a larger mass. They occurred imbedded in
homogeneous loess, in which they were in place, like pebbles in shale.
Judging from their general appearance that they might be of volcanic
origin, the writer carefully noted that they were not washed up on
the beach and buried in a recent deposit of the loess. They occurred
in the undisturbed Pampean, and if they were volcanic would dem-
onstrate that scoria of appropriate character had existed in a place
from which these masses could have reached their present position.
According to Mr. Cross, whose opinion is quoted below, they are
probably not volcanic. This inference therefore fails but it is still
possible that scoriz of volcanic origin should be found in this locality,
as they occur along the same coast farther south, and tuffs and
basalts cover a large area in the territory of Rio Negro near the
Colonia Valcheta and elsewhere, as observed by Sefior Moreno in
1873-74. Masses so derived and washed along the coast would
occur only in modern formations, for the present coast is modern.
During the Pampean epoch the shore was farther east and the
coastal wash could not have reached this position. Hence the
importance, above referred to, of distinguishing the precise relations
in which any such supposed. volcanic scoria occurs.

Mr. Whitman Cross, of the United States Geological Survey, reports
as follows on the specimens collected from this locality near Miramar
and submitted to him:

‘‘Among the explanations of the occurrence of ‘tierra cocida’ in
the Pampean is one advanced by early writers, as quoted by Ame-
ghino, to the effect that burning grasses had calcined and fused the
loess. To investigate this suggestion the writer burned several
heads of the great Pampas grass or cortadera, both growing and dead.
The growing tussocks consist in the winter season of a large, almost
solid head, which is green, and of dried leaves. The latter burn
readily down to the green head, but the fire does not reach the ground.
When cortadera is dead the head also burns and the fire lasts a num-
ber of hours. A large plant, fired at 5 o’clock of an afternoon, was
still a glowing mass at 7 the next morning. The effect on the under-
lying earth was, however, slight. The loess was reddened to a depth
of 10 millimeters, more or less. It was not calcined to a bricklike or
scoriaceous mass. The ground was dry at the time. The fire had
been intense and had burned 14 hours. It had, however, been prac-
tically on the surface, and the writer infers that superficial heat does
not notably calcine loess.”

48 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL, 52

A different result follows when the grass and loess are intimately
mingled. Esparto is a grass which sends up blades from root-stocks
below the surface. The blades grow close together, catch more or
less dust between the stems, and become partly buried to a depth
depending on local conditions, perhaps 10 or 15 cm. or more. .When
esparto burns, the loess about the grass stems is calcined down to
and around the roots below the surface of the plain. The writer
observed an instance in the delta of the Rio Colorado. A bright-
red spot in the greenish-brown plain attracted attention. On riding
to it, it was found to be an area a hundred meters more or less in
diameter, where the esparto, which grew in tufts all about, had re-
cently been burnt. The stems and roots were burned out, leaving a
spongy mass in which a horse sank to his fetlocks. It was composed
of thoroughly calcined earth, varying in color from pink to brick-
red, in part scoriaceous. Coherent masses 10 cm. or more in diameter
could be picked up, but they were penetrated in every direction by
hollows formerly filled by the stems and roots, and were very fragile.
They carried impressions of grass stems, bits of carbonized grass,
etc., and in these respects corresponded with specimens obtained from
the Pampean by Doctor Ameghino and described by him.

These observations lead the writer to give weight to the views
of those early observers, who attributed the tierra cocida of the
Pampean terrane to the burning of grasses.

There is nothing, however, to connect the burnt earths of the
Pampean with man, so far as the occurrences were observed by the
writer. Any fire whatever, whether originating in spontaneous
combustion, in lightning, or in other natural conditions, independent
of man, would have the effect of burning the earth under favorable
conditions. In order to prove that man maintained a fire which
burned a particular mass of tierra cocida it would be necessary to
bring independent evidence of his handiwork. Two classes of facts
have been cited to demonstrate his agency: The presence of supposed
artifacts and the arrangement of a mass of burnt clay; chief among
the former are split, broken, or scratched fragments of bone, and
it appears to the writer that these may be referred, with greater
probability, to weathering, biting, gnawing, and accidents incident
to the wanderings of bones, as strata were eroded and redeposited.
Certainly the proofs of man’s agency should be uncontrovertible and
the possibility of explanation by other than human action should be
positively excluded, before the conclusion that he intentionally or
incidentally burned the earth can be accepted.

This critical test should be met equally by occurrences where the
mass of burnt earth and its relations to the surrounding unburnt
loess suggest that man built and maintained a fire over the spot.

WILLIS] TIERRA COCIDA; SCORIE 49

Dehydration by slow chemical change produces a red mass, which
may grade by color variation into the brown loess, simulating the
effect of heat. But the red earth thus produced is not hard like
brick. The occurrence observed 8 kilometers north of Miramar is a
case in point. If an unquestionably burnt earth should occur in
place in the Pampean in a notable mass, it would be necessary to
prove that man gathered the fuel and maintained the fire, for the
accidental burning of matted vegetation buried in the earth would
produce the same effect. The hills of Dakota and Montana in the
western United States are banded by red clays burnt to the consist-
ency of tile by the combustion of lignite beds, without the agency
of man, and what occurs in that region on an extensive scale may
well have taken place on the pampas from the combustion of matted
masses of grass.

The specimens of tierra cocida and scoria collected by the writer
and Doctor Hrdli¢ka have been submitted to the Geophysical Labo-
ratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington for an exhaustive
investigation of their physical characters and conditions of origin,
which Mr. F. E. Wright of that laboratory has kindly agreed to make.
His report on the subject will doubtless form the basis for further
discussion.

Notes By ALES HrpDiLIGKA

The writer has recorded a number of personal observations on the
subject of the tierra cocida which will serve to supplement the
preceding.

The present coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, north of Bahia
Blanca, is devoid of forests, and very poor in wood of any kind, nor
are there any indications that it was more favored in this respect at
any time during the formation of the Pampean deposits. In conse-
quence it is probable that there has been always a dearth of fuel.
This doubtless led to the habit, common in the region to this day, of
making fire, where it could be made at all, in small, usually quadran-
gular excavations in the ground, about 4 to 8 inches deep. A number
of these holes were examined by the writer. The ground lining the
hole was generally found blackened, and where the heat had been
more intense, there was some reddening of the earth beyond the black-
ened surface; but both the blackened and the reddened soil (where the
latter existed) crumbled readily in every instance, showing but little,
if any, cohesion. Nothing was found even remotely resembling Pam-
pean tierra cocida specimens thought by some to demonstrate the
presence of man. In one instance, at the Laguna de los Padres, some
miles inland from Mar del Plata, the remnants of two particularly large

21535°—Bull. 52—12——4

50 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL, 52

and intense fires were observed which had been fed, as seen from the
unburned pieces, by large quantities of dried branches of the hard,
thorny brush growing in that locality. One of these fires was on the
surface and represented merely the burning of a pile of brush; the
other, probably remade a number of times, was in and about a hole
in the ground, such as described above, and filled with ashes and
bones. Fires of this size are exceptional, and it is in the highest
degree improbable that they would ever have been equaled among
the aborigines; yet even here there was no approach to a production
of tierra cocida, or scoria. The surface fire acted on the black veg-
etal soil; that in the hole principally on the yellowish loess. In
both cases there was superficial blackening, and beyond this some
obscure reddening of the soil to a maximum depth of approximately
14 inches, but no baking to cohesion. All this indicates the improba-
bility, if not the impossibility, of the production by the fires of prim-
itive man of the tierra cocida, or of scoriz, such as were seen in the
Argentine museums or were collected on the expedition.

A variety of stout grass, growing in big bunches and known, from the
sharp, cutting edges of its blades, as paja brava or cortadera (Gynerium
argentewm) occurs in many localitiesin Argentina. The burning of this
grass has been reported by Descalzi, Romero, and Ameghino (see
Bibliography) as resulting in the production of baked earth and
scoria. During the writer’s trip to the Puerto San Blas, this grass
was found in spots among the dunes south of San Blas, and instances
were seen in which the dried bunches had been burned. In every
one of these cases, however, the heart of the bunch was still alive
and there was no burned earth or scoria. Men on the ground said
that only rarely will one of these bunches die, in which case, if fired,
it burns out; but no one has observed anything resembling the
tierra cocida or scoriz ascribed to them. This shows that the ordi-
nary burning of cortadera is not (at least not commonly) asso-
ciated with products such as those under consideration.

Small particles, and occasionally larger masses of tierra cocida,
were found by Mr. Willis or the writer in a number of localities along
the coast from northeast of Miramar to Monte Hermoso, and were
relatively abundant in the deposits exposed in the barrancas at the
former locality. They occur at different depths from the surface, to
below the sea level at ordinary low tide. The pieces collected are
all compact, with the exception of two or three that show on one side
a transition to scoria. While there is a general resemblance, they
all differ in aspect and weight from the very porous, light products
of the burning of the esparto grass, collected by Mr. Willis on the
Colorado.

Large masses of tierra cocida are called fogdnes (fireplaces) by the
local investigators. One of these, about 3 paces long and propor-

WILLIS] TIERRA COCIDA; SCORIA sak

tionately broad, was reported by one of the natives employed by
Professor Ameghino for watching the coast and collecting fossils, to
exist off the barranca of Monte Hermoso, but it became exposed
only at the lowest tide and could not be examined. None of the
few observed cases in which the tierra cocida would be taken for a
fog6én, or remnants of the same, was accompanied by the slightest
evidences of the presence of man; but burnt bones, carbon, and other
substances that might possibly be due to man have been reported as
found at or near fogénes in other localities.*

The scorize were very abundant on the gray playas, or denuded
flats, near the seashore northeast of the Arroyo Moro, the region
of Necochea. Farther inland, even on the playas, they were absent.
Many hundreds, in fact thousands, of specimens could have been
collected. They were fairly uniform in character, grayish-black,
porous, without sharp points or angles. They ranged in size, as far
as seen, from small bits to pieces as large as the two fists. Farther
south they were scarce, and on the coast between Rio Negro and
Puerto San Blas they were wholly absent, but the writer picked up
on the shore near San Blas an oval, water-worn piece of a different,
clearly volcanic red scoria more than 12 inches long.

On the whole, none of the evidence relating to tierra cocida and
scoriz seen in the Argentine Museums or in the field, has proven at all
convincing that these products, even if not directly volcanic, are due
to man’s agency. Messrs. Wright and Fenner’s report, which fol-
lows, bears out these impressions.

The principal bibliographical references in connection with this
subject are as follows:?

Descauz, N. Diario del descubrimiento del Rio Negro de Pat-
agones. Revista del Rio de la Plata, 1, 1854, p. 97; and in Albar-
racin, S. J., Estudios generales sobre los rios Negro, etc., 11, Buenos
Aires, 1886, pp. 51, 63-64, 600-602.

Herusser, J.C., and G. Ciaraz. Essais pour servir & une descrip-
tion physique et géognostique de la Province Argentine de Buenos-
Aires. Mém. Soc. Helvétique Sci. nat., xx1, Zurich, 1865, pp. 1-140.

AmEGHINO, F. Nouveaux débris de l’homme et de son industrie,
etc. Journal de Zoologie, tv, Paris, 1875, pp. 527-528.

Burmeister, H. Description physique de la République Argen-
tine, 11, Buenos Aires, 1876, pp. 178, 387.

AMEGHINO, F. Catalogue spécial de la section anthropologique
et paléontologique de la République Argentine, Paris, 1878.

1 See Ameghino, F., Enumération chronologique et critique des notices sur les terres cuites et les scories
anthropiques, etc.; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, XX (ser. ili, t. xm), 1911, pp. 39-80 (separate, 1910).
2Principally after Ameghino. For additional minor references, see that author.

52 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

AmEGHINO, F. L’homme préhistorique dans le bassin de La Plata.
Congr. int. sci. anthr., Paris, 1878, p. 346.
L’homme préhistorique dans La Plata. Rév. d’Anthr.,
2me sér., 1, Paris, 1879, pp. 242-245.
La plus haute antiquité de homme dans le Nouveau-
Monde. C. R. Congr. int. Amér. 3™° sess., Bruxelles, 1879, m1, pp.
216-217.

La antigiiedad del hombre en El Plata, Paris-Buenos
Aires, 11, 1881, pp. 427-428, 451, 461, 476-478, 489-490, 535.

— KEscursiones geolégicas y paleontolégicas en la provincia
de Buenos Aires. Bol. Acad. Nac. Cienc. Cordoba, v1, Buenos Aires,
1884, p. 161 et seq.

——— Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires, 1887, pp. 5-6, 10.

Moreno, F. P. Informe preliminar de los progresos del Museo
La Plata, etc., Buenos Aires, 1888, pp. 6-7.

— Breve resefia de los progresos del Museo de La Plata,
etc., Buenos Aires, 1889, p. 27. :

AMEGHINO, F. Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos
fésiles de la Reptblica Argentina, 2 vols., Buenos Aires, 1889, pp.
50-69.

Rotu, S. Ueber den Schidel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fonte-
zuelas). Mitth. anat. Inst. Vesalianum zu Basel, 1889, pp. 8-9.

Lenmann-Nirscue, R. L’homme fossile de la formation pampé-
enne. C. R. Congr. int. d’anthr. et d’arch. préhist., xu sess., Paris,
1900, pp. 145-146.

AMEGHINO, F. Paleontologia Argentina, Buenos Aires, 1904, p. 77.

STEINMANN, G. Ueber Diluvium in Siid-Amerika. Monatsb.
deutschen geol. Ges., No. 7, 1906; also in Rév. gén. sci. pur. et appl.,
Paris, 1907, pp. 626-633.

STEINMANN, G. Das Alter des Menschen in Argentinien. Bericht
tiber die prihistorischer Versammlung zur Eréffnung des Anthro-
pologischen Museums in Céln, 1907, p. 73.

LeuMaANnn-Nitscue, R. Nouvelles recherches sur la formation
pampéenne, etc. Rev. Mus. La Plata, xiv, Buenos Aires, 1907;
including communications by C. Burckhardt, pp. 143-171; A. Doer-
ing, pp. 172-190; F. Zirkel, pp. 455-456; and G. Steinmann, pp.
461-462.

AMEGHINO, F. Notas preliminares sobre el Tetraprothomo argen-
tinus, etc. Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xvi (ser. iii, t. Ix), 1908,
pp. 106-107.

Ovtss, F. F., with E. H. Ductoux and H. Btcxrne. Estudio de
las supuestas ‘“escorias’”’ y ‘‘tierras cocidas,”’ etc. Rev. Mus. La
Plata, xv, Buenos Aires, 1908, pp. 138-197.

AMEGHINO, F. Las formaciones sedimentarias de la regién litoral
de Mar del Plata y Chapalmalén. Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires,
XVII (ser. ii, t. X), 1909, pp. 358, 372, 401, 421,

WILLIS] TIERRA COCIDA; SCORIZ ve

AMEGHINO, F. Productos piricos de origen antrépico, etc. Anal.
Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, x1x (ser. ill, t. x11), 1909, pp. 1-25.

Outrs, F. F. Les scories volcaniques et les tufs éruptifs de la série
pampéenne de la République Argentine. Rev. Mus. La Plata, xv1,
Buenos Aires, 1909, pp. 34-36.

AMEGHINO, F. Le litige des scories et des terres cuites anthropi-
ques, etc., Buenos Ayres, 1909, pp. 1-12.

——— Dos documentos testimoniales 4 propdsito de las escorias
producidas por la combustién de los cortaderales. Anal. Mus. Nac.
Buenos Aires, xrx (ser. iil, t. x11), 1909, pp. 71-80.

Bouts, M. Produits pyriques d’origine anthropique dans les for-
mations neogénes de la République Argentine. L’ Anthropologie, xx,
Nos. 3-4, Paris, 1909, pp. 381-383.

Arupt, TH. Feuerproducte von menschlichem Ursprunge in den
neogenen Formationen der Argentinischen Republik. C. R. Natur-
wissenschaftliche Rundschau, xxtv, No. 31, Braunschweig, 1909, p.
397.

G. A. J.C. The Antiquity of Man in South America. Nature,
LXxXx1, London, 1909, p. 534.

Brunet, L. Etude des prétendues scories et terres cuites de la
série pampéenne de la République Argentine. Analyse du mémoire
de MM. Outes, Herrero Ducloux et Biicking, en Révue Générale des
Sciences pures et appliquées, 20° année, No. 21, Paris, 1909, p. 890.

AMEGHINO, F. Examen critique du mémoire de M. Outes sur les
scories et les terres cuites. Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xIx (ser, iii,
t. x11), 1909, p. 459.

Outss, F. F., and H. Btcxine. Sur la structure des scories et
“terres cuites’’ trouvées dans la série pampéenne. Rev. Mus. La
Plata, Buenos Aires, xvi, 1910-11, pp. 78-85.

Amecurno, F. Enumération chronologique et critique des notices
sur les terres cuites et les scories anthropiques des terrains sédimen-
taires néogénes de |’Argentine. Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xx
(ser. ili, t. x11), 1911, pp. 39-80 (separate, 1910).

V. PETROGRAPHIC STUDY

OF THE SPECIMENS OF Logss, TiERRA CocrpA, AND Scorta CoL-
LECTED BY THE HrpiicKa-WILLIs EXPEDITION

By Frep. Evucene WRIGHT AND CLARENCE N. FENNER

INTRODUCTION

The petrographic examination of the rock specimens collected by
the Hrdlitka-Willis expedition in Argentina was undertaken by the
Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
at the request of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Although descriptive work of this kind is hardly germane to the
purposes of the Geophysical Laboratory, it was apparent that, if
the problem were to be solved at all, exact laboratory methods of
attack would have to be used and that, even in case the material
available was not sufficient or characteristic enough for a satisfactory
solution, the precise data gathered by the laboratory would never-
theless be of value. The descriptions below apply only to the
material examined.

The problem submitted to the laboratory was to determine the
kinds and nature of the rocks in the collection. Ordinarily such
problems are not difficult and can be solved by the usual petro-
graphic methods, but in the present instance several of the rocks
are so extraordinary in type that previous investigators have been
unable to agree as to their nature, whether volcanic, or sedimentary,
or both, and the matter has become one of controversy based more
or less on opinion.

In approaching this problem, three lines of attack were followed:
(1) the usual detailed petrographic-microscopic examination of the
rocks; (2) chemical study of the different rock types; (3) thermal
study of the rocks at different temperatures and comparison of the
products thus obtained, with the natural products. From these
three lines of independent evidence which will now be presented,
it should be possible to obtain a fair idea of the nature of the rocks
and possibly also of their genesis.

The tools and methods used in the examination of the different speci-
mens.—Ordinarily it is not customary to cite the particular instru-

59

56 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

e

ments and methods which have been adopted in the study of any
particular problem, but in the present instance the methods applied
were not the usual methods and merit, therefore, a brief word of
description. In the petrographic-microscopic examinations the
methods employed were those specially adapted to the study of
fine-grained preparations. They have recently been described in
a paper by one of the writers! and need not be considered in detail
here. The specimens were examined both in the thin section and
in powder form. In the thin section the texture of a specimen
can be studied to best advantage, while in the powder the optical
properties of its several mineral components can be ascertained
most readily and accurately.

The chemical analyses cited below were made by Mr. J. G. Fair-
child, of the United States Geological Survey, and the methods used
in his determinations were the standard methods of the Geological
Survey laboratory.

In the thermal work the standard thermo-electric apparatus and
methods of the Geophysical Laboratory? were adopted. The mate-
rial to be heated was placed in a platinum crucible and suspended
therein in an electric resistance furnace where it could be brought
to any desired temperature and held there for any length of time.
The temperature of the furnace was determined by means of a
platinum-rhodium thermoelement inserted into the furnace together
with the charge. This method for ascertaining high temperatures
has been thoroughly tested in the Geophysical Laboratory and
furnishes temperature readings whose probable eryor is not more than
2° C. Throughout this paper the temperatures are expressed in
degrees centigrade.

In the present series of experiments the conditions were varied
considerably, but not to extremes which departed widely from
natural conditions. One point of difference, however, should be
noted. The amount of material used in an experiment was small,
only a few grams at most, while in nature kilograms and usually
tons are used and the resulting products are on a corresponding
scale. The small charge in the platinum crucible oxidizes readily
and the iron is converted almost entirely into ferric iron (hematite),
while in the natural products a lower state of oxidation (magnetite)
is present. The attempt was made to overcome this difficulty by
mixing a reducing agent, generally graphite, with the charge before
treatment, but this proved insufficient for the purpose. In another

1 Fred. E. Wright, The Methods of Petrographic-microscopic Research. Their Relative Accuracy and
Range of Application. Publication No. 168, Carnegie Inst. of Washington, 1911.
2A. L. Day, E. T. Allen, and J. P. Iddings, Publication No. 31, Carnegie Inst. of Washington; A. L.

Day, E. S. Shepherd, and F. E. Wright, in Amer. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., XXU, 265-302, 1906; W. P. White, in
Phys. Rev., XXV, 334-352, 1907, and in Amer. Jour. Sci., 4th ser., XXVIII, 453-489, 1909.

WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 57

series of experiments, however, larger charges (about 100 grams)
of material were heated in a Fletcher gas furnace and with them
the oxidation was found to be much less, the center of the charges
containing magnetite and resembling the scoriz more closely than
did the smaller charges. The dependence of the product obtained
on the mode of heat treatment to which it had been subjected,
was thus clearly demonstrated, and is a factor which should be
taken into account in all such work.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIMENS
SPECIMENS FROM BUENOS AIRES

No. 263702. Specimen label. ‘‘Samples of the Pampean forma-
tion (brown and green) from excavation on Veinte Cinco de Mayo,
Buenos Atres.”’

Under this number two distinctly different earths are included;
the first, a light-brown, porous earth of fineg even grain, the second,
a pale ashy-green earth, mottled in appearance and noticeably dif-
ferent from the first in composition. Under the microscope the
.powder of the brown earth was found to consist largely of fragments
of plagioclase feldspars, glass, and fine earthy material, the last
usually stained with iron oxide. The plagioclase feldspars range in
composition from oligoclase to labradorite and often show zonal
structure. The glass particles are usually colorless and angular or
splintery in outline and are relatively fresh. Occasional grains of
pyroxene, hornblende, biotite, quartz, sanidine, apatite, zircon, and
magnetite were also observed and are all fairly fresh. Most of these
minerals and the glass are of igneous origin and have evidently been
assembled from various types of igneous rocks, the majority of which
were probably andesitic or dioritic in character.

The second type of earth consists largely of fine calcite with
occasional larger grains of plagioclase, quartz, and volcanic glass.
Some argillaceous material is apparently also present. The plagioclase
is usually fresh and often exhibits zonal structure. This earth
differs from the first chiefly in its high calctum carbonate content.

On immersion in water the brown earth in this specimen softens
and crumbles into brown mud, while the gray earth remains intact
and hard. On testing the water solution above the earth with silver
nitrate, only a trace of chlorine was detected.

No. 263747. Specimen label. ‘‘Zocality: Buenos Aires, on the old
Moreno place, where an elevation that rises above the general level of the
plain is being graded down. Material: White earth which occurred vn
lenticular layers 1 inch to 3 feet thick in the brown loess that looks like
upper Pampean. Probably volcanic ash.”

58 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

A loose, white, incoherent earth of even grain consisting in large
measure (about 90 per cent) of volcanic glass in angular and splintery
fragments, which often show evidence of viscous flow. Gas inclusions
are abundant in the glass. The remainder of the material is made
up of scattered grains of plagioclase, quartz, hornblende, pyroxene,
relatively abundant biotite, zircon, epidote, apatite, spinel (or garnet),
and cryptocrystalline calcite. This material is essentially shattered
voleanic glass (volcanic ash) with which are mingled mineral frag-
ments, some of which are not of volcanic origin. This ash was tested
with silver nitrate solution, and only a slight trace of chlorine obtained.

The powder of this specimen, heated between 720° and 727° C. for
45 minutes, became flesh-colored, but otherwise remained loose and
noncoherent; heated to 1,100° for one-half hour, it became agglomer-
ated and shrunk to a hard, compact mass, but was not fused. Held
at 1,200° for 3 hours and then at 1,150° for 2 hours, it fused to a pale-
gray glass, which contained microscopic fragments of plagioclase and
particles of iron oxide. _Gas bubbles were relatively common, but no
secondary microlites were observed. The refractive index of the
glass was fairly constant and averaged about 1.485.

SPECIMENS FROM ALVEAR

No. 263715. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Alvear, on the Parand.
Material: Loess from the deposit in the ravine, selected by Santiago Roth
for comparison with that from the Middle Pampean at a higher level.
This material appears to be a secondary deposit derived from, and
younger than, the Middle Pampean, but Roth regards it as underlying
and older. B. W. 26 June, 1910.”

A. pale-brown, porous aphanitic earth, which consists largely of
plagioclase, quartz, and glass, with considerable argillaceous material.
Minor components are pyroxene, hornblende, biotite, and magnetite.
Most of the silicate fragments show some decomposition. The min-
eral grains average about 0.1 mm. in diameter and are usually sharp
and angular.

This earth was mixed with bituminous coal and heated to 1,300°
for 30 minutes. It was then reheated at 1,300° for 2 hours and held
at 1,100° for 17 hours. The resulting gray glass contained fragments
of the original minerals and flakes and needles of hematite and acicular
microlites of a substance of medium birefringence and refractive
index considerably higher than 1.52. The minute crystals showed
parallel extinction, with the least elliptic axis parallel to the direc-
tion of elongation, but they proved too fine for satisfactory determi-
nation. The refractive index of the glass ranged from 1.505 to
1.525.

WRIGHT-—FENNER ] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 59

No. 263716. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Alvear, on the Parand.
Material: Loess selected by Santiago Roth to represent the Middle Pam-
pean, which he regards as younger than the deposit in the bottom of the
ravine. B. W. 26 June, 1910.”

In general appearance this specimen is practically identical with
the preceding. It is a light-gray, even-grained earth, coherent but
not indurated, which consists microscopically of plagioclase, quartz,
glass, and argillaceous material. Minor components are hornblende,
pyroxene, magnetite, and spinel (or garnet (?)). As in the preceding
specimens, igneous and volcanic materials constitute the major part
of the specimen. Both this earth and the preceding disintegrate
when immersed in water. Treated with silver nitrate, they give a
slight chloride reaction.

This specimen of earth, which is practically identical with 263715,
was moistened and heated to 510°. The material was caked but not
reddened by this treatment. At 710° it was slightly reddened.
Held at 1,000° for 43 hours, the color became a bright brick-red and
the material was considerably indurated, but no sign of fusion was
observed under the microscope. This material was noticeably like
some of the tierras cocidas, but was not so hard.

No. 263717. Specimen label. ‘‘Zocalty: Alvear, on the Parand.
Material: Loess from the Middle Pampean of Roth, taken from the bank
5 feet from, and on the level of, the burnt clay. B.W. 26 June, 1910.”

A light-gray, rather compact, earth of fine, even grain. Similar in
texture and general appearance to the two specimens just described
from the same locality. Microscopically, this specimen exhibits the
characteristic minerals of many of the loess specimens of this region.
Plagioclase, quartz, and glass, and argillaceous material constitute
the bulk of the rock, while occasional grains of hornblende, pyroxene,
biotite, and magnetite are scattered through the specimen.

This earth disintegrates partially to a lumpy aggregate when
immersed in water. Its water solution gave only a slight trace of
chloride when tested with silver nitrate.

Fragments of this specimen heated to 870° for 16 hours became
bright brick-red and indurated and could not be distinguished from
some of the fragments of 263729. Heated to 1,200° for 3 hours, the
earth was fused to a dark-purple mass, in which fragments of the
original minerals appeared under the microscope, embedded in a
colorless to pale-brown glass. The colorless glass was filled with
minute specks of iron ore, while the pale-brown glass was relatively
free from such specks and had a slightly higher refractive index
(n = about 1.530) than the former (n = about 1.510).

Chemical analysis ——Although this loess contains argillaceous
material and can not be constant in its composition, it does contain

60 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buuw. 52

much voleanic material and should express this fact in the chemical
analysis. Since some of the tierra cocida specimens are evidently
baked loess, it was of interest to have an analysis made of one of
the typical loess specimens. This and the following analyses were
made by Mr. J. G. Fairchild in the laboratory of the United States
Geological Survey:

I Ta
SiO, 66.81 1.108 Q 42.26 42.26
Al,O, 15.04 147° Or = 13.95
Fe,0, 3.11 019 Ab 15.25 $ 37.00 | 85.89
FeO Trace ae An 7.80
MgO 1.03 025 C 6.63 6.63
CaO 1.65 M5 a 2 ca .
Na,O 1.79 029 Hm 3.11 ies
K,O 2.31 025 Ru 0.65
H,0— 3.34 UN Sap S0aghB
H,O + 4.07 pees
TiO, 0.65 008
CO, None mF
P.O, 0.06 .0004
S Trace py
MnO 0.12 0017
99.98
Ratios
Sal 85.89. 7
Class Fem. 6.62>1--------1
Order Pere cobs aleve
, var‘ rc
ng SOOEEEO' OH TE
Subrang wy = 2 Sesto hgjeas

I. Loess, Alvear. J.G. Fairchild, United States Geological
Survey, analyst.
Ia. Molecular proportions of I.

In the calculation of this analysis the method used in the quantita-
tive system of Cross, Iddings, Pirsson, and Washington has been
adopted. This system applies strictly only to fresh igneous rocks
and was not intended for use with sedimentary or altered rocks of
any description. It is used in the present instance only as a con-
venient method for expressing the analysis of a rock which contains
an abundance of eruptive material. Characteristic for this rock are

WRIGHT—FENNER ] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 61

the large amount of salic components and the abundance of free
corundum in the norm, which is probably due to the argillaceous
material of the loess. If the rock were an eruptive rock its analysis
would be classified along with those of certain granites and rhyolites,
which in the quantitative system are included in the subrang Teha-
mose of the persalane class.

No. 263718. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Alvear on the Parand.
Material: Brick from the tower near the mass of burnt clay.”

A brick of ordinary red color and usual appearance. Under the
microscope angular fragments of quartz, plagioclase, and colorless
glass are seen to be embedded in a microcrystalline, reddish matrix
which is evidently argillaceous. The deep-red color is probably due
to the presence of hematite which has resulted from the dehydration
and breaking down of the limonitic material in the yellowish and
brownish matrix of the original earths. The hematite is so fine,
however, that the microscope is of little assistance in the direct
determination, and the character of the microscopic red dust is
inferred rather than definitely determined. The thermal experiments
on the earths of this collection prove that many of them are suitable
for brickmaking. In the present specimen there is no trace of fusion.
When immersed in water this material remains intact. No trace of
chloride was obtained with silver nitrate solution.

No. 263729. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Alvear on the Parand.
Material: Burnt clay from the remains of the lower part of the mass or
fogon originally discovered by Roth. B. W. 26 June, 1910.”

A brick-red, terra-cotta-like material considerably indurated and
of fine, even grain. Under the microscope small angular fragments of
plagioclase, quartz, and glass were observed embedded in a fine
reddish matrix, evidently argillaceous in character. In comparison
with the earth (specimen 263717) the present material is similar in
composition and general texture except that the individual mineral
grains are possibly slightly smaller in average size. Both specimen
263717 and specimen 263729 exhibit cavities coated with chalcedony
and are intersected by films and threads of manganese oxide.

This specimen remains intact when immersed in water and does not
crumble. When treated with silver nitrate only the slightest trace
of chloride was obtained. In this respect the present specimen
resembles the two preceding specimens.

This specimen was heated first to 1,300° for 30 minutes and then
held at 1,100° for 16 hours. The resulting melt was dark-purple in
color and consisted chiefly of glass in which occasional remnants of
the original mineral fragments were embedded and also numerous
microlites of hematite and rarely a minute, lath-shaped crystal, which
was too fine for satisfactory determination. The major part of the

62

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

[BULL, 52

glass was colorless, with a refractive index about 1.510; occasionally
brown-colored glass fragments with refractive index about 1.53 were

observed.

Chemical analysis.—

SiO,
Al,O,
Fe,O,
FeO

dently modifications of the same material.

I Ta
65. 67 1. 089 Q ; 44. 02 44, 02
16. 25 . 159 Or 13. 39 ]
4.89 . OS Ab 44) 200) Sieki 85. 28
Trace as te An 4.18 |
0. 87 . 021 & 9.49 9.49
1.44 026. | Hy) 2.33 }
1. 66 . 027 Hm 4.96 8. 79
2.29 40245 1 'En Jike5O j
1.98
3. 44
0.90 . O11
None
Trace
Trace
0.12 0017
99. 51
Ratios
Sal 85.28. 7
Class Fem _ 879° ]---7----t
Q_ 44.02 5.3
Order EF. 31.77 <3 5 es 3
K,0’+Na,0’ .051_ 5.7
Bangi mggar TN grse a yeegs
; K.0)* 3024.) Sree
Subrane "Nai: eavigee an a

I. Tierra cocida, Alvear.

J. G. Fairchild, United States

Geological Survey, analyst.
Ia. Molecular proportions of I.

This analysis is similar to that of the loess 263717 from the same
locality. The relations of the several elements are not greatly
different, and the calculation of the analysis on the assumption that
it was made from a fresh eruptive rock leads to the same subrang
Tehamose of class 1 of the quantitative classification.

The last three specimens, Nos. 263717, 263718, 263729, are evi-

This is indicated by (1)

their mineral composition, which was found to be practically identi-
cal under the microscope except for the reddening of the argillaceous

WRIGHT-FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 63

material in 263718 and 263729; (2) the close similarity between the
chemical analyses of 263717 and 263729; (3) the presence of chalce-
dony lining the cavities in 263717 and 263729; (4) the close resem-
blance in texture and color between fragments of 263717, baked at
870° over night, and fragments of 263718 and 263729. The frag-
ments of 263718 were baked in general slightly harder than those of
263729. (5) the identity of the glassy products obtained by fusing
263717 and 263718. (6) The absence of sodium chloride from all
three specimens. These facts prove with reasonable certainty that
the earth, the tierra cocida, and the bricks, just described from Alvear,
are of the same material, and that the last two have been heated under
the same general conditions. The tierra cocida in this case is prob-
ably the fragmental baked material from the old brick kiln in which
the bricks were made.

No. 263738. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Saladillo near Rosario. ©
Material: Burnt clay, calcareous concretions, and animal bones from
the conglomeratic layer in the ‘Middle Pampean’ of Roth. B. W.
25 June, 1910.”

As indicated in the specimen label, a number of different rock types
have been included in this lot: (a) Soft-brown loess of the usual
characteristics and composition (chiefly fragments of quartz, plagio-
clase, hornblende, magnetite, and argillaceous material); (b) pieces
of baked loess ranging in color from brick-red to brown and often
containing dark linings of probable manganese oxide; (c) nodules of
finely crystalline calcite; (d) black nodules rich in phosphate and
evidently associated with (e) bones which have been highly altered
and contain fine, microcrystalline calcite and black phosphatic
material and a pale-yellow to white, microcrystalline substance of
weak to medium birefringence and refractive index about 1.60. This
substance occurs in so intricately intergrown and _ overlapping
ageregates that further optical properties could not be determined
with certainty. (f) Rounded pebbles of a substance which agreed
in its properties with the white substance just described were also
observed and tested chemically. The pebble tested was examined
under the microscope and found to be practically homogeneous.
Heated in a closed tube a small amount of water was obtained. The
substance is completely soluble in dilute hydrochloric and also nitric
acid with strong effervescence of carbonic-acid gas. Phosphoric acid
was found to be one of the principal constituents; also calcium. The
mineral is evidently a hydrated calcium carbonate-phosphate. The
only mineral listed in Dana’s Mineralogy of this nature is dahllite,
whose optical properties, so far as determined, agree approximately
with those recorded above. The density of this substance, however, is
about 2.53, which is quite different from that given for dahllite
(3.053). Unfortunately not enough of this material is available for

64 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

a chemical analysis or for detailed tests. It appears to have resulted
from the interaction of calcium carbonate- and calcium phosphate-
bearing solutions, the calcium phosphate having been derived from
the bones which appear in this stratigraphic horizon.

SPECIMENS FROM THE VICINITY OF MAR DEL PLATA

No. 263704. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Four miles north of Mar
del Plata in the Barrancas del Norte. Material: Greenish loess form-
ing a stratum near high tide. Ameghino’s Belgranean.”’

A pale greenish-gray, pulverulent material consisting in large part
of plagioclase, glass, and argillaceous substance. With this specimen
a special concentration test was made to determine as completely as
possible the minerals present, for the purpose of ascertaining whether
any mineral of other than igneous origin occurred. A considerable
quantity of material was first washed with water and the clay and
major part of the lighter minerals thus removed. The remaining part
was then separated in a heavy Thoulet solution and a heavy, dark-
colored, residual sand obtained which consisted of a great variety of
minerals. Inclusive of the lighter constituents the following minerals
were recognized: (1) Plagioclase (andesine, and labradorite, the grains
often showing zonal structure) ; (2) quartz; (3) sanidine; (4) pyroxene
(diopside, augite, and titaniferous augite); (5) hornblende; (6) glass,
colorless and brown. Many of the characteristics of volcanic glass
are clearly shown in this specimen. The particles often appear as
elongated rods and frequently contain long-drawn-out gas inclusions.
Splintery and pronglike forms are not uncommon and often show
conchoidal fracture. Birefringent spherulites occur in certain
instances and practically replace the volcanic glass. The glass does
not appear to have suffered much attrition, but the individual grains
are too small to be affected seriously by water transport. That this
voleanic glass does not have the same composition throughout is
evident from the variation from grain to grain in the refractive index,
which ranges from about 1.50 to 1.54. Evidently material from
different sources has been brought together by water action. (7)
Magnetite; (8) biotite; (9) and (10) epidote and zoisite in consider-
able quantity and of various types; (11) zircon; (12) tourmaline;
(13) titanite; (14) apatite; (15) garnet; (16) spinel (probable); (17)
brucite (probable); (18-22) five minerals which could not be posi-
tively identified. One agreed well in its optical properties with
monazite; another was suspected to be wulfenite.

Most of these minerals are typical of igneous rocks, but a few of
them, as epidote and zoisite, which are abundant, are metamorphic
rather than igneous minerals. Tourmaline is a common contact
mineral, but occurs also in certain kinds of igneous rocks. Some of

WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 65

the doubtful minerals are also at home in metamorphic rocks or in
veins rather than in igneous rocks.

On immersion in water this earth does not break down easily.
The water solution above it was found to contain abundant chloride
in the form probably of sodium chloride derived from salt water.

On heating this earth to 1,100° for 30 minutes, a hard, fused lump
with glazed surface was obtained, purple in color and containing
microscopic fragments of quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, and mag-
netite embedded in a nearly colorless glass base, which was often
clouded by innumerable specks of iron oxide. On heating another
portion to 1,200° for 3 hours and then at 1,150° for 3} hours, the
melt was found to have settled in the crucible to a dark purplish-
brown glass, which still showed under the microscope fragments of
the original minerals. The glass in this case, however, was notice-
ably brown in transmitted light and contained innumerable minute
hematite scales which had evidently crystallized from the glass; no
evidence of other secondary crystals was obtained. The colorless
glass (n=1.50) has a lower refractive index than the brown-colored
elass (n=1.515 to 1.525).

No. 263713. Specimen label. “Locality: Barrancas del Norte,
about 4 miles north of Mar del Plata. Material: Samples of pebbly
loess, filling hollows in the green and brown loess beneath. Formation:
Ameghino’s ‘ Bonaerean.’”

A light brownish-gray, fine-grained earth containing many rounded
fragments which are of similar material, but slightly more indurated.
Under the microscope the matrix was found to consist largely of
argillaceous material usually stained with iron oxide. Plagioclase
and glass are also abundant. Hornblende, pyroxene, epidote, and
magnetite are present in subordinate quantity. The pebblelike
fragments consist of practically the same substances. In them
pyroxene seemed slightly more abundant, and spinel and apatite
were observed in addition to the minerals noted in the matrix. This
earth disintegrates in water to a lumpy mud. Its water solution
contains abundant chloride (probably common salt from sea water).

No. 263706. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Barrancas del Norte,
north of Mar del Plata, 600 feet south of Arroyo Camé. Material:
Loess from stratum in which wind-hollowed pocket was excavated, 4
feet above high tide.”

A fairly hard, grayish-brown earth, consisting in large part (60 per
cent or more) of isotropic, colorless glass, which appears in angular
splinters or in rodlike forms produced evidently by the drawing out
of viscous glass. Gas inclusions in the shape of fine capillary tubes
are characteristic of such glass rods. Besides the volcanic glass
much argillaceous material is present; also fragments of plagioclase,

21535°—Bull. 52—12——d

66 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

quartz, hornblende, biotite, pyroxene (evidently several varieties in

shades of brown, green, and purple), magnetite, apatite, zircon,
tourmaline, epidote, and probably spinel. Except for the larger
proportion of volcanic glass this specimen is similar to specimen
263704.

On immersion in water this earth does not break down easily. The
water solution surrounding the earth gives a strong chloride reaction
when treated with silver nitrate.

A portion of this earth was mixed with graphite and heated to
1,300° for a few minutes and then held at 1,100°+30° overnight
(16 hours). A pale greenish glass resulted, which contained isolated
remnants of the original quartz and plagioclase fragments. Hex-
agonal crystals or aggregates of hematite, which had been formed
from the melt, occurred frequently and were the only evidence of
crystallization from the magma. The refractive index of the glass
was found to vary considerably (from 1.50 to 1.525).

No. 263708. Specimen label. ‘‘Locahty: Barrancas del Norte,
north of Mar del Plata, 600. feet south of Arroyo Camé. Material:
Filling of wind-hollowed cavity, taken 4 feet above high tide.”

A pale-brown, fine earth containing microscopic fragments of
plagioclase (andesine and labradorite, the individual crystals often
showing zonal structure), volcanic glass, quartz, sanidine, hornblende,
biotite, pyroxene, magnetite, and zircon. The plagioclase is fairly
abundant and fresh. Argillaceous substance, often stained with
iron oxide, is scattered through the specimen and coats the indi-
vidual mineral grains. In this specimen, as in most of the pre-
ceding, the average diameter of the grains is about 0.1 mm. Com-
pared with specimen 263706 this specimen contains noticeably less
voleanic glass.

When immersed in water this earth crumbles somewhat, but not
entirely, many large resistant lumps remaining intact. The water
solution above it gives a strong chloride reaction when treated with
silver nitrate.

No. 263711. Specimen label. ‘Locality: Beach 114% miles north
of Mar del Plata. Material: Pebbly loess resembling in the bed a soft
volcanic agglomerate. Formation: ‘ Ensenadean’ of Ameghino.”

The present hand specimen gives practically no hint of the pebbly
character of this formation, but appears to be a uniform gray-brown
earth, even grained, and fairly coherent. Under the microscope the
principal components are plagioclase and glass, both much decom-
posed. Hornblende, biotite, pyroxene, magnetite, and epidote were
also observed in scattered grains. In general aspect and composition
this earth is not greatly different from those preceding. Argillaceous
substance is abundant and is evidently due in part to weathering.

Se a

WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 67

On immersion in water this specimen disintegrates readily into a
lumpy mud. The water solution above was found to contain abun-
dant chloride (probably common salt).

No. 263742. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Mar del Plata, Barrancas
del Norte. Material: ‘Tosca,’ from the ‘Ensenadean’ of Ameghino.”

A light-gray-brown, stony material of fine, even grain. The
microscopic examination of the specimen revealed the presence of
very fine-grained calcite, in which are embedded many larger grains
of plagioclase, quartz, colorless glass, and a little pyroxene. Both
macroscopic and microscopic evidence indicates a concretionary
limestone or nodule in the loess formation.

On immersion in water this specimen remains fairly intact. Tested
with silver nitrate solution it gives a strong chloride reaction (prob-
ably common salt).

No. 263740. Specimen label. ‘‘ Laguna de los-Padres, 10 miles
west of Mar del Plata. Material: Baked loess from hole about 12
inches deep in which there had been a large hot fire.”

A burnt-looking earth, light-brown to black in color, which crumbles
to a fine, soft powder. Under the microscope the most abundant
components were found to be plagioclase and glass, both partly
decomposed and stained with iron oxide. Hornblende, pyroxene,
zircon, apatite, epidote, and magnetite (often altered) were present
in smaller quantities. Argillaceous material is widely disseminated
through the rock. The color of the black portion appears to be due
to carbonaceous material, and merely the blackening from the fire.
There is no evidence of fusion.

Immersed in water this specimen remains fairly intact and only
here and there crumbles down to mud. Its water solution contains
abundant chloride (probably sodium chloride).

No. 263703. Specimen label. ‘“Locality: Bajada Martinez de Hoz-
Barrancas de los Lobos. South of Mar del Plata. Material: ‘ Tosca’

from lower part of the ‘Chapadmalean’ ['] formation of Ameghino.”’

This large specimen is not homogeneous throughout but includes
two different types of material—a light-brown earth and a grayish-
brown, stony substance which is evidently concretionary in character.
The brown earth was found under the microscope to consist chiefly
of earthy argilaceous substance, plagioclase, and volcanic glass.
The argillaceous material was usually stained brown by iron oxide.
The plagioclase fragments were quite fresh and ranged in composition
from andesine to labradorite, the individual fragments often showing
zonal growth. Orthoclase and quartz were also observed and occa-
sionally grains of magnetite, pyroxene and hornblende. In general
aspect this earthy specimen is not unlike No. 263702 from Buenos
Aires.

[ Written also Chapalmalean. ]

68 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The indurated part of the specimen consists largely of fine, almost
aphanitic calcite. Occasionally coarser-grained patches of the
calcite occur, especially near and in the druses which are not uncom-
mon in the rock. Accessory components are plagioclase, quartz,
magnetite, and some hornblende. This part of the material is
evidently concretionary limestone and similar in formation to the
Loess-kindel of Germany.

The earthy part of this specimen disintegrates to a fine mud in
water; the calcareous part remains practically unchanged. A strong
chlorine reaction was obtained with silver nitrate from the water
solution which contained the earth.

The concretionary calcite and the earthy portions of this specimen
were mixed together in about equal parts and heated to 1,050°;
brick-red, indurated material resulted but no melting. On another
charge, held at 1,200° for 30 minutes, incipient fusion was observed;
heated to 1,300° for 2 hours the powder melted down to a vesicular
glass, which was reheated for one-half hour at 1,300° and then cooled
to 1,100° and held at about that temperature for 16 hours (over
night). During this last period the temperature may have varied
30° or 40°. The product thus obtained was pale-brown, compact, and
stony in appearance. Under the microscope, the original mineral
fragments were found to have disappeared and the glass to have
recrystallized in large part. In the crystalline aggregate sections of
a colorless substance of medium birefringence, maximum refractive
index about 1.655, parallel extinction on square sections, apparently
uniaxial and optically negative, predominate and are probably
gehlenite. Minute specks of a higher-refracting, weakly birefracting
substance occur in the gehlenite sections but were too fine for satisfac-
tory determination. Low-refracting isotropic glass particles were
not uncommon. None of these crystallized substances were found
in the scorie.

No. 263712. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Bajada Martinez de
Hoz-Barrancas de los Lobos.. South of Mar del Plata. Material:
Loess of the ‘Chapadmalean’ formation of Ameghino from the lowest
part of the exposure near high-tide level.”’

A fine-grained, gray-brown earth, similar in appearance to specimen
263711, from the north of Mar del Plata. The mineral components
observed under the microscope are plagioclase, quartz, sanidine,
hornblende, biotite, zircon and magnetite. Volcanic glass and
argillaceous subtance are also present, the glass being relatively
less abundant than in many of the preceding specimens. The plagio-
clase is relatively abundant and appears in broken, twinned grains
averaging about 0.1 mm. in diameter; zonal growth is characteristic
of many of its fragments. In general type and composition this
earth is similar to the earths described above. Characteristic for the

WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 69

entire group is the abundance of siliceous volcanic glass and minerals
derived from igneous rocks. This earth disintegrates readily in water
to a fine mud. The water solution above it contains abundant
chloride (probably sodium chloride).

Part of this specimen was powdered, mixed with bituminous coal
and heated to 1,300° for 30 minutes; a fused product was obtained.
After heatng at 1,300° for 2 hours it was held at 1,100° over night
(17 hours). A dark, glassy mass resulted, which contained remnants
of the original fragments of quartz and plagioclase set in a glass
matrix out of which hematite crystals in separate individuals and
stellate groups had formed in abundance; more rarely minute
acicular crystals, either isolated or in radial clusters, occurred
(probably pyroxene). Their optical properties, so far as deter-
mined, were: Refractive index high; birefringence medium to fairly
strong, extinction angle often large, with elliptical axis ¢ nearest the
axis of elongation. The refractive index of the glass ranged from
about 1.510 to 1.525.

SPECIMENS FROM MIRAMAR AND VICINITY

No. 263701. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Miramar. Coast for a
mile north. Material: Portion of ‘Ensenadean’ (Ameghino), represent-
ing the deposit above the intraformational unconformity.”

A grayish-brown, distinctly conglomeratic rock in which hardened
nodules, ranging up to 3 cm. in diameter, but generally less than
1 cm., are included in a fine softer matrix. Scattered through the
matrix are, furthermore, hard, brown, cherty grains, round, and
from a half to 1 cm. in diameter; microscopically these grains consist
in large part of quartz and chalcedony more or less filled with fine
particles of iron ore. The pale-gray nodules on the other hand
consist essentially of calcite in minute grains and clusters, associated
with which are a few larger grains of plagioclase (mostly albite and
oligoclase with occasional grains of labradorite), quartz, glass,
pyroxene, hornblende, and magnetite. The subangular appearance
of these nodules indicates that they were not formed in place but
were derived from rocks not far distant. The rounded and polished
chert grains, on the other hand, have evidently been transported
long distances. The matrix contains chiefly plagioclase, glass, and
argillaceous material. Minor components are quartz, pyroxene,
hornblende, biotite, magnetite, and zircon. This earth falls into
pieces when immersed in water; the soft material crumbles into mud
and the nodules remain intact. When tested with silver nitrate this
earth gave a strong chloride reaction.

No. 263710. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Miramar. Exposed
‘Ensenadean,’ 34 mile north. Material: Ferruginous segregation regarded
by both Ameghinos as ‘ Tierra Cocida.’”’

70 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY feunn, 52

This specimen is a rounded piece of brown ferruginous earth, which
has evidently existed as a unit and been exposed to wind or water
transportation. Its outer surface is coated with small, rounded
particles and grains of quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, magnetite, and
limestone, which are embedded in the fine, earthy material of the
specimen proper. The earth itself consists of argillaceous material
and fragments of quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, hornblende, mag-
netite, and zircon. The darker-brown, ferruginous areas, which are
distributed irregularly through the specimen, are stmilar in composi-
tion except for the pronounced accumulation of limonitic material,
which is evidently the cementing material. Here and there in the
broken specimen long, canal-like cavities were observed, which evi-
dently mark the course of grass roots that have now disappeared.
On immersion in water this earth crumbles to a fine brown mud.
Its water solution gives a strong chloride reaction when tested with
silver nitrate.

No. 263709. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: About five miles north
of Miramar. Bluff of Chapadmalean and Ensenadean. Material:
Tierra Cocida from a fogén or fireplace 4 feet above beach in situ in
the Chapadmalean. B. W. 2 June, 1910.”

A light-brown, fine, evenly grained earth which consists of micro-
scopic grains, averaging 0.1 mm. in diameter, of quartz, plagioclase
(albite, oligoclase), a little biotite and hornblende. Glass is also
present but appears decomposed and no longer clear. Argillaceous
material is abundant. Finely crystalline aggregates of a low-refract-
ing substance, possibly opal, were observed in several parts of the
specimen. <A uniaxial negative substance of medium birefringence
and refractive index about 1.55 was encountered in the powder
section, but was not identified with certainty. This earth crumbles
and breaks down into mud when immersed in water. Its water
solution gives a strong chloride reaction when treated with silver
nitrate.

The earth was heated with graphite to 1,300° for 30 minutes and
then held at 1,100° over night. The product was a dark-green glass,
in which microscopic fragments of the original minerals were still
visible. An unusual amount of hematite had crystallized from the
melt; also occasionally a minute silicate microlite which was too fine
for satisfactory determination. In a second experiment a portion
was heated to 1,300° with graphite. After fusion more material
was added and the whole mass reheated to 1,300°. This was repeated
several times. Finally the glass was crushed, mixed with graphite,
heated to 1,300° for 40 minutes and then held at 1,000° over night.
The resulting glass was dark-green in color and contained occasional
traces of the original mineral fragments. In addition there were
present numerous clusters of microlites of fairly strong birefringence

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WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY TT)

and refractive index noticeably greater than 1.53; the microlites
extinguished parallel with their elongation but were too fine for
identification. The refractive index of the glass ranged fr6m 1.51 to
1.53. Neither hematite nor magnetite was present except in traces
around the microlites. To vary the conditions of heating a larger
quantity of the earth was taken (100 grams) and heated in a Fletcher
gas furnace at 1,100°-1,200° for half an hour and then quickly
withdrawn and allowed to cool in air. The product thus obtained
was highly scoriaceous and resembled closely some of the natural
scorie. The glass which had been formed was streaky, and varied in
refractive index from about 1.515 to 1.540. Grains of the original
quartz and plagioclase, pyroxene, and magnetite fragments were
still visible. The cooling of the magma was rapid and no new crystals
were formed as a result. A second charge consisting of lumps of the
earth was heated in a similar way in the gas furnace but at slightly
lower temperature. The lumps assumed a glassy surface and
although entirely melted were evidently so viscous that little evidence
of flow was noticeable. On both these samples red hematite was
formed on the outer glassy surface but, in the mterior of the lumps,
the mass was gray-black in color and no new hematite was observed
with certainty. The original magnetite fragments were still visible.
New crystallization had evidently not taken place. In both cases
the glass was full of small bubbles and streaky, and variable in
composition and refractive index (1.515 to 1.54). (Pl. 7.) The
evidence from the different methods of heating adopted above
indicates that the character of the product is dependent somewhat
on the heat treatment it has undergone.

No. 263725. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Miramar. Material:
Disseminated scoria.”

A pale-brown earth of uneven grain in which are imbedded pieces
of a grayish-black, scoriaceous substance of variable size and ranging
from large lumps to small pellets. The vesicles of the scoria have
usually a glazed surface and are often filled with the earth which
surrounds them. ‘There is no evidence of a transition between the
scoria and the earth. Clinging to the scoria and firmly wedged into
some of the small cavities are rounded grains of quartz, calcite,
plagioclase (oligoclase, andesine, and labradorite), pyroxene, garnet,
magnetite, and volcanic glass. These grains are noticeably coarser
than the earth which surrounds the scoria and have evidently been
blown or washed into their present position. The larger pieces of
scoria often appear freshly broken, but at the contact of undisturbed
scoria and earth the surface of the scoria suggests an original smooth,
rounded surface similar to the surface of a voleanic bomb or scoria
rather than that of an originally angular fragment which has been
subsequently rounded by attrition during water transportation.

72 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Even the small scoria pellets in the earth frequently impress the
observer as presenting in large measure the original glass surface.
These rel@tions indicate that the scori# were not derived from a
large, compact lava mass. Microscopically the scoria is essentially a
microlite-bearing glass crowded with fragments of plagioclase, quartz,
pyroxene, and magnetite. The refractive index of the glass varies
rapidly even in short distances and ranges from above 1.55 to below
1.52. Near the microlites which have crystallized from the glass,
the color of the glass is often a pale-brown. ‘The microlites appear
in radial spherulites and irregularly grouped acicular crystals. They
are colorless to pale-brown, of medium birefringence and of average
refractive index, slightly greater than 1.65. The lath-shaped indi-
viduals often show high extinction angles; ¢ :c¢=40° was measured
in one instance. The optical character is positive. The optical
properties agree, so far as determined, with those of pyroxene. This
microlitic pyroxene does not agree in its properties with the larger
green pyroxene crystal fragments noted above. The large, frag-
mental crystals never show normal crystal outlines but are always
broken and irregular in outline. They are similar in shape, size,
and composition to the crystals found in the earthy loess of the
country. They often appear partially resorbed by the magma.
Some of the crystals are even fractured. At certain points the thin
section is crowded with angular fragments, each one of which repre-
sents a portion of a single crystal, and these are set in a paste of glass
in which there has been very little crystallization. The occurrence
of these fragments of plagioclase and also of quartz im a glass out of
which they were not observed to recrystallize is good evidence of the
melting-down of originally crystallized material. The variation in
refractive index of the glass and also in adjacent plagioclase frag-
ments (observed values ranged from 1.55 to 1.565) is evidence that
the rock is not a volcanic rock of any normal type. In a cooling
magma or lava the composition of the residual glass is fairly uniform,
whereas in the present rock the refractive index (and consequently
the composition) of the glass varies rapidly. Different explanations
may be offered for the formation of such a rock type, all of which
involve a partial melting-down or assimilation of originally crystal-
lized material containing fragments of quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene,
and magnetite. It is noteworthy in this connection that no frag-
ments of original rock-types were observed, only isolated mineral
fragments such as occur in the fine earths of this region. These
fragments appear embedded in a glass base out of which radial
pyroxene crystals are formed. The evidence at hand is not sufficient
to determine definitely the mode of formation of these scoriz.

The earth surrounding the scoria is of the usual fine, evenly grained
type and consists of fragments of plagioclase (oligoclase, andesine,

WRIGHT—FENNER ] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 7 8

labradorite), quartz, hornblende, pyroxene, magnetite, colorless vol-
canic glass of low refractive index, and argillaceous material. On
immersion in water this earth crumbles slightly. Its water solution
contains abundant chloride (tested with silver nitrate).

Part of the earthy material which surrounds the scoriz in this
specimen was heated to 1,100° for 30 minutes; then it remained at
1,200° for 34 hours, and finally at 1,100° for 1} hours. The product
was a vesicular, purple-colored glass, in which the original fragments
of quartz and plagioclase were stil! visible under the microscope. In
transmitted light the glass appeared colorless, but was filled with fine,
dust-like particles of hematite. No new development of crystals was
observed. The refractive index of the glass was about 1.51. The
scorlaceous part of the specimen was heated at 1,240° for 1 hour and
then held at 1,000° for 14 hours. The resulting glass was greenish-
brown in color and had evidently settled quietly in the crucible.
Under the microscope numerous grains of the original quartz and
plagioclase fragments were observed. Clusters of acicular microlites
of medium birefringence, parallel extinction, and refractive index
greater than 1.53 are abundant, but are too fine for satisfactory
determination. The refractive index of the glass, which appears
pale-brown in transmitted light, varies from about 1.515 to 1.54.

No. 263727. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Miramar. Material:
Tierra cocida and scorixz combined. Contact transition.”

The hand specimen shows a regular and uniform transition from a
dark-gray scoria filled with small vesicles to a brick-red material,
which bears a closc resemblance to some of the specimens of baked
earth. It is different from the latter, however, in this respect, that,
while the baked earths have a close, compact texture, the portion
of this specimen which resembles them most (observed with a
binocular magnifying glass, magnification 65 diameters) is filled
with minute holes and is distinctly glassy in character. A thin
section which was cut across both the black scoria and the transition
zone to the bright-red material bore out this observation. The
black scoria is filled with fragments of quartz, plagioclase (acid
oligoclase to basic labradorite), pyroxene, and magnetite, set in a
glassy matrix in which a few microlitic crystals have developed, but
which is essentially an undifferentiated glass except for a black dust,
probably of magnetite. On passing toward the compact red portion
the principal change observable is the replacement of the black dust
by red dust, which is more prominent and tends to cover up the
crystallized fragments and even the minute vesicles. In the more
compact. red portion the red iron oxide is so prominent that the
mineral fragments are almost veiled to view. A careful determina-
tion of the mineral fragments in the black and the red portions of the
specimen proved them to be of the same general size and kind, chiefly

74 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL, 52

quartz and different varieties of plagioclase, ranging from oligoclase
to basic labradorite, and occasional grains of pyroxene. Superficially
the red portion of this specimen resembles the baked earths, but
closer examination has shown it to be distinctly different. Its glassy,
vesicular texture throughout is indicative of melting; the red colora-
tion may be the result of alteration or oxidation, whereby magnetite
has been changed to the red oxide of iron. It seems probable from
this evidence alone that the whole of the present specimen represents
an originally vesicular rock in the red part of which the iron is in
a more highly oxidized state than in the dark-gray part.

No. 263728. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: 3 miles north of Mira-
mar. Bluff on the coast, 5 feet below the top in Ameghino’s, ‘Ensena-
dean.’ Material: Scoria and adjacent loess.”

This specimen is an irregular, slaglike piece of scoria, consisting of
a dark, olive-green glass, almost pumiceous at certain points and
filled with vesicles which are often so large and numerous as to leave
only thin walls of the glass between them. The outer surface of this
scoria has plainly been in contact with the loess, some of which still
clings to it and is of a light-brown color. The division between the
scoria and the loess is sharp and there is no indication of a transition
between the two. In the cavities of the scoria there is an accumula-
tion of rounded grains of magnetite, olivine, quartz, and plagioclase,
measuring up to 1 mm. in diameter. These have reached their pres-
ent position either by wind or by water action. Microscopically this
scoria is similar to specimen 263725. Angular and rounded frag-
ments of quartz, plagioclase, and pyroxene are set in a streaky,
brownish glass out of which lath-shaped microlites, showing high
extinction angles and medium birefringence, have crystallized; these
are probably pyroxene. The refractive index of the glass is not con-
stant, but ranges from about 1.515 to 1.55, and occasionally shows
birefringence resulting evidently from strain.

The brown earth surrounding the scoria is of the usual type and
consists chiefly of argillaceous material, fragments of plagioclase,
quartz, pyroxene, and magnetite. Volcanic glass is less abundant
than usual.

Part of the scoria was heated to 1,240° for 1 hour and then held at
1,000° for 14 hours. Under this treatment it melted down to a dark,
brownish-green glass, in which many of the original mineral frag-
ments (quartz, plagioclase, and pyroxene) were still visible. Newly
formed microlites of high refractive index, medium to fairly strong
birefringence and parallel extinction, were also abundant, but were
too fine for satisfactory determination. Occasionally radial aggregates
of a lower-refracting, medium to weakly birefracting, substance were
observed, which may have been plagioclase feldspar. Particles of

WRIGHT—FHNNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 75
iron ore were widely disseminated through the glass. The refractive
index of the glass ranged from 1.52 to 1.545.

Chemical analysis.—

I Ta
Si0, 61.30 1.016 Q 5.43 5.43
ALO, 14.15 29: Lorn 21.20 76.52
Fe,03 0.91 .006 Ab 46.27} 71.09
FeO 2.86 .040 Amin 13:62
MgO 2:46 ai eeOBlix Div, side re
CaO 4.63 .083 Hy 3.44 5.
Na,O 5.47 IDES esl Mol ABD ra)y ailidgne5e
K,O 3.62 O38 Lin) Mad AAG
H,O- 0.24 Dita Ap aon 161
H,O+ 2.03 eS een Bane
TiO, 0.54 .007
CO, None Li set
P.O, 0.71 .005
0.03 O01
MnO 0.08 O01
98.99
Ratios
Seliai6 s2e5. U7
Class Fem 2996s Gs as ------Hl
he Q_ 548 ada Leg! &
Ondes PF roger 2
KO! 4 Na,O/ (i426 )..~ 7
a CaO’ Bere (I a lr a
Subrang K,0" _ .038 ee tie ai 4

NOP Oee 7 7

I. Seoria, Miramar. J. G. Fairchild, United States Geological
Survey, analyst.
Ia. Molecular proportions of I.

Compared with the analysis of the tierra cocida, No. 263722, this
analysis presents several noticeable differences. The alumina is
lower, also the ferric oxide and the water, while the ferrous oxide
and alkalies are notably higher. Lime and magnesia are also slightly
higher. Considering this analysis as that of a fresh eruptive rock,
the calculation places the rock in the subrang Umptekose of Class II
of the quantitative classification. On comparing this analysis with
the others of this class listed in Washington’s Chemical Analysis
of Igneous’ Rocks, the relatively low alumina and alkali content is
noticeable; also the relatively large amount of magnesia and of lime.

76 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (aun, 52

There is nothing, however, in the analysis alone which precludes an
igneous origin for this rock.

No. 263731. Specimen label. “Locality: Miramar. Material:

Scoria and Tierra Cocida.”’

This specimen includes three distinct types of material: A grayish-
black scoria, brick-red earthy material, and pale-brown loess. The
scoria is vesicular and full of small bubbles. Parts of the outer
surface of the scoria are often glassy and smooth and indicative of an
original cooling surface. Where this surface is fractured, the small
cavities are more or less filled with brown earth and with coarser
rounded crystals of quartz, plagioclase, magnetite, and pyroxene.
These grains have evidently been lodged in their present position
either by wind or by water action. On one side of the specimen a brick-
red, compact earth fills the small cavities and is evidently different

from and older than the normal brown loess. In the cavities con-

taining the brick-red earth, no rounded, coarser grains of the minerals,
noted above, were observed. This red earth is more or less indurated
and closely resembles the tierra cocida from Alvear described above
and probably owes its color to a baking process at higher tempera-
tures. There is, however, no transition between the glassy scoria and
this red earth. The glassy walls of the vesicles are sharply marked
and the red earth was evidently introduced into the cavities after
their formation and is of later origin. Microscopically the com-
position of the scoria and the red earth is noticeably different. The
red earth contains abundant red iron oxide and chalcedony, besides
fragments of quartz, sodic plagioclase (oligoclase chiefly) and pyrox-
ene and colorless glass. These same minerals are present in the
scoriz, but the plagioclase is noticeably more anorthic (andesine and
labradorite) and pyroxene is less abundant. The glass is pale-brown
and streaky, the colors appearing often along curved bands as
though the molten glass had flowed. The microlites which have
crystallized from the glass show medium birefringence, but are not
sufficiently well-developed to be satisfactorily determined. At
many points in the specimen a thin shell of the glass lining the
cavities has devitrified and scales off in thin flakes.

The brown earth is of the usual type, a friable, pale-brown loess
containing argillaceous material and fragments of quartz, plagio-
clase (labradorite), pyroxene, magnetite, and glass. This material
is obviously later than both the scoria and the red earth.

Portions of the scoria and of the adjacent earth, each mixed with
graphite, were heated simultaneously in separate crucibles to 1,200°
for 2 hours and then cooled slowly for 2 hours from 1,200° to 1,000°.
The scoria was found to have melted down to a dark olive-green glass
which took the shape of the crucible. Microscopically it contained
remnants of the original mineral fragments and also a few minute

me

WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY rid

microlites. The magnetite of the original scoria appears to have
been largely absorbed. The earthy material in the second crucible
also melted down to a thick viscous glass which did not flow rapidly
enough to take the shape of the crucible during the time of exposure.
In it the original mineral fragments are still visible. The glass
present was colorless, but was filled with fine, dust-like particles of
ironore. Its refractive index was about 1.51, while that of the brown-
colored scoria glass ranged from about 1.515 to 1.54. ;

No. 263719. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Miramar: Material:
Washed-in bits of Tierra Cocida and Scoria.”’

A pale-brown loess of the usual type containing fragments of scoria
and red indurated material. The vesicular cavities of these scoriz
often contain rounded grains of quartz, chert, magnetite, plagioclase,
and pyroxene; these grains are occasionally tightly wedged into the
small bubble cavities. The loess contains much argillaceous material
and minute fragments of quartz, microcline, plagioclase, magnetite,
pyroxene, and colorless glass. Small worm-like cavities are common
and are evidently due to former grass roots. The scoriz pebbles are
similar to specimen No. 263734 in appearance and composition. The
red earth contains much brick-red, argillaceous material and also
minute fragments of quartz, acid plagioclase (oligoclase), pyroxene,
hornblende, and colorless volcanic glass. This red earth resembles in
its properties that of specimen 263731. This specimen crumbles
slightly and softens when immersed in water. Tested with silver
nitrate it gives a strong chloride reaction (probably common salt
derived from sea water.)

No. 263720. Specimen label. ‘‘ Locality: Barrancas 3 to 5 miles
north of Miramar. UO to 5 feet above the base, 1. e., from the lowest for-
mation above the beach. Ameghino’s Chapadmalean. Material: Scoria
and burnt earth.”

This specimen consists of a large fragment of scoria, similar in
appearance and properties to No. 263728, embedded in pale-brown
loess of the usual properties and closely allied to No.263719 in texture
and composition.

Nos. 263724, 263726, 263733, 263734, 263737. Specimen labels.
“ Locality: Miramar. Material: Scori# and Tierra Cocida.”’

These specimens are similar to the specimens noted above from
this locality. The scorie are of the same general appearance and
composition and contain in a pale-brown, streaky glass irregular and
rounded fragments of quartz, plagioclase (andesine, labradorite),
pyroxene, and magnetite. (Pl 7, a.) The glass base is full of fine
bubbles and is often streaky and variable in refractive index and
composition. In No. 263737, the vesicles are large and elongated.
In one part of this specimen elongated drops of the viscous scoria are
visible and testify to the flowing of the molten scoria. In all of these _

78 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

specimens of scoria bright-yellow spots occur here and there and may
possibly be due in part to admixture of iron chloride. On immersing
in distilled water clean particles from such colored patches, a distinct
precipitation of silver chloride was obtained on adding silver nitrate
to the solution.

Specimen 263733 contains occasional vesicle fillings of red earth
which are indurated and evidently different from the loose brown
earth adhering to the specimen at other points.

On these specimens, as in the above, many of the cavities of the
scorie are filled with rounded grains of various minerals, as quartz,
plagioclase, garnet, magnetite, and pyroxene. ‘These grains are appar-
ently confined to the upper, exposed part of the scoria. In many
cases the lower part of a scoria specimen is covered with loess which
still adheres to it and in which evidently the fragment was originally
embedded, with its surface protruding above the level of the loess.
In this position wind or tide may have swept the rounded particles
of foreign material over the scoria and lodged the observed grains
in their present position. Such grains may also have been gathered
by the scoria during water transport; the grains on its underside
may be so intermixed with the present loess as to be covered up and
not easy to separate from the finer earth, It seems probable, how-
ever, in the absence of field data, that the first supposition is the
correct explanation of the presence of these grains.

No. 263737. This scoria after heating at 1,100° for 40 minutes was
noticeably fritted. Another fragment heated to 1,400° for 14 hours,
and cooled slowly for 1 hour to 1,100° and then held at 1,100° for 14
hours became a dark-green glass which contained a small quantity
of magnetite and rarely a trace of the original mineral fragments.
The refractive index of the glass varied greatly, from 1.505 to 1.56,
the more deeply brown-colored fragments having the higher refractive
index.

Nos. 263721, 263722, 263732. Specimen labels: Locality: Miramar.
Material: Tierra Cocida.”’

These specimens range in color from brick-red to dark-brown and
are fine-grained, indurated earths which resemble in texture the
brown loess of this region. Microscopically they consist of fragments
of quartz, plagioclase (andesine, labradcrite), microcline, pyroxene,
hornblende, magnetite, colorless volcanic glass, and argillaceous
material often deeply stained with iron oxide. The outer surface of
these indurated fragments is often pitted; these pits are not deep
but often contain rounded grains of magnetite, quartz, and plagio-
clase similar to the grains observed in the cavities of the scorie.
They have probably been lodged in the pits by wind or wave action.

WRIGHT—FENNER ] ; PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 79

-All of these specimens contain some sodium chloride. They are
indurated and do not break down and disintegrate as does the loess

when immersed in water.
Chemical analysis. No. 263722.—

i Ta
Sio, Gaeipemsd 036. Q 29:34. 99. 34
ALO, 16.45 . 161 Or ~ 13°39
Fe,0, 4.30 .027 Ab 29.45) 60.95! 85.92
FeO 0.65 . 009 ae Sc Pe
MgO 1. 56 Rigo ) Ne, a tea 83
CaO 3. 62 .065 Hy 3.92
Na,O 3. 45 .056 Mt 0.46 aii
K,O 2. 26 .024 Hm 4.00
HO= 5 44 RS Lee ait, |
Ove ean, Or ten mena?
TiO, 0. 57 007 95. 36
CO, None
P.O; Trace
Ss Trace
MnO None
100. 23
Ratios
: Sal 85.92. 7
Class Fem 944° 1---------7> I
| Ge eeeeds a lid
Order TSG Tm a: i as lela
K,O’+Na,0’ .080 .5_3
Rang ~“GaQ’ = 2065 <3°5-------- 3
Koo?) ied bigs
Subrang = -Na,O’~ 056 5° 7-------- 4

I. Scoria, Miramar. J. G. Fairchild, United States” Geological
Survey, analyst.
Ia. Molecular proportions of I.

Except for the high percentage of water this analysis might easily
be mistaken for that of a biotite-granite or granodiorite or quartz-
mica-diorite. It differs from the analysis of the scoria from Alvear
in its noticeably higher alkali content and consequent less amount
of corundum and quartz in the norm. Both the lime and magnesia
are higher, but their proportions do not suggest any abnormality in
the composition, if the rock were considered an eruptive rock. The
eruptive material predominates to sogreat an extent that it determines
the general character of the analysis.

80 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

SPECIMENS FROM THE VICINITY OF NECOCHEA

No. 263745. Specimen label. ‘Locality: Playas near the sea in —
the neighborhood of Laguna Malacara, north of Necochea. Material:
Scoriz.’’.

No. 263746. Specimen label. ‘Locality: Coast north of Necochea,
beyond the Boca del Moro, Laguna Malacaravicimty. Material: Scoria
found on the surface of various playas where the Ensenadean is exposed.”

These two samples include a number of specimens which are prac-
tically identical in external appearance and in the thin section. In
the hand specimen they bear a close resemblance to normal lava
scorie and might easily be taken for such, but under the micro-
scope they do not resemble any known type of lava. (PI. 8, a.)
Fragments of quartz, plagioclase, and pyroxene are set in a streaky-
brown glassy matrix out of which radial and irregular groups of
acicular pyroxene crystals and less frequently of plagioclase have
been precipitated. The pyroxene was determined optically by its
high extinction angles, high refractive index, fairly strong birefring-
ence, square-end section, and positive optical character. It is usually
colorless or pale-brown in color while the larger fragmental pyroxenes
are pale-green in color, have higher refractive index, and are usually
rounded in outline. It is evident that not only did they not crys-
tallize out of the glass but they were unstable in it and were attacked
and corroded by it. The plagioclase microlites are lath-shaped
in section and apparently andesitic in composition. They proved
too fine for more exact determination. The glass varies in compo- |
sition from point to point, as is evident from its streakiness and
the differences in color and refractive index (ranging from 1.515 to ©
about 1.55). Fie dusty particles, possibly magnetite, are abundant
in the glass and frequently become so abundant as to impair seriously
the transparency of the glass. The cavities of these scoriz are often
filled with rounded grains and pellets of quartz, plagioclase, magne-
tite, chert, and limestone. Some of these grains are tightly wedged
into the cavities and have evidently been lodged there either by
water or wind action, possibly during the transport of the scorie.

Fragments of the scorie 263745 were heated at 1,000° for 30
minutes and showed but little change; after being held at 1,100° for
30 minutes the product was found to be tightly sintered and the glass
base of the original material largely crystallized to brown acicular
crystals of medium to fairly strong birefringence, refractive index
slightly above 1.66, and high extinction angles. These optical prop-
erties agree with those of pyroxene. The crystals were too small for
a more definite identification. Another portion of the scoria, heated
to 1,200° for 2 hours and then cooled gradually to 1,050° for one-
half hour, where it was held for 2 hours and then cooled to 1,000°

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WRIGHT—FENNER | PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 81

for one-half hour, was found to have been melted to a dark greenish-
brown mass in which remnants of the original plagioclase and quartz
fragments were still visible under the microscope. Some glass was
still present but it had largely crystallized to a substance which
agreed with pyroxene in its optical properties, so far as these could
be ascertained. Fine specks of iron oxide were noted frequently in
the section.

Fragments of the scorize 263746 heated to 1,000° for 30 minutes
exhibited a slight change in color but were not profoundly altered.
Held at 1,100° for 30 minutes the mass had sintered together and
the change was more noticeable. Heated at 1,150° for 34 hours, the
material was completely fused to a dark brownish-green, vesicular
glass which still contained numerous fragments of the original min-
erals. Acicular microlites resembling pyroxene in optical proper-
ties were abundant; also iron oxide particles. The refractive index
of the glass was unusually high, ranging from 1.55 to 1.59. It is of
interest to note that in all these heating experiments the minerals
which crystallize out of the melt are not those which appear in frag-
mental state in the glass and which were present in the original
material that was subjected to the heat treatment. The same holds
true of the fragmental mineral grains in the scorize from Miramar
and Alvear.

Chemical analysis. No. 263746.—

oP yi Ta
Si0, 56. 27 . 933 Q 5.49 5.49
Al,O, TRON Mp erat. 71. | 62. 49
ReOy i 2058 |! ote “Ab 4.70 57. 00
FeO 7.24 . 100 An 10.59
MgO 3.14 . 078 Dim 26. 76] 27.98
CaO rare ety Levey) ny
Na,O 4.07 . 066 Mt Tobe 8.73) 37.33
K,O OG \ Gar Ee a gaye tee
H,O- 0.36 Mt Or62'* 0.62
H,O+ 0.44
TiO, 7.62") Gas
CO, None
P.O, 0.23 .0016
S Trace
MnO None
100. 65

21535°—Bull. 52—12——-6

82 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Ratios
am: Sal 62.495 7
Class Fem _ 37.33 Cha bar ie: TEs
Q.. Batis A

Order (ages ap ot Sherateeiat °

KO + Na,O" 20st :
Rang ~""GaO’_ ~ 2038 ©173-7--- :
sibiang 0: EsO' jody 8g drawl: F

NaiO’”, 2066.08.40

I. Scoria. North of Necochea. J.G. Fairchild, United States
Geological Survey, analyst.
Ia. Molecular proportions of I.

This analysis places the rock on the border between Class II and
Class HI of the quantitative classification. In the Tables of Chemical
Analyses of Igneous Rocks, by Washington, rocks ranging from sye-
nite and trachyte to diorite and andesite and even basalt are included
in the subrang in which this analysis falls. Characteristic of the
analysis is the high percentage of ferrous oxide and of titanic oxide.

SPECIMENS FROM MONTE HERMOSO

No. 263705. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Monte Hermoso near
the old lighthouse. Material: Red loess-sand of the Monte Hermoso
formation from the lower bench just above high tide.”

A light-reddish, earthy material, in part indurated and stony, in
part loose and friable. Under the microscope the stony part is seen
to be composed almost entirely of microscopic calcite grains and
clusters usually stained with iron oxide. The earthy, loose part con-
sists largely of ecryptocrystalline, argillaceous material. Dissemi-
nated through the rock are quartz and plagioclase fragments, and
some glass, pyroxene, hornblende, biotite, and magnetite. The
calcareous portion of this specimen is evidently concretionary in
origin. On immersion in water this earth crumbles to a lumpy mud.
It gives strong chloride reaction when tested with silver nitrate
solution.

A small quantity of the earth was mixed with graphite and heated
to 1,300° for a short time, after which the temperature was dropped
to 1,100° and held there over night (16 hours). The resulting mass
was found to have been completely fused, no trace of the original
material being visible, and to have largely recrystallized. Pyroxene
crystals predominated, in lath-shaped prisms, and exhibited the usual
optical characteristics: refractive index about 1.66, birefringence,
fairly strong, extinction angle c: ¢ usually high; the square-end sec-
tion of the prisms extinguished along the diagonals. A colorless

‘WRIGHT—FENNER ] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 83

mineral of weaker birefringence and refractive index about 1.57
occurred in overlapping aggregates which were too fine for satisfac-
tory determination but may have been plagioclase. Some glass with
refractive index about 1.525 was also present.

No. 263707. Specimen label. ‘‘Zocality: Monte Hermoso near
the old lighthouse on the coast east of Bahia Blanca. Material: Loess-
sand of the Monte Hermoso formation from exposure above high tide.”

A light brownish-gray, firm, but distinctly sandy, material consist-
ing of plagioclase, quartz, and colorless glass. The plagioclase is
occasionally fairly fresh but more often slightly decomposed and
stained with iron oxide. Minor components are hornblende, pyrox-
ene, apatite, and magnetite. The grains are generally of fair size
and rounded from transportation. Scattered through the rock are
minute needles and cryptocrystalline material which is too fine to
identify with certainty. It is in part evidently argillaceous in char-
acter. When immersed in water this earth crumbles into a lumpy,
sandy mud. ‘Tested with silver nitrate it gives a distinct chloride
reaction.

No. 263714. Specimen label. ‘‘Zocality: Monte Hermoso near
the old lighthouse. Material: Y ellow-brown loess of the Monte Hermoso
formation from the upper bench 5 feet above tide.”

A light-brown, porous earth, fine and even-grained and consisting
in large measure of argillaceous material with some plagioclase,
volcanic glass, and occasional grains of pyroxene and biotite. On
making a concentration test with the powder of this specimen, pla-
gioclase of different compositions, quartz, pyroxene, hornblende, bio-
tite, apatite, zircon, magnetite, spinel (or garnet), and epidote were
observed; also possibly olivine and monazite and two other minerals
which were not identified. Most of these minerals are of igneous
origin but several are of metamorphic origin. In water this earth
disintegrates into a lumpy clay. Its water solution gives a strong
chloride reaction when treated with silver nitrate solution.

This earth, heated to 1,200° for 1 hour, fused to a brown glass in
which many of the original crystal fragments of quartz and plagioclase
were still visible. Hematite in minute crystals was found to have
crystallized from the melt and at certain points to be so abundant as
to render the glass nearly opaque. The refractive index of the glass
ranged from 1.525 to 1.54. On heating the earth to 700° for 45
minutes its color was found to have changed from brown to brown-
red.

No. 263741. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Monte Hermoso near
the old lighthouse. Material: Basal layer of cross-stratified sands

(the Puelchean) upon Monte Hermoso formation.”

An indurated, light-brown material composed apparently of a
mixture of clay and quite coarse sand through which numerous

84 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

pebbles of various colors (white, gray, red, brown, and black) are
scattered. These pebbles range from 1 mm. to 1 cm. in diameter and
are more or less rounded and distinctly water-worn. They appear
to be in large measure quartzose and cherty in character. Under the
microscope much argillaceous material was observed. The sand
grains consist largely of plagioclase and quartz, both stained or
coated with iron oxide. Isotropic glass, usually considerably altered,
is present in noticeable quantities. Minor components are pyroxene,
magnetite, and spinel (or garnet). Many of the pebbles consist of
quartz which appears to be vein quartz. Other pebbles are com-
posed of chalcedony of typical fibrous structure. The dark-red and
brown pebbles contain so much fine iron oxide as to be practically
opaque. They contain either quartz or chalcedony and resemble
ferruginous chert in general appearance.

This specimen crumbles into a muddy sand when immersed in water.
Its water solution gives a noticeable chloride reaction when tested
with silver nitrate.

No. 263743. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Monte Hermoso near
the old lighthouse. Material: Volcanic ash from the Puelchean.”’

\ light-gray, gritty material of fine even grain which microscopi-
cally consists largely of colorless volcanic glass, the refractive index
of which is fairly constant and averages about 1.500. Some argilla-
ceous material is present, as are occasional grains of plagioclase and
quartz. After washing away the major part of the glass, grains of
plagioclase, quartz, hornblende, pyroxene, biotite, magnetite, apatite,
zircon, spinel (or garnet), and epidote were found in the concentrates.

This ash crumbles but little in water. Its water solution, when
tested with silver nitrate, gives an abundant silver chloride precipitate.
The chlorine is evidently present in sodium chloride.

SPECIMENS FROM RIO COLORADO

Nos. 263730, 263739. Specimen labels. ‘‘Zocality: Delta of the
Rio Colorado, 100 miles south of Bahia Blanca. Material: ‘Tierra
Cocida,’ or burnt earth, produced by burning the ‘esparto,’ a rank grass
growing in swampy ground. Area burnt about $ acre. Earth all burnt
to tender crusts to a depth of 3 to 5 wnches.”

These specimens are brick-red in color, fine-grained and indurated.
They are full of irregular holes and cavities and carry numerous
impressions of grass leaves. Under the microscope numerous frag-
ments of quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, magnetite, colorless volcanic
glass, and abundant argillaceous material deeply impregnated with
iron oxide are visible. Except for the red oxide of iron, this compo-
sition is similar to that of the original loess from which these burnt
earths were derived. Microscopically this burnt earth resembles

WRIGHT—FEN NER ] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 85

closely the natural tierras cocidas 263721, 263729, 263731, 263732.
Whether the latter were produced by the burning of grass can not be
‘definitely ascertained. Their relatively compact texture and the
absence of grass-leaf impressions are not in favor of this view.

These specimens do not disintegrate when immersed in water.
The water solution does show, however, the presence of a fair amount
of sodium chloride.

No. 263739. Fragments of this artificial tierra cocida were held at
1,100° for 24 hours and were found to have melted to a viscous glass,
in which many of the original mineral fragments are still visible
under the microscope. The glass is so filled with fine particles of red
iron oxide that it is opaque at many points.

It is of interest to note the lack of compactness of this earth baked
by the burning of grass. The product is extremely porous and full
of holes, many of which evidently mark the position of former grass
roots. The specimens of tierra cocida from Miramar and Sala-
dillo, on the other hand, are large, compact masses; for their forma-
tion a much greater quantity of uniform, confined heat was required
than for the Rio Colorado material. The source of heat supply for
the baking of the tierra cocida was probably volcanic contact
action. This hypothesis is developed at greater length below in con-
nection with the formation of the scorie, but it applies with almost
equal force to the formation of the tierra cocida of this region.
The assumption that the large specimens of tierra cocida were
formed simply by the action of open fires is hardly possible in view
of the quantity of heat involved, which must have acted through a
period of time on large masses of material to have produced the
effects observed.

SPECIMEN FROM SAN BLAS

No. 263744. Specimen label. ‘‘Locality: Coast near San Blas,
north of Rio Negro. Material: Scoria or pumice.”

A dark, reddish-brown, pumiceous scoria containing here and there
a minute feldspar phenocryst, but otherwise aphanitic and stony in
appearance. Under the microscope occasional phenocrysts of plagio-
clase (labradorite, Ab,An,) and pyroxene were observed. The
groundmass is filled with fine specks of opaque, ferruginous substance
which renders it for the most part nontransparent. Fine laths of
plagioclase were noted in the clearer parts of the groundmass, but
so far as could be determined it is largely isotropic and glassy. Both
megascopically and microscopically this specimen does not differ in
any essential feature from many andesites, and there is no reason to
doubt its volcanic origin.

86 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Chemical analysis.—

I Ta
SiO, 56.09 .930 Q. 12.54 12.54
Al,O, 16.04 ap Ee Or > 10.60 Te. ia
Fe,O, 8. 81 . 055 Ab 31.02! 63.63
FeO 0. 90 BOE: An. 22301
MeO. 3.2. 1. - 080. Diese eee
CaO —- 6.09 109 Hy 6 io} 9.91
Na,O 3.68 059 Hm 8.80
K,O Lowi . 019 Ul 1.98! 44. 97f 22. 40
H,O-— 0.43 sect HL oon tet
PLO) y O.egeee ee Be ee
TiO, L.Gr . 021
CO, None St
EO, 4.0 29 002
None sue r
MnO None Baye
99. 49
Ratios
Salus F661 Zone
i Hem 9 22.4Ue Wine scar i
ERC ee
Order i 63.6360 ens oe
Na,O’+K,O’ .078 _5_ 3
Rang-~"Ga0_— .079<375--->-- 3
1a 4. MGs 2 aa
Subrang Na,O’~ .059 ie POD ae

I. Scoria, near San Blas. J. G. Fairchild, United States Geo-
logical Survey, analyst.
Ta. Molecular proportions of I.

This analysis places the rock in the subrang Tonalose of the new
quantitative classification, a division in which many andesites and
diorites occur. Characteristic for the rock is the high percentage of
ferric oxide and low amount of FeO. This finds expression in the
red color of the rock. Except for this unusually high Fe,O,, the
analysis is that of a normal andesite.

RECAPITULATION

THE LOESS SPECIMENS

Petrographic microscopic features.—Characteristic of all the speci-
mens of loess in this collection is the relatively large amount of dis-
tinctly igneous material present. Fragments of quartz, plagioclase,
pyroxene, magnetite, and acid volcanic glass predominate and are, as

WRIGHT-FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 87

a rule, remarkably fresh and unaltered. The amount of volcanic
glass present varies within wide limits. Specimens 263743 and
263747 consist almost entirely of colorless volcanic glass which has
many of the characteristics of tuffaceous material. The glass frag-
ments are splintery and irregular and often contain streaks of elon-
gated bubbles. The refractive index of the glass and its chemical
composition are fairly constant in each specimen; in 263743 the refrac-
tive index averages about 1.500, in 263747 about 1.485. These re-
fractive indices are both low and indicate a high silica content, speci-
men 263747 being slightly more siliceous than 263743. In other loess
specimens the glass is less abundant and may even become rare. In
all cases it is colorless or nearly so and of very low refractive index.
In contrast to this the glass in the scoriz is usually colored and of
higher but variable refractive index, which ranges from about 1.51
to 1.56 and above in some of the specimens.

The mineral fragments in the loess are usually angular and aver-
age about 0.1 mm. in length. They occur almost invariably in single
isolated grains and not in crystalline aggregates nor embedded in a
groundmass. No fragments of an eruptive rock were observed with
certainty.

The quartz grains are irregular in shape, and rarely, if ever, show
crystal outlines. They are of normal quartz which has suffered
little deformation and may be in part eruptive quartz and in
part vein quartz. The plagioclase occurs in angular, broken indi-
viduals twinned after the albite law and rarely after the Karlsbad
and pericline laws. The composition of the plagioclase is not the
same in the different specimens and often varies within wide limits
in the same specimen. In the one its composition may range from
albite-oligoclase to andesine; in another, from andesine to basic
labradorite. Zonal structure is not uncommon, but is by no means
the rule. The pyroxene crystals are prismatic in form, generally
pale-green in color and unusually fresh and free from alteration.
They are ordinarily of the diopside-augite varieties and are more
abundant than the green hornblende grains which occur in many but
not all of the loess specimens. The magnetite is relatively abundant
and occurs in irregular, more or less equant, grains and octahedra.
The other minerals noted in the descriptions above are less common
and less constant in their occurrence. The relatively fresh, unal-
tered state of practically all the grains is noteworthy. They are
often covered with fine, cryptocrystalline, argillaceous material,
but do not appear to have altered into it to any appreciable degree
in most cases.

Chemical evidence-—The predominance of eruptive minerals in
the loess is clearly expressed in the chemical analyses, which might
easily be mistaken for those of eruptive rocks, were the water content
a little lower,

88 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Buu 52

Thermal evidence—On heating these loess specimens to tempera-
tures between 850° and 1,050° distinct sintering occurs. The brown,
earthy material assumes a brick-red color and shrinks to a compact,
indurated mass, resembling brick in all its properties. Between
1,050° and 1,150° it melts to a thick, viscous glass, in which the
mineral fragments appear to be set as in a thick paste. On con-
tinued heating the mineral fragments are slowly dissolved by the
molten glass. By lowering the temperature 100° or more microlites
crystallize out, whose optical properties agree with those of pyroxene,
but of a variety different from that of the pyroxene fragments in
the original loess. Occasionally minute laths of plagioclase were also
precipitated, together with the pyroxene microlites. The glass
thus formed is streaky and evidently variable in its composition.
Its refractive index varies rapidly from about 1.51 to above 1.56 in
some of the specimens. On heating the loess to the temperature at
which melting first occurs the glass formed is practically colorless
and contains many opaque particles of iron oxide. On raising the
temperature the magma dissolves these particles and the resulting
brown-colored glass has a notably higher refractive index; the more
pronounced the color of the glass, the higher its refractive index.

In the thermal experiments with the loess specimens it was found
that the mode of treatment and size of the charge had great effect
on the resulting product. Small, loose charges of powdered material
were necessarily exposed during heating to the oxiziding effect of the
air and the iron present was converted largely into the ferric state,
with the result that the product was colored dark-red. With heavy
charges of large lumps of the loess, the air found less ready access to
all parts of the material and the outer portions only of the lumps
were thoroughly oxidized, the centers of the lumps being dark-gray
in color and resembling the scoria in appearance. (PIl.7.) In con-
ducting thermal experiments of this kind in imitation of natural
processes, it is highly essential that the physical conditions of experi-
ments be as nearly like those which obtain in nature as it is possible
to make them, otherwise totally different products may result and the
conclusions deduced therefrom be in error to that extent.

TIERRA COCIDA

Petrographic microscopic features —Under this title three distinct
types of rock are included:

(1) Indurated, brick-red earths, which, under the microscope,
resemble the ordinary loess specimens except for the red particles
which have evidently resulted from the heating of the argillaceous
material. The mineral composition of the tierras cocidas both with
respect to kind and size is practically identical with that of the

| WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 89

loess. Chemically also they are practically identical, as analyses
263717 and 263729 show. The percentage of H,O in 263729 is lower
than that in 263717 as was to be expected. In both the amount
of FeO present is very slight. This is also true of analysis 263722
of the tierra cocida from Miramar and is in accord with the condi-
tions under which the tierras cocidas have probably been formed.
Many of the specimens of tierra cocida are so large and compact
that one is forced, in explaining their mode of formation, to assume
long-continued and confined heating at a fairly high temperature,
such as would be encountered near the contact of an intrusive
igneous or volcanic mass, but not beneath an open fire made of grass
or small timber.

(2) Some of the scoriz contain bright-red patches, which resemble
the tierras cocidas superficially, but which on closer examination
are seen to be glassy and to have been melted, just as the gray parts
of the scoriz# have been melted, the chief difference between the two
parts being the state of oxidation of the iron. These will be con-
sidered below, together with the scoriz to which they belong.

(3) Brown ferruginous earths (specimen 263710) have also been
considered tierra cocida by some investigators. A careful micro-
scopic examination of these specimens has shown that they are
simply loess in which ferruginous material abounds (ferruginous
concretion) and acts as a weak cementing material, causing the
specimens to appear more indurated than the surrounding loess.
On immersing such specimens in water they are seen to crumble
and break down readily. The red tierras cocidas or baked earths
do not crumble in the least under these conditions.

THE SCORLE

Microscopic petrographic features—Under the microscope the
scorie from both Miramar and Necochea exhibit abnormal features.
Irregular fragments of quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, and mag-
netite occur embedded in a colorless-to-pale-brown glass, out of which
aggregates of acicular crystals, probably pyroxene, crystallize. The
mineral fragments have been considered phenocrysts by some
observers. On this assumption the rock would be classed with the
andesites and has been described as such. The chemical analyses
of the present paper might be considered confirmatory evidence in
favor of this view. A careful microscopic examination of the mineral
fragments, however, precludes this hypothesis. The mineral frag-
ments are broken and irregular in outline. (Pl.7,a@and pl.8,a.) They
were evidently not stable in the molten glass and were attacked and
dissolved in part by the same. The plagioclase feldspars are not
uniform in composition. In the same microscope-field fragments

90 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

of oligoclase and labradorite can often be seen, the fragments of
both being homogenous throughout and without zonal texture.
Such rapid variation in composition in the nonzoned phenocrysts
of effusive rocks is unknown to the writers and would be abnormal
in view of the mode of formation of phenocrysts. Zonal structure
does occur in some of the grains and the composition follows then:
the usual succession, with the more anorthic plagioclase in the
center of the grains. The zoned individuals are often broken across
so that the whole series of compositions was exposed to the action
of the melted glass. Taken as a whole the mineral fragments in the
scoriz resemble in kind, in size, and in general character and outline
the mineral fragments in the loess. In the specimens of scorize from
Miramar, however, there is a decided difference in quantitative
mineral composition between the scoriz and the loess adjacent to
them. This difference also found expression in the thermal behavior
of the two materials as noted above under specimen 263731.

The character of the glass base is another feature which is difficult
to reconcile with the view that the scoriz are normal andesites. The
glass base is streaky and varies rapidly in composition, its refractive
index ranging from about 1.51 to 1.56. In the glass resulting from
the cooling of a normal lava such great differences have not been
described and are not to be expected. The presence of fine particles
of iron oxide embedded in a colorless glass base in some parts of the
scoriz and their absence in other parts, whereby the glass is colored
brown and has a higher refractive index, is strikingly like the
features observed in the loess specimens which had been heated at
different temperatures.

It is interesting to note that the glass obtained by heating the
loess and burnt earth specimens has about the same refractive
indices and variation in refractive indices as the glass of the scoria
from Miramar. In the glass of the Necochea scoria the refractive
indices are slightly higher than those of the Miramar glass and the
Necochea scoria is correspondingly less siliceous in composition.
The mineral fragments in the melted loess specimens are practically
identical in size and kind with the mineral fragments in the scorie.
In both cases the fragments are unstable in the melted glass and have
been partly dissolved by it. The new microlites which crystallize
from the melt agree with pyroxene and have the same general aspect
in both cases. The products differ chiefly in the state of oxidation
of the iron, but this difference is evidently due, as noted above, to the
different conditions under which the products were formed, the
conditions of experiment not agreeing in all details with those of
nature under which the scoriz were formed.

Chemical evidence.—The chemical evidence given in the analyses
263728 and 263746 does not of itself preclude a volcanic origin for

WRIGHT-FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 91

the scoriz. In both analyses the ferrous iron predominates over
the ferric iron; in this respect the analyses differ notably from those
of the tierras cocidas.

Two analyses by Dr. E. Herrero Ducloux cited by Col. Antonio A.
Romero,! of a ‘‘tierra cocida” and an “‘escoria’”’ from Chapadmalal
do not show this relation between the iron oxides. For the sake of
comparison these analyses have been expressed in the quantitative
system and both found to belong to the same subrang; but in this
subrang no analysis of an igneous rock has yet been found to occur.
This in itself is indicative of the abnormal character of the rocks.

Chemical analysis, of Dr. EF. Herrero Ducloux.—

OO a
Si0, 66. 600 1. 104 Q 45.59 45.59
Al,O, 16. 350 . 160 Or 1.95
Fe,O, 5.030 . 031 Abo T4625 Nr 34) 11.4986! 33
FeO 0. 350 . 005 An 17°91
MgO 1,422 . 035 C 6. 63 6. 63
CaO 3. 880 . 069 ly 3282
Na,O 1.947 . 0314 Mt .70
K,O 0.325 . 0035 Hm 4.48 9.50
H,0O — 0. 651 eset Il . 30
H,0O + 2.715 Ls ae Ap 250
TiO, 0.180 . 002 NaCl .50
F0, 0.211 . 0014
Cl 0.340 . 001
MnO 0.019 ee ey
100. 02
Ratios
Sak "86733 _ 7
Class Fem 9.50°1°-"------ 1
OS | aaah 3 lal,
Order Joes 375----- 3
ies K,O’ + Na,O’ Sr 0306 3 a "a
CaO’ Paar te
,

OO. Tierra cocida. Chapadmalal, E. H. Ducloux, analyst. —
; a. Molecular proportions of OO.
In calculating this analysis, the rules prescribed by the®authors
of the quantitative classification for the calculation of the Cl were
not followed by the writers. This procedure would have indicated

1In Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, Xxm (ser. iii, t. Xv), pp. 11-31 (separate, 1911).

99 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

the presence of a relatively large amount of sodalite together with
-a large excess of quartz, which is obviously contrary to experience.
The tests with silver nitrate cited above indicate that the chlorine
is contained in NaCl, which has probably been derived from sea
water, and this assumption was made in calculating the analysis
in order to obtain the most favorable conditions for proving the
eruptive nature of the rock. But even with this assumption, the
analysis does not resemble that of any known lava.

Chemical analysis, of Dr. E. Herrero Ducloux.—

OT a
SiO, 65. 950 1. 094 Q 43.84 43.84
Al,O, 15.010 Sey Or 2.90
Fe,0, 4.750°° .0297 \Ab’ | 10086.) °37.02° gaa
FeO . 410 . 0057 An 23.96
MgO 1. 872 . 046 C OOF 3. OY.
CaO 4.872 . 087 Hy 4.63
Na,O 1.224 .0197 Mt 86 An
K,O .488 .0052 Hm 4.16
HoH Oreo eee. eh 30
H,O+ 9.380 wT.
TiO, . 160 002
P.O, 0. 062 0004
Cl 0.084 136001
MnO 0. 021 . 0002
99. 012
Ratios
Sal. S4e7a" oo
Class Femanono5 7 177 2> I
rb Q_ 4.84 5.3 i

K,O’+Na,0’ .0249 3.1

Rang Ga? (OB 67 aaa ;
K,0"'.. 0052.3. 1
Subrang |. “Wa,07 > 0197 S877 oar :

OI. Escoria. Chapadmalal, E. H.“Ducloux, analyst.
a. Molecular proportions of O1.

The calculation of this analysis indicates its close similarity with
the first. Both analyses belong to subrangs for which no representa-
tive has yet been found in normal lavas. These rocks are abnormal
and the conclusion of Dr. H. Biicking and Colonel Romero that the
rocks are normal andesites can not be considered justifiable.

Scoria from San Blas.—Both the microscopic and chemical evidence
prove that this rock ‘is a normal andesitic lava. It is unusually

WRIGHT-FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 93

vesicular and even pumiceous but no evidence was obtained to sug-
gest even a relation between this rock and the scorie from Miramar
‘and Necochea.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND SUMMARY

In the foregoing pages the attempt has been made to present the
data of observation and experiment on the collection of rocks sub-
mitted to the writers for determination. Throughout the investiga-_
tion but little attention has been given to the works of others on the
same general problem. The present writers have not personally
studied the rocks in the field and are not in a position, therefore, to
discuss the more general problem of which the rock problem is only
a part. In the descriptions attention has accordingly been directed
to the facts of observation rather than to the possible theories of
genesis which, without a definite basis of fact, become simply matters
of opinion.

The most important facts noted during the present investigation
are:

(1) The loess consists in large measure of volcanic and eruptive
material. Siliceous, volcanic glass is present in practically every
specimen and may become so abundant that it constitutes 90 per
cent of the whole. The minerals present are remarkably fresh and
unaltered. The amount of argillaceous material present is relatively
small in most of the specimens. These facts may be considered
indicative of tremendous and widespread volcanic activity of the
explosive type during or just preceding the formation of the loess.
The variation in composition of the loess may be due in part to the
- effect of wind action on original tuffaceous deposits, the wind blowing
the lighter matter farther away from the source, and thus producing
a rough separation of the components in some instances. That
volcanic action was widespread and not confined to one vent is
evident from the enormous quantity of voleanic material in the loess.

(2) The specimens of tierra cocida are, for the most part, com-
posed simply of loess fragments which have been indurated and
reddened by heat action between 850° and 1,050°. Except for the
red particles which have resulted from the oxidation of the iron in the
argillaceous material of the loess, the loess and most of the tierra
cocida are identical in general character and composition. Analyses
of both are closely similar and, except for the high water content,
might be mistaken for analyses of igneous rocks. This is well shown
by specimens 263717, 263718, 263729 from Alvear, whose micro-
scopic features, behavior on heating, sodium chloride content, and
the chemical analyses of 263717 and 263729 are as nearly alike as can
possibly be expected from such material and prove their original

94 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

identity conclusively. Under the title ‘tierra cocida”’ specimen
263710 has been included. It is, however, simply a loess rich in
limonite, which forms the cementing material and renders the frag-
ments slightly harder and more resistant than the adjacent loess.
Specimen 263731 has also been labelled ‘ tierra cocida,’’ but it

belongs strictly to the melted scorie.

THE SCORIA

These rocks are the most interesting specimens in the collection
and have been the subject of much discussion in the literature.
They are abnormal in type and do not agree with any known eruptive
rock or lavain their microscopic features. They contain fragments
of various minerals (quartz, plagioclase, pyroxene, magnetite)
embedded in a streaky glass base, out of which pyroxene microlites,
different in composition from the large pyroxene fragments, heve
crystallized at certain points. The composition of the plagioclase
fragments is not constant and in extreme cases may pass in the same
thin section from oligoclase in one grain to labradorite in an adjacent
grain. Zonal structure is present in some of the grains and these
may then be broken across so that the different zones are in contact
with the glass. The feldspars show indications, moreover, of resorp-
tion by the molten glass base and were evidently not crystallized
from it as they are in anormal lava. (Pl. 7, qa and pl. 8,a.) Prac-
tically the only microlites which have crystallized from the glass
have the optical properties of a pyroxene which is of a different
color, refractive index, and composition from the larger fragmental
pyroxenes. The glass base itself is streaky and variable in compo-
sition, as is shown by the variation in its refractive index from point
to point. (n=1.51to 1.56 and above.) Variations of this magnitude
in the glass base of a normal lava have not been recorded. The
minerals occurring as fragments in the scorie are practically identical
with those observed in the loess, both as to kind, size, and compo-
sition. The melted loess products obtained by heating charges in
the electric furnace resemble the scoriz in all details except for the
degree of oxidation of the iron; with large masses products were
obtained in which the iron was less oxidized and at the center of
large lumps were practically identical with the scorie. The scoriz
are not, in general, of the same composition as the loess immediately
adjoining them and behave differently on being heated to high tem-
peratures. (Specimen 263721.) This proves that part of the scoriz
at least were not formed in situ from the adjacent loess but have been
transported to their present position. No zone of transition between
the scoriz and the loess was observed; in view of the high temperature
to which the scoriz must have been heated (1,050° or above) and the
ease with which the loess is reddened (at 800° and above), this unaltered

a a

WRIGHT—FENNER ] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 95

condition of the loess is another proof that these particular scoriz
were not formed in situ. The scoriz of specimen 263731 do contain,
however, in some of the vesicles red baked loess, which, in turn, is of
a different composition from the friable brown loess adhering to
other parts of the same specimen. This indicates again transporta-
tion of the scoriz; also that at some period in their formation these
scoriz came in contact with the loess and that the temperature at
that time was between 850° and 1,050°. No evidence was found in
this specimen that the scoria had melted down the loess.

Taken as a whole the evidence recorded above proves that the
scorize are not normal volcanic scorie. They are not lava in the
ordinary sense of the word. But they have been melted down under
conditions which protected them from oxidation; they were not
melted down, in short, in the open air, otherwise the iron oxide would
have passed largely into red hematite as in all the experiments cited
above. The temperatures and quantity of heat required for melting
the large masses of Necochea scoriz postulate long-continued heating
at a very high temperature, much higher, in fact, than is possible in
the open air under ordinary conditions. This fact, together with the
observed lack of oxidation of the scorie, precludes the possibility that
they have been formed by the melting down of loess by bonfires or
any type of fire in the open air.

The microscopic and thermal evidence practically proves, how-
ever, that the scoriz have been produced by the melting down of an
original clastic material which resembled in all its details the loess of
this region. The observed facts indicate, in brief, that the scorize
are simply fused loess, melted under conditions which protected the
molten mass from oxidation.

In this connection the relatively local distribution of the scoriz
near the coast is significant. Had the scoriz been transported from
the far West their size and number would naturally increase in
that direction, but the field observations show that the opposite is
the case.

In seeking for a possible explanation of these phenomena and, in
particular, of the genesis of the scorize, the writers have been forced
to adopt the following hypothesis as the only reasonable one in view
of the evidence at hand. This is presented, not as an established
theory, but only as a tentative hypothesis which needs further
verification but which accounts satisfactorily for the observed facts.
According to this hypothesis the loess formation was intruded by
igneous masses which melted down the adjacent loess and formed
the present black scorie. These intrusions may have been sub-
marine or beneath the land area. In either case oxidation would
not have been serious, although a submarine extrusion might favor
less oxidation and more pronounced vesicular character of the

e

96 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

scoriz than a subaerial extrusion. In view of the exceedingly large
amount of volcanic glass and minerals of igneous origin in the loess
of this region, the assumption that volcanic action has been directly
responsible for the formation of these scoriz and also of the tierra
cocida, in the manner suggested above, is not unreasonable. It
is surprising, however, that the present collection does not contain
any specimens of normal lava from either Necochea or Miramar.
This may possibly be due to the fact that the collection is a small
one and probably does not include all the rock types which occur in
‘these localities; or it may be that the volcanic extrusion was of the
explosive type, whereby the lava (possibly siliceous in character and
largely glassy) was shattered and reduced to dust, which fell to the
surface as volcanic ash and now constitutes an integral part of the
loess formation. Under these conditions the cooler, viscous, melted
loess fragments would remain intact and be ejected as scorize and
resist attrition and breaking down more effectively than the shat-
tered voleanic lava.

Similar contact phenomena between lava intrusions and adjacent
rhyolite pumice breccia have been observed in Nevada by Professor
Iddings.1. There basaltic lava was plainly visible and the mode of
formation of the contact scoriz was obvious. The broken mineral
fragments occurred embedded in the glassy base which, in some of
the sections, still showed the brecciated character of the original
material. These relations are clearly stated in the following para-
graph from the general description of the rocks from this region by
Professor Iddings in the monograph cited above (p. 183):

“Thin section 200 is the most interesting of all the alteration
products, on account of its undoubted relations to the basalt and its
higher degree of metamorphism; it is traceable directly to the same
deposit of pumice as 199, and lies in apparently undisturbed layers
directly over basalt, which did not in this instance reach the surface,

but thoroughly altered the overlying pumice, breaking through it

lower down the slope. In thin section it is a whitish gray, fine-
grained breccia of about the same grain as 199. Under the micro-
scope the porphyritical crystals are seen to be angular fragments of
quartz, sanidine, and plagioclase of the same size and abundance as
those in the last-named section; pyroxene, however, is wanting and
only a little biotite is present, besides a single grain of garnet. The
groundmass has retained its brecciated character, though the pumice
fragments have lost their original form and appear to merge into one
another; but the degree of crystallization is far more advanced,
hardly any portion of it being without influence on polarized light.

1See Arnold Hague, Geology of the Eureka District, Nevada. U.S. Geological Survey Monographs,
No. 20, 381-385, 1892.

a

WRIGHT—FENNER] PETROGRAPHIC STUDY 97

As a natural result of its brecciated character the structure is most
varied, which is the more pronounced between crossed nicols. It is
partly spherulitic and axiolitic and partly cryptocrystalline and in
places it is microcrystalline in irregular grains.”’

In many respects this description might serve for the thin sections
of the Miramar and Necochea scorie. Similar irregular broken
fragments of quartz, plagioclase, and other minerals are present and
the groundmass is variable both in composition and in degree of
crystallization. The hypothesis suggested above for the genesis of
the scoriz of Necochea and Miramar is therefore not new to geology
and is without question a probable working hypothesis for rocks of a
similar nature in any other part of the world.

PETROGRAPHIC-Microscopic EXAMINATION OF BoNES COLLECTED
BY Doctor HrpuiéKA

The writers received in addition to the above collection of rocks
a small collection of bones with the request that their mineral com-
position be determined so far as possible. The specimens were
examined accordingly in powder form and no attention was given to
the structural features of the bones. In many of the bones fine
mineral particles from the adjacent loess, in which they probably
occurred, were observed but, as these minerals bear no relation to the
alteration of the bones, their presence is not recorded in the descrip-
tions below.

Practically only one type of alteration was observed. The cryp-
tocrystalline bone substance is replaced by a mixture of micro-crys-
talline calcite and of a weakly-to-medium birefracting substance of
refractive index about 1.61 and resembling in appearance the mineral
described under specimen 263738 above. In some of the specimens
the calcite is not present and the weakly birefracting substance is
proportionately more abundant. In all of the specimens a consider-
able amount of fine, low-refracting, often isotropic or cryptocrystalline,
material occurs but is too fine for satisfactory determination. In
the following paragraphs the results of the examinations of the
powdered specimens of bone are recorded briefly.

The conclusions which may be indicated by these observations
have probably been given in the foregoing Hrdli¢ka-Willis report,
which the present writers have not seen.

No. 263748. Specimen label. ‘ ‘Fossil’ man. Human bones
from the Necochea skeleton.”

In the powder of this bone fine, microcrystalline calcite is abundant.
The calcite is coarser-grained in this specimen than in any of the
other bones in the collection. Grains of a weakly-to-medium bire-
fracting substance, usually pale-yellow in transmitted light and of

21535°—Bull. 52—12—7

98 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

average refractive index about 1.61, are common and have evidently
resulted from the alteration of the original bone substance. In optical
properties this substance resembles that described under specimen
263738. Fine grains of an isotropic, low-refracting substance also
occur but are too fine for identification.

No. 263749. Specimen label. ‘‘ Weathered modern bone from playa
of ‘fossil man,’ near Laguna Malacara, north of Necochea.”

This bone contains abundant cryptocrystalline calcite which has
evidently replaced much of the original bone substance. The weakly
birefracting substance, noted above and probably phosphatic in
composition, is also present in considerable quantities.

No. 263753. Specimen label. ‘‘ Cow, very recent; exposed to ele-
ments; lower jaw. Playa Peralta, near Mar del Plata.”

In this specimen no calcite was observed. The material consists
chiefly of a cryptocrystalline, weakly birefracting, low-refracting sub-
stance which is probably slightly altered bone substance. Evidently
this bone has suffered but slight alteration.

No. 263754. Specimen label. “Rib. Necochea ‘fossil’ man.”

Contains both cryptocrystalline calcite and the weakly birefracting
substance noted above. Has evidently been altered considerably.

No. 263755. Specimen label. ‘La Tigra skull.”

In powder form this bone closely resembles the foregoing. In both
specimens the calcite is evidently a replacement product.

No. 263756. Specimen label. “Ovejero. Skull No. 1.”

Practically no calcite was observed in this specimen. The powder
consists largely of a fine cryptocrystalline, weakly birefracting, low-
refracting substance which is probably bone substance. The material
is evidently not highly altered.

No. 263757. Specimen label. ‘‘ Fontezuelas skull.”’

Contains both cryptocrystalline calcite and the weakly birefracting
phosphatic material, besides a lower-refracting isotropic substance.
This bone has obviously suffered considerable change.

No. 263758. Specimen label. ‘‘Homo pampeus. Necochea.”’

Resembles 263755 closely and has evidently suffered the same kind
of change.

No. 263761. Specimen label. ‘Sea lion; very recent. Punta
Mogote.”’

But very little calcite was observed in this specimen and was then
associated with yellow, iron-stained argillaceous material. A weakly
birefracting substance not unlike that described in many of the
specimens above constitutes the major part of the powder.

CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON,
Geophysical Laboratory, Washington, D. C.

—----

VI. PECULIAR STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE
COAST

By AueS HrputKa

HistroricAL AccOUNT
THE ‘‘SPLIT-STONE”’ INDUSTRY

During 1908, while studying the sedimentary formations of the
coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, Professor Ameghino discovered
certain peculiar stone implements, which he regarded as of a hitherto
unknown type; their seemingly primitive form and especially their
apparent association with earlier geologic deposits led him to the
conclusion that they are the work of a geologically ancient man of
this region, assigned by him to the Pliocene.

The first report of this discovery made by Ameghino appeared in
1909.1. Referring to Punta Porvenir, a point on the coast a few
miles south of Mar del Plata, he says:

“This locality, the mammal fauna of which indicates the upper
part of the Ensenadean or the lowest portion of the Bonaerean
formation, is of special importance, on account of the quantity of
fossil bones contained in the less compact superficial sand, and
because of the proof that this accumulation of bones is due to the
man of those times. .. .

‘‘This tongue of land was at that epoch a seashore site (paradero)
of man. I collected there the carapace of a Sclerocalyptus pseudor-
natus, which was found standing vertical, resting on the caudal end,
with the dorsal aspect toward the sea and the ventral concavity
toward the west, looking as if it had been made to serve as a shelter
against the sea winds. The interior of this carapace contained no
skeletal parts of the animal, but there were bones of small ruminants,
parted longitudinally, and other extraneous remains, while the border
of the posterior aperture of the carapace, on which it rested, shows
artificial cuts. About the carapace, to a rather considerable dis-
tance, were found artificially split bones of mammals, burned bones,
marine shells which appeared to have been subjected to the action
of fire, and very crude stone implements of an unknown type.”

1 Ameghino, F., Las formaciones sedimentarias de la regién litoral de Mar del Plata y Chapalmalan;
in Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, Xvu (ser. iii, t. X), 1909, pp. 343-428.
99

100 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

On page 398 of the same report Professor Ameghino returns to the
subject of these worked stones and expresses the view that ‘‘The
larger pebbles were utilized by the man of that epoch [Inter-Ensena-
dean], giving origin to a stone industry entirely distinct from any of
those known up to date. This industry is in certain respects more
primitive than that of the eoliths of Europe.”

In April, 1910, the same author published an article devoted
entirely to the ‘‘New Stone Industry.” ! The principal parts of this
report are here quoted.

In 1908, at Mar del Plata, ‘‘I had the good fortune to find an
ancient stone industry different from all those hitherto known. :

‘This industry comes from the inferior Pampean and from the
middle part of the Ensenadean, i. e., the eolo-marine strata cor-
responding to the Inter-Ensenadean marine transgression <

‘Tt is in these eolo-marine strata that is found the débris of
Homo pampezus, and it is also from these same strata that the stone
objects here dealt with are derived. It is therefore the stone industry
of the Homo pampeus, who at this epoch inhabited the seashore.
These stone objects are nearly always isolated, and lay almost
invariably on the surface of the eolo-marine bed from which they have
become exposed by the denuding action of water during a period of
thousands of years.”

However, not quite all the implements gathered by Ameghino lay
on the surface of the eolo-marine Inter-Ensenadean strata; ‘‘there
were also found such as were still inclosed in the original deposit,
and among those that were already loose there are some which still
retain a strongly adhering, fine and often very hard grit, characteristic
of these deposits.”

As to the material from which these stone objects were made, it
‘“consists [p. 190] of rolled and elongated pebbles of quartz, porphyry,
basalt, phonolith, and other eruptive rocks, which man gathered from
the seashore at low tide. These are absolutely foreign to the country
and to-day are not found except in the Inter-Ensenadean layer. The
material is entirely similar to that which constitutes the great forma-
tion of rolled pebbles that covers the surface of Patagonia, and without
doubt a strong marine current which ran along the coast at that time
transported these pebbles from Patagonia up to Mar del Plata.”’

As to the characteristics of this stone industry, Ameghino still
considers it (p. 192) ‘‘different from all those that are known.”

In the way of further information about the locality of the finds,
Ameghino states (p. 192) that—

‘‘Mar del Plata is a point or peninsula formed by a heavy stratum
of Paleozoic quartzite which projects into the sea. This mass is

1 Ameghino, F., Une nouvelle industrie lithique: L’industrie de la pierre fendue dans le Tertiare de
la région littorale au sud de Mar del Plata; in Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, xx (ser. iii,
t. XII), 1911, pp. 189-204 (separate, 1910).

HEDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 101

covered by sedimentary deposits consisting of red Pampean and pre-
Pampean (Araucanean) clays, and is exposed only at a number of
points of limited extent. This coarse-grained quartzite is the result
of the transformation of sedimentary deposits of coarse sand and
gravel and presents a texture and density which make dressing it
impossible. Man who in former times inhabited this locality was not
able, therefore, to employ this material for the manufacture of his
implements.

‘‘But at the epoch of the Inter-Ensenadean transgression the sea
threw on the beach water-worn pebbles which the marine currents
brought from the coast of Patagonia. These pebbles fractured with
greater facility.

“The Homo pampxus probably commenced to gather these stones
and to break them between two blocks of quartzite, in order to utilize
the pointed and edged chips which resulted. Later, and with ex-
perience, there. came to him the idea that these pebbles could be
fashioned in a more uniform manner by making a cutting edge at
one of their extremities. Not knowing true flaking by percussion,
but only breaking by means of strokes with a stone hammer and with
the help of a block of quartzite employed as an anvil, he tried, prob-
ably, to split the pebbles, supporting them on the anvil-stone. He
attempted this splitting not as in simple breaking, but by strokes at
one end of the long axis of the pebble.”

The technique of making the implements Ameghino explains as fol-
lows (p. 193):

‘‘T shall call the two ends of the long axis of the pebbles its two potes.
That placed on the anvil-stone was the inferior pole, while the other,
destined to receive the blows of the hammer, was the superior one.
To obtain the desired instruments, the man made a selection from
among the pebbles, etc., always utilizing the more elongated and
flattened ones, one extremity of which was to be held by the hand,
while the other was to be fashioned to a cutting edge. The larger
end, the one easier to hold in the hand, was the inferior pole, by which
the pebble was placed upright on the block of quartzite. The other
end, which pointed upward, was the superior pole, on which the
operator directed blows until he obtained the form he desired.”

At this point Ameghino explains the mode of production of the
anvil-stones (pp. 193-194):

‘‘Naturally, during the first trials at shaping the stone, the rounded
butt of the pebble, which was placed on the block of quartzite, must
have tended to slip thereon. Possibly in some blocks a natural
depression insured a vertical position of the pebble in such a way that
the stone could not slide, notwithstanding the blows of the hammer.

‘‘From that moment man chose pieces of quartzite which appeared
to him most suitable and cut into their surfaces small elliptic cavities

102 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (BULL. 52

of different sizes, destined to receive the inferior pole of the pebbles

_to be chipped, in order to keep them in position. Holding the pebble
in place and upright with one band, he grasped the hammer with the
other and directed a sharp blow on the superior pole. As a result of
this first blow there were detached from the superior pole or end two
flakes, smaller or larger, according to the force of the blow, one on
each of the opposite large faces of the pebble. Almost invariably
one of these flakes was much larger than the other. The two facets
or planes produced by the separation of the two flakes converged
upward, terminating in a small cutting edge. Repeating the blows,
there was finally obtained at the superior pole of the pebble a trans-
verse cutting edge.”

As to the occurrence of similar types in other parts of the world,
the author says (p. 195):

‘Tt is true that there have been found elsewhere some more or less
similar objects, but they are very rare, isolated, their manufacture
not constituting a veritable industry. The form is accidental, and
the pieces were not obtained by the procedure that I have described,
which consists in cleaving the stone on an anvil with the aid of a
percussor. This procedure is not, to my knowledge, as yet known
from any other region, and it is for this reason that I designated the
industry as the split-stone industry (Vindustrie de la pierre fendue.)”’

The newly discovered stone industry involves, in the opinion of
Ameghino (p. 195), ‘‘three characteristic pieces: The chisel or hatchet-
chisel with a transverse cutting edge, which is the instrument desired;
and the two agents employed for its fabrication, namely, the anvil-
stone and the hammer.”

Further details as to the characteristics of these three varieties of
stones are given as follows (p. 196):

‘‘The hatchet-wedge or chisel is the simplest instrument that one
can imagine; very often a single blow on the superior pole of the
pebble sufficed to make it. Notwithstanding this simplicity, how-
ever, the instrument presents a very large variety of forms, due
probably to the differences in shape, size, length, or thickness of the
pebbles employed, as well as to their dissimilarity of nature and
texture, from which it often resulted that they fractured in a different
manner or direction from that which the operator desired. Often the
blow of the hammer not only detached one or two flakes from the
superior pole intended for the cutting edge, but the counter-shock of
the anvil also detached flakes from the inferior pole, destined for the
handle of the piece, and in consequence the implement occasionally
remained unutilized. At other times the blow of the hammer split
the pebble from one end to the other, or crushed it, reducing it to use-
less fragments.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 103

‘‘The hatchet-chisel [p. 197] was an instrument for all uses; it
served as a knife for cutting, as a wedge or hatchet for breaking the
bones, as chisel, scraper, rasp, etc. When the edge became dull by
usage it was revived by retouching, and when the wear became so
great that the edge could no more be repaired the stone was utilized
as a hammer. ‘The size of this implement is variable; the smallest
are no longer than 2 or 3 cm.; those of medium size, more abundant,
measure from 4 to 6 cm.; the larger ones are from 6 to 8 cm., and
some examples attain 10 cm. in length.”

As to the anvil-stones, they (p. 198) ‘‘present so great a variety
of forms that it can be said there are no two alike. Some are flat,
almost like slabs; others are flat but very thick; others are circular
in contour and flattened; others are rounded, and still others elon-
gated, quadrate, ovoid, cylindrical, conical, etc. Some are nothing
but angular blocks resulting from the natural breakage of the stone,
while others show wear or even rolling by water. Some, especially
among the smallest, have no more than a single cavity, but others
have several, their number extending to more than a score. Some-
times one of the faces of the anvil-stone is slightly concave and much
worn, as if some very hard substance had been triturated upon it.
Their size is also variable, the smallest measuring not more than
6 to 7 cm. in diameter, while the larger ones reach considerable
dimensions. One of the largest and most notable was found by
Carlos Ameghino at Punta Mogote; I consider it a monument of its
epoch. It is a nearly rectangular block measuring 25 cm. in length,
15 cm. in breadth by the same in height, and carrying some two
score of cavities distributed over nearly all its surfaces. At Punta
Porvenir I saw still interred in the Pampean earth, a large block of
quartzite in the form of a slab, of which the part that protruded above
the earth had more than half a square meter of surface and showed
its flat upper part covered with similar cavities. :

‘‘The hammers are rolled pebbles of very hard stone whose elon-
gated form permitted easy grasping by one extremity, and striking
with the other the pebbles to be shaped, which were steadied with
one hand in the hollows made in the anvils.”

Besides the presence of the three above-described classes of stone
utensils, the hatchet-wedge or chisel, the anvil-stone, and the ham-
mer, there are according to the author, two other incontestable
proofs of the special technique which he outlines (p. 201):

‘‘The first is, that nearly all the hatchet-chisels present on the end
opposite that of the edge a small surface showing characteristic traces
of bruising, indirect results of blows of the hammer; there is the
clearest evidence that these contusions were produced by the counter-
shocks of the anvils on the surface of these inferior ends of the pebbles

104 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

placed in the cavities of the anvil-stones. The second proof consists
of the presence on stones, split from end to end, of two conchoid
facets, one at each end, without a transverse interruption between
their fields of irradiation.”

In conclusion, Professor Ameghino declares (p. 203):

‘The facts shown seem to me to be more than sufficient to justify
my first affirmation that we are in the presence of a new stone
industry.”

Some attention is given to minor worked stone objects, flakes,
etc. (pp. 203-204):

‘From the fabrication of this hatchet-chisel implement there
resulted, as was natural, a very large number of flakes of all forms,
which were utilized for cutting, scraping, or perforating, and on which
use has produced characteristic wear and defects which often give
these flakes interesting forms.”

No mention is made of the numerous quartzite implements, etc.,
which occur in the same localities.

In astill more recent publication, Ameghino! makes further remarks
on the stone industry under consideration. He speaks of (p. 23) ‘‘the
fireplaces and crude worked stones which our faraway ancestors left
buried in the Miocene and Pliocene layers of Monte Hermoso, Chapad-
malal, Mar del Plata, and Necochea.’”’ And again (p. 24) he reiterates:
‘The stone industry of the Homo pampzus consists of oblong peb-
bles chipped at one extremity and of an aspect still more primitive
than that of the eoliths of Europe.”

THE ‘‘BROKEN-STONE’’ INDUSTRY

In an article published on the occasion of the meeting of the
American International Scientific Congress in Buenos Aires, in July,
1910,? Ameghino reasserts his beliefs as to the stone industry pre-
viously described by him, and in addition reports still more primitive
and ancient worked stones from Monte Hermoso. The principal parts
of this last report are given below:

“Tt is only a couple of months ago that, in announcing the primi-
tive split-stone industry, characteristic of the Middle Phocene of the
Atlantic coast south of Mar del Plata, I said that this rudimentary
industry should have been preceded by another, showing the part-
ing of pebbles by knocking one against another, for the purpose of
utilizing the pointed and sharp fragments resulting from the sep-
aration.

1 Ameghino, F., Geologia, paleogeografia, paleontologia, antropologia de la Reptiblica Argentina.
Estudio publicado en el Nimero Extraordinario de La Nacién (Buenos Aires), del 25 de Mayo de 1910.
Separate, pp. 1-26.

2 Ameghino, I’., La industria de la piedra quebrada en el mioceno superior de Monte Hermoso. Congréso
Cientifico Internacional Americano, Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 1-5.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 105

“‘T have just succeeded in encountering this more ancient and more
primitive industry which I will call The Broken-stone Industry (indus-
tria de la piedra quebrada).

“In 1889 I described and photographed a fragment of stone which
I had found two years before at Monte Hermoso and recognized its
primitive form, but without forming an exact notion as to the
character of the industry of which it formed a part.

‘“‘Toward the end of the last of May and during the first half of
June, I visited the Atlantic coast of Mar del Plata and farther south,
accompanying the North American delegates, Messrs. Hrdliéka and
Bailey Willis, with the object of showing them the distinct deposits
which yielded remains of fossil man or vestiges of his primitive
industry.

“‘On the 11th of June, in the afternoon, we visited Monte Hermoso,
where with difficulty we were able to stay a couple of hours.

‘“‘T found the barrancas of the locality modified into a form very
distinct from that which I have known.

“The deposits of sands and sandy ground which rest above the
Hermosean and constitute the Puelchean stratum, formerly visible
over a small space of only about 40 meters, now appear exposed
along the barranca for several hundred meters and also to a greater
extent vertically.

“Tn the superior part of this formation of stratified sands I dis-
covered a considerable number of fragments of quartzite of the
most varied and irregular forms, all or nearly all angular and with
cutting edges, from among which, the time being so short, I was ables
to collect only a small series.

“On examination these fragments proved to be those of water-
worn pebbles of quartzite, derived from the nearby Sierra de la
Ventana, which were broken by knocking strongly one against the
other or with one on top of the other, without any determined
direction. This is the most primitive stone industry of which I have
any knowledge, and I can not imagine anything more simple.

“The larger number of these fragments preserve still on one or two of
their faces the natural surface of the rolled pebble, and on this surface
are always observed scratches, bruises, abrasions, dints, etc., pro-
duced by strong and repeated blows given with other stones. These
signs of percussion are so fresh and so plain that they appear as of
yesterday.

“The borders of these broken stones terminate in slender and
sharp edges, but sometimes present irregularities, denticulation, and
other effects produced by use.

“This industry is without doubt still more primitive than that of
the eoliths, for the latter show retouching, either for sharpening the
edges or to facilitate the accommodation of the instrument to the

106 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULD. 52

hand, but in the broken quartzite from Monte Hermoso there is
eect nothing similar.

“On the other hand, these broken quartzites, however rustic they
may appear, are surely the work of man or his precursor, for there
can not be opposed to them the objections which are being made to
the eoliths. In this case there can be no question of pressure by the
rocks, of shocks produced by stones driven by water or due to falling
stones, because, I repeat, they are loose in the sand, and are all
separated one from the other.

“Tt is my duty to say that I have seen Doctor Hrdlitka gather
similar objects, but I do not knew how he interprets them nor have
I asked him. I declare myself, therefore, solely responsible for the
significance which I give to the material in question.”

Criticisms by F. F. Outes.—Shortly after the first announcement
by Ameghino of his discovery of the new “split-stone industry,’”
F. F. Outes published an article? in which he announced numerous
finds of similar specimens in the same and also in other localities
along the coast. He reported in at least one instance the association
of such stone objects as are described by Professor Ameghino, with
implements, rejects, etc., of quartzite, and he opposed both the
geologic antiquity which has been attributed to the worked stones as
well as the supposed great primitiveness of the workmanship. The
principal features of the communication are cited below.

Visiting the localities of the highly interesting new stone industry,
says Outes: ‘‘I was easily able to gather 187 different specimens
_ belonging to that industry, not only in the locality indicated to me
with notable exactness by the distinguished geologist and traveler,
Don Carlos Ameghino, but in four others similarly situated along the
coast.

“The barranca which constitutes the left boundary of the mouth
of the Arroyo Corrientes is formed in the larger part of Pampean
Joess and of eolic deposit of the present era, on both of which denu-
dation has acted extensively.

“On the surface, distributed irregularly, isolated, or in small
gullies, but never covered by either earth or sand, I have found 91
objects belonging to the primitive industry referred to by Professor
Ameghino.

“T gathered 56 hake pieces at Punta Porvenir, a little spur of
quartzite rounded by the beach and nearly submerged when the waters
are very high. Over a large part of this point, in its folds, is found a
veneer of eolic deposit, identical in composition with that of the
mouth of the Arroyo Corrientes and equally as much denuded.

1 The terms “split” and “broken” as applied to these industries should not be confused.
2 Outes F. F., Sobre una facies local de los instrumentos neoliticos Bonaerenses; in Revista del Museo de
La Plata, xvi, Buenos Aires, 1909, pp. 319-339.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 107

Furthermore, I have observed that in the upper level the Pampean
surface corresponds, even more than at Arroyo Corrientes, to the
type of detritic accumulation, for among its component elements
are fine sand, triturated fragments of shells, and rolled pieces of loess
of dark-gray color. Surrounded by precisely these materials was
found the carapace ['] of Sclerocalyptus pseudornatus Ameghino.?

“All the specimens attributable to the supposed new industry
were found, as at Arroyo Corrientes, distributed superficially.

“The third locality in the department of Pueyrredon is situated
at the distance of approximately a kilometer from the left bank of
the Arroyo Chapadmalal. On the sand which covers the surface of
the elevated platform, formed by oceanic erosion, which constitutes
there the Bonaerean Atlantic coast, or distributed superficially over
smaller areas where the vegetal soil is wanting and the sand is being
reduced (in place of which there appears a calcareous deposit, called
tosca, which covers as it seems a large part of the region), I obtained
29 very characteristic examples of the worked stones. In this case
the special circumstances of the find are of great importance. The
objects referred to were not isolated, as in the two previously men-
tioned localities, but associated and moreover mixed with a multi-
tude of examples of flakes, knives, scrapers, etc., made of quartzite,
or flint, and belonging to the well-known lithic industry, which is so
little primitive in its characteristics that it occurs with considerable
frequency in nearly all the Bonaerean culture-sites, even in those on
the very surface of the land, as well as in those enveloped by the
vegetal soil, especially along the borders of streams and on lake
shores.

“Finally, there are two other localities where these specimens
occur in the department of General Alvarado, both on the right
bank of the Arroyos Brusquitas and Durazno, respectively.

“In the former of these localities I found four isolated specimens
on the sand which covered the surface of a small torrential gully or

{ The Punta Porvenir specimen mentioned above by Ameghino.]

2 “The small excavation made[by Ameghino] in extracting the carapace of this Sclerocalyptus pseudor-
natus was still visible when I made my last visit to the locality in March of the present year and I was
able to obtain samples of thesoil which inclosed numerous isolated remaining plates from the carapace.”

8 “ Notwithstanding the bad weather and the misty and persistent rain, which formed an obstacle to my
stay, I was able to gather on the great culture-site of which I speak, about 822 diverse objects: Flakes,
knives, scrapers, and arrow points; but I did not find any fragment of pottery. Nevertheless, Don
Carlos Ameghino told me that in other paraderos also near to the mouth of the Arroyo Chapadmalal, frag-
ments of plain earthen vessels are sometimes found.

““The specimens which I gathered, nearly all worked on only one surface, belong, as I said above, to one
of the most diffused neolithic industries in the Province of Buenos Aires and of which Dr. Florentino
Ameghino made known many types and varieties (if a multitude of unstable forms can so be termed) in
one of the most classical of his works (La antigiiedad del hombre en El Plata, 1, 213-267, Paris-Buenos Aires,
1880-1881). There is also an identity between the examples which form my large series and those that were
described many years ago by Dr. Francisco P. Moreno (Noticias sobre antigiiedas de los Indios del tiempo
anterior 4 la conquista, etc., in Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Cérdoba, 1, Buenos
Aires, 1874, pp. 130-149); and they are also identical with some mentioned by myself in a memoir published
in 1897(F. F. Outes, Los Querandies, breve contribuci6n al estudio de la etnografia argentina, 87-91 figuras
1-4, Buenos Aires, 1897).’’

108 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

depression, that exists in the not very high barranca forming the
coast, about 200 meters from the mouth of the Arroyo.

“Fyrom the other locality I obtained seven examples, which were
also distributed superficially over the sand that covers in great
quantities the right bank of the Arroyo at its mouth. With these
pieces I found an interesting scraper of rude form of the type called
“duckbill” by English archeologists, and further, two broken arrow
points belonging to the same industry to which I referred in previous
paragraphs.

“T believe that the objects described in this note [the chipped
pebbles] belonged without doubt to the primitive stock of tools of
the indigenous native of the Bonaerean time. The products in no
way can be attributed to either natural or accidental causes . . .
neither are the traces of workmanship, use, or retouching on these
stones comparable with the apparent traces of such nature observed
on the pseudo-eoliths; . . . nor, finally, can the specimens be
attributed to the activities of those who actually live in these regions.

“T entertain no doubts on the subject of the antiquity of the
material described and photographed in this note: It must be
referred without exception to the neolithic period of these regions of
South America. [']

‘All the specimens on the left bank of the Arroyo Corrientes were
encountered superficially, and the same was true at Punta Porvenir?
In both localities I have removed the underlying deposits and have
not found similar remains. On the other hand, at Chapadmalal
and at the Arroyos Brusquitas and Durazno, all the objects came
not only from the surface of the ground, but were also found mixed
with implements and weapons of the pre-Spanish natives, represent-
ing the industry reported hitherto from nearly all the Bonaerean
culture-sites covered by the vegetal earth, or exposed on the surface.

“The numerous objects of this last-named industry, gathered by
me at Chapadmalal and in other localities of the department of
Alvarado, present without exception the same luster and the same
blunting of the edges as those described specially in this note—
peculiarities which do not corroborate in any manner whatever a
great antiquity, but are well explained by the polishing action of the
sand carried by the waters or driven by the wind . . .

{1 In relation to Professor Ameghino’s statements regarding the paleoethnologic importance of Punta
Porvenir, Outes says: ‘‘It suffices to know that at Punta Porvenir the erosive agents have acted
extensively; that the waters have moved the ground at all levels, and the wind has accumulated the
detritic deposit of which I have spoken in the text. Hence it is probable, and a repeated examination
of the terrane confirms my belief, that the fossils and diverse objects recovered from the ‘looser upper sand’
were not in an original deposit and that the suggestive picture of the primitive shelter described by Pro-
fessor Ameghino . . . can be explained, without doing violence to the facts, by diverse accidental
circumstances.’’]

2 “ However, supposing even that some of the specimens have been encountered buried in the ground,
it would still be requisite to proceed with reserve, because of the very special character of all the localities,

exposed to erosive agencies, which remove, transpose, and accumulate continually the earthy or sandy
materials.’’

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 109

“The exhaustive examination which I made of the ground and
of the objects associated in certain cases with the worked pebbles
induces me to believe that these utilized or worked pebbles, gathered
in the Bonaerean Atlantic littoral, constitute only a local phase of a
certain portion of the tools of some of the neolithic native groups.
Moreover, I incline to consider them contemporary with the rude
implements and weapons of quartzite, shaped nearly always on only
one surface, which appear to characterize the larger part of the more
primitive neolithic stations, permanent or temporary. In my excur-
sions I have found them not only in the departments of Pueyrredon
and General Alvarado, but also on the coast of Necochea! and in
the proximity of Puerto Belgrano.” ”

Outes has taken no notice of the anvil-stones.

Response to Outes’s statements, by Ameghino.—To Outes’s notes,
cited above, Ameghino in his succeeding publication*® answered as
follows:

“A young archeologist, well known for his malevolence as well as
for his obstinacy in defending the most impossible and paradoxical
things, published about this industry a memoir filled with all sorts of
inexactitudes. This young man had gone every year to Mar del
Plata, had walked over the same localities and trodden upon the
stones, without comprehending their significance. As soon, how-
ever, as my memoir appeared and with information obtained sur-
reptitiously from those who accompanied me on my excursions, he
went to Mar del Plata, gathered in the places that were indicated
to him a certain number of specimens and at once thereon, without
any serious examination of the question, declared that the case
was that of neolithic implements (!), representing a local phase.

‘“‘Not possessing any geologic criterion, he mistook the Inter-
Ensenadean beds veneering the ancient cliff for a detritic deposit of
the present epoch; the Inter-Ensenadean marine strata, which
underlie all the Superior Pampean and contain shells of extinct spe-
cies, he considered recent accumulations on the way toward lapidi-
fication, whereas, on the contrary, they constitute an ancient forma-
tion on the way to destruction. The mammalian débris that are
found in the eolo-marine deposit he regarded as having been brought
out from the cliff against which this deposit is lying; but, as among

1 “The specimens obtained in this locality were found at Punta Negra, on the surface of the continental
flat, and also in another spot situated approximately 500 m. from the mouth of the Rio Quequen, partly
covered by the movable sands of the dunes which there exist. In both cases, the worked pebbles were
mixed with implements and weapons of the well-known recent industry to which I have referred in different
parts of this memoir.”

2“T gathered many examples over the surface at the foot of the Colina Doble, distant a few hundred
meters from the military post; and I also found some isolated pieces in a salitral which exists on the road
that leads from the last-named locality to Bahia Blanca.’

3 Une nouvelle industrie lithique. I’Industrie de la pierre fendue dans le Tertiare de la région
littorale au sud de Mar del Plata, par Florentino Ameghino; in Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires,
XX (ser. iii, t. xm), 1911, pp. 189-192.

110 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

this débris there are whole or nearly whole carapaces of Glypto-
dontidz and articulated skeletons, the affirmation of this author
resolves itself into one of those errors for which there is no excuse.
Besides this, in these localities, the beds of the ancient cliff are com-
pletely sterile. And, moreover, this débris of mammals from the
eolo-marine deposits is formed by species characteristic of the Ense-
nadean, without any vestige of a recent species. His complete igno-
rance of all these geologic and paleontologic questions is thus dis-
played in a very decided manner. Briefly, his malevolence, which
perforce leads him to criticize everything, has resulted in filling his
memoir on this ancient industry with errors so gross that they do
not serve to honor him. To dwell more in detail on these errors,
which one would say are the product of an infantile brain, would be
a waste of time.

‘‘There is, however, one point which prompts the following brief
note on my part:

‘‘The author in question criticises severely my statement that this
industry is distinct from those existing to this day, and that to a
certain degree it is more primitive than that of the eoliths. To
demonstrate that what I have said is inexact, he enters into long
considerations, with a large number of quotations which have no
relation to the subject. Finally, he describes and photographs
several of the implements to show their relation with others found in
different regions, which he believes to be similar to those of Mar del
Plata.

‘‘According to these descriptions and the photographs with which
they are accompanied, I perceive that the author has not appreciated
the true character of this industry nor the technique of the fabrica-
tion, which is precisely that which distinguishes it from all other
stone industries heretofore known, and as I have not said in what the
novelty of this industry consisted, the result is that he has repeated
the immortal combat of Don Quixote against the windmills.”

So much for the published data relating to the ‘‘ancient stone
industries” of the Argentine coast. The following pages contain
the observations and views of the present writers on this highly
interesting subject. In their work they have not been influenced
materially by the publications cited, reliance being placed especially
on personal observations in the field and on their own collections
brought to Washington.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST LET
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
WORKED STONES OF REPUTED GEOLOGIC ANTIQUITY

The exploration, the results of which will be given in the following
pages, was undertaken with eager expectations. Ameghino’s publi-
cations on the strange ancient ‘‘split-stone”’ industry and on other
finds from this very little known coast region, his personal informa-
tion and enthusiasm on the subject, and the unquestionably peculiar
characteristics of the archeologic specimens seen in his collection,
impressed the writer considerably. It was soon recognized that all
that was written or said on the subject could not be accepted, but
the bulk of the data seemed of such importance that the visit to
the regions which yielded the highly interesting specimens, especially
in company with a geologist of experience, and with the promised
presence of Professor Ameghino himself, was entered on with keen
anticipations. .

So far as collecting evidence and numerous specimens are concerned,
the work was fortunate from the start; and, as time progressed, fact
after fact appeared which threw light on the problems investigated
different from and much more simple than that in which they were
seen before. This was by no means changed later by the presence of
Sr¢. Florentino and Carlos Ameghino, and the final conclusions reached
by the Smithsonian expedition are completely at variance with the
opinions held by these gentlemen.

The coast of Argentina, especially that of the Province of Buenos
Aires, presents certain characteristic physical features found only
rarely in other localities.

It is readily seen that the present coast line is very recent, that
it is continually being changed by the action of the sea, and that a
thousand years ago (not to speak of any greater length of time) it
must have been much farther out, beyond the shallows that remain.
_As to the location of the coast line in the Pleistocene, or even earlier,
there is no indication.

The flat or undulating surface of the interior, covered with sward,
extends in some parts close to the sea, there ending abruptly in a
more or less vertical wall or barranca. These bluffs, which range in
height from 2 or 3 to more than 70 feet, are the result of the com-
bined action of the sea wash and the cruiibling down of masses of
earth from the land facing the ocean.

At other points, parts of the surface of the land near the sea have
been deprived by wind and water of the black vegetal soil and present
smaller or larger barren, grayish stretches, in some instances sloping
toward the sea, covered in varying degrees with sand, débris of
tosca,! stones, triturated shells, etc. The denudation by the elements

1 Caleareous concretionary formation occurring at various depths In the loess; caliche,

112 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

has often been so great that the older geologic sediments are exposed,
and bones of extinct species of animals lying in these sediments
become more or less visible or even loose; in other instances, how-
ever, the erosion has been relatively slight, amounting to but a few
inches below recent surface.

A third and most characteristic feature of the coast consists of
the sand dunes, or médanos, which line the shore for great dis-
tances. They formarange of sand hills which, as the sea advances
steadily and, in general, with considerable rapidity at the expense
of the land, must be quite recent in their present location. This
line of dunes varies from less than a mile to several miles in breadth
and continues, with a few interruptions, from a short distance
south of Mar del Plata to Bahia Blanca. The prevailing height of
the individual dunes ranges from about 30 to 80 feet, but occasion-
ally they are lower or higher. They are of various shapes, the coni-
cal and ‘‘hog-back”’ types predominating, differ considerably in
bulk, and extend in many cases close to the beach. In some parts,
as at Monte Hermoso, the sea front presents a barranca face sur-
mounted by the médanos.

The sand dunes are of two principal varieties and the difference
between them is of consequence archeologically. The first class,
preponderant north of Monte Hermoso, are the barren, moving
dunes, while the second consist of such sand hills as have become
covered and more or less fixed by vegetation. It is the region of
the barren médanos that is especially interesting anthropologically.
In the fixed dunes whatever implements and other remains of aborig-
inal population there may be, lie buried within or under the sand and
with rare exceptions escape observation. Among the barren and
moving dunes, on the other hand, the force of the winds results in
uncovering the implements and other remains, and these remain for a
longer or shorter time exposed to view, so that they may be easily
collected.

The barren dunes are shifted by the sand being blown from the
slope exposed to the wind and falling down the opposite slope. On
the exposed side the wind tends to remove all the sand down to the
more resistant surface of the ground. If there are any stones, imple-
ments, or heavier human or animal remains anywhere in the sand or
on the ground underneath, such objects sink down to, or remain in
place on, the exposed harder surface, to be reburied, reexposed, and
shifted from time to time as the wind currents assume different
directions.

All the dunes connect at the base and inclose more or less extensive
hollows. Some of these hollows are relatively shallow, circum-
scribed, and sandy. Other depressions are, however, much larger

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST Lis

and deeper and often more irregular in form. In many instances
these larger depressions connect at one extremity with the seashore,
and their bottom in parts, or even in ‘a large stretch reach to, or
even somewhat into, the ground beneath the sand. The basal areas
in the various depressions here referred to are sometimes called playas,
a convenient term for the purpose, though more strictly applied to the
beach only.

There are two distinct varieties of the dune-range playas, which
may be distinguished by the color as the black and the gray. Most
of the black are shallower than the gray, though the difference may
be slight. They present level patches of closely packed fine sand
and earth colored nearly black by manganese and possibly other
mineral ingredients; the surface is often rich in archeologic specimens.
These black playas are generally situated more inland, and owe their
principal characteristics of form and color to water action. They
represent the denser ground of the lowest parts of the dunes, or
the top of the underlying soil, with additional material brought and
deposited during rains. In heavier rains water in small quantities
evidently accumulates over the surface of these patches, particularly
of those that offer no easy outlet, and the mineral particles, as well
as fine sand from the surrounding dunes, settle and form the black
even surface. The amount of material thus deposited is generally
small; yet it was found sufficient nearly to bury, in one instance, the
skull of a viscacha, and in other cases to cover, in a degree, several
stone flakes and implements. Generaily, however, the stone objects
and bones lie free upon the surface.

The second class of playas consists of the larger, sometimes exten-
sive, irregular, denuded surfaces, similar to eroded areas occurring
independently of sand dunes, as mentioned in the first part of this
section, and containing débris of tosca, stones, shells, bones, etc., and
also, in some localities, numerous pieces of scoria. In some places
such large denuded patches show remnants, a few inches to more
than 2 feet in height, of a former, comparatively recent surface, the
rest of which has been removed by the action of the elements. In
some instances the higher of such remnants are capped with darker
earth, which represents, in all probability, the vegetal layer that has
become covered by the sands. The gray floor itself belongs to older
sediments and shows traces, in some localities rare, in others rather
common, of skeletal remains of fossil animals, particularly the glypto-
don and the scelidotherium. Most of these gray open playas are
poor in specimens pertaining to man, although there may be sheltered
nooks farther inland in which more of such objects will be brought to
light in the future.

21535°—Bull. 52—12 8

114 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The archeologic remains found associated with the several above-
mentioned features of the coast are, first, numerous stones with a
few objects of other materials, showing man’s handiwork; and, sec-
ond, skeletal remains of man himself.

The worked stones consist of utensils, such as mealing- or grinding-
stones, mostly in fragments; hammer-stones; peculiar anvil-stones
(stones which show the effects of having served as supports on which
other hard objects, probably stones, were worked); highly interesting
implement-like chipped pebbles, of the types described by Ameghino
and Outes, derived from hard pebbles of fluvial origin, which are
found in large numbers along the shore in these localities; arrow
points, scrapers, and nuclei of yellowish-white quartzite, brought to
these regions from the inland hills; and a great many flakes and other
rejects of manufacture. The smaller objects, in general, fall into
two main classes distinguished as ‘‘white’’ and ‘“‘black,” the former
proceeding from fragments of massive whitish quartzite, the latter
from pebbles of jasper, quartzite, etc., ranging from black to various
tints of red, brown, and yellow. (Pls. 9-12.)

These two classes of specimens—the light and the dark—were
always found in association. On the playas, both black and gray, the
worked stones and flakes, wherever they occurred, were invariably
commingled. No single spot was found, and many were examined,
where either the ‘‘white’’ or the ‘“‘black’’ chipped stones existed
alone. In the district of Mar del Plata the heavier objects, as mortars,
pestles, mullers, and the hammer- and anvil-stones, are made from
the coarse local quartzite, ledges of which are exposed in a number
of places along the shore. In the more southern parts, quartzite is
wanting and one finds occasionally hammers and anvil- stones made
from stout pieces of tosca, utilized for want of better material.
Now and then a smaller stone showing man’s handiwork, of the
Mar del Plata quartzite, will be found as far south as Necochea. The
material of such specimens has undoubtedly been derived from the
more northern locality.

The flaked stones and chips (particularly the black ones) are
generally strewn over the surface of the playas, as they would occur
on sites utilized by the natives for their shops. The depressions
among the médanos, particularly the more sheltered and protected
ones farther inland; were especially adapted for such a purpose. It
is inferred that most of the implements made in these shops were
carried away to be utilized inland, but a few, with the stones from
which flakes were secured and with the refuse of the shaping work,
remained on the ground. Some of the mealing stones and anvil-
stones were found apparently in the exact places where they were
last used, and often the flakage was more plentiful in the imme-
diate vicinity of the latter than elsewhere. Of course, as the depres-

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HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 115

sions shifted, being filled on one side and extended on the other by
the changing sands, the native implement-maker moved his work
place with them, and it is readily seen that in the course of time
much of the surface of the ground underneath the sands would be
supplied in this way with chips, nuclei, and rejectage, and these in
turn would continue to be reexposed as new areas were uncovered by
the winds.

There is nothing to indicate that either the ‘“‘black”’ or the “‘ white”
flaked stones were brought in the worked state, accidentally or
otherwise, to the sites where found. The proximity of the principal
materials used—the quartzite in the north, the tosca in the south,
and the dark pebbles on the adjacent beach—makes it practically
certain that all of these materials were worked in the protected
depressions among the sand dunes on the very spots where the
numerous relics are now found. Had the few finished implements
only been encountered on one or more of these playa floors, their
presence might be regarded as due to accidental loss by hunters or
other rovers of the pampas, but the hundreds of the flaked pebbles,
the thousands of chips, and quantities of other forms of rejectage,
strewn over practically all of the black and some portions of the
gray playas, could not have been brought in and left by wayfarers
from a distance.

The white quartzite, however, was, without question, brought in
convenient masses from the low Sierra in the more western part of
the province, and worked up at leisure among the médanos. A
large nucleus of this stone was found by the writer near the Arroyo
Corrientes, south of Mar del Plata, and some of smaller size were
seen in other localities. It is plain that these are nuclei from which
large pieces have been flaked, and thus is furnished clear proof of the
importation and local utilization of this material. (Fig. 27.)

Of course, it is not assumed that all of both the “black” and the
““white’’ stones showing human manipulation have been deposited at
the precise level and in the identical spots at which they are found
to-day. Some may have sunk from higher levels, as the lighter soil
ingredients were removed by the wind and perhaps also by water,
and some of the lighter flakes may have been moved directly by these
agencies.

In rare instances only was a worked stone found imbedded in the
surface of a playa. <A careful search directed particularly to this
phase of the subject resulted in the discovery of only five chipped
pieces, three “black” and two “white,” partly buried. All of these
were observed in the black playas, in one of which there was also
partly interred (nothing exposed except the teeth) the skull of a
modern viscacha. Yet it is readily conceivable that specimens may

az

116 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

be even entirely covered, and that not merely in the surface of the
black, but also in that of the gray, playas, for cattle, horses, ostriches
(rheas) and other animals occasionally visit these depressions, and,
especially after rains, may press small stones into the ground; or rain
water and the wind may contribute, by means of the material which

PROVINCIA DE
BUENOS AIRES

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Fic. 2. Map of the Argentine coast from Mar del Plata to the Barrancas de los Lobos.

Mogote, Mr. Willis and the writer observed several worked stones,
as well as some recent bones, banked on the windward side with
fine wind-blown material of the same color and apparently of the
same geologic nature as the deposits underneath. After a rain such
accumulations might easily harden and thus appear as constituent
parts of the older ground on which they are formed.

x
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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 10

TONES

a, On grassy surface (apparently in situ) at Campo Peralta, south of Mar del Plats
b, On denuded surface, near the sea, in vicinity of Arroyo Corrientes. Here is seen also refuse of
pebble-stone flaking, with numerous unused pebbles, bones of seals, shelis, and other objects.
small collection from an area of less than an acre on an elevation just north of Arroyo Corrientes.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 117

It is also highly probable that in exceptional instances a smaller
chip or implement, moved by running water, wind, or gravity, is
lodged in a hole or a depression where it eventually becomes covered
by alluvial or eolic materials. Examples illustrating this were
observed on the slopes of the Campo Peralta and will probably be
reported from time to time from other localities. Similar agencies
may explain the presence, mentioned by Professor Ameghino, of
two black stones buried near the carapace of a glyptodon, on the
small sloping denuded Punta Porvenir, which is about a mile
distant from the Campo Peralta. (See map, fig. 2.)

Tn at least two localities worked stones were found on or in the
black vegetal surface soil outside of the playas. One of these was
the Campo Peralta, just south of Mar del Plata, and the other the
north bank of the Rio Quequen, near the mouth of the stream, in the
neighborhood of Necochea.

On the Campo Peralta the writer found several larger anvil-stones
in the grass-covered, undenuded and hitherto undisturbed part of
the surface. The stones lay more or less buried in the vegetal soil
and, barring one or two exceptions, with the pitted surface upward.
Some were near and some distant from the denuded part of the playa,
on which were found numerous worked stones of all varieties. The
difference in level between the sward-covered and more inland part
of the playa and the uppermost portions of its denuded surface, rich
in flaked stones, chips, etc., was only slight, not more apparently
than a few inches.

Some of the stones observed in situ on the grass-covered black soil
were photographed before removal (see pl. 10). When they were
lifted, it was seen that the lighter ones were undergrown with grass
roots and blanched grass, which made it appear at first sight as if the
stones had been placed there recently; but on examination of other,
unworked stones on the same surface, and also elsewhere, it was
found that grass invariably forms such roots and etiolated stems
under stones that are not very heavy or very large or deeply buried.
On being shown these anvil-stones in the grass, Professor Ameghino
surmised that they had been carried there by boys, ranch hands, or
excursionists; but on careful consideration of the case this hypothe-
sis, as applied to at least the majority of the specimens, seemed quite
improbable. The locality is as yet without settlers. A single family
lives in a depression half a mile away, but the children of this family
knew nothing of the stones, which are not of a nature to attract ordi-
nary curiosity. The place is distant from Mar del Plata and is not
near the beach or other places where excursionists are likely to roam.
Were it visited at all, it is reasonable to assume that the stone imple-
ments on the denuded part of the flat would have been taken or
scattered. Furthermore, some of the anvil-stones were too heavy

118 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

to be carried away easily by boys, and ranch hands would not be
likely to take them from the barrens and scatter them over the pas-
ture. It is much more probable that at least some of these stones
remain to-day on the identical spots where they were left by the
natives who used them.

An additional fact which may be mentioned in this connection
is the find on the more inland portion of the denuded part of the
Campo Peralta of two accumulations or arrangements of larger
unworked stones, which showed man’s agency. One of these was in
the shape of a right angle and the other formed a small mound. The
latter in appearance suggested a grave-covering, but on excavation
no confirmation of this theory was discovered. A large and well-
made metate and other stone utensils were placed there, in all
probability by the original inhabitants, or those who worked the
‘black’ as well as the ‘‘ white’ stones found in the vicinity. These
artificial stone piles served to indicate even better than did the gen-
eral level of the ground about them the small amount of denudation
that has taken place on the spot since their construction. (Pl. 11.)

The second locality where worked stones were actually found by
the writer in the black surface soil, was the top of the high north bank
of the Rio Quequen, near Necochea. This locality yielded only small
specimens, but a large quartz implement that might have been used
as a hand ax was found deep in the ground in digging a well a few rods
away. This specimen is in Professor Ameghino’s hands. A very
large quartzite object of the same type, but slightly cruder, was
gathered by the writer from one of the black playas about 20 miles
to the northward. Articles of stone were by no means rare in the
surface soil in the locality under consideration, and were said by the -
writer’s guide, the gardener employed by Professor Ameghino to col-
lect antiquities in that neighborhood, to have been even more
common formerly. Many have been exposed by wagons passing
over and breaking the ground. In this locality there is no denuded
playa or exposed old surface; yet the specimens here collected are
identical in their characteristics with those from the playas among the
sand dunes.

A special variety of flaked stones was discovered at Monte Hermoso.
The writer found that the Monte Hermosean formation exposed in the
now famous barranca was covered by more recent material. On
the old formation rests a layer of volcanic ash, then some stratified
sand, while the highest part is formed of a stratum of gravelly sand,
continuous with the base of the sand dune situated above and a little
farther inland from the edge of the barranca. The last-named sur-
face material is unstratified and somewhat packed, but in no way con-
solidated, and bears every evidence of being very recent. It crumbles
over the clearly marked, ancient Monte Hermosean deposit, and in

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HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 119

falling down becomes here and there lodged on the shelves or in the
depressions of the old formation. In common with Professor Ame-
ghino the writer found in such crumbled-down material some large
irregular and entirely fresh-looking fragments or chips of quartzite,
which indicate plainly the work of man. One of the heavier frag-
ments had been employed as a hammer, portions of the periphery
being distinctly worn by use. In addition, he found on one of the
upper ledges a well-finished scraper of jasper. Subsequently he ex-
tracted a number of quartzite chips or fragments from the more
gravelly part of the uppermost deposit itself, within 18 inches of the
surface. No “black” or ‘white’ material and no anvil-stones were
seen in the neighborhood, but the visit was too short to determine
their absence. It is probable, however, that such specimens are
wanting entirely or are very rare, since in this part of the coast there
is marked absence of the hard pebbles which were utilized so freely
farther north and to some extent also farther south, near Bahia
Blanca, by the Argentine natives.

From Monte Hermoso the writer proceeded to the southern limits
of the Province of Buenos Aires and to northern Patagonia. Archeo-
logic finds here also were quite numerous, and some discoveries were
made which are of special importance in their bearing on the antiquity
of the peculiar “‘black”’ stone “implements” of the more northern
part of the Argentine coast.

These finds were made in and near the valley of the Rio Negro.
In these regions, ‘‘black’’ pebbles comparable in size to those of the
more northern parts of the coast are rare on the surface but not
totally absent, and were utilized by the natives. In general, the
stone work of this territory differs from that farther north in the pro-
fusion of chipped blades, arrow points, spear points, and drills.
There are also stone mortars, pestles and mullers, and a peculiar
type of ax. Yet, with all this, one finds occasionally a ‘“black”’
flaked stone exactly resembling those of the neighborhood of Mar del
Plata, Miramar, or Necochea. Several such specimens were col-
lected at San Xavier (a locality well inland), in the neighborhood of
Viedma (see fig. 39), and among the coast sand dunes near San Bilas.
A particularly important find, however, was that of two anvil-stones,
absolutely identical in character with those of the coast of the Prov-
ince of Buenos Aires, on the surface of the alluvium in the confines of
a former settlement of the Rio Negro Valley natives, about 4 miles
south of Viedma. Here all antiquity is out of the question, for the
alluvial deposits of the Rio Negro, particularly those on the surface,
are very recent. Furthermore, the neighborhood has yielded a col-
lection of Indian skeletons and a large well-made stone mortar.
Over the site were scattered numerous flakes and fragments of jasper
of different colors, some of which at least were derived from pebbles.

\

120 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

It thus appears that the utilization of suitable pebbles, occasionally
in the same way as at more northern points on the coast, and also
of anvil-stones, can not be regarded as characteristic of any very
ancient culture. They must have been made and used by the Indians
occupying some parts of the Argentine coast up to and probably even
in historic times.

A word remains to be said as to pottery. Potsherds are very rare
along the coast from Mar del Plata to Bahia Blanca; nevertheless,
a few specimens were found by the writer, these on the same black
playas, among the sand dunes, with “white” and “black” chips,
flakes, and implements. The fragments are all of rather thin cooking
vessels, without glaze or ornament. Some potsherds of very much
the same nature were found with worked ‘white’ and ‘ black”
stones on the shore of the Laguna de los Padres, west of Mar del
Plata. At San Blas and in the eastern part of the-valley of the Rio
Negro, pottery is more common, although comparatively rare; this
was occasionally well decorated by incised and impressed figures. No
pottery was found at the San Xavier settlement, which existed until
historic times, nor at that south of Viedma.

Besides the many stone specimens and the pieces of earthenware
collected on the journey, three objects were found which deserve
special mention. One, near the Laguna Malacara, was the piece of a
shaft of the long bone of some animal, fashioned artificially on one
side to a point, and having served very likely as a flaker; the second
was a small turquoise bead, with central perforation, picked up by
the writer with some of the ‘“white’”’ and ‘‘ black”? worked stones, on
a playa southeast of Miramar; while the third is a large neatly fin-
ished arrow point, made of a flake of one of the black pebbles, found
by the writer on one of the playas between Punta Mogote and Arroyo
Corrientes, south of Mar del Plata.

The stone specimens, specially the ‘‘black ones,’’ were found in
numerous instances to present faint-to-marked signs of weathering.
This feature was particularly noticeable in one limited region close
to the seashore near the Arroyo del Moro, northeast of Necochea. This
weathering is due in the main to sand blast and is a phenomenon of
but secondary importance. Everything in these regions that is
exposed to the wind, including recent bones of animals, fragments of
glass bottles, pieces of driftwood, tosca, etc., shows before the lapse
of many years the effects of weathering in greater or less degree. A
fragment of a stout wine bottle, collected by the writer among the
dunes, had the exposed surface ground to complete dullness, while
that buried in the sand preserves all its old luster.

No evidence was found that the natives ever actually dwelt, except
temporarily, in the territory of the sand dunes. They have had
settlements in not very distant localities, traces of such being appar- -

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 121

ent at the Campo Peralta, at the Arroyo Corrientes, near the Laguna
Malacara (north of Necochea), and near the mouth of the Rio Que-
quen, on the north side of the river, not far from Necochea. Farther
south, especially in the neighborhood of the Rio Negro, settlements
were located among the sand dunes, as at San Blas, but here the
strip of sand dunes was narrow and inclosed several small fresh-water
lakes.

Possessing their workshops among the sand dunes, with at least
some of their settlements in the neighborhood, it is quite probable
that the natives buried some of their dead in or among the dunes.
This probability will be shown later to have a significant bearing on
the question of the antiquity of some of the human remains obtained
along the coast and claimed to be geologically ancient. Burials of
precisely the same character have been made in numbers, both in the
sand dunes and on the firmer ground among them, farther south,
between the port of San Blas and Rio Negro.

CONCLUSIONS

Taking into consideration the extent of territory over which the
various worked stones here dealt with,are found; the relatively
large numbers in which they occur, particularly in some localities;
the relatively recent nature of the present sand-dune area, which is
almost exclusively their home; and the additional facts, that they are
as a rule on the surfaces of the playas, that they occur occasionally
on or in the vegetal soul, that worked stones of corresponding types
are found in some instances farther inland on recent alluvial deposits,
and that many of the specimens are of fresh appearance—it appears
that only one conclusion can be reached in regard to the age of these
artifacts, namely, that they are not of great antiquity and certainly
not of geologic antiquity.

The general and intimate association of the ‘‘ white” and the “ black”’
worked stones, with other considerations, leads to the further conclu-
sions that these two classes of relics are the products of one culture
and one period; that the “black” stone or pebble industry was the
result of an ample local supply of such material coupled with scarcity
of other material; and that the peculiarities of this industry were due
to the nature of the material, connected possibly with some special
local requirements.

Finally, as the ‘‘ white” stone industry of the coast is identical with
that of the Indians of the more inland parts of the same province, and
as it is impossible to separate it from the ‘“black”’ stone or pebble
industry, the conclusion seems justifiable that they are both the work
of the Indian.

It seems very probable that the natives, the remains of whose
- workshops exist among the médanos, were well acquainted with the

122 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

“white” stone, or quartzite, industry before they began working the
beach pebbles, which, or the flakes from which, were to serve as a
substitute for the stone found farther inland. Finding, however, that
they could not entirely replace the quartzite, they kept on bringing
or importing a limited quantity of that stone and working it up among
the dunes.

Whether the Indians used the “black” flaked pebbles to any
extent as implements is not as yet certain. If used, they were
utilized, in all probability, only locally and not by any of the inland
tribes. The explanation of this appears simple. Inland the pebble
material is absent, while the sources of the quartzite were frequently
nearer. Furthermore, the pebbles were evidently of but secondary
value as raw material, so that there was no incentive for carrying
them to any distance, and they yielded nothing, so far as known,
that would have been of special value for exportation.

We have found, then, on the coast of the Province of Buenos Aires
archeologic remains of but a single culture, with a local phase in
working pebbles; a culture that can be referred to only one period,
though this may have been of some extent, and to only one people,
namely, the Indian of the same province; and this culture can not
possibly be of any great, especially of geologic, antiquity.

The archeologic report by Professor Holmes (p. 125), on the speci-
mens collected, throws further light on this subject.

Notes ON PLayaA AND CAMPo PERALTA
By Barttey Wis

Immediately south of Mar del Plata is a little bay, between Cabo
Corrientes and Punta Porvenir, the shore of which is known asthe Playa
Peralta (pls. 1, 21; also fig. 2). This shore is a slope rising at first
slowly and then more sharply to the gently inclined plain, a part of
which, east of the road that leads to the Punta Mogote lighthouse, is
known as theCampo Peralta. The beach, though composed largely of
sand, is strewn with pebbles of dense black or dark rock, and on the
plain above are many worked stones of the same material. From this
locality were collected a variety of artifacts, which are described by
Doctor Hrdliéka and Professor Holmes. The locality is of interest,
because it was once the site of an industry in implements fashioned
from the pebbles on the beach. Men lived on the gentle slope of the
Campo Peralta. They collected stones from the beach. They car-
ried them to their dwellings, possibly of a temporary nature, and
worked them into shape—all within a distance of 200 or 300 meters.
It is evident that the supply of stones attracted the workers and that
they pitched their workshops where they could most conveniently
reach the strand. The conditions are local. Northward and south-

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 15

ward the coast is more precipitous and the beach is less accessible
from the plain.

This relation between the local slope to the beach and the industry
which was carried on in the immediate vicinity leaves no doubt in the
mind of the writer that the industry is even more recent than the
beach. It has already been stated that the coast is very young.
It is developing, changing rapidly. Its actual features are forming
now and endure but a short time. The industry is younger still.
Several instances were observed of a precise relation between anvil-
stones, and the immediate surface, which could hardly endure a cen-
tury on this slope under the activities of wind erosion that now exist.
There were also other evidences of a relatively recent occupancy of
the place (see pls. 9-11). The writer does not think a century has
passed since the stones referred to were used. —

Notes on Punta PoRVENIR

By BarLey WILLIS

Punta Porvenir is a low point jutting into the Atlantic just south
of Cabo Corrientes and forming part of the extreme eastern projec-
tion of the coast of Buenos Aires. The interest which attaches to the
locality rests in the discovery of worked and unworked stones, which
the writer has not seen, by Doctor Ameghino and his brother Carlos, in
association with the carapace of a glyptodon on the point near the sea.
Doctor Ameghino and his brother both accompanied Doctor Hrdli¢ka
and the writer to the place and pointed out the exact spot, where a
hollow indicated the partly filled, not very large excavation. <A piece
of bone from the massive tail of a glyptodon lay on the surface near
by. Ameghino stated that they had dug a hole to a depth of about a
meter down through the superficial formation to the underlying
Pampean terrane. The latter he styles ‘‘Ensenadean” and the former
‘‘Inter-Ensenadean.’’ His view is that the superficial formation on
the Inter-Ensenadean was deposited during a marine transgression
which took place in the Ensenadean epoch. He places that epoch
in the Pliocene, a reference which the writer regards as probably
correct, and deduces thence the Pliocene age of the Inter-Ensena-
dean and its contained fossils. The writer is obliged to dissent
from this deduction since the Inter-Ensenadean is marked as very
modern by its intimate relation to the recent coast line at every
point where Doctor Ameghino identified it. This relation has been
discussed in connection with the coastal formations, but the occur-
rence on Punta Porvenir requires special description because of the
delicate and temporary adjustment of conditions leading to its
formation.

124 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY | [Bunn 52

The Inter-Ensenadean of Punta Porvenir is a veneer of beach
sand and loess spread over an irregular wind-eroded surface of the
Ensenadean and slightly cemented by carbonates. It is thickest
next the beach and thins to nothing at a distance of 100 to 110 meters
from the beach. It does not extend beyond the reach of spray from
storm waves breaking on the point. It lies on a gentle slope,
from 4 to 6 meters above the sea, on top of the low bluff cut by
the waves in the Ensenadean earth. The face of the bluff is con-
cealed by sand blown from the adjacent beach, and this recent
sand is continuous with and the same as the Inter-Ensenadean-
Both sand and loess have accumulated, though from opposite
directions, on the gentle slope to form the Inter-Ensenadean, the
sand being blown from the beach, the loess from the bare surface
of the Ensenadean that is exposed between the Inter-Ensenadean
and the grass-grown plain still higher up. The sand gathers there
because there is an eddy or lee on top of the bluff, when the
wind blows from the sea. The wind sweeps up the steep face of
the bluff, and being directed upward, does not blow directly across
the gentle slope that tops the bluff. Sand is blown from the
beach against the face of the bluff and accumulates there till a slope
of equilibrium is reached, on which a wind can carry it up to the top.
It then drops in the wind eddy on the slope. There is a certain sort-
ing; black sand, being heavy, remains in larger proportion, whereas
white sand, being lighter, is blown away in larger amount. Hence
the black sand is more evident in the Inter-Ensenadean. Its
presence is a characteristic by which Ameghino identified that for-
mation in repeated instances on Punta Porvenir and elsewhere.
It is a common constituent of the modern beach sands, which are
partly derived from volcanic rocks of northern Patagonia and other
districts to the south.

The loess which gathers to form part of the Inter-Ensenadean is
caught in hollows or is held by moisture. It is blown off of the dry
surface of the Ensenadean by land winds and lodges on any moist
surface. This process was observed at Miramar on the plain close to
the sea. The uneven surface had dried unequally and dust, blown
into hollows where moisture lingered, was moistened and held. The
moisture had evaporated from deposits made in a similar manner
a few days or weeks previously, and they were slightly cemented.
They contained specks of black sand and were identified by Doctor
Ameghino as Inter-Ensenadean. On Punta Porvenir the Inter-
Ensenadean is of the same character—a cemented mixture of loess
and sand deposited in the zone reached by spray from the sea. It is”
thicker and more firmly cemented than the similar accumulations now
forming at Miramar and the mass of it is doubtless older. Lying on

HRPLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 125

one of the most exposed points on the coast, its seaward edge is liable
to erosion by Atlantic waves, while its landward margin is extended
inland as far as the sand and spray are blown together. Thus it is
a transient formation that may last a few score years or so, but can
not endure lenger than the strand by which it is conditioned.

The glyptodon found in this Inter-Ensenadean is said to be char-
acteristic of the underlying Ensenadean and to be of Pliocene age.
If so, it is certainly older than the formation in which it was found,
and may be regarded as weathered out and buried again. The
writer questions, however, the extinction of this species in Pliocene
time. The fact that it has been found in the eolian drift of the Arroyo
Siasgo, which may be Pleistocene, but not older, and in this very
recent coastal formation, suggests that the species may have ranged
down into the Recent epoch.

STONE IMPLEMENTS OF THE ARGENTINE LITTORAL!
By W. H. Hotmes

The archeologic collections made by Doctor Hrdlitka, with the aid
of Mr. Willis, during their researches in Argentina, comprise numerous
articles of stone, a limited number of fragments of pottery, some
worked beads of shell, and a single bead of stone (turquoise). All of
these specimens were derived from surface sites distributed along the
coast between Mar del Plata on the northeast and the Rio Negro on
the southwest, a distance of nearly 400 miles.

In previous sections Doctor Hrdli¢ka and Mr. Willis have presented
all necessary details with respect to distribution and manner of occur-
rence of the various classes of stone implements, and it remains for
the writer to describe and illustrate the implements themselves and
draw from their study such conclusions with regard to origin, manu-
facture, use, ethnologic significance, and chronology as may be sug-
gested.

There are about 1,500 specimens in the collection, which in their
general aspect suggest a primitive culture comparable with that of the
tribes in possession of the regionin the recent past, a culture correspond-
ing somewhat closely in grade with that of the numerous tribes of the
middle Atlantic coast of North America on the arrival of the English.

The implements, under which head are embraced all artificial
objects that bear evidence of design, include the following varieties:
Mortars, pestles, mullers, grooved hammers, discoidal hammers,
pitted hammers, anvil-stones, bolas-stones, projectile points, knives,
serapers, axes, drills, and unspecialized blades. Associated with

1 No attempt is made in these notes to consider or weigh the published data relating to the stone imple-
ments of Argentina. The collections at hand are classified and briefly described, and such conclusions are
drawn as seem warranted by their character and manner of occurrence.

126 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

these, on the sites, were fragments, chips,'! broken and imperfectly
shaped forms, nuclei, and other refuse of manufacture, selections from
which are included in the collections.

It is a noteworthy fact that, with the exception of a single turquoise
bead from Miramar and a few shell beads from the Rio Negro, there
are no ornaments; neither are there any articles that could safely be
attributed to fiducial or ceremonial use. This would seem to indicate
a people or peoples of simple manners and customs, little given to
religious practices and poor in the arts that grow out of religious
symbolism. It is probable, however, that the coastal districts were
sparsely occupied, except by roving bands which hunted deer, ostrich,
etc., on the land, and the seal along the shore, and gathered supplies
of water-worn stones found along the beach, for the manufacture of
implements.

It is convenient for purposes of description to arrange the objects
in two geographic groups, those to the north obtained between Mar
del Plata and Bahia Blanca, the principal localities being Mar del
Plata, Miramar, Monte Hermoso, Arroyo del Moro, and Necochea,
and those to the south of Bahia Blanca, gathered mainly from sites
in the valley of the Rio Negro. This treatment has the advantage of
making convenient a comparison of the art of the northern area with
that of the southern, the differences being somewhat decidedly marked
and possibly ethnologically significant.

NORTHERN GROUP
User or Bracu PEBBLES

The seashore between Mar del Plata and Bahia Blanca furnishes
in certain localities a liberal supply of beach pebbles of jasper,
quartzite, and other fine-grained and generally black or dark-colored
materials. These pebbles are mostly of small size, although occasional
larger specimens weigh a pound or more. Since the surrounding
region is poor in materials suitable for the shaping of small chipped
implements, these pebbles were much sought after by the natives, the
evidence of this fact occurring at a number of points. The principal
shaping work consisted in fracturing the pebbles by blows with a
hammer-stone, delivered generally at one end of the pebble, the other
resting on a larger stone, conveniently called the anvil-stone. The
anvil-stones are of various shapes and sizes, being merely suitable
pieces of local rock—quartzite, sandstones, and limestone (tosca)
utilized for the purpose. They are characterized by irregular, ragged
surface pittings, the result, it is believed, of the impact of the pebbles

1 Usage with regard to the terms chip, flake, spall, and teshoa is not well established, but, in order to avoid

confusion in this paper, flake is employed as a generic term; chip applies to the smaller flakes; teshoa to large
flakes, struck from bowlders or pebbles; and spall to large flakes derived from inchoate masses of stone.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 127

under treatment (fig. 3). Some of the smaller of these scarred
stones are flattened on one face by use as grinding stones or mullers,
while others, as indi-

cated by the scarred ff
edges or peripheries, fhe
were employed on ff tr Nes aS

. h me ty oS KE BN
occasion as hammers, PS
as illustrated in fig- pee

dri ea

ure 4.
Numeroushammer-
stones were found on
the sites examined
and many of these
doubtless pertain to
the pebble-fracturing
work. This is indi-
cated not only by the
shape and_ surface
markings but by their
close association with
the anvils and the re-
fuse of pebble-work-
ing. In form they are cylindrical, discoidal, globular, ovoid, and
irregular. Nearly all are quartzite bowlders of suitable proportions

or are made of that mate-
.. rial rudely chipped into
| iy a

Fic. 3. Anviloflimestone. (i actual size.) Mar del Plata.

desired shape. Some are
battered at the ends merely
(fig. 5) while others are
pitted centrally on the
broad faces and battered

<a on and scarred on the ends,

aN il lateral margin, or periphery

ae A (figs. 6-8). The scarring

“id tA of the broad faces may be

V A in cases the result of use

PNG Fi as anvils. It is worthy of

4 ‘i q ui special note that some of

ie ANS Sil i ) the flatter hammers have

was! i i: Mi f wy been used as_ rubbing
ei Mi LL Ui, stones or mullers.

Fie. 4. Anvyil-stone of quartzite.
Mogote.

G actual aaa Punta

Certain discoidal exam-
ples have beveled periph-

eries and these and others (figs. 9-12,) are identical with the stone-

working hammers of North America.

All the above-described forms

128 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

were used unhafted. Certain others are grooved roughly or in neat
fashion and were probably not employed in the stone-shaping work.
They were hafted and, it may reasonably be assumed, served some
domestic purpose or on occasion for war and the chase. Examples
are presented in figs. 13, 14.

Fic. 5. Bowlder hammer of felsite, with Fic. 6. Hammer of felsite, with battered ends and

battered ends. (4 actual size.) Mira- pitted sides. (4 actual size.) Necochea.
mar.

Associated with the hammers and anvils scattered liberally over
the surface of the sites near the beach, as described by Doctor
Hrdliéka, are the fractured pebbles and the implements and flakage
made or derived from them.

ea =
—————— = >
———— PSS

Fea
Sree

Fic. 7. Hammerof quartzite, with pitted facesand battered Fic.8. Hammer of quartzite, with deep-
end and sides. (i actual size.) Campo Peralta. ly scarred and pitted faces. (4 actual
size.) Mar del Plata.

The processes employed in fracturing the pebbles have been quite
simple. It appears that although the free-hand stroke may have
been in common use for other kinds of stone-shaping work, as indi-
cated by the occurrence of hammers of the type commonly employed
in free-hand flaking and pecking (figs. 10-12), the pebbles, held usu-
ally between the fingers and thumb of one hand, were set one end

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 129

upon the anvil-stone while the other end was struck sharp blows
with the hammer. As a result the ends of the pebbles were split or

inl 4 \\\
Rea
SeoaT hb \ eur td
ae
\

At
NX

Nia
Za

val

he
AY ae
ra rh “4,
; {is
AW
it

a ao.

Fic. 9. Discoidal pitted hammer of quartzite, Fic.10. Hammer made of a felsite bowlder, with
with beveled periphery. (3 actual size.) pitted sides. (4 actual size.) Necochea.

splintered or flakes were driven off. In some cases the blows were
continued until the ends of the pebbles became quite battered and it

MW Ay)
Neen
liegt
Wd
yi

> a! Hie) I,
Ne

WN 1-4 i y A
op
S72

Fie.11. Chipped quartzite hammer, with battered Fic. 12. Small hammer of greenish fel-
periphery. (4actualsize.) Mar del Plata, site. (4 actualsize.) Necochea.

is difficult to say always whether the strokes were repeated in the
attempt to drive off other flakes or to reduce the ends of the pebble

to adesired shape. It
is seen that in numer-

ous cases, as a result oS
ss G PRS rie aN
of the removal of sh eal

Fikes! = . Ii) ~ is
flakes, one or bothends * May
acquired a somewhat MI
ragged edge which
was squarish or slight-
ly rounded in or

notched, giving to the

oF >
ipo
Zy «.

D <=
Hpi 2
< Les

object, when bothends XK
were so flaked, a fic.13. Roughly grooved hammer of quartzite. (}acttial size.)
shuttle - like outline eat cel

(fig. 15). In figure 16 two examples are shown, the first chipped at
both ends and having the shuttle form and the second a very small
21535°—Bull. 52—12 9

130 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

~

specimen chipped at one end only. Nearly one-third of the worked
pebbles are chipped thus at one end only. Occasionally examples are
more elaborately worked, the fracturing having been continued until
the original surface of the pebble
was nearly or wholly removed, the
resulting form being in cases thin
and somewhat rectangular in out-
lines (fig. 17) and again entirely
irregular.

It is worthy of note that very
few of the pebbles were chipped
by strokes on the long margin
(fig. 18), this fact making it plain that the long side was not gener-
ally or even frequently intended to be elaborated as the edge of an
implement, as was usual in many sections; it is equally plain that

mer of sand-
stone. (actual size.) Punta Mogote.

Fic. 15. Quartzite pebbles chipped at both ends, having a shuttle-like
outline. (4 actual size.) Campo Peralta.
flakes, if these were the object of the work, derived from the sides
were either difficult to make or on account of size, or shape, unsuited
for the purpose of the flaker.

Fic. 16. Small jasper pebbles, one chipped Fic.17. Pebbles chipped into subrectangular forms.
at both ends and the other at one end (2 actual size.) a, Jasper (Campo Peralta). 6b, Felsite
only. * (4 actual size.) Campo Peralta. (Miramar).

It is observed that the pebbles selected for chipping were usually
oblong and flattish in form, these being chosen, undoubtedly, because

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST P31

they yielded the requisite result more readily than any other. Again,
it is equally plain that the stroke on the end was expected to produce
a particular kind of result and two results only could have been
desired or anticipated: (1) the making of flattish, round, or oblong
sharp-edged flakes of the teshoa' type (fig. 22, b) for use of the cutting
edge or for elaboration by secondary chipping; (2) the shaping of
one or both ends of the body of
the pebble for use as an imple-
ment. We are therefore called
upon to determine whether one
or both of these results were
actually utilized and in what
way.

That there was a definite pur-
pese in view for the flakes made Fic. 18. Jasper pebbles chipped irregularly from
seems practically certain. Split _ the side. (+ actual size.) a (Campo Peralta).
pebbles and especially large ° Neco):
teshoa flakes were almost universally employed by primitive peoples
for cutting and scraping as well as for elaboration into projectile
points and otherimplements. Perhaps the most universally employed
stone implement of Argentina is the plano-convex knife blade or
scraper, the simplest and most readily made type of which is the
teshoa flake. An examination of the flaked pebbles—the nuclei—
collected on the shore-land sites, shows that most of the flakes
driven off were quite small, but that many were large enough for

Aa NN
.
Y)

Ni |

Fic. 19. Flakes from black jasper pebbles specialized for use as knives
or scrapers. (3 actual size.) Necochea.

use as knives and scrapers is shown by the presence in the collection
of a dozen or more specimens which have been specialized by remov-
ing, probably with a pressure implement, a number of small chips
from one margin of the convex face to make the cutting edge more
stable and effective (fig. 19). Others by more abrupt chipping were
especially fitted for use as scrapers, while many others, both large
and small, probably served for cutting and scraping without secondary

1 This form of flake was found by Dr. Joseph Leidy, of the Hayden Geological Survey, in common use
among the Shoshoni Indians of Wyoming for scraping skins and is thus conveniently referred to by its
Shoshoni name.

its 4 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

chipping. No one can estimate the number of these flakes that were
carried away for use elsewhere. The flakes thus utilized were usually
substantial portions of the pebble, having a body of considerable
strength and one keenly incisive edge. The relation of the half
pebble to the several varieties of flakes will be understood by an
examination of figure 20. When split into approximate halves as
indicated in a, the pebble yields two potential implements, but
generally with thick margins, not particularly well suited to any
purpose without further elaboration. The well-proportioned teshoa
flake 6 has on the other hand a rounded margin at the top and a thin
incisive margin below, well suited for immediate use for cutting or
scraping.

It may be remarked that comparatively few of the specialized
flakes are found in our collections, but if they were really the designed
product of the chipping work, they would not have been left, except

’
‘

‘
'
U
y

‘ ry
- ‘ ’
' 4 ’
‘ ' Vv
a b c

Fie. 20. The several formsof flakes. a, Splitpebble. b, Large teshoa flake. c, Small flakes or chips.

incidentally, on these sites, but would have been carried away to the
permanent dwelling places for utilization in the practice of the primi-
tive tribal arts. No form of pebble other than the long flattish one
would yield suitable flakes so readily and no other process would be
more effective in producing these flakes than that employing the
hammer and anvil.

As a result of the above considerations, it is manifest that the
larger flakes made on these sites were much utilized, and it remains
to consider the possible utilization of the remaining portions of the
pebbles.

The pebbles from which the flakes were detached by strokes of the
hammer—the nuclei—took certain shapes already described and
fully illustrated in figures 15-17. The questions of their purpose,
if they represent a purpose, and their use, if they were really intended
to be used, require particular attention.

There can be no doubt that these pebble nuclei occur on sites where
the pebbles were collected and worked by a Stone-age people. The

®

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 133

presence of the hammers, anvils, and flakes make this entirely clear.
That they were left on these sites in large numbers is attested by the
many examples obtained by collectors. No one will claim that these
sites along the arid seashore were very largely occupied for dwelling
or for any industrial purpose other than that of making stone imple-
ments and it is safe to conclude that if the pebble nuclei were used
at all, it was in the stone-shaping work, but we are entirely at a loss
to imagine how these could have served in shaping any of the known
implements of the Argentine coast.

That these flaked pebbles were not intended to be held in the hand
as hatchets, chisels, or scrapers, is apparent from the fact that a
majority of them are fractured at both ends and are so uneven as to
injure the hand if thus used. The fact that all are not fractured at
both ends signifies nothing more than that the fracturing blow or
blows took effect at one end of the pebble only instead of at both as
was more usual. Their shapes do not indicate in any way that they
were intended for hafting, although hafting after the manner of
hatchets, scrapers, or knives would not be difficult, either by setting
them in a socket in a handle of wood or bone, or by fastening the
haft about the middle by means of thongs; but there is no reason
for assuming their utilization in any of these ways.

In advancing any theory of a possible purpose or use for these
objects, we are met by the significant fact that they were left in large
numbers on the sites of manufacture, whereas if intended for use
they would not have been left but rather would have been distributed
far and wide, especially to the sites of permanent dwellings in the
vicinity of a fresh-water supply. That they have no particular
adaptation for use is made apparent by an examination of the flaked
ends, which are notched and bruised from the hammer blows and
are rarely so even-edged as to fit them for cutting and scraping. The
strongest claim they have to serious consideration is that in cases
the flaked ends present an appearance of wear as if from use. This
appearance is limited to a blunting or rounding of some of the frac-
tured ends; but a close inspection shows that this result is such as
might be produced and in all probability was produced by the repeated
blows of the hammer in attempts to detach desirable flakes. That
these chipped pebbles were occasionally devoted incidentally to some
purpose to which they happened to be adapted is probable, but the
claim that they were designed for any particular use can not be
substantiated.

The facts that they were left on the sites of manufacture, that they
show no clear adaptation to any particular use, that they present no
certain evidence of having been used, that they show no trace of
specialization beyond that produced by the direct blows of the
hammer on the ends, and that the flakes made from them were used

134 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY {Bone 2

for most important and constant needs, tend to show in no uncertain
manner that they were merely the rejectage of flake-making cast
aside as of no particular value.

Feeling that the settlement of the questions here raised is of con-
siderable interest and importance, the writer undertook certain
experiments in pebble-working, the results of which are instructive.
A large number of pebbles of the same general form as those used on
the Argentine coast were gathered from gravel banks in the suburbs
of Washington and subjected to tests which were, however, not
altogether satisfactory for the reason that the pebbles were of quartz,
most of them much flawed, or of quartzite, often tough, coarse-
grained, and partially disintegrated. They were much more difficult
to flake than the more homogeneous and fine-grained pebbles of the
Argentine sites.

a b

Fig. 21. The principal percussive methods of stone flaking. a, The anvil method. b, The free
hand method.

Proceeding on the theory, well supported by the facts just recited,
that the principal object of the chipping work on the shore-land sites
was the making of flakes suitable for knives, scrapers, and projectile
points, and recognizing no other ideal toward which the aboriginal
work could have been directed, effort was confined entirely to the
production of such flakes. The pebble, held firmly between the
thumb and fingers of the left hand, was set vertically on the anvil-
stone and struck sharp blows with the hammer held in the right
hand (fig. 21). This process was in occasional if not very common
use among numerous North American tribes, the free-hand method (b)
being more generally employed. These processes are almost equally
effective in the making of simple flakes, but the former is effective in
the work of crude primary fracture only, while the latter is capable of
carrying forward a considerable degree of specialization of the imple-

»

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 135d

ment forms. The result of the hammer stroke varied with the
strength of the blow, the character of the pebble material, and the
degree of hardness of the anvil-stone. The first stroke, if strong,
shattered the pebble, split it into nearly equal parts, or removed
flakes from one or both faces. When the anvil was of hard stone,
the lower end of the pebble was also fractured, yielding flakes identi-
cal with those produced by the direct impact of the hammer. When
the pebble was of tough or refractory material, several strokes were
often delivered and with increasing vigor before even a single flake
of moderate size was driven off. Continuation of the effort was
encouraged by the fact that satisfactory flakes were often secured
after the end of the pebble had become well battered. When it
became apparent that further effort must be futile, the mutilated
pebble was abandoned as mere waste. But whether good flakes were
secured or not, the ends of the pebble under the hammer took forms
entirely familiar to the student of the Argentine artifacts. In many

--— -
meee =~

=

a b c

Fic. 22. Adventitious origin of the crescentic edge and the gouge shape of the pebble nucleus.
a, The arrow point indicates the direction of the hammer blow. b, The flake removed and the
slightly hollow bed left. c, The result of additional blows on the upper end of the pebble.

cases the fractured ends developed an incipient, yet purely adven-
titious, edge which was often bruised and dulled in such a way as to
present the appearance of wear from use in some kind of manual
operation.

Furthermore, it should not escape attention that the hollowed
out, gougelike edge which appears in many cases and is interpreted
by some to be the result of design, is purely adventitious. This is
proved by the experiments made. The hammer stroke on the end
of the pebble removes a flake from one face, leaving a slightly con-
cave bed, which is deeper at the point of percussion (fig. 22, a), and
a crescentic edge (fig. 22, 6). A few additional strokes, designed to
remove flakes from the other face of the pebble nucleus, bruises this
edge and possibly removes small chips, giving the appearance of
wear in use, and at the same time often deepens the notch, as shown
atc. Proof that this nucleus is an implement showing design and

136 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

traces of use is thus entirely wanting. The fact that the pebble was
nearly always an oblong one and flaked from the end has been used
to support the view that the fractured end was intended to be used
for cutting, scraping, or some like purpose. The experiments,
made, however, with a view to settling this point show that it is

c d

Fic. 23. Examples of flaked pebbles from Argentina and District of Columbia. a, Pebble nucleus
of fine-grained stone from the Argentine coast, from which two teshoa flakes were struck by the
ancient workmen. b, Coarse-grained Potomac pebble nucleus from which flakes were struck by
the author with two blows. c¢, The flakes restored to their place on the nucleus. d, The several
flakes separated from the nucleus.

more difficult to strike off a well-proportioned flake from the side
than from the end of a pebble. Besides, a stroke having enough
force to remove a large flake from the long margin of a pebble usually
resulted in cross-fracture and failure. In fact, all the features of

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 12

(Actual size)

PEBBLE NUCLEI

Forms resulting from attempts to produce flakes of a size suitable for use as implements: ), c, d, i, j,
from the Hrdli¢éka Argentine collection; a, e, f, 9, h, k, made by W. H. Holmes from Washington
pebbles.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 137

the so-called pebble implements of the Argentine coastal sites—the
chisel and shuttlelike shapes, the notched and curved edge and the
appearance of wear from use—are exactly duplicated in the forms
produced by these experiments.

As a result of his experiments, the writer is confirmed in the view
that the hammer-anvil work was aimed at the production of the
plano-convex flakes intended for use, unspecialized or specialized

Fia. 24, Chipped implements of black jaspers Fia, 25, Spikelike forms of black jasper
(4 actual size.) a, Leaf-shaped blade (Arroyo pebble derivation, possibly rejects from
Corrientes). b, Rude blade, probably a reject arrow-making. (4 actual size.) a, Mi-
from arrow-making (Necochea), ramar, b, Necochea,

as knives or scrapers, or for elaboration into other forms of imple-
ments, and that the body of the pebble, the nucleus, was not in-
tended as an implement at all, and was never used as such, unless
incidentally. Experiment ean hardly fail to convince the most
skeptical of the correctness of this view. Examples of the forms
resulting from the experimental work are included in plate 12 in
association with specimens of like genesis left by the ancient inhab-
itants of the Argentine coast.
Figure 23 is intended to illus-
trate further the pebble-frac-
-turing work. In awe have a
pebble nucleus from the Ar-
gentine coast from which two
flakes have been removed by
one, or at most, two strokes
of the hammer. These flakes
were of the teshoa type and ie. 26. scrapers of jasper. (}actualsize.) a, Duck-
doubtless served some useful bill scraper of brown jasper (Necochea), b, Flat
scraper of olive jasper (Monte Hermoso),

purpose for the maker, Forms

b and ¢ represent a Potomac pebble of similar shape which shows
the result of two experimental blows with the hammer. In 6 the
flakes have been removed. In ¢ they are replaced, and in d they
are separately shown. It may be added here that the hammer-
stones and anvil-stones used in the experimental work described
above display, as the result of the fracturing work, markings iden-

138 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

tical with those of the corresponding implements of the Argentine
collection.

It is observed that the ancient pebble workers of the Argentine
coast rarely aimed to make the ordinary leaf blade from the body
of the pebble, as was the usual practice with primitive pebble workers
elsewhere in roughing out projectile points and knives. Between
Mar del Plata and Bahia Blanca only a single well-finished, pressure-
chipped blade of ordinary leaf-shape type, made probably from a
large pebble flake (fig. 24, a) was obtained by Doctor Hrdliéka. It
may have been designed as an arrowhead, the trimming and notch-
ing being incomplete. Another specimen, from Necochea, is slightly
worked on both sides apparently by free-hand percussion, but it
was probably discarded unfinished on account of the development
of a high irregular hump on one face (fig. 24, D).

A few spikelike forms, closely related to the preceding, made
from black pebble flakes, and specialized by rather irregular chipping
on both margins of the convex face and remaining flat on the other,
occur in the collection (fig. 25).

The collection of pebble-derived implements contains also an
example of the duck-bill scraper made of a flake of brown jasper. It
was picked up by Doctor Hrdlitka, at Necochea (fig. 26,a). Asecond
scraper of olive jasper, of related but less typicalform, was found by
the expedition, at Monte Hermoso (fig. 26, 6).

It would appear from the foregoing examinations and experiments
that the pebble workers employed anvil-stones and plain and pitted
hammer-stones as well as pressure implements (probably of bone), in
the shaping work and that the forms made include four varieties of
implements; the teshoa blade either unmodified or sharpened by
flaking on one or both margins; the spikelike form with flat under
surface and high back; the duck-bill scraper; and the leaf-shaped
blade worked on both faces. According to the evidence as interpreted
by Hrdlitka and Willis, the same people which shaped and used these
implements used also the mortars, pestles, mullers, grooved ham-
mers, bolas-stones, and pottery, as well as the quartzite implements
yet to be described, found on the same sites.

The use of the dark shore pebbles and the implements made from
them, as exemplified by the Hrdlitka-Willis collection, extended
from Mar del Plata to below Viedma, a distance along the coast, as ~
already mentioned, of approximately 400 miles. It may be observed
here that identical archeologic conditions continue along the Argentine
coast to the north of Mar del Plata and along the coast of Uruguay.
Explorations having been confined in the main to coast localities,
the collection throws but little light on the distribution inland of these
artifacts. However, one of the black worked pebbles was collected
on the beach of the Laguna de los Padres, about ten miles inland.

wRpLIéka] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 139

CHIPPED WHITE QUARTZITES

The collection embraces many hundreds of chipped articles, flakes,
and fragments made of a fine-grained, light-colored, somewhat glassy
quartzite, a material not found along the coast, but obtained presum-
ably from outcrops in the hills to the west. Occasionally small masses,
apparently nuclei from which fragments and flakes have been broken
off, are encountered along the coast, and one specimen of this kind

Z

Zoo Ze SY: Na \
VG i ( Nl ( Wi
ran “(77 it

(aR

Fig. 27. Nucleus of quartzite from which flakes have Fig. 28. Arrow points of quartzite.
been removed. (+ actual size.) Campo Peralta. (4 actual size.) Campo Peralta.

weighing several pounds was brought away by Doctor Hrdli¢ka (fig. 27).
These quartzite objects occur invariably in intimate association with
the dark-pebble implements on the shore-land sites. They include
arrowheads, duck-bill scrapers, flat-faced (plano-convex) blades, and
spike- or drill-like forms, as well as numerous fragments and flakes—

Fic. 29. Quartzite scrapers of duck-bill type. a, b, c, Campo Peralta. d, Necochea.

the refuse of local chipping. Examples are illustrated in the accom-
panying figures. The arrowheads are few in number and of ordinary
types (fig. 28). The numerous scrapers, characterized by abruptly
beveled edges, or more properly, ends (fig. 29), are identical with the
scrapers used by the tribes south of Bahia Blanca as well as by many
other tribes in both South and North America. They were prob-

140

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

(Buu, 52

ably hafted much as are the scrapers of the Tehuelche of to-day

(fig. 30).

fii ), rig

Fie. 30. a, Hafted Tehuelche scraper of
duck-bill type, made of green bottle
glass. (4 actual size.) Hatcher col-
lection (southern Patagonia). b, The
scraper removed from the handle for
comparison with the ancient types.
The strong curve was imposed by the
curve of the glass fragment.

A number of blades, flat on one face
and in cases handsomely chipped on
the other, are especially noteworthy and
may have served either as knives or as
scrapers. As a rule, one of the edges is
more decidedly curved outward than
the other and more carefully worked, as
seen in the illustrations (fig. 31).

These wide blades (see pl. 14), which
appear to occur throughout the pampas
region and down to southern Patagonia
(Hatcher collection), grade into narrower
plano-convex forms, the chipped face
being decidedly arched or ridged (fig.
32, a), and these pass into spikelike
forms (fig. 32, 6), which may in cases
be rude or abortive projectile points.
However, all of these could have served
as scrapers while the more slender forms
could have been used as drills.

It is a noteworthy fact that the entire
series of white quartzite artifacts, up-
ward of 400 in number, contains only a
dozen specimens chipped on both faces.
Only two of the dark-pebble artifacts
out of many hundreds of specimens are
thus chipped. The dissimilarities be-
tween the white quartzite and the coast-
pebble work referred to above may be
interpreted by some as indicating differ-
ences in the people concerned, or widely
separated periods of occupation, yet it
should not be forgotten that the form
and nature of the two kinds of raw ma-
terial are so unlike as to account for
somewhat marked dissimilarities, both
in processes and in forms made, even if
utilized by the same people at the same
period.

DOMESTIC UTENSILS

Evidences of more or less sedentary occupancy of the coastal region
are found in the presence on the various sites, of articles of domestic

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 141

use, as mortars, pestles, mullers, and hammer-stones, in intimate asso-
ciation with the dark-colored and the light-colored stone implements

described above, made of
‘local materials, chiefly
quartzite and sandstone.
Their form in cases is so
highly specialized and
typical as to enable us to
say with confidence that
the makers were well ad-
vanced in the arts of bar-
barian life, and no good

reason appears in

manner of their occur-
rence or in the specimens
themselves for assuming
that all do not pertain to
.the same or to kindred
peoples and to the same or
approximately the same
time. Hammers or club-
heads, which may have
served in the domestic
arts or in war and the
chase are illustrated in
figures 13 and 14. Two
mortars, one a_ block of
quartzite with a shallow
depression in the upper

the

size. )

: LOL $f
S2— EAA Cig
S SS SB 5
Ss EY EZ
SSS = ZZ Z

Fig. 31. Plano-conyex blades of white quartzite, showing the

carefully chipped convex faces and the profiles. (4 actual
Campo Peralta. a, Neatly chipped and thin. b,
High back and of reject type. c, Curved edge carefully
chipped. d, Both edges carefully chipped.

surface and the other a large fragment of the same stone with a
deeper depression, are included in the collection. A muller or muller-

a

Fic. 32. a, Narrow high-backed blade of quartz-

ite. (4 actual size.) Laguna Malacara. 5},

Spikelike form of quartzite.
Playa Peralta.

(4 actual size.)

pestle of remarkable proportions is
shown in figure 33; this is a sym-
metrical, well-finished slab of gritty
sandstone 204 inches long, 7} inches
wide at the widest part, and 13
inches thick. The flat faces, toward
the middle, are somewhat smoothed
by use. The feature that distin-
guishes this from kindred utensils
is the narrowing to a point at one
end. Another specimen of similar
type, but smaller, isrepresented by a
largefragment. A cylindrical pestle

with a tapering top, made of the same stone as the above, is shown in
figure 34; this is 7} inches long and 3 inches in diameter and is

142 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

smoothed at the larger end by use. Three other pestles somewhat
pointed at both ends are slightly flattened on one side by use as
mullers. One rectangular muller with rounded corners and margins,
52 inches long, 34 inches wide, and
21 inches thick, made of quartzite,
is smoothed and flattened on one
face by use.

SOUTHERN GROUP—RIO NEGRO
DISTRICT

The collections made by Doctor
Hrdlitka in the southern area,
principally on sites about the
mouth of the Rio Negro, number
several hundred objects, including
mortars, pestles, mullers, anvils,
hammers, bolas-stones, and an ex-
tensive series of chipped imple-
ments, unfinished chipped forms,
and the refuse of chipping opera-
tions. The larger implements,
chiefly domestic utensils, are much
like corresponding varieties to the
ule ginal ene xoep Roma north of Bahia Blanca. The well-

size and shape. (+ actual size.) Campo Pe’ specialized mortars, pestles, and

rele: mullers were shaped by the pecking-
abrading processes from masses of quartzite and sandstone. Excel-
lent examples of mortars made of sandstone are shown in figure 35.
The numerous mullers are well-shaped and finished and range in
form from discoidal to subrectangular outlines. Two
specimens are illustrated in figure 36, a, 6. A cigar-
shaped pestle made of quartzite, 15 inches in length
and 24 inches in diameter at the middle part, is shown
in figure 37,a. It tapers gradually from the middle
to the rounded points. The surface, which has been
finished by pecking, is somewhat smoothed by use
toward the ends. A second specimen, made of sand-
stone, 16 inches in length, is unsymmetric in shape
and appears to be unfinished. It is larger at the lower Sie Ba od
end and tapers somewhat irregularly to a rounded — (; actual size.)
point at the top. The fragment of a third pestle "9 *%
is shown in figure 37, 0.

An exceptional specimen is the broad blade of an axlike imple-
ment, the upper portion or poll of which has been lost. It is made

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 143

of sandstone, the surface being rather unevenly ground off. An
engraved design appears on the lower part of the blade, as shown in
figure 38. Axes of this general type prevail over a wide area in
South America and extend even into the West Indies. The rather
dull edge bears slight traces of use, but the presence of the orna-
mental figure suggests employment in some ceremonial office.

meet

“eS

sul} 7
a Me Be ps ati 1M Nee

. Vn

“ /y aes 2

air hf A

aw “
SS

CLE 0 crsty AN ‘|
cs “ai hil
ae ‘ I ‘it 1,

SS &: 4 jit. ‘all ylid

NY ll Au Hi nel iy
nf

(Oe re ated \ i
Cail ties eer oat i. i
We vans is y
Re. & ani it ie ii)
AQ AG in
Fic. 35. Mortars of sandstone. (4 actual size.) a, San Blas district. 6, Viedma.

There is a noteworthy scarcity of chipped pebbles of the type
found in so great abundance up the coast, but this is probably due
in large part to the fact that the district does not furnish the variety
of pebbles so much sought and used in the north. Half a dozen
anvil-fractured specimens were found near Viedma and 4 miles
south of that place were collected on a site occupied in recent times
by the natives, two pitted and scarred hammer-anvils, one of which
has been used as a muller (fig. 39). The white quartzite of the north

Fic. 36. Mullers. (} actual size.) a, Granite, well polished. (Viedma.) 6b, Sandstone. (San Blas
District.)

is absent. The chipped forms are distinct in a number of respects
from both the pebble and the white quartzite implements of the north-
ern area. They consist of projectile points, knives, drills, and
scrapers, together with unspecialized leaf-shaped blades and the
rejectage of blade-making. The material was obtained in the main
from rather large water-worn pieces of jasper and other free-fracturing
rocks and was rough-shaped by free-hand percussion with a hammer-

144 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

stone and finished with a pressure implement. Practically all of
the well-developed forms are of leaf-blade genesis, specialization having
taken different directions according to the implement to be made.
The few scrapers were made from flakes of
proximate shape and correspond closely in
type with the duck-bill scrapers of the white
quartzite and pebble groups. The plano-
convex knife-blades and the spikelike forms
so common in the white quartzite and shore-
pebble groups are of rare occurrence. Incip-
ient blades unfinished or rejected because of
imperfect fracture, of which there are numer-
ous examples, are shown in figure 40, and
a series of forms illustrating the relation of
the first step in the shaping work to the more
finished and specialized forms is given in figure ~
41. The ruder specimens are sometimes re-
ferred to as ‘‘paleolithic,”’ but without other
reason than that they are not well-finished.
It is not assumed that the final form in this
series is the only one that may have been
employed as an implement, but the lack of

a b specialization or careful finish of point or edge
Fic. 37. Pestles. (+ actual in the ruder forms supports the assumption
size.) a, Quartzite pestle of c C
cigar shape (San Blas Dis that these were not finished implements.
trict). b, Sandstone pestle, A representative series of the arrowheads

fragment (San Blas District).

appears in plate 13 and a typical drill-point
or awl is shown in figure 42.

To the North American student the most striking characteristic of
these flaked forms is their remarkable
analogy with North American types.
The entire coliection from the Rio
Negro could be thrown together with
corresponding collections from Ari-
zona, Georgia, or New Jersey with the
practical certainty that the student
would be unable to separate more than
a few of the specimens of the several
regions.

ingengraved design (actualsize.) Pu-
erto San Blas.

ETHNIC BEARING

A study of the lithic art of the region under consideration brings
into prominence the fact that three groups of chipped artifacts, pre-
senting certain noteworthy resemblances and differences, are repre-
sented. These groups are the hammer-anvil worked pebbles of the

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 13

(# actual size)

ARROWHEADS OF JASPER AND AGATE

From the vicinity of San P’as.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 145

coastwise sites and the several specialized varieties of implements of
pebble origin belonging with them; the chipped white quartzites of
the same localities; and the chipped artifacts of the southern or Rio
Negro area. In addition there are the various pecked-abraded
domestic utensils and weapons apparently common to the entire
region examined. The question is necessarily raised as to whether

———-
—

—

—= :
—

= =
——

Uf:
WZ

more than one people is represented and the archeologist is called on
to point out the bearing of the evidence.

It may be said that in any area occupied by primitive peoples
having a range as great as 400 miles in length of coastal territory, it
is to be expected that more than one tribe, possibly more than one
linguistic stock, would be found, even at one and the same period.
In California a dozen stocks occupy a like extent of coast at the
present day. The culture of such contemporaneous tribes is not
necessarily identi-
cal, but on thecon-
trary is often de-
cidedly unlike, and
it does not seem
unreasonable — to
suppose that sepa-
rate tribes prac-
ticing forms of art

Fic. 40, Leaf-shaped blades of brown jasper, probably rejectsof manu. jy chipped stone
facture. (i actual size.) San Blas.

as distinctive as
those enumerated above should have occupied the middle coastal
region of Argentina at one and the same time.

However, comparing the white quartzite work with the coast-peb-
‘ble work, we find the artifacts of both groups distributed over
exactly the same sites, never apart, and in like relations to the present
surface of the country, which is a surface of to-day rather than of any

21535°—Bull. 52—12——_10

146 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

early period. We find the plano-convex knife blade (pl. 14), the
spikelike plano-convex point (figs. 25, 32), the symmetric doubly
convex leaf-blade (figs. 24, 28), the duck-bill scraper (figs. 26, 29), and
the chipping hammers in both groups. The use of the fracturing and
the pressure implement in the shaping work was apparently common
to both. The specialized arrowhead is found in the quartzite group

Fic. 41. Series of jasper leaf forms representing successive steps in the specialization of arrow points.
(4 actual size.) San Blas.

only and in that but rarely. The anvil-stone can not be shown to be
characteristic of either of the groups exclusively, although it certainly
pertains in large measure to the pebble group, while the chipped
pebbles are necessarily confined to the shore-pebble group. Fuller
collections might show even still closer correspondence between the
two groups. The differences do not seem so radical as to preclude
the idea that a single people or closely related groups of people were
responsible for all the chipped-stone work of these more northeastern
coastal sites. This likelihood is considerably strengthened by the
fact that differences in kind and form of material im-
pose distinctions in the processes and in the things
made.

Comparing the whole work of the northern groups
with that south of Bahia Blanca, it is seen that cer-
tain culture differences are quite marked. The prev-
eR REON oF alence of leaf-blade forms (fig. 41) and leaf-blade

of jasper. (;ac- Implements, variously specialized arrowheads and
de size.) San snearheads (pl. 13), and drill points (fig. 42), contrasts

; with the absence or decided rarity of these forms in

the north. The rarity of the plano-convex knife blade (pl. 14) in the
Rio Negro District (although it is common in southern Patagonia) is a
noteworthy fact. The duck-bill scraper occurs much less frequently
here than in the quartzite group of thenorth. The shaping processes
are the same throughout, although the use of the anvil-stone was
apparently exceptional in, the south, being there devoted to the
fracturing of pebbles and hence confined to the pebble-yielding areas.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 14

(% actual size)

PLANO-CONVEX KNIFE BLADES

From three widely separated groups: a, b, c, from the coast-pebble group; d, e, f, from the white
quartzite group; g, h, i, from southern Patagonia (Hatcher collection). (See fig. 31.)

uRpLitKaA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 147

Bolas-stones of globular and ovoid forms are widely distributed
over the area studied, but they are not made of local materials, and
if Hatcher is right the bolas represents a very recent period, having
superseded the bow and arrow as a weapon, after the acquisition of
horses by the natives.

On the whole, in the writer’s view the differences in general aspect
between the northern and southern groups of chipped-stone artifacts
are so pronounced as to favor the assumption that the two regions
were occupied by peoples having somewhat distinct cultures—cul-
tures, however, not differing very decidedly in grade, and presenting,
as indicated above, numerous features in common.

That the aboriginal cultures of Argentina represented by the avail-
able collections are not separated by wide differences of culture grade
and time is strongly suggested by the presence throughout Argentina
of at least two flaked implements of highly specialized type, the plano-
convex knife blade and the duck-bill scraper. In plate 14 are shown
photographic reproductions of three bevel-edge knives (a, b, c),
belonging to the coast-pebble group and made of black-pebble teshoas;
three of the same type of white quartzite from the white quartzite
group (d, e, f); and three from Patagonia (Hatcher collection)
(g, h, 7). The duck-bill scraper is of almost universal occurrence.
The slight differences in general shape and specialization of the edge
are only such as would readily arise in the utilization of different
kinds and forms of material by the same people and for a common
purpose.

The presence over the entire area north and south, of domestic
utensils of ordinary types and weapons of well-specialized forms may
be variously interpreted. It may be thought to indicate a well-
advanced people of general distribution quite distinct from the tribes
responsible for the three groups of chipped-stone implements, or it
may be regarded with more reason as indicating that the same or
kindred peoples responsible for all the cultural phenomena extended
over the whole area, the peculiar varieties of chipped-stone work
being merely local developments due to peculiarities of local materials
and activities.

The writer is well aware that other finds may have been made or
may yet be made which will either entirely obliterate or, on the other
hand, decidedly emphasize the differences here noted. So diversified
are the elements to be considered in this study and so limited rela-
tively to the extent of territory the materials at hand, that the
archeologist can not assume to reach definite and final results with
respect to the peoples concerned, but it seems safe to conclude that
although different tribes or racial groups may be represented, there
is no satisfactory evidence that the cultures were widely separated
from one another in grade or essentially distinct from the culture of
the tribes occupying the region in historic times.

/
od
148 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

CHRONOLOGIC BEARING

The many hundreds of relics included in the collection were all
obtained from the surface. None are known to have held any
synchronous relation with the geologic formations, save with the sur-
face soil, the shifting sands and sand dunes, and such other recently
rearranged deposits as are constantly forming under the never-
ceasing action of wind, water, and gravity along the outcropping
edges of imperfectly consolidated strata. The chronologic order of
these unstable deposits is of little consequence in these investigations
since no sequence involving measurable periods of time can be estab-
lished.

The facts that all varieties of the artifacts bear the same relation
to habitable sites and to the seashore of to-day throughout nearly the
entire region and that shapes and processes of manufacutre in all the
groups, though differing in certain respects, have important features
in common, as already pointed out, antagonize any theory of wide
separation of periods.

The relation of the pebble-working sites to the coast line of to-day
has a most important bearing on the theory of geologic antiquity for
any of the relics of man’s handiwork. It is seen that these sites
which yield such large numbers of both the dark-pebble and the
white-quartzite artifacts are ranged along the bluffs and_ slopes
facing the sea. But the ocean front is not a stable line. It is not
to-day where it was a century or a millenium ago. During the early
stages of the Recent period (by which is meant the time since the
land surface assumed approximately its present relative altitude) it
probably lay farther out to the south and east. If this assumption
be correct, it should be explained why the people of the auroral days
of this period brought the pebbles from a distant shore to work them
up and utilize them in the localities examined by Doctor Hrdli¢ka.
It would seem that if the pebble artifacts belong to the Recent period
at all, they belong to its closing phases, during which the relations
of the land and sea were practically the same as we find them to-day.

Again, if the pebble-using people occupied the region during either
Quaternary or Pliocene time, how shall we arrange to have them
occupy a series of sites along the line which just now happens to
have become the shore of the sea between Mar del Plata and Bahia
Blanca? Or are we to suppose that these people occupied the whole
of the pampean region so fully during any one of these periods that
the sea front at any and every stage of its recession toward the high-
land should yield to the archeologists of the time the rich harvest
reaped by our representatives to-day? The number of specimens
required to stock the whole of the pampas at this rate would be beyond
the possibility of computation.

HRDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST 149

Besides we should also inquire as to where dwellers on the land
surface exposed during either of the periods referred to could have
obtained the pebbles which now occur only along the present beach.
Can we explain the manner in which a people occupying a Pliocene
horizon, for example (which, to accommodate these inhabitants,
must have had for the time a suitable land surface), obtained a
supply of pebbles belonging in underlying beds of an earlier period,
since none occur, so far as Hrdli¢ka and Willis have observed, in
contemporaneous or superior formations. Is it to be assumed that
the tribes of that time found the seashore with its bluffs and seaward
slopes and supply of pebbles conveniently exposed as they are to-day
and all along a line connecting Mar del Plata with Bahia Blanca?

Questions like these can readily be asked, but not so readily
answered, and since the writer has great difficulty in answering them
affirmatively, he finds it necessary to adopt the view that the tribes
responsible for the several groups of relics collected by Hrdlitéka and
Willis along the Argentine littoral occupied the various sites visited
in recent centuries, under conditions corresponding in all essen-
tial respects with those of the present day. Nothing short of per-
fectly authenticated finds of objects of art in undisturbed forma-
tions of fully established geologic age will justify science in accepting
the theory of Quaternary or Tertiary occupants for Argentine.

The writer has pleasure in observing that Dr. Félix F. Outes, of the
National University, La Plata, Argentina, has given careful attention
to the antiquities of the pampean coast and to the relation of these
to the several geologic formations, and after visiting and thoroughly
examining all the more important sites, has presented the whole
group of phenomena in a way that in the end, with possibly slight
exceptions, must meet with general approval.!

Subsequent to the completion of the foregoing pages Doctor
Hrdliéka drew attention to certain specimens collected by him along
the barranca at Monte Hermoso, which had escaped particular notice
on the writer’s part. Attention was directed also to a brief pam-
phlet just received from Doctor Ameghino,? describing a series of
similar specimens collected by him while examining this same bar-
ranca in company with Doctor Hrdliéka. Considering the nature of
the specimens and the manner of their occurrence, the observations
and interpretation of Doctor Ameghino are so remarkable that the
writer is constrained to refer to them in some detail.

The objects in question are about 20 freshly-fractured chips and
fragments of coarse, partially. fire-reddened quartzite, a larger frag-

1 Outes, Félix F., Sobre una facies local de los instrumentos neoliticos Bonaerenses; in Revista ‘del Museo
de La Plata, xvi, ce Aires, 1909.

2 Ameghino, Florentino, La industria de la piedra quebrada en el mioceno superior de Monte Hermoso,
Buenos Aires, 1910.

150 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

ment of the same material used as a hammer, and a knife or scraper of
jasper. All were found in a surface layer of gravelly sand capping
the Monte Hermoso barranca, or on the broken face of the barranca
itself. The latter were picked up on the ledges of the bluff face, where
they had cascaded from above. The jasper knife or scraper is of a
type familiar in the coast region as well as in Patagonia, as will be seen
by reference to figures 26, b, and 30.

The quartzite pieces are from water-worn or weathered material,
such as was used for mullers, anvils, and hammers all along the coast,
and present the usual appearance of shop refuse so familiar to north-
ern archeologists—just such objects as may be found on numerous
sites in the Potomac Valley and of which countless numbers may be
seen distributed along the bluff slopes within the suburbs of Wash-
ington. The fact that one of the larger fragments has been used as
a chipping hammer is entirely in keeping with the writer’s classifica-
tion of these objects as the refuse of implement making carried on by
recent tribes along the Monte Hermoso bluff. The inclusion of such
objects in superficial deposits which are subject to rearrangement by
the winds and by gravity is a perfectly normal and commonplace
occurrence. That they present any unusually primitive features of
form or workmanship or have had any significant association with
ancient geologic formations seems to the writer altogether improb-
able.

Such differences as may arise between the writer’s interpretations
and those of Doctor Ameghino are probably due in large measure to
the fact that the points of view assumed in approaching the problem
of culture and antiquity are widely at variance. Doctor Ameghino
takes for granted the presence in Argentine of peoples of great antiq-
uity and of extremely primitive forms of culture and so does not
hesitate to assign finds of objects displaying primitive characteristics
to unidentified peoples and to great antiquity, or to assume their
manufacture by methods supposed to characterize the dawn of the

‘manual arts. To him all this is.a simple and reasonable procedure.

The writer finds it more logical to begin with the known popula-
tions of the region whose culture is familar to us and which furnishes
lithic artifacts ranging in form from the simplest fractured stone to
the well-made and polished implement, and prefers to interpret the
finds made, unless sufficient evidence is offered to the contrary, in
the illuminating light of known conditions and of well-ascertained
facts rather than to refer them to hypothetic races haled up from
the distant past.

!

EARTHEN WARE

A small number of fragments of pottery were collected by Doctor
Hrdliéka on prehistoric sites along the margin of a lakelet near Puerto

ire
a> &
7 ie

Fat

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 15

(3 actual size)

POTTERY FRAGMENTS FROM VICINITY OF PUERTO SAN BLAS

HREDLICKA] STONE INDUSTRIES OF THE ARGENTINE COAST EDE

San Blas. They represent bowls and cups of simple shape, not in any
case exceeding 8 inches in diameter. The walls are thin, between
one-fourth and three-eighths of an inch in thickness, and are of well-
baked clay, gray and brown in color, and tempered with a large
percentage of quartz sand. ‘The surfaces inside and out have been
well smoothed with a polishing implement. The rims are upright,
or curved slightly inward or outward, and rounded or squared off on
the margin.

Simple decorative designs have been added, in some cases encircling
the rim, and again covering a large part of the body. These designs
have been incised and indented with implements of varied shape, and
display considerable taste on the part of the potter, as will be seen by
referring to plate 15. Small fragments of similar, entirely plain ware
were collected on the margin of Laguna de los Padres, near Mar del
Plata, and also among the dunes and in the playas near the coast. In
the grade of culture represented this ware corresponds closely with
that of the stone implements and utensils of the same region. It
differs but slightly in composition, color, and decoration from the
simpler ware of the Atlantic slope in the United States.

hs

x
Ut

a

a rl os
ay OF nak we

Pe Ye,
1 £0
P ca «=

VII. THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN IN SOUTH
AMERICA

By Aes HrvoiiéKa

THE QUATERNARY Man’

In entering on the investigation of the skeletal remains relating
to early man in South America the writer approaches a field of
exceptional difficulties, where a clear and satisfactory report may
not always be possible. The material for examination is widely
scattered, it is for the most part in a very defective state, and fur-
ther, much of it has suffered through imperfect restoration, The
essential data concerning the most important circumstances of the
finds will be seen in many instances to be extremely defective; the
descriptions of the human remains run often into unnecessary minu-
tiz on one hand and fail in the essentials; and descriptions with
measurements by different observers show a lack of agreement.
Under these conditions the records to be given, and of necessity also
the comparisons, are somewhat limited. Notwithstanding this,
however, it will be fourid that there runs throughout, like an unin-
terrupted red line, evidence pointing in one direction only, which is
that of a more simple explanation, with more moderate dating, of
the numerous finds—thus harmonizing with the conclusions arrived
at through the study of other material in the preceding sections of
this work.

THE LAGOA SANTA DISCOVERIES (BRAZIL)

The Lagoa Santa remains are by far the earliest finds in Sonth
America that bear on the question of ancient man; these, which
were discovered by P. W. Lund, a Danish explorer of note, between
the years1835 and 1844, in certain caves in the district of Lagoa Santa,
Brazil, along with the bones of fossil as well as of recent animals, con-
sist of a large series of more or less fully mineralized human bones.

1 Exact chronologic classification of the subject dealt with in this report is not possible. Ameghino
regards some of the specimens reported here as Tertiary. The only criterion that could be employed in
arranging the separate reports was the seemingly prevalent opinion as to the geologic age of the various
remains. The-sections relating to ‘‘Quaternary” man will be given in the order of the dates of discovery,
and those which relate to ‘‘ Tertiary” remains will be arranged on the basis of the reputed antiquity of the
specimens, beginning with the most recent.

153

154 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [RULL. 52

History

The first reference to these finds occurs in a letter dated August,
1840, written by Lund to C. C. Rafn, secretary of the Société Royale
des Antiquaires du Nord.1_ Lund reports the discovery, in one of the
Lagoa Santa caves, of human bones and of one stone utensil, in con-
nection with the bones of certaim animals of extinct species. The
human remains were in part petrified and appeared to be in the same
state of preservation as the ancient animal bones. The forehead in
the human skulls was very sloping, as in the figures on some of the
ancient Mexican monuments.

Shortly afterward, in a memoir dated at Lagoa Santa, January 30,
1841, and published one year later,? Lund speaks of the same subject |
somewhat more fully. He declares that, “‘as to the important ques-
tion of the contemporaneity of man and extinct animal forms in this
part of the world, I do not believe myself authorized as yet to modify
the negative result at which I have hitherto arrived.’’ This view
was maintained by Lund notwithstanding the fact that he found in
two caves skeletal remains of man which presented all the character-
istics of really fossil bones. In neither of these caves, however, were
the human skeletal remains in a condition to permit a safe conclusion
as to their geologic age; in fact, they seemed to be of more recent
origin than the animal bones in the same caves. Lund did not feel
himself warranted therefore in attributing to the human specimens
special value as evidence of antiquity.

The circumstances of the discoveries in question are narrated as
follows: 3

“One of the two caves in question is situated on the border of a
lake, the waters of which invade it in the rainy season, flowing after-
ward to the Rio das Velhas, half a league distant. In the galleries
of the cave, dry at the time of the exploration, the ground was found
covered by a thin layer of mellow black earth, freely mixed with the
shells of snails of the species (Planorbis, Ampullaria) still existent in
the lake and on its borders. In this soft earth lay bones of man,
mammals, birds, reptiles, and fishes, distributed without order, and in
very different states of preservation. Some could be distinguished
from fresh bones only in that they were more fragile, lighter in weight,
and of dark reddish-brown color; others were very heavy, hard, and
of a brownish aspect on the surface as well as in fracture. Between
the two extremes, however, there were many gradations.” It is
expressly noted by Lund that the human skeletal parts are included

1 Lund, P. W., Letter of Aug. 20, 1840, to C. C. Rafn. Referred to in Berlingske Tidende, Feb. 12, 1841;
in Aarsberetning fra det Kgl. nord. Oldskriftselskab for 1840, p. 5; in Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, Stutt-
gart, 1841, pp. 502, 606; in Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, 1841, d., V1, p. 116; and published in full in Breve
till C. C. Rafn,.udg. af B. Grondahl, Kjébenhayn, 1880, p. 247.

2 Lund, P. W., Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, etc.; in Kgl. danske Videnskabernes Selskabs Skrifter,
4de Raekke, Naturv.-mathem., Afhandl., 1x, Kj6benhayn, 1842, pp. 195-196.

3 Liitken, Chr. Fr., Indledende Bemaerkninger om Menneskelevninger i Brasiliens Huler og ide Lundske
Samlinger. En Samling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, Kjobenhayn, 1888, pp. 1-29 (wilh a good
abstract in French). The quotations here given follow Liitken.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 155

in the above statement, presenting all gradations in the conditions
of their preservation and ranging from those that were light and fragile
to those that were hard, heavy, and completely petrified.

The thoroughly petrified bones of animals belonged to extinct
species (Platyonyx, Scelidotherium, Chlamydotherium, Hydrocherus
sulcidens, Dasypus sulcatus, Antilope maquinensis, etc.) !

As to the human skulls, it seemed to Lund that they indicated two
different races, ‘‘some being smaller and relatively well-formed, and
others larger, but of a most unfavorable (@’une forme des plus désa-
vantageuses) form, with a forehead so sloping that it is lower than
even that in many of the apes.”

The second cave’ is a great subterranean labyrinth, the lower
chambers of which become inundated in the season of rains. In the
lowest part of one of these chambers Lund encountered a large quantity
of bones of different animals scattered throughout the earth which
filled the space. The bones were in the main those of deer, peccaries,
and pacas, doubtless of species that are still living, but with them
were teeth and bones of the Platyonyx, Chlamydotherium, Hoplo-
phorus, Megatherium, Smilodon, and other extinct forms. The human
remains were not found associated with these bones, but far away in
another part of the cave and in the immediate vicinity of one of its
entrances; these, which beloriged to only one individual, were broken,
and lay at a slight depth in the ground in a narrow space only a few
cubic feet in capacity; but they showed characteristics of fossil bones,
being very fragile, even friable, pure white in fracture, and strongly
adherent to the tongue. ‘Their position, however, seemed to indicate
a more recent origin? than that of the bones of the fossil animals.

Lund closes his communication with the statement ‘‘that he has
said enough to show that the discoveries are not sufficient to decide
the question of contemporaneity of man with the extinct animal
forms, the remains of which are found in the youngest terranes of
Brazil.”’ *

In 1842 and again in 1844, Lund wrote other letters on his discoy-
eries, to the secretary of the Instituto Historico Brasileiro.‘ :

a
EES TAL, * Ty
1 Lutken remarks that this cave was, without doubt, the Lapa Vermelha. — /\° ‘© ; :

2 Liitken remarks, however, that of the above the antelope was shown to be the Cervus sie aearrhe: a
species still living, and that the Hydrocherus “sulcidens”’ can not be separated as a variety from the H.
capybara, although it might well be considered one of the ancient forms in which this species presented itself.

3 “At han mener at have anfgrt nok til at vise, at de ikke ere tilstraekkelige til at tjene som afgjdrende
Dokumenter i Spgrgsmaalet, hvorvidt Mennesket var samtidigt eller ej med de undergaaede Dyreformer,
hvis Levninger ere ophevarede i Brasiliens yngste Jordlag.”’

4 Carta escripta da Lag6éa Santa (Minas Geraes), ao Sr. 1°. Secretario do Instituto, pelo socio honorario,
Sr. Dr. Lund, in Revista trimensal de Historia e Geographia, tv, 1842, Rio de Janeiro, 1843, pp. 80-87; and
Carta do Dr. Lund, escripta da Lagoa Santa (Minas Geraes)a 21 de abril de 1844; ibid., v1, 1844, pp. 334-342.

These letters are also given in translation by Lacerda, in the Mémoires de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris,
2me sér., I, Paris, 1875, pp. 522-535; and the earlier one is referred to in the following: Kéllner Zeitung,
Sept. 9, 1842; Amer. Jour. Sci., xL1v, New Haven, 1843, p. 277; Edinburgh New Philos. Jour., XXXV1,
1844, pp. 38-41; L’ Institut, x, 1842, p. 356; Newes Jahrb. fiir Min., Stuttgart, 1843, p. 118; Proc. Acad. Nat.
Sci. Phila., u, 1844-5, Phila., 1846, pp. 11-13.

All quotations here are translations from the originals in Portuguese.

156 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bunn 52

These two communications repeat in the main what has already
been cited, but there are also several additional statements.

In the earlier letter Lund states that notwithstanding the excellent
opportunities he had to examine into the question of the contempo-
raneity of man in Brazil with the extinct species of mammals, he had
not yet arrived at a definite conclusion, although he had made every
effort to do so. He had explored up to that time nearly 200 caves
and the number of mammal species alone which were found amounted
to 115, of which only 88 are still living in the region.

The bad condition in which most of the cave bones of animals were
found and the nature of the mutilations they showed convinced Lund
that in the majority of cases their presence was due to savage beasts,
which had the habit of bringing their victims or parts of them to
their dens in the caves where the flesh was devoured.

‘‘But,” Lund continues, ‘‘among so large a quantity of bones,
which indicate the existence of an order of things altogether different
from that which exists to-day, I have never encountered the slightest
traces of man. Yet, at an epoch when ferocious animals, among
which some gigantic forms (e. g., Smilodon populator) abounded in
this country, why should man, who is so feeble in contest with such
formidable animals, have escaped the fate which overtook numerous
victims many times stronger than himself?’ This consideration, he
was led to believe, settled negatively the question of man’s contempo-
raneity with these animals, when, after six years of fruitless search, he
discovered cave remains of human beings ‘‘which may possibly lead
to a contrary solution of the question.”’

‘‘T found these human remains,”’ he says, ‘‘in a cave mixed with the
bones of various animals of species entirely extinct (Platyonyx Buck-
landit, Chlamydotherium Humboldtii, C. majus, Dasypus sulcatus, Hy-
drocherus sulcidens, etc.), a circumstance sufficient to call attention
in the highest degree to the interesting relics. Moreover, they pre-
sented all the physical characteristics of fossil bones. They were in
part petrified, in part impregnated with ferruginous particles, which
gave to some of them a metallic luster, akin to that of bronze, as well
as extraordinary weight. There could then be no doubt as to their
great age. But in view of the fact that the cave that contained the
bones lay at the border of a lake, the water of which entered it annually
during the rainy season, no definite conclusion can be reached as to
whether the individuals to whom they belonged were or were not
contemporaneous with the extinct species of animals with which
their bones occurred. In consequence of this circumstance, successive
introductions of animal remains into the cavern could have taken
place and the bones of later introduction could have become mixed
with those already deposited. This, it was demonstrated, had
actually taken place, for among the bones of the extinct species were °

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 157

encountered others of animals whose species are still living. These
latter showed unequal states of preservation, according to their age,
some of them hardly differing from fresh bones, while others approxi-
mated the submetallic state previously referred to; the majority,
however, showed alterations intermediate between these two ex-
tremes. A similar difference, but less considerable, was also noted
in the human bones, proving undeniably the inequalities in their ages;
but all presented sufficient alteration in composition or texture to
indicate a considerable antiquity, so that, should they lose the right
to serve as evidence of the coexistence of man with the great
extinct species of terrestrial mammals, they would still retain sufli-
cient interest from the latter point of view. . . .

‘‘The researches of the European naturalists have demonstrated
that none of the great species of terrestrial mammals whose bones are
found in true fossil state have lived in historic times and that conse-
quently the date of their extinction is further back than 3,000 years.
Applying these results to the extinct species of Brazil, the bones of
which present the same state of preservation as those of the extinct
forms in Europe, and attributing to those human bones, which are
found in an analogous state of conservation, corresponding antiquity,
we obtain for these human remains an age of 30 centuries and more.
As, however, the process of petrifaction is one of those that has been
least studied, principally in relation to the time required for its con-
summation, and as, on the other hand, that time varies according to
more or less favorable circumstances, we can not risk on this basis
any more than vague approximations. Be it as it may, there will
always remain for these human bones a very considerable antiquity,
which places them far back of the epoch of discovery of this part
of the world, as well as beyond all the direct documents which we
possess on the existence of man, considering that thus far there have
been found in no other part of the world human bones in a state of
petrifaction.

“Tt is then proved by these evidences, in the first place, that the
population of Brazil is derived from very remote times and undoubt-
edly anterior to the historic period.

“Naturally the question then presents itself, Who were these most
ancient inhabitants of Brazil? Of what race were they? What was
their mode of life and their intellectual status ?

‘Fortunately the answers to these questions are less difficult. and
less uncertain than those relating to the antiquity of the bones.
Having found a number of more or less complete skulls, I can fix the
place which the individuals to whom they belonged should occupy
in anthropology. The sloping forehead, the prominence of the zygo-
matic bones, the facial angle, the form of the jaws and orbits, all
assign these skulls a place among the most characteristic of the

158 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

American race... In regard to the low forehead, these ancient
crania show not merely a conformity with those of the American
race, but some of them exhibit this feature in an excessive degree,
extending to a complete disappearance of the forehead.

‘“‘Tt is then proved, in the second place, that the people, who in
that remote time inhabited this part of the new world, were of the
same race as those who occupied this country at the time of the
Conquest.”’

In the following paragraph Lund expresses the opinion that this
lowness of the forehead is a natural feature, not due to artificial
deformation, and that it offers an explanation of the figures with
similar low foreheads sculptured on some ancient American monu-
ments. He then proceeds:

‘The bones of the skeletons belonged to individuals of both sexes;
they were of ordinary size; nevertheless two among those of the
males presented dimensions above the ordinary.”’

In conclusion, Lund expresses a rather poor opinion of the prob-
able mental characteristics of the people from whom the remains
came; this conclusion, he says, is ‘‘corroborated by an instrument of
the most imperfect construction found with the bones. This instru-
ment consists simply of a hemispheric stone of amphibole, 10 inches
in circumference and smooth on the plane surface, which evidently
served for crushing seeds or other hard substances.”’

Besides the bones spoken of above, Lund mentions the finds of
some human osseous remains, ‘‘ whose characteristics were also those
of fossil bones,”’ in two other of the Minas Geraes caves. ‘‘The bones
were deprived of nearly all the gelatinous parts, and in consequence
were very friable and white in fracture. Unfortunately, they were
found isolated and without being accompanied by the bones of other
animals, so that the principal question raised by these finds, that of
man’s antiquity, remains undecided; nevertheless, the specimens
corroborate the conclusions relative to the prolonged existence of
man in this part of the world.”

The main parts of the above letter were published in Philadelphia
in 1845 and were quoted more or less extensively during the early
forties, in other publications.*

The subsequent letter of Lund to the Institute (1844) contains less
information than the one cited above, but there are several points of
someimportance. The first concerns the mineralization of the various
bones. Lund’s words in regard to this point are:

“The advanced decomposition of the [animal] bones contained in
this deposit [evidently referring to the cave of Sumidouro] showed

1 Strain, Isaac G., Extract of a letter giving the synopsis of the translation, by himself, of a letter from

Doctor Lund, R.S. A., Copenhagen, to the Historical and Geographical Society of Brazil; in Proc. Acad.
Nat. Sci. Phila., 1, 1844-5, Phila., 1846, pp. 11-13.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS. OF EARLY MAN 159

plainly that they were very ancient. Laid on glowing coals, they
exhale no empyreumatic odor; they adhere strongly to the tongue,
treated with dilute nitric acid, they dissolve completely and rapidly
with a violent effervescence. They are therefore wholly calcareous,
that is in part petrified, offering thus all the characteristics of true
fossil bones.”’

Having expressed himself on this part of the question, Lund pro-
ceeds to the examination of the bones from the zoologic standpoint,
with the result that some of them are found to belong to species still
living, while others belonged to animals which have already ceased
to exist in that locality. Among the latter specimens were some
bones of the llama, but great surprise was occasioned by the pres-
ence also of some bones of a horse. These did not belong to either
of the two species of fossil horses known in the country, but ‘‘indi-
cated a different species, so nearly similar to the domestic horse
that no characteristics could be found in the fragments to distinguish
them therefrom, though their proportions were notably superior to
those of the races of the horse introduced into South America by
the conquerors.

‘‘In view of the facts to which I have here referred, there can then
remain no doubt as to the existence of man on this continent in an
epoch anterior to that in which the last races of the gigantic animals
whose remains abound in the caves of this country became extinct,
or, in other terms, as to his existence here anterior to the historic
period. [']

“As to the ethnographic peculiarities of the skulls from this
deposit, I had occasion to confirm my former conclusions, namely,
that they offer all the characteristic features of the American race;
and I have also firmly convinced myself that the extraordinary
depression of the forehead which is observed in some of the individ-
uals, is not artificial.

“We see thus that America was already peopled before the first
rays-of history appeared on the horizon of the Old World, and that the
people who inhabited it in those remote times were of the same race
as that found here at the time of discovery.”

In the subsequent paragraphs of his letter, Lund indulges in some
speculations and gives interpretations of certain features consequent
on the wearing down in the human skulls of the front teeth; these
views are, however, in the light of present knowledge on the sub-
jects, plainly erroneous.

The final, and in some respects the most important, communication
of Lund on the subject of the Lagoa Santa human remains is con-
tained in a long letter addressed by him, in March, 1844, to C. C.

1 By this Lund doubtless means the historic period of mankind in general as then known.—A. H.

160 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Rafn, secretary of the Société Royale des Antiquaires du Nord. !
The principal parts of this communication, which because of the
relative inaccessibility of the originals, need to be given somewhat
in extenso, are as follows:

“The limestone caves of Brazil, which are so rich in bones of
animals, yield only very limited traces of the skeletal remains of man.
My efforts to find the latter were for a number of years fruitless, a
fact which strengthened more and more my belief in the generally
accepted view that man was late in appearing in this part of the world.
The researches of the last few years, however, have brought other
results. Of more than 800 caves which I have examined, six at last
yielded human bones, the majority of which, judging by their aspect,
belong to very remote times; but the circumstances under which
they were found did not afford at first any adequate criteria for the
exact determination of their age.

‘Usually the human bones were not associated with bones of
animals which could shed any light on this point, but a single cave
presented at last an exception. In this were found besides the human
remains the bones of divers animals belonging to species both existing
and extinct. Notwithstanding this, geologic criteria necessary for
the determination of the relative age of these vestiges are unfor-
tunately wanting, because the remains discovered were not found
in their original positions.

“The cave in question is situated on the border of alake, the waters of
which invade it during the rainy season, a circumstance which explains
how bones of different ages could have become accumulated within
it without order. However, of all the caves which I have examined
up to the present time, this was the only one that encouraged me to
anticipate the possibility of finding the solution of a question of such
importance as that of the age of the human genus on this continent.
In consequence, I did not fail to profit by the opportunity afforded
by the dryness of the previous year and submitted the cave to new
explorations. These researches, although they have not yielded
results capable of solving the problem of man’s antiquity in a definite
manner, nevertheless throw important light on several other points
relating to that subject.

“The cave is situated in limestone rock, which rises vertically on
the southern border of a lake known as the Lagoa do Sumidouro.
The lake, large during the rains, becomes entirely empty during the
dry season. It is drained by means of several small crevices, named

1 An extract from this letter was published in the Andlikvarisk Tidsskrift, Kj6benhayn, 1843-45, and a
French translation of the larger part of it appears in ‘‘Notice sur des ossements humains fossiles, trouvés
dans une caverne du Brésil,’”’ in Mémoires des A ntiquaires du Nord, 1845-49, Copenhague (n. d.), pp. 49-77.
The substance of the letter is given also by Liitken, op. cit. (see footnote 3, p. 154, herein), pp. 21-23, and
references to it are found in his résumé; in@. R. del’ Acad. Sci., XX, Paris, 1845, p. 1868; in L’ Institut, xm,
1845, p. 166; and in Froriep’s Neue Notizen, Xxxv, 1845, p. 16,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 161

sangradores, which exist in the base of the limestone rock and lead to
subterranean canals, by which the lake communicates with the Rio
das Velhas, about half a league distant... .

“The highest of the above crevices opens into the cave, but the
principal opening by which one reaches the latter is situated farther
to the west, in a small wooded area, at an elevation slightly above the
highest level of the lake. Descent is possible by two low passages
a short distance apart, over large fallen stones, which obstruct the
way to the cave.

“The cavern is spacious and comprises several large chambers and
passages communicating with one another. The floor, which is
everywhere strewn with large fallen rocks, slopes toward the middle,
where there is a pool of water. Over the floor is a thick covering of
mellow blackish earth, which dried in the air assumes a lighter grayish
color, and contains numerous fresh shells belonging to a species of
small fresh water snail living in the lake outside. This carpet of
soft earth is a deposit left by the latest inundations. .. .

“A quantity of recent bones of small animals derived from a more
ancient layer were found on and also in this soft earth. The original
bed of these bones appears in the upper part of the cave. It consists
of clay, different in quality and color, which fills the space between
the large blocks of stone and continues deeper down. Toward its
lower limit this clay is grayish and partly soft, partly more or less
hardened by calcareous particles or by the shells of snails, which are
mixed with it in great numbers. In measure at which this layer
of clay becomes more distant from the center of the cave and conse-
quently from the influence of the inundations, the gray color of the
deposit passes insensibly from yellowish to dark brownish red,
varied with some dark patches; these disappear farther on, and at
last there is only clay of the color of a dark tile, similar to the original
deposit which fills the spaces among the stones in the majority of the
Minas Geraes caves. The quantity of the snail shells diminishes as
the gray clay assumes more and more the red color.

‘‘Many bones were exhumed from the different masses of this
clay; and nearly as large a quantity of them was also found in the
bottom deposit of the pool in the center of the cave... .

“This pool was entirely emptied, and many precious remains of
animals were recovered from the spot. The bones found there
resembled altogether those contained in the layer of the black earth,
with the differences only that the effects of water were here more
distinct. They were of a brown, red, or black color on the surface
as well as interstitially; the majority of them were petrified and
through being continually washed, their surface had a metallic polish.
On account of this quality and their metallic sound when struck,

21535°—Bull. 52—12——11

162 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puny 52

they could have been taken for copies of bones in metal rather than
for veritable bones themselves.

“The different classes of animals to which the bones found in the
cave belong, are as follows:

‘‘ Man.—The human bones belonged to at least 30 individuals of
different ages, from the newborn to the decrepit aged. They were
for the most part broken, but the quality of the fractured surfaces
indicates, in the majority of cases, that the injury took place after
the bone had become fragile through advanced state of decomposi-
tion. ... The massive blocks of stone, among which a large
part of these bones were scattered, are sufficient witnesses of the
great changes which the cave has suffered since the bones were
introduced.

‘“‘The human bones were found scattered pellmell, without any
order; some of them, nevertheless, formed an exception to the rule,
presenting still their natural relations with the adjacent bones,
which seems to indicate that they were originally deposited in the
cave with their adhering soft parts. However, the large accumula-
tions of human bones which were found at some points proved that
these were removed from their original position and that they had
been carried by water to the spots where encountered. The majority
of the skulls were also heaped separately, while another pile was
formed of small bones, as those of the fingers, toes, and the con-
stituents of the carpus and tarsus.

‘‘A number of small human bones appeared also in the uppermost
portions of the black earth; these were distinguished by a reddish-
brown color, which penetrated the bone more or less and was some-
times communicated to the entire specimen. They were entirely
calcareous and more or less petrified, the measure of their red color
corresponding to these changes. There were only a few human
bones in the sediment of the pool. The largest number was found
in the gray or yellowish clay, in its softer as well as indurated parts.
Some of them existed also in the yellowish clay with blackish patches.
In the indurated clay, they formed part of a sort of bony breccia of
great hardness similar to that in which appears here the oldest débris
of mammals of extinct species.

‘The human remains had all the characteristics of fossil bones:
the interior was of pure white; the surface was stained black by fer-
ruginous substances. In those that had been broken there was as
much of this black stain in the interior as on the exterior. They
adhered strongly to the tongue; exposed to fire or laid on hot coals,
they did not turn black and gave no odor; in dilute nitric acid they
dissolved completely in:a few minutes, with strong ebullition. They
were in part petrified.”

Mammals.—Among these remains was a piece of the femur of a
species of extinct monkey. There were also a great quantity of

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 1638

bones of bats of varieties which still inhabit the cave, and those of
many existing species of rodents. The bones of a number of indi-
viduals of a species of large extinct rodent, Hydrochzrus sulcidens,
were mingled irregularly with the human bones in the yellowish
earth with blackish discolorations. The earth covering of the floor
of the cave and the bottom of the pool also contained a quantity of
the same.

There were bones of some species of Didelphis, which were nearly
always found in the cave deposits, and those of carnivores, including
the great fossil jaguar (felis protopanther), belonging to a species
that is extinct, or at least does not now exist in Brazil. The remains
of this jaguar were found beside the human bones in the yellowish
clay with black discolorations, and also in the floor covering of the
cave and at the bottom of the pool. The bones in the first-mentioned
deposit were of similar aspect externally to the human bones. Among
the petrified bones of the pool and of the mold covering the floor of
the cave were also those of a puma and an ocelot, identical with
those of animals of these species still in existence.

The most interesting of the canine bones belonged to Canis jubatus,
the existing wolf of Brazil. While the bones of the puma and the
ocelot have been found occasionally in ancient layers of soil and in
bone breccia, this is not true of the osseous remains of this wolf.
The bones of this animal ‘‘were found mixed pellmell with those of
man in the yellowish earth with black discolorations, and the stain-
ing was the same in the two species. The earth covering the floor
and that forming the bottom of-the pool contained also some débris
of the troglodyte wolf (extinct), side by side with the bones of a small
chacal similar to the one which still exists in the country.’ The
bones of a species of otter, similar to the living Lutra brasiliensis, end
the list.

The pachyderms were represented by peccaries of two living
species. ‘‘Their bones were everywhere mingled with the human
skeletal remains, but especially so in the yellowish earth with black
discolorations.”” There were also traces of an extinct larger species
of peccary and of tapir.

Besides the above, Lund found in the same cave, as reported in his
earlier letter, the bones of a horse, differing from those of the two
fossil species of this animal which existed in Brazil, but exhibiting
‘‘oreat conformity with the existing domesticated horse.”’ However,
these bones came from a stronger, taller animal than the ordinary horse
of Brazil. They lay in the yellow as well as in the more reddish clay
with blackish discolorations, and their state of decomposition was
similar to that of the bones which surrounded them. They were cal-
careous, and in part petrified. Lund says: ‘‘This last circumstance
creates a new and unexpected difficulty, the solution of which may
one day lead to important results. No one could pretend that the

164 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

exhumed bones of this animal belonged to individuals descended
from the horse introduced by the Portuguese scarcely 100 years ago.
The relations under which these bones were found, with their state
of decomposition, prove incontestably a more remote age.”
Ruminants were represented by four species, of which three,
those of deer, conformed with the living species. The remains of
two of these were found in the red clay and also in its more recent
modifications. They were found also, apparently removed from
their original bed, in the pool and in the earth which carpeted the
cave. The third species, which does not appear at present in the
country, existed in the clay and also in the pool as well as in the floor
deposits. The fourth species was the lama, not now known in Bra-
zil. Its bones lay in the two most ancient modifications of the clay.
In addition to the above there were bones of several species still
living and some already extinct, of armadillos and other edentates, and
of numerous birds, reptiles, and fishes. Some of these bones were
still in a relatively fresh state, while others, of both living and extinet
species, were more or less petrified. The bones of the edentates were
encountered in the modified clay, as well as in the earth at the bottom
of the pool and on the floor of the cave. The remains of the birds,
reptiles, and fishes existed only in the two deposits last-mentioned.
In subsequent parts of his letter Lund considers the agency of
water in producing the conditions found in the cave, and the various
possible modes of introducing the animal remains into the cavern.
He then returns again to the human bones, with the following notes:
‘“‘T have already remarked that the skeletal remains of man which
were found in the cave belonged to individuals ranging in age from
the unborn to those of decrepit old age. The proportion of the latter
was very considerable. There were a number of lower jaws which were
not only without the teeth, but which presented such an absorption
of the bone that they resembled a bone lamina of only a few lines in
thickness. It is therefore probable that these skeletons belonged to
decrepit individuals who had died of old age and were thrown into
this cave, which thus appears to have served as a place of sepulture.
A similar explanation is applicable to the young individuals, whose
mortality as well known is greatest during the early years.
A peculiarity which I discovered i in some of the skulls warrants me, it
seems, in believing that the death of several of the individuals bur ied
in bis cave did not result from natural causes. In several of the skulls
I discovered a hole in one of the temples, of a regular oblong form, the
long axis of which was parallel with the long axis of the head. This
hole was found to be of the same size and same form in all the skulls. °
‘ It seems to me most likely that this hole in the temple is the
result of external violence which caused the death of the individual.
It should still further be remarked that the outline and size of the

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 165

puncture correspond quite closely to those of the pointed end of the
stone axes, specimens of which are so often found in the excavations
of antiquities, a fact which leads to the belief that they were produced
by such an instrument.

‘“‘Tf we consider these remains ae: man from the standpoint of the
ethnographic traits which they present, we shall see that all the skulls
bear the distinctive features of the American race. .

“The examination to which I have submitted the contents of the
cave has thus led me. to the following conclusions:

_ 1, The occupation of South America by man extends not only
beyond the epoch of the discovery of this part of the world, but far
back into historic times [i. e. historic time in general], and probably
even beyond these into geologic times. A number of species of
animals seem to have disappeared from the ranks of the creation
since the appearance of man in this hemisphere.

“9. The race which occupied this part of the world in remote
antiquity was in its general type the same as that which inhabited
the country at the time of the discovery by the Europeans.”’

The above completes the original data concerning the Lagoa
Santa cave discoveries.

Reports ON LUND’s- COLLECTIONS

Most of Lund’s collections passed to the Zoological Museum of the
University of Copenhagen; one of the Sumidouro cave skulls, how-
ever, was donated by him to the Historical and Geographical Institute
of Brazil,in whose possession it remains to this day; and a series of
specimens, including the number of more or less mineralized human
bones, was acquired by the British Museum.

The last-named collection was briefly reported on in 1864 as follows
by Blake :?

“In the British Museum there exist some human remains pur-
chased with the Claussen collection, and forming part of the series of
specimens which were discovered by Lund and Claussen in their
investigations in Eastern Brazil.

‘““Mr. W. Davies having kindly drawn my attention to them, I will
give a short list of the specimens, without wishing to draw any further
conclusions than that they probably belong to a period of great his-
torical antiquity, although probably not coeval with the fossil fauna
which Lund has described in the Transactions of various northern
academies.

“‘{,. Skull of young child. This skull is brachycephalic and asym-
metrical, the right side being shorter than the left. There are evi-

1It was seen by the writer; it could be examined, however, only through the glass doors of a closet, the
key of which had been lost.
2 Blake, C. C., On Human Remains from a Bone Cave in Brazil; in Jour. Anthr. Soc. London, tt, 1864,

pp. CCLXV-CCLXVnI.

>

166 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY {punn. 52

dent traces of ‘parieto-occipital’ flattening, which has extended above
the lambdoid and for a well-defined space on either side of the sagittal
suture. None of the sutures are complex. Flattening on the left
side of the frontal bone is manifest, indicating the direction in which
the compressing force has been exercised throughout life. No other
abnormal development is visible. The molar and premolar teeth in
place, show little signs of erosion. The basioccipito-sphenoid suture
having been present, the basioccipital bone has been broken away,
as well as the right border of the foramen magnum and the right
squamosal bone. The maxilla is slightly prognathic. The skull
presents the most similarity to the skulls from Cafiete, in Peru,
described by Castelnau, and to some which I have seen from the
uplands of the Argentine provinces, near Rosario. f

‘2. Broken maxillary (adult?) left side. The first premolar, as
well as the broken fragment of the second premolar, are the only
teeth which remain. Slght erosion is visible on the crown of the
first tooth.

“3. Lower mandible, left ramus. Thickly incrusted with limonite
and sand, which has filled up the alveoli. Only the first and second
molars are in place, the second being turned out of its proper inser-
tion, as well as the first being much worn. Both the molar teeth in
place are much worn on the outer side of the teeth. All the other
teeth, with the exception of the first premolar, are absent. No
marked outward or inward inflection of the angle is present.

‘‘4. Lower mandible, left ramus. This specimen exhibits the
same general characters as No. 3, with the exception that the incrus-
tation of limonite is not present. On the inner sides of m. 3 and m.2,
the upper angles of the cusps have been broken away, the whole sur-
face of the teeth being much worn. WM. 1 is mueh worn, and a small
fracture of the alveolar process outside it has permitted that [sic]
the two outer fangs to be elevated and dislocated from their own
proper insertions and to form by this dislocation a grinding surface.
The first and second premolars, as well as the canine and first incisor,
arealso much worn. The mental process of the jaw is high; the genial
tubercles distinct; and the mental foramen, not as in No. 3, filled up
with limonite. The coronoid process is high; and, although the
angle is broken away, enough remains to lead us to conjecture that
it was strong and powerful.

‘‘5. Portions of parietal bones of average thickness, incrusted with |
ochreous mud.

‘6. Upper part of supraoccipital bone, and lower and posterior
portions of two parietals, exhibiting the confluence of the sagittal and
lambdoid sutures. The supraoccipital bone is slightly elevated above
the level of the lambdoid suture, which, as well as the sagittal, is very
complex. There are no traces of wormian ossifications and on the
inner side of the bone the sutures are perfectly closed.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 167

“7, Broken glabella and fragments of nasals, as well as a piece of
the supraciliary arch of a young individual; frontal sinuses small.

“8. Distal portion and shaft of humerus, gnawn by mice and by
some larger rodent; thickly permeated by limonite.

“9. Distal portion and shaft of humerus; young or small individ-
ual; no marks of teeth.

“10. Proximal end of tibia, very young individual, wanting
epiphyses; slightly gnawn by rodents.

“11. Shaft of femur; much gnawn by rodents.

“12. Proximal end of femur, including head and neck, and part
of shaft, of young individual; gnawn by mice (Hesperomys).

“13. Distal end of femur, exhibiting frequent marks of the teeth
of some rodent, probably one of the small mice (Hesperomys) of the
caves, slightly infiltrated with ocherous mud, and with much of the
animal matter absent.

“14. Tibia, long fragment of shaft; few traces of rodent action.

“The following three specimens are in the same condition as the
fragments of the lower jaw, No. 3, above alluded to.

“15. Long bone (small humerus?) imbedded in limonite, which
contains many fragments of fossil shells, exceedingly difficult of iden-
tification. A specimen of Planorbis (of which fresh-water type four
existing species in Brazil are recorded by Mr. S. P. Woodward in
bis Manual of Mollusca) is recognisable, as well as the broken frag-
ments of an elongated iand-snail, probably Bulimus.

‘16. Sections of three long bones, covered with sandy deposit
containing large quantities of oxide of iron (limonite); the medul-
lary cavity of the bones being filled with crystals of carbonate of
lime.

“17. Distal end of femur, thickly incrusted with limonite, the
animal matter being absent.

“18. Head of humerus, covered with limonite.”’

The next mention of the Lund specimens, referring to the main
part of the collection at Copenhagen, occurs in the memoir of Rein-
hardt,! who occupied himself for years with the study of the animal
bones collected by Lund in the Brazilian caves. In this memoir are
mentioned also the human remains from the cave of Sumidouro.
Reinhardt recognized that the disturbance cf the primitive deposits
in the cave necessitated great care in the drawing of conclusions from
the find, nevertheless he says that the human bones resembled so
exactly in their state of preservation those of extinct animals, that
one can not doubt that they were introduced into the cave at about
the same epoch as the latter. Reinhardt believed also that he could
characterize the tribe from which the human remains proceeded as
one of “quite tall stature, but somewhat delicate, dolichocephalic,

1 Reinhardt, J., De brasilianske Knoglehuler og de i dem forekommende Dyreleyninger. En Samling
af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, Kjébenhavn, 1888, pp. 1-56. [Memoir read in 1866.]

168 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puLn. 52

and prognathic; with the summit of the skull elevated, nearly py-
ramidal, cheek bones prominent; with the front narrow, but not
exceptionally depressed; with the interorbital space very large and
the walls of the skull very thick (up to 1 cm.). In none of the skulls
is seen any trace of an artificial deformation produced by pressure.”

In 1876 the Sumidouro skull deposited in Rio de Janeiro was
described by Lacerda and Peixoto.!. The brief report reads as
follows:

“Fossil skull of Lagoa Santa, No. 7.—It is a relatively small skull
encountered with others in one of the caves of Lagoa Santa, where
existed also fossil bones of animals of species already extinct. Exter-
nally it presents a metallic, bronzelike aspect; on fracture, there is
clearly visible a calcareous alteration of the bone. Its weight is
notable, as compared with that of other skulls which we have
described. The zygomatic arches are broken in their middle part
and the styloids are destroyed. In the right temporal region is seen
a perforation, nearly elliptical in form, involving the squama of the
temporal bone and measuring 4.8 cm. in length by 2 cm. in greatest
breadth. The superior border of this defect reaches the beveled
edge of the parietal, which is intact. The aspect of the borders of
the opening, which are similar in nature and polish to the other
unfractured parts of the skull, leads to the conclusion that this defect
is not posthumous, such as appears to be true of the fractures of the
zygomatic arches, which present an entirely different aspect. The
form of this lesion, its extension, and the characteristics of its bor-
ders, lead us to believe that 1t was produced during life, by a cutting
instrument. Considering the relations existing between the affected
region and the brain, the wound must have resulted in the death of
the individual. The skull is without the lower jaw. . . . The front
is low and inclined backward as in nearly all of the skulls of the
American race; the glabella is salient, the superciliary arches very
prominent, the occiput flattened to nearly vertical; the external
occipital protuberance is broad, plain, and very protruding. The
plane of the occipital foramen prolonged forward would pass through
a horizontal line drawn from one orbit to the other. The malar
bones are prominent . . . the orbits quadrangular, the parieties of
the skull vertical, the mastoid processes of small size, the parietal
eminences prominent. Nearly all the sutures are consolidated, and
their serration is for the most part simple except in the posterior
portion of the sagittal, where it is complicated. There are vestiges
of two Wormian bones in the lambdoid suture. In the upper jaw
exist 14 dental alveoli, more or less damaged; of the teeth, there
remains only the second left molar. . . . The anterior nasal aper-

1 Lacerda, Filho, e Rodrigues Peixoto, Contribuicdes para o estudo anthropologico das racas indigenas
do Brazil; in Archivos do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janciro, 1, 1876, pp. 63-65, pl. IV.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 169

ture is heart-shaped, very irregular. The canine fosse are but little
excavated; the occipital foramen presents oval form. ... The
cephalic index of the skull is 69.72; its capacity 1,388 cc.; its facial
angle (Cloquet’s) 67°.”

Principal measurements:

cm,
ULSI Cpe isi i a 20 aga aaa aa ee eee eee 18.5
Wramieier memeverse Maen... 0... --.. 204-0. +52 +0c ee en enews eee eee 12.9
Diameter vertical........-- ae ERs er ARE: MOAR OE LIE eee 14.5
ENG MIDE ROL, 170) Voy Cet 000 5 ene See SE Re OS ee a ae ve a4 Ta tae ee 13.0
emma te TANTO: 20 2 ohne a sie det oes At Lt go sewage dy deg a eters 14.0
Ramen meee OTE TOU Re Se Oe es ek aes 12.0
ATE OMe a0Citery opening to the other....02.....<-2s080-42s4-05t- ones a0
Wo fhe ws AS iiFac jc 50 Sieh ioe inases Seat Reeespemelicealinie ean eld depen nance aie ees ide 9.3
Pancver irons maximum ll. 8) YEP PAL eet 10.7
MME Pere no nite) Kind nadine peed Shes LYS ales ee eee FL) ame 91)! ane hg etry) 2 ep hee 9.2
imeci Cage hora ROR. h.124e Se )dicn cea ae oud Sits cpa ahha x iene nt am bie eg hoe 51.5
[ESP MISSI 101 6) Gf See Se aie ee ee ne A 13.0
SNe SRST CON Aes ita ae AE cera oe OO Ne ase ys Pea nae ge OSE tind ee eS ie
Parana wersercuamever Ol uneOrult. ssa acca Se cet cee tie noc ee ee eee 4.1
Memacrmimime har or tic OFbig. is 2! 24. ISIS, Oa Ol ea aus
Depuueinthic Grimiteeiss (tee sie letter Sb ond eaee foe eee: 5.0
Detance from, nasal. suture to nasal spine). .<)s2<). -o. esi. ot qt - dis -lee ed seid 4.5
Og) OSES RUNNER O12) 3 8 Lee a ho i a ak oe eee Pe eae eS, ee:

The principal conclusion concerning the specimen under considera-
tion is (pp. 72-73) that ‘‘ the fossil cranium of Lagoa Santa, one of
the precious objects of our collection, approaches in its character-
tics very much the crania of the Botocudos.”’ +

In 1879 Quatrefages made the Lagoa Santa remains the occasion
of an extended report before the anthropologic meeting at Moscow.’

From the letters of Lund and the descriptions of the Rio de Janeiro
skull by Lacerda and Peixoto, Quatrefages arrives, after a prolonged
discussion of the case, but altogether too prematurely, it seems, at the
following far-fetched conclusions:

“1. In Brazil, as in Europe, man lived contemporaneously with
divers species of mammals which are absent from the present geologic
epoch.

‘‘2. The fossil man of Brazil discovered by Lund in the caves of
Lagoa Santa existed certainly at the epoch of the reindeer; but,
according to the opinion of M. Gaudry, he may not have existed at
the epoch of the mammoth.

1 During his visit at Rio de Janeiro the writer was able to see the skull in question, which is still preserved
at the Instituto de Historia y Geografia in that city. Unfortunately the key of the closet in which the
specimen is kept had been lost, so that the specimen could be inspected only through the glass. It was
found that Lacerda’s illustrations of the specimen were quite accurate. The skull is that of an adult, sex
somewhat doubtful—either a male with submedium supraorbital ridges and moderate mastoids, or a female
with these parts above average. No primitive characteristics. Orbits small, not sharp, relatively rather
high, but not abnormally so, mesorhiny, small prognathism; upper alveolar process low, not strong. Vault
moderate in size, apparently not deformed, dolichocephalic. Supraorbital ridges moderate; do not form
complete arch. Color dark-brownish; specimen looks as if it had been treated with some preservative.

2 Quatrefages, A. de, L’homme fossile de Lagoa-Santa (Brésil) et ses descendants actuels; in Izviestia
imper. obshchestva ljubitelei estestvoznania, etc., 11, Moskva, 1880, pp. 321-338. Also in C. R.l’ Acad. Sci.,
xc, Paris, 1881, p. 882.

170 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

‘*3. The fossil man of Lagoa Santa is distinguished from the fossil
man of Europe by a number of characters, the most important of
which is the coexistence of dolichocephaly and hypsistenocephaly.

‘‘4. In Brazil, as in Europe, fossil man left his descendants who
have contributed to the formation of the present populations.

‘5. Lacerda and Peixoto have with reason regarded the race of
Botocudos as a result of a mixture of the fossil type of Lagoa Santa
with other ethnologic elements.

‘“6. The number and the nature of these elements remain to be
determined, but one at least was brachycephalic.

‘“‘7, The fossil type of Lagoa Santa enters also in part into the
composition of the Ando-Peruvian populations and is found again
more or less pronounced in the littoral of the Pacific.

‘8. In Peru and in Bolivia the ethnic element of Lagoa Santa
manifests its presence quite as clearly as in Brazil. Nevertheless,

(9) “it appears to have exercised a less general influence in Peru
than in Brazil.

‘10. The same ethnic element is found, according to all indica-
tions, elsewhere {in America] than in Brazil and Peru.”

At about this time or a little later, a new communication by
Lacerda,! on the subject of the Lagoa Santa man, appeared.

No new facts concerning the finds are given, but the author speaks
of skulls having forms related to those of the Lagoa Santa caves
from different parts of Brazil, and especially from the shell-heaps:
‘“There are in the Museum of Rio a dozen skulls found by Hartt
and his assistants in the sambaguis of the Provinces Parana and
Santa Catharina. Nearly all these have a sloping forehead; there
are even some in which the front is very sloping. The bones of the
vault are of a very considerable thickness. They are all provided
with large lower jaws and with prominent and voluminous cheek
bones. They are all dolichocephalic and more or less prognathic.”?

Wear of the teeth, such as seen by Lund in the Sumidouro cave
crania and considered by him as of special significance, was found
equally in the sambaqui and other modern skulls.

An interesting section of the paper deals with ‘‘metallization”’ of
bones. Speaking of the metallic impregnation of the Lagoa Santa
specimens, Lacerda asks: ‘‘What space of time is necessary that
this metallic impregnation should become complete? And has it
need of special conditions of the environment to bring it about?

‘‘It is not easy,” he follows, ‘‘to give to-day an answer to these
questions. What remains beyond doubt is that such a metallization

1 Lacerda, A. de, Documents pour servir a histoire de l’homme fossile du Brésil; in Mem. Soc. d’ Anthr.
Paris, 2me sér., 1, 1875, pp. 517-542.

2 Lacerda mentions also the skull (portion) of Ceara, described by Lacerda and Peixoto in the Archivos
do Museu Nacional do Rio de Janeiro, 1, 1876, p. 67. The original, a piece of the vault, was examined by
the writer; it is quite an ordinary piece, with a somewhat sloping forehead, which was badly posed and
pictured. It can have no claim to be considered in connection with antiquity.

\

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 171

of bones bears relation to the presence of metallic substances in the
terrane or deposit in which the skulls are found. However, whatever
may be the time necessary for this metallic impregnation to become
complete, it is impossible to attribute on this basis any very great
antiquity tothe bones. In fact, it is scarcely two years ago that we
received from Para a skull that was buried in the mud on the shore of
the Marajo, at its confluence with the Amazon. In this skull also one
finds all the characteristics of metallization of the bone; the specimen
is relatively heavy, of a maroon color and has a metallic sound.
Chemical analysis made on a part of this skull showed the existence
of a very large quantity of oxide of iron and also a large proportion
of alumina, two substances which do not enter normally into the
composition of bone. Nevertheless everything leads us to believe
that this skull is a relatively very recent one; its craniologic char-
acteristics are not at all similar to those of the skulls of Lagoa Santa;
it was found in a rapidly forming estuary the age of which is plainly
less than that of the caves. Hence metallization of bones is not at
all a special characteristic of fossil crania.”

Lacerda expresses no decided opinion either for or against the
acceptance of antiquity for the Lagoa Santa human remains, but
his remarks are evidence of hesitation in assuming any great age.

On the occasion of the meeting of the Congress of the Americanists
at Copenhagen, in 1883, some of the skulls and bones from the cave of
Sumidouro were exhibited by Liitken,! who, at the same time, gave
the principal data concerning the history of the discoveries. In the
report of this communication, we read (pp. 43-44) the following
sensible remarks:

Lund himself did not go beyond the formal statement that ‘‘the
most important criterion for fixing the relative age of these remains
is absolutely wanting, because they were not found in their origi-
nal position. Reinhardt, who had a profound knowledge of the
subject, although he did not have an opportunity to explore anew
the Brazil caves, has given the opinion, it is true, ‘that there is no
doubt that the human remains were deposited in the cave at nearly
the same epoch as those of the extinct animals,’ and that ‘the latter
have been the contemporaries of man, at least in the last part of their
existence.’ Nevertheless, I have not been able to convince myself
that we are authorized to adopt this hypothesis other than as likely
or probable. I know well that de Quatrefages, in his*discourse on
‘The fossil man of Lagoa Santa in Brazil and his actual descendants,’
at the Anthropological Congress in Moscow in 1879, arrived at the
same conclusions as Reinhardt . . . that is to say, that the con-
temporaneity of man with the extinct species of animals is evident

1 Liitken, Chr. Fr., Exposition de quelques-uns des crines et des autres ossements humains de Minas-
geraés dans le Brésil central découverts et déterrés par le feu Professeur P.W. Lund; in C. R. Congrés inter-
national des Américanistes, Copenhagen, 1883, p. 40.

eZ BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

and incontestable. However, although I do not wish to express
myself except with reserve on a question of geology, I must neverthe-
less acknowledge that I range myself more with the naturalists who
do not feel authorized to reach positive conclusions on the relative
age of bones, objects, utensils, etce., which are found in caves, and
which, belong to different pe stall esi and geologic epochs. Itisa
efact fully acknowledged by the explorers of caves, that very often
there are found in such localities most ancient remains occupying a
more elevated position than those from more recent periods, and that
the grade of petrifaction of the bones may differ even in the two
extremities of the same specimen according to whether it had been
exposed or covered, more or less subjected to the action of water, etc.
This shows what could have taken place, especially in such a cave as
that of Sumidouro, which derives its name from the periodic penetra-
tion into it of the waters of the neighboring lake... It will be
easily perceived that bones from different formations and periods
could, under such circumstances, have become intimately mixed and
could have assumed in the course of time, after having been exposed
to the same influence of water, a similar aspect and the same degree
of petrifaction.”’

In the remaining part of his communication, Liitken speaks of the
fact that teeth worn as are those in the Lagoa Santa skulls are found
in different primitive races. And in conclusion he says: ‘‘The ques-
tion of the contemporaneity of man and extinct animals in Brazil
would probably not be very much cleared by new excavations in the
caves of that country; it is necessary in advance, that the relations
between the extinct and the living fauna of Brazil be well fixed, and a
solution of this important question will probably be found much more
in the layers of the pampas than in the caves of the limestone hills.”

In 1884 there appeared a communication on the subject of the
Lagoa Santa skulls, by Kollmann,! who was able to examine the col-
lection at Copenhagen and measured four of the best-preserved
crania. These belonged to strong men; they are dark-brown in color,
and heavy, owing to petrifaction. They resemble one another com-
pletely. Another skull, that of a female, presents the same charac-
teristics and the same is true of six additional calvaria.

The skulls do not show very strong muscular ridges, with the excep-
tion of the crista infra-temporalis, which, in all four of the male speci-
mens is of an extraordinary development. The brain part of the crania
is very well developed. ‘‘The old Lagoans are in this respect equally
as well developed as our old long-headed Germans.’’ The outline of
the norma verticalis is a long oval. The forehead is vertical (!).
The region of the greater wings of the sphenoid is in toto more
depressed than usual. All the five skulls (including the Rio de

1 Die Schideln von Lagoa-Santa; in Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, xvi, Berlin, 1884, pp. 194-199.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN ibis}

Janeiro specimen) are hypsi-dolichocephalic, with average length-
breadth index of 72.2 and an average length-height index of 80.2.
The face, in consequence of the strong outstanding of the zygomatic
arches and small height, is chameprosopic, the upper facial index
averaging 47. The nasal aperture is in all mesorhinic, the average
nasal index amounting to 50.2. The palate is very broad and is
brachystaphyline. All four skulls show prenasal fosse. The orbits
are low, average index 78.3. There is a rather strong grade of
prognathism.

His determinations in regard to the racial characteristics of the
Lagoa Santa skulls agree, Kollmann states, with those of Reinhardt,
Quatrefages, and of Lacerda and Peixoto; but, ‘‘howsoever valuable
all these individual features established by means of craniology are,
much more significant still is the fact, which must impress itself upon
everyone, that the skulls from Lagoa Santa have the character of
American crania, the racial features of the still-lwing Indians.”

Curiously, however, the above does not lead Kollmann to any doubt
as to the antiquity of the specimens; it is for him a proof rather of
absence of changes in these features in America since the period of
the American diluvium (p. 206).

The measurements (Kollmann’s) of the specimens are as follows:

Bathe Average
Crania of Lagoa Santa No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 iaeae of the
specimen| idices
| | =

LL SPAETH OS STE (Va ne pe Fo A ae ee 18.0 18.0 18.9 er / 18.5 —
PS MEAOLIMONSIMN is. ose ae eee scisaee 13.5 13.0 13.0 13.4 12.9 —
Breadtinotterchead = 22-2 sasee coc cee 2 10.0 9.8 9.5 8.8 9.2 —
‘Beishiiot forehead! .) 4-62 252 eee <2 88 14.5 14.6 15.0 14.5 14.5 _
Circumference, horizontal... .-.2.....+.2.- 51.2 51.0 52.3 55.4 51.5 —
Face, height (estimated) ........-....2...- 11.0 11.6 11.3 11.4 ~~ —
Wace ip perinelehts. x2 sa-uoees. «228.4 6.0 6.6 6.3 6.4 — =
mace. breadth’. — fee... aoe er a3 Hades 13.8 13.3 13.2 SRG) 13.0 —
WIGS 1) is) 0) Peas Se Sees, ae ae ag 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.9 4.5 —
Noses breadiias 2 ae a ee Oe Be 3 2. 22, es 2.4 _
Orbis apread (hiss: id. 72322 5.(5 See 4,2 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.1 —
LOVACHUSH GaY2}¥ed 2 Rae Sage a ee anne a ee 3.2 3.5 3.0 3.3 3.3 _
Palate menegh so che 2s bee .~ Sv c clace cehress Ae 4.7 50 4.3 = = =
Palate gorcact hea. yee «asa ahs ples oe 4.7 4.7 4.5 — — --
Leneih-breadthyvindex:-= 2-2 sces2 ho sce 74.9 7252 68.7 75.7 69.7 (hPa
Deurth-heioht index .5.. 2s 2osie.- 0. ot 5 80.5 SLA 79.3 81.9 78.3 80.2
Breadth-height mdex .<2 -.- 222. u-- 22. see 107.4 IWEBG) LIBS 108. 2 _— 110.8
Hacialindex, Upperst- sco secs sees aees 43.4 49.6 Hv.7 Ai. 4 — 47.0
Nesabindex oS ¢sSs 8. toca esse tees 48.9 50.0 | 47.8 51.0 53.3 50.2
Orbitalindex.s, ..oetoursc85. 2s eee 76.1 83.3 taste 78.5 80.7 78.3
iE cia) ey a's (oo eiken ee Re, ee Sen te 100.0 90.3 104.6 _ -— 98.3

Kollmann’s conclusions, based in the main on this Lagoa Santa
series, are as follows:

‘‘1, The varieties of the American man show already in the
diluwum the same face and skull forms as to-day. They have
already the characteristics of the Indian.

174 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

‘*2. Man is therefore not only an old guest in America, but he is
also furnished, already in diluvial times, with the same unmistakable
racial characteristics as he presents this day.

‘*3. These racial characteristics, it necessarily follows from, this
evidence, originated even earlier.

‘“‘4, These racial characteristics were not further modified by
environment.

‘5. On the basis of the above observations and from the zoologic
standpoint, a future change of racial characteristics of mankind is in
the highest degree improbable.”’

In the present state of knowledge of the Lagoa Santa caves
material, of the Indian in general, of American geology, and of the
imperfect morphologic stability of the human organism, these opin-
ions can have of course but little more than historic value.

In 1885 a brief report on the whole collection of the Sumidouro

Cave human remains was published by ten Kate,' who had personally
examined all the crania preserved at Copenhagen; other bones than
the skulls were apparently not considered.
_ The crania were recognized by ten Kate as having close analogy
with the Indian skulls of Lower California. With the probable excep-
tion of two, all the specimens are masculine. Their principal
measurements are as follows:

Measurements of the Lagoa Santa skulls by ten Kate?

Vault Orbits Nose
SpOCiMiCn NOS.) ee eee
Length | Breadth | Index | Breadth | Height | Index | Length | Breadth | Index
MALES cm. cm. cm. cm. : cm. cm.
UGS os See ee Gaee 18.4 13.0 70.6 3.9 3.6 92.3 4.1 2.45 69.8
DNeasacee hese 18.6 13.4 72.0 3.7 3.4 91.9 _— — _
Dasoe- ses beoeekse 19.3 _ _— 3.5 3.3 94.3 _ — _
SO Se | ae 18.4 12.9 70.1 3.9 3.3 84.6 _ 2.4 _
63-8: cote see eee 19.2 13:4 | 69/8 4,1 3.0 73.2 4.6 PAS) 50.0
ia. SLES 18.2 13.2 | 78.6 3.9 3.4 87.2 4.9 2.5 51.0
at Ie fee 17.8 13.2 74.2 3.7 ey 86.5 4.9 2.3 46.9
Qe ety cc ebedee ns 17.8 12.9 72.6 _ = => _ _ —_—
NOE sores ope eee 19.6 14.2 72.6 _ _ _— _ —_ _
i Les Beg Sees a 18.2 13.2 72.6 _ _ _ _ — —_
Pc ts cle tabs} el) ve es = = ai $s si
1133 3 eA eees @ Se 18.6 13.3 71.6 — — — — — =
JO 8 lee a Sane 18.2 13.5 74.2 _ _— _— _— —_ —
Average....... 18.4 13.25 72.1 3.8 3.3 86.9 | 4.6 2.4 61.6
Minimum....... 17.4 128 69.8 3.5 3.0 73.2 | 4.1 2.3 46.9
Maximum. >... - 19.6 14,2 74.2 4.1 3.6 94.3 4.9 2.5 69.8
FEMALES
\fS py nn ees TA 17.9 12.5 69.8 3.6 3.3 91.7 —_ _ _
perc ee ae) ere 16.8 13.6 80.95 | »-— _ _ — _ _

1 ten Kate, H., Sur lescrénes de Lagoa-Santa; in Bull. Soc.d’ Anthr, Paris, 3me sér.,vm, 1885, pp. 240-244.
2 Table rearranged by A. H.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 175

The skulls are dolichocephalic, but in one of the females the
cephalic index rises to brachycephaly. This skull differs from the
others also in some other respects. It is difficult to say whether it
represents an individual variation only or whether it is an evidence
that there has been a mixture of different racial elements.

However this may be, ‘‘it is plain that if Kollmann had examined
15 instead of only 11 of the skulls, he would not have said that all
the crania belonged to individuals of one perfectly pure race, and he
probably would not have reached, on the basis of such homogeneity,
the conclusion of a great antiquity.

‘Nothing is less proven than the opinion that at the epoch of the
race of Lagoa Santa, mixture of this with other ethnic elements had
not as yet taken place?

As to the statements of Lund, Reinhardt, and Kollmann, that the
skulls of Lagoa Santa offer well-defined characteristics of American
crania and of those of the actual Indians, ten Kate says: ‘‘I accept
willingly the view that the skulls of Lagoa Santa offer great analogies
with other American series, notably with the Botocudos and natives
of Lower California;”’ but he is not willing to admit, on account of the
- great differences in the craniologic characteristics of the different
Indians, that the form of the Lagoa Santa skulls represents the
typical form of the American aborigines in general.

As to the antiquity of the Sumidouro cave remains, ‘‘T am,” says
ten Kate, ‘with Mr. Liitken, rather of the opinion of those who do
not accept as yet the contemporaneity of the man of Lagoa Santa
with the extinct mammals of the Quaternary period in Brazil.”

In 1887 the Lagoa Santa skulls are mentioned once more by A. de
Quatrefages in his ‘‘ Histoire générale des races humaines.’’! The
author proceeds as if the antiquity of the remains was established
beyond any possible doubt.

“These ancient inhabitants of Brazil,” he says, ‘“‘were also the
contemporaries of now extinct species of animals; they belonged to
the geologic age which preceded ours. . . . The man who left his
bones in the cave of Sumidouro lived at an epoch corresponding
probably to our reindeer age.”

The next communication on the subject of the Lagoa Santa human
remains is another paper by Litken, published in the first volume of
memoirs from the Lund Museum.? It deals principally with the
history of the finds and with considerations relative to their age.
The conclusions concerning the latter point are simple and judicial.
Liitken says:

‘“‘None of the bones found in the caves showed any effect of man’s
activity, nor did the human bones show any traces of attacks by the

1 Paris, 1887, pp. 82-83.
2Liitken, Chr. Fr., Indledende Bemaerkninger om Menneskelevninger i Brasiliens Huler og i de Lundske
Samlinger. En Samling af Afhandlinger ¢ Museo Lundii, 1, Kj6benhavn, 1888, pp. 1-29.

176 BUREAU OF AMERICAN BTHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

carnivores with whose bones they coexisted.”” And, as to their
antiquity, ‘‘I do not believe that, on the basis of the information
relating to the circumstances under which the human bones were
found in the Brazil caves, mingled with the remains of mammals of
species partly extinct and partly still living, one can draw other con-
clusions than this, that it is permitted to regard the contemporaneity
of the aborigines of Brazil and of a number of species of extinct
animals (Pliocene or Post-Pliocene) as more or less likely, but that
this contemporaneity should not pass in any way for demonstrated, so
it could serve as a basis of more extended conclusions.”

In 1888, finally, the entire human skeletal material from the Lagoa
Santa caves in the collections at Copenhagen and also that in London
was examined by Séren Hansen.'' The principal attention is given
again to the crania, yet some remarks are devoted also to other
bones of the skeleton, which, unfortunately, are for the most part
fragmentary. Measurements of 17 skulls are given. The numbers
designating the specimens are not the same as those used by Koll-
mann nor those of ten Kate, and the measurements differ in some
respects from those of both previous observers. A number of
dimensions in addition to those formerly recorded are given, as
the height of the skull, circumference, etc. The measurements are
as follows:

Measurements of the Lagoa Santa skulls by Séren Hansen?

‘ E va Basion- Height- Height- (Garcine Trans ge ie
Number; Collection bregma length |breadth ference| V5! "|. tarine
Length | Breadth | Index | eight | index | index CAE are
1. Copenhagen........-- 19.4 13.0 67.0 _ — — — -- —
2. Copenhagen........-. 18.6 P25: |W Sven = = 51.0} 29.5 |7 ==
3. Copenhagen. .......-- 19.2 13:3 69.3 13.4 69.8 | 100.8 52.0 31.5 40.0
4. Copenhagen........-- : 18.4 12.8 69.6 13.8 75.0 ' 107.8 51.0 31.0 37.5
5. Rio de Janeiro... ...-. 18.5 12.9 69.7 14.5 78.4 | 112.4 51.5 31.0 39.0
6. Copenhagen......---- 18.6 13.0 69.9 — — = = ce =
7. Copenhagen........-- Wee 12.4 70.1 12.6 71.2 | 101.6 48.5 28.5 _
Sa auOnG ONS! ae see psecee 18.8 13.2 70.2 13.8 73.4 .| 104.6 52.0 als5 38.6
9. Copenhagen.......-.-. 18.2 12.8 70.8 13.6 74.7 | 106.3 50.5 31.0 38.0
10. Copenhagen.......-.- 18.0 12.8 Ulett — _ _ 50.0 — --
11. Copenhagen........-- 19.6 14.0 71.4 14.0 71.4 | 100.0 53.5 32.5 39.5
12. Copenhagen........-- 18.2 13.0 (glee _ — 50.5 30.5 37.0
13. Copenhagen.......--- 18.3 13.2 72.1 _— — _ 50.5 31.5 _
14. Copenhagen......---. 17.6 12.7 72.2 _— _— _ 49.0 29.0 _—
15. Copenhagen.......-.- 17.2 12.5 72.7 13.0 75.6 | 104.0 48.0 29.5 37.0
16. Copenhagen........-- 18.0 13.1 72.8 14.0 77.8 | 106.9 50.0 31.5 37.0
17. Copenhagen. .....-.-- 16.6 13.4 80.7 _ _ _ 48.0 31.0 =
Averages of Nos.
1-16) Jens ccite eee 18.4 13.0 70.6 13.6 74.1 | 104.9 50.6 30.6 38.2

1 Hansen, Séren, Lagoa Santa Racen. En Samling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, Kjébenhavn,

1888, pp. 1-37.
2 Table rearranged by A. H., but order of records, based on cephalic index, as in original.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN LET

Measurements of the Lagoa Santa skulls by Séren Hansen—Continued

Orbits Nose Miscellaneous
Collection Basion- |Piameter | offoras
Breadth | Height | Index | Height | Breadth | Index | nasion aa men
line in nae
num
1. Copenhagen. . 4.0 3.41 85.0 — _ — ~- ~- --
2. Copenhagen. . -- } 9.4 —
3. Copenhagen. . 3.8 3 78.9 6 2.2 47.8 9.8 9.4 3.7
4, Copenhagen. - 3.7 3.8 89.2 9 Hs 46.9 10.3 10.0 3.6
5. RiodeJaneiro 4.1 3 80.5 5 2.4 63.3 9.3 9.2 _—
6. Copenhagen. . — 9.2 —
7. Copenhagen. . — -— —_ — — — 9.8 8.4 _
8. London...... 3.8 5 92. 1 8 2.5 62.1 9.8 9.7 3.7
9. Copenhagen. . 3.9 3.6 92.3 4.6 2.4 62.2 9.8 9.8 3.4
10. Copenhagen. . — — — 9.4 —
11. Copenhagen. . — a — — ~ —_ 10.8 9.5 3.5
12. Copenhagen. . — — — = — — — 9.2 —_—
13. Copenhagen. . _ — — — — -- ~- — —
14. Copenhagen... -- _ —
15. Copenhagen-. = — 9.3 8.7 3.1
16. Copenhagen. . 3.8 3.3 86.8 4.8 2.5 62.1 10.2 9.0 3.8
17. Copenhagen. . 3.9 2.0 61. — 8.8 _
Averages of
Nos. 1-16 3.9 3.35 86.4 4.7 2.4 60.7 9.9 9.3 3.55

At the end of his article, Hansen gives the following résumé, in
French, of the conclusions at which he arrived:

‘The collection of fossil bones conserved at the Zoological Museum
of the University of Copenhagen comprises’ 15 more or less complete
skulls and a very considerable quantity of large and small fragments
of crania, besides nearly 30 lower jaws, almost all broken, which give
us the approximate number of individuals; in addition, there are
numerous long bones, entire or broken, vertebre, bones of the pelvis,
bones of the hands and feet, etc. All these bones are calcareous and
more or less incrusted by ferruginous agglomerations. Their color
is quite variable and presents all the shades from yellow to dark-
brown and passing into red, altogether as in the animal bones from
the same caves.

‘‘All stages of life are represented with the exception of the young-
est infants. The teeth are often much worn, but rarely diseased.
The wear of the incisors is in some cases so considerable that the roots
are involved, in which case their surface presents a form elongated
in the sagittal direction. Beyond this, it appears that the population
from which these skeletal remains proceed was strong and enjoyed
very robust health, nearly all pathologic alteration being absent,
in the same way as traces of wounds or any kind of mutilations. . . .

21535°—Bull. 52—12——12

178 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

‘‘The fossil skulls of Lagoa Santa present, with about one exception,
aremarkable uniformity. The 14 skulls of Copenhagen, that of Rio de
Janeiro, and that of London, all have the same aspect, all are very high,
very long and have a roundish [should probably read oval—A. H.]
vault. The face is of medium breadth, the same as the orbits and
the nose. The front is not sloping, but rather somewhat pyramidal,
the supraorbital ridges are well-developed, the interorbital part is
broad and strong. The skulls are very prognathic, the subnasal part
especially. The bizygomatic diameter is large and the temporal
root of the zygome is very strong, producing a considerable relief
above the mastoideal region. The skulls are of a medium size, but
their state of preservation does not permit measurements of capacity,
of which a notion can be obtained only from the various measure-
ments.

“The lower jawsare strong, with a well-developed chin and generally
with large genial apophyses.

‘‘According to the anthropologic terminology, the skulls of Lagoa
Santa are dolichocephalic, hypsistenocephalic, prognathic, meso-
facial, megaseme, mesorhinic, and phenozygous. The type corre-
sponds perfectly to that of the Papuans, a fact already pointed to
for the skull of Rio de Janeiro by de Quatrefages, but still more pro-
nounced when one regards the complete series instead of the sole
specimen which he knew. The uniformity of these skulls supports
the theory of that savant concerning the existence of a primitive
race, spreading over the larger part of South America and mixed with
other elements (brachycephalic).

“The only atypical skull from the Lagoa Santa caves is brachy-
cephalic, but in the remainder of its characteristics, corresponds quite
well with the rest of the collection.

‘““The divers bones of the trunk present only a mediocre interest
and the only remarkable thing is the frequence of transitory lumbo-
sacral vertebra (three times for six sacra).

“The bones of the members indicate small or medium stature, but
considerable strength, a new point of resemblance to the Papuans.
The oleocranon cavity of the humerus is in many instances perforated.
The ulnz are somewhat incurved. The femora show a well-developed
linea aspera as well as the third trochanter. The tibiz are very
platycnemic.”’

As to the antiquity of the remains, Hansen adduces (Danish and
French text) that—

‘The human remains were in no case so associated with the bones
of animals that one could reach a conclusion with absolute certainty
as to their contemporaneity with either a Tertiary or a Quaternary
fauna. In the absence of all antiquities one can also know nothing

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 179

about the absolute age of the population, although it is quite likely
that it is very ancient.”’

As to geologic details, ‘‘I shall simply add that the contents of
the cave of Sumidouro, the most important of all, were so disturbed
when Lund came to its exploration that all determination of geologic
age of the skeletal remains is impossible. . . .

“The fossil bones of Lagoa Santa were not found under geologic
conditions sufficiently clear to permit the drawing of paleoethnologic
conclusions with the absolute certainty demanded by science. Never-
theless these remains are precious documents for the definite solution
of the great and important question of the antiquity of man, a ques-
tion which by its delicate nature demands patience and prudence.”’

An additional original study of several of the Lagoa Santa crania
in Copenhagen was made by Virchow, and is reported in his Crania
Americana.' Virchow accepts, in general, Hansen’s conclusions.
He speaks of the remains only as “‘prehistoric,’’ without regarding
the crania as very homogeneous, at least so far as height, orbits, and
nose are concerned, and points out on the basis of the Sumidouro
material that ‘‘We must take account of the fact that already in the
oldest settlements of the aborigines there were represented different
races. Not only did brachycephalic and dolichocephalic tribes exist
but the regions of their distribution lay close together.”

Additional references to the Lagoa Santa skulls occur in a number
of other authors, but with one exception they are without special
importance.” The exception is Rivet’s recent and able paper on
“The Lagoa Santa race among the precolumbian population of
Keuador.” * After giving a résumé of what has hitherto been pub-
lished on the Brazil cave finds, and after enumerating the charac-
teristics of the Lagoa Santa ‘‘race,” the author shows conclusively
that crania of the same type occur in some of the prehistoric burials
of Ecuador and also in many other parts of South America, from
Ecuador and Brazil to Tierra del Fuego, down to practically the
present time. The skulls of Fontezuelas and Arrecifes belong evi-
dently, according to Rivet, to the same raice, and he feels inclined to
add that of Miramar. As to the age of these specimens and of the
Lagoa Santa remains, the author expresses reserve.

CrITICAL REMARKS

The evidence relating to the Lagoa Santa material may be compared
with a considerable quantity of ore, which must pass through the

2 For example Gervais, P., Zoologie et paléontologic générales, Ire sér., Paris, 1867-1869, p. 252; Topinard
P., Eléments d’anthropologie générale, Paris, 1885.

‘Rivet, P., La race de Lagoa-Santa chez les populations, précolombiennes de ]’Equateur; in Bull. et
Mém. Soc. @’Anthr. Paris, 5me sér., rx, fasc. 2, 1908, pp. 209-274.

180 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

characteristics of the bones are concerned, the data evidently cor-
respond to rather low-grade ore. In fact, owing to differences in
results reached by the different observers (the average breadth of the
skulls being given, for instance, as 13.25 cm. by one, and as but
13.0 em. by another, author), with the paucity of records on skeletal
parts other than the skulls, the data on the Lagoa Santa material
suggest the need of a thorough restudy of the whole collection, by
students employing well-tested, modern instruments and approved
methods.

The presence of the remains in caves is not of particular signifi-
cance. Wherever caves were convenient, the American aborigines, as
other primitive peoples, utilized them for habitation, shelter, storage,
ceremonies, and burial: The cliff-dwellers of the southwestern United
States, for example, made use of the caves and shelters of that region
for all these purposes, and the Tarahumare and other tribes of Mexico
do likewise at the present day.

The presence in the cave of Sumidouro of parts of the skeletons of
upwards of 30 individuals of all ages, with the bones of some still in
their natural associations, is sufficient evidence of the fact that the
cave served as a place of burial. Whether the bodies were interred
in the accumulations in the cave or were simply deposited on the
floor is not apparent. It is well known that both methods have
been employed even by a single people.

The absence from the Sumidouro cave of objects of ornament and
of implements and utensils, with the exception of one muller, is a
fact of secondary importance only, having little bearing on the prob-
lems of race antiquity. Objects of wood, fabrics, feathers, and other
perishable articles decay rapidly where water has free access to them,
or they may be carried away by running water. Many burials in
caves, as most of those of late prehistoric times in Chihuahua, a
number of which were explored by the writer, are lacking in objects
of art except remnants of costumes and wrappings of the body.

The association in a single cave of human remains with bones of
extinct animals can not be regarded as establishing by itself con-
temporaneity of the race and the animal species to which the bones
belong. The acceptance of the theory of such contemporaneity
requires proofs that both the animal and the human bones were in
the cave before the extinction of the species represented by the
former. On this point there is no satisfactory evidence in the present
case. No part of the cave showed ancient deposits only; the red
clay, which seemed to be the oldest and least disturbed sediment,
contained on the one hand no bones of man, and on the other held
bones of deer belonging to species still living. The extinct forms
were represented by a few bones only, and in some instances, as that of
the monkey, only by a piece of a single bone; and the fossil animal

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF HARLY MAN 181

bones were irregular in both position and distribution, being mingled
indiscriminately with human and with recent animal bones. These
facts show that the period of deposition of the fossil bones them-
selves in this cave, which is provided with both vertical and lateral
entrances and is periodically mundated, is entirely problematic;
and from such facts it follows that the assumption of equal antiquity
for the human and the fossil animal remains of the Sumidouro cave,
on the basis of their association, is unwarranted.

While the presence in this cave of great quantities of-shells and of
bones of animals of species still existing, which were not inhabitants
of the cave, would not ipso facto disprove the age of any other remains
therein, it indicates the possibility of a casual, though not necessarily
very recent, introduction by the elements of the fossil animal bones.
And the distribution of the modern bones over the floor of the cave
and at all depths in the deposits affords ample proof of the extensive
disturbances which have taken place in these deposits through the
periodic invasion of floods.

The strong point in the claim to antiquity of the human bones in
this cave, as in so many similar cases in South America, is their more
or less advanced alteration in color and composition, their state of
partial petrifaction, and, furthermore, their similarity in these respects
to the associated bones of extinct animals. This question of fossiliza-
tion has often proved embarrassing to anthropologists. It is so
fraught with uncertainties that probably no responsible paleontol-
ogist would risk maintaining that two animal bones, because of
their similar color, weight, and other evidences of mineralization,
are therefore of the same age, or even that either, by reason of these
conditions, is necessarily geologically ancient. But let a human
bone take the place of one of the animal bones and the case seems
to assume a totally different aspect. Its ‘‘fossilization”’ brands it at
once with the majority of observers as of great age. However, in the
present case the facts in respect to this point are so readily inter-
preted that a safe conclusion regarding the relative age of the human
remains should not be difficult.

The human bones from, the Sumidouro cave present various grades
of discoloration and progress of petrifaction. This is stated clearly
by Lund and also by Hansen, and indicated by Blake, but it is not
true, so far as shown, of the bones of the extinct animals. This fact
led Lund at one time (see p. 157) to regard the human bones as
derived from several periods. In this connection we have to consider
the important and oft-repeated statements of Lund that the skeletal
remains of the recent animals also showed changes in varying degrees
(see p. 157), ranging from relative freshness to a state of mineraliza-
tion corresponding to that of the fossil bones of extinct species. Some
of the relatively modern species were apparently as fully petrified as

182 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puLL. 52

any in the cave. Thus the changes in the bones of animals of still-
existing species were evidently similar in general to those in the
human bones, and there is equal justification in both cases for con-
sidering the remains contemporary with the extinct species.

In view of these considerations, petrifaction as an index of age in
this particular cave must necessarily be regarded as of little value.
The potency of mineral substances of the soil in altering bones is
very pronounced, and this potency is materially increased by the
presence of water, especially when the latter carries in solution,
as it often does, the organic and inorganic constituents favoring
fossilization. Such agencies are sufficient to account for the changes,
within a few centuries, observed in the human and recent animal
bones found in the Sumidouro cave. On the western coast of Florida,
as reported by Vaughan and the writer on another occasion,’ similar
agencies are causing the rapid petrification of human bones and
other objects subject to their influence, and these have produced
also in relatively recent times in other parts of America changes
in bones very much lke those observed in the Sumidouro cave.
One such instance is the cranium reported from the mouth of the
Amazon by Lacerda (see p. 171), and many striking examples are
seen among the brown and _ blackish-brown mineralized human
remains collected by Moreno and also by the writer from the super-
ficial and relatively recent alluvial deposits in certain parts of the
valley of the Rio Negro.?

That the fossil animal bones from the cave under consideration
presented the same degree of petrifaction as the associated human
bones, rests only on statements and superficial evidence, but it is
quite obvious, as already mentioned (see p. 7), that petrifaction
under given conditions may proceed only to a certain stage, where it
necessarily stops or becomes exceedingly slow. Hence two bones of
widely different ages could well present the same aspect of petrifac-
tion, a condition which in all probability exists in the Sumidouro
cave.

There remain to be reviewed the anthropologic characteristics
of the bones, and the first query that presents itself in this connec-
tion is, What has become of the low sloping foreheads which Lund
so accentuated in his letters? It is certain that none of the examples
described present any such feature. (Pls. 16, 17.) It may also
be asked, Where are the human bones from the five or six other
caves mentioned as having contained such remains? Also, trace
seems to be lost of the skulls from the Sumidouro cave (excepting
thé specimen in Rio de Janeiro) bearing the characteristic wounds
which Lund mentioned. However, this last point is quite immaterial.

1See Bulletin 33 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
2 See chapter on The Ancient Patagonians and that on the Homo pampzxus.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 16

A LAGOA SANTA SKULL. (AFTER SOREN HANSEN)

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 17

A LAGOA SANTA SKULL. (AFTER SOREN HANSEN)

HRDLIKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 188

As to the actual anthropologic data on the remains, a summary of
which has been given in preceding pages, it may be stated that
notwithstanding the before-mentioned differences in the published
records, the cranial type of the Lagoa Santa caves may be regarded
as in general fairly well known; and this type agrees in every point
of importance with what may be considered the fundamental traits
of the American race, more particularly in the dolichocephalic strain of
that race. The opinions to this effect of Lund, Kollmann, Hansen,
as well as of ten Kate and Rivet, will doubtless stand without
material alteration. The objection of ten Kate that there is no
general American type, and his inclination toward regarding the
American natives as racially heterogeneous, views entertained also by
Rivet and many other authors, when the mass of present evidence
is carefully considered can be admitted as true only to a certain
rather limited extent. The fact is that the American stem or
homotype is not homogeneous; it presents in different tribes and
localities the extremes of head form and also numerous other
pronounced differences. Yet, the living Indian, as well as his
skeletal remains, are characterized throughout America, from Canada
to the limits of Tierra del Fuego, by certain fundamental traits
that indicate unity in a more general sense of the word. This
is not the place, however, to go into detailed enumeration and
discussion of these traits. It may suffice to say that they apply
especially to the facial features, the nasal aperture, the malar bones,
‘the maxilla, the base of the skull, the teeth; but they extend also
‘to certain characteristics of the vault itself, and beyond that to the
forms and relative dimensions of numerous parts of the skeleton.
This general American type is more or less related to that of the
yellow-brown peoples, wherever these are found without decided
admixture with other strains. These yellow-brown people, includ-
ing the American, represent one great stream of humanity. In this
way it is explainable how the crania from Brazil, and again those of
southern California, with still others, have ess found to present
resemblances to the Polynesians, or even to some of the less negroid
Melanesians; it is a basal or souche relation, and the Americans
may well be wholly free of any connection, except the ancient
parental contact, with these branches.

Besides agreeing closely with the dolichocephalic American type,
which had an extensive representation throughout Brazil, including
the Province of Minas Geraes, and in many other parts of South
America, it is the same type which is met with farther north, among
the Aztec, Tarasco, Otomi, Tarahumare, Pima, Californians, ancient
Utah cliff-dwellers, ancient northeastern Pueblos, Shoshoni, many
of the Plains Tribes, Iroquois, Eastern Siouan, and Algonquian.

1 See symposium on origin of American aborigines, in A mer.Anthr., n. s., XIv, No. 1, 1912.

184 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Tputn. 52

But it is apart from the Eskimo, who form a distinct subtype of the
yellow-brown strain of humanity. Outside of the features assimilat-
ing them with the American dolichocephalic Indian type, the Lagoa
Santa crania appear to present no characteristics whatever that
could be regarded as more than individual variations.

Of the other parts of the skeletons there is unfortunately only the
brief description of Hansen, but what he has said agrees with the
prevalent holocene American type and suggests no geologic antiquity.

The assumption of racial kinship between the Lagoa Santa crania
and the negroid Papuans is not justifiable. Resemblance of the
vault is a character the value of which is as yet imperfectly under-
stood, but within certain limits is not great; it alone, save in very
exceptional circumstances, can not be regarded as decisive in racial
differentiation.

In view of all the above facts and considerations, it seems quite
evident that the human remains from the Lagoa Santa caves can
not be accepted, without further and more conclusive proofs, as
belonging to a race which lived contemporaneously with the extinct
species of animals found in the same caves; and there is no reliable
foundation in the remainder of the data relating to the specimens on
which such geologic antiquity could be based.

THE CARCARANA BONES
HistoricaAL Notes AND PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS

In 1864 F. Seguin, a collector of and dealer in fossils, brought to
Buenos Aires some fragments of human bones, which he said were
found in the Pampean deposits of the banks of the Rio Carcarana,
about 25 leagues north of Rosario in the northern part of the Province
of Buenos Aires, together with bones of the fossil bear and horse.

The find is mentioned for the first time in .1865 by Burmeister,!
who, however, was not permitted by Seguin to see the specimens. A
little later they were sent to France and were eventually bought, with
the rest of the Seguin collection, by the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle
in Paris. In 1869 they were mentioned, and 1873 briefly described,
by Gervais ;? in 1874 the find was discussed by Moreno;? in 1875 and
again in 1879 by Burmeister ;* in 1881 they were reported with further

1 Burmeister, G., Lista de los mamiferos fésiles del terreno diluviano; in Anales del Museo Piublico de
Buenos Aires, 1, 1864-65, p. 298. See also, Ameghino, F., La antigiiedad del hombre en El Plata, n,
Paris-Buenos Aires, 1881, pp. 374-377; Lehmann-Nitsche, R., Nouvelles recherches sur la formation
Pampéenne, ete., in Revista del Museo de La Plata, xtv, Buenos Aires, 1907, pp. 209-213.

2 Gervais, P., Zoologie et paléontologie générales; Premiére série, Paris, 1867-69, p. 114; by same author,
Débris humains recueillis dans la Confédération Argentine avee desossements d’animaux appartenant &
des espéces perdues, in Journal de Zoologie, 1, Paris, 1873, pp. 231-234, figs. 1-4, pl. v.

3 Moreno, F. P., Noticias sobre antigiiedades de los Indios, del tiempo anterior 4 la Conquista, etc.; in
Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Cérdoba, 1, Buenos Aires, 1874, pp. 130-149.

4 Burmeister, G ., Los caballos fésiles de la Reptiblica Argentina; Buenos Aires, 1875, pp. 76-78; and, by
same author, Description physique de la Republique Argentine, Buenos Aires, m1, 1879, pp. 41-42.

HIRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF BARLY MAN 185

details by Ameghino;! in 1907 they were touched on by Roth? and,
finally, in 1907, an account of the find was given by Lehmann-Nitsche.*

In his first communication on the subject (1865), Burmeister merely
mentions the alleged find and his unsuccessful efforts to examine the
bones.

In his first note on the find (1869) Gervais also restricts himself to
a simple mention of the bones and Seguin’s information concerning
them, but besides other remarks, makes this reference to the mingling
of the human with fossil animal bones: ‘‘I leave it for others to decide
whether there has not been some redistribution of earth sufficient to
explain such a mingling.’ Nor is he less guarded in 1873, when the
first description of the Carcarafid specimens appears from his pen.

‘The human bones, which constitute part of the second Seguin col-
lection, are quite numerous, but they are reduced for the most
part to slivers. Among them are fragments of skulls, portions of the
long bones, and some phalanges, the latter being mostly well-
preserved. . . .

“These bones show two different varieties of coloration. Those
of lighter color were scattered over the surface of the ground, having
been removed from the deposit in which they lay and washed by
water. The others, of brown color, were still in the ground. The
piece of a femur, already partly exposed when found, is light in*the
half that was exposed and dark in the other.

‘‘The teeth or parts of teeth found with this skeletal débris are not
less characteristic and indicate at least two indiv.duals. They con-
sist of incisors and molars. The crown is in every case more or less
worn off, and the incisors in particular show in this respect the trans-
versal wear, such as is peculiar to primitive races. We possess about
30 of these teeth, several of which areshownin . . ._ this publi-
cation”’ (see fig. 43).

Seguin encountered also on the Carcarafid, ‘‘in common with the
osseous débris mentioned above, stone implements comparable in
certain aspects with those that characterize the paleolithic epoch in
Europe. Specimens numbered 1, 2, and 4 are of quartzite; number 3
is of chalcedony. The last three pieces . . . are quite comparable
with well-known forms; they also indicate a rather recent epoch, but
they should be compared with implements of the same sort that are
still used by some South American tribes, or with those which they
employed before the Conquest.”

1 Ameghino, F., La antigtiedad, etc., 0, 1881, pp. 514-526.

2 Roth, S., Ueber den Schiidel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fontezuelas); in Mitth. anat. Inst. Vesalianum
zu Basel, 1889, pp. 6-9; also in Lehmann-Nitsche, Nouvelles recherches, etc., 1907, pp. 470-477.

3’ Lehmann-Nitsche, ibid., pp. 212-213.

186 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puLn. 52

The illustrations given by Gervais show nine teeth, all of very
ordinary form and size, and all somewhat worn (fig. 43), and four stone
implements, more or less identical in form with quartzite implements
from the Argentine coast (see section on Archeology).

F. P. Moreno, one of the most experienced of the Argentine men of
science, referring in 1874 to’the alleged finds of the remains of ancient
man in Argentina before that time, voices his doubts much more freely:

‘“‘Tn the soil of the Province of Buenos Aires, above all in the banks
of its numerous arroyos and lakes, there are discovered from time to
time vestiges which indicate the existence of indigenous man anterior
to the Conquest.

‘These vestiges, which represent fragments of domestic objects and
some weapons, belong undoubtedly to the epoch of modern alluvia.

Fig. 43.—Teeth from the Carearafia skull. (After Gervais.)

Various authors have believed, nevertheless, that they should be
assigned to an age contemporaneous with that of the great extinct
American mammals; but the existence of Quaternary man in the
Argentine territory is not yet cer tainly proven.

‘‘The discoveries which have been made in the Pampean strata
during the last years are isolated and the human remains obtained
have been brought to light by persons who are strangers to paleon-
tology and little prepared for dealing with the problems of the
pampas, and although these persons assure us that the remains were
found mingled with the bones of the glyptodons and mylodons, we are
not justified in attaching much importance to this circumstance.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 187

‘‘Many times the bones of these animals are encountered in what
were originally Pampean deposits, but which have been moved and
reaccumulated along the banks of the streams; or they are found
interred in the vegetal soil mixed with sand from the channels of
those streams. I myself have gathered bones of a mylodon, which,
displaced from the great Pampean mass, have been brought into such
accumulations in the way just named.

“The main reason of the announcements of such discoveries
is, | am forced to say, the avidity with which certain persons, particu-
larly those who in the Province of Buenos Aires occupy themselves with
the collection of fossils for sale, desire to discover fossil man in the
pampa. Relying on the great similarities of the works of the primi-
tive man in Europe and those of the present natives in some parts
of the South American continent, they believe themselves authorized
in attributing the remains of the work of man distributed along
the banks of the streams and lakes as well as among the sand dunes
of the Atlantic coast, to an epoch contemporaneous with that of
the cave man in Europe. I, myself, have had occasion to examine,
although without much detail, the remains of the skull of an indi-
vidual said to be fossil and alleged to have been found beneath
the carapace of a glyptodon; but these remains had a great resem-
blance to some crania of the Tehuelche Indians of the period before
the Conquest collected by myself along the southern bank of the
Rio Negro. The wear of the teeth of the specimen, as well as
that of the teeth pictured and described by Gervais (1873) is also
characteristic of the Rio Negro skulls which I have mentioned
and of those of the other primitive (but not fossil) races of our
land. I believe that the remains and objects described by Professor
Gervais and belonging to the collection of fossils which Seguin
sold to the Museum of Paris, as well as the other human remains
which, as I said above, I had the occasion to examine, belonged to
some of the tribes which inhabited these regions before the Spanish
occupation.

[p. 182] ‘‘Leaving aside, then, finds which prove only that man
was here a witness of the formation of the last alluvial deposits,
it is necessary that there be discovered in abundance and by competent
persons, human remains, together with products of man’s industry,
in diverse parts of this Province, in undisturbed deposits. .

“The objects encountered up to this moment by the persons
alluded to, and those which I myself have gathered in some of my
excursions in search of fossil mammals, show the domestic and
industrial status of those who first peopled our territory, namely,
the bellicose Querandi, who inhabited the site where, in 1535, Buenos
Aires was founded, and who were forcibly expelled from their lands
by the first Spanish expedition.”

188 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

And shortly afterward (1875) Burmeister expresses himself in
much the same vein as Moreno:

‘Some collectors have mentioned fossil remains of man extracted
from the Pampean deposits, and they have even shown some of
these to me, representing them as found in connection with frag-
ments of Megatherium, Glyptodon, and other fossils of the antedilu-
vian fauna of the pampa. I frankly confess that I do not find
myself very much disposed to believe the affirmations of these
collectors, because they know very well, through communicating
with different persons, the scientific value of the discovery of fossil
man, and, as they make their collections only with the intention
of selling them, they believe with reason that there will be a large
augmentation in the price if they can present among the objects
they offer to the curious some rarity of the first order. Thus Seguin,
who carried collections of fossil bones to Paris, had no other
intention than to sell them; he was in the past a confectioner,
and he followed the example of Bravard in making these collections
when he comprehended the possibility of earning a fortune with
the same. ... The fame of the discoveries of fossil bones
made by Boucher de Perthes in France has acquainted Seguin with
the great value that they might acquire. He tried to augment,
for this reason, the effect of his new collection, bringing his fossil
bones to Paris and including with them the first examples of fossil
man of the pampa.”’ ;

In 1879, in the third volume of his Physical Description of the
Argentine, Burmeister returns once more to ae subject in the
following words:

“The fossil bones described by Gervais [Jour. de Zoologie, tt,
232] have been found in a deposit of gravel on the banks of ‘he
Rio Carcarafié, north of Rosario, at a place where excavations
were made for a bridge of the Central Railroad. I have received
from the same locality, through the kindness of the engineer charged
with the construction of the bridge, a very numerous collection of
bones from the same gravel, but without any human remains.
The collection comprises a large quantity of bones of deer, all of
a very fresh aspect and well conserved; and, as these animals belong
to the superior level of the diluvial formation, ... I can
not concede to the human bones that came from the same layer any
greater antiquity. It is true that there are also bones of more
ancient species, but these are rare in comparison with the numerous
fragments from more modern animals and their origin is problem-
atic. I have received from excavations made in the same layer
a fragment of a skull of Typotherium from a very young individual
and as this species is evidently from the diluvial deposit and very
rare in this gravel, I am disposed to believe that it had been trans-

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 189

ported from a more ancient stratum by running water, which
deposited the entire layer of gravel. The same remark may be
applied to the bones of the Ursus bonzriensis, which Seguin, the
same who made the fortunate discovery of the human bones, found
mingled with the latter; as there were found only very few
fragments of the bones of the bear, I prefer to believe that they
were not in their primitive position, but that they were detached
from another more ancient stratum. ... I prefer to believe
that these bones [those of the fossil bear and the Typotherium|
came from another deposit and were transported by the cur-
rent which formed the gravel, and which mingled the bones
of animals of more ancient formation with those of man which
belonged to one more recent. My opinion is strengthened by
the presence of objects worked by the hand of man found by
Seguin in the same gravel. These objects are entirely similar to
analogous objects worked by the Indians existing before the Con-
quest. The bones and the débris of examples of ancient Indian manu-
facture have probably been washed out from an ancient Indian tomb
by modern currents of fresh water, and [ do not see, after having
ascertained their complete resemblance to similar objects found in
the cemeteries and tombs from the period before the Conquest,
any cause for attributing to them any greater antiquity.”

An entirely different view of the subject, however, is taken two
years later by Ameghino,' who saw the bones in Paris. He has
nothing at all to say as to their anatomic features, nor was any
chemical examination made to determine their ‘‘fossility,’’ but he
endeavors to sustain and to define their antiquity.

He states that, owing to Seguin’s death, the exact location of the
find was never ascertained; it was ‘‘on the borders of the Rio Car-
caranhd, a few leagues from its mouth.’ A manuscript catalogue of
the collection, at the Paris Museum, contained the following data:

‘‘Human bones collected near the Rio Carcarafa, in the same soil
_ as the bones of various fossil animals (horse, bear, etc.), which appear
contemporaneous with the latter; parts of the skeletons of four indi-
viduals; portions of upper and lower jaws, with teeth; various por-
tions of skulls; 32 isolated teeth; various parts of the vertebre,
ribs, bones of the limbs (long bones and phalanges), etc.

“Also a large number of fragments of bones still enveloped in
matrix (gangue), analogous in character to that which contains bones
of various fossil animals.

‘Knives and other cutting instruments, manufactured in ancient
times by man, and discovered in the same deposits in which were
found the above-mentioned bones, as well as those of various other
animals.”

1 See La antigiiedad, etc., 11, 1881, p. 514 et seq.

190 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The examination of the specimens showed Ameghino that the
stone implements had ‘‘suffered absolutely no alteration of surface,”
and that they were ‘‘very well made, approaching, particularly in
one case, recent forms.’”’ From this, and from the nature of the
material of which three of the four implements are made (i. e.,
quartzite, the source of which is in the Sierra Tandil, 120 leagues
distant), Ameghino deduced that ‘‘the stone implements brought by
Seguin to Europe must have been encountered within the limits
of the Province of Buenos Aires, and they proceed, without doubt,
from the black earth of the surface. This, however, does not neces-
sarily impugn Seguin’s honesty; he was only mistaken. The worked
stones may have tumbled from the superficial layer and have been
transported onto Pampean deposits, where they were collected.

But the same thing did not happen with the bones. . . . Seguin,
who collected fossils for 20 years, could hardly have committed such
an error.”’

The bones, Ameghino continues, show different colors; many of them
are in part or wholly bleached, indicating partial or complete exposure
above ground. Some are still enveloped by the earth. On the
banks of the Carcarafa there are distinguishable only two entirely dif-
ferent strata, the thin, black, superficial, vegetal (40-60 cm.), and
the reddish Pampean argillaceous sediments underneath. The Seguin —
specimens show the yellowish color, which proves that they were
derived from the Pampean deposits. Some of the bones are light,
fragile—they lay in ground without carbonates or silicates; others are
considerably heavier—they, though in the same terrane, became infil-
trated with carbonate of lime; and others show in part one, in part
the other, of these characteristics. The earth that still partly
envelops some of the specimens is the Pampean sandy clay, and the
same is found in their medullary as well as in their interstitial cavi-
ties. In some cases the adhering earth is hardened to tosca. ‘‘The
presence of tosca, which adheres strongly to the bones, and which
also fills all the cavities, constitutes itself an incontrovertible proof
of the antiquity of these bones and of their contemporaneity with
the great edentates of the Pampean fogmation.” (P. 523.)

The bones of the fossil bear present, Ameghino says, the same
characteristics as those of man. The surface of many of the human
skeletal parts show a number of impressions which were recognized
as due to gnawing by extinct animals (?) belonging to the genera
Hesperomys and Reithrodon; and the bones of the bear show similar
marks caused by gnawing. ‘‘It is evident that the Hesperomys and
the Reithrodon have gnawed only fresh bones, a condition from which
itis concluded that the man and the bear who left the osseous remains
in this locality were not only geologically contemporaneous, but fur-
thermore that they died within a very short interval of each other,
if not at the same moment.”’ (P. 524.)

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 191

“The human bones encountered by Seguin in the Province of
Santa Fé are as fossil as the skeletons of the glyptodons, taxodons,
and mylodons, which are to-day being exhibited in the principal
museums of the world.” (Pp. 524-525.)

The author then proceeds to establish the horizon of the Pampean
formation in which the bones lay. His decision is that they came
from the reddish Superior Pampean and belong to the same geologic
horizon, slightly more or less, as the human bones found at the
Arroyo Frias, near Mercedes.

In the same general neighborhood from which the Seguin collec-
tion came were found a number of other species of fossil animals,
hence ‘‘the man whose remains Seguin encountered was contem-
poraneous with five genera and seven species of extinct mammals,
namely, the Arctotherium boneriensis, the Hydrocherus magnus, the
Mastodon, an equid, the Megatherium americanum, the Lestodon tri-
gonidens, and the Euryurus rudis.”” (P. 526.) It would appear evi-
dent from the above that Seguin’s death and his withholding the
information as to the exact locality of the find, did not matter much
after all.

Roth, who occupies himself briefly with the Seguin collection in
his letter to Kollmann (1889), brings forth no facts touching directly
on the human bones sold by Seguin, but questions the opinion of
Burmeister that the bones came from a gravel deposit. He says:1

‘“The opinion of Doctor Burmeister concerning the find of Seguin,
given on page 42 in the third volume of the Physical Description of
the Argentine Republic, is not justified. Burmeister believes that
the bones of the fossil bear may have been removed by water from a
more ancient stratum and then deposited with human bones in a layer
of gravel. It is not likely that the water has torn from the hard loess
a certain number of the bones of the bear (Arctotherium) to transport
them into another place and there unite them; besides which, in the
region cited, the borders of the Carcarafd, there does not exist any’
layer of gravel. I know perfectly the place where the railroad from
Rosario to Cérdoba crosses the Carcaraia. The banks consist of loess
belonging to the Intermediary Pampean formation. Above there
exists a thin layer of humus and down below, in the bed of the
stream itself, there are found from place to place deposits of an
altogether insignificant extent of mud and of triturated calcareous
concretions. Had Seguin, instead of finding the human bones in the
loess gathered them in these deposits, everyone who knows Pampean
fossils would have seen at once that the débris did not come from
the Pampean formation; but if these bones were really discovered
in the loess traversed by the foundations of the bridge, they belong
to the Intermediary Pampean strata. . . . Consequently,

1 Ueber den Schidel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fontezuelas); in Mitth. anat. inst. Vesalianum zu
Basel, 1889, p. 2.

192 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bunn 52

without leaving place for any doubt, the human remains found on the
borders of the Carcarana are fossil and are derived at the least from the
yellow loess, and it may also well be that they come from the Inter-
mediary Pampean formation (brown loess).”’

Finally Lehmann-Nitsche (1909), notwithstanding the facts that he
has not seen the material and that he knew of the objection to the
theory of antiquity of the Seguin specimens by Moreno and Burmeister,
declares that ‘‘the fossil nature of the human débris from the banks
of the Carcarafié can not be questioned.”

And further on (p. 213) he says, following his quotation of Roth’s
above-given remarks: ‘‘Consequently, without leaving place for any
doubt, the human remains from the border of Carcarafié are fossil
and come at least from the yellow loess, and it may well be possible
that they proceed from even the Intermediary Pampean (the brown
loess.)”’? In an even more recent publication‘ this author still con-
siders the Carcarafia bones as belonging to the Superior Pampean.

CriticaAL REMARKS

The foregoing details are given because they relate to the first alleged
discovery of ancient man in Argentina and also because this case is
typical of practically the whole line of subsequent reports on the
subject of early man in that country, as regards the defective nature
of the basal facts, the frequently arbitrary treatment of the evidence
that exists, and the strained reasoning indulged in on the basis of
this evidence.

The actual facts of the Carcarafia evidence may be critically
résuméd as follows:

1. The geographic data concerning the Carcarafia find are unsatis~
factory, not precise enough for a case of any importance.

2. Direct geologic data are entirely wanting and the circumstantial
evidence is inconclusive.

3. The bones were gathered by a nonscientific collector, whose
discrimination regarding the essential details of the discovery at best
would be open to doubt. The further fact that the presence of fossil
human remains, in the knowledge of the collector would heighten the
value or facilitate the sale of the collection of animal bones can not
be disregarded in the case of one who collected only to sell.

4. The quantity of human bones, with the statement in the cata-
logue of the collection that they were parts of four skeletons, points to
the probability that the remains were derived from either several con-
tiguous burials, or from a common secondary grave of a number of
individuals; such graves were quite common in recent times farther
south in Argentina. The facts that the bones were in fragments or

a a a eee
1 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fésil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac, Est., La Paz, Bolivia, vi, 1910,
pp. 363-366,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 193

slivers, that they represented nearly all the parts of the human frame,
and yet comprised only small portions of the skeletons, indicate expo-
sure of the bones, their fragmentation due to exposure, and perhaps
other agencies, and either their removal from the original site, which
could have been effected by running water, or the removal of the
many missing parts, probably by the same agency. A possible
alternative agency would be some great local disturbance, hard to be
imagined, causing the fragmentation and the removal from situ of
many of the broken parts of the skeletons.

5. Some of the bones were seen still embedded in, and others with
the cavities filled by, Pampean loess, which in some instances was
hardened to tosca. The presence of neither of these materials can
be considered as proof of antiquity of the skeletal parts. Bones
buried primarily or secondarily in loess (they could not well be
buried elsewhere in the regions in question), on the disappearance of
the marrow, especially if the bones be broken, become surrounded
and filled with the material in which they lie, whatever may be its age.
They may become thus filled and surrounded even if lying in, and
especially at the edge of, a mixed deposit of loess and gravel. How-
ever, the relation of the bones in this case to gravel is entirely uncer-
tain, and speculations on the point would be vain. Finally, if the
loess carried moisture and lime salts, as it generally does in eastern
Argentina, on drying some of it would turn to more or less compact
cement, which would adhere to the bones. This would not be real
tosca, such as exists already concreted within the loess, though this
circumstance is not of great importance.

6. The bones of fossil animals found with the human bones are
nowhere referred to as skeletons, or even as the larger undisturbed
parts of the skeletons, of these animals. They were, it is plain, not
such, or the fact would surely have been mentioned ; and if only isolated
parts, they could easily have been removed from their original resting
place by torrential waters and deposited in contact with the human
bones.

7. The ‘‘fossilization” of the human bones has been estimated
without actual tests, leaving the subject in uncertainty. But
even real mineralization, as mentioned in other parts of this report,
is more a criterion of conditions than of age.

8. The implements stated explicitly by Seguin to have been found
with the bones are such as were used by the Indians of other parts of
the Province of Buenos Aires. No. 1 is not only identical in form
with that found by Ameghino in the superficial layer at Lujan, but
also with several brought by the writer from the coast of the Province.

9. The marks on the bones may well have been made by rodents,
for markings of such origin are very common in Argentina, but it can

21535°—Bull. 52—12——13

194 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

not be accepted as proven that they could have been made only by
certain species of ancient rodents.

10. The contemporaneity of bones of fossil animals found in the
same general region with the human bones under consideration lacks
substantiation.

11. Finally, morphologically the Seguin human bones offer, so far
as shown, nothing indicating primitiveness of form or great age.

On the basis of the above facts the inevitable conclusion is that the
Carcarafié human remains should cease to be cited as representing a
South American man of geologic antiquity.

“THE ANCIENT PATAGONIANS
HisTtoRY AND OBSERVATIONS ON THE SPECIMENS

At the meeting of the Anthropological Society of Paris, July 1,
1880, Francisco Moreno read a communication on ‘Two prehis-
toric skulls brought from the Rio Negro.”’! This report marks the
beginning of the written history of the so-called fossil Patagonian
erania.

Sr. Moreno’s communication was as follows:

“The two skulls come from the ancient cemeteries of the Rio
Negro. They are representatives of races anterior to the Spanish
conquest and already extinct before that time.

‘The calva, which presents pathologic features, was exhumed by
me from a layer of sandy, yellowish clay, which forms the ancient
alluvia of the Rio Negro and appears altogether similar to the Qua-
ternary loam of the pampas. This layer is not continuous, but occurs
in knolls (mamelons) or ridges, which resemble old and but slightly
elevated islands or banks of an ancient delta. Near this skull I found
no bones of extinct animals, but, at the distance of some hundreds
of meters, I came across a few fragments of the carapace of a glypto-
don, which presented the same external appearances as the human
skull. The color and the condition of the latter are quite the same
as in the majority of Quaternary remains.

‘The second skull is more modern but still very ancient; I extracted
it from the ancient dunes, formerly mobile but now fixed, which in
the past lined the islands of the old stream at its former mouth near
Carmen. ‘The first skull lay at a depth of nearly 4 meters, the second
at 2 meters, [7] in the sand. The latter specimen is deformed in the
Aymara fashion and shows some scraping below the parietal.

1 Moreno, F. P., Sur deux cranes préhistoriques de Rio-Negro; in Bull. rapportés Soc.d’ A nthr., Paris, 3me
sér., I, 1880, pp. 490-497.

(?In answer to the question by Hamyy as to the exact nature of the deposits in which this second skull was
found, Moreno states in another part of the paper (p. 495) that the deposits are ‘‘ancient dunes, now solidi-
fied [this should be understood to mean settled, fixed, not solidified like stone.—A. H.], close to the ancient
islands of the Rio Negro. The skull was found at a depth of 10 feet, in violet sand.’’ There must be an
error in one of these figures.]

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 195

‘“The two skulls are not the representatives of the two races which,
in former times, inhabited the region of the Rio Negro near the ocean.

‘Tn the ancient cemeteries 1 are found several cranial forms. The
most ancient is that represented by the above-mentioned calva.
This race lived, I believe, in the glacial time of Patagonia, which
however, is more recent than the glacial epoch of Europe.

‘‘Afterward (but not very long after, I believe), there comes a race,
Neanderthaloid in type, very similar to the Botocudo.

The skulls of this race are interred in the ancient dunes.

‘Still later there appears a cranial type with marked prognathism,
and with the posterior or occipital part of the skull rounded instead
of being very elongated. . . . There are normal as well as
deformed (fronto-parietal compression) crania.

“The type known under the name of Aymara is seen afterward (of
this I have found more than 100 skulls); the specimens belonging to
this type are all blackish. It is difficult to say whether this is con-
temporaneous with or slightly subsequent to the just-mentioned flat-
heads, of which one can see about 50 representatives in the Archeo-
logical Museum, of Buenos Aires.

‘‘The most modern types in the valley and those which are perpet-
uated to this day, are those of the pampas, and the Patagonians or
Tehuelches, with brachycephalic skulls that are generally deformed
by flattening of the occiput. Some of the crania of these races are
found painted red.”

The foregoing report of Sefior Moreno occasioned considerable
discussion.

Mm. Bordier, Bertillon, and Broca considered the lesion of the first-
mentioned skull evidently syphilitic.

Topinard remarked that the specimens ‘‘are the most authentically
ancient skulls which we know from America. . . . Both come
from the alluvia of glacial origin, of the Rio Negro; it is understood,
however, that the term ‘glacial’ does not signify anything analogous
in that country to the glacial epoch in Europe. We are still ignorant
of even the rudiments of the chronology of the terranes and the
faune of the Argentine Republic and Patagonia. Nevertheless, there
is some reason to believe that the alluvia, the ‘river beds’ of the
English, possess in these countries considerable antiquity and ante-
date by at least some thousands of years the Christian era.’”’ Both
of the skulls ‘‘are artificially deformed, and one, especially, presents
the classical, elongated, cylindric, low deformation, with its two char-
acteristic, frontal and postbregmatic, depressions, known under the
term Aymara. . . .

‘“‘The other skull, found by M. Moreno 15 feet beneath the surface,
is also deformed but the type of the shaping is different. It is not the

1 The author speaks only of those in the valley of the Rio Negro.

196 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY — [BULL. 52

ordinary Aymara type, but a frontal deformation inclining gradually
from, the lowest part of the front to the vertex, similar to the Toulou-
sian deformation recently presented before you by M. Broca. Some
one remarked awhile ago that this skull shows Neanderthaloid char-
acters; this is an error, it is deformed.”

Hamy said the black skull recalls, trait for trait, the crania of the
Aymara.

Finally, Broca expressed the opinion that ‘‘it is necessary to be
reserved in regard to the geologic chronology of America in general
and especially that of South America. . . . Notwithstanding
this, it would be of great interest to know to what epoch the deformed
skull of which Hamy has just spoken and the form of which appears
to me characteristic, belongs.”

CRITICAL REMARKS

The foregoing citations include about all the information extant
relating to the Rio Negro ‘‘fossil” crania. Nothing further con-
cerning the specimens was published by Moreno.

Nearly 10 years later the finds under consideration were mentioned
by Ameghino,! who, however, attached to them but little importance.
In his work on the fossil mammals of Argentina he refers to them as
follows:

‘Tt seems that sites belonging to this epoch (Mesolithic) exist also
at the southern extremity of the Province, in the valley of the Rio
Negro, and the famous ‘fossil’ skull Moreno referred to in the Bulle-
tin of the Anthropological Society of Paris came probably from one of
these. Moreno said that he found the skull in a deposit of Pampean
loam, (arcilla pampeana) in the valley of that river, and that he also
obtained from the same some scales of the carapace of a glyptodon.
But, there exist no vestiges of Pampean terrane in the entire lower
course of the Rio Negro, nor has there ever been encountered, to my
knowledge, the smallest fragment of a carapace of a glyptodon. The skull
in question shows by its fossilization that it belongs without doubt to
a very remote epoch, but the general state of the bone and calcareous
incrustation which it presents on its endocraneon surface, together
with its texture and ashy color, locate it conclusively among objects
derived from the Post-Pampean, and in all probability its antiquity,
if greatest, may reach the Mesolithic epoch.”

Lehmann-Nitsche, in his work on the Fossil Man of Argentina,
makes no mention of the skulls under consideration and does not
even refer to them in his bibliography, evidence that he does not con-
sider the specimens as having any relation to the Pampean deposits.

The writer himself has not seen the skulls and can not speak of them
at first hand, but Sefior Moreno, now a member of the Chamber of

1 Ameghino, F., Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamfferos fésiles dela Republica Argentina; in
Actas de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias de Cérdoba, v1, Buenos Aires, 1889, p. 52.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 197

Deputies and one of the most deserving men of Argentina, does not
regard them, judging by expressions conveyed in conversations with
him, as of great antiquity. The writer’s visit to the valley of the
Rio Negro resulted in confirmed skepticism as to any considerable
age of any of the remains from that region. The present low, broad,
flat, alluvial valley of the lower course of the river is evidently of
recent formation; it is subject to occasional great inundations and
in all probability its superficial deposits have been repeatedly dis-
turbed or even wholly rearranged.

The incomplete condition of the two crania under consideration
and their isolated position indicate a reinterment. The depth at
which they were found, in the unstable deposits of a powerful river,
is a factor of but little chronologic value. The artificial deforma-
tions of the crania are evidently only varieties of one form, the
Aymara, and connect them with the native group which occupied the
region and practiced similar deformations up to historic times. The
alterations in color and other marks of mineralization of the speci-
mens distinguish them but slightly from those of the shallow burials
in mud at the Laguna de Juncal, south of Viedma. Numerous skulls
and bones from the latter place were collected by the writer and are
mentioned in some detail in another part of this paper (see p. 298).

The unstable nature of the deposits of the Rio Negro and the great
power of the river in periods of flood, were well illustrated during its
last great inundation, somewhat more than 10 years ago. The
waters destroyed the town of Viedma, washed out and carried away
bodies from cemeteries, and caused many changes in the surface of
the valley.

In view of the facts presented above, it seems that the two ‘‘fossil’”’
Patagonian skulls have no solid claims to geologic antiquity, the
probability being strong that these crania belonged to relatively
recent Indian occupants of the region.

THE ARROYO DE FRIAS FINDS

HISTORICAL NOTES AND PREVIOUS OBSERVATIONS

In 1875 F. Ameghino reports the second find of fossil human bones
in Argentina.” He says:

‘“‘In the small brook of Frias, on the outskirts of Mercedes, at the
distance of 20 leagues from Buenos Aires, I found numerous fossil
human bones, which lay at a depth of 4 meters in undisturbed Quater-
nary terrane. I found some of these in the presence of Prof. G. Ra-
morino and of many other persons, mingled with a great quantity of
charcoal, baked earth, burned and striated stones, arrow points, flint

1 Compare chapter on Homo pampzus, p. 289.
2In his Notas sobre algunos fésiles nuevos encontrados en la formaci6n pampeana, Mercedes, 1875, and
in the Journal de Zoologie, Paris, 1875, pp. 527-528.

198 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

chisels and knives; and there were also a large quantity of bones
belonging to about 15 species of mammals, in a large part extinct,
such as Hoplophorus ornatus (Burm.), Hoplophorus Burmeistert (Nob.),
Lagostomus angustidens (Burm.), Canis protalopex (Lund), Futatus
Seguina (Gerv.), and Triodon mercedensis (Nob.).”

In 1881, in the second volume of his La Antigiiedad del Hombre
en El Plata (pp. 377-380), Ameghino speaks again of the discovery.
He says, ‘‘In February, 1872, in the vicinity of Mercedes, I came
across fragments of the carapace of a glyptodon, piled up by human
hands, while at the same time I found on many fossil bones of animals
signs of percussion, lines, grooves, and incisions, evidently produced
by the hand of man.

‘‘Toward the end of the same year I discovered on the banks of
the Arroyo de Frias the first human fossil bones, accompanied with
worked stones, bones of extinct animals, and other objects.”

In 1874 Ameghino stated that he tried to interest Burmeister in
his find of ‘‘fossil’’? human bones but without success. Somewhat later
in the year, however, he was accompanied to the place of the discov-
ery by Prof. Ramorino, ‘‘and, in his presence, continued the exca-
vations at the Arroyo de Frias. We found some fragments of tierra
cocida [baked earth], many pieces of charcoal, one vertebra, and one
scaphoid bone of man, — with numerous fragments of the cara-
pace of glyptodon, ete.’

The discovery of the Argentine doce man was soon afterward
announced in a number of the Buenos Aires daily journals.

In 1875 the specimens in his possession relating to man’s antiquity
were exhibited by Ameghino at the Scientific Exposition of the
Sociedad Cientifica Argentina, and the society honored the exhibitor
with a diploma, one express object of which was to act as ‘‘a powerful
stimulus for the continuation of these investigations.”

In 1878 Ameghino presented to the same society a memoir bearing
the title ‘‘El hombre cuarternario en la Pampa.’’ This memoir was
not accepted by the society for publication, some of the reasons for
the refusal being as follows:!

‘‘The problem which Sefior Ameghino assumes to have solved is of
considerable importance and can not be passed over lightly.

‘‘Other analogous discoveries did not give the results which their
authors anticipated.

‘‘For this reason, and on account of the nature of the terrane in
which the author of the memoir has made his investigations, and
which was visited by one of our number, we are of the opinion that
the problem can not be considered as solved until there shall be made
a thorough prolonged study of the objects that were encountered.”

1 Ameghino, F., La antigiiedad, etc., 0, 1881, p. 397.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 199

In a discussion concerning the memoir before the society! the
secretary, Sefior Zeballos, stated in reply to some objections, that
the committee acted as it did in refusing the memoir because ‘‘its
author had committed a fundamental error, attributing a very
remote age to objects which were hardly three or four centuries old,
and had declared fossil that which is contemporaneous with the
modern alluvia.’’

In 1878, after much further discussion of the subject, and a second
failure of the Argentine Scientific Society to publish the resubmitted

Witt
FISS

WN ~
S = SSSR or UES SRS
. OOS — > sereneeenteees

Pry a Ww

Fig. 44. Transverse section of the stream Frias, demonstrating the geologic constitution of the strata
at the point where the fossil man of Mercedes was found, together with a plan of the excavation made in
exhuming the remains.

1. The water-level;

2. A thin layer of gravel found in excavating on the right side of the stream—material deposited by the
stream which it had washed from more elevated portions of its bed;

3. A layer of vegetal mold 10 em. in thickness, which contains numerous bones of domestic animals
introduced into the country since its occupation by Europeans;

4. A stratum 40 em. in thickness, containing the bones of animals indigenous to the country;

5. A very clayey stratum 20cm. in thickness, containing the bones of extinct species of animals but in
a poor state of preservation;

6. A marly layer 30 cm. in thickness, in which the bones of the great extinct mammals, Mylodon, Glyp-
todon, etc., are found;

7. A layer 60 em. in thickness, not nearly so marly as the preceding; also contains remains of extinct
animals;

8. A layer 55 cm. in thickness, of areddish color, composed exclusively of fine sand and clay mixed
together;

9. Stratum which contained the human bones.

Stratum No.9, which is more than 1.5 m.in thickness, is distinguished from the preceding only in
that it contains a larger proportion of clay. In this layer of Pampean soil, at the base of the excavation
indicated in the diagram and at a lower level than the bed of the stream human bones were discovered,
together with rudely-shaped flints, apparently used in extracting the marrow from bones, a perforated
femur of Zutatus, bones with incised, and some of radiate, markings and striw, fragments of burnt bones,
fragments of burnt or baked earth, and a great quantity of charred vegetal substances. In the same
deposit, mingled with the objects mentioned, were found also a great many bones of animals, which indi-
cated the following species: [ Here are named 12 genera and species of mammals and an ostrich.]

memoir,? Ameghino carried his collections to Europe and exhibited
them at the Universal Exposition in Paris. The same year he sent
also a note regarding the find, accompanied with a sketch showing
the strata at the Arroyo de Frias, to the American Naturalist.’

1Tn Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina, , 1876; Ameghino, F., La antigiiedad, etc., 0, p. 399.
2See Ameghino, F., ibid., p. 400 et seq.
3 Vol. xi, 1878, pp. 827-829.

200 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The illustration is here reproduced (fig. 44) and the notes accompa-
nying it are given in a slightly ‘altered form.

The next notices concerning the Arroyo de Frias discovery are both
from Ameghino and appeared in two publications in 1879.' The
statements are again unsatisfactory as to essential details. In the
first of the publications (Compte-rendu, etc., p. 219), the note reads
as follows:

{Human bones from the epoch of the fossil edentates of Argentina],
‘‘although few in number, have been exhumed from the banks of
the small Arroyo de Frias near Mercedes, where they were interred
at a depth of more than 3 m. in disturbed soil mixed with the débris
of glyptodon.’”?

On page 226 of the same publication occurs the following:

‘Almost at the lowest part of the bed of the arroyo and in its left
bank I found a large quantity of fragments of the carapace of the
Hoplophorus; in extracting these I came to the stratum No. 7,° in
which I gathered human bones mixed with those of several extinct
animals and with vestiges of human industry.

“Thereupon I excavated a deep trench, which traversed all the
strata in their natural lay and which I carried to 1.50 m. below the
level of the bed of the arroyo. Down to this depth I continued to
find the following objects: Human bones, worked stones, implements,
fragments of burned bones, bones perforated, incised, grooved and
striated, baked earth, and a great quantity of charcoal.”’

On page 227 Ameghino adds, after enumerating the bones of many
fossil animals found during the same excavation:

‘‘Some of these species were represented by entire skeletons with all
their bones in undisturbed relation, a condition which demonstrates
that the soil which inclosed them has not been moved and that they
were enveloped by the earth at the same time as were the human
bones and the worked objects. These last consisted of a small flint
arrow point, another arrow point, more crude, and two flints show-
ing beveling, with a perforated femur of the Hutatus, and an edged
lamina from the tooth of a Toxodon.”

In his article in the Révue d’ Anthropologie (1879)* Ameghino adds
nothing concerning the Arroyo de Frias find to what is said above,
the two aceounts being practically the same. In regard to the
Arroyo de Frias bones he adds that they were in the same state of

1Ameghino, F., La plus haute antiquité de l"yhomme dans le Nouveau-Monde; in Compte-rendu de la
troisiome session de Congrés International des Américanistes, Bruxelles, 1879, pp. 198-250. Also L’>homme
préhistorique dans la Plata; in Révue d’ Anthropologie, 2me sér., 1, Paris, 1879, pp. 210-249.

2In the same paragraph Ameghino says, ‘other fossil human bones have been found mixed with the
débris of Megatherium and of the Great Ursid, called Arctotherium bonezriensis, on the borders of the river
Carcarafid.’’ This ean refer only to the Seguin find, in which, however, the bones were those of the great
fossil bear and a horse, but not of the Megatherium.

3 No. 9 of fig. 44.
4 Vol. m, Paris, 1880, pp. 1-12.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 201

preservation and of the same color as the bones of the fossil animals,
and that their internal parts were filled with the same Pampean
earth which forms the stratum in which they lay.

At the end of the later article (1880) are notes by P. Broca on the
bones themselves, which read as follows:

‘“‘1. A portion of an iliac bone from the left side, belonging to an
aged woman of very small stature; the border of the cotyloid cavity
shows traces of dry arthritis. \

‘“‘2. Four vertebrz more or less entire and three or four fragments
without form. The former are the sixth and seventh cervical, with
bifurcated spinous processes, and the first and second dorsals. They
belong manifestly to the same subject of very small stature and
present about their superior and inferior surfaces traces of patho-
logical ossification referable to senile alteration, which in the articu-
lation of the limbs one would qualify as dry arthritis or chronic
rheumatism.

“3. Dozen ribs or fragments of ribs from one subject, again of
small stature. One of the entire ribs presents on its inferior border
an enlargement, which would make one believe that it belonged to
another subject, if a similar condition in slighter degree did not exist
on another rib; it is the result of senile hyperostosis of the same kind
as that presented by the vertebre.

‘““4. One scaphoid bone from the foot and one metatarsal. This
is the smallest human scaphoid that one can imagine; the major
dimension of its articular fossa does not measure more than 26 mm.

“5. Seven metacarpals, some of them deformed and showing at
their extremities traces of dry arthritis. One, the metacarpal of the
left thumb, is 38 mm. long.

‘6. Eight phalanges of the hand.

‘7, Head of a radius, very small.

“8. One tooth, probably a median upper incisor, of which the root
is disfigured by an abundant deposit of cement, and the crown much
beveled by use.

‘From the above it is possible to conclude legitimately that. all
these bones belonged to a very old woman affected by senile altera-
tions of the skeleton, one whose stature descended surely below
1.50 m.”

In this publication (p. 11) Ameghino further states his belief that
the strata which yielded the human bones are not Quaternary but
Tertiary.

In his Antiquity of Man in Argentina! Ameghino occupies himself
again with the finds of the Arroyo de Frias, more at length than in
any preceding publication. But most of what is said? merely repeats

1 La antigtiedad, ete., 1, pp. 483-511.
2 Of this it will be possible to give here only a small part; for the rest the reader is referred to the original.

202 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY {BuLL. 52

previously made assertions and supplements the arguments for the
antiquity of the human bones.

The first interesting detail mentioned (pp. 486-489) is that relating

to the presence of a large quantity of charcoal, found with and above
the human bones. This charcoal extended from the top of stratum
numbered 9 by Ameghino, slightly more than 6 feet (2.15 meters)
from the surface, downward to the bottom of the excavation. The
quantity increased with the depth of the excavation. And ‘‘on pen-
etrating into the layer No. 9,” Ameghino proceeds, ‘‘I encountered,
mingled with the carbon and the bones of different animals, various
human bones. Evidently I have come across the remains of the
fossil man of Argentina; the man whose existence has already been
revealed to me by striated bones and worked stones.
‘The human .bones in layer 9 were mingled with bones of different
animals, worked flint, fragments of burnt bones, bones broken or
perforated, others with incisions, ete., baked earth, and char-
coal. ... The vegetable carbon was so abundant that I cal-
culated it to constitute at this point a fourth part of the total
mass of stratum No. 9.”

The carbon held, besides the human and broken animal bones, a
quantity of fragments of ostrich eggs and some fragments of baked
earth, also a piece of a burned scale of Hoplophorus. Ameghino
especially advances this association as evidence of contemporaneity
of man with that animal: ‘‘This fragment is of exceptional impor-
tance and offers irrefutable proof of the coexistence of man with the
Hoplophorus.”’

The stone implements found in the same mass showed also traces
of the action of fire. As to the nature of these worked stones, one
is a quartzite implement of dark-yellow color, worked crudely on one
surface only. The second specimen is a leaf or flake of ‘‘silex,”’
prismatic in section; its inferior surface is smooth and concave.
The third specimen is a small point of ‘‘silex,’’ prismatic in section;
its inferior surface is smooth and concave; it served probably as an
arrow ‘point. The fourth is equally of ‘‘silex;” judging by the
illustration, this resembles a scraper; it is worked on one surface
only.

The human bones (p. 496) “‘were found at the mean depth of 3 m.;
of this only 50 em., represented by layers Nos. 3 and 4, belong to the
vegetal soil.”

‘The soil could not have been moved [p. 498], because I did not
obtain these bones on the surface of the ground, but interred at a con-
siderable depth and at a lower level even than that of the bed of the
Arroyo.”

The fossil man of Mercedes, according to Ameghino, could not
have been buried where he was found, because (p. 499), ‘‘If these

HRDLICKA | SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 2°08

were the remains of a skeleton buried in a recent epoch, the bones
would not be found isolated, and scattered over a large sur-
face.”’

The human bones are said to have lost completely all their organic
material and are described as lustrous over a large part of their sur-
faces, as light, porous, and fragile, and adhering strongly to the
tongue. All these characteristics ‘‘denote a most remote antiquity.”

If the human bones had been from a modern inhumation, Ame-
ghino argues, there would have been encountered with them bones
of recent animals.

Returning once more to the stone implements (p. 501), we read
that, ‘‘As these instruments themselves are more crude than those
possessed by the Indians anterior to the Conquest, it must be ad-
mitted that they belong to an anterior epoch. This also proves that
the human bones belong to a geologic epoch in which the physical
conditions of the region (comarca) were distinct from those of the
present day. The level at which the bones were encountered must
then have been the surface of the ground; otherwise there would not
remain any other explanation of the find except that of a modern
burial, which, as already seen, would not accord with the facts; nor
ean it be admitted that savages armed with small fragments of ‘‘silex’””.
could have done such work for the burial of their dead.”

As to the animal bones found during the same excavation, Ame-
ehino says (p. 503):

‘‘Some animals were represented by nearly complete skeletons,
but the larger part of the bones of the others were scattered without
any order, those of the carnivora mingled with those of rodents or
edentates. The human bones were found mingled and scattered in
like manner without any order over the whole surface of the base of
the excavation, more than 30 square meters in extent, which natur-
ally suggests even a much larger area of dispersion. This is further
proof that the human bones were interred at the same time asthe
bones of mammals which accompanied them.”

On page 504 the statement is made, notwithstanding the former
allusions to the great quantities of charcoal, that ‘‘the soil in which
the bones occurred was the same in hardness, composition, and
aspect as that found at the same level in following the barrancas of
the arroyo;”’ from which again it is deduced that the man was con-
temporaneous with the animals found in these barrancas.

Later on (pp. 508-509) is mentioned a chemical analysis of the
bones, but, with the exception of the statement that they are ‘‘fossil”’
and that they have ‘‘almost completely lost their organic matter’’
(compare with previous statement), no evidence is furnished that such
analysis was actually made. In ‘‘fossilization,” color, and other
characteristics the human bones are said to be exactly the same as

204 : BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [RuLL. 52

those of a Hoplophorus ornatus from the same excavation; also the
cavities of both are filled with the same Pampean earth. ‘‘If the
bones had not remained from the beginning interred in this soil this
phenomenon could not have occurred.’’

In 1889 Ameghino published his large work on the octal mammals
of Argentina in which also he treats of the ‘‘fossil”’ man, referring,
among other matters, to the finds at Arroyo de Frias.!. This refer-
ence, while brief, contains one or two interesting new points. The
human bones are classed as belonging to the Superior Pliocene (pp.
65-66).

The first note in this work regarding the Arroyo de Frias (p. 50)
reads as follows:

“One human site from this epoch [the mesolithie epoch of the
Superior Quaternary], quite large in extent, is found near Mercedes
along the small Arroyo de Frias, approximately 1 league from its
mouth. The barranca, quite low here, shows:

“1. A layer of black vegetal earth 10-35 cm. thick;

“2. A layer of black earth, somewhat ashy, 25-30 cm. in thickness,
with vestiges of infusoria, small mixture of carbonate of lime, and
some Ampullarias and Planorbis;

“3. A layer of whitish soil, quite hard and compact, of some 40
em. in thickness, with a strong proportion of lime; and

‘“4. The Pampean soil of yellowish-green color, corresponding to
the Lujanean stratum.

‘“‘From an exposure of the hard layer No. 3, there appear on the sur-
face over a stretch of more than 200 meters slivers of long bones parted
longitudinally for the purpose of extracting the marrow, mingled with
ashes, carbon, small fragments of nearly unbaked pottery, pestles,
mortars, polishing stones and fragments of bolas made of diorite, as
well as crude flakes of quartzite. The bones which I was able to
determine belonged to three existing species, namely, Auchenia
guanaco, Cervis campestris, and Rhea americana, mingled with the
extinct species of Paleolama mesolithica.”’

This note is very interesting in showing clearly the tendency of
Professor Ameghino to attribute too great age to his finds of human
remains, making them contemporaneous with the deposits in which
they occur. The antiquity of these deposits, compared with the age
ascribed to them by other observers, also appears very generally over-
estimated. Here we have, on the same Arroyo de Frias, near Mer-
cedes, plainly an extensive site of occupancy of the modern Indian,
with his pottery, mortars, and even bolas; but because the remains
do not occur in what is regarded as the only Recent layer and
exposure, that is the present-day black vegetal layer, they are
referred to the Quaternary.

1 Ameghino, F., Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles de la Republica Argentina,
Buenos Aires, 1889, pp. 50-65, 66, 83-84. :

HRDLICKA] ‘ §KELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 205

On page 65 of the above-mentioned work we read the following
about the depth of the bed of the Arroyo de Frias:

“The Arroyo de Frias runs, as do nearly all the small streams in
the Bonaerean flats, through a nearly horizontal plain of uniform
geologic constitution, and its channel varies in depth from 2 m. to
2m. 30 cm.

‘“‘Vestiges of the panies of ancient man and human bones are
encountered in the penultimate layer" at the level of the water of
the Arroyo and lower in the last layer up to 1 m. below the bed of
the stream.

“Tn 1870 I extracted at this point, on the left margin of the Arroyo,
a human skull accompanied by a considerable part of the skeleton,
and many bones of extinct animals. I attached but little importance
to this find, and the skull was carried to Europe by a collector and
given to the Museo Civico of Milan, where it is conserved without
having as yet been described.

“Three years afterward, in September, 1873, I found at the same
point additional human remains.” Then follows a brief account,
differing in a few particulars from those given above, of the find of
the human bones under consideration in this chapter. Besides the
bones of animals, Ameghino mentions again, as having been found
with the human bones, ‘‘a considerable quantity of fragments of the
shells of ostrich eggs.”’

On page 83 of the same work, finally, after giving some vague recol-
lections concerning the skull Feral by him at the Arroyo de Frias in
1870, Ameghino adds: ‘‘Later on, as I have already mentioned, I
gathered at the same place (en el mismo punto) other fragments,
which I suppose belonged to the same individual.’’?

Lehmann-Nitsche, in his work on the human remains from the
Pampean formation, deals with both of the Arroyo de Frias finds.®

As to the human remains collected by Ameghino in 1870 and taken
to the Museo Civico of Milan, we learn that in 1890 Santiago Roth
visited that institution in order to secure all the information possible
on the subject, but no one was found who knew anything of the
specimens, and an Italian, Morselli, who looked for them in the
museum did not discover any trace of them.

The bones belonging to the second find, that of 1873,‘ were sub-
jected anew to minute examination by Lehmann-Nitsche and
Leboucq, of Gand. The results of these studies are that, while the

[| Layer No. 8 of fig. 44.]

2 No details are given as to the position of the skull, though such data would be, it seems, of much impor-
tance, and, curiously, no mention of this first find is made in the lengthy report on that of 1873 (La
antigiiedad, etc., M1, 1881, p. 483 et seq.).

3 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., Nouvelles recherches, etc., pp. 213-250.

4 An erroneous statement is found on p. 215 and again on p. 244 of the Nouvelles recherches, etc. The
text reads that the bones were found more than 2 meters below the level of the water in the arroyo; this
does not correspond to any statement by Ameghino.

206 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

majority of the larger bones were found to belong to the skeleton of an
old female, one of them, with some of the hand bones and foot bones,
belonged probably to a second subject, of taller stature. The frag-
ment of an iliac bone presents certain sexual and other peculiarities,
but nothing on which any conclusions would be based. As to the ver-
tebre, Lehmann-Nitsche “‘was not able to discover any osteologic
characteristic which might not be found in the vertebrae of contem-
poraneous man” (p. 241); and Leboucq makes almost the same
statement in regard to the bones of the hand and the foot (p. 249):
“The prehistoric bones of the hand and the foot collected at the
Arroyo de Frias present no marked morphologic peculiarity which
differentiates them from modern bones.’’ The scaphoid, which
Broca pronounced very small, presents really, according to Leboueq
(p. 249), medium adult dimensions. The length of the second meta-
tarsal surpasses the average length of the same bone in females and
(slightly) even that in males. One of the metacarpals nearly equals
the general masculine average in length. :

The bones are described by Leboucq (pp. 245-246) as apparently
thoroughly fossilized but no chemical tests are mentioned. They
are dirty-gray in color, but the longer of the metacarpals, though
also seemingly completely fossilized, is mahogany-brown.

Finally, in his latest publication on the subject of fossil man in
Argentina,! Lehmann-Nitsche refers the Arroyo de Frias find to the.
Superior Pampean (Quaternary).

CRITICAL REMARKS

1, The antiquity of the human bones found at the Arroyo de Frias
can not be accepted as established. It rests on the statements of
one who at the time the discoveries were made could scarcely be
regarded as a well-trained and experienced geologist, and is sub-
stantiated by no published record of any scientific witness, by no
photograph or detailed drawings made on the spot.

2. The data and measurements given in the accounts of the find are
not sufficiently precise; thus the human bones are said in one place ?
to have come from the depth of 4 meters, while the lowest limit of
the excavation as given by Ameghino, in his figure and with his own
measurements, was only 3.40 meters. In another place it is said 3
that the human remains were interred at a depth of more than 3
meters; still another statement‘ is to the effect that ‘‘The vestiges
of the ancient existence of man and human bones were encountered
in the layer before the last, at the level of the water of the arroyo

1 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fésil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Est., La Paz, Bolivia, v1, 1910,
pp. 363-366.

2 Journal de Zoologie, 1V, Paris, 1875, pp. 527-528.

3 Compte-rendu, 3me Congr. Int. Amér., Bruxelles, 1879, p. 219.

4 Ameghino, F., Contribuci6n al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles, etc., 1889, p. 65,

HRDLICKA J SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 207

[which Ameghino’s illustration shows to have been 1.75 meters from
the surface.—A. H.] and lower, in the last layer, up to 1 meter below
the base of the channel,” this base corresponding exactly to 3 meters
from the surface. The discrepancies in the statements are not limited
to this important item only.

3. The find was made in the channel of a stream, a fact well caleu-
lated to weaken the evidence as to the bearing on antiquity. The
geologist is well aware of the varied changes to which stream beds
are liable. The waters, especially at periods of flood, remove,
mingle, fill, cover, undermine, and causé subsidences or even the
gouging out of great sections of the banks. The bed of earth in which
the human bones lay had evidently been considerably disturbed and
moved. This‘is indicated by the breaking, dissociation, and disper-
sion of the human remains, by the absence of many parts of the
skeleton, and by the presence of the differently-colored bone from
another body, pointed out by Leboucq. However, some degree of
association still remained, as a score of separated parts of one skeleton
and a considerable quantity of charcoal were found together. The
conditions in general are suggestive of a burial or burials which bad
been disturbed by some such agency as the sinking or sliding of por-
tions of the bank from pressure or undermining.’

4. The burial or burials, the remains of which were found by Doctor
Ameghino, may have been made, however, in the incline of the bank
or at its base, or even in the dry bed of the stream, and not in the
flat surface of the pampa. In Argentina streams of the size of the
Arroyo de Frias occasionally run dry, and at such time a burial
might be made without hindrance at or even below the level of the
bed of the stream, which would possibly offer less resistant ground.

5. A majority of the stone implements found with the human bones
are of the same specialized worked-on-one-face-only type so charac-
teristic of the work of the Indian tribes of Argentina, as shown in
other sections of this report.

6. The state of fossilization of the bones, notwithstanding the numer-
ous statements on this point by those who handled the specimens,
has not been accurately determined, so far as can be found from the
printed data on the subject. The statement that the human bones
show the same color, consistency, and fossilization as those of extinct
animals found in the same strata, lacks confirmation by a micro-
photographic and chemical demonstration. Mere appearances in
instances of this nature are often deceptive, and can not be taken as

1 Displacements of masses of earth by this agency are common along all streams running through uncon-
solidated formations. Instances of this kind in Argentina came more than once under the observation of
Mr. Willis and the writer. Similar displacements were seen to occur in banks of reddish Pampean even
far from running water. And the earth does not fall only in sections, but, in banks, also in circumscribed
masses that leave large, irregular, deep gaps or holes, which offer good opportunities for introduction into
lower levels of many obiects from higher points in the surface.

208 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

definite facts. However, as already shown in other sections of this
paper, and particularly in thereport made by the writer on the human
bones of reputed geologic age in North America,’ the state of fossiliza-
tion of bones, both as to mineralization and loss of organic constitu-
-ents, is so dependent on local conditions as to be of little service in
determining antiquity. Moreover, as also already discussed, the
changes in bones are limited in character and extent by the physical
and chemical agencies present, and are not cumulative beyond acer-
tain stage. Hence, in a bone that has reached the limit of the altera-
tions caused by the conditions of its surroundings, time would bring
but little further alteration, and old as well as relatively recent bones
may present quite similar ‘‘fossilization.”” This is observable in
numerous instances with fossil bones of mammals from different
epochs.

7. The value of the association of the bones of extinct animals with
those of man, as a measure of antiquity is, it is necessary to repeat,
frequently overestimated. The vital distinction between inhuma-
tion of the dead practiced by man since the earliest times and the

natural inclusion of bodies of animals in various sediments is often
overlooked by the paleontologist. Men dig graves for their dead
regardless of the contents of the soil so long as these contents do not
greatly impede their work. In ground rich in remains of extinct
animals, it is quite probable that the gravedigger removed them and
then left them in the earth above or near the body in the same man-
ner as he would tosca, pebbles, or other objects found in the ground.
It is also possible that some of the fossil bones incidentally became
broken, cut, or otherwise marked and even burnt, either before
the burial, or by those who attended to it. The significance of the
association of fossil animal bones with human bones, even in the cases
in which the former show effects of man’s activity, is entirely problem-
atic. The enumeration by the paleontologists in this and other
cases, of long lists of names of extinct animals found with or near the
the human bones, or in the vicinity, or in the same strata, is impres-
sive, but alone counts for little as evidence of the age of the remains
of man found in such relation. The scale of the Hoplophorus found
with the Arroyo de Frias human remains proves only the action of
fire, not the mode in which it was burned nor the time or cause of
the occurrence.

8. As to perforated, grooved, and broken bones of animals, it should
be shown in every case that their condition in these respects is not due
to any agency other than man, and that the changes were made
when the bones were fresh, in order that the evidence may be em-
ployed in determining man’s contemporaneity with the animals
which the bones represent. This also suggests the fact, which de-

1 Skeletal Remains, etc., Bulletin 33 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 209

serves careful consideration, that the date of the final extinction of
some of these animals is still an unsolved problem.

9. Finally, it was seen that the anatomic features of the human
bones are not incompatible with a recent date for the skeleton. The
excessive wear of the teeth, the many signs of ‘‘dry arthritis,” the size
of the specimens, are all features well known among the Indians. As
to the stature of less than 1.51 meters, the estimate was made in the
absence of any of the long bones and may be too low, as the meas-
urements of the metacarpal and metatarsal bones seem to indicate.
However, individual females below 1.50 meters in height, especially
among the aged, are really common among the Peruvian, Bolivian,
and numerous Brazilian tribes. The feature has no weight as an
indication of antiquity of the human remains under consideration.

The unavoidable conclusion regarding the antiquity of the Arroyo
de Frias finds of human bones, reached after due consideration of all
the above-outlined fragmentary and, in the main, inexpert evidence,
is that they contribute practically nothing that can be relied on as
decisive toward the solution of the vexed question of man’s antiquity
in Argentina.

THE SALADERO SKELETON

Historica Notes AND PREviIouS REPORTS

The remains known as the Saladero skeleton were found in 1876 by
Santiago Roth, at that time a young collector of fossils.

According to his account, there are frequently seen in the pampas
areas where the humus layer is wanting and the eolian loess appears
upon the surface. These patches are called desplayadas or comede-
ros. In course of time some of these areas become covered with
vegetation while others remain barren.

It was in one of these desplayadas, less than 10 km. from Pergamino,
and near the saladero of Sefior R. Otero, that Roth found his first fossil
man. He was collecting bones of fossil animals, being accompanied
by José Mayorotti. Roth‘ says that after having searched for some-
time this denuded locality he saw ‘‘in a gully about 3 meters deep,
protruding from the loess, a portion of a skull. We dug this out and
also the skeleton, which was exceedingly well preserved. Unfortu-
nately it was afterward nearly all destroyed through bad handling;
some small fragments only were sent by me much later to Sefior Bur-
meister in Buenos Aires.”’

Further details regarding the find are given in Roth’s letter to Pro-
fessor Kollmann.? In this we read that Roth, after exploring the

1 Roth, S., Beobachtungen tiber Entstehung und Alter der Pampasformation in Argentinien; in Zeitschrift
der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft, XL, Berlin, 1888, pp. 448-449.

2 Ueber den Schidel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fontezuelas); in Mitth. anat. Inst. Vesalianum zu Basel,
1889, pp. 1-4; alsoin Lehmann-Nitsche, Nouvelles recherches, ete., pp. 470-487.

21535°—Bull. 52—12——_14

210 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

desplayada with his companion and locating some bones of fossil
animals, ‘‘perceived, in the wall of a gully which was about 3 meters
deep, a portion of a skull, which protruded slightly from the loess.
Don José thought that the skull was that of an Indian, but I replied
that more probably we were confronted with the results of some crime,
because the Indians, not possessing utensils for digging, contented
themselves with covering their dead with the little earth that they
were able to scrape together, while this skeleton was interred at an
unusual depth. The idea that these remains might belong to a man
contemporary with the Glyptodon never even occurred to me. I did
not examine the bones closely and had no intention of exhuming them.
But as Mayorotti wanted to disinter the skeleton and take it home, I
helped him in the work. The skeleton occupied a sitting posture,
with the legs extended, the head slightly inclined forward. All the
bones existed in their normal relations, as in life. We paid attention
to this because I suspected a crime, and we also searched with care
for any objects that might be present and that might decide whether
the remains were those of a Christian or an Indian, but we found
absolutely nothing. As to the form of the skull, which, besides, fell
into a great number of pieces, I have no recollection. . . . About
one year later I saw in the garden of Mayorotti some fragments of
fossil bones and, on asking him where these bones were from, he
responded that they belonged to the human skeleton which we dug
out near Saladero; the bones were exposed to the sun and rain for the
purpose of getting them bleached and they fell to pieces.

‘In the interval I had made other excavations, which resulted in
the discovery of a flint weapon (silex-waffe) on the site of the remains
of a Scelidothervum. |'!] This find puzzled me considerably. Sefior
Pedro Pico, to whom I communicated my finds, told me it was not
the first time that such a case had presented itself, for another person
had, in his knowledge, found a very similar implement in the midst
of the remains of the Macherodus. [?] I left the implement with
Senor Pico. At the same time I learned also that Seguin had found
long before, on the borders of Rio Carcarand, fossil human bones
mingled with the bones of Ursus bonaerensis. ‘These circumstances
influenced me to gather the bones which still remained from the
skeleton of Saladero, for the purpose of sending them to H. Bur-
meister at Buenos Aires. ,

‘“‘T had completely forgotten my discovery of the fossil human
remains of Saladero when, in 1881, I brought to Burmeister for
examination the lower jaw of the skull of Fontezuelas. Burmeister

[! On the banks of the Arroyo Zanjon not far from Pergamino; the object, apparently an arrow point, now
no more to be found, is said by Roth to have Jain under one of the thigh bones of the animal. (Lehmann-
Nitsche, Nouvelles recherches, etc., p. 482, footnote.)j

2 According to Lehmann-Nitsche, this was the arrow point found by the Breton brothers. Later the
find was discredited.]

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN FEY

then produced from a case the still-existing fragments of the human
remains from Saladero to compare them with those which I now
submitted to him. He declared at once that the two were of equal age
and belonged to the Pampean formation. The written statements of
Burmeister, however, are not in accord with these remarks. In one
passage he expresses himself as follows:' ‘I saw myself the teeth
said to be fossil, but could not distinguish the same by any character-
istic from the teeth of ancient Indian skulls.’ This observation could
not have applied to anything except the human remains from Saladero
which I brought him in 1877 and among which there were a large num-
ber of teeth. At this time Burmeister was evidently not convinced of
the existence of man during the formation of the Pampean deposits;
but why did he mention only the teeth, which are subject to the
least change, and not also the fragments of other bones, which he
himself declared later to be of the same age with the Glyptodon. [|
Every specialist who sees these bones must recognize that they proceed
from the Pampean formation, because of the characteristic calcareous
concretionary matter which adheres to them and even fills some
of the medullary spaces.”

Lehmann-Nitsche * examined such of these fragments as are still
preserved in the Museo Nacional at Buenos Aires. He found two
pieces of the left femur and a number of teeth. As to the femur, he
reports that the cavities of the spongy part and the medullary canal
are completely filled with solidified calcareous matter; the external
layer, where it still exists, is of a light-yellow color and adheres
strongly to the tongue; at the same time the bones are very friable.
Anatomic observations were almost impossible owing to the frag-
mentary condition of the specimens. So far as could be seen, there
were no remarkable features. ‘‘The teeth, nine in number, show all
grades of wear; the enamel is perfectly preserved and presents in some
places particles of tartar incrustation, easy to detach; the roots adhere
to the tongue.’’ The dimensions of these teeth are not unusual.
As to age, the find is regarded by Lehmann-Nitsche as Quaternary,
Superior Pampean. 4

CriticAL REMARKS

Judging from the position of the body and the natural relations
of all the parts, the Saladero skeleton can be regarded only as repre-
senting an undisturbed, ordinary interment. The sitting position
is found occasionally in Indian burials and is a modification of the
contracted posture, which was general. It was due possibly to the
effects of rigor mortis on the body before preparation for burial.

1 Burmeister, H., Description physique de la République Argentine, m1, Buenos Aires, 1879, p. 42.

2 No such statement was found in the writings of Burmeister.—A. H.

3 Nouvelles recherches, ete., p. 253.

4 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fésil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Est., Las Paz, Bolivia, v1, 1910,
Ppp. 363-366.

212 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULD. 52 ~

There are no data as to the exact depth at which the body lay, no
photograph showing the remains; but granting that it was deeper
than in an ordinary grave, who shall say that it was not buried in a
depression or crevice, and that since the burial there were no additions
to the general Pampean surface by wind or water or through the
medium of the humus?

Roth’s objection to burial, on the basis that the Indians had no
means with which to dig a grave, is not tenable, for they always had
bones of animals, and antlers, which are capable of making excellent
digging tools, and they probably had also sticks, if no other imple-
ments. To scrape together enough earth for effectually covering a
human body involves quite as much work, except in sandy places, .
as the digging of a not very deep grave, and necessitates the use of
similar implements.

That the bones lay in the Pampean is natural. As everything
beneath the vegetal stratum is regarded as Pampean, the body could
not have been buried in anything else. That there was but little to
direct special attention to the find at the time it was made appears
plain enough from the words of Roth himself and from the subse-
quent neglect of the bones.

The state of fossilization of the specimens has not been chemically
determined. As to incrustations, these are, even more than actual
mineralization of a bone, an indication of environmental conditions; in
this case it was the presence of lime in percolating or underground
waters. There are in the United States National Museum several large
Spanish olive jars, dredged from Atlantic coast waters, large portions
of which are thickly incrusted with calcareous deposits. The teeth of
the common horse from the beach of Laguna de los Padres, near Mar
del Plata, and to a slight extent even the fresher ones from the
lower jaw of a horse found at Ovejero (see p. 257), show similar
deposits; and these are also occasionally found on the bones and
pottery of the North American Indians. In the Argentine loess,
the richness of which in lime and perhaps in other salts is attested
by the very prevalent tosca formation, it would doubtless be a far
ereater rarity to find bones that have lain more than a few decades in
the ground, and that were not cleaned at once after exhumation,! with-
out than with more or less compact cement adhering thereto, and also
more or less filling of the bone cavities by the same calcareous mate-
rial. The ‘‘adherence of the bone to the tongue,” which is often
mentioned. in these cases, especially by Lehmann-Nitsche, as a sign
of ‘‘fossilization,” is merely a sign of the presence on or in the bone
of more or less mineral matter, particularly lime and will be equally
manifest in a specimen that has suffered such change recently as in
one in which the deposit or infiltration is of great age. The teeth of

1 It was observed during the work in Argentina that sometimes loose earthy matter adhering to bones
when taken from the ground becomes hard and adheres firmly after exposures.

HEDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 213

the Saladero skeleton, it was seen from Roth’s and Lehmann-Nitsche’s
statements, are but little altered, although showing advanced wear, as
is generally met with in the more aged Indian. Their relative fresh-
ness would be wholly incompatible with any considerable age, espe-
cially geologic age, of the skeleton.

It is plain from the data extant on this find that there are many
points relating to the Saladero skeleton which are not satisfactorily
cleared up by the evidence, and that its antiquity is not sub-
-stantiated. This is still another example of a case in regard to
man’s antiquity in South America which has been made to appear
important but which will not stand critical tests. The bones were
conceived of as ancient only because, long after their discovery, they
were found to show some “‘fossilization.”’

THE FONTEZUELAS SKELETON
History AND REPORTS

The Fontezuelas skeleton represents another find by Santiago
Roth. It was discovered by him in 1881, at the distance of slightly
more than a mile (2-3 km.) from the Rio Arrecifes, in a locality
called Pontimelo or, more properly, Fontezuelas.

The find took piace under circumstances which were reported for
the first time by Vogt in 1881.1. Vogt was informed of the particulars
by Roth himself through correspondence and later by oral com-
munication. The data are as follows:

Roth was collecting the remains of extinct animals in the locality
under consideration. The terrane of the region, according to him, is
composed of (a) the surface layer of vegetal earth; (b) the upper
layer of the Pampean formation, 5 to 24 m. in thickness, containing
the remains of the glyptodon, hoplophorus, mylodon, and other fossil
animals; and (c) a deeper Pampean layer, 1 to 3 m. in thickness,
containing the remains of the mastodon, megatherium, panochthus,
doédicurus, and toxodon. Beneath layer cis a deep clayey stratum
of unknown thickness.

Layers 6 and ¢ were considered by Roth as Quaternary but with
distinct faunas which were never found mingled. In 1888, however,
that author published an account of the fossil animals which he had
discovered,’ and the details show that species found in stratum 6
were also not infrequently encountered in layer c, and vice versa.

The human bones were discovered in layer 6. This layer had
become exposed through denudation. Protruding from it were found
the edges of the carapace of a glyptodon. The carapace lay slightly
obliquely and with its convex part downward, hence in a position the
reverse of the natural. Raising this carapace, there were gathered

1 Vogt, C., Squelette humain associé aux glyptodontes; in Bull. Soc. d’Anthr. Paris, 3™¢ sér., Iv, 1881,
Pp. 693-699.

2 In Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft, XL, Berlin, 1888, pp. 400-401.

214 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puLL. 52

also the pelvis and the femur of the animal.!. A workman then
observed to Roth that a ‘‘fossil gourd protruded from the ground.
It was the top of a human skull.[?] This was excavated with great
care. The lower jaw was in its proper place. The other bones of
the skeleton fell to powder.”

Following the above, Vogt quotes Roth as follows:

‘‘The ribs lay dispersed here and there; the cervical vertebra were
quite far from the skull; one of the femurs still held to the pelvis.
The bones of the feet were scattered everywhere and a number of
them were missing; the bones of one of the hands were still in place,
those of the other being dispersed. [ have not been able to find more
than remnants of the vertebral column in a concretioned mass of
earth, which Isaved. All these bones were decomposed, the external
parts being removed by decay, the cores alone being still recognizable.
All the bones were at the same level, below the Glyptodon, in the
steep bank of the stream.[*] Beneath the skull was found an oyster
shell [>] 5 cm. long and 3 cm. broad, also an instrument of deer horn
18 cm. long and 1.5 em. thick at its base.”

Vogt’s remarks are, in brief, that in the branch of the deer horn, a
photograph of which he received, he was not able to recognize an
intentionally made instrument; also, that after the receipt of the
first letter from Roth he had answered him that the contemporaneity
of the human skeleton with the glyptodons could not be admitted
unless the probability of later interment was absolutely excluded.
‘‘TIt is possible, I told him, that the earth had been moved and that
remains of very different ages were thus brought together.”’ Roth
responded that movements of the ground, except in cases where other
proofs exist, can not be distinguished in the Pampean formation.
The soil, he said, is so fine, yielding, and homogeneous that when
excavated in making a pit and then returned to its place, it soon incor-
porates itself so well with the surrounding earth that it 1s impossible
to find again the place of excavation. But as to an interment of the
skeleton, that, he declared, he could not admit. ‘‘It would have
been necessary to remove the whole carapace of the Glyptodon in order
to place the cadaver in the position where I found the skeleton, and
then to replace the carapace, bedding it well with earth so that it would
keep the position in which I found it.”

Tn 1882 and again in 1884 Roth speaks of the find under considera-
tion, in his catalogue of the Pampean fossils. This catalogue was not

1 Erroneous; the bones were the pelvis and the femur of man; see further.

2 Nothing is said in this place as to the level at which the skull was noticed.—A. H.

3 This should probably read “some of the bones of the skeleton fell to pieces.” See further.

[4 “Sur la berge du flewve’’; this point is confusing, for no other mention is made of a stream in close
proximity. The Rio Arrecifes was given before as more than a mile distant.]

[> Later, in other accounts, mentioned as a shell of a “ bivalve.’’]

6 Roth, S., Fossiles de la Pampa, Amérique du Sud; in Catalogue, San Nicolas, 1882, pp. 3-4 (2me éd.),
Génova, 1884, pp. 5-7, pl. I.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 915

obtainable, but the statement is quoted in full by Ameghino,' as fol-
lows: ‘‘The point where these fossil remains were discovered is sit-
uated on a slight incline which descends from a higher swell of land
and unites the same with the border of the river, the place where the
human remains were found being half a league, more or less, from the
Rio de Arrecifes. The locality where the excavation was made has
been denuded by rains, the vegetal earth being carried away. The
human skull was found at the same level as the carapace, on the side
toward the river. The bones of the human skeleton were found
scattered slightly (desparramados un poco) in all directions; one femur
and the pelvis (cadera) were beneath the carapace of the animal. The
skull was by itself and in the vertical position, the lower jaw below,
the instrument of deer horn under the lower jaw with which it was
in contact; the ribs were scattered, the atlas and axis lying 1.50 m.
from the skull. What I could gather of the spinal column lay by
itself. The bones of the feet were scattered; those of one hand were
together, those of the other separated. The shell of a bivalve was
found in the pelvis [?] (en la cadera), and, on cleaning it at my house, I
found in the earth that held it some little bones of a small edentate.
The carapace of the Glyptodon was turned over on its back, its border
projecting from the ground. The position of the human skeleton
makes me suppose that it was covered by earth through atmospheric
influences after having remained for some time exposed to the air
and the rain, which explains why a certain part of the bones show
destruction of their surfaces while others, covered more promptly, are
well-preserved.”

Tn 1883 the Fontezuelasfind, and particularly the skull, are discussed
by Virchow.? The account by Roth given in the preceding lines is
repeated, with the additional remark that from the presence of the
bones of the small edentate Roth concluded that the animal served
the man as food.

Virchow does not enter into a critical consideration of thefind.
As to the antiquity of the human bones, he shows reserve. As to
the skull, having only a photograph of its lateral aspect at hand, he
misjudged its type, pointing out its apparent resemblances to the
Sambaqui and the Pampean Indian crania.

A year later, at the end of a correction of some statements concern-
ing the nature of the Pampean deposits,‘ Burmeister also refers in a
few words to the Fontezuelas bones, saying that he has seen only
the lower jaw, ‘‘which seemed to me to show nothing deviating from
the type of the native race.”

1 Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles, etc., 1889, pp. 67, 84-85.

2In the letter to Vogt (see above) it is said that an oyster shell was found below the skull.—A. H.

3 Kin mit Glyptodon-Resten gefundenes menschliches Skelet aus der Pampa de la Plata; in Verh. Ber.
Ges. fiir Anthr., Eth., und Urg., XV, 1883, pp. 465-467.

‘Burmeister, H., Bemerkungen in Bezug auf die Pampas-Formation; ibid., xv, 1884, p. 247.

216 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The same year the skull from ‘‘Pontimelo” is considered by
Kollmann.t' There are no further data regarding the circumstances
of the discovery. ‘‘The statements of Roth are.admissible and there
is no reason to doubt his reports, especially since Ameghino and
Moreno [*] found traces of man in the same strata and with the same
fauna.” Kollman received a series of nine photographs of the skull
and, using them as a basis, makes a number of determinations.
Virchow’s suppositions as to the form of the skull are equally errone-
ously confirmed. It belongs to the ‘‘chameprosopic, brachycephalic,
ancient race of the American diluvium.” The forehead is not primi-
tive in form but is broad, high, well-developed.

In 1887 the skull is referred to by Quatrefages, who also regards
it as brachycephalic,? and in 1888 the principal points relating to the
find are given by Roth in his good paper on the Pampean forma-
tions.*

Meanwhile the remains came into the possession of the Zoological
Museum of the University of Copenhagen, and in 1888 a description
of them was published by Hansen.® It was found that all the authors
who based their opinions on the imperfect photographs of the skull
reached erroneous conclusions. Its characteristics ‘‘are nearly the
same as those of the race of Lagoa Santa. The skull is really dolicho-
cephalic . . . and is even more hypsistenocephalic than the crania
of the Sumidouro (Lagoa Santa) cave. ... The facial parts had
been broken and are not well restored,” so that an exact description of
the face is impossible. ‘‘ For this reason it is necessary to restrict the
remarks to the general statement that the face presents the same
aspect as that of the race of Lagoa Santa. .. . If it is added to the
above that the measurements of the long bones indicate a similar
stature, it is seen that the individual should be regarded as a repre-
sentative of the same ancient race, without any considerable diver-

gence.”’
Concerning the find as a whole Hansen says: ‘‘ A close examination

of M. Roth’s account gave the result that it is not possible to regard
the contemporaneity of fossil man and Glyptodon as absolutely proven.
This find does not suffice to solve the question of the antiquity of
man in South America.

[P. 30] ‘‘It is a circumstance of no small interest that the skeleton
was found near a river, on a declivity on which the Pampean forma-
tion, consisting of a very fine clayey sand, was not covered by any

1 Kollman, J., Schiideln von Pontimelo; in his Hohes Alter der Menschenrassen, in Zeitschr. fiir Ethn.,
XVI, Berlin 1884, pp. 200-205.

[? Reference can be only to Moreno’s Rio Negro finds, which, however, were not made in the Pampean
soil, nor were they accompanied by bones of fossil animals.]

3 Quatrefages, A. de, Histoire générale des races humaines; in 2 pts., Paris, 1887-89, pp. 85-86, 105.

4 Referred to in the earlier part of this section.

5 Hansen, Séren, Det jordfundne Menneske fra Pontimelo (with abstract in French), in his Lagoa Santa
Racen, in Samling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, Kj6benhayn, 1888, pp. 1-27, pl. Iv.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 18

SKULL OF FONTEZUELAS. (AFTER SOREN HANSEN)

ie s oe - #
- <p 4 ay) APP ihe s)
Wi ~ ; : d =
ad Py a hike ks
~ - 7 4 D ‘
y 7 wif ) = “a = [ny
: . 7 a Mi et ee ie
a4, — dials i i) aun. 4 ‘
N ay a i eri Pa
— 7 7 = 7 . fas
i 7 ay ee ae
a ok: * ha 4 = a
ce ee : a 7
ry : ad _
=
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Ant N=
i
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om ;
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ris i =
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9 ?
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7
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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 217

layer of humus, because the individual bones did not occupy their
natural relative positions, but were scattered over a rather large
surface and seem to have been exposed to some change of location at
a time when the water of the river stood higher. The carapace of the
Glyptodon mentioned was lying on the back, but somewhat obliquely,
and projected from the surface above the pelvis and a femur of the
same animal.['] However, no other bones of the animal were found,
and the Glyptodon had remained undisturbed until Roth dug it up.
Even if the human bones were in reality lying underneath the carapace,
which is not quite certain, it is out of the question to regard the cir-
cumstances of the deposit as trustworthy proof that the Pontimelo
man lived simultaneously with, or before, the Glyptodon. The Pampean
layer consists of a mass so loose and mobile that the objects contained
in it can not remain in all probability long in their original position.
Roth himself in one of the letters to Vogt has given a very significant
account of these conditions.”

The principal measurements of the Fontezuelas skull are (Hansen):

MSE ye Elie. ies Woes dint: aii. taba aoee eee. Ge 18.5
Ee ee er ee es a eee: ae Ne Seeger i" Be 13.6
LEED 23 Se METS PAR ey 18.0
Peperomia het, gbOUb.: 3.5. ..2.5..--2~.-- 2 --ccaeeonecedseur ssa seeee 14.0
ena TEP es ea a ya ahs ce SS oe a ts fs nn COR EE eee nee Ce 52. 0
imanemrscrereu es Mee eh. tik U2 Le RET, 31.5
NEaien-olmithion arcsec oz! ris. Sadi aa yis ew ee Sie deere 39. 0
Pe reacet rata TAUNTS od sy ets tae Qe ee ed ah dg abet oi

The stature is estimated at 151.5 m. The illustrations of the skull
are here reproduced (pl. 18).

In 1889 Roth wrote to Kollmann on the subject of the “‘Pontimelo”’
skull. This letter was incited by the remarks of Hansen. We learn
from it that the statement in Vogt, which refers to the finding below
the carapace of the glyptodon, of the pelvis and a femur of the same
animal, is erroneous and should read ‘‘pelvis and a femur of man.”
Of the glyptodon there existed only a part of the carapace. There
are then references to the Carcarafidé, Saladero, and Baradero finds
of ‘‘fossil’’ human bones, with additional remarks on finds of ancient
stone implements and baked earth, but there is nothing further
concerning the details of the Fontezuelas discovery.

In answer to this letter, Kollmann (ibid.) says, ‘‘the decision [as
to the antiquity of the skeleton] lies with the geologists. . . . We
in Europe can contribute next to nothing to the solution of these
pending questions; we can only bring forward, as Hansen did, doubts
and reflections. Fortunately the skull of Fontezuelas is not the

[! Copies Vogt’s error; should read ‘of man.’’]
2 Ueber den Schiidel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fontezuelas): in Mitth. anat. Inst» Vesalianum zu Basel,
1889, pp. 1-4; and in Lehmann-Nitsche, Nouvelles recherches, etc., pp. 470-487.

218 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

only evidence which makes the existence of man in those regions
in the time of the large South American mammals seem highly
probable.”

In 1889 also, as already mentioned, the Fontezuelas find is referred
to, but with a bad error, in Ameghino’s work on the fossil mammals
of Argentina.'’ Ameghino concludes that, on the basis of the available
data, ‘‘this skeleton belongs really to the Superior Pampean, to its
most superficial layers, beimg much more modern than that of Mer-
cedes [Arroyo de Frias] and that of the Rio Samborombén.”

In 1891 Kobelt speaks of the find,? following Ameghino, and sug-
gests indirectly the name Homo pliocenicus for the new species of
man represented by the Fontezuelas skeleton. ;

‘In 1902 Virchow?® returns in a few words to the ‘‘Pontimelo”’
skull. He says: ‘‘Of the oldest crania in America, such as could be
ascribed to the diluvial if not to even the Tertiary period, there are
known in general only peculiar cases, with which one can do but
little;’ and then deplores his error in having considered the skull of
‘‘Pontimelo,”’ on the strength of a photograph, brachycephalic.

Some brief remarks concerning the Fontezuelas and other Ter-
tiary skeletons are found in a later (1906) publication by Ameghino,‘
which read as follows:

“The remains of man from the Superior Pliocene (Fontezuelas)

indicate a small race, reaching the height of approximately 1.50 m.,
with a frontal curve of medium elevation, without or with only
slight supraorbital swellings, with a sternal perforation and 18 dorso-
lumbar vertebre.[°] These last characteristics are very primitive
and this race was made a distinct species, named by Kobelt Homo
pliocenicus.”’

Finally, in 1907, the Fontezuelas human bones are dealt with by
Lehmann-Nitsche*® who reexamined them and gave a detailed report
on their physical characteristics. Nothing is added to the already-
mentioned data concerning the circumstances of the find. Lehmann-
Nitsche’s own statement begins with the rather naive assertions that,
‘‘having studied personally the originals at Copenhagen, I can affirm
without fear of being mistaken that all the débris of the skeleton
came undoubtedly from the Pampean formation. All the peculiar-
ities which they present are absolutely identical with those which
one observes in the bones of the great mammals that are so well
known, which fact has also been expressly remarked by Hansen

1 Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles, ete., p. 67.
The account speaks in one place of the skeleton as having been found in, instead of under, the
carapace of a glyptodon, an error later copied by Kobelt.
2 Ameghinos Forschungen in den Argentinischen Pampas; in Globus, Bd., LIx, Braunschweig, 1891, pp.
a=
a cay ethnica americana, Berlin, 1892. p. 29.
4 Les formations sédimentaires, etc.; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xv (ser. 3, t. vit), 1906, p. 447.

[° The last two features relate to the Samboromb6n skeleton (p. 233).]

® Nouvelles recherches, etc., pp. 253-296. ™

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 219

himself. They have the same dry, spongy constitution and they are
very fragile, very friable. All are of a dark-yellowish color. Some
of the bones, as for example the humerus, are covered with character-
istic calcareous incrustations, which adhere strongly and can not be
separated without taking with them the surface of the bone. Besides
this, the detailed description which Roth published about his discovery
and which he personally repeated to me, has convinced me fully of the
contemporaneity of Glyptodon with the man of Fontezuelas.”’

The results of Lehmann-Nitsche’s examination of the specimens are
in the main as follows:

The description and measurements of Hansen, so far as they go,
are correct. The basal parts and also the occiput show slight post-
humous depressions. The facial parts also have been altered by
pressure. Besides the posthumous compression, Lehmann-Nitsche
believes there is a slight posterior artificial flattening.

The skull is dirty yellowish-gray in color and the bone adheres
strongly to the tongue. The parietal region shows some calcareous
incrustations. The cranium is very large and massive, its external
form suggesting decidedly that of the modern Tehuelche skulls.
The details concerning the external characteristics of the vault show
no remarkable features.

As to sex, it is not unlikely that it is feminine.t’ The lower jaw,
however, suggests a male rather than a female. It is very robust
and massive and its body is voluminous; the ascending rami are
nearly vertical but not particularly broad. The surface of the bone
is covered with calcareous incrustations. The inferior outline of the
jaw is angular, the chin part being square. The prominence of the
chin is seen to be fairly developed.

The teeth in general are large; they are very much worn? and in
the manner observed among the modern Indians of South America.

Measurements of the lower jaw of Fontezuelas

Length from right condyle (middle of the posterior border) to the ee

superior border of the symphysis (the condyle is somewhat damaged), at em.

[SDS i ood Pe gots aS yk ee Se as © eae Cet en eee ae 11.0
Height of the ascending ramus, from the inferior border to the notch, in a direc-

Rite! Paraler Louie. poslenor POrder.« <=. fe oetese ko... ec ee ee ne soe 5. 2
Breadth of the ascending ramus, perpendicular to the preceding measurement *. 3.7
Height ateymphymies::) sh Sseu. bier) semen? ecl 5. Gest: toneleele ao
Maximum thickness at symphysis (without internal spine). ............-.---- Lok
Thickness of horizontal ramus between second and third molars..........---- 1.6
PLE CLOTING) esto oho taka 2s SE ee 2 EES PS cate hee eteigi e's ofahe © bat ee

1 A skull of such size, particularly if belonging to a short skeleton, with lower jaw, zygomee, and mas-
toids as present in this specimen, can more safely be regarded as masculine. The strength of the humerus
and the narrowness of the greater sciatic notch make the identification of the skeleton as that of a male
quite definite. —A. H.

2 The size of the teeth, ignoring extremes, can not be judged with any degree of certainty when the
©rowns are worn off in an advanced degree.—A. H.

8 Breadth minimum?

220 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The parts of the skeleton still in existence comprise: The atlas
with portions of the axis, and the third cervical vertebra; remains of
the rest of the vertebral column, conserved in the earth with which
they are enveloped; a number of pieces of ribs; portions of the pelvis,
including the two acetabula; some fragments of the scapule and
clavicles; the two humeri, one nearly complete, the other very
defective; the two radii, incomplete; one ulna, also incomplete; the
bones of the right hand, nearly complete; the bones of the left hand,
very incomplete; the two femora, nearly entire; the two patelle,
imperfect ; the two tibiz, nearly whole; the two fibulz, very defective;
some bones of the feet; and a large quantity of débris of bones from
the same skeleton. It is plain that, notwithstanding the fact that the
bones were somewhat scattered, as reported by Roth, there is very
little, if anything, missing from the complete skeleton. Also, numer-
ous bones appear to be in much better condition than the remarks
in the earlier reports on the find would indicate.

The three cervical vertebre are still in their natural position,
enveloped in loess and forming one piece, but the bones are so defective
that they offer but little for examination. The few measurements
that could be taken present no special features.

The fragments of pelvic bones show a narrow greater sciaticnotch,
in marked contrast with that of the skeleton from the Arroyo de Frias,
in which this notch was very wide.! A particular outline taken on one
of the fragments ‘‘corresponds absolutely to modern types.”

The right humerus is above medium in strength; it is not markedly
platybrachic.

The principal measurements of the humert Right. Left.

cm. cm.
Mesimam lencth, about; ......-..---+-- > .04¢Sepaen Tie - COREE Cee 29:0. aes
Maximpm Giameterat middie . 4s sccebtc- ses ae- eeist -| eee see 2.4 ppt
iuiharromphagoca te jacetrere enh eavto (6 Mls See ee ee eee ae eee ei) See i irs 1. 65
levees ai pinrite Volks S eee ae CS eels Se ee eee Soe See 70.8 78.6
Circumferenceat. midges] sere «ne ee ete sete = ee eee 6.9 6.3

The measurements show that the right humerus is short and mas-
sive, while the left is weaker.

The radii are quite straight, but not very stout. The interosseous
~ border shows the usual form. So far as can be determined, the ulna
was quite strong.

As to the femora, the maximum length of the left bone was caleu-
lated by Hansen at 40 cm., the same by Lehmann-Nitsche at 39.7
em., the bicondylar length at 39.6 em. The bones are not very mas-
sive, the circumference at the middle measuring 8 cm. on the right,
7.9 em. on the left. The platymeric index is 73.3, which is not
remarkable. The linea aspera is very broad in its whole extent but

1 These are simply sexual characteristics, the wideness of the notch indicating a female; its narrowness,
a male.—A. H.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 19

LEFT FEMUR OF FONTEZUELAS SKELETON. (AFTER LEHMANN-NITSCHE)

Anterior (a), medial (6), and posterior (c) views.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 20

a a b b’

TIBIZ OF FONTEZUELAS SKELETON. (AFTER LEHMANN-NITSCHE)

Right: a, lateral view; a’, anterior view; Left: b, lateral view; b’, anterior view.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 991

there is no marked pilasterism. The pilasteric index of 112.4 on the
right, and 112.5 on the left, corresponds very closely with that ofthe
Saladero (Arizona), the Sioux, and other Indians. In general form
the bones differ from those of the Homo primigenius and approximate
to those of the present man. (Pls. 19, 20.)

The tibiz ‘‘offer no special features.” They are notably platyc-
nemic. The retroversion of the head is marked.

Principal measurements of the Fontezuelas tibix

es}
rch
=e
+

Left.

bo
“J

is)
lan}
=)
Wo
5

oo
bo

Length between the articular surfaces. ........--

Z a
Diameter antero-posterior at middle........-..........2222 222222220. ne ace
Diameter lateral at middle.............. Sn RRP ep lel ye | 1.9
Ehayskesc Gir Wino lee ete ke Beoere | le eos Wp ASE a eet See ne a a a oe 63.6 59. 4
Diameter antero-posterior at nutritive foramen..-..................... 3.6 Su
Digmeterdateral at mutritive foramen. .2=.-55. 20.52.62 ske +. = cn ee Peal. IE
Indexeapeniinitavenoramenapeess: sha. mee wie TREE Se Se G8e5) 54.8
Cireumierencera i amid dlenecesemps es ett oe eee eee oes et a ES 8.6 8.3

“The fibule offer no particular features.”

The humero-femoral index is about 73.2; the tibio-femoral index
about 82.6. Both of these proportions are well within the range of
variation of the modern man.

The stature is calculated at 151.2 cm., almost identical with the
estimate of Hansen, this assuming that the skeleton is that of a female;
if a male [and so it should be regarded], 153.6 cm.

The bones of the hands and the feet present no remarkable features.

As usual in this series of his reports, Lehmann-Nitsche avoids sum-
marizing the results of his studies and conclusions; but his study has
brought out no points about the skeleton that would suggest another
species of man or even a type differing from that of the recent Indian.

As to its age, in a subsequent publication! Lehmann-Nitsche
places the skeleton among those belonging to the Superior Pampean
(Quaternary).

CriticAL REMARKS

The pivotal question in regard to the Fontezuelas skeleton is, of
course, that of its geologic age; and the criteria of age are strati-
graphic position, association, alterations in, and the morphologic
characteristics of, the bones. Let us test these several factors as
applied to the case under consideration.

It should be stated to start with that the writer, who became per-
sonally acquainted with Santiago Roth, learned to appreciate highly
the latter’s integrity as well as his ability, and can not but regard his
statements with entire confidence. However, his statements re-
garding the Fontezuelas find are not as detailed as desirable and are

1 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., Fl hombre fdsil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Est., La Paz, Bolivia, v1, 1910
Pp- 363-366.

999 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

not accompanied by exact measurements and photographic records,
both of which in cases of this nature must be regarded as indis-
pensable. We are told that there was only a part of the carapace,
but are left in doubt as to how large that part was, how deep it lay,
exactly how it was related to the human bones, and exactly how deep
these were buried.

The barren surface in which the find was made is mentioned as
‘exposed through denudation,” but it is not clear how deep this
denudation was and whether it was recent or of ancient date. Most
of the points here cited may not be of paramount importance, but in
a case like this full and precise data relating to every particular are
needed.

The carapace of the glyptodon, which lay inverted over the human
bones, affords some means of estimating the depth of the latter be-
neath the surface at the time of the discovery. The complete cara-
pace of a full grown glyptodon measures about 3 feet in height, but as
in this case only part of the shield was present and as the border of
this, moreover, protruded from the ground, the human bones must
have been buried less than 3 feet deep. Even if it be granted that
the locality had been denuded of its humus layer and perhaps even of
the uppermost layers of the soil beneath, the depth at which the
human bones lay must be regarded as having been moderate.

The different parts of the skeleton were somewhat scattered, yet
larger or smaller fragments of practically all the bones remained.
This does not seem to warrant the conclusion that the body lay until
decomposed on the surface of the ground. If left thus, it would have
fallen in all probability a prey to carnivorous animals and the body,
or parts of it, would have been scattered, destroyed, or carried away.
It appears much more probable that the body was buried and that
most if not all the dissociation, fragmentation, and loss of parts of
the bones, occurred subsequently beneath the surface, through the
agency of inundations or other forces.

The theory of accidental burial, advanced by Roth, encounters,
however, another serious objection. If the remains of the body were
covered through natural means, as claimed, we must ask how the
empty and overturned glytodon carapace came to lie directly over
the human skeleton. Glyptodon skeletons occupying inverted posi-
tions may be common enough but here we have the carapace only,
with no intimation or evidence that the spot was ever a bed or a
gully into which a glyptodon could roll and die, lying on its back,
directly over a human skeleton. Moreover, if the human remains
had been covered with loess through natural means, it is reasonable
to suppose that the same thing would have happened at least in part
with the skeletal remains of the glyptodon other than the carapace,
but no trace of any of the bones of the animal, or of the scales of the

ES ee

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 298

head or the tail was discovered. It is not probable therefore that
the glyptodon rolled accidentally upon the human remains.

But if the above supposition is abandoned, then we must conclude
that the carapace alone, or a part of it, as found by Roth, reached
somehow the position over the human body or bones, or that it
was placed there by man. It will be seen at once that in either case
the relation of the carapace to the human skeleton ceases to be of
value as evidence of antiquity.

An accidental presence above the human bones of the heavy up-
turned carapace would be difficult to explain, although it not infre-
quently happens that water, wind, and other agencies produce
phenomena which are difficult or impossible to trace. Two inter-
esting suggestions relating to overturned glyptodon carapaces, capa-
ble of throwing light on this problem, are found in Roth’s own paper
on the pampas formation. We read: ‘Burmeister believes that
these carapaces [of glyptodons] were carried for some time by water,
the rest of the bones [of the glyptodons] being lost. However, we
often find isolated bones of the same animal lying next to the cara-
pace and even under it.’’1 If this is true, then it is conceivable that
the carapace in question may have been deposited on higher ground
during some flood of the not far distant stream. But its deposition
directly over a human skeleton, though not impossible, would be
a rare chance.

The most plausible solution appears to be the assumption that the
carapace was placed over the human remains by man. This might
have been done with or without the knowledge of the existence of
the remains. In the latter instance the carapace might have been
used on the same spot for a wind shield or for some other purpose,
such use of these carapaces having often been referred to by the
Argentine paleontologists.

It seems more rational to believe that the carapace was purposely
laid over the human body as a covering and protection. In the
absence of stone or heavier pieces of wood, if a carapace or a part of
it was available, it is very likely that it would have been used by
the natives who buried the body. As to the inverted position, it is
not impossible a part of a carapace would be so placed originally.
More probably, however, it was placed with the concavity downward
and was disturbed subsequently by man, water, or some other agency;
and the same agency may also have disturbed the bones beneath.
Of course the carapace may already have been ancient when placed
over the bones.

However, it is not here intended to build up any hypotheses.
The fact is there is not the slightest proof that the animal, part of

1 Roth, 8., Beobachtungen liber Entstehung und Alter der Pampasformation in Argentinien; in Zeilschr.
deutsch. geol. Ges., XL, 1888, p. 449.

994 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

whose carapace lay over the Fontezuelas human bones, was con-
temporaneous with the man to whom these bones belonged. This
is true even though it is by no means‘yet established that the glyp-
todons passed away at a very remote date.

A petrographic examination of the bones with the view of deter-
mining their state of fossilization has not been made. Adhesions
of indurated calcareous matter alone are not incompatible with the
relatively modern character of the bones. This subject has been
already discussed at length, however, in other sections.

In physical characteristics the bones are all closely related to those
of the Indian skeleton; the femora and the tibie in particular are
typically Indian. The shaft of the tibia, as can well be seen in the
illustration (p. 261), presents a flat quadrilateral shape, due to the
excessive development of a ridge between the tibialis posticus and
the flexor digitorum longus muscles, which was frequent in the
earlier Europeans, but occurs only very seldom in such a degree in
the modern white, is not met with at all in the black, but is found
again and again in the same form in the Indian.

The small stature of the individual, whether female, as claimed by
Lehmann-Nitsche, or male, as believed by the writer, does not prove
the existence of an early pigmy race, for such stature is not rare in
the more central regions of South America, especially in Peru and
Bolivia.

The correctness of the preceding statement will best be seen from
the following figures: The bicondylar length of 200 Peruvian femora,
taken without selection from the United States National Museum
collection, ranges from 33.9 to 44.6 cm., the average being 40 em.
Of the 200 bones, 98 (49 per cent of the whole), show a length less
than that of the Fontezuelas femur.

Again small stature is also met with frequently among the living
Indians. It was shown by the writer on another occasion ! that the
minimum stature in normal males, even in tribes in which the average
height is fair, often descends well below 160 cm. In six of the tribes
it actually descends below that estimated for the Fontezuelas skele-
ton. If the skeleton were that of a female, the conditions would be
still less exceptional, for among the 19 tribes in which the women were
measured the minimum stature in all but one is below that estimated
for the Fontezuelas individual and in two tribes, the Aztec and the
Tarasco, neither of which has ever been considered a tribe of pig-
mies, even the average stature of the women falls below that of the
subject under consideration.

On the whole, the study of the Fontezuelas find leads to the
conclusion that, even if some circumstances of the find can not be

1 Hrdliéka, A., On the Stature of the Indians of the Southwest and of Northern Mexico; in Putnam
Anniversary Volume, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1909, p. 42.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 225

fully explained, they are not incompatible with the recent age of the
human remains; and the skeletal parts, when considered in the light
of our present knowledge, speak so strongly for their Indian and
modern origin that, unless additional proofs tending to establish the
contrary are supplied, they can not but be so regarded.

THE ARRECIFES SKULL
HistoricAL REMARKS AND EARLIER REPORTS

The first notice of the Arrecifes skull is found in Ameghino’s work
on the fossil mammals of Argentina.!. After making certain remarks
concerning the Fontezuelas skeleton, he says:

“This region of the Rio de Arrecifes appears to have been at that
epoch more populous or more suitable for man’s habitation than
the rest of the province, for, while writing these lines, I have received
notice of the discovery of a human skull, evidently fossil, more or
less under the same conditions as the preceding [Fontezuelas], at the
distance of about 4 leagues from the town of Arrecifes, near the
small Arroyo de Merlo and at a short distance from the channel of the
Rio Arrecifes, on a declivity of the Pampean terrane denuded by the
waters. J have not as yet seen the locality, but the aspect of the
skull and its state of preservation show plainly that it proceeds from
the red Pampean ground.”

On page 85 of the same work we read the following additional
remarks in regard to the specimen: ‘‘The skull, of which I have two
photographs, was recently found in the same northern region of the
province [as the skull of ‘‘Pontimelo”’]. It is evidently of a distinct
race, [*] dolichocephalic, with an index that should be in the proximity
of 75, and also hipsistenocephalic, but of narrow and very low front,
very pronounced supraorbital arches, and strong temporal crests.”’

And without further data or consideration the skull is accepted as
representing a variety of ancient man, for the following lines read:
“We hold, then, the proof that during the formation of the Inferior
[probably should read “‘Superior’’—A. H.] Pampean, the province
of Buenos Aires was inhabited in the same regions, although we have
no evidence that it was absolutely synchronically, by two distinct
human races, one dolichocephalic and with marked characteristics of
inferiority in the skull; the other brachycephalic. . . .

“The representatives of both races were hipsistenocephalic and
of very small stature.”

No other account of the discovery has ever been published by
Ameghino. But in 1906, in his work on the sedimentary formations,’

1 Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles, etc., 1889, pp. 67, 85.
2 From that represented by the Arroyo de Frias, Samborombén, and Fontezuelas skulls.—A. H.

3 Les formations sédimentaires, etc.; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xv (ser. I, t. Vu), 1906, pp.
446-447.

15

21535°—Bull. 52—12

226 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

this author gives another illustration of the Arrecifes skull, marking it
as ‘Inferior Quaternary,” and offers the following remarks (p. 447),
which ill agree with those quoted in the preceding lines: ‘‘The man
of the Quaternary epoch [fig. 344=the skull] does not appear to
differ from that of the present period, but his remains are very inter-
esting because they seem to indicate that he is the result of an evolu-
tion effected on this continent.”

A few details concerning the find, based on personal information
obtained from Ameghino, were published in 1907, with a description
of the skull, by Lehmann-Nitsche.t. The skull was found by M. Mon-
guillot, a preparator formerly attached to the Museo Nacional, in
the locality mentioned above, “‘in terrane belonging to the Pam-
pean formation, which was left exposed by water.” Ameghino
acknowledged he ‘‘did not know the locality; but the aspect of the
skull, its state of preservation, and the information given by the
preparator, proved to him conclusively that the specimen came from
the upper layers of the Superior Pampean formation.”

The above is absolutely all that has been reported of this discovery,
and the case must be regarded. as one of the most striking illustra-
tions of the poor foundations on which the structure of the theory
of ancient man in South America is built.

The skull is now the property of the Museo de la Facultad de
Filosofia y Letras, Buenos Aires, where it was examined by Lehmann-
Nitsche and also by the writer, thanks to the courtesy of Sefior Juan
Ambrosetti, director of the museum (fig. 45).

Lehmann-Nitsche’s principal remarks and conclusions in regard
to the specimens are as follows (p. 299 et seq.) :

“As to the question whether the cranium really is derived from
the Upper Pampean loess, it would be equally possible to sustain that
opinion or oppose it.

“In favor of the antiquity of the specimen is the circumstance
that the parts of the bone which have been freed from calcareous
incrustation adhere strongly to the tongue; they have all the aspect
of fossility, a yellowish-white color, fragile structure, etc. Besides
that, the ventral surface of the skull is covered by a very irregular
granular layer of strongly effervescent carbonate of lime. Similar
calcareous covering over the external surface reaches in some spots
a thickness of more than 1 millimeter, and is composed of at least
three perfectly distinct layers. This differs from the known in-
crustations which cover animal bones from the Pampean formation
and resembles the stalactite that forms on objects plunged into

1 Nouvelles recherches, etc., pp. 298-320; also the somewhat earlier publication on the same subject
in the Revista de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, vm, 1907, reprint, pp. 146. The two accounts differ in a
number of secondary particulars. All quotations and references that follow are from the Nouvelles
recherches, etc,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 227

mineral waters containing much lime in solution, as those of
Carlsbad... .

‘Against the opinion which attributes the skull to loess, may be
advanced, as proof, the lack of data regarding the find, as well as the
relatively satisfactory preservation of the osseous substance; but in
reality the bone has been protected by the calcareous envelope which
covered it.[‘] The chocolate-colored stains visible on some parts of
the lamina interna suggest exactly the color of the ancient Patagonian

Fig. 45. Skull of Arrecifes, norma lateralis. (After Lehmann-Nitsche.)

skulls from the Rio Negro, of which an important series exists in the
Museo de la Plata, the ‘Quaternary’ age of which is affirmed only
by Ameghino.[?]...

‘However this may be, I consider the skull, without hesitation,
very ancient, without venturing to call it absolutely fossil, and I
believe that the term subfossil would well express the idea of its great

”)
ao
age.

{} Experience with Indian skeletal material from limestone caves in California has been quite to the con-
trary, bones or parts of bones coated with or embedded in stalagmitic deposits showing advanced changes;
there is marked loss in organic matter, the bones are yellowish-white to white in color, and where there is
no interstitial infiltration of lime, they are fragile.] : :

(2? This statement is unjust to Ameghino who, at the place indicated, states with emphasis that Pampean
deposits are absent from the entire lower part of the valley of the Rio Negro and that the skull in question
(Moreno’s collection) is unquestionably Post-Pampean (see also p. 196 of this report). As tothe stains, such
disseminated black or brown spots are very common on bones and usually are devoid of all significance as
to the age of the specimen.]

228 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Of the various specimens described in this paper, Lehmann-Nitsche
continues, ‘‘ the subfossil skull of Arrecifes seems to be the most recent.
Tam firmly convinced that it may proceed from the Pampean forma-
tion.[‘] All its characteristics indicate that it is very ancient and is
comparable in this respect with all the other human remains which
were studied in this work.”

The preceding excerpt is from page 300. On page 320, at the end
of the study of the specimen, Lehmann-Nitsche states his opinions
as follows:

“1. The Arrecifes skull is one of the most ancient crania of the
Argentine Republic, even though it is not possible to attribute it with
all certainty to the Pampean formation.

“2. The length of the cerebral part of the skull surpasses the human
average, the breadth equals exactly that average; the index of the
vault is mesocephalic; the height, great absolutely, presents, in rela-
tion to the length, a figure that is relatively rather low (platycephaly).

“3. The breadth of the forehead corresponds absolutely with the
average; relatively (in regard to the breadth of the skull) it corres-
ponds to the American type. The frontal and bregmatic angles,
which indicate inclination backward of the front, are such as occur
in man of thé present day. if

“4. The facial part of the skull is more or less chameprosopic; the
index occupies an intermediary position among the human races in
general [?] and among the various American tribes in particular.

“5, The supraorbital arches are well marked and prominent; the
supramastoideal crests are well developed; the mastoid incisure
presents the form of a notch (American type); the digastric crest is in
the form of a rude comb (d'un gros peigne) ; the groove for the occipital
artery is also notchlike. The occipital torus is very well marked and
forms one long and large swelling.

“6. The study of the skull of Arrecifes leads to the conclusion that
it belongs to the actual human type and especially to the American
type.”

In view of the last paragraph and of the almost entire absence of
data concerning the find of the specimen under consideration, it is
difficult to see on what the statements in paragraph 1 of the above
conclusions and the statement on page 300 in Lehmann-Nitsche’s
work are based.

The more important of Lehmann-Nitsche’s measurements of the
skull are as follows:

1“ Je suis fermement convaincu qu’ il peut provenir dela formation pampéenne.”

{2 The comparisons with mankind in general must be regarded as carried too far. The state of precise
anthropologic knowledge concerning many important groups of humanity is as yet very imperfect, especi-
ally etiologically.]

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 229
cm,
V2 SRI ean istibeee oe 2 oo 2k ee Re re 18.6
TBireeye lial one atom bhons soe We.cm J oboe Se che eee eR OSA = A aoe ea ee eae 14.1
lujeinlre Magn estin i" i a ee 9.6
Dinmeter bizyoomaie mati, ADOUG =... 2... we ee ee ee ee 14.2
Nasion*alveotar em mermnn, abGut 002. PSS 2 eee. 7.5
Circumicremecemoriaominle: a0 2) et jied hiss - sitie% 251). 30) Jo. 262. 2. PER 53.0
Cinciimmenen@e wm inmnsVensa | 442s Seo eere edhe HE oot Sees. et. 228). gee ne Ye 33.5
Crenunmerence, avivero-posterior, frontal... 2 5-02. Lase- ae 2 2 bab teh gee
rumucrenee, antero-posterior, parietal... : 4... --'---- 42-4 mec et ao lense 14.3
ammeter autero-posverior irontal, about: - .°.- oc. 2... ee ee eee 11.5
Pamneter antero-posterior paricial .'.. . FMS ITE Ogol. See 2s 12.4
Cepratertakae OIE Gerth. eo tss raed eee PORK Seyes 2etek eS eT bis kedoylepaas te 12.3
OS NEN CER eg Ae ST Re eae eee ee a ees oe 8.5

More recently 1 Lehmann-Nitsche classes the skull of Arrecifes with
those of Frias, Saladero, Samborombén, Fontezuelas, Chocori, Mira-
mar, and Necochea, all of which, with the Carcarafia bones, are re-
garded as Superior Pampean and hence Quaternary. But these cra-
nia ‘‘represent no somatologic characteristic which is not found also
in the existing natives of South America and especially in the same
Pampean and Patagonian regions, and there is even noted a certain
amount of variation in the different examples.”

Finally, in 1910 the Arrecifes skull is also briefly reported on by
Mochi? This author shows that the norma verticalis of the specimen
is ellipsoid ; the vault is not chamecephalic, as classified by Lehmann-
Nitsche, who must have made an error in his figures, but, as already
noted by Rivet, it is hipsicephalic; the face is pyramidal, chame-
prosopic, the orbital index low. The ‘‘new characteristics” brought
out ‘“‘demonstrate that the skull belongs to the cranial group of the
type known as that of Lagoa Santa, and thereby shows an affinity
with the dolicho-acrocephalic oceanic type, with the Ellipsoides pelas-
gicus of Sergi, and with the Quaternary (or regarded as such) European
skulls of Galley Hill, Engis, and Brno [Briin]. On the other hand, it
has nothing in common with the types which, rightly or wrongly, are
considered essentially American.”’ *

These conclusions impress one, especially one who knows per-
sonally the sympathetic author, as very unfortunate. They involve
in the comparison racial and ancient elements which are wholly
irrelevant to the specimen under consideration, and largely so to
the whole subject of man’s age in South America in its present hazy
stage. On what common basis, for instance, can the late diluvial
skull of Brno be compared with the skull of Arrecifes, even if the latter

1 El hombre f6sil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Est., La Paz, Bolivia, v1, 1910, pp. 363-366.

2 Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per l Antr. e la Etn., Xu, Firenze, 1910,
pp. 214-218.

3“ Non ha invece niente di comune con i tipi che a tortooa ragione si considerano come essenzialmente-
americani.”’

930 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (pune. 52

should belong to the Upper Pampean? The statements appear possi-
ble only from a worker well versed in the anthropology of Europe,
but less so in that of America, a condition reflected also by the
works cited. The last sentence quoted is wholly untenable. To
make this clear, one needs only to point to the recent well-considered
conclusions of Rivet on the same subject.1_ There are cranial types
which may be justly considered essentially American, and, as recog-
nized by Lehmann-Nitsche and as will be shown later on, the
Arrecifes skull has everything in common with such of these types
as it approximates in cephalic index.

The measurements given by Mochi are those of Lehmann-Nitsche.
Two estimates, one of the basio-bregmatic height and the other
that of the greatest bizygomatic breadth of the skull, are both too
high, and others of the facial structures, in view of the defective
state of those parts, can not be given much weight.

As to the geologic age of the find, Mochi is inclined to believe, on
the basis of the alterations of the bone and the calcareous incrusta-
tion, that the skull ‘‘belongs to one of the final phases of the
Quarternary.”’

EXAMINATION BY THE WRITER

What the writer observed in his examination of the Arrecifes
skull may be briefly stated as follows:

The specimen is a normal, symmetric, and beyond any doubt
masculine, skull. The subject was adult but not old. The sutures
seem to be patent, but the teeth show rather advanced wear.

The skull has been fairly well reconstructed from about 24 pieces.
The facial and basal parts are to a large extent defective. Parts of
the temporals have been rebuilt in mastic, and the same is true of
parts of the malars; furthermore, the mending substance is seen
also between the parietals and the occipital, and between the mastoid
portions and the parietals, slightly enlarging the vault.

The dorsal surface is covered with grayish, semigranular, calcareous
incrustation, which measures from a fraction of a millimeter to about
1 mm. in thickness. Ventrally the bones are covered with similar
coating but to a lesser degree. The skull is quite heavy, but the
weight is evidently due largely to the incrustation. Nevertheless the
bones and the teeth also seem somewhat mineralized interstitially.

What remains of the facial structures shows a medium prognathism,
with a low upper alveolar process (about 1.3cem.). The teeth, so far
as can be determined, were of ordinary Indian size and form. The
dental arch is regular. The palate was not unusually broad nor above
moderate in height. The malar bones, badly damaged and defec-
tive, present no special features; marginal processes are of medium

1 Rivet, P., La race de Lagoa-Santa chez les populations précolombiennes de l’equateur; in Bull.
et Mém. Soc. d’ Anthr. Paris, 5™ sér., 1x, 1908, p. 209 et seq.

HRDLIeKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 981

dimensions. The zygomz show masculine development. Orbital
borders dull; interorbital breadth rather above, size of orbits rather
below, medium. The naso-frontal suture is patent; the nasal
articular surface on the frontal looks nearly down. Nasion depres-
sion moderate; nasion itself situated high, a frequent characteristic
of Indian skulls in Argentina.

The supraorbital ridges are well developed, but not excessively so
for a male, and extend over the medial two-thirds of the supraorbital
border. The glabella is in a slight depression between the ridges.
As is frequently the case, there is a shallow depression above the
distal parts of the supraorbital ridges; none above the medial parts.
The lateral angular processes are rather stout.

The forehead is well-arched and quite high, with a single diffuse
median convexity; there are no lateral frontal eminences and no crest.

There exists no post-coronal depression. The sagittal elevation
is very moderate and mainly perceptible about the summit, in the
usual position. The parietal bones present no features worthy of
special notice.

The temporal regions are not bulging. The temporal crests run
at a good distance from the sagittal suture, their nearest approach
to the same being about 6 cm. on each side, and are in no way unusual.

The occiput (including the posterior portion of the parietal region)
is shghtly uneven, the right side being the larger, but this is prob-
ably due in part to defects in repairing the specimen; its prominence
is not above medium. The occipital torus is rather pronounced,
broad, horizontal, and reaches nearly from side to side of the occipi-
tal. Depressions below the crest are ordinary.

The mastoids are good-sized, masculine; the mastoidal crests are
well-marked.

Serration of sutures rather simple, as usual in Indians.

Outline of norma superior approximates elliptical; that of norma
posterior is pentagonal.

The face was of medium height and moderate breadth, and in
general of a type common among Indians of similar cephalic form.

The thickness of the skull is not excessive; the incrustations pre-
vent direct measurement.

Ventrally, there are seen a short and moderately high metopic
crest and some impressions of brain convolutions.

Measurements:

V. ault: cm.
eae net, Ler O Ost CEION yc. eee ee IO eine ie Coie idea wees 19.0
TDVinciveirared by rarer erate baton ybl ecbeee ys Me A see a et Se | a rr 14.4

(Owing to the imperfections in the repairing and to the thin crust, each of
these measurements should be reduced slightly, perhaps as much as 3 mm.)

1 The values obtained agree in general fairly closely with those of Lehmann-Nitsche, some differences
being due doubtless to unlike allowances for the imperfections of the skull. Measurements that would
have to be based principally on estimate are excluded.

932 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puun. 52

; cm.

Height, biauricular line-bregma, approximately. ..............-.--- eee 12.4
Circumference (above supraorbital ridges), approximately....................- 52. 9
Transverse arc (from roots of zygomez above meatus, across bregma). ........ 31. 6
Breadth of base between points of mastoids...................--....---------- 11.8

Breadth between the distal parts of the lateral angular processes of the frontal

Sr
fo}
=)
oO
mM
‘

‘

'
foal
jaa
oO

Breadth between the points of intersection of orbital border and fronto-malar

BUDULC: 2 fociee sb Be oracle ee ae SS ee Dea OS
Diameter ironta? mimi 5 Se ee eee Slo! et ee ee She fi
Dinineter frontal tiaxinimi mean tS Fe we AS PAS ee 12. 0
Nasion-bretmaare...vaceits) aed as a gt ted . eee old. ltpetenetio 12.4
Bregma-lambda are (before repair was probably slightly smaller). .........-. 14. 3

The skull shows no trace of disease. E

There is absolutely nothing more primitive in form or size or in
individual features of the specimen than is generally met in crania
of the American Indians.

Conclusions.—As a result of the above examination, and after due
consideration of the meager data relating to the specimen, it is the
writer’s opinion that, on account of defective information in regard
to the circumstances of the find, and on the basis of the somatologic
evidence, the Arrecifes skull should be excluded from all further
consideration relative to early, i. e. geologically ancient, man in
America.

The whole subject of antiquity in this case appears unfounded.
Holding in view the known facts concerning the Arrecifes skull, it is
impossible to settle on a single feature of importance which would
point unequivocally to any great age of the specimen. Under these
circumstances, the question forces itself: What could not be made,
in a similar manner, out of such North American remains as the
Osprey (Florida) skeletons, described in the writer’s report on early
man in North America. One of these specimens is inclosed in hard
rock, another is more nearly petrified than the bones of a mastodon
from another part of Florida, and the third is embedded in and con-
verted into iron ore. There are, moreover, in our possession, cave
skulls and skeletons embedded in solid breccia, or thickly covered
with calcareous deposits, as well as more or less petrified human
remains from shell mounds. But there is still another question that
presses strongly, namely: What may be the results of further years
of similar loose gathering and of so easily satisfied anthropologic
work ?

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 933

THE SAMBOROMBON SKELETON
History AND REPORTS

The first mention of the Samborombén skeleton is found, in
1884, in Burmeister’s note on the Pampean formation.’ This reads
simply: ‘‘A second fossil human skeleton has been found here by Sr.
de Carles.”

The first details regarding the discovery are not met with until
1889 in Ameghino’s Fossil Mammals of Argentina.? On page 47
of this publication we read: “In 1882 D. Enrique de Carles, trav-
eling naturalist of the Museo Nacional of Buenos Aires, exhumed
from the Superior Pampean of the Arroyo de Samborombén a nearly
complete human skeleton, interred at a considerably lower level than
some bones of a Scelidotherwm and other extinct animals. The
report on this specimen, which is most noteworthy in many respects,
has not as yet been published.”

On page 66 this is supplemented by the following: “The Arroyo
Samborombén, in the vicinity of its confluence with the Arroyo
Dulce, has a channel 3 to 34 meters in depth. Its banks, now ver-
tical, now sloping, are formed, with the exception of the uppermost
humus layer, which does not reach 40 cm. in thickness, of reddish
Pampean deposits, in which are intercallated here and there small
deposits of yellowish-green lacustrine Pampean sediments. The
latter are nearly always of slight thickness as well as extent.

“In one of these deposits of the lacustrine Pampean along the same
Arroyo of Samborombén, at a very short distance from the mouth
of the Arroyo Dulce, there was found by the traveling naturalist of
the Museo Nacional of Buenos Aires, E. de Carles, a nearly com-
plete human skeleton, with the exception of the skull, of which there
remains only the basal part of the occiput and the lower jaw. The
bones were found articulated, although the skeleton was divided
into two parts, the trunk and the superior members with the skull
being in one, and the pelvis with the sacrum and the bones of the
lower limbs in the other, at a distance of 1 meter from the first.
The only visible part exposed by the waters was the skull, of which,
on account of the exposure, there remains only a relatively small
portion.

“This lacustrine deposit or layer in which the skeleton reposed
was 40 or 50 cm. in thickness; it rested on the red Pampean and
was covered by the reddish deposits, 1 meter in thickness, belonging
to the same Pampean formation.

1 Burmeister, G., Bermerkungen in Bezug auf die Pampas Formation; in Verh. Ber. Ges. fiir Anthr.,
Ethn., und Urg., Ber in, 1884, p. 247.
2 Ameghino, F., Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles, etc., pp. 47, 66, 85.

934 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY taunt. 82

“Tn the lacustrine deposit which contained the skeleton, there
were no other vestiges; but in the reddish Upper Pampean layer and
a short distance off, if not precisely above the skeleton, de Carles
gathered the base of the antler of a large deer, now preserved in the
Museum of Buenos Aires, and the mandible of a species of Sceli-
dothervum.’’*

On page 85 of the same publication there are, finally, a few words
concerning the skeleton itself, as follows: ‘‘The third skeleton of the
fossil man from the Superior Pliocene, gathered in the Rio Sam-
borombon, has hitherto been mentioned only by Burmeister, without
a single word having been said about its features. It has remained
undescribed in the possession of its discoverer.

‘“‘T have seen this specimen, though but casually, and observed
in it some characteristics which attracted my attention. Among
these were the small stature of the individual, who probably was of
the female sex, and the possession of 18 dorso-lumbar vertebre, an
extremely rare anomaly in the existing races, but which should have
been more frequent in the races of antiquity and without doubt was
a constant characteristic of some of man’s ancestors. In the ster-
num there also exists a vacuity or perforation, I do not now recollect
at what height, an anomaly that is equally rare in the existing races.
The lower jaw is in a perfect state of preservation, is strong and
massive, and evidently belonged to a brachycephalic skull, without
doubt i the race which Roth encountered.”

‘These few and ill-estimated results of a casual examination of the
skeleton serve as a basis for some important conclusions. Referring
to the Samborombén skeleton and to that of Arrecifes, Ameghino
says (ibid.): ‘‘We hold thus a proof that, during the formation of
the Inferior [?] Pampean, the Province of Buenos Aires was inhabited
over the same area, though it is not shown that it was absolutely
synchronically, by two distinct human races; one dolichocephalic
and with marked signs of inferiority in the skull, the other brachyce-
phalic, of a skull apparently more elevated, and representing by the
characteristics of the skeleton—if the existence of 18 dorso-lumbar
vertebrae, in the only example with an entire vertebral column thus
far known, is not an anomaly (which would be peculiarly rare)—a
very inferior race. The representatives of both races were hip-
sistenocephalic, and of an exceedingly small stature.”

1 A written statement on the subject, made by Sefior Carles to the writer while accompanying him on
the way to the Ovejero finds, reads as follows: ‘‘ At the confluence of the Rio Dulce and Samborombén, in
a barranca of gentle declivity and in a small pocket of bluish-green lacustrine mud, probably deposited in an
excavation in the loess (red Pampean), I found the human skeleton, without any vestige of any object of
industry. It was divided nearly in the middle into two portions which were at a short distance one from
the other, but in the same locality and at only a few meters distance (in the red Pampean) I found a piece
of the lower jaw of Scelidotherium leptocephalum and a part of an antler of a large deer.’’

2 Should probably read ‘‘Superior.”—A,. H.

HRDLIeKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 935

In 1890 a brief report on the remains was presented to the Congress
of Americanists at Paris by Vilanova.t In it we read that ‘“‘the lower
jaw is very large; the condyles are slightly oblique to facilitate move-
ment from before backward, which with the type of wear presented
by the crowns of the teeth, indicates the frugivorous diet of the indi-
vidual. The foramen magnum occupies a more backward position
than in civilized man, which would give a somewhat inclined posi-
tion to the body. The sternum presents a natural perforation, a
very strange thing in our species. Finally, the dorsal part of the
spine contains 13 instead of the usual 12 vertebrae. These remains
were found by Sefior Carles in the channel of the Rio Samborombon,
an affluent of the Rio de La Plata, at a very slight distance from a
nearly complete skeleton of a Megatherium in the Pampean forma-
on. ®

Shortly before this skeleton had come into the possession of the
museum at Valencia, Spain. It had never been studied thoroughly.
Notwithstanding this, however, it was later, and gradually with
more and more definiteness, classified by Ameghino as a representa-
tive of a race characterized by sternal perforation and 18 lumbo-
dorsal vertebre. In 1906° the skeleton was attributed to the upper-
most Tertiary strata. The remarks concerning this are as follows:

“The remains of man from the Superior Pliocene indicate a small
race, reaching the height of approximately 1.50 m., with a frontal
curve of medium elevation, without, or with only slight, supraorbital
swellings, with a sternal perforation and 18 dorso-lumbar vertebre.
These last characteristics are very primitive and this race was made
a distinct species, named by Kobelt Homo pliocenicus.” *

Finally, in Ameghino’s ‘‘Geologia, Paleogeografia,” etc. (1910), the
Samborombéon find is apparently connected with that of the Arroyo
Siasgo; the “race” becomes a definite new species characterized
(p. 24) as follows:

“Tn the Superior Pampean, in the more recent strata of the
Bonaerean horizon, we encounter the Homo caputinclinatus, of
stature equally small (1.40 to 1.50 m.) and of 18 dorso-lumbar
vertebre, with a front scarcely a little less depressed than in the
Homo pampexus, but without supraorbital arch; the skull is ex-
cessively long and narrow (cephalic index in the neighborhood of 66),
the parietal region is very high, glabella strongly inverted downward
but not backward, the nasal bones very broad and without transver-

1 Vilanova, J., L’homme fossile du Rio Samborombon, in C. R., Congr. int. Amér, 8m sess., 1890,
Paris, 1892, pp. 351-352.

2 De Carles: A piece of the lower jaw of Scelidotherium. Ameghino: The lower jaw of Scelidothertum.
Vilanova: A nearly complete skeleton of Mejatherium.

3 Ameghino, F., Les formations sédimentaires, etc.; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, Xv (ser. IH, t.
Vu, 1906), pp. 447-448.

4In Globus, Lx, Braunschweig, 1891, pp. 182-136.

236 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLn. 52

sal depression at the root; the orbits extraordinarily superficial, and
consequently the rostrum very much prolonged forward; finally, the
foramen magnum is situated in the posterior part of the skull, farther
back than in many apes, giving the head a position strongly incline@
downward.” :

In 1907 Lehmann-Nitsche refers to the skeleton. He brings
forth no additional information and assumes, it seems entirely too
readily, that ‘there is no reason to doubt the geologic age of the
skeleton.’ In his latest paper? he classes it as from the Superior

Pampean.
CrITICAL REMARKS

To the writer it appears that there is much room indeed for doubt
as to the antiquity of the Samborombén human bones, and as to
the propriety in assigning them to a period preceding or contempo-
raneous with that of the scelidotherium, a portion of whose lower jaw
was found at a few meters distance from the human remains and
in different soil. The original data are, in fact, so :nadequate and
unsatisfactory that on their basis alone the specimen can never
legitimately receive serious consideration as bearing on the problem
of man’s antiquity in South America, while the anatomic peculiari-
ties which it shows are without significance in that connection.

The presence of 18 dorso-lumbar vertebre * and of a perforated
sternum * are both features not very rare in the American Indian or
in other races, and there is no justification whatever for making
one sole instance of this nature (even if fully substantiated) the dis-
tinguishing feature of any race or species. |

The presence of the skeleton 3 feet or somewhat farther below the
surface, and the close proximity of the spot to two streams, are cir-
cumstances quite compatible with the theory of a modern burial. The
completeness of the skeleton and in general the natural relation of its
parts speak strongly for burial. The separation of the skeleton into
two nearly equal portions without disturbance of the various bonesis
explainable only by faulting or motion in the earth of the bank, having
no bearing on the age of the human remains. The fact that the body

1 Nouvelles recherches, etc., p. 298.

2 El hombre fésil pampeano, etc., p. 364.

3 There are three such specimens, two Indian and one Eskimo, in the special series of the U.S. National
Museum and a large proportion of the material has not as yet been examined. See also Rosenberg, By
Uber eine primitive Form der Wirbelsaiile der Menschen, in Morph. Jahrb., xxvu, 1, Leipzig, 1899;
Dwight, Th., Description of the Human Spine showing Numerical Variation; in Mem. Boston Soc.
Nat. Hist., v, No. 7, Boston, 1901, pp. 237-312; and Bardeen and Embryo, in Anat. Anzeiger, xxv, Jena,
1904, pp. 497-519. See also Regalia, E., Casi di anomalie numeriche delle vertebre nell’ Uomo; in Arch.
p. lV Antropol. & Etnol., X, 1880, p. 305 et seq.

4 More common than preceding anomaly. See, ten Kate, H., Sur quelques points d’ostéologie ethnique
imparfaitement connus; in Revista del Museo de la Plata, vi, Buenos Aires, 1896, pp. 271-272 (found per-
foration in 16 among 120 Indian sterna in the Museo de la Plata). Also Hrdli¢ka, A., Description of
an Ancient Anomalous Skeleton from the Valley of Mexico, with Special Reference to Supernumerary
and Bicipital Ribs in Man; in Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., xu, New York, 1899, pp. 95-96.

BULLETIN 52 PLATE 21

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

\
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y ONY ANS
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ite
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(AFTER AMEGHINO)

MAP OF THE LITTORAL OF MAR DEL PLATA AND CHAPALMALAN.

HEDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN S3u

lay in a pocket of lacustrine (?) mud has no significance if the body
came there through burial; it is quite possible that soil there offered
less resistance to digging than in other parts of the surface.

It is only too apparent that no antiquity for the Samborombén
skeleton has been proved, and the specimen can not well serve further
as indisputable evidence of the existence of early man in Argentina.

THE CHOCORI SKELETON
History AND EARLIER REPORTS

The skeleton of Chocori was found in 1888, and is reported for the
first time by Lehmann-Nitsche in 1907.!_ It comes from near the
coast not far south of Miramar, from the same region as the Miramar
skull described in another place in this report. (See pl. 35; also map,
pl. 21.) The details concerning the find are given by Lehmann-
Nitsche as follows:

“About the year 1888 Francisco Larrumbe, an employee of the
museum [de La Plata], discovered in the vicinity of the small village of
Mar del Sud, situated on the seashore in the southern part of the
Province of Buenos Aires, abandoned on the surface of the ground,
in the midsfyof the lands oe the Arroyo Chocori and the Arroyo
Seco, at a #istance of about 100 meters from the beach, a human
skull, with 4 some remains of other bones of the same skeleton.
re fee remains had been almost completely covered by indurated sand,
but the wimd and water had partially removed the layer and left is
skull exposed to the extent of some centimeters. In this state it was
discovered, with the rest of the osseous remains, by Larrumbe, who
brought away all these specimens. I have these details from himself.

‘The fossilization of the bones can not be doubted; their character

is identical with that of the bones of fossil animals from the Pampean
formation. The skull is of a color varying between whitish and yel-
lowish; some parts are impregnated with a blackish substance.
The oral compact, layer has been destroyed in nearly its whole
extent by weathering in such a way that the surface became rugose,
and in parts where ee destruction has penetrated farther, deeply
eroded. In the localities not attacked by the destroying agencies,
that is to say, at small irregularly disseminated points and in more
extended patches over the whole post-coronal region of the skull, the
external lamina is covered by very hard calcareous concretions which
can be removed only with difficulty without damaging at the same
time the surface of the bone.”

The lot of bones consists of a defective skull with a defective lower
jaw, and of fragments of a humerus, radius, femur, tibia(?), and a
rib. Lehmann-Nitsche’s examinations of these remains gave him in
the main the following results:

1 Nouvelles recherches, etc., pp. 321-334.

238 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The vault of the skull is reconstructed in part, but Lehmann-
Nitsche has full confidence that the reconstruction is accurate. Thesex
of the individual he judges to befeminine. The thickness of the bones
is ordinary. On account of the defective condition of the specimen
only a limited number of measurements is practicable. The norma
frontalis ‘‘offers, so to speak, no noteworthy feature.’’ The front
appears narrow, the parietal eminences are pronounced. The skull
is very long and relatively narrow; the cephalic index is calculated as
71.1. Both dorsally and ventrally the occipital bone shows nothing
in common, with the exception of a deep cerebral fossa, which is
‘“‘extremely remarkable.” ‘‘The norma basalaris offers nothing
particular.” The norma lateralis shows somewhat prominent supra-
orbital arches and a deep nasion depression. The frontal curve is not
pronounced. The skull is very high. The capacity of the skull is
calculated as 1,528 cc. The lower jaw shows ‘‘very pronounced
human characteristics,’? the ascending ramus is narrow, the angle
wide. It is notable by the prominence of the chin. Nothing out of
the ordinary was discovered in the curve of the body. ‘‘It represents
absolutely the recent European type. The teeth are small.”

As to the fragments of the long bones, that of the right humerus is
robust. The radius was very powerful and only slightiy though regu-
larly curved. The rib presents no special features; its ‘‘constitution
indicates an individual of a stature above the medium and very
vigorous.”’ ;

Lehmann-Nitsche’s measurements of the Chocori bones }

|/Humerus| Radius | Femur

| Cm, Cm. Cm.
Diameter maximum (near middle) ...............-.-.-------------------- 2.5 1.65 2.8
PMameterminimm (near middle) .256.----5-s5s- a. --- eee ee eee oe 1.8 125 2.4
index (@idar wide) J iace not sos sek oe ioe ake Ome oe Sema ee gs eee ee ee 72.0 75.7 116.67
Cirenumiercnesiinear middle): 2. ss ee tess. AACR Soe tee sce 6.9 4.2 8.0

In 1910 the Chocori skull was briefly examined by Mochi and is
reported on in his paper on Argentine paleo-anthropology.? It was
found to be dolicho- and chameecephalic. The norma superior is
pentagonoid. As to sex, the author is inclined to consider it mas-

1 Lehmann-Nitsche does not express directly his notion of the age of the Chocori skeleton, but, as on
p. 300 of his Nouvelles recherches, etc., he considers the Arrecifes skull ‘‘seemingly the most recent”
of those dealt with in his work, it is evident that he regards the Chocori specimen as more ancient. His
statement on p. 321 that ‘the Chocori bones are completely identical in character” with those of fossil
animals from the Pampean formation—a statement somewhat at variance with certain views of Ameghino
and Roth, as well as with the writer’s observations—points in the same direction. Finally, in his most
recent publication (El hombre fésil pampeano) he classes the skull with those of Arrecifes, Miramar, etc.,
as belonging to the Superior Pampean formation, which he regards, with the exception of its uppermost
parts, as Quaternary.

2 Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per 1 Anir. e la Ein., XL, Firenze,
1910, pp. 218-220.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN : 939

culine. Looking again on the specimen from a European rather than.
an American standpoint, he considers it related to cranial forms preva-
lent in the Mediterranean littoral and especially among the north
European dolichocephals; and probably likewise with the Quaternary
and modern skulls of the Cro-Magnon type. It corresponds to the
platydolichocephalic Patagonian type of Verneau, which is found,
though very rarely, among the existing South American natives.
In the few measurements given, Mochi seems to follow Lehmann-
Nitsche, still augmenting, however, the length (he gives 19.6 ¢m.).
The basion-bregma height is estimated at 13.3 em.

EXAMINATION BY THE WRITER

Through the courtesy of Doctor Lehmann-Nitsche the writer had
the opportunity of studying the Chocori bones. The examination
brought out a few additional points but none of great importance.

The bones apparently all belong to one skeleton, adult and much
more probably male than female. In color superficially all the parts
are yellowish-white, with not very marked, scattered, blackish, prob-
ably manganese spots, such as are frequently seen on skulls of pre-
historic and even more recent times. None of the bones is decidedly
heavier than normal, and there is no evidence of any considerable
degree of mineralization.

The skull presents traces of a bilateral posthumous compression,
especially of the temporal regions; on the left, this compression
extends somewhat farther backward. The foramen magnum and the
basal parts anterior to it have been narrowed by the compression.
Tltere is no trace of any artificial deformation in life. In general
type the cranium approximates the skull of Arrecifes (see fig. 45).

The left side of the skull has been reconstructed of nearly 20 pieces,
and the temporal region of that side has been largely rebuilt in mastic;
a similar rebuilding with the same kind of material has been employed
extensively along the coronal and forepart of the sagittal suture; the
neighborhood of the foramen magnum also has been rebuilt. All
this work has evidently been as well done as possible, without, how-
ever, rendering the specimen safe as a subject for exact measurement.

The surface of the skull is nearly everywhere more or less abraded,
in many places down to the diploé. It is yellowish in color, but where
scaled or worn off it is grayish-white. Ventrally, it is still yellowish,
of exactly the shade shown by many relatively modern skulls. The
facial parts, from slightly below the nasion, are wanting, and the same
is true of most of the base.

The skull is that of an elderly person; the sutures appear to be for
the most part obliterated, though their exact state is difficult to
ascertain, and the teeth are worn.

240 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

As to the individual features, the nasion depression is marked.
The situation of the nasion is ordinary, 1.1 cm. beneath the line con-
necting the highest parts of the borders of the orbits. The inter-
orbital width is moderate. The orbits themselves were rather small.

The glabella prominence is well-marked, not excessive. The
supraorbital ridges are of moderate dimensions, but the whole supra-
orbital region protrudes somewhat forward and there exists a shallow
depression above it (2.8 cm. above the nasion). Yet this protrusion
does not constitute a real supraorbital arch; it is due to a somewhat
defective advance of the brain and consequently of the frontal
squama forward. The forehead itself is fairly well arched, but quite

Fig. 46. Skull of Chocori, norma lateralis. (After Lehmann-Nitsche.)

low, a type often seen in skulls of Indians. The frontal eminences
are but slightly pronounced. There is no median crest.

The sagittal region is oval from side to side, the parietal eminences
are well-marked, and the outline of the norma superior is accordingly
pentagonal. The temporal ridges are indistinct but run at a good
distance (between 5 and 6 cm. on each side) from the sagittal suture.

The occiput is slightly protruding but the muscular ridges and
depressions thereon are only moderate. The mastoids are of about
medium masculine size.

The thickness of the bones of the skull is moderate.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 241

A portion of the upper jaw shows a nasal aperture of approximately
2.6 cm. in breadth; this is a very common dimension of the cavity
among the Indians. The alveolar process was seemingly largely
absorbed.

The lower jaw is defective but shows a square chin, of good prom-
inence. The bone is of subaverage strength for a male. The teeth
are moderate in size and were apparently normal in number; they
show advanced degree of wear. Ventrally, there is but a slight rein-
forcement of the alveolar arch in the molar region, extending along
the second and third molars. The genial tuberosities are moderate.
In general the jaw shows no signs of great muscularity.

Measurements of the Chocori skull and jaw:

Vault: em.
iiiieker amiero-poseerior Mnkimum — 20.2.2... 22. e ele ee eel 118.6
Diameter lateral maximum, approximately.........................2220---- 2/13. 9
Cepnatieindex;im the nerhbornaodvof.. 221 stiles ah. den 2 ese s ona de te 75.0
Height, basion-bregma?, auditory meatus—line bregma, about ..............- ‘to
Circumference (above supraorbital ridges), approximately................-... 53.0
Nasion-opisthion arc (probably shorter originally)............----.-.-.-.----- 41.1

Lower jaw:

Heehtatsymphysis, appromimately)......2. 2.22.0. 2 2.50 ee ees. %3
Height betweem first and second) molars.........-.-2....05.214.5.025.-02-2.- 3.1
a aeenenat second lett molar. 22s emcee eee ted eee 2 ee esse dees os 1.3

Angle, measurement unsafe.

The observations as well as the measurements show, on the whole,
features that could be duplicated without any difficulty in modern
Indian crania.

Other bones of the skeleton:

Femur.—A portion of the left bone; surface much worn and appar-
ently somewhat diseased, but defective character of specimen makes
it difficult to be certain on the latter point. Is decidedly masculine.
Shaft, in cross section approximates No. 1 (prismatic) in shape.
The linea aspera is high and strong. Correct measurements imprac-
ticable on account of erosion.

Prece of a long bone.—Difficult of identification, possibly tibia; very
irregular and apparently diseased surface, but no thickening of wall.

Humerus.—A portion of the right bone. Very stout and unques-
tionably masculine. The antero-posterior and lateral diameters at
about the middle, measure, respectively, 2.85% and 1.85 cm. The
deltoid eminence is long and shows considerable development.
There is also a well-marked tuberosity at the insertion of the lateral
head of the triceps, and the ridge marking infero-posteriorly the

1 Lehmann-Nitsche gives 19.4 em.
2 May have been originally slightly in excess of this. Lehmann-Nitsche gives 13.8 em. for the breadth

between the parietal eminences.
3 Lehmann-Nitsche must have measured at a different level.

21535°—Bull. 52—12——16

949 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

musculo-spiral groove is pronounced. The shaft shows character-
istic Indian flatness; its shape at middle is intermediary: 1-cc. (pris-
matic—plano- Tee: it presents a sight bend forward and inward
about the middle, but this is nothing remarkable.

Radius.—Piece of one of the bones representing about the inidate
two-thirds of the shaft. Shows masculine strength. Curve exactly
like that in modern bones, also shape of shaft and anterior concavity
about the middle. Interosseous border moderate. Not diseased.
Dimensions at about middle: diameter antero-posterior, 1.25 em.;
diameter lateral, 1.75 cm.

The bones, especially the lower jaw, indicate more conclusively
than the skull that the individual under consideration was a male.

CritricAL REMARKS

The Chocori remains afford a still further example of the utilization
of finds which have no satisfactory geologic and no anthropologic
claims to antiquity, to swell the ranks of early man in America.
They have been drawn on for that purpose simply because of the
adhesion of calcareous matter to the surface of the lower bones and
a possible slight mineralization of the same. Found by an un-
scientific museum employee near the surface of the ground, frag-
mentary and imperfect, restored approximately, presenting no fea-
tures more primitive than the Indian and none to distinguish them
from the Indian, and not even mentioned in the literature of the
subject for 19 years after discovery, it seems that these remains
should surely be omitted from further consideration as a factor in
the discussion of the problems connected with early man on the
South American continent.

HUMAN REMAINS FROM OVEJERO AND NEIGHBORHOOD

ReEportTS AND HisTorY

The only information thus far published concerning the finds
of human remains in the vicinity of Ovejero, is furnished by
Ameghino. The first mention occurs in his paper on the Tetrapro-
thomo,! in a footnote reading as follows:

‘“‘Ovejero is a locality’ in the Province of Santiago del Estero,
on the Rio Dulce, at a distance of some 30 kilometers from the
station Gramilla. The traveling naturalist of the Museo Nacional,
Sr. Enrique de Carles, found in the uppermost strata of the Pampean
formation at this locality a series of human remains (crania, long
bones, etc.) belonging apparently to two distinct races, one of which
was pigmy. I have entrusted the examination of these remains
to the distinguished anthropologist, Dr. R. Lehmann-Nitsche, who

1 Notas preliminares sobre el Tetraprothomo argentinus, un precursor del hombre del mioceno superior
de Monte Hermoso; in Anal, Mus. Nac, Buenos Aires, XVI (ser. 1H, t, 1X), 1907, pp. 115-116.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 243

will publish in a short time, the result of his studies in these Anales.
Meanwhile, however, having observed that the femur of the larger
race preserves certain very notable primitive features, I have per-
mitted myself to utilize it for certain comparative observations,
which will not be without importance in the interpretation of the
various morphologic peculiarities of the femur of the Tetraprothomo,”

The femur in question is then repeatedly mentioned by Ameghino
in comparison (pp. 118, 139, 141, 150-1, 1538-4, 156-9, 167, 169-71;
illustrations: 172-3, 238). In general, Professor Ameghino notes
many and important similarities between the femur under considera-
tion and that of the Tetraprothomo, besides other primitive forms,
while other features of the bone are stated to be more like those
of present man.

On page 238 of the memoir there is another reference to a ‘“‘pigmy”’
race of Ovejero, which reads as follows:

“The man of the Pampean formation was really of a low stature,
about 1.50 m., although superior in this respect to the races named
above [Homo pampexus, etc.]. But there have been races, now
extinct, of a considerably smaller size. In speaking of the fossil
man of Ovejero, I said that he was accompanied by the remains of a
dwarf race. I give here illustrations in natural size of the distal
extremity of the humerus of a very old individual from the dwarf
fossil race of Ovejero . . . and beside it the corresponding part of
the humerus of a natural man of medium stature . . . in order
that the great difference in size between the two may be appre-
ciated; the stature of the dwarf races of Ovejero could not have
been more than 1.30.”’!

The Ovejero remains are mentioned again by Ameghino in 1910,
in his ‘‘Geologia, Paleogeografia,” etc. On page 24 of that work
the author says:

“In the Quaternary of Santiago del Estero appear remains of a
race (the race of Ovejero) which perhaps became isolated at an earlier
epoch, for it is of very small stature, only 1.30 m., possesses a
mandible with a strong chin, and has a skull that is short, broad,
and smooth, presenting a distant likeness to the negrito type of
Asia and Africa.”

Still another notice concerning these finds, also by Ameghino,
soon follows: ?

“In Santiago del Estero (Rio Hondo) [3] were discovered fossil
skulls and bones of two very distinct races of man; one strong and of

1 “There exists an incomplete skull of the same individual of a size also very small, but I abstain from
entering into the details in respect to this statement for the reason which I have expressed in the footnote
on page 115.’’ —AMEGHINO.

2 Ameghino, F., Descubrimiento de un esqueleto humano fésil en el pampeano superior del Arroyo
Siasgo; Congreso Cientifico Internacional Americano, separate publication, Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 1-6,

3 See Ovejero specimens.—A. H,

*

244 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

large stature, which does not seem greatly different from the normal
form, and the other very small, which seems to show some relation-
ship with the negritos (?%).”

Before the last two of the above articles appeared in print, the
writer’s attention was called by Professor Ameghino to the Ovejero
and other specimens, all of which are in the Museo Nacional. But the
only information obtained was that ‘‘some of the specimens came
recently from the Superior Pampean and are fossil; while others
came possibly from superposed, more recent formations.”

With one exception the specimens themselves were not catalogued
or numbered and there was already confusion of the different lots
and also confusion as to their particular localities.

The examination of the specimens yielded no results which would
justify their acceptance as anything but relatively modern and in
all probability as ordinary Indian, differmg only as to age and sex
of the subjects. In view of the recentness of the finds, however,
the writer and Mr. Willis decided to visit the locality. In this
endeavor we received very valuable assistance at the hands of Pro-
fessor Ameghino, who sent Sr. de Carles, the collector of various
remains, to accompany us. Thanks are due also to Sr. de Carles
himself, who assisted the party in every way possible and who gave
the writer as detailed an account of the various finds as he was able
to furnish.

The data thus obtained are as follows: About 1906 de Carles made
a visit to the valley of the Rio Dulce to see what objects of sci-
entific interest could be found there, and during his search near a
little settlement known as Ovejero discovered outside of a visca-
chera (lair of the viscachas) fragments of human bones. He dug
into the viscachera and found other bones, including a humerus and
two skulls. These remains were about 1 meter below the surface.
The exact spot was slightly lower than the village and about one
cuadra from the river. The bones were in soil washed by the
river during periods of flood. There were found also in the same
excavation bones of animals, including possibly those of the
euanaco, with carbon, Ampullarza shells, broken unios, and fragments
of plain pottery.

On the journey during which the first finds were made, Sr. de Carles
found somewhat farther up the river, in a shallow barranca and at
less depth than in the first case, portions of human bones and a
skull; these were partly exposed in the face of the barranca.

On a subsequent journey Sr. de Carles discovered one ‘‘petrified”’
human skull and a small part of another, with some fragments of
bones, in a deep barranca near a place called Sotelillo. These bones
were near the base of the barranca, which might have been, as far
as he remembers, about 9 m, below the surface. Nearby, at about the

\

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 245

same level, he found bones of ordinary viscachas. Nothing was found
with the human bones. The locality was on the opposite side from
Ovejero and about 60 m. from the river.

At one point near Sotelillo, on a small elevation, de Carles found
unbroken tosca covering 1 foot or more in thickness; on breaking
this, several teeth of a common cow were found, segregated; these
were for the most part entirely within the tosca, which was so hard
that it had to be broken with a hammer. The specimens are now
in the Museo Nacional, Buenos Aires.

La Cafiada bones: The place here mentioned is situated about mid-
way between Sotelo and Las Thermas, on the Rio Hondo. Here ina
barranca facing the river, in a kind of alluvium which ‘is deposited
unconformably upon inferior araucanian sediments and is much
inclined, Sr. de Carles found a piece of a human skull, one long bone,
and fragments of other bones of a human skeleton. These remains
were ‘‘petrified”’ and when struck ‘‘sounded like a bell’’; the walls of
the long bone were stout, leaving but a small medullary canal. The
barranca was about 5 m. high, and the skull was about 2 m. from the
surface. The bones lay irregularly.

A femur of a megatherium was found somewhat farther on, in the
alluvium at about the same level; there were no other objects. At
the base of the barranca, in what may have been fallen earth, were
two small pieces of ‘‘petrified’’ human bones.

In front of Thermas and on the same side of the river as Ovejero,
is a locality known as Las Tinajas. No human remains were found
here, but the skeleton of a modern dog was discovered by Sr. de
Carles 2 m. below the surface of the ground in the face of a barranca.
The bones of the skeleton, which were quite fresh, were scattered over
about 5sqg.m. In these deposits, which are of the same nature as
those in the barranca at Sotelo, were several bones of Hutatus, some
of these lying superficially. There were also parts of Dycotilio, sp.;
these were on the surface and were eroded. When it rises, the river
reaches these localities. The Dycotilio consisted of only the skull
with scattered teeth, without lower jaw or other bones.

Finally, a short distance below Sotelo and about 100 m. from the
houses of this settlement, toward the river, Sr. de Carles found the
skull of an infant. A part of the face of this skull was exposed on
the surface in a shallow depression. There was no barranca in the
neighborhood. Besides the skull there were parts of bones (perhaps
of the same skeleton) in bad condition. No objects were discovered
with these bones. The locality is about 400 m. from the river.

OBSERVATIONS BY THE WRITER

The localities from which the ‘‘fossil’? human bones under con-
sideration were collected, are from 20 to 35 miles southwest of the
small railroad station Gramilla. The road to this place passes

246 _ BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

through the primeval bosque, or forest. The surface is level nearly
to the valley of the river; here two large swells in the ground, run-
ning apparently about parallel with the river, are crossed, beyond
which is a gentle slope toward the river with here and there a sandy
surface. Within about a mile or less of the stream the declivity
becomes more apparent and in places is traversed by branching
ravines or washes which descend toward the river. These have, for
the most part, irregular, vertical walls, exposing pinkish homoge-
neous loess.

The small and scattered Indian settlement of Sotelo is located to
one side of one of these branching washes. On the arrival of the
party at the place the writer undertook at once an examination of
the walls exposed in the different parts of the wash, and in less than
half an hour discovered in one of these barrancas, 2 meters from
the surface, the partially exposed and very imperfect remains of a
human skeleton (pl. 22).

In the same and in other barrancas at similar as well as at con-
siderably lower levels, down to perhaps 4 m. below the surface, were
found Ampullaria and other shells, all of which, as will be seen from
Doctor Dall’s report (see p. 247) are of living species. Finally, near
the base of one of the barrancas, on the side of the wash opposite
the place where the human skeleton lay, was found firmly embedded
in the loess, with only a small part protruding, half of the mandible
of a common horse (pl. 23).

After the deposits and remains had been examined by Mr. Willis,
the human bones were extracted from the ground. They proved to
be without doubt the remains of one masculine skeleton and still
showed to some extent their natural relations; but for the most part
they had been moved by the settling of the ground, so that the orig-
inal position in which the skeleton lay was no longer determinable;
numerous parts of the skeleton, including fragments of the bones
that remained, had been lost through exposure. Nothing was found
with the bones or in the excavation of about 2 cubic yards of earth
from below, on the sides, and above them.

The work of examining the barrancas and of removing the bones
consumed a large part of one day and, owing to untoward circum-
stances, the stay of the party could not be prolonged, so that no other
washes were examined.

The information was elicited from the Indians of the village that
the settlement is a very old one and that before the present ceme-
tery was established, about 100 years ago, the dead were buried in
various places in the neighborhood.

The human bones recovered will be described later in this report;
at this point it may be stated merely that they are partially mineral-
ized, and agree well in physical characteristics with the Indian.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 22

HUMAN SKELETON IN SITU, NEAR SOTELO

Found by Hrdliéka in the loess of a barranca, 6 feet (2 meters) below the surface.

mnpiicxal SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 247
¢

_A-number of shells, about forty in all, were collected from various
levels of the Sotélo- barrancas. Some. of these ‘lay very near the
skeleton discovered by the writer; others were at lower levels, down
to about 15 feet from the surface. The shells were of two kinds,
with an occasional fragment of a third, and were seen in many parts
of the deposits, so that ten times as large a number could have been
collected without much difficulty. Those gathered were submitted
. for identification to Dr. Wm. H. Dall, who reports as follows:

“The shells from Sotelo, Argentina, which you left with me are
Epiphragmophora tucumanensis Doring; Odontostomus dzedalus Des-
chayes; and Ampullaria cornucopia Reeve, all recent species of the
region.”

THE OVEJERO SKELETAL MATERIAL!

Skull No. 1.—No. 4850, Museo Nacional (Buenos Aires) collections.
‘The specimen is a portion of an adult, masculine, apparently nonde-
formed calvarium, rebuilt out of about 25 pieces and partially restored
in mastic. A moderate frontal and parietal depression is the result of
imperfect restoration. The parts present comprise portions of the
frontal, parietals, and occipital. The right side is less incomplete
than the left.

The bones are brownish-pink in color on both surfaces, with some
blackish spots. On fracture they are white, though not chalky, and
seem largely devoid of animal matter. They are not unduly heavy.
Their thickness is somewhat above the medium for whites, parts of the
frontal squama reaching 10 mm., but this would not be extraordinary
for Indians. .

In the median line, 2 em. above what was the center of the supreme
occipital line, is a round hole 6 mm. in diameter and about 7 mm.
deep, apparently made by a drill. This does not pass through the
bone; it seems to be artificial and not recent.

The cranium was of fair but not large size and apparently meso-
cephalic in form. There is no frontal or sagittal crest. The fore-
head was not low, though its exact build can not be seen. The
parietal eminences are moderate. The ridges on the ventral surface
of the occipital are stout. The ventral surface in general is poor in
impressions of convolutions. Of sutures, nothing is visible except a
part of the coronal, which seems to have been obliterated in a marked
degree.

The foregoing is about all that can be said concerning the specimen,
owing to its imperfect condition. No feature that can be clearly dis-
cerned is primitive or striking.

1 The identification of most of these specimens with the particular localities from which they came could
not be made with certainty.

948 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52
o
Skull No. 2.—The cranium of a female, probably adult, exact age

not determinable; base and jaws missing (fig. 47).

The dorsal surface of the specimen is covered with a thin pellicle of
grayish-white calcareous matter and a Jess pronounced deposit of the
same nature is seen all over the ventral surface. The bone on frac-
ture is cream-white and probably largely devoid of organic matter,
but it is not heavy or petrified.

There is no deformation or disease. Over the glabella and lower
part of the frontal are seen a few clusters of superficial, small, straight
or curving grooves, apparently made by the teeth of small rodents;

Fic. 47. Ovejero skull No. 2 (side view).

the depth of the most pronounced of these grooves does not exceed
1 mm.

The parts present include the frontal (damaged), the larger part of
the right and a small part of the left parietal, the right temporal
(defective) and a part of the left temporal with the mastoid. The
specimen is well reconstructed, so far as it goes, from 13 pieces; the
right squama is restored in mastic.

The skull was of moderate feminine dimensions, and in form is
either highly mesocephalic orsomewhat brachycephalic, and of medium
height.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN YAO

There is a fairly well marked nasion or rather supranasion depres-
sion, but the whole region is decidedly female in character. The
nasal process is quite well developed and reaches well down below
the line connecting the uppermost points of the orbital border on
each side. The glabella is slightly convex, not prominent, and there
are small, feminine supraorbital ridges extending over the median
half of each orbit. There is no approach to a supraorbital arch nor
is there any depression above the supraorbital ridges.

The forehead is only moderately high, but fairly convex, with
scarcely a trace of the lateral eminences, and there is no frontal or
sagittal crest, only a barely visible median elevation.

The parietal eminences are large but not specially prominent. The
outline of the norma superior was nearly ovoid. The temporal crests
were not pronounced; the nearest approach of that on the right to
the sagittal suture is 3.6 cm. The supramastoideal crests are well
marked, the mastoid itself is shghtly above medium feminine; the
digastric groove is deep.

Of the sutures, the frontal and the sagittal are plainly traceable
dorsally but seem to be in an advanced state of obliteration ven-
trally. Their serration was submedium.

Internally is seen a moderate metopic crest extending over less
than one-half of the frontal squama. Impressions of brain convo-
lutions are few and shallow.

What remains of the base on the right side shows a glenoid fossa
of ordinary features and dimensions.

It will be seen from the above that no part of éhie specimen pre-
sents morphologic peculiarities, primitiveness, or anything that would
be incompatible with the skull of an ordinary Indian. Thickness of
the bones of the vault such as shown here is common enough in the
latter race.

Measurements:
een rem aac aOOUt aa. 21. 5n ean PSS ded A ee P78 11.8 cm
Piensa Or transverse arc,jabout. 2022.2... 220s. eres ila 13.7 cm
Antero-posterior arc over the middle of the right parietal, near.......... oven
teeter GhitOnraleg@dita- 2... 2) oe to ae eee oe nce ee 7 to 8 mm.
Giselcners of the rishi parietal bone: ..-..2...- 2.0.2 2 ns ee ee ee ee 6 to9 mm.

Skull No. 3.—A large, masculine, adult skull, with possibly a slight
fronto-occipital deformation. Ably reconstructed from more than 30
fragments.

Surface of bones covered, as in skull No. 2, with a thin deposit of
grayish calcareous matter, not enough perceptibly to affect the meas-
urements.

The specimen is quite heavy, but the weight is mainly due to the
calcareous coating. The bones are apparently largely devoid of

1 Eliminating incrustation.

250 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY (Buby. 52

animal matter, being generally in the same condition as skulls Nos.
1 and 2 from this region.

The left mastoid and neighboring parts appear to have been cut
out by a rodent with broad teeth; and there are also some cuts, most
probably gnawings, over the occipital bone and on the fore part of the
right temporal crest.

A small depression, evidently a scar, 3 mm. high by 4 mm. broad
and 1.5 mm. at greatest depth, is seen on the frontal, a short distance
above the most prominent part of the left supraorbital ridge. From
the depression run three small radiating lines, not fractures.

The nasal process is ordinary and the nasal depression fairly well
marked. The glabella is medium, somewhat less prominent than
the ridges. The supraorbital ridges are of masculine proportions and
occupy the median two-thirds of the supraorbital space; above them
extends from side to side a shallow concavity.

The forehead is rather low, sloping backward from 4 cm. above
the glabella. It presents one broad median convexity; no lateral
eminences present. Above the convexity is a slight flattening, approx-
imately 4 cm. long, possibly the result of intentional compression.

There is no medio-frontal and only a slight sagittal crest. The
parietal eminences are well-marked but diffuse. The outline of the
norma superior was a long ovoid.

The temporal crests are not specially pronounced; the nearest
approach of that on the right to the sagittal suture is 5.7 cm. The
mastoids were rather large masculine.

The occipital region is somewhat more prominent on the left and
the frontal bone on the right, so that the skull is moderately plagio-
cephalic. The occipital crest is pronounced, double-semilunar in
form.

The auditory canals show partial occlusion by posterior and also
anterior exostoses, such as are quite characteristic, especially among
aged individuals, of the Peruvian Indians.

The basilar process presents a small pharyngeal fossa; the rest of
the base is defective. The foramen magnum was in the usual posi-
tion.

The sutures of the vault seem to have been quite well serrated; the
sagittal is still plainly traceable outside as well as inside.

Ventrally is seen a submedian metopic crest; there is a paucity,
with shallowness, of convolutional impressions.

Measurements:
em.
Diameter antero-posterior maximum, approximately..........-.-.------------ 19. 4
Diameter lateral aiasingim, approximately...) 96) et eee ee ee 14.7

Diameter tromaMnanennin: 5... = 35 62 60 eon ee ee eee eee 9.4

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 951

cm.

) USS eater vie toi fori@e nde: ey ap Ps So SS a eee ee ee eee 37.4
(NER ey re ofa Sen ee Oe. 6 eee eer 12.4

By gelecai reed une) "ce cep serge. sells evel ee seals antag Ae a ee Sa ae 12.9
Bambdaoptsimimnm aoomter enn vere. be 0 2 SPOR SAS P22 Jo. 2 ol oe ie a
(Pramav cise ate, euapmmatinnnel yet a9: J: tiled s 2 Adee sie eee et ee 30. 8

The bones of the vault are rather above medium in thickness, the
left parietal above and along the squama measuring from 6 to 8 mm.,
the frontal 8 to 9 mm., with the occipital in places less, in others
slightly more massive.

All the above features are of ordinary nature, especially when the
skull is compared with those of Indians, and there is nothing that
indicates geologic antiquity.

Specimens marked ‘‘Post-pampean fossil man from Rio Dulce de
Santiage, 2 leagues north of the baths of Rio Hondo, Carles 2d journey.”

Skull _A.—An adult male skull of an individual beyond middle age.
Shows marked occipital flattening. The bones are yellowish and
grayish on surface, nearly white on fracture. They are not mineral-
ized and the skull is not, so far as can be judged by hand, of more
than ordinary weight.

The skull is large and shows no primitive characteristics. The
supraorbital ridges were not excessive; the forehead is well arched;
and there is a rather heavy occipital torus. The face and base are

wanting.
Measurements:
em.
Wise ker an Leno-posterlondrom Opbinyon 222s | eB A ee 18.3
Pbsearive petra Wet he ol aT ey NUD ete op ete na See ay i oon wie SS yon eae es 15.8
ieiaiy, plauticular line, breema, approximately. .......-----.--.-2--n 2s. ss Il
Diameter ontale nari Uma s rw wits te Sat Pane wee oe SAU ong

Skull B.—This is a masculine cranium of an adult near middle age.
It is in general well-developed but presents a moderate occipital
flattening. The bones are brownish on the surface and fragile but
are not perceptibly mineralized. The specimen has been partially
restored. The glabella and a part of the right supraorbital ridge
have been gnawed away to some extent, although the loss of sub-
stance is not deep.

Principal measurements:

Diameter antero-posterior maximum, about ..........-....---+---------------- We)
Dymo tend aber ena MaMa Un ae a Seat eer VB Be ee atime <u 14. 2
basion-brepina height..p proximately. eee te ye he ew oe en ele tees 13.4

The supraorbital ridges are of moderate masculine dimensions.
The forehead is well-arched. A slight sagittal elevation extends for
some distance beyond the bregma. The mastoids are of good
masculine size and ordinary form.

1 This is probably slightly in excess of what it was originally, owing to imperfections in repair.

252 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The face is wanting. The lower jaw is present though defective.
It is quite large and strong, and presents throughout ordinary
Indian-like features. The symphysis is approximately 3.8 em. high;
between the first and second molars the height of the bone is 3.4 cm.,
and the smallest breadth of the ascending ramus is 3.6 cm. The
maximum thickness of the left horizontal ramus (the right being
deficient) is 1.7 cm. The chin is somewhat square and of medium
prominence. The whole ascending ramus is strong. The notch is deep.

Femur.—A portion of a right, adult masculine femur.

The surface of the specimen has been covered with a thin deposit
of grayish calcareous matter, most of which, however, has been
rubbed off.

The bone was about 41 cm. long and moderately strong, the
principal diameters at middle being: lateral 2.45 cm., antero-posterior
3.15 ecm., at subtrochanteric flattening, antero-posterior (minimum)
2.4 em., lateral (maximum) 3.15 cm. They give a pilasteric index
of 128.6 and a platymeric index of 76.2.

The bone shows numerous markings, which Ameghino regards as
the work of man, but all of which were evidently made by the teeth
of rodents, especially by those of a rodent of large size, probably a
viscacha. In this way the large trochanter has been entirely cut
away, the marks of teeth all radiating from the cavity of the bone.
Four parallel cuts, all exactly alike, are seen below the edge remaining
after the cutting away of the great trochanter. Large gnawings are
also visible on the linea aspera, while still other traces of teeth exist
in two places on the shaft. These cuts are all transverse. Most of
them are in the form of V-shaped grooves with one plane wider than
the other, and were made by a rodent’s incisor cutting sideways, a
frequent practice with these animals. Other cuts are more nearly
square, with flat bottoms. On the postero-external surface, just
below the middle, there are two parallel cuts of the latter variety,
which dispel all doubt as to the rodent origin of the incisors. On the
linea aspera, 11.4 cm. from the upper edge of the bone, are six
such flat-bottomed cuts; these are in pairs, each pair being separated
from the neighboring marks by a slight vertical ridge; and the best
marked among these are each slightly more than 1 mm. broad. It
would be impossible to produce this effect witha knife. There is not a
single feature about all these cuts that points to man’s instrumentality ;
they were produced, plainly, by a sharp-edged chisel-like tooth.
The region from which the bone came contains the viscacha; in fact
some of the human bones collected here, as stated by de Carles, came
from a viscachera. This rodent brings all sorts of bones about and
into its lair, some of which it probably uses, as rodents in general use
hard objects, for the benefit of its teeth, which otherwise would grow
too long.

\

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN O58

Descriptive notes: The shape of the shaft at the middle, with excep-
tion of the linea aspera, is nearly round; this type is more proper to
youth, but is found now and then in adults, in Indians and also in
whites. The thickness of the walls is moderate. There was a pro-
nounced linea aspera, in part:;compensatory for a rather marked back-
ward bend of theshaft. It also reached lower than in some bones, but
not abnormally so. Its inferior termination presents the common
form. Besides this backward curve, the bone presents also, above the
middle, a trace of a bend outward. Both of these features are com-
mon enough in the femora of Indians as well as in those of other races.

The specimen shows further pronounced lateral torsion, so that
the lateral axis of the shaft at the middle and that at the widest part
of the subtrochanteric flattening form together an angle of about 55
degrees. Instances of similar torsion, however, are not rare in Indian
femora.

There is no third trochanter, and the trochanter minor is in exactly
the place in which it is found in a modern femur used by Professor
Ameghino for comparisons.

The angle of the neck was very obtuse, indicating a male of no
advanced age. The line of the insertion of the vastus internus and
the cruralis is fairly well marked and runs obliquely down from below
the head to the linea aspera, being in exactly the same place as on
the modern laboratory femur, above referred to.

The rest of the bone is so ordinary that further description would
be superfluous.

Other bones.—Besides the above, the material from Ovejero and
vicinity seen at the Museo Nacional consists of a not entirely normal
skull of a child (probably slightly hydrocephalic), and of numerous
fragments of various bones. A separate description of each of these
pieces would unnecessarily overburden this paper. They do not
present one feature of any special morphologic significance, and,
with all the separately mentioned specimens, may be confidently
classed as ordinary Indian.

A number of the larger pieces of long bones show gnawings and
possibly also claw scratches, some of which may resemble cuts with
a knife; but, on close examination, especially with a magnifying
glass, one can generally detect characteristics, particularly occa-
sional doubling and parallelism of the cuts, peculiar to the teeth of
rodents. The same phenomenon is frequently observed in Indian
bones buried in the loess in North America. One piece of a femur
shows pathologic thickening of the walls.

The Sotelo skeleton found by the writer.—This specimen (No. 263964,
U.S.Nat.Mus.) is represented by more than a dozen fragments
of the skull, four isolated molar teeth with parts of the jawbones

954 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

adhering to the roots, the larger portions of a humerus, a femur and
tibiz, fragments of other long bones, some defective phalanges, pieces
of ribs, clavicles and tarsal bones, and some slivers.

The bones are dirty-yellowish in color, and all are covered with
traces, or well-marked pellicles, or small masses of firmly adhering,
gray, rough, sandy cement, which covers also more or less the medul-
lary surfaces and fills many of the cells of the spongy bones that were
exposed through fracture. When the bones were taken from the
earth, no such hard, firmly adhering coating existed, except on those
that had been exposed. It was noted specifically that, had the
proper facilities been at hand, as a brush or water, the bones could
have been thoroughly cleaned on the spot with ease. The cement now
on them is the result of consolidation, in drying, of the loess that
was left adhering to the bones. In some of the medullary cavities
filled with loess this can still be removed easily and completely,
except at the ends, where it was exposed to the air, causing it to
harden and adhere to the bone.*

Because of their thin cement covering, the bones, when they strike
one another, sound like so many potsherds; but they are not visibly
petrified interstitially and preserve considerable animal matter.? The
enamel of the teeth preserves its natural luster, is not much altered
in color, although slightly more yellowish, and shows no cracks. In
a number of places the larger fragments show old surface defects
and gnawings by rodents.

Morphologically the lot, owing to its defectiveness, is of but little
importance. There is enough to show that the bones are those of a
strong adult man, not below general medium in stature.

The skull was of moderate thickness. A fragment of the frontal
shows that there have existed pronounced supraorbital ridges, with
a tendency to extension into an arch, as occasionally seen in the
American natives. Nothing can be said as to size or form of the skull.
The teeth (molars) are of good size and two show considerable wear.

The right humerus measured approximately 33 cm.; the principal
diameters of its shaft at middle are 2.35 by 1.8 em.; the form of the
shaft approaches prismatic. There are no specially noteworthy
features.

The femora were strong, pilasteric, with very moderate upper
flattening. The right measures at about the middle of the shaft
3.3 by 2.65 cm., giving the pilasteric index of 124.5. Other meas-
urements are impracticable. The shape of the shaft approximates
the prismatic.

1A portion of a humerus of a bird, found with the human bones, looks quite fresh, but the surface is
already covered with thin grayish-white calcareous pellicles.

2 Detailed chemical analysis was not practicable, the bones not arriving until six months after being
sent by express,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 255

The tibize were platyenemic. The right shows above the middle
a shaft of type 4 (nearly lozenge-shaped in section) and measures at
about the height of the nutritive foramen 3.8 by 2.3 cm.; this gives
the low index of 60.5. The form, platycnemy, and other features
agree well with those of Indian tibie.

Racial identification of the skeleton can not be arrived at definitely,
of course, from material so defective, but what there is all suggests
a common Indian.

CrITICAL REMARKS ON THE OVEJERO ReEGIoNn FINDS

The examination of the bones reveals nothing that even distantly
suggests the Negrito. It does not show the presence of two distinct
races; there is not enough properly to show even one. What there
is agrees with the Indian.

The formation in which the bones occur is plainly recent, partly the
effect of the floods, to which the nearby river, according to local in-
formation, is particularly lable, but mainly accumulation by the
winds, which are said to blow across the valley protractedly and
occasionally with much force. However, this part of the problem
will be dealt with by the geologist of the expedition.

Notes ON THE Locatity or SOTELO

By BAILEY WILLIS

The old Indian village of Sotelo is situated on the eastern or left
bank of the Rio Dulce near the boundary between the Provinces of
Tucuman and Santiago del Fstero. There are a church and burying-
ground said to be more than a century old, and the locality was
inhabited long before these came into existence. Not far away is
Ovejero, where human remains were found in a superficial loess and
at Sotelo Doctor Hrdliéka found a skeleton, which he describes.
These notes deal with the aspects of the locality and of the forma-
tion in which the skeleton was discovered.

The Rio Dulce is formed by numerous streams, which flow from
the Aconguija Range, that rises fo a height of 3,000 meters in western
Tucuman. There are no notable tributaries from the east. In that
direction stretch the arid plains of northern Santiago del Estero,
covered with thorny desert bush and cactus.

Near Sotelo the valley of the Rio Dulce is between 1 km. and 2 km.
wide and is sunk perhaps 5 m. to 10 m. below the plain. The right
bank of the river is a bluff which exposes a section of loess character-
ized by a distinct pink color. Low bluffs of the same material face
the river plain locally on the left side near Sotelo, and the formation

appears to underlie the entire valley.

256 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

East of the river the superficial formation is of different character.
It is a light-gray to buff or pinkish sandy loess, composed of fine
rounded sand grains, mica scales, and very fine clay. It is slightly
cemented by lime but readily crushes in the hand to a fine dust.

Sections 3 m. to 4 m. deep show great uniformity and an absence of

horizontal structure. On the contrary there is the incomplete verti-
cal structure, characteristic of loess. The formation is thus distinctly
eolian in texture and structure. The sand and mica scales are derived
from the river bed and the clay from the pink loess of the underlying
formation.

The prevailing winds of the district blow from the north or north-
west down and across the river valley, where these materials are
deposited and exposed by the stream. The origin of the superficial
formation is thus sufficiently obvious. It is an eolian loess, blown
out of the river bed.

The original surface of this superficial loess was a slope or plain,
very gently inclined toward the river. It is a surface which implies
somewhat uniform and gradual accumulation of the deposit. Dunes
are absent. Asthe present time the plain is cut by branching gullies,
2m. to 5m. deep, which have extended from the river bank back into
the loess to a distance of one-half a kilometer. The gullies are of
recent origin and are growing. Since the observation of the writer
and his colleague was limited to the immediate vicinity of Sotelo,
these may be of local character and occasioned by a special condition,
which gave storm rains an opportunity to initiate and develop the
single system of branching channels that were observed.

Restricting the inference to this particular locality, there may be
distinguished the earlier episode of loess accumulation, which was
general and may be still in action, and the immediate incident of
erosion. The latter may have been in progress a score of years or half
a century, scarcely more, for in this soft loess the growth of channels
is very rapid, even where rains are occasional.

Any fossils indigenous to the loess must be older than the gullies.
This would be true also of any human burials exposed in the side of a
gully, such as were found, for no burial would intentionally be made
where it would be liable to exposure. Accidental burials might occur,
however, in holes in the loess near the temporary head of a growing
gully, as is explained in a subsequent paragraph in connection with
the finding of a horsé’s jawbone. The writer would thus distinguish
three conditions of occurrence, any one of which might apply to any
remains found in the loess: (1) Occurrence as a fossil indigenous to
the loess and contemporaneous with the stratum in which the remains
occur; (2) intentional burial, younger than the formation, but older
than the gullies where the bones are exposed by erosion; (3) acci-
dental burial, which may coincide with the growth of the gullies.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 23

BARRANCAS AT SOTELO

These barrancas are west of Gramilla, in the valley of the Rio Dulce de Santiago. Here is shown a jaw-
bone of a common horse, buried in eolian loess 9 feet (3 meters) below the surface. When found, the
front end of the bone extended into the bank 7 inches (18 cm.), the rear end 3 inches (8 cm.), so that
the angle only was exposed.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 254%

The relative ages of these possible occurrences would be somewhat
as follows: The last-mentioned (accidental burial), taking place
during the growth of the gullies would be the latest, and in the
writer’s estimate, would not be more than half a century old, as the
gullies are probably not of greater age. The second (intentional
burial) would probably antedate the cemetery of the church, which
is said to have been established a hundred years. The first would
date back to the formation of the deposit. The source of the mate-
rial in the river bed, the winds to transport it, and the plain of deposit
are favorably related at the present time. The formation is geneti-
cally related to them and may be ascribed with confidence to the pres-
ent geologic epoch.

In the superficial loess were found the jawbone of a horse and the
remains of a human skeleton, at points about 100 m. apart, in the
nearly vertical sides of a gully which passes just south of and close by
the village of Sotelo.

The jawbone of the horse lay in the gray ee at a depth of slightly
less than 3 m. (about 9 feet) below the surface (pl. 23). The front of
the jaw was buried 18 cm. in from the face and the articular process
about 10 em. Only about 1 cm. of the lower edge was exposed when
found. The loess above the jaw appeared laterally continuous with
that on each side and in firmness and structure exhibited closely
similar if not identical characters. Close examination detected
rounded loess pebbles or concretions of darker color than the mass,
which did not occur in the adjacent loess and which might indicate a
secondary deposit. The bone was that of a modern horse.

If we may regard this jawbone as a fossil indigenous to the loess,
the latter is more modern than the writer would otherwise infer. If
it represents a case of accidental burial, it is related merely to the
growth of the gully and probably somewhat in the following manner.

When a pool of water gathers on a surface of loess, as it may in a
shallow hollow during a rain, and sinks in, the water has a capacity
for mixing with a considerable proportion of loess and rendering it
fluid. This capacity depends on the fineness of grain of the loess
particles which may be contained in the thickness of a capillary
film and thus become part of the liquid. The mixture flows like a
fluid. When such a mass finds an exit at a lower level, as in a gully,
it flows out and leaves a vertical pit having a horizontal outlet at the
bottom. The writer saw a number of such pits in the loess of China
and thinks they might readily form in the loess at Sotelo, although
he did not observe any in the small area inspected.

It is easy to understand that a bone might fall into such a pit and
become buried by loess blown from the immediate formation. There

1 They were seen later by both the writer and Doctor Hrdli¢ka in loess banks in Argentina.
21535°—Bull. 52—12——_17

258 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

is, however, little to support the suggestion except the somewhat
doubtful pebbly appearance of the loess above the horse’s jawbone.
The evidence is not adequate to determine whether the jawbone is
to be regarded as an indigenous fossil or as an accidental burial
occurring after the deposition of the loess.

The human remains were found in the superficial loess at a depth of
approximately 2 meters below the surface. The position and attitude
are shown in plate 22, and are described by Doctor Hrdlitka. Accord-
ing to the writer’s observation the loess above them was identical with
that on each side of and below them. If they were buried here the
process of rearrangement of the disturbed loess has obliterated the
evidence of disturbance by producing a structure identical with that of
the undisturbed earth. The movement of rain water; sinking in and
rising again by capillary attraction, is adequate to accomplish such a
rearrangement in a moderate interval of time, and this may be the
case. But considermg the depth at which the skeleton lay, the
homogeneity of the material above and around it, and the conditions
favoring loess accumulation, the writer inclines to the view that the
skeleton should be regarded as a fossil in the modern superficial loess
formation. It may thus have an antiquity exceeding one or two
centuries.

THe TreRTIARY MAN!

THE BARADERO SKELETON
History AND REPORTS

In 1889, in his letter to Kollmann,? Santiago Roth announced the
discovery by himself of still another geologically ancient skeleton,
and the bones are represented as proceeding not from the Superior
but from the Intermediary Pampean.

The find, made in 1887, is thus reported: ‘‘The place where I
found this human skeleton is distant about 2 kilometers from the
Baradero Railroad station and a short distance from the Bajado,
which exists between Baradero and San Pedro.

“At this locality there was made, in constructing the railroad, a
cut through the loess, and one of the feet of the skeleton was partially
uncovered. The remaining parts of the skeleton were still in the
loess bank, and the bones lay in normal relations, except that the
head was bent forward so that not the face, but the vault of the
skull, pointed upward. The lower jaw was wide open. The cir-
cumstance which impressed me most was that the bones of the

1 The finds under this head are dealt with, as before stated, in the order of the antiquity attributed to
them, proceeding from that regarded as the most recent to the most ancient.

2 Ueber den Schidel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fontezuelas). (Briefliche Mittheilung von Santiago
Roth an Herrn J. Kollmann); in Mittheilungen aus dem anatomischen Institut im Vesalianum zu Basel,
1889, p. 10-11; also in Lehmann-Nitsche’s Nouvelles recherches, ete., p. 485.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 959

upper limbs, which were stretched along the sides of the body,
reached as far down as the knee joint. One hand was united with
one of the knee joints by calcareous concretions. It is a matter of
regret that, as is frequently the case in this class of sediments (eolian
loess), the individual bones were not well-preserved. Although the
bones lay in general in their true relations, I still do not believe that
the body was buried but rather that it was gradually covered by
the dust brought by the wind and storms. The bones showed split-
ting and other unmistakable signs of weathering, such as are seen
only on bones which have been exposed for some length of time in
free air... .

“That the skeleton belongs to the Intermediary Pampean will not
be doubted. The case is still further strengthened by the fact that
directly opposite this place is found a bank with the Tertiary oyster
shells of the Entre Rios formation. Any one who will examine the
case will satisfy himself of the contemporaneity of these two strata.”

There are no further data by Roth. In 1889, however, the locality
of the find was visited, under the guidance of Roth, by Carl Burck-
hardt and Lehmann-Nitsche, and the report on the observations
made is given by the latter! From this report it appears that the
Baradero skeleton lay at no great depth, apparently only about 1
meter, below the surface. The oyster shells collected from the oppo-
site bank were declared by von Ihering and Steinmann to be “rela-
tively modern, probably Quaternary and intimately connected or
even identical with the living forms.’ And the conclusions in
Burckhardt’s contribution to the subject are as follows (p. 162):

“Basing our opinions on these data [given in preceding lines], we
can not accept the ideas of Roth that the marine bank corresponds
to the formation of Entre Rios and that, consequently, a part of the
loess and the fossil man of Baradero are Tertiary.

“We are obliged to hold, on the contrary, that the bank is relatively
modern, very probably Quaternary, and in consequence that the
fossil man of Baradero is himself probably also diluvial.’’

Again it is seen that, as in other cases already referred to in this
report, the possibility of an ordinary burial from the surface is given
no consideration.

Long before the foregoing excerpt appeared in print, the skeleton
was sold to the Ecole Polytechnique Féderal of Zurich, and there in
1901 the bones were studied by Rudolf Martin. Martin’s report is
included in Lehmann-Nitsche’s work just mentioned; its principal
features are as follows (pp. 374-386):

“The state of conservation of the Baradero bones leaves so much to
be desired that, notwithstanding my good will, I have arrived at the

1 Nouvelles recherches, etc., pp. 144-165.

260 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

conviction that it is impossible to deduce from the study of this
material any far-reaching conclusions. It would seem that previously
the skeleton, and especially the skull, were in better state.

“The petrifaction of all the eletal parts is complete [?]; the jo
which still adheres to them is so hard and so firmly attached to the
bones that it can not be separated except by the action of heat or
acids. :

“The larger part of the skeleton has been submitted to strong
pressure, as the result of which one of the femurs, for example, pre-
sents to-day more than 60 fragments. These are solidly reunited [by
the loess] but not exactly in their natural positions, from which has
resulted an important modification in the original form of the bones.
On the basis of this fact, I do not believe that I can follow Roth’s
opinion, which is that the present eroded and cracked condition of
the bones is due to weathering. In my opinion it is more probable
that the bones were thus broken within the ground.

“The remains of the skeleton consist of the following parts: Frag-
ments of the skull, formed of small pieces of the vault in very irregular
agglomeration. The majority of the fragments belong to the frontal
and the parietals,’’ others representing parts of the occipital and the
right temporal bones. There are present also a portion of the upper
jaw, two parts of the lower jaw, the shafts of the two femora, the
tibiz and fibule (broken and much compressed), and a fragment of
the left os calcis.

All the better-preserved parts indicate, according to Martin, that
the skeleton was that of an adult male, of stature well above the
medium for whites.

The remnants of the skull are in such condition that no safe con-
clusions can be drawn from them as to the cranial form. The bones
are not thick. The dental arches were evidently massive and strongly
developed. The lower jaw is stout, short, and high. Below the
oblique line and in front of the insertion of the masseter, there is a
strong protuberance or lateral mandibular eminence. The surface of
the insertion of the masseter is deeply grooved. The height of the
horizontal ramus in the region of the second molars amounts to 3 cm.,
its thickness at the same point to 1.6 cm. The molar teeth, all of
which are preserved, although showing extreme wear, are large but
their characteristics are typically human.

“The dimensions of the teeth are without doubt superior to those
which we encounter in European skulls, but they would not surprise
us in the Indians of South America, who belong almost without
exception to macrodont varieties.”’

The bicondylar length of the femur has been fixed by Martin at 47.2 »
em., which corresponds to the stature of about 1.70 meters. The
middle part of the shaft gave the diameters of 3.2 by 2.9 cm. on the

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 261

right, and 3.3 by 3 cm. on the left; the circumference on the right was
9.5 cm., on the left 10 em. The upper part of the diaphysis o1. the
left measured transversely 3 cm., antero-posteriorly 2.7 cm., showing
an eurymeric form.

The measurements of the shaft of the tibiz at about the middle

were as follows:
Rightem. Leftem.

rey GEE OSTELLOE 5. ha a ns we ete ae eee es ey 3. 95 4.0
1 LiSTB Tei Le ERLE SSS Mp mt ert a 9 ce a 2. 35 2. 35
“SUSSVETE: DING Eee tate, 8 a Neg eR et Me a Sh ie mn i eh nl ae SE 59. 4 56.2

The shaft, as shown in the illustration (fig. 48) presents 1 ina typical
form the bogies shape.'

The conclusions reached by Martin on the basis of his examinations
are as follows:

“Tt is really to be regretted that this skeleton
has come to us in so defective a state, because it
constitutes the most ancient specimen from Argen
tina, found under circumstances which are suffi-
ciently well-known. As it is, the results of our
examination do not afford a basis solid enough to
enable us to conclude that the skeleton belonged to
the race of Lagoa Santa.

“Tt is possible to affirm, however, without fear
of being in error, that in divers fragments of the 5... 45 ‘Tipiaof Bara-
skeleton which are in our possession to-day, there — dero: Transverse sec-
exists no character which is not equally encoun- "°"% ‘eshatt
tered in modern man, especially that of South America. The man of
Baradero does not represent, therefore, a human form specifically dif-
ferent from the man of the present day.”

CRITICAL REMARKS

To the writer the only possible conclusion, from what has been
learned about the Baradero find, is that the antiquity of the skeleton
can not be regarded as satisfactorily demonstrated. Nothing has
been advanced which could be accepted as proof that the case could
not be one of merely a prehistoric holocene burial. The presence of
all the parts of the skeleton in their normal relations, as reported by
Roth, speaks for an intentional, or a speedy accidental, interment.
Intentional Indian burials in an extended position are more rare than
those in a more or less contracted one, but they occur in many parts
of America and are explainable either by a modification of the usual]
custom, due to some special motives, or from inability to bend the
body on account of rigor mortis. The notion that burials in fosse
were not practiced in northeastern Argentina, on account of the

1Type 4, A. H. This feature, while of rather widespread ancient as well as recent occurrence, is
especially characteristic of the Indian.

262 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

absence of implements, is not correct; even if some burials were
quite superficial or in shallow mounds, the fact does not, as seen
again and again in North America, exclude other forms of inhumation
in the same locality, at the same or other periods. No photographic
study was made of the bones. That they are solidly covered with
calcareous concretions indicates no great age. Finally, as seen
from Martin’s report, the bones so far as preserved show close morpho-
logic relations with those of the ordinary American natives. Strong
and high lower jaws are especially frequent in Argentina.

* Cases of the nature of the Baradero find have no prospect of
ever being generally accepted as representative of geologically ancient
man in America. They are full of uncertainties and are incapable of
furnishing positive proof of the contentions as to antiquity, which
are based on some of the unusual phenomena connected with the
circumstances of the find or with the bones themselves. The subject
of man’s antiquity on this continent, as elsewhere, is of so great
importance that it demands much more than an opinion or assump-
tion by any observer. It calls in every case for a definite, unequivocal
demonstration, which permits of no legitimate doubt, and any find
that does not come up to this requirement can have no right to further
consideration as an evidence of man’s antiquity. Doubtful cases,
as that of Baradero, marked by scanty geologic records, poor mate-
rial, and the absence of all conclusive evidence of great age, are
really, until definitely excluded from further consideration, obstruc-
tions to the progress of scientific research.

HOMO CAPUTINCLINATUS—THE ARROYO SIASGO SKELETON
History AND EARLIER REPORTS

The Arroyo Siasgo skeleton is one of the latest finds in Argentina
of human remains attributed to antiquity It was made by Carlos
Ameghino and was reported before the International Scientific Con-
gress in July, 1910, by Florentino Ameghino.

The report was published shortly afterward’ and, as it is rather
inaccessible, the contents are given here with more detail that is per-
haps absolutely necessary. Professor Ameghino says:

“The year 1909 and that part of 1910 which has already passed
have been particularly fruitful in finds relating to fossil man in the
Argentine territory.

“Tt would seem that we have assisted at the awakening from ultra
tumba of the ancient and now extinct species and races of man which
inhabited our lands, in order that they might present themselves,
even though only with their inanimate bones, at the celebration of the
Centenary.

1 Deseubrimiento de un esqueleto humano fésil en el pampeano superior del Arroyo Siasgo; Congreso
Cientifico Internacional Americano; Separate publication, Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 1-6.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 263

“In Santiago del Estero (Rio Hondo) fossil skulls and bones of
two very distinct races of man were discovered; one strong and of
large stature, apparently not widely different from the normal form,
and the other very small and seeming to present some relations with
the Negritos (?).[‘] At Necochea new examples of Homo pampzus
were gathered. To the north of the [Arroyo] Moro, fronting on the
Laguna Malacara, some 60 km. north of Necochea, there were recently
discovered in the ancient Pampean two skeletons with their skulls,
belonging not to a race merely, but to a real (verdadera) extinct
species, of reduced stature, with only four lower molars in place
of five (the posterior being absent), and possessing a lower jaw with-
out a chin, like that of Spy and Krapina. And in the Superior Pam-
pean of Arroyo Siasgo there was discovered a skeleton of human
type, but exceedingly primitive and as simian, or perhaps even
more simian, than the Homo pampzus.

“The last-mentioned species is named by me Homo caputinclinatus.”

The specimen representing the species ‘‘is a fossil human skeleton,
found in January of the present year by the traveling naturalist of
the Museo Nacional, Sr. Carlos Ameghino, in a barranca of the
Arroyo Siasgo, some 300 meters from the house of the estancia ‘La
Georgina’ belonging to Sr. J. M. Mendez, in the Department of
Ranchos, near the station Villanueva of the Southern R. R.

‘With the object of satisfymg myself as to the position which
the skeleton occupied, I visited the locality about the middle of
last March.

‘The Arroyo Siasgo is a small affluent of the Rio Salado.

‘‘Before coming to the Salado, which it reaches through a very
narrow channel, the valley of Siasgo broadens in an extraordinary
manner, forming a deep depression 4 km. long and 2 km. broad.
This hollow, now dry, was in a recent epoch a lake which dried up,
its waters draining into the Salado.

‘‘This depression is limited on the east by a barranca, about 8
meters high, against which broke the waters of the lake. This
barranca is a part of the remnant of an ancient and high table-land,
which, in other times, separated the Siasgo from the Salado; the
most elevated part of it has already disappeared.

‘The terrane of this table-land (meseta) is formed by a layer of
vegetal earth, some 50 cm. in thickness, which passes gradually
into a light eolic loess of reddish-gray color, that somewhat lower
becomes more compact.

‘‘This loess deposit of the barranca of the Siasgo was described
in a masterly manner in 1863 by Burmeister, who encountered in
it many fossils, now preserved in the Museo Nacional of Buenos

[! The Ovejero specimens (q. v.).]

264 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Aires. One carapace of a Glyptodon, nearly complete, was found,
Burmeister says, only 1 foot below the surface of the ground.

‘‘The human skeleton was found buried in this unmoved deposit
of loess, at a depth of 1.80 meters from the surface of the ground,
deeper than many remains of Glyptodon, Sclerocalypus, Eutatus, etc.,
which we have collected in the same locality.

‘“The skeleton consists of a skull, of which the lower jaw and the
facial parts are missing, and of various long bones, numerous ver-
tebre and ribs, the sacrum, the pelvis, and a number of the bones
of the feet, among them a nearly intact astragalus.

‘“‘The long bones indicate that the individual was still young;
compared with those of the actual man, they would correspond to one
of 16 to 18 years of age. Moreover, it was an individual of very
reduced stature, probably not greater than 1.40 meters.

‘“The bones of the skeleton present very notable peculiarities, of
which for the present I shall mention only the superficial form of
the ‘ectal’ articular facet of the astragalus, which is not deeply
concave as in actual man, but much flatter; and the form of the
femur, whose linea aspera is scarcely visible, and which presents
toward the middle of its length a nearly circular transverse section,
like the femur of many apes.

‘“The skull is excessively small and very dolichocephalic. . . . [']

‘Tt is very low anteriorly and excessively high posteriorly, so
that the vertex falls far back of the bregma, more or less in the pos-
terior two-thirds of the parietals, in which characteristic the skull
coincides with the Homo pampezus.

‘“‘T have not measured it cranial capacity, but I calculate that it
does not surpass 1,000 c.

‘‘Posteriorly there is no hae occipitalis, the inion region is not
prominent but rounded and all the muscular insertions are but little
developed.

‘“‘The sutures, including the lambdoid, are exceedingly sinple
and nearly straight. The mastoids are very small. The frontal
region, much depressed, rises gradually toward the back, and the

vault continues to rise in this way up to the vertex.

“The frontal bone is very prominent by reason of its elongate
and narrow form, in which it presents a remarkable similarity to
the formation proper to the Diprothomo. In a straight lme, with-
out paying regard to the curve, it measures 106 mm. in antero-
posterior, and 98 mm. in its cent transverse diameter. The
post-orbital narrowing is very slight, the minimum transverse diam-
eter at this point being 91 mm., only 7 mm. less than the maximum
transverse diameter.

[!} The two measurements that follow are those of the writer.]

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 265

“From this it follows that the anterior part of the front is pro-
portionately very broad, in which it differs absolutely from the
Homo pampxus which on the contrary possesses a frontal region
that is exceedingly narrow. The front of this skull appears thus
not only very long and narrow in the back but also of a very char-
acteristic rectangular contour.

“The whole frontal appears arched from before backward, form-
ing a convex curve not very pronounced but very regular.

“This regularity extends also to the anterior supraorbital part,
which has no vestiges of the supraorbital ridges nor of the trans-
verse depression which accompanies the same, but the frontal emi-
nences are plainly visible.

“Of the post-glabellar depression there remain also no visible
vestiges nor is there any visor (visera). The glabella does not
protrude but curves notably downward; the interorbital part of
the frontals descends especially low below the superior border of
the orbits, but its inferior border does not present a backward inver-
sion, so that the nasion did not lie in a transverse depression as in
modern man; by this characteristic this new type of man accords
with the Diprothomo and the Homo pampezus. ;

“The conformation of the orbits is peculiar; to judge by the
superior part, which still exists, and by the arched border, they
appear to have been notably more high than broad, as in the Homo
pampxus; moreover, they are excessively superficial, their roof forming
with the external surface of the frontal region an angle that is nearly
obtuse; they are much more superficial than in the Diprothomo.

‘The posterior part of the skull is not less singular. At the first
view, the eye is struck with the fact that the occipital aperture is
situated more posteriorly than in existing man. The occipital
bone, instead of being continued by a long, more or less horizontal
space back of the foramen magnum, as is the general rule, ascends
rapidly, so that the opening appears as if located nearly in the pos-
terior part of the skull, in a way more accentuated than in many
apes.”

In the following paragraphs Ameghino speculates as to the ‘‘orienta-
tion of the skull during life.” The conclusion is that ‘‘a skull with
a sloping front directed downward and an occipital opening located
nearly in the posterior part of the specimen, indicates a head which
in life must have presented a notable grade of inclination downward.
It is for this reason that I designate the species, now completely
extinct, by the name of Homo caputinclinatus.”’

In the latter part of 1910 a brief report on the Arroyo Siasgo
remains is made by Mochi.1. This author says he was able to exam-

1 Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per V Antr. ela Ein., XL, Firenze, 1910,
pp. 250-253.

266 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puun. 52

ine the skull only cursorily, a fact which doubtless accounts for his
failure to notice that the present color of the specimen is due to its
having been treated with a preservative, that it presents a post-
humous deformation, and, what is even more important, that it be-
longs to the skeleton of a child. He further regards Ameghino’s
reference to 18 lumbo-dorsal vertebrz as applying to this skeleton,
while it relates to that of Samborombén, which Ameghino includes, in
the paragraph that Mochi quotes on page 250, with the Arroyo Siasgo
skeleton in the new species of Homo caputinclinatus. Finally, the
hasty examination is also probably accountable for the one or two
errors that have entered into the figures of Mochi’s measurements.
These are given as follows:

: em.
en ea on wo i ee be cee 16. 6
RMON 6 ag ree ese ea SE a a nie eee oe Eee ee oe 11.5
Sieisin (DanOD-DIeSNA).. S.,. eens os ogee oe eae Pee 13. 0(?)
Diameter frontal nithimum: .-//PLUNe . WS, AE. See eee 10. 2

Mochi recognizes that the skull is artificially deformed, in the ecir-
cular or Aymara fashion. The ‘‘far back”’ situation of the foramen
magnum and the rapidly descending roof of the orbits, insisted on by
Ameghino, ‘‘are both caused by the orientation of the calvarium.”
With an approximation to the ordinary anthropologic posing of the
specimen ‘‘the foramen magnum assumes a position which has nothing
extraordinary in a skull with a slightly flattened occiput, and the
roof of the orbits comes to lie in a much different way from that in
Ameghino’s orientation.”

“On the whole,”’ Mochi well concludes, ‘‘this species seems to me a
very doubtful one.”

EXAMINATION BY THE WRITER

Through the courtesy of Professor Ameghino, the writer was able
to examine all that remains of the Siasgo skeleton. The results, as
will appear, differ in some very essential points from those quoted
above.

It is the skeleton of a child, probably not 12 years of age.

The portion of the skull remaining (pl. 24) consists of only the vault,
without the facial parts and most of the base; the vault presents a
perceptible degree of Aymara deformation.?

There is also a posthumous, unrestored depression, affecting the
posterior two-thirds of the lateral part of the right parietal and -
diminishing the maximum breadth of the skull by 2 or 3 mm.

The skull would be small for an adult but is not so for a child.

1 The latter error is possibly due to the thickness of the bones of the vault, which resemble those in an”
adolescent, to the absence of all the parts(teeth , face, base) that indicate the age of a skull, and to failure

to sce the remaining parts of the skeleton.
2 The photograph does not afford a good view of this feature, which is plainly recognizable in the specimen.

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 267

It is brownish and yellowish in color, but has been treated with
a preservative. It does not seem to be devoid of animal matter
to a great extent, though it may be somewhat mineralized. Mor-
phologically, beyond the effects of the deformation and the lack of
development due to youth, the specimen presents no peculiar fea-
tures. This statement applies equally to every other part of the
skeleton.

The thickness of the bones of the vault is medium, or slightly
above, for a child. The sutures show only slight serration and all
are patent. There are six unimportant small to medium-sized
Wormian bones. The pterions are both of the H variety and of
moderate width.

The mastoids (right) are fairly well developed for a young subject
and of ordinary form. The floor of the auditory meatus presents on
the left a large, on the right a small, dehiscence; these defects,
rather common in all Indians, are of great frequency in those of Bolivia
and Peru.

The frontal process and the upper parts of the orbits show childlike
characteristics, otherwise no unusual features. The former is still
divided inferiorly for some distance by a remnant of the metopic
suture.

Owing to the deformation of the vault, the foramen magnum
appears as if situated farther backward than usual; but this feature
is commonly observed in skulls with Aymara deformation.

_ Principal measurements of the Siasgo cranium:
em.
Peameter anterior-posterior maximum. ..22 225.28 52a05- sess sce ee 16.9
Premeerer lateral way iaguiey So 2rd a1 as Be eS hs oe > ae «Ie oS = aan 5
(but was larger; is diminished porhewhnt by both artificial and posthumous
deformation. )

Height, auditory canals line to bregma, approximately. ........-......------- 1AEY,
Circumference (above supraorbital ridges). ...............--..--...-------0-- 46. 1
PET ADEE URUS IIE LU ORES Se SPs Ce fara 8 Soke ae a an, i a Pam a aie ni 35. 4
Rea ORES 255 ta een! Se, PU Rae ee SO. SOI ee, Sons 11.9
ee ete ERLE Ae ois 5, ee ya 5 pS hey pte Deeds PAL Ga ob Sho AL Sos 11.8
EMR RERPE SATS REGIS S255) Dy as ee Sar HAS SAO SAS ba kg POR ARS Ae 7
aimunyerse are]... 5-0... 2.2.2.2 eee en SUERISIOH eth) Ue Dang Tits Sos ie
PRGRE Me Mom eT ere ch eines PU at 26 eo ee 9.2

The remaining parts of the skeleton have been treated for the most
part, as has the skull, with a solution of some preservative. Those
treated thus are brownish-yellow; those not treated, light-gray.

Pelvis.—The three constituents of the ossa innominata are as yet
entirely separate, and as the rami of the ischium and the pubis com-
monly unite about the tenth year, the youth of the subject is evident.
The pubic, crest, ischial, and sacral articulation epiphyses are wanting
as well as those of the acetabulum and of the border in front and
above it. The bones are of fair strength and usual form.

268 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Ribs.—These are light, dry, quite easily broken and apparently
not mineralized in any degree. They indicate a child. They are
all regularly formed. A few appear slightly thicker than usual,!
owing largely, if not entirely, to the age of the subject.

Vertebrx; sacrum.—There are present 10 pieces, representing sey-
eral dorsal, lumbar, and sacral vertebre. All the epiphyses are
wanting. The sacrum is represented only by separate, immature
segments. The right lateral mass of the fifth lumbar is large, sacral-
like, articulating with the uppermost segment of the sacrum; later
in life it would doubtless have become part of the latter. The neural
canal of this vertebra measures from above 2.5 cm. in breadth and
1.4 cm. in its antero-posterior diameter.

Femora.—None of the epiphyses are attached; the bones are light
with no fossilization perceptible. Theshape of the shaft approximates
cylindrical, which is typical of childhood. Its antero-posterior bend
is very moderate, the lateral slight. The external lip of the sub-
trochanteric flattening is well differentiated. The right bone shows
on its posterior aspect four fresh cuts.

Measurements of the Siasgo femora:

Right. Left.

; em. em.

Leneth, minus piphyses= 722..." «3 cae ee te ee (?) near 34.0
Diameter antero-posterior at middie. . 2/2. 22) 2721 22s ee 2. 1 1. 95
Diameter Iaterali xt middle. ). 11/12. gi Bane. Testes 2.0 2. 05
Pilasterie inde@xi} gsrrceiih et eeeee 2. of doe eho ore Pe ee 105. 0 92.9
Diameter maximum, at upper flattening..........-..---.--.------- 2. 65 2. 60
Diameter minimum, at upper flattening.....-...-.----2--22-4---- 1.95 1, 95
Piatvineric maeks 2. 3..507..\:;. 2-2-5. sa aee eee er eeee eters 73.6 75.0

Tibie.—Left bone only, without epiphyses. Shape of shaft pris-
matic. Anatomically without special features. Head deficient.
Surface of bone eroded as if by roots.

Measurements of the Siasgo tibia:

em.
Diameter antero-posterior at middle..........-...-- teude oats. wae eee 2.5
Dihmeter lateralvatimiddle: 26... oe ow ecb 2 ee eee 2.0
Index sib amiddle te. ee ee wee tel en paws dels aie ete es SE ee 80.0
Diameter antero-posterior at the nutritive foramen................------------- 2.8
Diameter lateral at-the foramien:.(/2:- 22-2252. 222 >. Ree eee Se ee 2,
hats (cs co ee a ey iS 6) 2) a ee Se) PN) Pe ere CE tena helsa Sao ne 78.6

Ulna.—Fragment, upper epiphysis wanting; lower? No special
features.

Radius.—Part of the proximal extremity; epiphysis wanting; no
special features.

Astragalus.—The bone measures 4.75 cm. in its greatest length,
3.85 cm. in its greatest breadth, and 2.60 cm. in its greatest height

1 One of the longer ribs measures at middle of the shaft 0.65 x 0.9em.: another, from a slightly lower part
of the thorax, 0.4 x 1.4em., and still another, from about the middle of the thorax, 0.6 x 1.0 cm.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 269

(the last-named measurement taken with the specimen laid on the
border of the table). The posterior facet for the calcaneus is prob-
ably less concave than usual in adults. The right astragalus is
defective and quite useless for study but was apparently similar in
size and form to that of the left side.

None of the above-mentioned bones present any intravital injury
or disease.

CRITICAL REMARKS

The fundamental errors of the original description of the Siasgo
skeleton are shown plainly enough in the preceding pages. The age
of the subject was much overestimated, and through lack of com-
parative material, no doubt, features of the skull due to artificial
shaping were mistaken for natural characteristics and made the basis
of a new species of man.

The remains consist of a few very ordinary, immature, and defec-
tive bones, which show little if any fossilization and, it is safe to
say, would not be recognized as exceptional if placed with a series of
similar remains from, for instance, the graves of Bolivian Indians.

However, there is other good evidence that the skeleton in question
has no claims whatever to antiquity. On his return from the Sierra
Ventana Mr. Willis visited the locality of the find. He was shown
by the owner of the hacienda the exact spot from which the bones
came and which was still plainly in view. His observations are
embodied in the pages that follow.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE ARROYO SrAsco FIND

By BAILEY WILLIS

The Arroyo Siasgo Valley is a peculiarly broad and shallow but
winding hollow in the Pampa. It has been described by Ameghino
as a lake basin and may have been partially filled at times of excessive
rains, although the writer saw no shore features, as an established
lake would make. The valley itself is an abandoned stream channel
widened by wind. It lies in the east-central part of the Province of
Buenos Aires in that broad lowland through which the Rio Salado
winds. The region is one in which drainage channels are but slightly
developed and which has exhibited extensive flooded areas during
rainy years up to a recent time, when the construction of drainage
canals provided channels in which the waters might flow away. The
writer does not recall ever having seen a more perfect plain or one
from which evidences of erosion were more completely wanting. From
the vantage point of the railway train the plain could be scanned for
many leagues and exhibits everywhere the same dead level. Even
the long hollows, characteristic of much of the wind-sculptured sur-
face of the pampas, are here developed in only an insignificant degree.

270 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY _ [Buu. 52

The Rio Salado flows in a meandering channel whose character
is shown in the photograph (pl. 25). It is peculiar that the river is
like a canal, flowing between steep banks, apparently in perfect equi-
librium and of uniform regimen. The fall seems to be just sufficient
to carry off the waters and the sediment which they bring, and there
is no evidence of flood waters, sufficient at least to rise above the
banks and spread out on the flood plain. Thus the level grassy
surface of the pampas stretches straight to the river bank without
elevation or depression, and one does not realize that the river is there
until one is upon it.

Within sight of the station General Belgrano, but at a distance of
an hour and a half’s drive from it, there is a low ridge which is a
conspicuous feature in the level plain. From near the surface of this
ridge, on the estancia ‘‘La Georgina” belonging to Senor George M.
Mendez, Doctor Ameghino found a human skeleton. Guided by his
directions, the writer visited the spot on June 23, 1910, for the pur-
pose of studying the topographic and geologic relations in which the
skeleton had been found.

The central features of the locality are the ridge and the hollow
known as that of the Arroyo Siasgo, which winds along its southern
base. The writer approached the ridge from the east and followed
its northern base for about 3 km. It is not continuous, but consists
of three or more long low elevations. The northern slope is gentle,
sinking imperceptibly into the perfectly level plain, which stretches
away to the northward. At the estancia ‘La Georgina” the ridge
was crossed at a point where it sinks away to the westward, and the
southern slope and the Arroyo Siasgo came into view (pl. 26). The -
southern slope of the ridge is relatively steep. At the top it shows
effects of wind erosion and portions of the grass-covered margin have
slid down. Toward the bottom it is gentler and passes into the
hollow by a curve similar to that of the lower part of an earthy talus.
It is covered with vegetation. Near the top the sod is broken by
sliding and undercut by the wind. The Arroyo Siasgo is a winding
hollow. Water from a recent rain was standing in pools in the lowest
parts of it, but it was all overgrown with herbage. The width of the
hollow is somewhat indefinite, since it has no well-defined southern
bank. From the lowest portions, which are below the general level
of the plain, there is a very gentle rise southward for perhaps a kilo-
meter before the uniform altitude of the plain all about is reached.

The hollow and the hill have a definite relation to each other. The
hollow is a winding depression; the hill is a winding ridge which
closely follows its northern side. According to an estimate based
on observation in driving past and in walking over the hill and through
the hollow, the volume of the one above the plain is about equal to
that of the other below the plain. The position of the hill is to

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 271

leeward of the hollow, the prevailing winds of the region being from
the south or southeast, and the southern scarp of the ridge exhibits
effects of wind erosion. It is evident that the material of the hill
was blown out of the hollow.

An examination of the material composing the hill shows that it
differs in structure and firmness from the Pampean terrane of the
plain. It is a perfectly homogeneous fine-grained loess, which is
devoid of stratification. When damp it is light-to-medium brown, and
dries out whitish to pink. Films of a white calcareous deposit ramify
all through it and grit against the knife, but there are no distinct lime
concretions or tosca. The material of the Pampean terrane, which
forms the plain and in which the hollow is excavated, is precisely
similar in fineness of grain, but is darker colored and more compact.
When blown into dust it would yield the loess of the hill.

The writer was accompanied over the ground by D. Cesar Pirez,
the majordomo of the estancia, who stated that in sinking a well,
which is marked by the windmill that may be seen in the photo-
graph (pl. 27), there was first penetrated the black superficial soil,
then 2 m. of loess, and below this again black soil about 30 em. thick,
overlying the brown earth of the Pampean terrane. The well is
located below the summit of the ridge at an elevation which probably
does not exceed 24 or 3 m. above the general level of the plain, and
it is thus reasonably certain that the loess of the ridge lies upon the
black soil of the plain, which was buried as the loess dune formed.

The conditions under which such a dune may form depend on the
existence of a steep accident in the surface. The wind, sweeping
across a hollow, is diverted upward in striking a steep bank on the
farther side and forms an eddy at the summit of the bluff. In this
eddy sand or loess is deposited. The winding hollow resembles an
erosion channel and the development of the dune was occasioned,
according to the writer’s understanding of the circumstances, by the
abandonment or drying up of the stream channel which it represents.

According to this interpretation the ridge is a local feature which
has been built upon the plain in comparatively recent time.

Upon the summit of this ridge, about the highest point, were found
the human remains which C. Ameghino excavated. The exact spot
is indicated in the photograph (pl. 28), directly beneath the figure
of Sefior Pirez. The hole was partially refilled but may be easily
distinguished. According to Sefior Pirez and judging from the posi-
tion of the hole, the body lay on the southern slope, about 2 m.
below the highest level of the plain, but covered by not more than
half a meter of brown earth in place. The body lay with the head to
the north, the feet toward the south, and in a somewhat inclined
position. The head remained ata slight distance from the rest of the
body, which seemed to have slid down the hill. Sefior Pirez remarked

Sis BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

that he had noted at one side of the excavation a small quantity of
black earth, like a pencil in an upright position, which was probably
due to a root. Sefor Pirez said that he was not present when the
bones were disinterred but learned the facts when Doctor Ameghino
made a second visit for the purpose of searching for some missing
portions. .

A reasonable interpretation of these facts, as it seems to the
writer, is that the body was buried on the summit of the hill in the
soft eolian loess and in the position which would naturally be chosen
for such a purpose; that in course of time the earth in which it
was buried slid somewhat, as it is evident that much of the face of
the hill at this immediate point is, even now, sliding. Some portion
of the earth which was originally above the body may have been
removed by wind erosion, and possibly the discovery of the bones was
facilitated by this fact. There is nothing in the topographic or geo-
logic relations, nor in the situation in which the bones were found, to
indicate that the skeleton is of any antiquity.

HOMO SINEMENTO—ARROYO DEL MORO; NECOCHEA
Tue ARROYO DEL Moro FInp

The Arroyo del Moro, or more properly the Laguna Malacara, find
was made sometime in the earlier half of 1909 by José Oliva, a sailor
guarding a stranded chata' on the desolate beach about 7 miles north-
east of the Arroyo del Moro, some 35 miles northeast of Necochea.
As he told our party, he was out with his wife and boy hunting, and
in crossing one of the flats among the sand dunes, situated about 15
minutes walk north of his temporary home and at a somewhat shorter
distance from the Laguna Malacara, his wife and he saw on the ground
from a distance a white rounded object, which they took at first for
a large ostrich egg, but which on closer view was found to be the top
of a humanskull. The sailor dug out the skull with a knife, and when
an opportunity presented itself he sent a notice of the find to the
gardener, L. Parodi, at Necochea, who was known to be interested in
bones in behalf cf the Museo Nacional at Buenos Aires. The infor-
mation reached also Dr. E. Cavazutti, an amateur loca! collector of
Necochea.

The place was then dug over by the sailor, his boy, and the gardener,
who found two skeletons; what was saved of these came through
Doctor Cavazutti to the Museo Nacional, where the specimens, espe-
cially the skulls, were repaired and partially reconstructed.

Later on the locality was visited by Florentino and Carlos Ameghino,
who collected over the same flat numerous fossils and also many
worked stones of the dark variety.?

1A flat-bottom boat. The chata in question is a stranded steel barge.
2 See section on Archeology.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN Ws

The human remains under consideration were recently described
by Professor Ameghino, and they have been made by him the repre-
sentatives of still another South American species of man, namely,
the Homo sinemento.

They are first mentioned in print in a commemorative number of
‘La Nacion.”’! Following a statement concerning the Homo pam-
peus, we read the following (p. 24):

‘From the same epoch as the H. pampeus or perhaps somewhat
more recent is the Homo sinemento, which, retaining some very primi-
tive characteristics, has in other respects surpassed in its evolution
Homo sapiens. Its representatives were pigmies (1.40 m.), of a very
prognathic rostrum, of lower jaw without chin, as in Homo primi-
genius, but with orthognathic and very regular denture, and without
the last molar. It is a species which disappeared without leaving
descendants.”

Somewhat later, on the occasion of the meeting of the International
Scientific Congress in Buenos Aires, the find was reported and pub-
lished more in detail. The following principal statements were made
by Professor Ameghino: ?

When the human bones in question reached the Museo Nacional,
where they were cleaned and reconstructed, ‘‘it was possible to
establish the fact that they were fossil bones enveloped by the Pam-
pean loess, in parts strongly hardened by calcareous concretions or
tosca, which is so characteristic of the Pampean formation.”

When subsequently Professor Ameghino, with his brother Carlos,
visited the place where the remains were found, he saw that ‘‘the
fossx, from which the skeletons were extracted, were excavated in
unmoved (in situ) terrane, traversed by lines of tosca absolutely iden-
tical with that which envelops and also fills many of the human
bones. From the earth that was dug out I still gathered some frag-
ments of the skeletons, various bones split longitudinally, and an
instrument made from a fragment of long bone intended for retouch-
ing stone flakes.

“The whole surface of the ground was sown over with worked
stones, some representing real instruments, others rejects and re-
siduum. It is the industry of the split stone (piedra hendida).

“T gathered also many fragments of scoria and some of baked
earth.

“Finally, over the whole locality there were numerous fossil bones,
especially from young animals. .

1 Ameghino, F., Geologia, paleogeografia, paleontologia, antropologia de la Republica Argentina.
Estudio publicado en el Niimero Extraordinario de La Nacion, Buenos Aires, May 25, 1910; separate,
pp. 1-25.

2 Ameghino, Florentino, Descubrimiento de dos esqueletos humanos fésiles en el pampeano inferior del
Moro; special separate, Congreso Cientifico Internacional Americano, Buenos Aires, 10 4 25 de Julio, 1910,
pp. 1-6.

21535°—Bull. 52—12——_18

274 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

[Fifteen genera and species are enumerated.]

‘““We collected also incomplete fossil human remains of various
individuals. ['] .

“As to the skeletal remains, they represent a hitherto unknown
race, with characteristics so profoundly distinct and peculiar that I
consider it a true species, which I designate by the name of Homo
sinemento.

“They were very small people, almost pigmies, whose approxi-
mate height I calculate at about 1.40 cm.

“All the bones of the skeleton indicate not only a race of very
small stature but also slender people, not very robust, in consequence
of which the muscular insertions on the bones are little marked.
Some of the bones, as the femur, calcaneus, and astragalus, present
very peculiar features, but their examination would require too much
time. I shall occupy myself solely with the skulls.

“These, in agreement with the stature, are very small. ... Both
are Clearly dolichocephalic. There is nothing extraordinary as to
their general form. The mastoids are small and the muscular inser-
tions in general but little developed. There is no torus occipitalis
and the inion shows scarcely any prominence.

“The vault is rather low and the front is regularly convex and
without a supraorbital arch. There are no supraorbital ridges, but
there exists a well-marked transverse depression extending from one
to the other of the orbital apophyses of the frontal.

“The frontal is short and broad, and the coronal suture is nearly
transversal, i. e., but little inclined forward and but little arched
backward.

“The glabella in its inferior part does not present an inversion
backward, so that the nasion was not located in a depression; in this
the specimens agree with the Homo pampzus and the Diprothomo.

“The orbits are deep, and to judge by the more complete skull
they were of greater height than breadth, a primitive character
which we already know in the Homo pampzus.

“The rostrum is quite prognathic, but this prognathism is due
almost exclusively to the maxilla, which advances much forward.

“The most noteworthy peculiarities of these skulls are those which
relate to the dental apparatus and the conformation of the mandible.

“The teeth are small in proportion to the size of the skull, but well-
formed and worn horizontally all to the same level. The canines
are more or less of the same size as the incisors and premolars, and
their crowns do not reach higher than those of the contiguous teeth.

[' It is puzzling that not a word is said of the numerous white quartzite flakes, rejects, and implements
which strewed the same playa, some of these, as was seen later, being in close proximity to the grave.
These stones were considered by F. Ameghino much more recent than those included in the above-
mentioned industry of piedra hendida.]

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 975

The true molars diminish in size gradually from the first to the last,
the first being notably larger than the second. This difference is
especially marked in the lower molars. The last lower molar does
not exist and there are no signs that it has ever existed... .

‘““The implantation of the superior incisors, canines, and premolars
shows a small slant forward, producing slight dental and subnasal
prognathism. In the inferior jaw the same teeth show reversely a
slight inclination backward; that is to say, the mandible instead of
being prognathic is orthognathic, or, more than that, ultra-orthog-
nathic.

“This characteristic is so much more surprising, as the jaw lacks
absolutely the chin prominence, reproducing in this respect the con-
formation of the mandibles of Naulette, Spy, and Krapina, which
are classified as belonging to the Homo primigenius.

“In the Homo primigenius, however, the absence of the chin is
accompanied by a strong prognathism of the anterior part of the
alveolar region and also of the teeth which are inserted in this part,
especially the incisors and the canines; moreover, these teeth are
proportionally of larger size, and the canine is not only larger but its
crown. is also higher than that of the neighboring teeth.

“This conformation in the Homo primigenwus has been interpreted
as very primitive, as an ape character inherited from the anthropoids.

“Tt is known that I have combatted this view for many years.
For me the Neanderthal or Homo primigenius type represents an
extinct species, greatly specialized in the direction of bestialization.
The pronounced dental prognathism which characterizes this type
and the absence of chin are characteristics acquired secondarily. I
maintain the opinion that the primitive humanoid (hominideo) type
presented orthognathic denture without great canines and with the
symphisis of the lower jaw vertical or nearly vertical.

“The discovery of this new fossil type overthrows in a definite
manner the theory of the simian descendants of the Neanderthal
type. If this theory were true, the absence of the chin should
always be accompanied by a great dental prognathism. Here we have
a case completely contrary to that. The absence of the chin is accom-
plished by a denture implanted vertically ' and by an orthognathism
as perfect as that in the most elevated existing human races. The
theory that the type of Neanderthal is the phylogenetic intermediary
between man and the anthropomorphs is overturned by this sole
fact.

‘‘The new type under consideration represents by these charac-
teristics a form anterior to that of the Neanderthal man or of the
Homo primigenius.”’

1 Compare previous lines,—A, H,

q «
276 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The new species differs from Homo primigenius also ‘‘by the absence
of prognathism,['] by the more human conformation of the denture,
and by an absolutely different conformation of the anterior region
of the skull.[?] It is therefore a new species of man, which I have
designated by the name Homo sinemento.

“With this, we have in the Pampean formation, without taking
account of the Homo sapiens of the uppermost strata, four distinct
species of Hominide, namely the Diprothomo platensis, the Homo
pampezus, the Homo caputinclhinatus and the Homo sinemento. These
four species show among themselves differences much greater than
those which we observe among the actual human races that are
farthest apart. This not merely proves specific differences but also
brings new evidence for the South American origin of man, because
it is here where he acquired his greatest diversification and where he
was represented by the greatest number of species.”’

A brief note only on the Arroyo de Moro specimens is found in the
recent paper on the Argentine fossil man, by Mochi.? He did not
have time to study the remains relating to H. sinemento, but what he
saw made him doubt the validity of the new species.

OBSERVATIONS BY THE WRITER

In June, 1910, the locality of the find was visited by the party
consisting of Srs. F. and C. Ameghino, Mr. Willis, the gardener
Parodi, the sailor from the chata, and the writer.

The place was found to be in the inland terminal part of a long,
irregularly outlined, denuded flat or playa,* lying within the belt of
barren, moving sand dunes, near the small lake Malacara, far from
any human settlement. One whole day and parts of two others were
spent in the examination of the spot and the vicinity. The following
is a transcription of the principal notes made there by the writer.

The ‘‘skeleton playa”’ * is a somewhat broadened end portion of a
long denuded depression, which connects with a barren flat that
reaches down to the beach. It is situated in the midst of the sand
dunes, slightly nearer the open land than the sea.

The surface of the playa is grayish and blackish, with irregular
remnants of a former level, 1 to 24 feet (about 30 to 75 cm.) high.
Below the discolored surface the earth is yellowish loess. Here and
there within the loess are seen streaks of tosca.

The irregular earth banks, when cut, show color and composition
which appear to be similar to those of present surface of the playa;
but in one of the elevations, about 24 feet high, not far from the spot

1 Compare previous lines.—A. H.

2 This probably refers to its narrowness antero-inferiorly.—A. H.

3 Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per l’Antr. e la Etn., xi, Firenze,
1910, p. 253-254.

4 See p. 112.

5 For convenience the depression in which the find was made will be referred to under this term.

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN ot

where the human bones were found, the earth for about 8 inches
from the top was blackish, evidently a remnant of a former vegetal
surface.

On closer inspection there were still found scattered over the sur-
face of the terminal part of the playa and even close to the spot where
the human skeletons were discovered, black as well as white chipped
stones. As previously mentioned, the Ameghinos collected during
their former visit many examples of the black variety.t Pieces of a
quartzite grinding-stone and a few anvil-stones were also found by
the writer on the ‘‘skeleton playa,’”’ and chipped stones of both the
‘“‘black”’ and the “white” variety were numerous over some of the
black playas in the neighborhood.

In a portion of the ‘‘skeleton playa”’ were seen in several localities
protruding bones of the glyptodon and other fossil species; all these
lay clearly in the undisturbed deposits.

A narrow part of the playa, connecting the inland portion of the
flat with that extending toward the sea, where remnants of human
bones were previously found on the surface by the Ameghinos, was
examined. It differed in no way from the rest of the playa and was
not more deeply denuded. It yielded some stone chips but no other
specimens.

Careful attention was given to the site that contained the principal
human remains. The cavity from which the two ‘‘fossil’’ skeletons
came was found to be filled with loess and sand blown in since the
bones were removed. As to its original contents, the gardener as
well as the sailor and his son said that it held the remains of two
bodies. These lay with the heads at the opposite sides of the hole,
the feet nearly touching. Both wereina contracted, somewhat crouch-
ing position, which the two men later demonstrated most vividly
(pl. 29). A narrow line of tosca, not very hard, ran through the soil
that covered one of the skeletons, in a direction transverse to its axis;
the earth itself was not hard. Some of the bones were fragmentary
or in poor condition and some became broken at or after the excava-
tion. With one of the skeletons was found a quantity of red and
some white mineral pigment, in the form of small concretions.
There were no animal bones with those from the human subjects, nor
in close vicinity.

The second day of the stay of the party at the chata, the force that
made the first excavation was engaged to help clear out the cavity
they had previously made, and to extend the digging in several
directions. This work, in which the writer took part, resulted in
gaining some interesting information, which was recorded on the spot
as follows.

1 For meaning of the term “black”’ and ‘white’? and further details, see the archeologic sections of this
report.

278 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

The skeleton cavity exists in an irregular elevation upward of 3
yards in diameter and rising to about 18 inches above the surrounding
surface. This elevation, due in a slight degree to the earth thrown
out at the former digging, is one of the remnants of the earlier plain.

The cavity is plainly a double or joint grave. There seems to be
some possibility of judging of the depth of this beneath the old
surface. The blackish earth, which, as previously mentioned, was
found to form the top of an elevation a few steps from the skeleton
cavity, can be interpreted only as a remnant of the former vegetal
earth of the plain. Extending toward the skeleton cavity the horizon
of the old surface indicated by this black earth, and remembering that
the uppermost part of the skull of one of the skeletons was somewhat
above the surface of the low elevation in the floor of the playa which
contained the grave, it is seen that the original vertical distance
between the top of the head of one of the buried bodies and the old
surface of the ground was only about 14 or at most 2 feet. It appears
therefore that the interment might easily have been a fairly modern
burial.

Ameghino says the Indians of these regions did not bury in graves
but made stone piles and that they had nothing to dig with. But
the sailor has now parts of two Indian skeletons dug out from graves,
with the earth still in and about the bones. Nothing at all was seen
or learned of cairns or stone piles in the region; in fact there are
nowhere any stones except the tosca and the pebbles near the beach.
Burials in the ground were found previously along the coast (Moreno)
and constitute the rule in the valley of the Rio Negro and in the sand
dunes farther north, toward San Blas. Besides, a large artificially-
edged piece of white quartzite, that would serve well for digging in
even hard ground, was found farther north by the writer,’ and there
were available at all times bones, antlers, and sticks suitable for
digging in the friable deposits of the surface.

No trace of loose or broken tosca, as was said to have existed at one
place in the earth covering the skeletons, can be found in the earth
remaining from the former digging nor in the cavity itself. But its
existence would be no standard of antiquity, for calcareous concre-
tions form readily in the Argentine loess.

In cleaning out the hole in which the human skeletons lay, it is
noticed, after the removal of all that had been blown in, that on
digging deeper than the first excavation, the earth is still soft, in
one place to the depth of about 8 inches. This is possibly earth
that had been removed in preparing the grave. It is not a part of
the undisturbed deposit which constitutes the flat and which offers
wherever exposed in the cavity, much greater resistance.

1 One quite similar in size, shape, and material but of still better make, from near the left bank of the
Rio Neugen, a short distance from Necochea, came shortly afterward into the possession of Professor
Ameghino through the gardener, Parodi.

HRDLICKA | SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 279

The burial cavity is of an irregular oblong form, approaching
somewhat an hourglass in shape. Its longest diameter from east to
west measures a little more than 9 feet (3 m.); its greatest breadth in
its more western part is just 3 feet (1 m.), while the greatest breadth
of the more eastern enlargement is slightly more than 2 feet (65 cm.).
The greatest depth of the larger part of the fossa is 25} inches (64 cm.),
while that of the smaller portion is only 14 inches (86 cm.). The
sides are slightly sloping, the cavity growing smaller toward the
bottom. The greatest depth of the depression below the former
surface of the soil, estimated on the before-explained basis, was not
far from 4 feet (1.25 m., more or less), a very common depth for an
ordinary burial; it could, in fact, hardly be less with bodies interred
in the contracted position.

In the cavity and its immediate vicinity were found numerous little
stones, some of which yielding red coloring matter were shown later to
be impure ocher, while a few others were a white mineral pigment.
According to the gardener and the sailor’s boy, these lay with one of
the skeletons; if so, they can represent only ‘‘paint”’ stones that were
buried with one of the bodies.

These few crude pigment stones, to which no attention was paid
when the skeletal parts were removed, are objects of paramount
importance in considering the problem of antiquity of the remains.
They afford strong evidence of the fact that these were burials, and are
also a proof of the use of such pigments, whether for adornment or
other purposes, and of a belief in a future existence, in which the
paints would be of use as in the present life. All this signifies a cer-
tain grade of culture entirely incompatible with ‘‘the first homo,
not to say evena prothomo,” of Ameghino; moreover, it is in harmony
with a widespread practice among the Indians, though more usually
paint is buried with the man than with the woman.

Besides the pigment stones there are found on or in the earth
formerly thrown out from the grave a tooth and the piece of a jaw
containing several teeth, which are taken by Professor Ameghino;
also a middle cuneiform, secured for the United States National
Museum. All these pieces, especially the teeth, resemble in a remark-
able degree fairly recent bones, and the specimen brought by the
writer is as rich in animal matter as any Indian bone from the more
modern, even post-Columbian burials.

The presence of undoubted Pleistocene, or possibly even older
fossils in the floor of the ‘‘skeleton playa,” at about the same level
as the human bones, can afford no criterion whatever for determining
the antiquity of the latter for, as repeatedly pointed out in other parts
of this paper, a grave may penetrate any unconsolidated strata,
whatsoever their geologic antiquity or paleontologic contents. It
may even happen that fossil bones dug out in making the grave

280 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Bunn. 52

would be thrown in again with the rest of the earth, on or above the
body. These facts would seem to be self-evident, yet they apparently
received no consideration in this instance.

EXAMINATION OF THE SKELETAL REMAINS

The examination of the skeletal parts resulted as follows:

Malacara, or Moro, skeleton No. 1.—The remains representing this
skeleton consist of a skull and a number of more or less eroded and
defective bones. The skull is that of a middle-aged female, and the
bones are probably from the same individual.

The skull (pls. 30-32) is not deformed. Cemented earth (not tosca)
adheres to the surface along the sagittal and along parts of the lamb-
doid suture, forming a lump 0.3 mm. to about 3 mm. in thickness, on
upper part of anterior half of right parietal. Ventrally, there are
small scattered remnants of similar hardened loess-like earth.

The walls of the skull are rather thin and of nearly ordinary weight,
though probably somewhat lacking in animal matter.

The left parietal presents slightly posterior to the coronal and along
the anterior third of the sagittal suture, a noticeable bulging, approxi-
mately 3.5 mm. long by 2 mm. broad, with a small circular perfora-
tion in its anterior portion. This swelling corresponds to two
depressions in the ventral surface of the parietal, produced appar-
ently by moderate-sized tumors or abnormal growths of some nature.
Two somewhat similar depressions are seen more posteriorly, one on
each side, but these do not affect the outer wall.

The frontal bone presents a slender and long nasal process, the
nasion lying 11.5 mm. below the line connecting the highest parts of
the orbital borders. The minimum breadth of the process (.e.,
interorbital distance) is 2.05 cm.

The nasion depression is shallow, the glabella of only moderate
prominence. The supraorbital ridges are somewhat above the
medium for a female, without reaching the average of males, and
extend over the median half of the supraorbital space on each side.
A shallow depression, such as frequently seen in modern Indian crania,
extends from side to side above the supraorbital ridges. Over the
outer part of the orbits the surface of the frontal slopes backward in
the usual way. There is no approach to a supraorbital arch.

The forehead is well built; shows no separate frontal eminences, only
one large median convexity. There is no frontal or sagittal crest.

The parietal eminences are large but dull. Outline of norma supe-
rior is ovoid, that of norma posterior pentagonal, with low summit.

The temporal crests are not pronounced; their nearest approach
to the sagittal suture is to within 4.9 cm. on the right and 4.5 cm.
on the left side.

BULLETIN 52 PLATE 380

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

1

MALACARA (OR MORO) SKULL NO.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 31

MALACARA (OR MORO) SKULL NO. 1

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 82

MALACARA (OR MORO) SKULL NO. 1

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 981

The mastoids are somewhat above medium feminine in size; the
supramastoidal crests are but slightly developed.

The occiput is moderately protruding. Postero-inferiorly a portion
of the bone is depressed, posthumously. Dorsally the surface is
rather smooth, though a fairly marked transverse ridge exists under
the insertions of the trapezil.

The sutures, particularly the lambdoid, show submedium serration,
as general among Indians; they are all patent or nearly so exter-
nally, but ventrally the coronal sagittal and lambdoid are obliterated.
There are no Wormian bones.

The basal parts show feminine development, otherwise no special
features. The occipital condyles are small.

The facial structures are defective. The orbital borders are sharp.
The nasal and orbital region indicates a feminine skull.

On the whole the examination shows plainly an average, moderate-
sized Indian cranium, not one feature of which points to anything
more primitive. The entire specimen shows nothing whatever
“Dbestial”’ or that could not be found in a modern female Indian skull,
particularly in that of a woman of small stature.

Measurements:

Vault: em.
Meena port, jaa. 17.4, ems: late MAK... 2.0. 2.1. aan av oe nes 3 bnicte « 12
nr Rat ee ere oe ire fe eS ae a ew ea ate 75.9
baeom-prepma heieht, approximately.../2.. 02.202... i ee 12. 6
Height between line connecting auditory canals and bregma................... 11.6
Brosecorirqnials tiim...8.4 en.) Max i... 2<ae. sees Gad Loewe acu sheik eee Bt 10.5

Face:

Ppa eeeee DIZ VAQMIATIC MIAXIMNUIM. 2... 0 s—00t «Wied 'got mans ade ewe escde spe <neses Te
Circumference, maximum (above supraorbital ridges)......-........-.......... 48.0
Meston-opletangn arcs. A152. . ce t tek A Ue 35. 8

Nasion-bregma, 11.7 cm.; Bregma-lambda, 12.1 cm.; Lambda-opisthion... 12.0
mere HEC ees romunntely.: oo. Eo. foece end acne Jecid bd. decal das: 28.0
Maximum length of right temporal......-..-..- Se Re Eee ered eee eee ee oP 8.6
Foramen mag., max. length, 3.1 cm.; max. breadth, approx .................. 3.0
Thickness of left parietal above and along the squamous suture.......... mm. .3 to 5
Thickness of frontal bone at points corresponding to eminences.......... _mm.. 5

The module (mean diameter) is 14.4 em., and the capacity of the
skull may be estimated at or near 1,200 ce.

As every anthropologist who has occupied himself with American
skeletal material will recognize, the above measurements are just
about such as could be expected in a subdolichocephalic Indian
female of small stature. The data relating to the female California
skulls published by the writer in 1906! may be given for comparison.

The two sets of measurements are so similar that further comments
on the Indian nature of the skull would be superfluous.

1 Contribution to the Physical Anthropology of California; in University of California Publications, rv,
No. 2, Berkeley, 1906, p. 51 et seq.

282 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Comparison of the measurements of the Malacara or Moro skull No. 1, and of 14 female
California Indian crania

Malacara ae nee Malacara Bp
Measurement aa California Measurement ra Culifennes
: skulls ": skulls
cm. cm. cm. cm.
engines. 2s. e ysis: - G58. 17.4 17.24 || Cireumference............---.- 48.0 48.10
isineT(G il ee See eee 13.2 USES Ve IPSS heal rie GF 5 yeaa ee ae es eae aa 55.8 34, 42
Efeiehitiets) 2 22.02%. 7es- laos me 12.6 12.75 || Thickness of parietal. -......... 5 54
1.4 a 7 (ea ee Re RE en 14.4 14.41 || Breadth of face.............-. 12ee 12.88

Other parts of the skeleton.—The bones are rather frail, short, femi-
nine. All are eroded and defective. No exact measurements of
lengths are possible.

A remnant of the right humerus shows decidedly moderate pro-
portions. The breadth and thickness of the shaft at the middle were
about 1.9 cm. by 1.4 cm. The shape of the shaft closely approxi-
mates type 4 (prismatic witb anterior border broadened into a fourth
surface). A slight vertical ridge exists in the situation of the supra-
condyloid process. The specimen presents no unusual characteristics
as to form.

The remnants of the radii and ulne present no features worthy of
special mention.

The femora were between 39 cm. and 40 cm. long (estimated) ;
they were slightly longer than modern female Guayaquil femora in
the Museo Nacional collection and correspond to a stature of between
1.50 m. and 1.55 m. They present no special features as regards
form except perhaps a greater than average stoutness of the external
border of the subtrochanteric flattening. On the right side this
border forms a surface 11 mm. broad. Each of the bones has a
medium-size third trochanter. The whole shaft presents a moderate
physiologic curvature backward and also a slight curve outward.
The torsion is not unusual.

Measurements of the femora:

Diameter antero-posterior at middle: Right, about 2.3 em.; left ....-..-.-.... 7A
Diameter lateral maximum: Right, about 2. 2 cm.; left ...............--...-- 2
Pulosteric index nae. 4052600m.; lett 2 6+ oF sco oo. tec a eee 95.7
Diameter max., at subtrochanteric flattening: Right, 3.0 cm.; left .......-..- A
Diameter min., at subtrochanteric flattening: Right, 2.0 cm.; left..........-- 2.5
Index of platymery:) Right, 66:7 cm.; leftic..csf2o2 - 6). Jie. OS 78.1

All these proportions are entirely compatible witl the assumption
that the subject was an Indian.

What remains of the tibie shows that the shaft was prismatic with
a slight concavity of the external surface and also a slight tendency
toward the formation, by a vertical intermuscular ridge, of a double
posterior surface. Both of these features approximate the bones to

.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 988

the Indian. At the middle, the antero-posterior diameter measures,
on the right, approximately 2.6 cm., lateral 1.85 cm.; on the left, the
antero-posterior 2.5 cm., the ‘lateral 1.75 cm., giving the ordinary
indices of 71.2 and 70.

The pieces of the fibulz indicate weak bones; they show no special
features. A portion of a clavicle is of normal shape but almost child-
like in size. The astragalus is small and of ordinary form. On com-
parison with other astragali no significant difference can be perceived.

The calcaneus presents a separation by a groove 5 mm. broad of
the anterior and middle facets for the astragalus. The sustentacu-
lum tali protrudes considerably. The cuboid facets are as usual
concave from above downward and moderately convex from side to
side. There are no primitive features.

Measurements of the calcaneus:

Maximum length: Right, 7.3 cm.; left, 7.1 em. Minimum height
of body: Right, 3.4 cm.; left, 3.5 cm. Breadth of body (5 mm.
back of the most posterior part of the large astragalus facet): Right,
2.4 cm.; left, 2.4 cm.

All of these features agree well with the Indian provenience of the
specimens.

There are ten vertebre, probably nine dorsal and one lumbar.
The bones are still in their natural position, cemented by sandy
calcareous loess, consolidated on the surface but loose inside. The
surface of this part of the skeleton has been treated with a solution of
gomma laca blanca to prevent efflorescence; this hardens the bone
(and it may be, to some extent, the loess also) without causing dis-
-coloration.

The pelvis, so far as preserved, shows ordinary features; it is of
moderate size and badly damaged. A piece of the shaft of an ulna
adheres to the right ilium, being cemented to it by the hard loess
(which Ameghino includes under tosca), and a portion of the head of
the femur is cemented to one of the acetabula.

A portion of the upper part of the sacrum is present, but unfortu-
nately the specimen is so defective that it is not possible to take
measurements. What remains of the bone shows no peculiar features.

Another piece consists of a cluster of five right ribs from near the
middle of the thorax, cemented together like the vertebre by hard-
ened loess. The bones are of moderate size and anatomically present
no special features.

In addition to the specimens which have just been mentioned, there
are in the same lot some hardened slivers of bone the origin of which
could not be determined. These may not be parts of the human
skeleton.

284 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The sum of the results of the study of the bones under consideration
is that they present very ordinary human characteristics and that
all their distinguishing features agree with those of the bones of the
modern Indian. They show, as do the bones of any given skeleton, —
a few individual peculiarities, but these are without importance.

Malacara, or Moro, specimen No. 2. (pls. 33, 34).—This is the
specimen on which the species Homo sinemento in the main is founded.

It is a small female adult skull, probably very slightly deformed in
the Aymara fashion. It has been repaired from pieces and partially
restored. This cranium is apparently somewhat “fossilized,” espe-
cially the teeth, which have a brownish-pinkish glance.

The forehead shows above the faintly marked frontal eminences
two slight lateral flattenings, which are probably artificial. There is
also a shallow broad depression under each parietal eminence, such as
might have resulted from the application without much force of a
band about the head.

The glabella is moderately developed. There are traces only of
supraorbital ridges and but a faint depression above them. The
forehead is well-arched though not high, and there are slight indica-
tions of frontal eminences. A moderate sagittal elevation is noticed
from the bregma to the summit.

The parietal eminences are well-marked; the outline of the norma
superior is intermediary between ovoid and pentagonal, the outline of
the norma posterior pentagonal. A slight asymmetry exists in the
posterior part of the parietal region, due possibly to imperfect
mending.

The occiput is moderately convex and rather smooth. The.
mastoids are of medium feminine size.

The walls of the skull are rather thin, the left parietal measuring,
above and along the squamous suture, 3.5 mm. to 5 mm.

On the whole, the form of the vault can not be regarded as entirely
natural, though nearly so.

The face was made too high in the reconstruction. It shows
a shallow nasion depression, ordinary form of nasal articulation and
ordinary nasal process, with quite sharp orbital borders. The nasal
aperture was rather narrow, being about 1.8 cm. in greatest breadth.
Its inferior border is not dull and there are no subnasal fosse. The
nasal spine is damaged.

The upper alveolar process is somewhat prognathic (it appears
more so owing to defective condition of the nasal structures) and not
high (approximately 1.7 cm.). The palate presents no unusual fea- —
tures. The suborbital (canine) fosse are fairly hollowed out. The
molars are submedium in size, rather prominent anteriorly.

The lower jaw presents almost (but not absolutely) vertical sym-
physis; there is, as can well be seen in the illustration (pl. 33), a
distinct though very moderate median chin prominence.

(ONIHDAWY ,,OLNSWANIS OWOH,,) G@ "ON TINMS (OYOW HO) VEVOV IVA

€€ 3LV1d oS NILATING ADOTIONHLA NVOIYSWV 4O NVaYNEG

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 34

MALACARA (OR MORO) SKULL NO. 2 (‘Homo SINEMENTO,’? AMEGHINO)

- ARDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 285

This feature, which has been made much of, is in this case not a
theroid or Neanderthaloid character, due to a strong preponderance
of the dental portion of the bone over the basal part, but an infantile
form, a lack of normal development restricted to that spot. It is
on par with other localized infantile characteristics encountered
now and then in the skull or other bones, particularly in those of
females, though perhaps less frequently than some other such fea-
tures. It occurs, however, now and then in the Indians and even in
whites (see fig. 49).

The lower border of the chin is angular, approximating square.
Ventrally the bones show a fairly strong submalar (or supra-mylo-
hyoid) reenforcement.

Fie. 49. Lower jaw of modern man showing only a slight chin prominence; unidentified, but either
white or Indian. (U.S. Nat. Mus. No. 227323.)

The teeth are feminine in size and moderately worn. The right
lower third molar has never appeared; left (?) There is no unusual
feature in the relative size of the molars. The canines are incon-
spicuous, no diasteme.

Measurements:

Vault: em.
siemeeterAnt.-post.max., 16.8 cm: lat. maxes oe ek Sek te ens. ees 12.8
SDE 8 Sie lle einai are Sil ik, “ire yah cal al 73.2
Height auditory canals line to bregma, approximately: ...................... lien
Beet eeson-prerma (estimated)... ....- <2... -.2-- 2.062.021 ee eee eee 12. 7
Cireumiferenice (above supraorbital ridges). .......-.....0..-..--------+2--6- 46, 2

286 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

Vault—Continued. cm.
Nasion-opisthion arc, about 33 cm.; tramsverse arc..-...........--..-.-------- py fe)
Diameter frontal: Miy.5'6/3 €iie> gets... 5. ea eee 10. 7

Face:

Height: Total, chin point to nasion, about 10.5 cm.; upper.-....-.....-------- 6.5
Breadth (?) (moderate).
Interorhital breadth, mapimimi os Pe a No oe on ne ol 22
Lower jaw:
Height: At symphysis, 2.9 cm.; between first and second molars. ......--- 2.5
Vert. ramus: Breadth, min: 3:5:em.; height, about --...-2=..-...-2 2.2... 4,9
Thickness of horizontal ramus, between first and second molars (at right
angles to.the yertiesl amine secs o. 25-43 bes ocsm oda ocd ze see 1.3

The specimen, it is seen, is quite small. The cranial capacity,
though the walls of the skull are rather thin, could not have been
much more than 1,150 cc. and the front part of the forehead is very
narrow. However, these facts are striking only when the specimen
is compared with the standards among whites, or among the Indians
developed physically more highly, as the Patagonians. Let this
skull with its mate be contrasted with crania of the same sex of the
Bolivians (with whom the individual to whom it belonged may well
have stood in blood relation) or with those of other dolichocephalic
and small-statured American tribes, and the dimensions will seem
quite ordinary; in fact they will be still, especially as regards the
capacity, somewhat distant from the extremes of the normal varia-
tion in these crania. Moreover, the minimum frontal diameter,
though often naturally small in the Indian, is invariably further
diminished through the Aymara kind of deformation.

As examples of similar smallness of skull from other parts of the
continent, the before-mentioned California series may be again
referred to. Out of 11 female skulls in which the capacity could
be measured, it was in 8 less than 1,200 ce. and in 5 less than 1,110 ce.
In many of the Tarahumare (Mexican) females the capacity falls
below 1,100 cc., and a similar condition prevails among some of
the old Pueblos. As to Bolivia, 7 adult female crania in the
United States National Museum collection have a mean diameter
frontal minimum of 8.3 (8-8.5) em., and in the large collection of
such skulls.in the American Museum of Natural History, New York,
there are many not only with narrow forehead but also with
small internal capacity. Finally the most modern-looking skull the
writer brought from the Rio Negro Valley (No. 264117, U.S. N. M.),
which is slightly deformed in the same Aymara fashion, has the
diameter frontal minimum at the closest approach of the temporal
crests of only 7.7 cm.

From Peru the writer recently brought a large number of crania,
among which have been found thus far 21 adult female skulls, show-

HRDLICKA] _ SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 287

ing no abnormality or disease, but with capacities ranging from
1,050 cc. to 920 cc.

Outside the features just discussed, the skull is, so far as can be
seen in its present state of preservation, entirely Indian-like, and
there is not even a remote possibility that it is ancient.

Grotocic Notes ON THE LAGuNA MatacarA (ARROYO DEL Moro) REGION

By BAILEY WILLIS

The Malacara jird.—At a point somewhat more than 30 miles
north of Necochea, not far from a small lake known as Laguna Mala-
cara, two skeletons were exhumed from a playa among the sand
dunes. The geologic formations of the vicinity may be described as
follows: :

The basal formation is dull-brown loess-loam or waterlaid deposit
composed of eolian loess. It is quite compact, contains much sec-
ondary limestone or tosca, which occurs in flat layers and in places
has been uncovered by wind erosion so that it constitutes the floor
of hollows among the sand dunes. In color, texture, firmness, and
its tosca the formation is lithologically identical with that seen south
of Mar del Plata; in both localities it is styled ‘‘Ensenadean”’ by
Ameghino, who assigns it to a Tertiary age.

Overlying the Ensenadean is a discontinuous deposit that takes
on several forms. One facies may be described as a brown loess
containing films of tosca in suncracks. It is grayish on fracture,
earthy rather than sandy, and hard to cut with a knife or to
dig with a shovel. The fact that it contains specks of black sand
serves in the opinion of Doctor Ameghino to identify it as Inter-

Ensenadean. The writer interprets it as a playa deposit formed of
dust from the Ensenadean which was blown on a moist surface,
wetted by absorption, dried and cracked, and in which secondary
lime was deposited from ground water. This process is entirely con-
sistent with a Recent origin.

Another facies of the Inter-Ensenadean is a fine compact brown
sand, mingled with loess, which may easily be cut with a knife or
dug with a shovel. Its surface lies from a few inches above to 3 feet
or more below that of the harder facies, and it appears to occur
around masses of the other, occupying hollows eroded by the wind.
The two are scarcely distinguishable in color, but the softer is easily
recognized on digging. At the line of contact one may observe that
the films of secondary limestone in the harder of the two do not extend
into the softer and in the latter was observed no tosca deposit of any
kind. A general examination of the ground showed that the harder
facies of the two presents a very irregular surface, having a relief of

288 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY - [BULr.. 52

1 or 2 meters due to wind erosion,‘ and that the softer, as already
stated, has been deposited in the hollows (see pl. 29).

It was in the softer of these two deposits that the skeletons were
found, and it was in similar formation in another part of the playa
that part of a carapace of a Glyptodon munizi was observed by
Hrdli¢ka and the writer. Neither the skeletons nor the remains
of the glyptodon appear to have any relation to the formation as
fossils indigenous to it.

A formation which is possibly younger than the sandy softer
facies of the Inter-Ensenadean is a layer of sandy black earth,
which in some places is probably the soil of the pampa where the vege-
tation has been destroyed by advancing sand dunes, and elsewhere is
an eolian deposit blown out from the pampa and mingled with sand
and broken shells. Ameghino assigned it to a Recent date. It con-
stitutes the floor of smooth flat hollows among the sand dunes, to
which the name “black playas” was applied. Quantities of chipped
stones were scattered over these playas.2. About a dozen large and
small exposures of the formation in a range of 7 kilometers along
the coast were examined, but no fossil bones of extinct animals were
seen, although bones of ostriches and of modern domestic animals
were not uncommon.

Capping the black-soil layer are dunes composed of brown-to-gray
sand, which are overgrown with grass and fixed. They form an inner
zone of low mounds on the margin of the pampa and sink away
inland on the plain. Where they are eroded and exposed in sections,
their relation to the underlying black soil is plainly to be seen.

The latest formation in the district is that of the great sand dunes
which rise to a height of 20 to 25 meters. These consist of marine
sands, shells, and some loess, blown up by the southerly winds.
They are in constant motion. Their distribution with reference to
one another is determined by the interaction of the winds from the
south or southeast, that build them up and move them, with the
winds from the northwest that blow across them. The latter tend
to maintain open passes across the broad zone of moving sand hills,
and thus prevent the constructive winds from building up con-
tinuous ridges. It was in one of these passes through the zone of
sand dunes that the two skeletons were found together.

The writer regards the moving sand, the older dunes, the black
soil, and the brown sandy faces of the Inter-Ensenadean, all as
Recent formations, on the ground that they are all related to the
phenomena of the coast and owe their genesis to the erosive or con-
structive activities of the winds. The harder facies of the Inter-

1 See Doctor Hrdli¢ka’s account.

2 Similar worked stones, chips, etc., ‘‘ biack’’ and ‘‘ white,’’ were found scattered over the flat in which
were discovered the two skeletons,

HRDLICKAJ SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 289

Ensenadean may pertain to the Ensenadean and may be of
Tertiary age. The skeletons were found in that facies of the Inter-
Ensenadean which the writer regards as Recent. But the age of
the formation has no bearing on the age of the skeletons, since it is
evident from the shallowness of the hole and the attitude of the
bodies, as illustrated in plate 29, that they were buried in the soft
sand by human hands.

GENERAL CONCLUSIONS REGARDING HOMO SINEMENTO
Bi AE

After what has been said in previous pages, no further extended
consideration of the subject on the writer’s part seems necessary.
The antiquity of the finds and the identification of a new species of
man fail wholly to be substantiated by either geologic or anthropologic
evidence. On the contrary, the evidence all points to a relatively
modern age of the interments and to the ordinary Indian derivation
of the bones.

HOMO PAMPZUS
History AND REPORTS

Homo pampzxus is, according to its sponsor, Professor Ameghino,
‘‘the most ancient representative of the genus Homo (possibly even a
species of Prothomo), of which we now possess the skull, and it pre-
serves many of the characteristics of the Diprothomo.’’ +

The species is based on an imperfect cranium, known as the skull
of Miramar, or La Tigra, found accidentally about 1888 by A. Canesa,
~a nonscientific employee of the Museo de Ja Plata, near the arroyo
La Tigra, not far from Mar del Sud, south of Miramar.

Since the above date a number of other specimens have appeared,
which are placed by Professor Ameghino in the same class. He
enumerates them as follows:

“JT designate examples of skulls of Homo pampzxus, which are
actually known, in this order:

“First example: The skull found by Canesa south of Miramar,
preserved in the Museum of La Plata, which has served me as a type
upon which to found the species. ... It is the skull of a male.

‘Second example: The incomplete cranium discovered by Dr.
Rodolphe Faggioli at Necochea, with some other bones of the skeleton.

“Third example: This is the most complete skull which I have
brought from my journey to Necochea . . . there are also numbers

1A meghino, Florentino, Le Diprothomo platensis; in Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, XIX (ser.

ili, t. xm), Buenos Aires, 1909, p. 151; also p. 156, footnote.
21535°—Bull. 52—12——_19

290 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

of bones of the rest of the skeleton, but they are in a very bad state of
preservation. It is the skull of a female. .

‘‘Fourth example: Pieces of another cranium, which accompanied
the preceding and presents the same features.”’

The principal characteristics of the crania of the Homo pampeus
are outlined by Ameghino in footnote 3 on page 127 in his paper
on the Diprothomo, where, speaking of the Necochea skulls, he says:

‘These three skulls are of the same age as that of Miramar on
which I have founded the Homo pampeus. They all present the
same characteristics, including the excessively sloping forehead,
which is natural and not the result of an artificial deformation, as has
been alleged; all have the rostrum much prolonged forward and
the alveolar border and the denture orthognathic; all present a
glabella without backward inversion below, so that there is no
fronto-nasal depression; all present the last molar placed forward
of the most posterior part of the anterior border of the orbits; all
show the inferior border of the orbit placed considerably more forward
than the superior one; all are very dolichocephalic, with excessively
narrow forehead, great orbits, and other characteristics.”

In consequence, ‘‘Judging from the paleontologic standpoint,
Homo pampxus is a species very different from Homo sapiens; it
differs much more from the latter than the Homo primigenius. It is
even possible that when better known the Homo pampzxus will result
to be a veritable Prothomo.”

The various specimens above named call for separate detailed

consideration.
THE Mrramar (LA Tiara) SKELETON

HISTORY AND REPORTS .

The Miramar skull (pls. 35, 36) was first mentioned and pictured
by Ameghino in 1898.1. In 1900 the announcement was commented
on by Sievers? and by Lehmann-Nitsche.? The skull is mentioned
again prominently by Ameghino in 1906,‘ and was described with
the rest of the bones of the skeleton by Lehmann-Nitsche in 1907.5
Finally the cranium was noted extensively by Ameghino in 1909.

Strangely enough, with all the prominence and attention the speci-
men has been given, almost nothing of importance is known about
its discovery. Ameghino * gives merely the general locality, with the

1A meghino, F., Sinopsis geolégico-paleontolégica; in Segundo Censo Nacional dela Republica Argentina,
1895, Buenos Aires, 1898, 1, p. 148, fig. 15.

2 Sievers, P., Review of Ameghino’s Sinopsis, etc., in Petermanns Mittheilungen, XLVI, 1900, p. 72.

3 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., Review of Ameghino’s Sinopsis, ete.; in Centr. fiir Anthr., Ethn., und Urg.,
v, Jena, 1900, pp. 112-113.

4Ameghino, F., Les formations sédimentaires du crétacé supérieur et du tertiaire de Patagonie; in Anal.
Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xv (ser. iii, t. vit), 1906, pp. 447-450.

5 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., Nouvelles recherches, etc.

6Ameghino F., Le Diprothomo platensis; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, X1X (ser. iii, t. X11), 1909, pp.
156-190.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 35

MIRAMAR (LA TIGRA) SKULL. (AFTER LEHMANN-NITSCHE)

Type of Homo pampzus (Ameghino).

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 36

MIRAMAR (LA TIGRA) SKULL. (AFTER LEHMANN-NITSCHE)

Type of Homo pampzus (Ameghino). The separate portion of the upper jaw is missing.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 291

name of the finder, and states that it comes from the Lower Pliocene.
Lehmann-Nitsche,! after having become a member of the staff of the
Museo de la Plata, found that the discoverer of the specimen was no
longer employed by the institution, but obtained the following details
from Preparator E. Beaufils: ‘‘Beaufils, charged with collecting Pam-
pean fossils, discovered [in about 1888], among other things, in a
place near the cliffs which face the sea, not far from the little village
Mar del Sud, between the arroyos La Tigra and Seco, mentioned
already in connection with the Chocori find and near the place
where these human remains were discovered, the carapace of a Glyp-
todon. ... One month later, Andreas Canesa, charged also with
collecting fossils for the museum, thought that at the same point, which
was still plainly recognizable by the eminences of earth that covered
it, he could still find more fossils. He excavated in the neighborhood
and discovered a human skull.’’ This is all that was learned from
Beaufils in regard to the find; from Canesa himself there is no infor-
mation whatever.

About eight years after the find, in 1896, according to Lehmann-
Nitsche,? Messrs. Moreno, Roth, Nordenskjéld, and Lahitte visited
the locality from which the skull came and found there some bones
of a scelidotherium and other fossil animals.* On this occasion Roth
identified the deposits from which the specimen was believed to have
come as Quaternary, Superior Pampean.

This wholly insufficient evidence regarding the most important
data bearing on the antiquity of the specimen would seem to be
alone more than sufficient to cause the discarding of the Miramar
skull from serious consideration as a representative of early man in
Argentina, or at least to relegate it to the uncertain. But the
cranium shows fossilization as well as some peculiar morphologic
features, and owing largely to these was given by Professor Ame-
ghino the consequential position of the Homo pampexus, genetically the
first representative of the human family. For Lehmann-Nitsche,
who carefully studied every part of the skeleton but did not remain
uninfluenced by the “fossility’”’ of the skull, the bones are not so
ancient nor so important as claimed by Ameghino, nevertheless they
are accepted, in spite of the defective evidence, as belonging to the
Superior Pampean deposits, believed to be of Quaternary age.'

1 Nouvelles recherches, ete., pp. 335-336.

2Thid., p. 335; areference is here given as to where this information was first published (in Globus,
Braunschweig, 1891, No.9, p. 135), but the place indicated is occupied by an article on Korsika.

3 There are no details.

4“ Under no condition can the skull come from the Inferior Pampean and consequently it should not be
attributed so great an antiquity; it is certain that the skull is fossil in the true sense of the word and that it is
derived from the Superior Pampean, from which other human remains are already known.’’—Lehmann-

Nitsche, Nouvelles recherches, p. 335, in the brief account of the visit to the locality with Moreno and
others, mentioned above in the text.

292 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The peculiar morphologic features of the Miramar skull, as seen by
Professor Ameghino and in part already outlined (p. 290), are specified
more in detail as follows:

Of all the specimens representing the Homo pampezus, the Miramar
cranium ‘‘shows the ancestral characteristics most accentuated,!
having no supraorbital ridges and presenting a front more sloping
than any hitherto observed on a human skull that was not artifi-
cially deformed. In this respect it surpasses the Neanderthal skull,
from which it differs by the absence of the gross supraorbital swell-
ings; it seems to differ from the same also in its posterior portion,
which is more developed vertically and less prolonged backward,
but it is probable that this may be due to an occipital compression
produced during infancy, although not intentional.

“This skull, which is distinguished from those of the Homo primi-
genius or Neanderthal by a glabella without prominence and the
absence of the supraorbital ridges, and differs from that of Homo
sapiens by a forehead more sloping than that in the Homunculides
and in some of the living apes, can not belong to the same species as
existing man; it represents an extinct species, which I named Homo
pampeLus.””

And in the paper on the Dzprothomo,? we read (pp. 156-158):
“The rostrum of the Miramar skull is prognathic, nearly as much so
as in the Arctopithect and only a little less than that shown by the

reconstruction of the Diprothomo; . . . there is no subglabellar
depression; . . . the inferior border of the orbits is placed consider-
ably more forward than the superior; . . . there is a prolongation

forward of the glabellar region, which assumes the form of a truncated
cone, a conformation almost absolutely identical with that which I
have described in the Diprothomo. . . .

“The cranial vault is not less extraordinary. It is ultra-dolicho-
cephalic with a cephalic index of approximately 60 and with nearly
parallel parieties. . . .

‘CA simian peculiarity of the skull of the Homo pampzus which
merits serious attention is the great development of the zygomatic
arches and their bulging outward in such a manner that their trans-
verse diameter from the external border of one zygomatic arch to the
other much surpasses the greatest transverse diameter of the skull.
This is a conformation unknown in normal, that is to say, nonpatho-
logic skulls of Homo sapiens, but it is frequent among the apes.”’

(Page 164) ‘‘In proportion to the rostrum the orbits of the Homo
pampezus are very large and, placed below the very small forehead,
they give the face an aspect which is truly bestial, which is further
augmented by the circumstance that laterally one can not see the

1 Les formations sédimentaires, etc., p. 449.
2 The datarelating to the Homo pampzus are given piecemeal on various pages of the Diprothomo memoir.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 293

slightest vestige of the vault of the skull, owing to its narrow and
elongated form. .

“The forehead of the Homo pampzus is so sloping that in this
feature it surpasses numerous monkeys.”

The posterior part of the skull is elevated; ‘‘the conformation of
the frontal [in all the Homo pampzus skulls] is natural, without any
vestige of artificial deformation” (p. 170); the last molar teeth are
placed forward of a vertical line drawn from the most posterior point
on the orbital border (p. 172). As to the lower jaw, ‘‘the chin is very
prominent; but ‘‘this conformation, which is believed to be recent,
is, on the contrary, excessively ancient and reaches probably to the
very origin of the Hominiens”’ (p. 173).

On the whole, the ‘‘characters of inferiority of the skull of the Homo
pampeus are so apparent,’ according to Sefor Ameghino, “‘that they
can not pass unperceived by any anatomist’’ (footnote, p. 172).

On the other hand, Lehmann-Nitsche, who studied the Miramar
skeleton in detail,! fails to find about it any very extraordinary
features. The skull ‘‘presents no sign of inferiority”? (p. 334-335) ;
but its fossility is such that ‘‘the bone adheres to the tongue and
has the same characteristic constitution as presented in general by
the bones of vertebrates [fossil], which make the reputation of the
Museo de la Plata”’ (p. 336). The view Ameghino takes of the speci-
men, in attributing it to a particular species of man, the Homo pam-
pexus, ‘“‘is absurd” (p. 336).

The skull (pls. 35, 36), which is probably masculine, shows, accord-
ing to Lehmann-Nitsche, a posthumous and an artificial deformation,
the latter consisting of a fronto-occipital flattening (pp. 337-338).
It is extraordinarily narrow (p. 340), ‘‘supremely dolichocephalic””—
cephalic index 68.59 (p. 341).

The glenoid fossa presents features which correspond exactly with
those observed by Martin in ancient skulls from Patagonia (pp.
342-344).

The palate is very low, the front teeth are small, the crowns of the
third molars rather large (p. 346). The left upper third molar is
probably congenitally absent (p. 350).

“The reconstructed profile of the La Tigra skull shows a very
strong prognathism,” and ‘‘in the lower jaw we are equally surprised
by the strong prominence of the chin” (p. 349).

“The capacity of the skull, calculated by Welcker’s method, is
1,464 cc.” (p. 349).

As to the lower jaw, the ascending ramus is broad, but this Leh-
mann-Nitsche considers ‘‘characteristic of Americans” (p. 351); ‘‘the
features of the chin region, ventrally, belong to the common human
type” (p. 356); the curve of the jaw approaches the more primitive
U shape, and the bone is stout.

1 Nouvelles recherches, ete., pp. 334-374.

294 ; BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BuLL. 52

As to the other bones of the Miramar skeleton, including the long
bones, they are compared principally with those of Bavarians, hardly
a satisfactory procedure; they present but little worthy of special
notice.

The length and other dimensions of the femur approximate
closely the average of the Bavarian bone (pp. 262-268). Both
femora are very platymeric. .

The tibiz are platycenemic, the fibule relatively strong.

The stature of the individual is calculated to have been approxi-
mately 1.634 m. (p. 374).

The skull of Miramar was also considered, in 1908, with some of
the other finds reported by Ameghino, by Giuffrida-Ruggeri,! who
expresses himself (p. 24) as follows:

‘“‘Ameghino gives illustrations of these skulls, from which I per-
ceive that the Quatenary one (Arrecifes), as well as the one from the
Upper Pliocene (Fontezuelas), presents an entirely modern aspect;
and so far as the skull from the Lower Pliocene( Miramar) is concerned,
the specimen conveys a very distinct impression of being deformed.
Ameghino was led himself to say that as to the appearance of the
occiput, ‘it is probable that that is due to an occipital compression
produced during early infancy, although not intentional.’ Unfor-
tunately, however, for this ‘nonintentional’ characterization, it hap-
pens that, in my opinion, the forehead also is deformed, in the same
manner as in pre-Columbian natives of America. It can not be
accepted that the front slopes naturally as a result of a defective brain
development, for the brain development in the posterior half of the
specimen is even excessive, standing in marked contrast to the fore
part. Such a feature would be opposed to all experience and would
puzzle the observer, who would not comprehend why the brain
pressed on the back part of the skull and not also on the frontal bone,
arching it in such a manner that it would afford greater accommo-
dation for the organ. If the brain failed to exert pressure on the
frontal bone (and unintentional pressure exerted on the occiput
would have forced the brain of the young man against the frontal
bone), it was because there existed also over the forehead a band or
some other appliance which pressed upon it. Under these condi-
tions, however, it is to be feared that the period of the Lower Pliocene
(to which the skull was attributed) becomes the age of the discovery
of America.”

In 1909 and again in 1910 Sergi? utilized the Homo pampzus
without critical consideration of the specimen, in his theory of poly-
genism and in a new classification of man.

1JIn Globus, Bd. xctv, Braunschweig, 1908, pp. 21-26.
2 Sergi, G., L’ apologia del mio poligenismo; in Atti Soc. rom. antr., XV, fase. 2, Roma, 1909, pp. 187-195;
and Paléontologie sud-Américaine, in Scientia, vi, Bologna, 1910, Xvi-4.

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 295

In 1910 the Miramar skull is casually referred to by Schwalbe!
in his critical study of the Diprothomo. Speaking of the faulty figures
of the Diprothomo, Schwalbe says: “On this occasion let it also be
stated at once that Ameghino’s Homo pampzus skull, pictured
in the same work (fig. 24, p. 157 of Ameghino’s memoir on the Dipro-
thomo), is falsely posed for the norma verticalis.” If the position is
corrected, the inferior orbital border, which in the illustration is
advanced considerably more forward than. the upper, assumes the
same position as in recent man.

Finally, in the latter part of 1910, the Homo pampzus remains from
Miramar and Necochea are considered by Mochi in his notes on the
Argentine paleoanthropology.?

As to the Miramar skull, however, Mochi’s observations are
restricted. He recognizes that it is artificially deformed. Except
for the deformation, it presents considerable resemblance to the skull
of Fontezuelas. This is somewhat in accord with the opinion of
Rivet, who inclines, in a brief note on the specimen,* to class it with
those of Lagoa Santa.

OBSERVATIONS BY THE WRITER

The results of the writer’s examination and measurements of the
Miramar skeleton differ considerably from those of Ameghino, and
somewhat also from those of Lehmann-Nitsche, though with the latter
there are many points of agreement.*

The skeleton is that of an adult male, of advanced middle age.
The sexual identification of the skull can be safely based on the lower
jaw, which can not be other than masculine; the remaining parts of
the cranium show the sexual features less pronounced than ordinary.
The long bones indicate a male of moderate stature and musculature.

The poor development of the sexual characteristics of the vault,
otherwise of little importance, is surely not a feature of any great
primitiveness or one pointing toward antiquity.

The surfaces of all the bones are discolored to yellowish-white (very
much as in the specimens from Chocori, p. 239), and in general very
defective, being worn or scaled off. In a number of places on the skull
and bones there are incrustations of loess cemented by lime, and a few

1 Schwalbe, G., Studien zur Morphologie der stidamerikanischen Primatenformen; in Zeitschr. fiir Morph.
und Anthr., Bd. xm, Heft 2, Stuttgart, 1910, pp. 242, 253. .

2 Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per l’ Antr. ela Etn., xu, Firenze, 1910,
Dp. 253-254.

3 Rivet, P., La race de Lagoa-Santa chez les populations précolombiennes de VEquateur; in Bull. et
Mém. Soc. d@ Anthr. Paris, 5me sér., 1x, 1908, p. 209 et seq.

4 To insure greater independence of procedure and view in this case, as in that of every other object
reported on in this paper, with the exception of the Diprothomo, the details published by Ameghino,
Lehmann-Nitsche, and others, concerning these specimens, were not read until after the writer’s results were
on paper.

296 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL 52

parts of the skull, including its ventral surface, show more or less —
infiltration with calcareous matter. The cavities of the long bones
are filled with dark-yellowish loess, which crumbles quite as readily
as would that from an ordinary well-settled deposit; at the ends,
however, where there has been more exposure, the loess is hardened.

The above description indicates approximately the extent of the
visible ‘‘fossilization”’ of the skeleton. With exception of the parts
that are incrusted or infiltrated with lime, the. bones are not percep-
tibly heavier than the average, and are not chalky, retaining probably
considerable animal matter.

To obtain a more precise view of the ‘‘fossilization”’ of the specimen,
a small fragment of bone from the vault of the skull, with other speci-
mens from Homo pampzxus and some modern but weathered and
more or less fossil-appearing bones from the coast,! were subjected to
a limited chemical analysis. The work was done by Mr. J. G. Fair-
child, under Prof. F. W. Clarke, at the United States Geological
Survey, and the report is given below. In a letter accompanying the
report Professor Clarke says:

‘Tt is worth while to notice that the three specimens which purport
to be fossil were not perceptibly lower in phosphoric acid than the
others. They all give a strong odor of charring when burned, indi-
eating the relative quantities of organic matter.”’

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Unitep States GEo.toaicat SuRVEY,
Division of Chemistry.

Report of Analysis No. 2528. (Material received from Charles D. Walcott for A. Hrdlitka:
‘*Fossil’’ bones from Argentina)

Loss
Specimens Effect of heat onigni-| S109 P205
tion.

Indication of
carbonates

263759. Scelidotherium from near | Slight odor of | 19.12%) 4.00%] 25.40%) Effervescence strong,

Laguna Malacara, north of Neco- eharring.
chea.
Homo pampxus (Miramar) skull..... Strong odor of | 25.56%] 1.66%] 25.92%] Effervescence strong.
charring.

263754. ‘“‘ Fossilskeleton”’ fromnear | Marked odor-of | 16.12%] 2.92%] 30.48%| Effervescence strong?
the Laguna Malacara, north of charring.

Necochea.

‘Fossil man”’ from near the beach of | Strong odor of | 20.67%) 1.89%] 25.44%] Effervescence not so
Necochea (remains of skeleton in charring. strong.
U.S. N.M.).

Modern animal bone, weathered, | Marked odor of | 14.30%] 8.06%} 27.61%] Effervescence fairly
from Necochea. charring. strong.

Seal bone, weathered, from sands at | Strong odor of | 18.20%! 0.64%] 31.40%) Effervescence strong.
Punta Mogote, south of Mar del charring.
Plata.

i

1 Picked up on the beach or the sands and identified as belonging to recent species by Mr. J. W. Gidley,
the United States National Museum paleontologist.

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 297

Report of Analysis No. 2523—Continued

Loss
Specimens Effect of heat jonigni-) 8:02 | P2Os5
tion

Indication of
carbonates

Sea lion bone, weathered, fossil-like, | Very strong odor | 17.40% 7.42%| 29.61%) Effervescence mild.
from a flat near the beach Punta of charring.
Mogote, south of Mar del Plata. |

Guanaco bone, from Miramar (ex- | Slight odor of | 16.38%| 2.74%) 30.10%) Effervescence mild.
tinct in that region). charring.

Horse tooth, looking much fossilized, | Strong odor of | 17.16%) 3.32%| 31.44%) Effervescence mild.
but recent, from beach of Laguna charring.
de los Padres, west of Mar del

Plata.
Deer bone, modern, much weathered,| Strong odor of | 21.84%) 1.32%) 31.51%| Effervescence strong.
from sand dunes at Punta Mogote, charring.

south of Mar del Plata.

Examined by J. G. Fairchild and reported January 9, 1911.
F. W. Cuarke, Chief Chemist.

It is seen from the above data that the Miramar man gives evidence
of the retention of at least as much animal matter as the weathered
bones of the modern seal, horse, and deer, and of decidedly more than
a relatively recent guanaco or the more ancient scelidotherium. Nor
do the other tests indicate mineralization; but parts of the skull
that are more covered or impregnated with lime would doubtless give
somewhat different results.

’ The retention of animal matter is the most important point brought
out. The mineralization of a bone, human or otherwise, is a matter
the importance of which, as pointed out in other parts of this report,
is very often overestimated. ‘The process is far more a question of
environment than of time and can serve only under exceptional con- .
ditions as an index of antiquity. As mentioned before, the United
States National Museum possesses parts of human skeletons fos-
silized in almost every possible manner and degree, some of the
specimens being entirely petrified and showing greater mineralization
than do the bones of the mastodon and other long extinct animals, and
yet it is well-determined that none of these remains are of even moder-
ate geologic antiquity. This whole subject was treated more at
length in the writer’s report on the ‘‘Skeletal Remains Suggesting or
Attributed to Early Man in North America.”! Conditions favoring
strongly the covering and infiltration of bones, especially with cal-
careous matter, are present along a large portion of the Argentine
coast, and apparently elsewhere in the country where there are loess
deposits. This is seen in the constant presence of the formation
within the loess of these regions of the tosea or calcareous concretions,

1 Bulletin 33 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.

298 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

which in many places assume the form of whole layers, and also in the
effects observed on recent bones of animals as well as of man.

The writer brought an astragalus of a cow picked up among the
refuse in front of an occupied hut on the coast near Mar del Plata,
which shows marks of cutting with a sharp knife. This bone
undoubtedly came from a limb the flesh of which was eaten some
years ago by the family occupying the dwelling, but already it pre-
sents a metallic luster and a darkened surface as well as increased
weight, being plainly on the road toward fossilization.

From slightly farther south, near the Arroyo Corrientes, the writer
brought a large part of the pelvis of a cow which had been partially
buried and partially exposed to the air; the part that was buried is
of a dark color and has a smooth, hard, shining surface decidedly
fossil in appearance, while the rest of the bone is quite white. Other
bones were picked up from the sands and playas, which had been
exposed for a long time to the sun and to the wind blast; these
are weathered, some hardened and some crumbling, dry, fossil-like.
One and the same bone occasionally presents these different features
in different parts, which evidently were subjected to unlike con-
ditions. Several specimens of the teeth of the common horse were
picked up on the broad, flat beach of the Laguna de los Padres, all
belonging to the modern horse, hundreds of living specimens of which
are feeding about the lake; these teeth are yellowish-brown in color,
with blackish somewhat lustrous discoloration in places, and with a
surface resembling that of petrified wood.

Finally, the writer brought from the valley of the Rio Negro, from
the mud-soil of a shallow depression in the alluvial surface of the
valley, which is occasionally filled with water, the remains of 10
Indian skeletons, including several complete skulls, all parts of which,
except those for a time exposed to the air where they lay and in
consequence bleached, are brownish-black, old bronze-like, shiny,
somewhat heavier than normal, and in every way ‘‘fossil” in
appearance. The teeth even more than the bones look fossil-like
and the changes undergone by them are markedly different in the .
several specimens. The ‘‘fossil’’? as well as the other Patagonian
skulls of Moreno belong to this same category.

The foregoing does not imply that every bone of man or animal
on, the coast of Argentina will become fossil-like or mineralized in a
short time; but such cases are relatively common, and the mere
fossilization of a bone can not be taken by itself in any instance,
without decisive proofs of geologic and morphologic nature, as a
criterion of the antiquity of the specimen. This applies particularly
to cases in which the bone is found covered or incrusted with cal-
careous matter or concretions, for lime salts are more easily soluble
than many other minerals; they are carried not only by the surface,
but especially by the underground waters, the latter often rising

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 299

sufficiently high, as shown by the tosca formation, to reach the bones
of even a shallow burial. The deposition of lime takes place rapidly,'
and, as we know from numerous specimens from the California caves,
the Cuba and Isle of Pines caves, and from the shell-mounds, it does
not affect merely the surface, but infiltrates parts of the bones,
giving them the appearance of great age.

Skull.—The Miramar skull was restored from a number of pieces and
partially reconstructed in mastic. The filling in the frontal comprises
about one-fourth of the squama on the right side and extends from the
supraorbital ridges to the coronal suture and beyond into the parietal.
The restoration is near to nature, yet the forehead may have been a
trace less sloping than it now appears. Some of the pieces from
which the skull was reconstructed show signs of artificial beveling
of the borders, evidently done by those who restored the specimen and
because the pieces did not fit exactly. A slightly simular superficial
beveling, besides other defects, is seen also over the mid-region of
the frontal squama.

The surface of the vault of the Miramar specimen is for the most
part worn and peeled off (as in the Chocori skull). The same state-
ment is especially applicable to the ridges of the frontal bone; that
on the right appears as if partially cut off. In consequence of these
defects the minimum frontal diameter can not be accurately deter-
mined and the front appears narrower than it really was.

The skull has been artificially deformed, showing mild frontal
with moderate occipital compression; it bears also, perhaps partially
corrected, a post-mortem deformation, the whole right side below
the parietal eminence being somewhat pressed in, more so in front,
less so over the posterior part of the parietal. This latter deforma-
tion still exists to an extent sufficient to diminish the breadth of the
skull by approximately 2 mm. to 4 mm.

Of this double deformation of the skull, which was equally recog-
nized by Lehmann-Nitsche but not by Ameghino, the alteration
produced in life proves to be a very weighty indication against any
great antiquity of the Miramar specimen.

As described above, the life-deformation in the Miramar skull is
mainly in evidence on the frontal bone and on the occiput. Not-
withstanding this, careful inspection shows that it is not of the
“flathead”? type but represents a lighter grade of the Aymara
variety of intentional deformation, produced not by pressure of a
plank or pad on the forehead but by the application of a bandage
about the head.

In the ‘‘flathead” type of deformation, the skull in compensation
invariably grows wider, and there is no such effect in this case; in

1“The rapidity with which caliche [Mexican term equivalent to tosca.—A. H.] may be formed under

- experimental conditions out-of-doors may be remarkable—2 inches in two years.’’—TOLMAN, C. F., in

Carnegie Institution Publication No. 113, Washington, 1909; also reference in Science, June, 1910, p. 865.

300 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [puLL. 52

the Aymara type, on the other hand, it never widens and often
becomes even narrower than would be natural in the normal adult
stage, a condition which agrees with what is observed in the
Miramar specimen.

Tt may be adduced that in the Aymara form the impression of the
compressing bandage can be plainly traced about the vault, and that
there are marked secondary effects of the compression, particularly a
coronal elevation and precoronal as well as postcoronal depression,
besides a bulging, a protrusion, backward and upward, of the posterior
portion of the parietal and the upper part of the occipital region.
However, these effects are present in only a very moderate degree
and are sometimes very nearly absent in cases of slight Aymara
deformation, very much as in the skull of Miramar. Never-
theless, even the Miramar specimen (pls. 35, 36) is not entirely
devoid of such marks, for the lower half of the parietals presents a
faint concavity from above downward, extending over a larger part
of the bones antero-posteriorly than usual; there is also a slight post-
coronal depression and there is the heightening of the norma posterior,
which does not take place without a simultaneous widening of the
same in the fronto-occipitalor simple occipital types of deformation.

Now, intentional deformation of the head, even among savages, is
a ritual operation, denoting contact of peoples, an approach to a
sedentary life of the family, and at least a moderate stage of native
culture, all of which ill agrees with Professor Ameghino’s ‘ ‘first repre-
sentative of the human beings’—if not even ‘‘man’s forerunner,’ the
Homo pampezxus.

Furthermore, similarly deformed Indian skulls have been found
before and since in Argentina. Burmeister mentions! two deformed
crania from the Rio Negro, but gives no details as to the type. Moreno
reports several? and states in addition, referring to the Valley of the
Rio Negro, that he found more than 100 skulls deformed in this man-
ner. And Verneau* mentions four crania of the Aymara type of
deformation from Viedma, also in the Valley of the Rio Negro.

Shortly after the arrival of Professor Ameghino, his brother, Mr.
Willis, and the writer at the so-called chata, a stranded barge on the
coast north of Necochea, the sailor occupying the boat, the man who
discovered the principal representative of the Necochea Homo
pampzus, brought in a box filled with black sandy vegetal earth,
containing human bones. On examination it was found that
the remains were parts of two, in no way ‘‘fossilized,’’ but badly

1 Burmeister, G., Sur les cranes, les moeurs et l'industrie des anciens Indiens de la Plata; in Compte-
rendu du Congrés international d’anthropologie et d’archéologie préhistoriques, 1872, Bruxelles, 1873, pp. 342-351.

2 Moreno, F. P., Sur deux cranes préhistoriques rapportés du Rio-Negro; in Bull. Soc. d’Anthr. Paris,
3me sér., I, 1880, pp. 490-497; also Description des cimetiéres et paraderos préhistoriques de Patagonie;
in Révue d’ Anthropologie, lere sér., 11, Paris, 1874; Viaje 4 la Patagonia austral, emprendido bajo los auspi-
cios del Gobierno nacional, t.1, 1876-77, Buenos Aires, 1879 (for review of this work, see last-mentioned
Journal, 2me sér., m1, Paris, 1880, pp. 303-309.)

3Verneau, R., Cranes préhistoriques de Patagonie; in 2’ Anthropologie, ¥, Paris, 1894, pp. 420-450. Also
by same author, Les anciens Patagons, Monaco, 1903, pp. 126-129.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 37

FOSSILIZED PATAGONiAN SKULL FROM VICINITY OF VIEDMA, ON
RIO NEGRO

This skull (No. 264129, U. S. Nat. Mus.), lateral and top views of which are here shown, is marked by
a slight Aymara-like deformation.

.BULLETIN 52 PLATE 38

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

AND PATAGONIAN SKULL (0)

SKULL OF HOMO PAMPALUS (2)

, U.

29

2641

No.

Mus., marked by slight Aymara-like deformation.

’

b

che);

its

N

From Miramar (after Lehmann-

a,

Rear views.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 39

TWO PATAGONIAN SKULLS

a, recent, and b, fossilized, but of no great antiquity (though probably pre-Columbian), marked
by Aymara-like deformation in minor degree.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 40

b

PERUVIAN (a) AND PATAGONIAN (6) SKULLS

Both skulls are in alveolo-condylian plane.

a, Showing Aymara-like deformation in a slight degree.

b, Probably pre-Columbian, from near Viedma, showing Aymara-like deformation in a marked
degree. (From same series as specimen on pl. 37 and skull b on pl. 39.)

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 41

~~

b
PATAGONIAN (2) AND AYMARA (0) SKULLS

a, From Viedma; shows marked Aymara-like deformation. (After Verneau.)
b, From Tiahuanaco; shows slight and aberrant Aymara-like deformation.

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 801

broken and decomposed skulls. One of these, an adult male, showed
a plain case of moderate Aymara deformation, which fact, as well as
the very evident recent character of the skull, after being pointed out
by the writer, was freely acknowledged by Professor Ameghino.
The remains were found, according to the sailor, in shallow graves
somewhere north of the Laguna Malacara, which lies about a mile
inland from the chata, but owing to an exaggerated notion of the
money value of such objects the man would not reveal the exact loca-
tion. He said, however, there were other similar burials. The frag-
ments were, the writer understood, to be sent to the Museo Nacional,
Buenos Aires, but a month later they had not been received.

Meanwhile the writer proceeded down to the Rio Negro, and there
succeeded, through the help of Srs. D. Gallindez, the acting governor,
and F. R. Cuestas, the inspector of police, in obtaining from the dry
mud of the Paso de la Laguna de Juncal, about 4 miles south of
Viedma, parts of 11 nearly black (except bleached parts protruding
from the ground) skeletons; and 10 of the skulls (the eleventh being
a part of that of a fetus) show more or less perceptible Aymara
deformation. In only 1 case is the deformation of a greater degree
than that in the specimen from Miramar (see pls. 35-41). Just
before leaving the region the writer obtained a similarly deformed
skull, but not stained or presenting any ancient characteristics or
fossilization, from a superficial Indian burial-ground discovered
accidentally in the southwestern limits of the town of Viedma itself
(pl, 39).

It is evident from the above summary that a center of population
practicing Aymara-like deformation of the head, existed at no very
distant time in the lower part of the Valley of the Rio Negro, in the
district of Viedma. The exact period of this occupation remains to
be determined. As seen before, Moreno found a skull with Aymara
deformation 10 feet deepin the sands. The crania found by the writer,
similar in appearance to some of the Rio Negro skulls collected by
Sr. Moreno, which were seen in the La Plata Museum, were all super-
ficial, and that from Viedma itself, is plainly recent. The surface
alluvium of the Rio Negro, a river which not infrequently overflows
the flats, is of no geologic antiquity. The brownish-black discolora-
tion of the bones is probably due to an abundance, in at least some
localities, of manganese and iron salts, and may be also due in part
to results of decomposition of organic matter; it is not a sign of
antiquity. As mentioned before (p. 298) a similar discoloration is
seen in a partially buried cow’s pelvis collected by this expedition, and
in other recent bones.

Both Necochea and Miramar are at no great distance from the
Rio Negro center and the road offered no obstacles.

Thus, the artificial deformation, which suggests a limited former
Aymara influence on a part of the Argentine population, offers

302 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

nothing in support of and much against any great antiquity of the
Miramar specimen. Such deformation connects it, as do also its
main morphologic features (see p. 300), with an imperfectly-known
native group of the Argentine coast, some living remnants of which
have apparently persisted at Viedma and north of Necochea to rela-
tively modern if not to historic times.

The original form of the Miramar skull, which is plainly determinable,
was dolichocephalic. The principal measurements are: Diameter an-
tero-posterior maximum, 19.2 cm. and diameter lateral maximum,
13.1 cm.; but the latter, as mentioned above, is surely somewhat
diminished by the posthumous compression. The height of the
vault, from the line connecting the auditory canals, to bregma, can
not be accurately determined, but was slightly in excess of 12 em.t
These measurements, either singly or collectively, are in no way
extraordinary compared with those of some modern dolichocephalic
Indian crania, especially with some that have suffered a similar kind
and grade of deformation. And as will be seen from the table below
they approximate quite closely to those presented by the brownish-
black crania brought by the writer from near Viedma and showing
(with one exception) the same kind of deformity.

Fossil-like skulls from near Viedma

Bye of Se
© auditory asion-
Cat. No. (U.S.N.M.) Sex De ner ishe a heceeke a ae eee
height
em. cm. cm. cm.
RPT IORN = CB eeies one eee nee Male....| Impercept- 18.5 213.6 (?) (?)
ible.
Peale ee ee ar vee c) £sdo) Lee GS Laiehet 18.5 14.2 (2) (2)
“« Ayma-
ra.”’
DBA EMS Us ke easeepaekbaeses ce. CO. set WY Gl ellt= 18.6 213.0 (2) (?)
marked | ~
“ Ay-
mara.’’
2E64IZOM Cit... Js scale teen eseeeee ee ..-do....}| Moderate 20.4 214.0 212.7 (?)
“ Ay-
mara.”’
264129 3. eas abu coc: seee eens SG to ey a Set MS ea 19.0 213.5 212.9 214.5
“6 Ay-
mara.’’
264127...) =e AY aaa ee Malle? |). 2d0eass8 17.8 13.3 (2?) (?)
26419625 <: Soo Seen eee ee ..-| Female .| Typical uy eee 13.2 13.1 14.6
“ Ay-
mara.’’
264117 more recent Viedma......|... do....4) S Piet a ar 13.4 12.2 13.4
[a3 Ay-

mara.’’

1 Lehmann-Nitsche gives 12.3 em. The basion-bregma height in undeformed dolichocephalic Indian
crania is from 7 to 12 mm. greater than that between the floor of the meatus line and bregma; in deformed
skulls the range of variation is still more extensive.

2 Approximate.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 303

The forehead is narrow but not more so than in many more or less
recent Indian skulls. Lehmann-Nitsche, who may have measured
the specimen while it was still in better condition, gives for the mini-
mum frontal diameter 9.1 cm. Twenty-four southern Utah dolicho-
cephalic masculine crania, measured by the writer, show for the
same diameter a variation from 8.3 to 9.6 cm., with the average 9
em.; 16 Tarahumare, from Mexico, the variation of 8 to 9.5 and the
average 8.9 cm.; 4 Massachusetts Indian skulls the variation of 8.7
to 9 and the average 8.9 cm.; and 6 of the deformed skulls from
Viedma in which the forehead is not damaged range from 7.7 (No.
264117, female, quite recent) to 9.4 cm., with the average 8.7 (average
of the five fossil-like specimens alone, 8.9 cm.) It is evident from
these figures that the narrowness of the forehead of the Miramar
skull is very ordinary for America and can not be used in support of
the antiquity of the specimen.

The nasion depression is submedium but it is not absent. How-
ever, a diminishing of the naso-frontal bent or angle is the rule in
erania having the Aymara deformation and occasionally amounts
to the entire loss of this feature. It is apparently the effect of trac-
tion upward and backward, induced by the band that deforms the
skull. It is seen in all the deformed skulls brought by the writer
from Viedma and to some extent also in the specimen from the
same locality described by Verneau (see pls. 37-41).

The nasal process itself in the Miramar skull is of usual length and
breadth. The orbits were of medium size, distantly approximating
the quadrilateral in form, with borders of moderate dullness. There
is no certain evidence that they were above the average in height,
though if they were so it would merely agree with another common
effect of the Aymara-like formation.

The forehead is artificially lowered but as usual in this type of mis-
shaped skulls there is no marked flattening. There are no well-
defined band or pad impressions now perceptible but such may have
existed to a slight degree, becoming obliterated by the loss of sub-
.stance on the surface of the frontal bone. There are no distinct
frontal eminences, nor is there any median crest, conditions which
agree with what is generally observed in skulls deformed in this
manner.

The supraorbital ridges are of submedium dimensions for a male.
This may be natural, for there are rare specimens of masculine skulls
of American natives in which these protrusions are slight, but more
likely it is, at least partially, the result of the artificial shaping, for
it is still another feature that often attends the Aymara deforma-
tion. Were this not the case, then in face of what is well established
as to the really early human remains, the small ridges would have

304. BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [pun 52

to be looked on as either an infantile feature or as an example of
recession, as is observed in these structures in the most highly civi-
lized peoples of the actual time. Under no condition could they be
viewed as marks of primitiveness or antiquity. The ridges also extend -
over only the median half of the supraorbital space, as in the great
majority of Indian crania. There is the usual slant of the outer part
of the supraorbital region, perhaps in this case slightly augmented
by the compression of the forehead, but there is no tendency toward
an arch such as characterizes the skulls representing well-known
earlier forms of humanity.

The parietal region is oval from side to side, there being no sagittal
crest. The parietal eminences are moderate. The outline of the
norma superior approximates to long ovoid, with the narrower end
forward. The temporal crests are not well traceable, but evidently
ran at a good distance from the sagittal suture.

The occipital flattening is only moderate yet plainly perceptible.
It extends quite high and there is no subinionic depression as in
highly misshapen Aymara skulls, but these features are common to
the less deformed crania of sii type. They are shown by all the
fossil-like specimens, as well as by the more recent deformed skull
from Viedma and can be seen also on true Aymara skulls (pls. 37-41).
It is possible that in these cases there exists a combination of the
effects of the compress and the cradle-board. The occipital ridges
and impressions also are not very pronounced in the Miramar skull.

The sutures of the vault, with the exception of the temporo-parietal,
are apparently all synostosed, but the condition of the specimen per-
mits no exact determination of this nor of the characteristics of the
sutures. The naso-frontal articulation is patent, at least to a large
extent. The pterions are both of the H form and of medium breadth.

The facial parts are very defective. The left malar shows no
features worthy of special remark. The nasal aperture was appar-
ently of medium breadth, as in most Indians. The nasal spine is
broken. There are no subnasal gutters or fosse. The upper alveo-
lar process was rather low and but moderately prognathic.

The temporal region (left) is moderately and uniformly convex.
The mastoids are broken, the right, which is better preserved, show-
ing moderate masculine size. The roots of the zygome are quite
stout. Nowhere in these parts is there any feature that would give
the impression of characteristics other than the ordinary in the
Indian.

The lateral angular processes are rather broad, though not abnor-
mally so. The diameter between their most distal parts measures
10.4 cm. Inamale Patagonian (No. 264109, United States National
Museum) the measurement is likewise 10.4 cm., while two other skulls

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 3805

of the same sex and derivation (Nos. 264105, 264114) give each 10.5
cm.; in the most recent female Aymara-like skull from Viedma
(No. 264117), the dimension is only 9.9 cm. and in two of the fossil-
like skulls from the same locality (male, 264125 and female, 264126),
where it is possible to make the measurement, they are respectively
10.5 and 10.7 cm.

The palate was quite spacious, regular, of moderate depth, and there
isno torus. The upper teeth were 16 in number, of medium mascu-
line dimensions; these are moderately worn, with the exception of the
last molar on the left side, which shows no wear at all; the crown of
this tooth-is also slightly higher than that of the adjoining tooth,
all these conditions indicating an absence of the corresponding molar
in the lower jaw. The teeth are of dirty grayish-cream color, some
looking as if covered with a thin, old pellicle of white paint. There
are no anomalies in form and no features at all primitive.

Lower jaw: This bone is on the whole rather massive but of the
usual modern Indian form. The chin is square, of medium promi-
nence, inferiorly stout. A ventral reenforcement of the alveolar
process, above and along the mylo-hyoid line, is quite marked and
extends from the first molar backward; this feature is frequently
met with in the American native.

The teeth in the lower jaw were not well restored. It can be
ascertained, however, that there were congenitally only three
incisors, and only two molars on the left side. The last molar on
the right side is anomalous, having a crown 13 mm. long by 12.5 mm.
broad. As to measurements, the thickness of the horizontal ramus
(at right angles to its vertical axis),' opposite the second molar, is 1.8
em.; height at symphysis, approximately 3.3 cm.; the bigonial
diameter was about 10.9 em. and the minimum breadth of the ascend-
ing ramus approximately 3.9 cm. At the chin, below the mental
spines (which themselves are very moderate), the thickness of the
bone is 1.6 cm.

In eight male lower jaws of Patagonians from San Xavier, Rio
Negro, collected by the writer, the thickness at the second molar
averages 1.7 cm., ranging from 1.5 to 1.9 em.; while the height at
symphysis varies from 3.5 to 4.2 cm., the bigonial diameter from 10
to 11.6 cm., the minimum breadth of the vertical ramus from 3.5 to
4.1 cm., and the thickness of the chin, below the mental spines, 1.4
to 1.65 cm.

The only measurement of the Miramar jaw that is slightly outside
the range of the variation of this little series of specimens is the
moderate height at symphysis. It has been noted that the upper

1 Measured in the more ordinary way=1.6 em.

21535°—Bull. 52—12——20

306 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 52

alveolar process was also somewhat low. Both of these features
may be due in part to reduction through age, for the teeth show
some extrusion; but evenif not so, they are signs of slight significance
and point rather away from than to the primitive nature of the
specimen. Yet relative lowness of the horizontal ramus, especially
at the symphysis, often accompanies massiveness (as also exists in
this specimen), and both of these features are not infrequently seen
together with a broad ascending ramus, all standing evidently in
relation with a functional use of the jaw greater than average.’

But the weightiest point against any great primitiveness of the
jaw is the presence of the chin. None of the mammals, none of
the apes, none of the truly primitive forms of man so far known,
possess this feature. The chin prominence of the present human
lower jaw is to a large extent merely a remnant, the result of a great
reduction in the ancestral size of the teeth and the length of the
alveolar processes, the lower and less functional portion of the jaw
lagging behind. The lower jaw, with a very much reduced chin,
may occur even in present man and not carry any great significance
(see under Homo sinemento), but one with a well-marked chin can
not possibly be very ancient and can not, so far as we are now able
to judge, come from any very early representative of the human
family.

Other bones of the Miramar skeleton.—Femora: These bones are of
medium masculine dimensions. The right is somewhat pilasteric,
with prismatic shaft; the shape of the shaft of the left bone is interme-
diate between prismatic and elliptic. Both bones show marked lateral
torsion, as is frequently met with in the femora of the Indians. The
usual bend backward is present to a moderate degree and extends
over the whole shaft. Both bones are markedly platymeric, a feature
which, while not exclusively Indian, is a characteristic of many of
the Indian femora.

The surface of the bones is more or less defective, eroded. The
left femur possesses a moderate third trochanter; on the right the
parts are damaged.

The principal measurements of the two femora, with some com-
parative data, are given below.

The length of the bones indicates a man of medium stature, not
far from 1.64 meters; and the other dimensions, but especially the
pilasteric as well as the platymeric indices, agree closely efiough with
those of the ordinary natives of northeastern Patagonia. There is °
not a feature about the bones that points to any early species of
man or to any man other than the ordinary Indian. |

1See writer’s ‘‘Contribution to the Anthropology of Central and Smith Sound Eskimo;” in Anthr.
Papers Amer. Mus, Nat. Hist., V, pt. 2, New York, 1910, pp. 170-280,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 307

Comparison of the measurements | of the Miramar and Patagonian femora?

Middle Upper flattening
ee ae ities aed :
: ber o en, 7 : Small- | Index o
pees? | male | (bicon- eter | Diam- Tee Greatest | est platy-
femora| dylar) | antero- | eter (ax 100)| breadth | thick- | Mery
posterior | lateral (a x 100) (c) ness | (d x 100)
maxi- (b) (b) (d) 7: oe
mum (a)
cm. cm, cm, cm. cm,
Ed Right.| (2) 83.2 | 32.6 | 3123.0 3.6 | 2.65 73.6
i las aaa ee Left...| 44.0 33.0 | 32.4 | 8125.4 3.6 | 2.4 66.7
(45.3 3.3 | 2.65| 124.1 3.4 | 2.5 73.1
Q il-li » Vied-
‘aces a. aiaadillate i; ee | 43.5-| (2.6-| (2.5-| (982-| (3.2 | (2.25-| (67.6
aoe en ‘| 49.5) 3.8) | 2.7) | 145.8) 3.6) | 2.75) 78. 3)
‘spel (45.7 Bi) jocaren|.o207.7 3.45 | 2.5 73.0
oneal eines is ciate (43. 6- (.6-| (2.4 | (106.9-| (3.14 | (2.3- (67. 1-
aaa Nine 46. 8) 3.3) | 2.9) | 130) 3.6) | 2.75) 76. 8)

1 For details as to the significance of these measurements and indices and for data on pride: early
human, Indian, and various racial femora, the reader is referred especially to—

MANOUVRIER, L., La platymérie; in C—R. du Congr. int. d’Anthrop. préhist., Paris, 1889.

Etude sur les variations morphologiques du corps du fémur dans l’espéce humaine; in Bull.
Soc. d’Anthr. Paris, 4e sér., Iv, 1893.

LEHMANN-NITSCHE, R., Uber die langen Knochen der sudbayerischen Reihengritberbevélkerung; in
Beitrage zur Anthropologie und Urgeschichte Bayerns, x1, 1894. Separate, Miinchen, 1895, pp. 50-51.
MARTIN, R., Zur physischen Anthropologie der Feuerlinder; in Arch. fiir. Anthr., xxm, Braunschweig,

1894, p. 155 et seq.

HULTKRANTZ, J. V., Nagra bidrag till Sydamerikas fysiska antropologi; in Ymer Tidskrift uigifven af
Svenska Sdllskapet f6r Antropologi och Geografi, xvi, Stockholm, 1898.

KLAATSCH, H., Die wichtigsten Variationen am Skelet der freien unteren Extremitiit des Menschen und
ihre sep guid fur das Abstammungsproblem; in Ergebnisse der Anatomie und Entwickelungsge-
schichte, x, Wiesbaden, 1900, p. 599 et seq.

VERNEAU, R., Les anciens Patagons, Monaco, 1903.

BELLO Y RODRIGUEZ, S., Le fémur et le tibia chez l’homme et les anthropoides; Thése p.1., Doctora
Médecine, Paris, 1909, p. 109.

2 Specimens in the United States National Museum.
3 Approximate.

Tibi: Like the femora, the tibiz are of medium masculine dimen-
sions. Their ends are badly damaged, their surfaces eroded. They
present the usual slight sigmoid physiologic curvature of the shaft
and a moderate inclination backward of the head. The shaft at
middle is in shape of type No. 3 (external surface markedly con-
cave),’ with the addition of a fairly well marked vertical ridge
running down the posterior surface (approximating type No. 4), char-
acteristics often seen in the Indian. :

As to measurements, the length of the bones can not be deter-
mined. The principal diameters at the height of the nutritive
foramen are, on each side, respectively, 3.9 and 2.6 cm., giving the
moderately platycnemic index of 66.7. Seventeen male Tehuelche
tibie from San Xavier, near Viedma, Patagonia, give for the same
dimensions the averages of 3.95 and 2.45 cm., with the platycnemic

1 See Hrdli¢ka, A., Typical Forms of Shaft of Long Bones; Proc. Assoc. Amer. Anatomists, 14th Ann,
Session, Baltimore, 1900, pp. 55-60.

308 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

index of 61.6 (51.2-71.6),1 and Bell, on 79 Patagonian tibiz, obtained
the index of 63.8. A number of the individual San Xavier tibiz show
measurements and indices that are very close to those of the Miramar
tibie. = No. 264157 =3.95 by 2.65, ind. 67.1; '‘r=3.8 by 2.6,
ind. 68:4; 'g=4.0 by 2.7, md: 67.5; and ’n=3.7 ings 2.65, ind. 71.6.
These resemblances, as those in the measurements of the femora and
other bones, do not indicate that the Miramar skeleton is that of a
Patagonian, but they show forcibly that it is the skeleton of an
individual related in many ways to the principal modern native type
of eastern Argentina.

The fibulz, of medium masculine development, are very defective.
The shaft shows shape of type No. 4 (quadrilateral).

The humeri are of moderate masculine strength. The upper and
lower extremities are wanting and the length of the bones can not be
determined. The deltoid tuberosities are well-developed. Shape
of shaft, nearly plano-convex.

Measurements at middle:

Diameter maximum (antero-posterior): cm.
Rrehitie et ae, SE a ee AO MER ES eh or 2. 45
Theft, abouts, . <5 Sth, wate oats -otldb oer Meee alae oleae ee 5 eee 2.3

Tianna minimum (lateral):

ABI 2 on aos on nis Paranoia s eee ee ee ore ae eee 1.75
WLU ete tet nn aia oo tig ae a cin mine eas ae RE ee ee t ba

A portion of an ulna shows a fracture below the middle of the shaft.
Fragments of the radii present no special features.

On the whole, the bones of the skeleton other than the skull are in
poor condition, worn and defective, and not very satisfactory for
detailed examination. They all indicate, however, an individual of
male sex and present no features which would make it possible to
reach any other conclusion than that they represent the relatively
modern aborigines of the region. It seems safe to say that had the
Miramar skull and other bones been compared originally with suf-
ficient skeletal material from eastern Argentina, they would occupy
a much more modest place in anthropologic literature than, in absence
of such comparison, has been assigned them.

SKELETAL RemaAtns Retatinc TO Homo Pampmus, FROM NEIGHBORHOOD OF
NECOCHEA

HISTORY AND REPORTS

These remains come from a place in the barren soil of the irregular
stretch of country a short distance to the right of the new road leading
from Necochea to the coast, and about as far inland from the large
hotel built on the shore. The human bones lay on or near the surface,
some of them exposed by the wheels of the wagons which passed

1 Bello y Rodriguez, S., Le fémur et le tibia, etc., Paris, 1909, pp. 107-109.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 3809

over the spot. They were first seen by the gardener, Parodi, who
lives in the neighborhood, but were not taken out immediately;
later on part of them were secured by a local physician, Doctor
Faggioli, who donated them to the Buenos Aires museum, and the
remainder were obtained later by the Ameghino brothers and Doctor
Cavazzuti. They are partially reported on by Professor Ameghino in
his memoir on the Diprothomo,! where (p. 127, footnote 3) we read as
follows:

“‘Tt is several months ago that my friend, Dr. Rodolphe Faggioli,
of Necochea, donated to the Museo Nacional, at my request, a fossil
human skull, which he found in the ancient Pampean formation of
that place. Last April I myself made an excursion to the locality
to study its geology. I was accompanied by the naturalist-
traveler of the museum, Carlos Ameghino, and by Dr. E. Cavazzuti.
We explored the coast over a stretch of 80 km. with the greatest profit,
for I brought away a multitude of objects. Among these there are
two fossil human skulls from the same stratum as the one mentioned
above; of these skulls, one is in fragments, but the other is very
complete, with the rostrum, the lower jaw, and the teeth in nearly
perfect condition.”’

As to the antiquity and principal characteristics of these speci-
mens, it will be best to give once more Ameghino’s own words. He
says:

“These three skulls are of the same age as that of Miramar, on *
which I have founded the Homo pampexus. They all present the
same characteristics, including the excessively sloping forehead,
which is natural and not the result of an artificial deformation, as
has been alleged; all have the rostrum much prolonged forward and
the alveolar border and the denture orthognathic; all present a
glabella without backward inversion below, so that there is no
frontonasal depression; all present the last molar placed forward
of the most posterior part of the anterior border of the orbits; all
show the inferior border of the orbit placed considerably more
forward than the superior one; all are very dolichocephalic, with
excessively narrow foreheads, great orbits, and other characteristics.”

And further on (p. 170) in the same memoir we read about the
second Necochea cranium (third example of Homo pampzxus):

‘“As in the case of the first example (Miramar), the conformation
of the frontal region is natural without any vestige of artificial
deformation; on this point there can not remain absolutely the
slightest doubt.”’

Notwithstanding the fact that the front is excessively low and
very sloping, ‘‘the superior outline of the skull lifts itself gradually

1 Ameghino, F., Le Diprothomo platensis; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, xix (ser. iii, t. xm), 1909,
Dp. 127, foot-note 3, 170 et seq.; illustrations especially on pp. 171, 179, 185.

810 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY puny. 52

toward the posterior part and, in prolonging the same to complete
the segment which is wanting, one obtains an almost identical
contour of the vault as that of the first-known example [Miramar],
which is raising so much unjustified criticism. . . .

“The prolongation forward of the rostrum gives rise to facial
prognathism so considerable that the anterior alveolar border of the
intermaxillary is 3 cm. more forward than the most prominent part
of the glabella.”’

One of the characteristics which according to Professor Ameghino
distinguish Homo pampezus is the position of the teeth; these are
said to be placed considerably farther forward than in Homo sapiens,
a “condition which stands in relation with the primitive prognathism
of the rostrum.’ To obtain an idea of this forward position of the
denture, one needs, according to Ameghino, only to trace a vertical
line tangent to the most posterior point of the orbital arch—this line
passes back of the last superior molar and the same is the case in the |
first example [Miramar]. ‘‘It is then plainly a distinctive character-
istic of this species. . .

‘‘This same vertical line if prolonged upward separates an anterior
segment of the frontal bone the surface of which is flattened and
faces upward in the Diprothomo, is feebly arched and facing upward
and forward in the Homo pampzus, and is strongly convex in Homo
sapiens of elevated race, forming an arch the convexity of which
‘faces forward.

[P. 173] ‘‘As to the lower jaw, the chin is very prominent. In the
third example ['] here figured the chin is as protruding as in the first
[Miramar]. ... This conformation, which is believed to be very
recent, is to the contrary excessively ancient and reaches probably to
the very origin of the Hominiens.”’

The foregoing information was evidently considered sufficient, for
it is all that we have from Ameghino on the Necochea specimens of
the Homo pampexus.

The Necochea finds here dealt with are merely touched on in 1910
by Lehmann-Nitsche ? but are considered later in that year more in
detail by Mochi.’

Lehmann-Nitsche sees nothing, morphologically, in these remains
that would separate them from the Indians; in age he regards them as
Quaternary, Superior Pampean.

Mochi devotes considerable attention to the Necochea skull No. 2
(Homo pampxus, example No. 3), the specimen described and pictured

[! Third example of Homo pampzus, illustrated in Ameghino’s “Le Diprothomo”’ memoir, in figs. 7-11 of
Mochi’s paper and in pls. 43-45 of the present work. It is No. 5008 of the Museo Nacional. The reference
to these skulls as first, second, etc., is confusing.]

2 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fésil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Est., La Paz, Bolivia, v1, 1910,
p. 364.

’ Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per VAntr. e la Etn., XL, Firenze, 1910,
p. 224 et seq.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN Sil

by Ameghino in his ‘‘Le Diprothomo platensis.”” He notes that Ame-
ghino’s orientation of the specimen is incorrect; moreover, his illustra-
tion has suffered from the specimen having been placed too near the
camera; also there are faults in the restoration. But Mochi fails to
recognize that the skull is deformed and that the face is so ill-repaired
that the whole part, including the nose and the orbits, is much higher
than naturally. The writer feels confident that, with a little more
leisure at his disposal in the examination of the specimens, Doctor
Mochi would have easily recognized the existence of these several
important features..

Mochi does not agree with Ameghino in regard to the latter’s char-
acterizations of the glabellar and subglabellar region and especially
as to the forward position of the denture. Both, especially the latter,
are properly referred to the false orientation of the skull; in a similar
pose quite the same features appear in nearly all human crania.

Finally, Ameghino’s estimate of the stature of the individual to
whom the skull belonged appears to Mochi too small.

OBSERVATIONS BY THE WRITER

The skulls in question, with all the other specimens from the neigh-
borhood of Necochea, were freely placed by Professor Ameghino before
the writer for examination. Further, the locality of the find was
visited. The results of these investigations sustain neither the claim
for any special morphologic peculiarity nor that of considerable antiq-
uity for these remains. They are, in brief, as follows:

Owing to some changes in the surface, produced by the winds and
the blown sand, the exact spot from which the bones were taken could
not be located, though the party was accompanied by the gardener who
discovered them. It was, however, part of the general irregular wind-
denuded surface which stretches inland from the coast. The wind
erosion is not on the whole of great depth, for there are in the near
neighborhood various piles of earth which still show the presence of
vegetal soil and which yield numerous recent skulls and bones of the
viscacha ; these are the remnants of viscacheras which existed not very
long ago, before the looser earth about them was blown away.? Over
this denuded, uneven surface were found by the party more than thirty
‘‘white” and ‘‘black”’ chips or implements, and others had been picked
up before by the gardener’s children. As mentioned, the bones were so
near the surface that they were exposed by the wheels of a wagon.
So far as the gardener could recollect they represented at least one
complete, or nearly complete, skeleton. Here was evidently a grave,
which could not have been very deep beneath the surface of the plain

1 Compare geologic notes on a part of the same locality, by Bailey Willis, under Homo sinemento.
2 The viscacha burrows as arule are found in low hillocks covered with bushes, the roots of which naturally
retard wind erosion.

312 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

before its erosion by the winds. No bones of fossil animals were found
with the human bones nor have any been discovered in the immediate
neighborhood, though from another part of these denuded coast-flats
the gardener had extracted a number of parts of a scelidotherium.

Homo pampzus skull No. 2 (Necochea No. 1).—The first specimen
in the lot under consideration or, according to Ameghino’s enumera-
tion, the second example of Homo pampexus, bears the number 5004
in the Museo Nacional at Buenos Aires. It is a piece of the vault of
a female skull, consisting of a portion of the forehead and portions of
the two parietals (pl. 42).

The specimen is in the same general condition as the other Necochea
skull (No. 5008), the surface being deeply and irregularly eroded.
The bones appear somewhat fossilized. On the right side, the parie-
tals show dorsally spots of dark-gray calcareous incrustation.

Obviously this was not a large cranium but the exact size can not
be determined with certainty. The thickness of the bones is rather
submedium.

The bones show externally in two or three places signs of disease.
These alterations are somewhat masked by the effects of erosion, but
an examination under a magnifying glass shows plainly proliferation
and other changes due to some inflammatory process, probably
syphilis.

Morphologically, the specimen presents a rather low, moderately
convex forehead, but the latter character would be less pronounced
were the surface of the frontal squama preserved. Just posterior to
the coronal suture and parallel with it is a perceptible, though shallow,
broad depression, which, with the lowness of the squama, may indi-
cate a slight Aymara deformation.

The nasal process is of ordinary feminine form. The glabella is
moderate; the supraorbital ridges are small. There is no frontal or
sagittal crest.

The sutures are obliterated.

Ventrally, the bones show no special features; the metopic ridge is
of moderate dimensions.

Homo pampeus skull No. 3 (Necochea No, 2).—This is the better
preserved of the Necochea skulls. It was found with some long
bones and other bones, but these, being damaged and in bad con-
dition, were not collected. The specimen bears the number 5008 in
the Museo Nacional and is in Ameghino’s enumeration the third
example of the Homo pampzus. It is a skull of an adult of advanc-
ing age. The sex is somewhat doubtful; the lower jaw is quite mas-
culine in character, but other parts indicate the female rather than
the male.

The specimen (pls. 43-45) is very defective and has been recon-
structed to a considerable extent in mastic. The rebuilding is

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF BARLY MAN 813

imperfect, especially as regards the face. The parts present include
both jaws, the right malar and zygoma, the frontal bone, part of the
right parietal, and the right temporal.

The surface of the bones of the vault is very defective and eroded,
some of the losses of substance reaching nearly to the compact
ventral layer.

The bones are not heavy, yet they appear somewhat fossilized;
at least they are largely devoid of animal matter. Some dark min-
eral substance adheres to parts of what remains of the base.

The skull is without doubt artificially deformed, the type of the
deformation approaching that of the Aymara.

There is nothing to indicate the age of the individual except the
teeth, which show advanced wear. The condition of the sutures can
not be determined; no trace is seen of the coronal.

In form the skull was doubtless dolichocephalic. The face also
was originally, in all probability, rather long and narrow, but it has
been made very perceptibly longer by faulty reconstruction. This
applies particularly to the orbits and the nose.

The skull was of submedium size, though not microcephalic.

As to detailed features, there is a fairly prominent glabella. The
supraorbital ridges are small and there is no tendency to supraorbital
arch. The orbital borders are only slightly dull.

The forehead is very sloping, especially from a point about 3 cm.
above the glabella. This slope is not natural, however, but is due to
the above-mentioned artificial deformation. The posterior part of
the parietals and the occipital bone are wanting, so that their exact
character and the extent of the deformation in the rear can not be
determined.

The forehead is also narrow but the diameter frontal minimum
can not be measured or even closely estimated, owing to the destruc-
tion of the bone on the left side and its imperfect state on the right.
There is no medio-frontal crest.

The parietals show but few features of interest. The eminences
are large and quite prominent, though not pointed. :

The base presents on the right side a deep glenoid fossa; the left
side is deficient.

The walls of the skull were not thick. Ventrally there are seen a
few shallow brain impressions.

As to the facial parts, the nasal bones and the nasal process show
no unusual features. The nasal aperture was 2.6 em. broad and was
probably mesorhinic, in measurement and form typical of Indians.
The nasal spine is of submedium dimensions’ as compared with that
of the whites but very ordinary when compared with the average
form among the American natives.

814 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

There are no subnasal grooves or fosse. The prognathism is
medium, again as in Indians. The suborbital (canine) fosse were
apparently shallow. The malars and zygome are of ordinary form
and female dimensions.

The palate is fairly but not excessively deep, and the alveolar arch
measures (by Turner’s method) about 5.2 cm. in length and 6.4 em.
in breadth.

Dentition as well as the teeth was normal. The latter are of
feminine size; their other characteristics are obliterated by wear.
The crown of the third lower molar on the right side appears to be
slightly longer than that of the second but the breadth is the same;
above, the third molars were smaller than both the second and the
first.

The lower jaw is entirely Indian in form. The prominence of the
chin is well-marked. Height at symphysis, about 3.7 cm., anterior —
to the second right molar, 3.4 cm.; thickness opposite second right
molar (at right angles to the vertical axis of the ramus), 1.25 em.
The height is unusual if the skull is that of a female, but lower jaws
with high symphysis are particularly common in modern cranial
material in eastern Argentina from the Parana to Tierra del Fuego.

Additional Homo pampzxus specimens from Nechochea.—Besides the
defective skulis noted in the preceding pages, there were found in
Professor Ameghino’s collection at the Museo Nacional in Buenos
Aires, under the number of one of the skulls (5004), various frag-
ments of a skull (the fourth example of Homo pampzus?) and bones,
all in poor condition for examimation, broken and eroded. They are
all whitish-gray or yellowish-brownish white in color and possibly
somewhat alcered in their mineral composition.

The pieces include part of the left clavicle of a child. There are
also several remnants of long bones which show disease, the lesions
resembling very closely syphilitic alterations and scars; a portion
of a femur presents also a thickening of the shaft. The pathologic
changes are in the main of the same character as those seen in skull
No. 5004, and the bones are in all probability part of the same
skeleton.

The fragments indicate an individual of moderate stature and
muscular development; anatomically none of them shows any
characteristic at all which could be considered out of the ordinary.

This is all worthy of mention that the writer found in these
earlier Necochea specimens, and it surely fails to substantiate the
existence of anything so important as a separate species of man, a
Homo pampexus.

Necochea skeleton (No. 263966 U. S. National Museum).—This
skeleton is represented by about 150 fragments, the largest of which
are (after repair) a portion of a humerus, 16.5 cm., and a piece of a

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 315
femur, 8 cm. long. Most of the pieces are only slivers, and of the
skull there are only a few remnants of little significance.

This specimen was found by one of the gardener Parodi’s children,
some of the bones having become visible after a wind storm which
carried away most of the material about them. They lay on a gentle
declivity in the barren lands near the sand dunes to the southeast of
the lowest part of the Rio Quequen, and only a few rods from the
Necochea-sea boulevard. They were not far from the Necochea
specimens Nos. 1 and 2, found about the same distance from the
sea to the southwest side of the same road, and were regarded by
Professor Ameghino as of similar antiquity.

The bones were gathered together by the boy, but were left for some
time on the ground near the place where they were found and finally
became reduced to the state and quantity in which they are at
present. Certain features of the environment of the bones as de-
scribed by the gardener, as well as the fragments which represent
almost all the larger parts of the skeleton, indicate that the remains
represent one complete skeleton whose parts lay in fairly natural re-
lation. No objects were found with the bones, but there were (even
at the time of the writer’s visit) numerous “white”? and ‘black’’
chipped stones scattered over the elevation itself as well as in the
denuded parts of the land in the neighborhood.

When the writer’s party visited the locality, it was found that the
sand had already re-covered the place where the bones were found.
However, the spot was located and, in order to understand the condi-
tions clearly, the writer made a large circle about it and removed all
the recently accumulated sand down to the more solid ground. When
this was done, there was seen near the center of the clearing a shal-
low cavity (pl. 46) 94 inches (24 cm.) deep at maximum, slightly
more than 3 feet (1.1 meters) long, and 334 inches (85 cm.) at its
greatest breadth, representing what remained of the fossa which held
the skeleton. No additional material was discovered in digging
about this cavity, which was evidently a remnant of a grave made
in the former surface of the land or in the sand which covered it.

Through the kindness of Professor Ameghino the writer obtained
for the United States National Museum the fragments of bones
gathered by the gardener. These are whitish to yellowish-white in
color, in many instances worn on, the surface, and in the case of some
of the slivers worn also on the edges. The pieces of shafts of the
long bones appear hardened, but all retain animal matter. A number
of the fragments show adhesions of earth cemented by lime. In the
medullary cavities the earth or fine sand is hardened where exposed
but flows out freely from the interior. These are the same conditions
as presented by numerous others of the ‘fossil’? specimens dealt
with in this report.

316 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ‘BULL. 52

Judging by the strength of the bones, they belonged probably to a
male skeleton. Anatomically they offer but little requiring description.

The part of the left humerus is without either extremity. As with
all the other pieces, it has an entirely ordinary modern human aspect.
It was of moderate length as well as strength; the maximum and
minimum diameters near the middle are 2.0 by 1.75 cm., but both
have been diminished through erosion of the surface. The deltoid
tuberosity and spiral groove are well marked. The shape of the shat
at the middle was nearly prismatic.

The upper portion of the left femur shows marked platymery (3.3 by
2.15 mm., index 65.1), which brings it in close relation with the
east Aapeutiea Indian femora. It does not have a third trochanter.

Portions of an ulna, fibula,.pelvis, and the skull present no features
worthy of special mention. f

All that can be said in conclusion about this skeleton is that
neither the position of the bones nor any of their features justify
an assumption of antiquity, nor will a new species of man be formed
on their basis.

GeroLocic NoTEs ON THE NECOCHEA REGION

By BAILEY WILLIS

THE NECOCHEA FIND

At Necochea the plain approaches the sea with but slight altitude,
and abreast of the town the shore is a beach surmounted by very low
bluffs, behind which is a broad belt of drifting sand that locally rises
into dunes as much as 10 m. high. An excavation in the town, a kilo-
meter more or less from the sea, exhibits a section of black soil 70 em.
thick resting in sharply-defined contact upon laminated secondary
limestone or tosca 2 m. thick. The upper layers of the limestone,
although distinct from the black earth, enclose lenticular layers of it.
On approaching the coast, one recognizes at once the drifting sands
which the southerly wind blows along the shore from the beach.
Beneath the layer of moving sand there is a somewhat firmer deposit
of mingled sand and fine black earth and a more indurated formation,
neither of which appears to contain any secondary limestone, and also
a more indurated formation which does contain secondary limestone
in very thin layers and in sheets fillmg sun-cracks. The last-named
deposit varies in constitution from a sandy coquina to fine black loess,
being thus composed of materials blown from the beach mingled with
those blown from the plain. The surface is hard enough to retain the
forms sculptured by wind and drifting sand and the material includes
specks of black sand. These two characteristics, together with the
occurrence of the secondary limestone or tosca, are regarded by

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 3817

Ameghino as sufficient to distinguish the formation from the Recent
deposits and to justify placing it in the late Tertiary under the name
of ‘‘Inter-Ensenadean.”’

_ A careful examination of the so-called Inter-Ensenadean at this
_ point showed that, as stated above, it consists of materials derived
from the recent beach, as shell fragments, and also of black earth
blown from the plain, where it forms the existing accumulation of
soil. The presence of these modern materials in the formation ap-
pears to preclude any ancient date of deposition. Since lime is
present in abundance in the ground waters, in the soil, and as shells
in the material itself, it is naturally taken in solution and deposited
on evaporation by the waters that rise and fall in the coastal plain.
Little friable concretions of lime occur even in the deposits whose
modern age is not questioned, and the difference between them and
the thin sheets which occur in the so-called Inter-Ensenadean is
rather one of conditions of deposition than of age. Still it is not
questioned that the Inter-Ensenadean is slightly older than the
drifting sand, though undoubtedly Recent.

The skeleton of a man was dug up in this superficial formation
about 1 km. northeast of the Necochea Hotel, about 300 m. from the
sea and between two large sand dunes. The material in which the
bones were found was an incoherent brown sand, part of the forma-
tion over which the dunes are moving. Its surface was covered with
loose pebbles of tosca and many chipped stones. The exact point
from which the skeleton had been taken was indicated by Sefior
Parodi, and the hole, which had filled up with sand, was carefully
reexcavated by Hrdlitka down to the depth and far beyond the limits
of the original excavation. The undisturbed material was distin-
guished from that which had blown into the hole, by decidedly greater
compactness. The opening was 1.1 m. long and 85 cm. wide and had
a maximum depth of 24 cm. As reexcavated the hole is shown in
plate 46.

The more compact sand in which the skeleton occurred appears to
belong to that formation which Ameghino styles Inter-Ensenadean
and regards as Tertiary, whereas the writer looks on it as a modern
shore formation slightly older than the dune sands that are drifting
across it. Precisely similar deposits were seen in process of formation
at Miramar, as may be noted by referring to the description of that
locality. But the age of the formation is of no importance in connec-
tion with the age of the bones, for the shallowness of the hole and the
lay of the bones, as described by Sefior Parodi to Hrdlitka and the
writer, clearly showed that the body had been buried. In conse-
quence, it was even younger than the sand formation.

318 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Fina Remarks on Homo Pampaus

By A. H.

If any Homo pampzxus ever existed, it is safe to say that his remains
have not as yet been produced. The case fails utterly thus far
from the standpoint of geology, as well as that of anthropology. If
the facts are carefully reviewed, it will be seen that geologically
no substantial evidence has been brought forward favoring any great
antiquity of the several lots of human bones assumed to represent
this human species. And as to archeology and somatolegy, they
both demonstrate that the specimens ascribed to Homo pampezus,
the ‘‘earliest human representative—if not even a predecessor of
man’”’—are fraught with no such possibilities, but that they point in
no uncertain manner to the common American Indian. In view of
all the facts, Homo pampxus must be regarded as merely a theory,
without, so far as shown, any substantiation.

DIPROTHOMO PLATENSIS
History AND REpoRTS

In 1896 the laborers employed by a firm of contractors in exca-
vating a dry dock, now known as No. 1, at Buenos Aires, discovered
a human skull. The specimen came to light at the commencement
of the work on the rudder-pit, an additional small cavity in the bot-
tom of the nearly finished dry-dock excavation.

An account of the circumstances of the discovery was published in
July, 1909, by Professor Ameghino.' According to this: “The frag-
ment of skull in question was found during the last stages of the work
of deepening the port of Buenos Aires, in the excavations for the dry
docks, in the north basin in dock No. 1, or that of the west. It was
found in the deepest part of the excavation, even deeper than the
floor of the dry dock itself, in a hollow made in the base of this for the
manipulations of the rudder. There were some more osseous débris,
but Mr. Junor,? having arrived somewhat late at the place of the dis-
covery, was not able to save more than the specimen under considera-
tion [p. 107].

‘At the point where excavation for the dry-dock has been made the
bed of the stream is 1.86 m. betow the surface of the water at the ordi-
nary low tide and the base of the dry dock is 10.50 m. below the bed
of the stream; in other words, the latter is 12.36 m. below the level
of the water. The additional hollow made in the bottom of the dry
dock for the accommodation of the rudder is 50 em. deep, and it

1 Ameghino, F., Le Diprothomo platensis, un précurseur de l"homme du pliocéne inférieur de Buenos
Aires; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, X1x (ser. iii, t. X11), 1999, pp. 107-209.

2 A senior member of the Corps of Superior Employees of the works in the Port of Buenos Aires, and
supervisor of the work.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 319

was in digging out this additional basin that the skull was encountered.
Accordingly, the latter lay at the depth of 11 m. below the bed of the
stream, 12.86 m. below the ordinary level of the water at low tide,
or 32 m. below the star on the portico of the Buenos Aires Cathedral.
All the information concerning the position of the skull has
been furnished me by Mr. Edward Marsh Simpson, engineer and
representative in Buenos Aires of the house of Charles H. Walker &
Co., of London, the constructors of the port” (p. 108).
~ Professor Ameghino concludes from the information obtained from
Mr. Simpson alone that the fragments of the skull came from the
lower portion of the rudder-pit in Dry Dock No. 1 and from beneath
tosca.1 He states further, however (p. 121), that beneath the tosca
was found a layer of quartzy sand followed by a stratum of gray
clay, and that it was in this layer of gray clay, 50 cm. below the floor
of the dry dock, that the skull-cap of the Diprothomo was discovered.

The foregoing are rather meager details concerning a specimen of
so great importance. In consequence, the first endeavors of the
writer and his associate, Mr. Willis, after reaching Buenos Aires,
were to locate Messrs. Simpson and Junor as well as any others who
might be able to give firsthand information, and to learn if possible
additional particulars.

As good fortune would have it, both Mr. Simpson and Mr. Junor
were found in Buenos Aires and both consented, very kindly, to tell
what they knew in regard to the skull; and through these gentlemen
it became possible to locate another person concerned in the find,
namely, Mr. J. E. Clark, now of Bahia Blanca, the foreman of the
laborers who discovered the specimen. 3

The results of the inquiry, however, proved in a large degree dis-
appointing. The evidence is very largely indirect and, as 16 years
have elapsed since the date of the find, during 15 of which no inquiries
about it were made, the details, possibly even some important
points, have been forgotten or have become obscured. This state-
ment applies especially to the exact conditions at the rudder-pit and
to facilities that might have existed for the transportation thither,
accidentally or voluntarily, of the skull fragment.

Mr. Simpson stated that the find of the bones was made by the work-
men; he was told there were more than one skull but neither he nor
any other official of the firm was at the dock at the time of the find,
nor was any investigation of the matter made. Mr. Simpson had
nothing to do with the piece of skull or any other parts, made no
examination of the spot, saw nothing of the specimen until after it
was placed in the museum, and can not vouch for any statement
made in connection with the discovery. He told Professor Ameghino

1 Term applied, as explained before in this work, to caleareous sedimentary strata or concretions, in
various stages of development, within the loess,

320 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY ” Teunest2

what he remembered having heard and furnished him with a sketch
of the geologic formation as seen in the excavations for the docks,
without locating the specimen. The excavations in Dry Dock No. 1
were never carried beneath the tosca except in the rudder-pit.

Mr. Junor states that he did not see the find, but was told of it
the next day, or perhaps the second day after, by the foreman, Mr.
Clark. No effort was made by Mr. Junor to examine the hole from
which the bones came or to find or collect other pieces, for this might
have resulted in delaying the work. He had an impression that
there were five or six skulls discovered and that the workmen played
bochas* with them, thus breaking them into fragments, but this
seems to have been an error, as will appear later. The foreman
brought Mr. Junor two pieces of the skull, and the latter saved them
because they were said to have come from beneath the tosca, giving
them later to the Museo Nacional. He had not been asked before
by any one for details concerning the finds and is not responsible for
any illustrations that may have appeared in print. No notice was
taken for many years of the pieces he donated until they were taken
up recently by Professor Ameghino. He has seen the specimen
since—now only one piece, probably made by joining the two frag-
ments; there is no doubt that the specimen is the same he donated.

As to the place from which the bones came, he remembers having
been informed that the workmen had gotten through the floor of
the dock into a sort of quicksand when the bones were encountered.
Owing to this quicksand, the rudder-pit had to be concreted after-
ward to prevent entrance into the dock of water and sand. The
bones must have been just beneath the tosca, for a small quantity
of tosca was adhering to them. No animal bones were found in the
pit or in this dock, and Mr. Junor has no recollection that any other
human bones came to sight. He did not examine the site from
which the skull fragments given him were supposed to have come.
No inquiries were made of the laborers.

Mr. Clark states in his letter that the skull ‘‘was found at the
commencement of the Rudder Pit at dock bottom’’; he ‘‘is quite
sure the skull was found at the Rudder Pit and under toscea”’; and
‘it was the only one found in that locality, but there was another
skull found in the sand at the entrance to Dock No. 4,” which dis-
appeared without his knowing what became of it. Further, he does
not remember whether or not there were any loose bones.

Mr. Junor adds the following note:

‘‘Clark told me the men had been playing ‘bochas’ with the skull;
evidently they had only been tossing the one skull backward and

1A game played extensively in Argentina with wooden balls, which are rolled or thrown to strike and
group with others.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 47

Here are shown the exposed walls of the Pampean terrane and alluvium, the drain leading to the
sump, or well, and the pumping machinery close to the side walls of the gate.

Here are shown the walls of the Pampean formation and alluvium still exposed after the concrete
floor had been laid, with the sump and pumping machinery as in the view above.

EXCAVATION FOR DRY DOCK

(From original photographs in office of C. H. Walker & Co., Buenos Aires.)

(‘salty soueng ‘09 2 Joye
*H ‘9 Jo aoyyo ur ydeasojoyd [eursiio0 Wo) “Woronsjsuod Surnp duns oy} Aq perdnoodo aoejd oy} ur Uaas asoy st 41d-Jappns oy,

M90d AYd GSAHSINIS

8h 3LV1d cS NILSTING ASOIONHLA NVOIYSWV JO NV3AYNE

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN ook

forward. I supposed they had actually played at ‘bochas,’ which
would require half a dozen skulls, hence my belief that five or six
skulls had been found, whereas only one was found in the Rudder
Pu.”

The foregoing meager information concerning the circumstances of
the find was all that could be gathered. This differs from that pub-
lished by Professor Ameghino mainly in that the specimen is repre-
sented to have been found not in the lowest but in the upper part
of the rudder-pit, and in sand instead of clay; also, that another
human skull was found in sand at Dock No. 4, but nothing more
definite is known as to its exact position. Finally, the excavations
for Dock No. 1 yielded no bones of animals. In Dock No. 3 a
glyptodon skeleton was found in the tosca, and there was also a mas-
todon tusk at about the same level (Simpson).

Mr. Willis and the writer visited the dry dock, saw the rudder-
cavity, and later on, through the courtesy of Mr. Simpson, they
were able to obtain the photographs reproduced in the accompanying
illustrations (pls. 47, 48), which show the condition of the dry dock
at the time the rudder-pit was being excavated.

The specimen donated to the Museo Nacional by Mr. Junor was
discovered in recent years in the collections of that institution by
Professor Ameghino, studied minutely by him, and described! as a
remnant of the skull of Diprothomo platensis, from the standpoint of
evolution a second or premediate forerunner of man, who lived in
the Lower Pliocene.

This far-reaching determination Professor Ameghino supports by
an exhaustive geologic and comparative anatomic dissertation, the
principal items of which are given in the following paragraphs.

As mentioned before, Professor Ameghino states that the fragments
of the skull came from the lowest portion of the rudder-pit and that
they lay in a stratum of gray clay below the tosca, which constitutes
in part the floor of the dry dock, and below a subjacent layer of
quartzy sand. The gray clay he identifies as belonging to the upper-
most portion of the Pre-Ensenadean stratum, which is the most
inferior part of the Pampean formation (p. 120), and belongs to the
base of the Phiocene.?

1 Ameghino, F., Le Diprothomo platensis, un précurseur de Vhomme du pliocéne inférieur de Buénos
Aires; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, X1x (ser. iii, t. x11), 1909, pp. 107-209. Pages cited below follow
the work here cited.

2 On page 116 the lower part of the Pliocene is represented as occupied by the Post-Puelchean hiatus,
while in the table on page 124 the lowest part of the Pliocene is given to the Pre-Ensenadean, ard the Post-
Puelchean hiatus occupies the first part of the Miocene.

21535°—Bull. 52—12——21

322 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52°

In a table on page 124 Professor Ameghino gives the stratigraphic
position of the Diprothomo and also of other ancient remains relating
to early man or his predecessors in Argentina. It is as follows:

— Recent.
a
i Platean. Querandine transgression.
5 = pias) OS ee
a
& Post-Luianean hiatus. Homo sapiens.
Lujanean, and corresponding marine transgression. Arrecifesand Ovejero skulls.
Post-Bonaerean hiatus.
Fontezuelas, Arroyo de Frias, Sam-
superior. borombén.
dq || Bonaerean
gi 3 inferior. Baradero, Chocorf.
a E Belgranean transgression. 9 Industrial vestiges only.
(2) =
2 § Post-Ensenadean hiatus.
] | SS
ma g Cuspidal Ensenadean. Homo pampzus, Miramar (La Tigra),
7 Necochea.
Inter-Ensenadean transgression.
Basal Ensenadean. Industrial vestiges only.
Pre-Ensenadean. Diprothomo platensis (vault of askull),
Post-Puelchean hiatus.
ra ————
a ‘2 |Puelchean, and corresponding transgression. Industrial vestiges only.
a @. Jtis te bee
g E Post-Chapalmalean hiatus.
Sf ee eS Re” a a
i 8 |Chapalmalean. Industrial vestiges only.
5 § | Post-Hermosean hiatus.
>
= ee
2 |Hermosean. Tetraprothomo argentinus (atlas, fe-
mur).

As to the name adopted for the new being, Professor Ameghino
says (pp. 126-127): ‘‘The piece of skull found in the port of Buenos
Aires is of a different genus from Homo, but one which by all its
characteristics should, equally with the Tetraprothomo, be considered
a real precursor of man, though nearer to man than the fourth fore-
runner. ... I adopt for this new genus the name of Diprothomo,
which I created in 1884' for the designation of the second precursor
of man, the characteristics of which I have equally [with those of
the Tetraprothomo] constructed by calculation. The species I qualify
as platensis, to recall the provenience of the specimen from below the
bed of the great stream, the Rio de la Plata.”

The line of evolution leading to man, and the position therein of
the Diprothomo, Tetraprothomo, and the various other remains of
South America attributed to early man, are, according to Professor
Ameghino—it may be repeated—as follows:

1 Filogenia, 1884, p. 380,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 32a

HOMINID

Homo Homo
sapiens ater Anthropo-
Homo : Pithecan- Pseudhomo morphidse
primigenius thropus beidelbergensis

Homo - sapiens

a
Homo pampzus ra

7
va
/
¢

ca
7
Homo ” Y

Prothomo o
1

! 7
I Ms

1 -

1
Diprothomo we
platensis =

Triprothome.-~ Homo-
1

! simius?
aT ad Ve Th TO We Cao
Ih aaa Ae peel oe ia leh ee RE

Tetraprothomo oe
argentinus

Primitive
hominid
1
!

!
Anthropops

Homun-

Balicded Homunculus

Pitheculites

Clenialites

As to the anatomic features of the Diprothomo skull, Professor
Ameghino advances in substance the following:

The skull was of small size, below the mean of human crania. Its
capacity could not have exceeded 1,100 ¢.c., its greatest length 17 cm.,
and its greatest breadth 11.8 cm.

The skull possesses a very low vault; its front is so low that it sur-
passes in this feature the Neanderthal cranium.

The skull was narrow, with the parieties almost parallel and with
a contour like that in the Arctopitheci; its greatest lateral diameter
did not fall in the region of the parietals as usual but on the frontal;
it was highly dolichocephalic, its breadth-length index being about 69.

The frontal is very long and narrow, as in some of the lower Pri-
mates.

324 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52°

The parietals must have been decidedly shorter than the frontal;
their maximum length in horizontal line could not have exceeded 5.5
em., their surface are 9 em.

The skull differs markedly from that of man in its antero-posterior
curvature, which commences to descend even in the posterior part
of the frontal squama; the rear part of the specimen shows a rapid
descent backward and downward, and the occipital could not have
been seen from above.

There is a large postglabellar depression, which resembles that in
the gibbon and the Arctopithect and does not face forward as in
man, but nearly upward.

The supraorbital ridges are narrow (5 mm.) proximally, and broad
(15 mm.) distally ; they become effaced near the outer side of the
frontal eminences.

The glabella in its inferior portion is completely distinct from that
of man; it presents a marked prolongation forward and lacks com-
pletely the backward inversion of its lower part.

The naso-frontal suture is different from that of man; above it is
rounded but wide and it continues to widen as it descends, so that at
“‘the inferior level of the frontal it must have had a transverse diam-
eter of nearly 3 cm.”

The superior orbital borders are very slightly arched; their distal
portions constitute a slender, nearly cutting border, which is different
from that found usually in man, and represents the primitive form of
the visor; the median part of each supraorbital arch is very stout
(15 mam):

The roofs of the orbits do not pass backward, as in man, but a few
millimeters to the rear of the orbital border turn downward, a feature
from which it appears that the orbital cavities were very shallow and
that the eyes must have been very protruding; the small depth of the
orbit superiorly was undoubtedly compensated for by a greater exten-
sion forward of each inferior part and there was pronounced facial
prognathism; the orbital cavities were large, placed far forward. and
visible to a great extent when looking at the skull from above.

The fronto-nasal suture is situated very nearly at the level of the
superior border of the orbits; a horizontal line crossing it passes
through the superior orbital borders.

The surface of insertion of the nasal bones looks forward; the nasal
bones extended straight from the frontal and were very strong as
well as very wide; also, they were directed forward with only feeble
inclination downward.!

1 For numerous additional details of ses jabra the reader must be ested to the original.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 325

Tur WritER’s EXAMINATION OF THE SPECIMEN

The writer reached Buenos Aires with the foregoing data before him
and in consequence thereof’ with very eager expectations. But
when the specimen itself was placed before him by Professor Ameghino
there followed a rapid disenchantment, for it proved at every point
antagonistic to the notion that had been formed of it on the basis of
the published data. The first impression, in fact, amounted to incre-
dulity as to its being the relic in question.

However, the specimen was subjected to a prolonged study and
comparison, which resulted as follows:

The bone is a portion of the skull of an adult male, who, judging
from the state of the coronal suture, was approaching middle age.

It is free from all deformation, effected either during life or post-
humously.

It presents no pathologic features with the exception of an old
shallow moderate-sized scar, situated just above the left frontal
eminence. The injury left a trace also on the ventral surface of the
bone, but is of no importance in the considerations that follow.

The surface of the fragment seems to show a slight calcareous cov-
ering and is discolored @vax to limonite-brown), particularly on the
inside. The stained parts possess some luster, especially ventrally.
The surfaces of the frontal sinuses are covered by a calcareous de-
posit resembling a thin pellicle of brown wax. The thin walls of bone
between the frontal sinuses and the cranial cavity appear to be
wholly infiltrated with calcareous and ferruginous matter, and the
color of the interstitial parts of the bone where broken is blackish.
There are similar black deposits in some of the cavities of the diplée
in the postero-external part of the free edge of the left parietal and
there may be some interstitial infiltrations. Finally, in several of
the exposed diplée cells of the broken edge of the left parietal are
seen remains of light earth with minute white crystals, possibly fine
sand. Notwithstanding these conditions, the bone when struck does
not sound as one highly mineralized and is not much heavier than
normal. Furthermore, in ground as rich in lime salts as the pam-
pean loess neither the above-mentioned discoloration nor these de-
posits can afford any index of antiquity.

Discolorations similar to those presented by the skull were found
on numerous pieces of tosca recovered from the not very old strata
exposed in an excavation for a new house in Buenos Aires (in Calle
25 de Mayo). They result from the deposition on such, articles as
calcareous concretions, bones, stone, etc., of ferruginous and perhaps
other salts dissolved from the ground and carried by water, and in
common with calcareous sediments in the cavities or on the surface
of objects need under favorable circumstances no great duration of
time for their formation.

826 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

ANTHROPOLOGIC CHARACTERISTICS

In a detailed study of the specimen it soon became plain that
almost the entire original description by Ameghino had miscarried
by reason of the fragment having been placed and considered in a
wrong position. It had been viewed not in the indispensable
approximation to either of the standard skull positions recog-
nized in anthropology, but just asit lay on some pedestal or on the
table. This accidental and faulty position of the fragment had
changed the inclination of the plane of the articular surface for the
nasal bones, had made the glabella and especially the roofs of the
orbits look more forward, had changed a supraglabellar to a post-
glabellar space and made the same look nearly upward, had caused
‘the forehead to appear much lower than it is and had given
the sagittal line a slope backward different from that which it
possesses. All these results of faulty orientation combined have
helped to make the specimen look extraordinary and primitive, even
unhuman.

The first step in the writer’s examination of the fragment con-
sisted in placing it in the position it would occupy in the alveolo-
condylian plane of the skull. But as this could not be accomplished
directly, owing to the defective nature of the specimen, an entire
skull was looked for having a nearly related form and the same
nasion-bregma diameter, which could therefore be utilized with pro-
priety as a model. Such a specimen was found in No. 52, a modern
male Indian cranium of unknown provenience, in the Museo Na-
cional, Buenos Aires, which not merely presents a frontal of the same
length as the Diprothomo fragment, but resembles the latter also in
other particulars. This specimen was brought into the alveolo-
condylian plane, the inclination of the nasion-bregma axis was ascer-
tained and then the Diprothomo specimen was placed so that its
nasion-bregma axis formed the same angle as the model, with the
horizontal (pls. 49, 50).

The results of the observations made were as follows:

The nasion was found to be 6 mm. beneath the horizontal line
connecting the uppermost parts of the borders of the orbits.

The location of the point is undoubtedly high, but among 78 more
or less modern Indian crania of the Museo Nacional collection, which
were examined and measured for comparison, there were 9 in
which its situation was equally high or even higher. The list below
shows the distance of the nasion in these skulls from the line connect-
ing the highest points on the superior border of the orbits (outside
of the orbital foramina or canals):

mm
DipTrothomo n= a= pate Dae ow ose C= were eS Sate Chk ee eR aren ra ae Pe 6.0
No. 3. Patagomibe, Yanale... 2. 25. SMA DST SS ee PO 4.0
No. 25. Calchaqui, male.......... 2.220.222. 925- = eee one ee 4.5

No. 52: Indian, iribemot:stated; male-— 12.2. 222 eater eee eee t= ee 4,5

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 49

THE ORIGINAL OF THE “DIPROTHOMO”? SKULL

Posed with the nasion-bregma plane approximated to that of another Indian skull, in which the nasion-
bregma diameter is of the same value, and which shows form-relation to this specimen.

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 50

THE ORIGINAL OF THE “DIPROTHOMO” SKULL

Top view; fragment posed as in plate 49.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 827

mm
Memes Paiaconian, Misle tae. 8s ee edt Saad. SE A ete ee 5.0
oo ASS DESO Se loreiaeta Ne eres Wr 0G) (2 a ee 5.0
Serene aie OA Weel te ie sie i le ee ee ee 5.5
iets rence siren eterna. WL 2 eS SE TS DL bs 5.5
Reta eae reuLeMIELCgmN atari eee he Py tay. bh2 ie LP Sees sis 9 0)-)- PRB on ds pe bie 5.5
No} 49. Indian ,inibe net, certain, probably male ..65. 2.8 - .c-.2~ ene se eee ese eee 6.0

These measurements show clearly that the situation of the nasion
in the Diprothomo skull is very much like that in at least 15 per cent
of the ordinary South American Indian crania.

The backward inversion of the lower part of the nasal process below
the glabella, with the consequent nasion depression, exists, and the
latter, while not deep, was quite as pronounced as in the average
Indian or even white male. Of course, when the fragment is inclined
backward more than it should be, both of these features become less
appreciable. However, no great biologic importance could be at-
tached under any conditions to these characteristics as found in a
single case, for they are subject to considerable individual variation.
The nasal process is convex from side to side, as usual in man. It
measures 38 mm. in breadth between the supraorbital foramina and
was about 26 mm. broad at its lower end, both of which dimensions
are often met with in the modern Indian. In three masculine skulls
belonging to the United States National Museum collection, a
Piegan from Montana, an ancient Peruvian, and a Patagonian, they
are respectively, 41 and 26, 44 and 27, and 42 and 27 mm.; while in
11 other male Patagonian skulls in the institution the lower measure-
ments range from 23 to 27 mm.

The fronto-nasal suture presents a nearly semicircular form, as in
the majority of modern Indian skulls.

The separation of the branches of the fronto-nasal suture at points
10 mm. distant from the nasion and corresponding closely, if not
exactly, with the limits of the naso-frontal articulation, is 14.5 mm.
A measurement of the diameter between corresponding landmarks,
i. e., between the points at which the fronto-nasal changes to the
fronto-maxillary suture, in 50 Peruvian and Patagonian skulls taken
at random, showed an average of 12.5 mm., and 8 of the specimens
(16 per cent) gave from 14.5 to 17mm. This demonstrates the fact
that the breadth, equally with the shape, of the fronto-nasal articular
surface (with the intercallated nasal spine) in the dry-dock specimen
can not be regarded as exceptional.

The depth of the nasal notch is somewhat exaggerated by the loss
of the nasal spine. The maximum breadth of the articular surface
on each side of the spine did not exceed 7 mm., a feature which points
to afairly, but not excessively, strong frontal border of the nasal bones.
This border is always the stoutest part of the nasalia, particularly in
adult males, though, like other dimensions of the nasal bones, it pre-
sents a considerable range of individual variation.

328 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Finally, as to the inclination of the fronto-nasal articular surface,
it was found that a line drawn on the left, or better-preserved, side
from the nasion to the inferior end of the surface, forms with the
nasion-bregma axis an angle of 71°, almost exactly the same as in a
Piegan skull used for comparison (see pl. 51) and very much like that
found in the average Indian. Naturally, the more the fragment is
tilted backward, the more nearly vertical this surface becomes, as
would be the case in any other frontal.

Resuming the subject, it is seen that the various characteristics of
the nasal notch, particularly when the fragment is placed in approxi-
mately the position it would occupy in a naturally-posed head, are
not merely entirely human but such that they may easily be-taken
for those of a modern Indian and in fact they could be even those of
a modern white. On the other hand, they present important and in
many instances radical differences from similar structures in the an-
thropoid apes as well as in the lower Primates, including the Arcto-
pithect.

The glabella presents a considerable, though by no means unique
or especially unhuman, prominence. It is not massive. The region
is brought forward, as can be seen from the broken parts below, by
extraordinary development of the frontal sinuses, particularly their
median chambers (pls. 49, 50, 52).

The following measurements relating to the protrusion of the gla-
bella in the Diprothomo skull will make possible comparison with
other specimens: An antero-posterior line from the center of the
glabella to the ventral wall of the frontal bone, slightly to one side
of the metopic ridge, on the right 22 mm., on the left 20 mm.; same,
directly in the middle line (to a point 5 mm. above the foramen
cecum), 23 mm.

The prominence and form of the whole supranasal part of the
frontal, though rare, can both be duplicated among Indian crania
(see pls. 52, 53). They would not appear as they do in the Dipro-
thomo fragment were the distal halves of the supraorbital ridges of that
fragment well-developed; as it is, they are prominent over the median
half and practically absent from the distal half of the supraorbital
space on each side, a condition which accentuates the impression of
protrusion of the middle region. And, what is more important, they
are not inferior, zoomorphic characteristics. They diverge from,
rather than approximate to, the specimen from Primates lower than
man, for in these the glabella attains no prominence and no similar
shape.

The unhuman appearance of the glabella in the drawings pub-
lished with the first description of the specimen is due to the position
the bone was given, and to the artist’s interpretation of what he saw.

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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 52

MODERN INDIAN SKULLS—GLABELLAR REGION

a, Piegan (No. 243672); b, Patagonian (No. 262149); c, Peruvian (No. 266141), all in U. S. National
Museum. Comparable, with respect to glabellar region, to the Diprothomo specimen. All are posed
in the alveolo-condylar plane; the maxille and malars are occluded.

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TINXMS NVINOSVLVd ANITNOSVW NYSCGOW

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 829

e

The frontal sinuses themselves differ somewhat on the two sides.
On the right there is only one large cavity with a slight indication of
a dividing septum; on the left there are a more median, antero-
superior, partial septum, and another more complete wall about
3 cm. from the median line, in all three imperfectly separated spaces.
The more median chamber on the left measures approximately
3+cubic centimeters (15 by 15 by 20 mm.) in capacity and that on
the right was even more spacious.

The supraorbital ridges arch, as already mentioned, over the
median half of the supraorbital space on each side, following quite
closely the curve of the orbital borders, exactly as in many modern
Indian skulls. The ridges are prominent but not at all comparable
with the heavy supraorbital welts of the Neanderthal and Spy skulls
or even with those of some of the Australians. Their prominence is
due not to size or massiveness but to the protrusion of the median
parts of the outer wall of the frontal, caused by the large frontal
sinuses. They would be regarded as quite ordinary in a masculine
skull with fuller forehead. They are equaled and exceeded in some
masculine crania of the modern Indian and occasionally even in those
of whites.

The supraglabellar plane offers no extraordinary feature except
that it is somewhat better marked than usual, owing to the prom-
inence of the subjacent glabellar region. It is entirely human and
modern in character, and the same is true of the moderate depression
above the supraorbital ridges.

The distal halves of the supraorbital borders are normally formed;
they are not massive or sharp, just ordinary. There is only a vestige
of the supraorbital arch of the lower Primates, as usual in well-
developed modern human crania. The planum supraorbitale is well-
defined, smooth and slanting, precisely as in many modern masculine
Indian skulls. In the lower Primates, especially in the adult males,
this region is contracted, more or less deficient, and radically unlike
that in man.

The lower portion of the cerebral part of the frontal is wide, wider
than the average in the Indian, the diameter frontal minimum meas-
uring 9.8 cm. This is surely no sign of primitiveness or inferiority.

The forehead is somewhat low and sloping as compared with well-
developed skulls of the whites but is not exceptional if compared with
the average masculine crania of Indians, particularly those of the
dolichocephalic type. A number of modern Indian skulls were shown
by the writer in his report relating to man’s antiquity in North
America ' with lower and more sloping foreheads than in the Dipro-

es

1 Skeletal Remains Suggesting or Attributed to Early Manin North America (Bulletin 33 of the Bureau
of American Ethnology, p. 99 et seq. and pls. XII-XX1).

330 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52
os

thomo. ‘The curve of one of these, a modern and otherwise normal
Piegan, is shown here in contrast to that of the Diprothomo (pl. 51). [']

The frontal eminences are distinct. In the median line there is
scarcely a trace of an antero-posterior ridge and in consequence the
superior outline of the norma anterior was quite oval. There is no
asymmetry and the whole formation of the frontal squama speaks
for its ordinary recent human character.

The frontal bone does not give the impression of exceptional length,
nor of exceptional narrowness; in fact, the conditions in regard to
the latter particular are quite the reverse, as already partially shown
by the dimension of the smallest frontal diameter. The are or
surface measurement from nasion to bregma is 12.6 em., exactly
the same as in No. 52 of the Museo Nacional, and a number of
crania were found in the same collection in which it was very simi-
lar. In No. 33, the skull of the Araucanian Cacique Panchito, the
nasion-bregma arc measures only 11.3 em., while in Nos. 3 and 13,
both male Patagonians, it reaches 13.9em. A frontal are of 12.6 em.
is a very common feature of modern Indian crania, as well as of those
of other races. The maximum breadth of the frontal amounts to
about 11.4 cm., a very fair average for a dolichocephalic or mesoce-
phalic Indian.

The temporal ridges are rather submedium in development for a
male and run at a good distance (slightly less than 6 cm. on each
side) from the sagittal suture. This is unequivocal proof that the
temporal muscles were developed far less than in any adult male
Primate below man, less even than in many a human savage. They
were developed only about as much as they are in the modern,
even in the civilized, man, a fact which leads inevitably to the
conclusion that the jaws of this individual were of only moderate
dimensions and that therefore the face could not have been massive
or protruding.

In harmony with the distant and moderate temporal crests,
the anterior part of the sagittal region shows only traces of elevation
or ridge, which terminate at the summit. The latter is fairly dis-
tinct, 3.5 em. posterior to the bregma.

The inclination of the fore part of the sagittal line when the frag-
ment is placed in proper position is very slightly downward, but it
is precisely so in the skull used as a model. (See pl. 51; also pl. xv
in Bull. 33, B. A. E.) When the specimen is laid farther backward,
the inclination of the line of the sagittal suture changes of course
and points more nearly downward in direct ratio to the tilting. The
posterior portion of the suture shows a descent, such as can be seen

in many not unusually long modern crania. ‘

1 To insure accuracy, in the case of the Diprothomo the curve was drawn with a fine-pointed pencil along
the cast of the fragment, cut in the median line, while in the Piegan skull it was drawn similarly along
the nasion-bregma line of a cast of the frontal part of the specimen.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 331

There is every indication that the parietals were of normal
modern-human shape and size. The horizontal length of what
remains of them is actually 6.3 em. There is absolutely no evidence
that the parieties of the skull were parallel or that the maximum
biparietal did not exceed the greatest frontal diameter.

The orbits were of ordinary dimensions. The breadth of that
on the right, from the lower extremity of the fronto-nasal suture to
the point of meeting of the orbital border and the fronto-malar
suture, is 39 or at most 40 mm., which is about the Indian average.

So far as can’ be judged from their upper portions, the orbits also
were of no unusual form. The arching of the superior border is
moderate but not subnormal, especially for a male. If a line is
drawn from the nasion to the point of intersection of the fronto-
malar suture and the limiting line of the orbit, the maximum
elevation of the upper border of the orbit above this horizontal is
9 mm.; in a Peruvian male (No. 266023, U.S.Nat.Mus.) and in a Pata-
gonian (No. 262149), neither selected for lowness of orbits, it is
equally 9 mm., in the before-mentioned Piegan it is 9.5 mm., and in a
Patagonian from San Xavier it is 8 mm. From a line connecting
the orbital extremities of the two fronto-malar sutures, the highest
point of the border is distant 16 mm.

The roof of the orbits, which received prominent attention in the
original report on the Diprothomo, presents, when the skull is
properly posed, no unusual feature. What appeared to be a peculiar
inclination was due to the same cause as the apparent slope down-
ward of the sagittal region, namely, the tilted position of the speci-
men. If a piece of an ordinary Indian skull corresponding in size
to that of the Diprothomo be laid by the side of the latter in a similar
position, or if the casts of the orbits from this and other skulls be
compared, we find that the roof is similarly inclined in both, and
also that in most masculine Indian crania which do not show more
massive or protruding supraorbital arches the concavity of the outer
part of the roof is somewhat shallow. Such shallowness was found in
a number of the crania in the Museo Nacional, especially in No. 25,
as well as in Nos. 3, 13, 23, and 42, and in numerous specimens in
the United States National Museum. There is therefore no ground
for an assumption that the eyes were bulging.

Finally, there is no indication, nor any probability, that the lower
orbital borders protruded forward, so that they would have been
visible from above with the skull in a standard position.

As to the vault sutures, the coronal is ventrally all obliterated
but dorsally well traceable so far as the bone is preserved. The
sagittal suture is patent both ventrally and dorsally. The serration
of both the coronal and the sagittal is well-developed and actually
more complex than usual in the Indian. The breadth of the serration

one BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

of the sagittal increases in width as usual from before backward,
reaching 11 mm. at the break.

Ventrally, the Diprothomo fragment shows some rather large
depressions for Pacchionian bodies and shallow impressions of brain
convolutions. The cavity for the frontal lobes is fairly spacious
and the frontal portion of the brain was broadly rounded from side to
side, as general in modern man. The mefopic ridge is very moderate.

Finally, the thickness of the Diprothomo bone, ranging from 3.5 to
7.6 mm. for the frontal squama and from 4.5 to 9 mm. for the
parietals, is quite ordinary as compared with the same measurement
in the Indian and even in the white.

As to the size of the Diprothomo skull when entire, the evidence
available indicates that it was between 18.5 and 19 cm. long, and
between 13.6 to 13.9 em. broad. It was fairly but not very high; its
capacity was surely not below 1,350, more probably between 1,400

and 1,500 ce.
CONCLUSIONS

The sum of the results of the writer’s study of the Buenos Aires
skull fragment, regardless of its uncertain history, is that the —
specimen fails utterly to reveal any evidence which would justify its
classification as a representative of a species of ancient Primates, pre-
mediate forerunners of the human being, the Diprothomo. Every
feature shows it to be a portion of the skull of man himself; it bears
no evidence even of having belonged to an early or physically primi-
tive man, but to a well-developed and physically modern-like human
individual. While this individual was in all probability an Indian,
a decisive racial identification in the absence of so many important
parts of the specimen is impossible. The few peculiarities which the
skull possesses are, even if taken all together, of only secondary bio-
logic importance, such as are found in many Indians. The faulty
anthropologic status given the specimen in the first report thereon
was in the main the result of the before-mentioned fundamental
error of placing and considering the fragment in a wrong plane, an
incident which only accentuates the need of placing all similar speci-
mens having an apparent or real bearing on man’s antiquity, im
the hands of an experienced anthropologist.

The ordinary nature of the fragment will be further appreciated
from the measurements given in the table that follows:

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 333
Diprothomo—Comparative measurements
F Point of contact of Diameter
Uppermost point F pees 3
on upper orbital so plaka eae Diameter] between
border, to between | points of
Skulls ’ | wasion- ’ malar suture, to| most |contactof| —. :
(Museo |} coma bregma. bregma external | orbital. | Diameter) Diameter
Nacional, aie points on| borders |. frontal frontal
Buenos ter lateral and = |minimum) maximum
Aires) s angular | fronto- :
Right Left Right | Left | processes} malar
suture
cm. cm. cm. cm. cm. cm. cm. cm. cm.
Diproth. | 11.6 10.9 11.0 11.8 i 10.7 9.9 9.8 | about! 11.5
Dee ae 12.3 12.0 11.9 ~ 12.9 12.5 11.0 10.0 Sa) 11.6
TRE ae 11.2 10.7 10.6 11.6 11-4 lula, ei 8.7 MSS
iS nepeteees 12.3 11.8 ilar 12.8 12.6 na 10.0 9.5 12.5
2332 £4825. 10.2 9.8 9.9 10.8 1152 10.8 1a Fal 9.2 11.3
Cee eae Ee 11.4 inal 11.0 12.3 12.4 Ties 10.2 9.85 12.9
Dose tones 10.4 10.0 10.3 10.9 11.5 11.2 10.3 9.0 11.1
4D a2 nes 10.7 10.3 10.4 11.4 11.6 10.3 9.3 9.8 a {5 15)
AB As ebe 3 10.2 9.8 10.2 10.6 11.2 10.4 9.8 9.0 10.3
AO eee 10.7 10.2 10.3 11.1 11.3 10.3 9.3 9.1 near 11.3
ie es 10.9 10.7 10.7 11.8 11.9 10.8 9.85 10.0 11.9
DO ee 11.2 10.7 10.8 11.6 aE W2 10.5 9.6 11.6
1 Between intersection of temporal ridges ana coronal suture, 11.2 em.
2 The principal dimensions of the vault of these skulls are as follows:
Basion-
bregma
Length Breadth height
‘ cm. cm. cm.
No. 3, male, Patagonian, not deformed, principal diameters -...........- 19.9x 14.3x 14.3
Noy. ¢.males Paracomian s105 Celormed. 2.25 6. - wn wer ese ec deece ns ciese 19.0 x about 14.7 x 14.0
Now13,) male; Patagonian, not deformed... 5.24. -.a222s2-40e6ece ces beceics 19.1 x 14.6% 14.5
No. 23, male, Patagonian, not deformed...................-.. oo Saige e arse 17.7x 14.0 x 13.8
No. 25, male, Calchaqui, occiput flattened.....-...... Se Bere ere ee 15.9 x 15.3 x 14.9
INO. 33, male, Araucanian, not deformed ....-.------ 6 -ci-5-2- oes eave about 17.45 x 14.0x 12.9
NOD 42omale, tribe? motideformed:. 2.222. 5.12.26 554 es hb eceuet seen ce 17.2x near 13.7 x 13.5
Nonia, male, tribes not delormed). 52%. o 25 se-- ope neese aces ceceesanenaee about 17.1 x about 13.0 x 13.6
NG. 40 anale vinibes Not. deformed <7 koe) ees ese edd ee oe 12 = 13.2 x 13.3
ONG oe, ALE eur Gy 110 ty CLOUT eye a acre ae ere Ge ha aoe kc ny mare w ctore 18.0 x 14.0 x 13.3
No. 79, male, (probably) Calchaqui, occiput flattened. ...-...........-.--- 16.9x 14.1 x 13.3

ADDITIONAL REPorTS ON DiPpROTHOMO

Between the date of the original publication on the Diprothomo,
by Ameghino, and the completion of the writer’s study of the speci-
men embodied in this report, a number of publications on the subject,
some of considerable importance, have appeared. Regrettably, not-
withstanding the weight of the problems involved and the unsatis-
factory condition of the data, in some quarters the new ‘‘precursor”’
is being accepted with scarcely any critical reflection, as demon-
strated, but, as will be seen, there are also other opinions.

A good abstract of Ameghino’s memoir on the Diprothomo is given
by Rivet in L’ Anthropologie1 There is no discussion of the subject,
the reviewer ending his note with the expression that he “limits him-
self, without regret, to the réle of a strict analyst.”

1 Vol. xx, Paris, 1909, pp. 573-576.

834 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY _ [BULL. 52

Sergi accepts Ameghino’s main contentions without question and
utilizes the Argentine finds, altogether too readily, in support of his
theory of polygenism,' formulating on their basis a new classification
of the human family.

Buschan enumerates the principal finds of Ameghino,’ and reviews
the ‘‘Le Diprothomo platensis”’ in his periodical.’ He accepts appar-
ently the Ameghino reports as for the most part satisfactory, hesitat-
ing only in regard to the American origin of man in general and to
the continuation in America of the human line from the “‘ precursors”
to the Indian.

Senet publishes a résumé of the Ameghino finds relating to early
man,‘ without critical consideration.

In the early part of 1910 the specimen is again spoken of by
Sergi,®> who as before accepts in the main Ameghino’s conclusions and
bases on the existence of the Diprothomo and other ancient remains
of South America a special classification. The Tetraprothomo and
Diprothomo constitute together parts of the genus Proanthropidz,
family Homunculide.

At about the same time the principal Argentine finds, including the
Diprothomo, are given, as if they were established cases, by L. Wilser.®

On the occasion of the Seventeenth Congress of Americanists, held
in Buenos Aires in May, 1910, while the subject was being studied by
the present writer, the Diprothomo skull was examined also by A.
Mochi, and his conclusions have since appeared in a brief publication.’
Mochi declares that ‘‘from the commencement of my study of the
specimen I became convinced that the major part of the character-
istics attributed to this new genus depend strictly on the orientation
given the fragment by Ameghino and were based solely on a complex
of subjective views.’ The specimen was brought, by the help of the
remaining orbital parts, into a more natural position, and as a result
it ‘acquired a thoroughly human physiognomy.’’ Nevertheless the
skull presents a number of characteristics, “‘such as the extreme low-
ness of the vault, the form of the orbital arches and the glabella,
perhaps the direction of the coronal suture, the small inclination
backward of the nasal apophysis of the frontal bone, etc., on account
of which we can consider it as representing a quite particular human
type, and one so much more interesting in proportion (subject to
contrary proof), as it is considered to have come from a geologic

1Sergi, G., L’apologia del mio poligenismo; in Atti Soc. rom. antr., XV, fasc. 2, Roma, 1909, pp.
187-195.

2 Buschan, G., Das Alter des Menschen in Amerika; in Die Umschauw, x1, 1909, pp. 949-956.

3 Buschan, G., in Zentralblatt fiir Anthropologie, xtv, Braunschweig, 1909, pp. 368-371.

4 Senet, R., Los ascendientes del hombre segtin Ameghino; in Boletin de la Instruccién Publica, 1, No. 6,
Buenos Aires, pp. 1-52.

5 Sergi, G., Paléontologie sud-Américaine; in Scientia, vi, Bologna, 1910, pp. XVI-4.

6 Leben und Heimat des Urmenschen, Leipzig, 1910, pp. 17-22.

7 Mochi, A., Nota preventiva sul Diprothomo platensis Ameghino; in Revista del Museo de la Plata, Xvi,
Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 69-70.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 835

horizon much more ancient than those to which belong all the other
human remains known to date.”’

In September, 1910, there was published an answer to the above
by Ameghino,! some parts of which deserve to be reproduced here
in full.

Speaking of the anthropologists who during the earlier months
of that year came to see or study the Diprothomo, Ameghino states:
“T was able to note that the first impression produced by the sight
of the specimen was one of surprise; then came reaction and they
searched by one procedure or another, to pose the fragment so as to
give it or make it assume a form resembling more or less that of the
corresponding part of man. To obtain these results I have seen
employed procedures which I do not believe to be scientific, for
operating thus I could give a human aspect to the callotte of a chim-
panzee and an aspect of a chimpanzee to the skull-cap of a human
being.” Doctor Ameghino does not understand why anthropologists
are led to believe that he erred in the orientation of the specimen and,
in respect to Mochi’s contentions, makes the following double-edged
admission: “What is most curious about all this is, that it is pre-
cisely those characteristics which Mochi makes disappear by a new
posing of the skull which, according to my view, characterize clearly
the Diprothomo, and which lead me to say that the Diprothomo is
zoologically, in the broadest sense and without the possibility of a
doubt, a genus distinct from ‘Homo... .

“T still think,’ Ameghino says, “in the same way. I am con-
vineed, or I shall say more—I am almost certain,? that the orienta-
tion which I gave the specimen in question is, if not absolutely the
same at least very close to that which it must have had in life. I
have figured it in the highest possible degree of elevation, so that I
believe it could be placed still somewhat lower. It will be compre-
hended consequently that it is not possible to arrive at contrary
results except by false posing and I believe that the one adopted by
Doctor Mochi is of that nature.”

In the remaining part of the paper Ameghino proceeds to prove
by further minute examination, with the help of a fine steel wire,
that his former conclusion, particularly in regard to the glabellar
and subglabellar region of the fragment, are correct, and that “the
characteristics which he has given are real and incompatible with a
different orientation of the specimen.’ Particular stress is laid on
the defect of the subglabellar part of the frontal process. In his
words, “The inferior glabellar projection is formed by that part of the
glabella or the interorbital prolongation of the frontal which descends

1 Ameghino, F., Sur l’orientation de la calotte du Diprothomo; in Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos
Aires, Xx (ser. iii, t. xm), 1910, pp. 319-327.
2 “Je suis convaincu, je dirai plus, j’ai la presque certitude,”

336 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 52

below the superior orbital borders. This descending part is developed
more or less in man, but it is never missing. It 1s completely absent
in the Diprothomo.”

The conclusion is that ‘‘notwithstanding the characteristics which
approximate the Diprothomo to man, he departs from the same more
than the Anthropomorphs and the larger part of other apes by the
features which I have examined.” And the last sentence is especially
noteworthy: ‘‘The anthropologists can class it in the genus Homo,
but from the point of view of the zoologists and the paleontologists
it constitutes a distinct genus. one which is considerably removed
from that of man.”

Toward the end of 19101 Mochi published his second paper on the
‘fossil’? human remains of Argentina but the Diprothomo receives no
further consideration. Soon afterward, however, Ameghino published
two more papers on the subject of the Diprothomo and some of the
other “‘fossil’’ human remains of Argentina previously described by
him. The first of these notes will be referred to later. In the second
Ameghino? deals further with Mochi’s statements: He points out that
the Italian writer made his observations (in regard to the Diprothomo
as well as on the other specimens he examined) too hastily and that
he ‘‘falls very frequently into errors more considerable than those he
pretends to correct.’ As to the geologic questions, Mochi ‘‘treated
them superficially and without even a mediocre knowledge either of
the facts or of the corresponding literature.” As to the more recent
strata, especially, his presentation ‘‘is a veritable péle-méle of ideas,
facts, and of almost inextricable quotations, where the facts are
tortured under all possible forms to make them accord with the
prejudices which here burst from all sides’”’ (p. 62). And there is
more of this, for which, however, the reader must be referred to the
original. It will suffice to say that the paper is devoted principally
to the refutation of Mochi’s statements of a geologic and paleon-
tologic nature, Ameghino defending and retaining without any
modification his position concerning the Diprothomo as well as the
other finds he described. To Mochi’s statement about the lack of
proofs for the great age (Pliocene) of some of the human remains
Ameghino answers that, ‘“‘in closing one’s eyes in presence of proofs,
one forms for himself the illusion that they do not exist—which has
happened to M. Mochi. The Pliocene age of the Pampean formation
remains unshaken and consequently the human remains which it
incloses are clearly of Pliocene age” (p. 72). As skeletal remains of
man of Tertiary age have not been found elsewhere and ‘“‘abound” in

1 Mochi, A., Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina; in Arch. per l’ Antr. e la Etn., Xu, Firenze,
1910, pp. 203-254.

2 Ameghino, F., L’4ge des formations sédimentaires tertiaires de ]’Argentine en relation avec l’anti-
quité de Vhomme; in Anales del Musco Nacional de Buenos Aires, Xxu (ser. iii, t. XV), 1911, pp. 45-75.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN aor

Argentina, it follows that “the place of origin and the center of dis-

persion of man was the southern half of South America. . . . This
conclusion is in perfect accordance with all the other facts that relate
to man and in line with his physical characteristics. . . . The

very abundance of those human remains indicates that one is at their
point of origin and in the region of their greatest differentiation.”’

In the lines quoted below, Ameghino mentions the discovery of
another ancient species of man. In a recent letter to the writer he
stated that there has just come to light, in the central pampa, another
“Diprothomo”’ and the reference in the publication at hand applies in
all probability to the same specimen, but it is now placed as ‘‘another
intermediary type between Diprothomo and Homo.’ This makes
already the sixth type of “‘hominiens,”’ profoundly distinct from one
another and from Homo sapiens, from the province of Buenos Aires,
and “these six species of hominiens, cantoned in the same country,
prove with all the eloquence of facts without appeal that here exists
the center of origin, diversification, and dispersion of the human
genus.”

The remainder of the paper is given to reassertions concerning the
antiquity of the various objects other than skeletal remains which
have been reported from Argentina as signaling the presence of early
man and which Mochi regards in general as of doubtful character.
“The material of this kind which has been accumulated at the Museo
Nacional of Buenos Aires is so considerable and contains pieces that
are so characteristic, that only the blind could fail to recognize therein
the hand of man—and the blind are to be pitied, nothing more.”
And there are announced new objects of this nature, from the Enter-
rian and Superior Eocene formations; also “eoliths,’”’ found from the
Eocene onward. These vestiges, as well as incised, cut, scraped,
and split animal bones, and objects showing the effects of fire, of
similar antiquity, occur in the same strata with osseous débris of the
most ancient precursors of the hominiens (= Anthropos, etc.), ‘to
whom their first industrial vestiges can also be attributed.”

“It is seen,’ Professor Ameghino continues, “that it does not
matter from which point of view the case is considered; be it from
that of the antiquity and abundance of fossil human bones; be it from
that of the variety and great differentiation of fossil hominiens, or from
that of the presence of skeletal vestiges of man’s forerunners and of
the precursors of the hominiens, which are totally absent from
Europe; or be it finally from that of ancient industrial traces—
South America possesses more ancient, more numerous, and more con-
vincing documents than those that have been furnished up to this
time by the old continent.”

1“ T/abondance méme de ces débris, indique qu’on est sur leur point d'origine et dans la région de leur plus
grand développement.”

21535° —Bull. 52—12——22

8388 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 52

The anthropologice discussion of Mochi’s opinions is reserved by
Ameghino for still another occasion and the paper ends without hay-
ing brought forth what could be regarded as the slightest additional
evidence on the Diprothomo, or on any of the other Argentine
discoveries.

In a short paper, published toward the end of 1910,’ referring to a
lecture given in June of that year, Lehmann-Nitsche gives in regard to
the Diprothomo skull the following: ‘‘It is probable that a human
frontal bone discovered years ago in a dry-dock of the Puerto Madero
(Buenos Aires) proceeds also [hike the remains of the Baradero
skeleton, p. 258] from the intermediary Pampean formation; by its
characteristics it is distinguished in nothing from the corresponding
bone of skulls that are derived from the Superior Pampean and con-
sequently from the actual ones. There is, therefore, no justification
for attributing this fragment to a new species or even a new genus of
the Hominidz and for calling it Diprothomo platensis, as has been
done by Sefior Ameghino.”’

At about the same time as the last-mentioned article there appeared
an important contribution to the Diprothomo question, by Schwalbe.?
No one is more competent to deal with questions relating to the mor-
phology of man, particularly early man, than this author and his
statements claim careful attention. In addition the paper contains
an interesting contribution by Stemmann on the age of the formation
in which presumably the specimen was discovered.

Steinmann regards the pampa formation as Quaternary. If the
skull lay under a layer of tosca, it might be of a young diluvial age,
or about as ancient as the Mousterian remains in Europe; but if it was
not under the tosea, then it might be of even a very late alluvial
origin. |

In subsequent lines Schwalbe cites two other opinions concerning
the Diprothomo. The first (p. 222) is from a letter by Lehmann-
Nitsche, in which the correspondent states that ‘‘the skull-cap in
question has long been known to him but that he was not able to see
anything about it which would differentiate it from human.” The
other quotation is from a manuscript reference to the Paleontology
of Vertebrates, by Deninger, to the effect that Ameghino’s data con-
cerning the Diprothomo are based simply on false orientation of the
specimen.

Schwalbe himself finds that first of all the outline figures in Ame-
ghino’s memoir on the Diprothomo do not harmonize with the photo-
graphic ones, exaggerating some of the features. In the second place,
Ameghino’s reconstructions of the skull are wrong, worthless, and

1 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fésil pampeano; in Bol. Ofic. Nac. Estad, La Paz, Bolivia, vi, 1910,
pp. 363-366.

2 Schwalbe, G., Studien zur Morphologie der siidamerikanischen Primatenformen; in Zeitschr. fur
Morph. und Anthr., Band xm, Heft 2, Stuttgart, 1910. pp. 209-258.

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 339

can not possibly correspond to conditions that actually existed.
But, what is most important, the posing of the fragment was wholly
incorrect and is responsible for the apparent resemblances to lower
forms on which was based the genus Diprothomo. A number of
Alsatian skulls were found to show characteristics of the frontal bone
closely approximating those of the Buenos Aires fragment (fig. 50).
“The skull-fragment of Diprothomo is that of a true man”’ and the
size of the skull was very respectable. The frontal bone is not
excessively narrow nor too long, ‘‘its breadth falls within the range
of variation of the Alsatian crania,” and its length, as well as the

Fic. 50. Norma lateralis of Diprothomo fragment (shaded, and bounded by hatch-line) and
Ameghino’s ‘‘completion”’ of such fragment (shaded and bounded by broken line), compared
with norma lateralis of Alsatian skull (unshaded and bounded by solid line). (After Schwalbe;
slightly reduced.) :

length-breadth index of the bone, is not seldom exceeded in modern
man’s skulls. Nor is there any indication that the parietals were
relatively or absolutely too short. ‘<All the rest of the features dwelt
upon by Ameghino are referable to a wholly false orientation of the
specimen.”’

On page 235 Schwalbe gives an illustration showing the differences
in Ameghino’s posing of the fragment and its consequent appearance,
with an approximation of the same to the horizontal plane used by
a9 German anthropologists. This drawing is here reproduced
pl. 54).

340 . BUREAU OF. AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [ BULL. 52

In regard to the position of the nasion with relation to a horizontal
line connecting the uppermost parts of the superior orbital border,
Schwalbe finds that, first of all, its high situation is encountered
occasionally in man; second, the point is located at various distances
below the line mentioned and on the whole lower than in man, in the
American apes; and third, it is also, notwithstanding Ameghino’s
statements to the contrary, situated below that line (4mm. as measured
on the cast) in the Diprothomo. In consequence, the feature can not
be regarded as a distinctive generic characteristic, separating the
Diprothomo from man. There has existed also a nasion depression.
The thickness of the interorbital part of the fragment compared with
the biorbital breadth, shows itself to be well within the human varia-
tion and the inferior frontal construction is thoroughly human in type;
finally, the greatest breadth of the skull was as usual in the parietal
region.

“The fragment belongs to an entirely ordinary Homo sapiens and
is equal in al parts to the most recent skulls of man. Ameghino’s
Diprothomo is to be stricken from the evolution-line leading to man.”
Subsequent examination by Schwalbe on the cast of the skull-cap only
confirmed all the above observations.

The only comment the present writer can make on the above by
Professor Schwalbe is that he agrees with every word written.

Another critical reference to the Diprothomo is made by Friede- -
mann, which appeared toward the end of 1910, in the Zeitschrift fiir
Ethnologie After giving the principal points from Ameghino’s
report on the Diprothomo and after pointing out the discord that
exists between Ameghino and other observers in regard to the age of
the formations in which the fragments were discovered, Friedemann
says: ‘‘When Ameghino’s data are tested critically there arises at
once the question as to the orientation of the specimen. . . . Ame-_
ghino regards the callotte as it lies on the table, as ‘naturally posed,’ ”’
the specimen assuming in this way the characteristics which Ameghino
describes. When the fragment is properly elevated, ‘‘a considerable
part of the given pithecoid features disappear;” . . . the naso-
frontal articulation ‘is then directed forward no more than backward.”
The nasion is situated (on the cast) 3 mm. beneath the horizontal
line connecting the uppermost planes of the border of the orbits.

On the basis of the foregoing and other considerations Friedemann
reaches the result that for the present ‘‘we are not justified to see in
the Diprothomo a proof for the correctness of the opinions expressed
by Ameghino; it is much more possible to accept the probability
that the skull-cap of the Diprothomo does not differ much from that of
recent man.”’

1 Friedemann, M., Vorlage eines Gipsabgusses des Schiideldaches von Diprothomo platensis Ameghino;
in Zeitschr. fiir Ethn., Berlin, 1910, Heft 6, pp. 929-935.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN SAL

In discussion of the preceding communication’ v. Luschan
remarked that when he first learned of Ameghino’s publication on the
Diprothomo, he hoped that it would pass without notice, in which,
regrettably, he was mistaken. ‘I want to say without reservation
that I regard Ameghino’s description as completely erroneous
(vollstindige Entgleasung). In another South American periodical
there was once described with much emphasis a newly discovered
intermediary form between the Amphibia and fishes, which afterward
developed to be a tadpole. Ameghino’s Diprothomo is scarcely a less
sad error (Hntgleisung) and must positively be refused to be accepted
for what it is given. When the fragment is properly posed it becomes
at once clear that it can proceed only from man who did not differ
in the least from the normal average present-time European. Every
large cranial collection contains dozens of modern skulls from Europe,
Asia, America, and Oceania, from which could be cut out a piece
entirely equal to that representing the Diprothomo. I place here
side by side illustrations of one such piece and that of the Dipro-
thomo fragment, and I also beg you to compare the skull from which
the piece is derived with Ameghino’s attempt at a reconstruction
[of the skull of the Diprothomo]. . . . I believe that no more words
are necessary to demonstrate the absolutely untenable nature of
Ameghino’s conception.”

In the middle of February, 1911, Ameghino published his before-
mentioned third paper which deals with the Diprothomo. In this he
devoted himself particularly to the subject of the orientation of the
specimen.” In the first paragraph we read: ‘The anthropologists, in
their researches on the orientation which should be given to the
Diprothomo callotte, continue to employ the method of direct compari-
son with man, seeking to give the fragment a position similar to that
which a corresponding part occupies in man. The particular con-
formation of this specimen appears to their eyes only in a human form
and, naturally, proceeding in this manner they obtain very different
results from those which I have reached.’’ And on the second page:
‘““My morphologic conception is independent of measurements and of
all mechanical procedure or of that of precision. In this case, having
always in mind a perfect idea of simian morphology in general, my
eyes judge on the basis of this conception, and I have more con-
fidence in what my eyes see, in accord with my knowledge, than in
all the mechanical procedures and measurements that can be imag-
ined. I can turn the callotte of the Diprothomo in all the possible
positions, turn it even upside down, and my eyes will always see it
of the same form. I accept mechanical procedures, or those of

1 See Friedemann, Vorlage eines Gipsabgusses des Schiideldaches yon Diprothomo platensis Ameghino;
in Zeitschr. fiir Ethn., Bertin, 1910, Heft 6, pp. 935-938.

2 Ameghino, F., La eallotte du Diprothomo d’aprés Vorientation frontoglabellaire; in Anales del Museo
Nacional de Buenos Aires, xxu (ser. iii, t. XV), 1911, pp. 1-9, pls. 1-4,

342 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

precision, simply as a means of confirmation of what is expressed to
me by morphology.”

And then, not moved in the slightest in his notions of the case by the
various criticisms, Ameghino proceeds to develop an “ absolutely exact”
mode of cranialorientation or posing ofhisown. He invents an instru-
ment (“craniorientor’’), consisting of a vertical stand with a long hori-
zontal branch and a shorter terminal descending part. The latter is
applied to “the central glabellar point,” which for Ameghino is the point,
of intersection of the antero-posterior median line with a horizontal
passing between the highest points of the superior border of the two
orbits. The second landmark is “the most elevated point of the
skull, that is to say, the central point of the vertex.”’ . .. ‘These two
points, united by two lines that form a right angle, give the natural
orientation of the skull.’’ The two branches of the “‘craniorientor”’
supply these two lines. ‘‘To use this instrument, one places the
skull, skull-cap, or frontal, on a wooden base in such amanner that the
glabella comes in contact with the perpendicular descending branch
of the instrument. Then, with the help of two superposed wooden
wedges, the specimen is elevated or lowered until the perpendicular
branch touches tangentially the central glabellar point. This
obtained, the fronto-glabellar orientation of the skull has been reached,
and on making the horizontal branch descend, this will come against
the culminating point of the skull; that is, against the center of the
vertex.” The result reached by this procedure is shown in the
accompanying illustration. The author states that he “‘does not
pretend that the methods of orientation now in use should be aban-
doned for this one’’; it is only to supplement them, as one more
applicable to isolated frontal portions of skulls and one which will
give more exact and less variable results. (Pl. 55.)

Oriented with the help of this instrument, the Diprothomo frag-
ment ‘‘takes an absolutely different pose” from that of the skull of
the present man or of the Neanderthal man, and also from that of a
chimpanzee. ‘‘The vertex falls fully on the frontal, toward its
posterior two-thirds.['] The bregma remains much farther back.
Immediately behind the vertex which, as seen, is placed extraor-
dinarily forward, the rear curve of the skull descends rapidly,
indicating an extremely low skull, a characteristic of inferior apes.
Finally, one sees the enormous length of the frontal bone and the
direction of the coronal suture which, instead of being transverse,
descends obliquely forward in a form which is seen only in the mon-
keys and especially among American monkeys, as in the LHriodes,
Ateles, and a number of others.”’

(\““Vers ses deux tiers postéricurs’’; the exact sense of this, as of some other of Doctor Ameghino’s expres-
sions, is difficult to determine.)

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 343

The concluding remark of the paper is: “The capital point to which
I call attention is that the orientation which the callotte of Diprothomo
assumes in the craniorientor is absolutely the same as that which I
have given it on the basis of its morphologic characteristics. This
orientation confirms therefore all the distinctive features which I
attribute, in my preceding publications, to the Diprothomo.”

Finally, in a terminal footnote of the paper just considered is
found Ameghino’s preliminary response to Schwalbe’s study of the
specimen under consideration. It reads: ‘“‘At the moment of cor-
recting the last proofs of this paper I learn of a recent publication by
Professor Schwalbe—where, by means of comparisons that are simply
empirical and with an arrogance that is almost aggressive, he affirms
that my description of the Diprothomo rests on a false orientation of
the callotte; besides which the work is a general criticism of my re-
searches and my theories. My present memoir and former paper on
the subject suffice to demonstrate that so far as the posing of the
specimen is concerned he is in error. Nevertheless, I intend to
counter-criticize the unfounded or badly founded criticism of Pro-
fessor Schwalbe, in a forthcoming communication.”’

Notes oN THE DiprotHomo FIND

By BAILEY WILLIS

The supposed antiquity of the fragment of skull which represents
the Diprothomo of Ameghino is deduced geologically from the state-
ment that it was dug out of the undisturbed Pampean formation
beneath the Rio de la Plata in making the hole which was to serve
as a rudder-pit in the floor of a dry dock. As there is no witness
to the fact that it was actually found in place in the Pampean, it is
peculiarly important to ascertain all attendant circumstances. To
this end, Doctor Hrdli¢ka and the writer called on Mr. Junor, who
was immediately in charge of the dock construction at the time the
fragment was found, and who had furnished the data published
regarding its original position.

Mr. Junor was found at his home in Flores, a suburb of Buenos
Aires, on the evening of May 7, 1910, and we were most courteously
received. He appeared to be about 70 years of age, of sanguine
temperament, still enthusiastic as in youth, and an ardent believer
in the antiquity of man in Argentina. He recited freely his recol-
lection of the finding of the skull, stating in substance: The piece of
skull was brought to him by the foreman of a gang of workmen who
were digging out the rudder-pit. He (Mr. Junor) was very much
occupied at the time by duties of supervision of construction and did
not see the skull taken out, nor did he examine the place afterward
to see where it came from; but he had no doubt that it came out of

344 . BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

the well, ‘‘probably” from between a layer of tosca and the un-
derlying sand. The skull was said to have been found by a work-
man, who passed it to the foreman, who in turn gave it to Mr. Junor.
The workman can not now be identified. It does not appear that he
ever was questioned as to how the bone was found. Mr. Junor remem-
bered that several skulls were found and that the workmen played
bochas with them. In this game balls are tossed or rolled along the
ground, and the skulls were thus broken up until only the fragment
that is known as Diprothomo remained. But this recollection was
afterward corrected by Mr. Junor to the original statement that the
fragment alone was found.

On one point Mr. Junor was positive: The fragment of skull was
taken out of the well. And although this statement rests on the
say-so of the foreman who was told so by a workman, it appears to
be the one item in the early history of the find that is not open to
serious doubt. How, then, did the hard smooth skull-cap get into the
well? Was it originally embedded in the Pampean terrane or did
it happen to fall into the hole from some previous resting place ?

The writer had understood that the dry dock was built out in the
Rio de la Plata and had assumed that the space was inclosed by a
caisson, an engineering device for excluding the water, which would
necessarily keep out also any bones that might be buried in the river
mud. When questioned on this pomt, Mr. Junor agreed that a
caisson must have been necessary, but he could not clearly remember
the structure. Subsequent inquiry at the office of C. H. Walker &
Co., the contractors who built the dry dock, developed the fact that
there was no caisson. The dry dock was excavated in the flat, which
was awash with the water surface. The river was easily excluded
by, an embankment and the great excavation was kept dry by pump-
ing from a sump or well at the lowest point. When the dock had
been dug out a concrete floor was laid, then concrete walls were built,
and when they were completed, the well for the rudder-pit was finally
cleaned out and walled up. It was in digging the well that the
Diprothomo was found. How it got there can not be positively ascer-
tained, but two possibilities present themselves, namely, that it came
there accidentally either before or after the dock excavation was
made. During all the work up to the finishing of the walls the
Pampean earth and river mud had stood exposed. Any objects con-
tained in the material excavated or in the standing earth exposed at
the side might have found their way into the close vicinity of the
rudder-pit, if not into the pit itself. Three photographs which show
the conditions were chosen from a number courteously shown us by
Mr. E. M. Simpson, manager for the contractors; these are repro-
duced in plates 47 and 48. The first shows the finished excavation
with walls of earth all about, a floor of earth and down the center a

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 3845

drain leading to a sump or well (later the rudder-pit), above which
is the pumping machinery. Plate 48 represents the finished dock
and shows the rudder-pit in the position where the well had been.
During the progress of the work the river deposits, which no doubt
contain remains of natives drowned in the Rio de Ja Plata, were com-
pletely exposed.

The second possibility is that the skulls, skull, or fragment came
to the spot where found years before the building of the dock
began. The character of the river bank was favorable to acci-
dental burial to a considerable depth. We were told by Dr. Fran-
cisco P. Moreno that he, when a boy, used to go swimming where
the dry dock now is, in deep pools, whose general character is indi-
cated in plate 56. The photograph represents the bank at Ancho-
rena, a suburb of Buenos Aires, but a few kilometers from the dry
dock, where the Pampean terrane is of the same nature. The river
has worked out deep irregular holes into which anything like the
skull-cap called Diprothomo would readily sink and where it would
become buried lower than the surface of the Pampean, but beneath
recent river mud.

In view of the facts established by the photographs and of the
probabilities suggested by the character of the river bank, the writer
can not give weight to Mr. Junor’s belief that the unknown workman
who found the skull and gave it to the foreman who in turn gave it
to Mr. Junor really dug it out of undisturbed ancient Pampean.

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE DIPROTHOMO

By ALES HRDLICKA

The new publications on the subject referred to in preceding pages
are found to necessitate no change in the remarks and conclusions
already presented by the writer. Schwalbe has considered the spec-
imen from some additional standpoints, but the results are always
the same: they show the fragment to be simply human and much like
the corresponding part of a modern human skull. As to Ameghino’s
additional papers, they only tend to make the case against his far-
fetched notions the stronger by accentuating the defects of these
notions. Accurate measurements and the relations of such meas-
urements have in anthropology, as elsewhere, a fixed, solid value,
which can not be lightly passed over. And as to the orienta-
tion of the fragment, if, as Ameghino objects, posing it like the
corresponding part in man makes it look human, where then is
the difference? Could the same part of any extinct or fossil primate
or even that of the really ancient European man be made, no matter
how posed, in shape and size so much like that of the modern man
that it could not be readily distinguished by anthropologists of

346 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY | [ BULL. 52

experience? The new method of orientation is radically wrong
because it utilizes as a determinative a point (the glabella) which is
capable of acting as a fulerum on which the axis of the skull may be
turned at will, or according to individual view, so long as the point of
the true summit of the skull is not defined (as is often the case) with
unmistakable precision. The position given to the fragment by
Ameghino, particularly with the help of the ‘‘craniorientor,’ makes
of it really a monstrosity, impossible both paleontologically and
anthropologically. The only service the new appliance has indirectly
rendered is that it has led to the publication of the most natural
illustration of the Buenos Aires specimen presented (pl. 55) up to
the time this illustration appeared.

TETRAPROTHOMO ARGENTINUS

History AND REPORTS

In 1887 F. Ameghino announced the discovery,! in the barranca
of Monte Hermoso, a low cliff facing the sea in the central part of the
coast of the Province of Buenos Aires, of vestiges of ‘‘a being, more
or less closely related to actual man, who was a direct forerunner of
the existing humanity.” These vestiges consisted of fragments of
“tierra cocida, fogénes [fire places]—some of the latter vitrified and
having the appearance of scoria—split and burnt bones [of animals],
and worked stones.’’ In 1889 Professor Ameghino reached definitely
the conclusion that such remains can not be the work of a being of
the same species or of the same genus as the present man, but belong
to ‘‘a precursor of man.’’?

Independently of the above, some timc in the eighties (the exact
date is not known), an employee of the Museo de La Plata made for
that institution at Monte Hermoso a collection of fossils. Among
these bones was found at the museum a humanlike atlas of subaverage
size. When this‘atlas was seen by Sefior Moreno, at that time the
director of the La Plata Museum, it was still partially enveloped in
yellowish or yellowish-brown earth.’ Soon after its discovery the
specimen was forgotten and lay unnoticed in the collections of the
museum for many years, until finally it was observed accidentally by
Santiago Roth, who freed it from the ‘‘loess,’’ and seeing that the
specimen appeared to be a human atlas of small size transferred it
to the anthropologic collections of the institution. There again it lay
for several years longer without receiving any special consideration,

1 Monte Hermoso, Buenos Aires, 1887, 10 pp.

2 Contribucién al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles de la Republica Argentina; in Act. Acad. Nac.
Cérdoba, v1, Buenos Aires, 1889, p. 87.

3 Ameghino (Tetraprothomo, etc., p. 174) says that the specimen was “‘still in a portion of the rock”’ but
Sefior Moreno expressly stated to the writer that it was in ‘‘earth’’ which held together but was not
solidified. Whether or not this earth was sandy can not now be definitely determined. The fact that
later the bone was cleanly disengaged from the mass shows further that it could not have been in ‘‘rock.”
Roth speaks of the bone as having been enveloped in “loess” (in Lehmann-Nitsche, Nouvelles recherches,
etc., p. 386).

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 847

until a new discovery at Monte Hermoso attracted to it the attention
of Ameghino. Through Lehmann-Nitsche Ameghino borrowed the
specimen, studied it in detail, and published a description of it in
his memoir on the Tetraprothomo, identifying the bone with that
particular hypothetic genus of man’s precursors.

At the same time a study of the atlas was undertaken and pub-
lished by Lehmann-Nitsche,' who in turn attributed it,to “a Tertiary
primate of Monte Hermoso, the Homo neogzus.”

Sometime during the early years of the present century Carlos
Ameghino discovered in the same barranca of Monte Hermoso a
peculiar bone, which eventually was referred to a supposed ancient
parental form of man. It was a portion of the fossil femur of a being
which F, Ameghino identified as a very ancient forerunner of man,
the Tetraprothomo argentinus.

It was this specimen which excited interest in the Monte Hermoso
atlas and which is responsible for the establishment of the new genus
of Tertiary (Miocene) Primates or ‘‘ precursors.”

THE REPORTED FEATURES OF THE ATLAS

“This bone,’ according to Ameghino,? ‘‘does not belong to the
genus Homo, but on the other hand it approximates so closely to the
atlas of man that it doubtless comes from a form which was man’s
precursor, and this could have been no other than the Tetraprothomo.”

As to the relatively considerable size of the bone, “‘comparisons
have shown that other nonarboreal mammals which present a femur
of approximately the same dimensions as the Tetraprothomo, have
an atlas as large or even larger than the latter. It is also to be borne
in mind that the femur of the Yetraprothomo indicates a body pro-
portionately stouter than that of man, so that such a being had also
a proportionately larger atlas. To this it should be added that some
results of an examination of the bone demonstrate independently of
the preceding consideration that it must have supported a skull
proportionately larger than that of man, from which it is inferred
that the atlas also must have been of proportionately greater size.
Furthermore, if a correspondence in size is established between the
atlas of a young chimpanzee of only 56 cm. in height, the atlas which
I suppose to be that of Tetraprothomo—a being that according to
the femur should have reached the stature of 1.05 to 1.10 m., and
the atlas of a man of medium stature, it will readily be seen that the
fossil atlas of Monte Hermoso corresponds perfectly with the height
and corpulency of the Tetraprothomo argentinus. . . .

“Of course, the possibility that the two pieces, the femur and the
atlas, may pertain to two animals specifically and even generically

1 Nouvelles recherches, etc., p. 386 et seq.
2 Tetraprothomo, etc., p. 174 et seq.

848 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

distinct, can not be absolutely excluded, but this would imply the
existence at Monte Hermoso of two precursors of man, which appears
to me for the present, I shall not say impossible, but highly improb-
able; and until further proofs appear to the contrary it seems to me
more logical and prudent to refer the two specimens to but one form.”

As to the morphologic peculiarities of the atlas, Ameghino ex-
presses, to start with, the opinion that the atlas is beyond doubt
‘not only one of a primate, but it belongs to the same group which
includes man and the anthropomorphs.” It is further seen that the
bone belongs to the ‘‘family of Hominide and not to that of the
Antropomorphide.”’ The features which demonstrate that the
specimen does not belong to Homo but to a distinct and extinct
genus are: The contour of the vertebral canal, determined by the
ventral curves of the anterior and posterior arches of the atlas,
approximates in man an ovoid figure with its longer axis in the antero-
posterior direction, while in the Tetraprothomo the figure is elliptical
and its greater axis is transverse. ‘This character is fundamental
and separates neatly the ZYetraprothomo from the genus Homo... .
Certain other detailed features in the shape of the aperture approxi-
mate this bone to that of man.”

The plane for the odontoid facet is vertical, indicating a ‘‘per-
fectly erect position of the body.” The anterior tubercle of the bone
presents the same form and development as in man.

As to the posterior arch, a feature which is particularly accentuated
is the absence from the Tetraprothomo bone of the bridge covering
the groove for the vertebral artery. ‘‘In the larger part of the mam-
mals and in all the living Primates of the Old World, with the excep-
tion of the anthropomorphs and man, this vertebral groove presents
itself covered by a bony arch; in Tetraprothomo this bridge does not
exist, in which it agrees with man and the anthropomorphs. It is
clear that the absence of a bridge over the vertebral artery groove is
a primitive character and, although there are examples of human
atlases in which the groove is totally or partially covered by an arch,
these examples do not prove the existence of this bridge in man’s
precursors but indicate the commencement in man of a tendency
toward the formation of the bridge.

‘This characteristic is of capital importance in a question of the
relations of the distinct families of the Primates. It proves that
man and the anthropomorphs constitute a great group or order
(Anthropoide), which has no immediate relation either with the
Lemuride or with the catarhine or platyrhine apes, and which has
remained isolated, evolving independently, probably since the Upper
Kocene.”’

Other very detailed features regarding the canals and grooves of
the vertebral artery are discussed but the text is so involved that it
is necessary to refer the reader to the original.

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 349

As to other parts of the bone, ‘‘the medium portion of the pos-
terior arch of the Tetraprothomo [p. 191] is much more massive than
in man, more broad or extended from above downward, with its
posterior surface very convex and rough, but with a distinetly
formed tubercle. The superior border forms in the median part a
curve which is convex upward and the inferior border shows another
curve, convex downward, in a manner even more accentuated. In
the human atlas the inferior border forms usually a curve concave
upward, although there are cases in which the border is straight or
plane, but the characteristic convex form of the T’etraprothomo is so
rare that among the numerous human atlases that have passed
through my hands I have not seen it up to the present, except in a
single example, and even there not to a similar degree. It is clear,
therefore, that it is a case of atavic reappearance of a characteristic
which reaches back to the ancient Microbiothertide and which has
been retained in the diminutive living didelfids which constitute the
genus Peramys.

“In the Tetraprothomo the massive form of the median part of
the posterior arch, the great breadth of the same in this region, and
the great consequent extension of the rough surface which gives
insertion to the cervical muscles, indicate that the latter were con-
siderably stronger than they are in man, and that, therefore, the
skull with relation to the stature was of notably larger size. In
fact, this region of the posterior arch of the atlas of the Tetraprothomo
is so different from that of Homo that it is permissible to suppose it
subserved functions which have since become unnecessary.”

This lower portion of the posterior arch leads Ameghino to the
conclusion that the Tetraprothomo possessed a special cervical liga-
ment of which no traces are encountered in the human atlas, except
through atavistic reappearance. This ligament does not indicate
that the skull of this being was inclined farther forward than in man;
the ligament was necessary to insure the erect position of the skull
and it could not disappear immediately after this was accomplished.
‘‘The great development of the cervical ligament in the T'etraprothomo
proves that this is really the true forerunner of man; it demonstrates
also that the erect position was in the Tetraprothomo an acquisition
so recent that the cervical ligament referred to has not as yet, or
has only recently, entered on the road to retrogressive evolution”
(p. 194).

The lateral masses of the atlas with the articulation are, con-
sidered as a whole, ‘‘essentially human, but with notable deviations
which bring the generic difference of the bone considerably into
evidence.”

The transverse processes, now defective, were very small. The
superior articular facets are very different from those of the atlas
of man; they are but slightly concave antero-posteriorly and the

350 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

articular surface is shorter, broader, flatter, and less oblique. Their
outline is not reniform but more regularly elliptical and considerably
broader at the middle than in man, both relatively and absolutely.
The declivity downward and inward of the facets is much less accen-
tuated than in man—‘‘which indicates a perfectly erect position.”

The inferior articular facets show fewer differences from the human
atlas than the superior ones. They are relatively much less oblique
and flatter than in man; ‘‘these are features correlated among them-
selves and with the size and position of the skull, proving that the
latter must have been of a proportionately larger size than in man
and perfectly vertical on the vertical column.”

Other features of the atlas to which considerable importance is
attached by Ameghino are the large size of the ventral parts of the
lateral masses; greater development of these masses in size and
weight; greater breadth of the superior articular facets, and their
advance on the canal of the bone. All these features ‘‘indicate a
conformation destined to support in a vertical direction and in a
perfectly natural equilibrium, on the vertical column in erect _posi-
tion, a skull heavier and consequently proportionately more vol-
uminous than that of a man.”

Reiteration of most of the above-mentioned points is found on
page 205 of the Ameghino memoir.

In apostscript to his paper on the Tetraprothomo, Ameghino informs
the reader that ‘‘this work was already completely finished and the
paper was ready for printing, when to-day, the 23d of September, I
received from my esteemed colleague, Dr. Lehmann-Nitsche, a
leaflet from the Rev. Mus. La Plata, xtv, 286-299, without cover,
without date, which bears the title of ‘L’ Atlas de Monte Hermoso.’
Under the circumstances scientists will find it incomprehensible that
the specimen is described at the same moment and under two dis-
tinct names by two authors. In order to obviate incorrect interpreta-
tion I am obliged to explain my position.

“‘T have stated before! that I have asked Lehmann-Nitsche for the
specimen, which was not believed to be distinct from the corres-
ponding bone in present man. As soon as I saw it I recognized that
we were in the presence of man’s precursor from Monte Hermoso, of
which, as long as 20 years ago, I predicted the discovery. And
I have even had long verbal discussion with Messrs. Lehmann-
Nitsche and S. Roth to show them that the atlas in question was not
identical with that of man. Seeing the little that was made of it, I
requested permission to speak of it in my work on the femur, to which
M. Lehmann-Nitsche at once acceded.”

Subsequently Ameghino concludes: ‘‘But all that is of only sec-
ondary importance. That which is truly exceedingly important,

4 Tetraprothomo, etc., p. 174.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 3bol

and in which I am very happy to find myself in accord with Dr,
Lehmann-Nitsche, is that he recognizes the existence of the precursor
of man at Monte Hermoso, and the age of the deposit as at least
Pliocene. The Tertiary age of the strata of Monte Hermoso having
lately been admitted even by M. Steinmann, the existence of Tertiary
man in Argentina becomes a definitely established fact.”’

The paper to which Ameghino refers above appeared later as a
part of Lehmann-Nitsche’s ‘‘Nouvelles recherches sur la formation
pampéenne, etc.’’!

Lehmann-Nitsche goes also into considerable detail in studying

the bone and compares it with 16 atlases of Indians of South America.
The principal results of his examination are brought together on
page 397. The ‘‘notable characteristics of the atlas of Monte Her-
moso, which are never found in the same bone of the South American
natives with which it was compared, follow:
1 “The entire form is remarkably small and heavy; the posterior
arch is extraordinarily broad and its external surface elevates itself
in the form of a rectangular ridge up to the median longitudinal line;
the form of the superior articular facets is that of an irregular ovoid
and rather short and broad; its longitudinal axis diverges very slightly
backward; the inferior articular facets are large, proportronately to
the whole vertebra.”’

Characteristics of the bone which were only rarely met with by
Lehmann-Nitsche in the material used for comparison were:

‘The internal border of the superior articular facets is very slightly
outside the vertical line of the corresponding border of the inferior
facets; and the posterior root of the transverse apoplhysis is notably
more developed than the anterior.”

The author then enumerates the differences and similarities be-
tween the Monte Hermoso atlas and those of the orang and gorilla;
it is to be regretted that these comparisons apply, however, to only
a single atlas of each of the anthropoids.

Among additional points of difference between the Monte Her-
moso atlas and that of the South American Indian, there are, accord-
ing to Lehmann-Nitsche, characteristics of inferiority in the former
which denote a being with a brain but slightly developed. Never-
theless, the specimen is found ‘‘to approximate more closely the
atlas of modern man than that of the anthropoids.”’

On the basis of the morphologic and geologic considerations,
Lehmann-Nitsche proposes to regard the ‘‘Tertiary primate of Monte
Hermoso”’ as a particular species of man ‘‘which certainly was very
primitive and must have approached very closely the Pithecan-
thropus, and names it the Homo neogezus.

1In Rev. Mus. La Plata, xtv, Buenos Aires, 1907, pp. 386-410. Some copies of the part on the atlas were
distributed preliminarily in leaflet form, as mentioned by Ameghino.

352 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

On pages 403-407 are given a number of very detailed supple-
mentary notes on the bone, for which the reader is referred to the
original, and on page 408 is given a table of measurements of the
bone with comparative data on the 16 Indian atlases and the one
atlas each of an orang and a gorilla, with which it was contrasted.

THE REPORTED FEATURES OF THE MONTE HERMOSO FEMUR

The first and so far the only report on this specimen is by F,
Ameghino.+

As mentioned before, the history of the find is restricted to the
statement that ‘‘this bone was encountered by Carlos Ameghino in
his last voyage to Monte Hermoso.”’

The bone is that of the left side and its upper end is missing. The
existing part, according to Ameghino, ‘‘measures 16 cm. in length
but the entire bone must have measured about 19 em... .

‘“The agreement in conformation between this bone and the cor-
responding one of man, is nearly perfect, although this great similarity
does not become at once perceptible because of the enormous differ-
ences in size.

“The similarity of the specimen to the human femur appears
evident in‘the different curves of the bone, in the femoral torsion, in
the development of the linea aspera and its inferior bifurcation, in
the subtriangular outline in section of the median part of the body
of the bone, in the broadening and the anterio-posterior flattening
of its inferior extremity, in the inversion inward of the internal
condyle and the larger size of the same, etc.”

It would be difficult to give a correct abstract of all the mor-
phologic and comparative details given by Ameghino in his descrip-
tion of the bone and therefore for the less essential data the reader
must be referred to the original. The principal items accentuated
are as follows:

It is assumed that the head and neck of the bone were disposed
as in man, and that the latter formed a similarly obtuse angle with
the body of the bone.

The great trochanter was not of the quadrate form, as in Homo,
but more like that of Homunculus.

The trochanteric fossa (which receives relatively little attention)
“presents the same vascular perforations as in the human femur, and
as in this is prolonged backward in the form of a canal or groove,
which is quite extended and has a concave base in the transverse
direction.”

The minor trochanter is of large size, as in man, but shows a dif-
ferent form and is located on the internal border of the bone. ‘“‘In

1 Notas preliminares sobre el Yetraprothomo argentinus un precursor del hombre del mioceno superior
de Monte Hermoso; in Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, Xvi (ser. iii, t. 1X), 1908, pp. 108 et seq.

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN : 353

this position of the minor trochanter and of the lateral depression
that accompanies the same, the Tetraprothomo constitutes a perfect
transition between the Homunculus and Homo. . . . A conformation
in some cases absolutely equal and in others very similar is met with
in many other mammals, particularly in carnivores and rodents. As
these are animals which have no parental relation with man and apes,
and which besides are perfect quadrupeds, it is clear that the above-
mentioned characteristic has no relation with the erect position and
that man, as well as the anthropoid and catarhine apes and the other
mammals in which it is present, have acquired it independently. . . .’’

The posterior inter-trochanteric crest shows also an intermediary
form between man and the Homunculus.!

The lower portion of the bone is intact. “The condyles are dis-
posed very similarly to those in the human femur.” The internal
condyle shows the same characteristics as that of man, “from which
it is deduced that in the Tetraprothomo both femurs were converged
upward and inward, as in man, and that consequently the being had
an entirely erect position.”’

The ligamentary depressions and roughnesses again are more or less
intermediary between those of man on one hand and the Homunculus
on the other. The internal muscles and ligaments of the joint were
very strongly developed.

The external condyle is intermediary in form between that of man
and that of the apes. ‘‘What is notable is an absolutely identical
disposition of the hgament and tendon impressions on the dorsal sur-
face of the external condyle in the Tetraprothomo, Homunculus, and
Homo... .

“One of the greatest peculiarities of this region of the femur of the
Tetraprothomo is the great semilunar depression, which is deep and
excessively rough, located forward of the superior part of the external
condyle, in the angle which the latter forms with the posterior border
of the external surface of the bone. This hgamentary cavity is not
encountered as a constant feature in any of the primates known to
me, but I have observed it in different mammals of other orders, par-
ticularly in rodents and carnivora, and it is a constant feature of all
the representatives of the family /elidx, in which it generally acquires
considerable size. This cavity is produced by the formation of the
large sesamoid bone (the lateral sesamoid of the knee), which develops
in the tendon of the popliteal muscle, serving on its postero-external
surface for the insertion of fleshy fibers of the popliteal muscle, while
on the other side it gives attachment to the strong sesamo-femoral
ligament, which is inserted into the rough base of the cavity in
question.

! This relates to the curved and totally unhuman rough line shown on pl. 65.—A. H.
21535 —Bull 52—12 98

354 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

“ Notwithstanding all the other human characteristics which the
femur of Tetraprothomo shows, the presence of this large lateral ses-
amoid would have furnished sufficient cause to doubt that the bone
belonged to a primate, if it were not for the circumstance that the
same feature is at times observable in the anthropomorphs, especially
the orang, and above all for the fact that it occurs also, though very
rarely,inman. With the discovery of the Tetraprothomo there is now
explained the appearance of the bone in man and the anthropo-
morphs. Itisacase in man of atavic reappearance of a character
which was proper to his more immediate ancestors. .. .

“Tn the Tetraprothomo the anterior border of the cavity for the
sesamo-femoral ligament is prolonged upward in the form of a rough
crest, which terminates in a supracondylar tubercle of an extraor-
dinary development. In man this tubercle is very small or is replaced
by a simple rugosity, but there are cases in which it acquires a devel-
opment as considerable as in the Tetraprothomo. It is therefore a
case, as in the preceding instance, of atavic regression. This tubercle
serves for the insertion of the medio-superior tendon of the external
gemellus. Now, the great development of the tubercle and the rugosi-
ties which accompany it up to the corresponding ligamentary impres-
sion of the external tuberosity indicate great development of this
muscle. It has already been seen above that the gemellus internus
was also much developed.

“This great development of the gemelli or gastrocnemii muscles is
exceedingly important, because the latter exercise the principal réle
in biped progression. It is for this reason that they present greater
development in man than in any other mammal, without excluding
the anthropomorphs. It is the great development of the gemelli and
of the soleus which produces the enlargement of the limb known as
‘pantorillas,’ which under this form and at the present time are fea-
tures exclusively of man. It being demonstrated that the Tetra-
prothomo possessed gemelli muscles as well developed as they are in
man, it must therefore have possessed also real ‘pantorillas’ and in
consequence a biped walk and erect position.”’

The inter-condyloid fossa ‘‘does not seem to present any differences
from that of the human femur, either in relative size or in disposition,
or they are, in view of the differences which the features show in man
according to races and individual varieties, insignificant and without
importance. . .

“The patellar and condylar surfaces form a figure which narrows
from the back forward in a considerably more accentuated degree than
in the human femur. This difference is due to the fact that in the
Tetraprothomo the patellar surface is more narrow and that the con-
dyles extend considerably farther backward, from which it results that
the patello-condylar field is of greater antero-posterior than trans-

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 355

verse diameter, while in the human femur it is of greater transverse
than antero-posterior dimension.

“In the human femur the patellar surface is found separated from
the condylar surface by two transverse depressions, sufficiently
broad but of little depth; they are the ‘transverse fosse,’ which,
however, do not interrupt the continuation of the ridges which
laterally limit the patellar trochlea. . . . These transverse depres-
sions I have not observed in any of the mammals that I have had the
opportunity to examine, not even among the primates, with the
exception of the anthropomorphs, and it is indubitable that they
are related with the bipedand more or less erect position. . . . These
depressions not only separate in the Tetraprothomo the patellar field
from the condylar planes, but they also interrupt the ridges which
limit laterally the patellar surface ... further proof that the
Tetraprothomo was a biped... .

“There are, however, between man and the Tetraprothomo some
notable differences. In the femur of the latter the planes of the
condyles are quite convex and they narrow notably backward, while
in man they are nearly flat and in breadth nearly equal in front and
behind, which gives to the inferior surface of the bone apparently
a very distinct aspect.

“It is clear that the greater flattening of the inferior plane of the
condyles and its posterior broadening in the femur of man are the
result of the erect position; it is, however, also evident that man did
pot acquire these characteristics suddenly but very gradually, as a
result of a cause which acted in the same direction during a long space
of time, and it is natural to suppose that this flattening and broadening
of the condylar surfaces continue still in augmentation at the actual
time. In Tetraprothomo it can be said these characteristics are in the
beginning of their formation. ... The femur of Spy and that of
Ovejero occupy an intermediary position between the actual man and
that of the Tetraprothomo in these respects, but are still nearer the
latter.

‘““The patellar trochlea is the part in which perhaps the femur of the
Tetraprothomo is more distant from the same bone in man. It differs
in the fact that it is farther extended from above downward, that it
is more arched in the same direction, and is of a more symmetric
form. The lateral ridges which limit the trochlea are more promi-
nent and acute, characteristics which distinguish them from the
same crests in the femur of man. . . . With this, the patellar trochlea
of the femur of the Tetraprothomo extends farther from above down-
ward than transversely, that is, it is of greater height than breadth,
inversely to what succeeds in man, in whom it is notably more broad
than high, while at the same time the external crest is stronger and
more prominent than the internal and the superior border of the

356 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

trochlea describes an oblique line descending gradually in an inward
direction. As a consequence of this formation, the patellar trochlea
of the human femur is at its internal side considerably lower than at
its external, from which results that the patellar field appears as if
located obliquely with reference to the longitudinal axis of the body
of the bone. This is perhaps the greatest apparent difference between
the femur of Homo and that of Tetraprothomo.

‘‘However, to this difference must not be attributed more than a
relative value. This obliquity of the patellar trochlea is due to the
obliquity of the femurs of man, which incline, converging, from above
downward, and the tendon of the extensor muscle moves in the same
direction; as the patella is enveloped in the tendon mentioned, it is
obliged to move somewhat obliquely instead of in a perfectly vertical
direction, and it is the continuation of this oblique movement which
has produced in man the transverse broadening of the patellar troch-
lea and its obliquity inward. This is a characteristic exclusively
human, which has resulted from the biped progression in erect posi-
ON: 2K

‘‘But in the Tetraprothomo the biped and erect position was a char-
acteristic of quite recent acquisition, which as yet had not acted during
a sufficiently long time to be able to modify the form of this femoral
region; notwithstanding which, it can be stated that such a trans-
formation has already commenced. . . .

“The femur of Tetraprothomo presents 1 cm. above the trochlea
quite a large suprapatellar fossa. . . . An equal fossa is seen in the
femur of the Homunculus, but it is located proportionately a little
farther above, besides which it is of smaller size and deeper. On
another femur from the superior Eocene from Patagonia, which I
attribute to the genus Anthropops, there exists an equal fossa but of a
larger size and located somewhat lower. It constitutes a species of
transition between that of Homunculus and that of Tetraprothomo, so
that it is seen that the latter has inherited this conformation from its
ancient predecessors of the superior Eocene.

‘The suprapatellar fossa is present also in many apes of the old
continent; it is, however, located not only lower than in the apes of
the superior Eocene but also lower than in the Tetraprothomo. In the
femur of man the suprapatellar fossa has descended still lower, until
it has become located immediately above the superior border of the
trochlea, but it has augmented in extension and diminished in depth.
Furthermore, it has lost the subcircular or elliptic outline which it
had in the ancient forms, to assume a triangular contour. Still, in
the femur of the Man of Spy it is deeper [than in the present man] and
its triangular contour is less well defined. . . .

‘In the conformation of this region the Tetraprothomo occupies
evidently an intermediary position between man and the apes.

HRDLIGKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 857

Moreover, it is easy to perceive that in the Tetraprothomo this region
was on the way of transformation in the direction toward the form
characteristic of man.”

The shaft of the Tetraprothomo femur presents ‘‘all the distinct
curves of the human femur” and ‘‘a femur which presents reunited
the conjunction of these curves can be regarded with certainty as
proceeding from a primate of erect position. What is above all
surprising and worthy of reflection is that in this case also the human
characteristics mentioned are considerably more accentuated in the
femur of the Tetraprothomo than in that of man. .

“The region of the greatest importarfce is the posterior surface of
the shaft, because it carries the linea aspera, which is one of the
characteristics which separate the femur of man from that of all the
rest of the mammals, including the anthropomorphs, and which stands
in correlation with the erect position.

‘In the femur of the Tetraprothomo the linea aspera in its general
form is identical with that of the human femur, differing only by its
scarcely smaller development and some other secondary details. . . .

‘“That being so, as the same organs must correspond to the same
functions, the linea aspera of the femur of the Tetraprothomo must
have subserved the same functions as the linea aspera of the human
femur. In consequence, the Tetraprothomo was a biped of a perfectly
erect position.”

The nutritive foramen is situated (with a slight difference in height)
and directed as in man.

The popliteal space is convex in the transverse direction, instead
of being slightly depressed or concave asin man. ‘‘This latter con-
formation, although very rare, is also observed in the femur of
man. ... Thereappears, hidwever, i in the middle of the convexity a
small ee from above diawards with a rough surface and
some small vascular perforations. This depression represents the
commencement of a process of formation of a depression much more
considerable than that characterizing the human femur.”

The shape of the shaft at the middle is subtriangular, showing the
relation of the bone to that of man. ‘‘In commencing the examina-
tion of the linea aspera, I said already that this is the feature which
gave the body of the bone in the median part of its length a trans-
verse section, with its larger axis in the antero-posterior direction
while in all other mammals the section in the same region shows
always a greater axis in the transverse direction (I have already men-
tioned the exception to this presented by some ungulates and also
the fact that these have no value whatever in this question).’’

On the succeeding pages (152-158) Professor Ameghino gives
a number of sections of the shaft of the Tetraprothomo and other
femora. It seems that some of the figures are not printed strictly

858 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [euLw. 52

antero-posteriorly; however, the bones show but little morphologic
relation.

The torsion of the femur ‘‘is encountered, more or less accentuated,
_ in all mammals, but reaches the highest grade in the femur of man
and especially in that of the negro races.['] Followimg man in this
feature, come the anthropomorphs, especially the gorilla, which
confirm the supposition that the higher grade of torsion results from
the passage of the quadruped to biped locomotion. In this respect
it would then be interesting to be able to determine the grade of
torsion in Tetraprothomo. Unfortunately the head and neck of the
bone are missing, but there exists the base of the specimen, which gives
a sufficient sustaining point for the possibility of assuming that the
femoral torsion has been still greater than that in the actual man... .
This deduction finds complete confirmation in the lateral torsion of
the shaft of the bone, to which it appears the anatomists have given
as yet no attention, but which nevertheless, under this point of view,
is of still greater importance than the femoral torsion determined
by the change of orientation, in the inverse sense, of the extrem-
atges. [7] )) ib 5

‘‘The lateral torsion of the body of the bone and the remaining
characteristics which accompany the same, are encountered only in
the femur of man, although not in as accentuated a form as in that of
the Tetraprothomo, owing to modifications which have been produced
in relatively recent time.”

Besides the foregoing, numerous other minor features of the bone
are described, all of which according to Ameghino point in the same
direction—that is, to the relation of the femur to that of man—while
at the same time the specimen preserves generic differences. The
femora of Spy andOvejero show a still closer morphologic relation
with the Monte Hermoso specimen than with the femur of the pres-
ent Homo.

On the basis of the length of the bone the stature of the Tetrapro-
thomo is estimated, as has already been seen, to have been not more
than 1.05 to 1.10 m. The carriage of the body was perfectly erect
and the body was in relation to the stature proportionately stouter
than it isin the present man. The skull was, proportionately to the
height of the being, of considerable size, in accord with and in rela-
tion to the stoutness of the body; the skull was also proportionately
larger than in man.

As to the biologic classification of the Tetraprothomo, the being
‘‘ecan not be considered as an anthropomorph.”’ In respect to both
the femur and the atlas ‘‘it resembles man much more than it does
any of the known anthropomorphs. ... Therefore Tetraprothomo

1 The fact is, on the contrary, that it is considerably less in the African and the Americanized negro
than in either the whites or the Indians.—A. H.
(2 Expression not very Clear.]

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 359

is decided to be a representative of the third genus of the family
of the Hominidez.’’ Nevertheless, ‘‘the distance between Tetra-
prothomo and Homo is from the morphologic and evolutionary point
of view so considerable that it causes the presupposition of the
possible existence of the three intermediary genera: Prothomo,
Diprothomo, and Triprothomo, whose characteristics I determined
many years ago theoretically”? (p. 210).

In the last pages of Doctor Ameghino’s memoir the preceding con-
siderations form the basis of a new, complex, zoo-anthropologic
classification, and also of a far-reaching theory of the evolution of
mankind in and its spread from South America.

ADDITIONAL LITERATURE

Additional literature on the Monte Hermoso atlas and femur is as yet
scarce. In 1909 Lehmann-Nitsche published a brief communication
on Homo sapiens and Homo neogzus,' in which he repeats some of the
principal characteristics of the Monte Hermoso atlas as found by his
examination. Those features of the bone which in his earlier
report on the specimen (Nouvelles recherches, etc., 1907) were speci-
fied as not having occurred in any of the other sixteen Indian atlases
used for comparison, are now stated unqualifiedly as never occurring
in any recent atlases, and some of these features are again said to bear
relation to small brain development in the species. However, the
atlas is ‘‘humanoid” and not ‘‘anthropoid.”’

In the same year the Tetraprothomo femur and atlas are dealt with
at some length by Giuffrida-Ruggeri,? but the author restricts himself
to a report of the cases and some secondary considerations, without
giving any independent critical opinion.

The same year the two finds, with others of Ameghino, are already
unreservedly utilized by Sergi? in support of his theory of polyg-
enism and serve as a base of a new classification of mankind.

In 1910 Sergi reports* again on the latest finds relating to ancient
man and his precursors in Argentina, accepts them apparently with-
out any serious doubt, and advances again on their basis his new
classification of the human family. The being or beings represented
by the Tetraprothomo atlas and femur are placed among the Pro-
anthropide. Lehmann-Nitsche’s classification of the atlas as belong-
ing to Homo neogzus is declared inadmissible, ‘‘because the atlas does
‘not belong to man.”

1 Homo sapiens und Homo neogxus aus der argentinischen Pampasformation; tn Verhandlungen xv1,
Internationalen A merikanisten-Kongresses, Wien, 1909, pp. 93-98; also in Naturwissenschaftliche Wochen-
schrift, N. F., Band vm, Jena, 1909.

2 Giuffrida-Ruggeri, V., Un nuovo precursore dell’ uomo. Il “ Tetraprothomo argentinus”; in Rivista
@ Italia, fascicolo di gennaio, Roma, 1909, pp. 137-147.

3 Sergi, G., L’apologia del mio poligenismo; in Attt Soc. romana di antr., xv, fasc. 2, Roma, 1909, pp.
187-195.

4Sergi, G., Paléontologie sud-Américaine; in Scientia, vm, Bologna, 1910, pp. xvi-4.

360 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

In 1910 also Lehmann-Nitsche says a few additional words on the
Monte Hermoso atlas,’ without, however, adding any new facts.
His text reads as follows:

‘‘From the inferior Pampean formation we know but a single small
bone related with the human being. It is the first cervical vertebra
or atlas, which has been discovered at Monte Hermoso. ... It
does not present likeness with the corresponding bone of the gorilla
and orang-outang but is similar to the atlas of the actual man, so
that at first view it can be taken as belonging to the latter. Never-
theless, it offers particular characteristics which are encountered only
occasionally in the actual human genus and which always occur in
an isolated manner, never jointly as in this case. This atlas is,
before all, small and stout; its superior articular surfaces run in
almost parallel directions, which proves that the bone was not obliged
to carry a voluminous brain. The atlas of the present South Amer-
ican natives offers greater likeness to that of Monte Hermoso than
any other atlas of other living races; however, superior articulate
facets of the present-day atlas always diverge notably, being the
supports of a larger and heavier brain. It results from this that the
specimen must be considered as proceeding from a human or huma-
noid being, with tendency toward development into one of the actual
human forms, especially that of some of the South American abo-
rigines.

‘“‘The difficulty which existed in the classification of the carrier of
this atlas whom I named Homo neogzus [man of the new world],
with the remainder of fossil human remains and with the Pithe-
canthropus of Java, diminishes through the discovery by Prof. vy.
Thering, of Sao Paulo, of which he gave an account before the Seven-
teenth International Congress of Americanists recently held at
Buenos Aires. According to him there existed during the first half
of the Tertiary a continent which disappeared long since, connecting
eastern Asia with Central America. Moreover, mammals of the
northern hemisphere which came to South America did not emigrate
all at one time but in two distinct epochs. With this Miocene fauna
emigrated perhaps also, towards Central America, the precursors of
man, and in this manner the history of man may be most ancient in
Argentina while it is most modern in North America. This removes,
it is seen, the difficulty which existed in connecting the Homo neogzxus
with the cradle of the Pithecanthropus, but I shall not enter into con-
clusions which, for the moment, would be too anticipatory.”

The same year the Monte Hermoso atlas and femur are also briefly
dealt with by Friedemann.? This observer had seen the originals and

1 Lehmann-Nitsche, R., El hombre fésil pampeano; in Boletin de la Oficina Nacional de Estadistica, La
Paz, Bolivia, v1, 1910, pp. 363-366.

2Friedemann, M., Vorlage eines Gipsabgusses des Schideldaches von Diprothomo platensis Ameghino;
in Zeitschr. fiir. Ethn., Heft 6, Berlin, 1910, pp. 934-935.

HRDUICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 861

possessed the casts of the specimens, but had evidently not subjected
the case to a detailed study and has nothing to say on the atlas. He
remarks, however, that certain features in the conformation of the
lower extremity of the Monte Hermoso femur are not such as are
presented by the primate thigh bone. ‘‘This region of the specimen
reminds one more of the forms found among the Felidz and Canide.”’
And, ‘‘when Ameghino says that he must keep to his opinion until
such a combination of characteristics is shown in another than a pri-
mate femur, the case may be reversed and the proof may be demanded
before Ameghino’s conclusions are accepted, that such a joint surface
as that in the Tetraprothomo femur can occur among the primates.”

In the discussion of Friedemann’s paper v. Luschan makes only
the following remark in relation to the femur:! ‘‘To speak here of
the Tetraprothomo thigh bone appears to me, in view alone of its
articular surface for the patella, wholly superfluous.”

Toward the end of the same year an important remark concerning
the Tetraprothomo femur occurs also in Schwalbe.? In finishing his
report on the Diprothomo, Schwalbe says: ‘‘In a following work I
shall bring forth evidence that the intermediary member designated
Tetraprothomo is also not retainable as a forerunner of man.”’ Regard-
ing the atlas, he makes only the remark (p. 216) that, among the
remains of ‘‘fossil”” Primates in South America, there is ‘‘one, the
atlas of Monte Hermoso,* in the highest degree humanlike.” In a
recent letter to the writer, finally, Schwalbe says that in regard to the
Monte Hermoso atlas, he can not partake of the views of Lehmann-
Nitsche and considers the bone purely human.

Subsequent pages will give the results of the writer’s examination
of the two bones, atlas and femur, attributed to the Tetraprothomo
but it will be well to precede that part of the text by a brief report
on the barranca of Monte Hermoso by the geologist of the expedition.

Monte Hermoso: Greoxtocic Notes

By BaAmeyY WILIs

Monte Hermoso is a dune on the southern coast of Buenos Aires.
It surmounts a short section of the Pampean terrane, which is ex-
posed by wave erosion in a low bluff along the shore. First de-
scribed by Darwin, it has since been visited by many geologists
who have studied the Pampean. Its position, remote from other
sections of similar geologic constitution, gives it peculiar interest,
while at the same time its isolation makes direct stratigraphic cor-

1 Friedemann, M., Vorlage eines Gipsabgusses des Schiideldaches von Diprothomo platensis Ameghino;
in Zeitschr. fiir Ethn., Heft 6, Berlin, 1910, p. 938.
“ 2Schwalbe, G., Studien zur Morphologie der siidamerikanischen Primatenformen; in Zeitschr. fir
Morph. und Anthr., Band xm, Heft 2, Stuttgart, 1910, p. 225.

3“ Bin dem menschlichen Gussserst Ghnlicher Atlas von Monte Hermoso,” etc.

4 Dated May 15, 1911.

362 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

‘relation impossible. The Pampean terrane, which forms the base
of the section, contains a notable fauna and the geologic age of the
formation has been much discussed. General opinion places it
among the lowest or as the lowest of the divisions of the Pampean,
and Ameghino regards it as Miocene. The writer does not consider the
age of the so-called Monte Hermoso formation definitely established.

About half a kilometer southwest of the old lighthouse on Monte
Hermoso the writer observed the following section (see pls. 57, 58):

DUNE SAND, forming a steep grass-grown slope, part of the re
cent dune formation that constitutes a belt (3 kilometers or
more in width along this part of the coast); at the base is a
layer 15 to 40 cm. thick composed of gray sand, angular
pieces of gray sandstone and pebbles, some fractured by man;
marking an unconformity with the underlying formation.

Unconformity by erosion.

GRAY SANDS, finely stratified, up to 1 meter exposed, forming a
vertical face.

VOLCANIC ASH, in the form of hard white rock, forming a project-

RECENT

\

at ing ledge; thickness 20 to 40 em.
= | Gray sanps, strongly cross stratified, slightly indurated, like
m4 those above the volcanic ash; forming an undercut slope;
5 thickness 14 meters.
a GRAY SAND, with small white quartz pebbles and very small

black pebbles, constituting a basal conglomerate at the bot-
tom of the gray sands.

Unconformity by erosion.

Lorss-LoaM, a yellow-brown compact earth, which is fine-
grained like loess but lacks the columnar structure of typical
eolian loess and is distinguished by firmness like soft pipe-
stone; lies upon a wind-eroded surface of the underlying for-
mation and has a pebbly structure, i. e. contains pebbles of
loess where it fills hollows. These wind-eroded hollows and
the filling by loess that contains wind-rolled pebbles of loess
mark an uncomformity by erosion like those observed in the
Barrancas del Norte, near Mar del Plata; 24 to 3 meters.
Unconformity by erosion.

SECONDARY LIMESTONE OR TOSCA; locally developed in a thin
irregular plate.

LOESS-LOAM OR LOESS-SANDSTONE, a red-brown sandy earth,
very fine-grained, very compact and without lines of stratifi-
cation or vertical structure; 1 to 14 meters.

BEACH.

‘““MontTE HERMOSEAN”’

The features of this section are shown in plates 57 and 58 (from
photographs). It comprises three recognized formations, which

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 363

Ameghino has named Monte Hermosean, Puelchean, and Recent, and
which are separated by distinct unconformities.

The Monte Hermosean formation comprises the two deposits of
brown earth or loess-loam, which are themselves separated by a plane
of wind erosion. The formation is regarded as Miocene by Ameghino
and as older than any other exposure of the Pampean.

The Puelchean consists of the stratified, slightly indurated, gray
sands or sandstone, both above and below the volcanic ash, between
two unconformities by erosion. It is a peculiar sandstone, marked
by very striking cross stratification and uniformity of gray color and
grain. The writer regards it as an eolian formation. Later in the
season, When studying the section exposed along the Rio Colorado
from the delta to Pichi-Mahuida, he observed a very similar sand-
stone, which might be correlated with the Puelchean on grounds
of lithologic identity. It is a thick widespread formation which is
regarded as a Tertiary sandstone. The Pulechean, if the same,
represents only a thin edge of it.

The Recent formation, as exposed in this section, is but a part
of the extensive deposit of dune sands, which has become grass-grown
and so fixed, but which does not yet show any signs of erosion. In
driving some 10 kilometers diagonally across the belt the writer
noted a general similarity to the grass-grown dunes observed north
of Necochea, but near Monte Hermoso the supply of sand appears to
have been much greater. The belt is very wide and the sand hills are
high.

The distinction between the Recent dune sands and the Tertiary (?)
Puelchean is not obvious. The two are identical in constitution;
they are both eolian and may exhibit similar structures; the Recent
formation may be consolidated almost or quite to the firmness of the
older one. The unconformity between them suffices to establish
the difference in age and is unmistakable when clearly shown in
section (pls. 57,58). Arrowheads or hand-chipped stones associ-
ated with the sands would mark them as recent, such objects being
common in the belt of sand dunes which the Indians were in the habit
of using as a line of march and cover in attacking Argentine settle-
ments. At Monte Hermoso the dune sands and associated chipped
stones had fallen from the upper slope onto various projecting ledges
and chips were collected from the surfaces of the Monte Hermoso
terrane.

Through the courtesy of Doctor Ameghino the writer saw at
Buenos Aires 10 pieces of burnt clay which would appear to have
formed a layer about 10 by 15 cm. in area and 5 to 10 mm. thick,
collected by Ameghino from the Monte Hermosean formation below
high-tide level. As stated in describing certain observations on
the burnt earth of the Pampean, the writer finds that clays of that

864 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

formation may be burnt without the agency of man, and he does not
attach any significance to the occurrence of burnt earth as an evidence
of man’s existence in the Miocene (?) ‘‘ Monte Hermosean.”’

EXAMINATION OF THE SKELETAL PARTS ATTRIBUTED TO.THE TETRAPROTHOMO
By ALES HRDLICKA

THE MONTE HERMOSO ATLAS

The bone comes apparently from an adult subject.

In color it is now shiny brownish-black, but this is due to it having
been treated with melted wax and resin. According to the museum
preparator and others who saw the bone before it was thus treated,
its color was yellowish or yellowish-brown, “like that of an ordinary
earth.”’

Owing to the wax and resin it can not now be seen whether or not
the bone was mineralized, or, if mineralized, to what extent. How-
ever, it is not heavy, and in knocking it against the teeth it gives much
the same sound as would an atlas from a moderately old grave.

The bone is submedium in size and rather massive, but is in
every respect human. An extensive comparison with human and
other mammalian atlases settles its human provenience beyond
question. It is more or less distant morphologically from the atlases
of all the anthropoid apes and still more so from those of the monkeys,
while the atlases of the Carnivora and other mammals present such
differences that a comparison becomes entirely superfluous.

The specimen looks really smaller than it is, owing to the defective
state of the lateral processes. It measures 3.85 cm. in greatest
antero-posterior diameter’ and was near 7 cm. in greatest
breadth, exceeding in both dimensions five and equalling one of the
Indian atlases from the series of 100 selected at random and used
by the writer for comparison (pl. 59). The smallest normal adult
atlas in this series measures 3.5 by 6.4 em. Macalister * determined
that the female atlas averages 4.2 by 7 cm., while the smallest
adult specimen in his collection was only 3.6 by 6.1 cm.

The central aperture even more than the whole specimen gives the
impression of being undersized. This is due partly to the optical
effect of the rather stout arches and lateral masses which surround
it, and partly to an encroachment on its lumen of the lateral masses.
The actual measurements of the aperture, however, show that while
submedium, it is by no means outside of the range of size variation of

1A cast of the atlas, donated by Professor Ameghino to the United States National Museum, while
seemingly accurate as to form, presents in general slightly greater dimensions than the original. This is
doubtless the fault of the artist or of the material, but the fact should be borne in mind by those who may
desire to utilize any measurements on similar casts. All the measurements of the atlas given in this report
were made on the original.

2 Macalister, A., Notes on the Development and Variations of the Atlas; in Jour. Anat. and Physiol.,
xxvu, London, 1893, pp. 519-542.

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 865

the atlases of relatively modern Indians, for in the series of 100 of the
latter used for comparison there were found 17 in which the greatest
antero-posterior and also the greatest lateral diameter of the opening
were either equal to those of the Monte Hermoso atlas or had one
diameter equal and the other smaller, and there were two in which both
the dimensions were smaller. (See pl. 60.) A female Calchaqui atlas
(No. 7-C in the La Plata Museum) approximates also very closely
the Monte Hermoso specimen in this respect.

In shape the central aperture approximates a metal ax and is
entirely humanlike, differing considerably from that of any other
primate. (See pls.60,63.) The anterior portion is somewhat narrow,
owing to marked development of the lateral masses, and the posterior
arch is rather shallow, but both of these characters only distinguish the
bone still more fully from that of the anthropoid and other apes, in
which the anterior part of the central aperture is as a rule broad,
while the arch of the posterior portion in most cases is deeper than the
average in the human species, and especially deeper than that in the
Monte Hermoso specimen. On the other hand a considerable number
of the Indian atlases compared show precisely the same type of
aperture. Absolutely exact duplication can scarcely be expected, of
course, in a feature liable to so much individual variation, but the
same is true of the aperture of any other human atlas, or of any of the
more important parts of the bone.

The anterior arch is entirely human inform. The tubercle extends
vertically over nearly the whole extent of the arch in the median
line, as in modern man; in most of the apes it is confined to the lower
part of the arch. From the anterior tubercle to each lateral mass
the anterior surface of the arch is flat and more distally it is percepti-
bly concave, as in most human atlases; a similar condition was
found in a baboon (C. porcarwus), but in the anthropoid and most
other apes the anterior surface of the lateral parts of the arch near
the tubercle is decidedly convex and only seldom is there a sign of
the more distal depression.

The maximum height of the anterior arch, which corresponds to
its middle portion, is 11 mm. and its thickness in the median line is
6 mm., both dimensions met with in many modern human atlases.

The facet for the odontoid is large and slightly higher than broad
(13 by 11.5 mm.), as in many human atlases with higher anterior
arches, but is radically different from what obtains in all other
Primates that could be compared, for in these the facet is of greater
breadth than height, besides differing more or Jess in shape from that
in man and also from that in the Monte Hermoso specimen. The
axis of the facet in the Monte Hermoso atlas is vertical, as it is in
most. cases in man, while in the apes it is generally more or less
inclined in such manner that its lowest portion is more anterior

366 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

than the highest part. Finally, underneath the facet, the inferior
border of the arch in the lower Primates projects downward as a
well-marked point, of which in the Monte Hermoso atlas there is
only a trace; in the Indian atlases there is either a similar trace or a-
total absence of this point.

The tubercle for the transverse ligament is fairly well represented,
being, as in a large proportion of modern human atlases, more devel-
oped on the right, less so on the left side; and the same is true of the
vertical groove on each side between the odontoid facet and this
tubercle. The groove here referred to is less differentiated. in or
absent from the Primates lower than man.

The pit just back of each transverse ligament tubercle (the ento-
glenoid fossa of Macalister) is of submedium development, especially
on the right, but similar conditions are often observed in man. In
the anthropoid and other apes there is no pit at all, or it is small and
shallow.

The oblique ridge ascending from below the fossa just mentioned
to the hinder part of the median border of each upper articular facet,
which is present as a rule in modern human atlases but is wanting or
only feebly represented in lower Primates, is well-defined on both
sides in the Monte Hermoso specimen.

The posterior arch is stout but this feature to the same or even
greater degree is quite common in modern man; in most of the
anthropoids and monkeys, on the other hand, this arch is more slender
than the average in man.

The posterior arch is also high in its middle third, its maximum
expanse measuring 12 mm. This is a less common, though not
strictly a very rare, feature among human atlases, being equaled
or exceeded by 8 of the 100 atlases used for comparison in the United
States National Museum and by 7 out of 30 South American Indian
atlases examined at the La Plata Museum. Among the anthro-
poid and other apes, however, the posterior arch is usually of only
moderate height and where it is relatively more expanded in the
vertical direction, as in some of the monkeys and rarely in an excep-
tionally powerful anthropoid ape, its height is quite uniform from
side to side and is not concentrated, so to say, in the middle portion,
as in the Monte Hermoso and other human atlases (pl. 61).

The proximal parts of the posterior arch in the Monte Hermoso
atlas are flattened above and below, this feature being characteristic
of all human atlases. An approximation to this is occasionally seen
in the gorilla, but in all the lower anthropoids and apes the superior
and inferior flattening is absent and the oblique sagittal diameter of
the arch at these points is smaller than the vertical.

The curve of the posterior arch is slightly less than the average in
human atlases, but equals or approximates that of a fair proportion

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HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 867

of modern specimens. It is decidedly smaller than that of the anthro-
poid apes, but in monkeys the arch is again more flat.

The middle part of the ventral surface of the posterior arch in the
Monte Hermoso atlas is so inclined that it-diverges slightly from the
vertical from below upward, just as in most modern human atlases.
But in all the apes and monkeys examined this plane diverges in
exactly the other direction; that is, from above downward.

The posterior tubercle in the Monte Hermoso specimen is rather
diffuse and is located in vertical direction about the middle of the
arch, as in most cases in man. In most of the apes, on the other
hand, this tubercle is most prominent at the lower border of the arch,
while farther above the bone surface is more or less flat or marked
by a depression.

The atlases of anthropoid apes and of monkeys, with rare excep-
tions in the gorilla, present a bony septum which passes from below
the posterior extremity of the upper articular facet to the posterior
arch, completing a canal for the vertebral artery and the suboccipital
nerve. A similar condition is still met with, on one or both sides,
in about 7.5 per cent of human atlases (Macalister). In the Monte
Hermoso specimen there is no trace of this bony septum, a fact which
demonstrates in one more particular the unprimitive character of
the bone.

The superior and also the inferior border of the posterior arch in all
the apes approximate more or less the straight line, while in the
Monte Hermoso atlas, as in many other human specimens, both
borders are concave on the sides and convex in the middle.

The lateral masses can be described simply as stout, but they were
equaled or exceeded in all dimensions in more than 20 per cent of the
Indian atlases used for comparison. They are more noticeable in
this regard because they narrow somewhat the anterior half of the
central aperture. But their characteristics are the same as in man.
They are more nearly of the same height anteriorly and posteriorly
than in the anthropoid apes and monkeys, in which the posterior
portion is distinctly higher than the anterior, and their vertical axes
in particular show, as they do in most Indian atlases, a more mod-
erate inclination downward than in any of the lower Primates.

The superior articular facets are not abnormal or other than
modern human in either their concavity, shape, or size, but the axis
of the right facet, owing mainly to its relative shortness, is less con-
vergent forward than usual. On the left side the facet was nearer
the more common form, being somewhat more prolonged forward.

It is the lack of such a prolongation which causes the straightness
of the axis of the right facet. Such straightness is reached but sel-
dom in the Indian atlas, yet it occurs; and an examination of the
atlases of other Primates shows that it is not an approximation to

368 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

these, for the facets in all are even more oblique than in man, but
rather a modification in the other direction—more advanced than
zoomorphic. In this connection it should be recalled that the axes
of the condylar facets differ considerably in direction in human atlases,
as was shown by Macalister, and may differ much even on the two
sides in thesame bone. Their axes prolonged forward gave Macalister
angles between 32° and 63°, while those of the Monte Hermoso atlas
show 40° or slightly more. The individual variation in the size and
form of these facets is in fact so large that no two exactly alike
can be found in even a considerable collection (pl. 62).

The foramina for the vertebral artery were apparently good-
sized and rounded, asin man. ‘There is a possibility that the anterior
wall of the canal was partially deficient on one or both sides, as
occurs occasionally in modern human atlases.

The inferior articular facets, ike the superior ones, lie somewhat
straight antero-posteriorly, but this is of no special import, falling
within the range of normal variation of this feature in man. They
are large, do not taper forward, and are but moderately inclined
toward the central aperture, all of these features agreeing with
the atlas in the Indian and in modern man in general; but in the
anthropoid and lower apes these facets are relatively smaller, taper
forward, and show a decidedly greater inclination (pl. 63).

Conclusions.—The Monte Hermoso atlas offers certain peculiari-
ties, especially a general stoutness, combined with less than an
average-sized central aperture and a slightly submedian size of
the whole bone. Besides this, its articular facets, particularly
the upper one on the right side, are less than ordinarily convergent,
and the posterior boundary of the neural canal forms more a section
of an ellipse than that of acircle. These are the only respects in which
the bone may be said to vary from the average atlas of the Indian.
It may be asked then are these features, none of which surpasses or
even reaches the limit of individual variation in the modern human
atlas, sufficient, singly or collectively, to exclude the specimen
from the range of present man and relegate it either to a far-away
forerunner of the human being, or to a distinct early species of Ameri-
can aborigines ?

To the above it can be answered only that, if so, then any one
finding an atlas or any other bone that would stand in a few charac-
teristics somewhere near the limit of its variation, particularly if the
circumstances of the find should be obscure or point to possible
antiquity (conditions by no means rare), would be justified in basing
on such evidence the existence of other precursors or other species o1
man. Such procedure would be disastrous to anthropology.

1 Macalister, A., Notes on the Development and Variations of the Atlas; in Jour. Anal. and Physiol., XXVU,
London, 1893, p. 534.

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BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 52 PLATE 64

MONTE HERMOSO FEMUR

From photographs of the original.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 869

The results of a critical examination and comparison of the bone
failed, as seen in the preceding paragraphs, to sustain the former
strained interpretations. There can not be even a shade of question
as to the human provenience of the atlas, while the possibility of its
belonging to an earlier species of man is opposed by the facts that
such species is otherwise still a mere hypothesis, that there is nothing
on hand on which to base the new species except a single imperfect
bone of secondary anthropologic importance and of wide individual
variation, that all of the peculiarities of this bone fall well within the
range of such variation in modern human atlases, and that none of
its features are more primitive than those of the atlases of Indians of
comparatively recent times.

The normal range of variation in the more important characteris-
tics of any part of the human skeleton extends, according to extensive
observations of the writer, to from 50 to 250 individuals, adult
and of one sex. If it can ever be shown that not one out of at least
100 adult male atlases of the Indians who occupied the region of
which Monte Hermoso is a part, is the same as or closely similar
to the ‘‘fossil’’ specimen, and if other atlases the same as or closely
similar to this, but of thoroughly established geologic antiquity,
are found in the same region, then another variety of man might
perhaps be established on this basis. It would still remain to be
shown, however, by skulls and other parts of the skeleton, that the
peculiarities of the atlas are not those of a mere local group but
those of a distinct species of humanity.

The writer’s opinion, based alone on the structural characteristics
of the Monte Hermoso atlas, is that it is a bone from a short, but
by no means dwarf, and probably thickset, relatively modern, man.
It is probable that the bone was accompanied by a rather massive
skull, which is not a rare occurrence even in females among the
Indians.

THE TETRAPROTHOMO FEMUR, FROM MONTE HERMOSO

The specimen is a left adult femur, complete in the lower extremity
and the shaft, but with the upper end missing to a point just below
the greater trochanter (pl. 64 and fig. 51).

The bone is nearly black in color, owing in this instance to fossili-
zation, with a shiny surface. It appears fully petrified. It has the
same appearance as the fossil teeth and bones of animals found by
the writer in the Monte Hermoso barranca or seen by him in collec-
tions from that locality.

Morphologically, the specimen at first sight impresses one as
bearing but little generic resemblance to the human thigh bone,
but as approximating much more closely the femora of lower mam-

21535°—Bull. 52—12——24

370 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

mals. Yet, on closer view it is seen to present several rather singular
features, which seem to bring it into some relation with the human
thigh bone. The principal of
these features are a relatively
long median condyle; a supra-
trochlear fossa; a torsion of the
shaft; a trace of backward bend
of the shaft; and a very percepti-
ble bend of the same, above its
middle, outward. These few fea-
tures are mainly responsible for
the identification of the bone as
that of a precursor of man and
they demand therefore careful
consideration.

Detailed study and compari-
son.—The shaft of the Monte
Hermoso femur is rather plano-
convex in shape, its postero-
medial surface being flat. The
lateral edge is sharper than the
medial, owing to its correspond-
ence with the downward exten-
sion of the gluteal ridge and lower
down with the linea aspera.

The shaft is very slightly curved
from before backward, but the
curve is diffused over the lower

Fic. 51. The Monte Hermoso femur. (Photographs from original.)

half of the bone, while a bend backward above the middle, charac-
teristic in general of human and to a less degree of other primate

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 371

femora, is entirely wanting. On comparison a similar presence of
the lower and defect of the upper curvature is seen to be common
to the femora of many mammals, among which are a number of the
Carnivora.

Besides the slight curve backward, the shaft presents above its
middle a rather well-marked bend outward. This feature occurs in
man but not regularly or exclusively so. It was also present and that
to very much the same degree as in the Tetraprothomo, in the femur
of an adolescent Bolivian bear in the Museo Nacional, Buenos Aires,
and is found well marked in other bears, in the American Canide, and
in fossil Felide.

The Monte Hermoso femur presents in its upper half a fairly well
defined torsion outward. In this feature it may be said to approxi-
mate the femur of man more than that of the other Primates or of the
modern cats, but it comes quite as near also to the modern Canidz
and to some of the fossil Carnivora, in which torsion is decidedly
greater than in the apes or the modern Felide.

The stout median edge of the shaft shows a prominent secondary
ridge running qarallel with but more posterior to the border, and
extending over slightly more than the middle third of the bone.
A trace of such a ridge was found in a few of the Carnivora and in
a baboon, possibly in an alouata, but none in other Primates or man.

From the great trochanter to the plantaris tuberosity below, the
Tetraprothomo femur presents an antero-lateral surface, which is met
with only occasionally and in a moderate degree in the upper fourth
to two-fifths of the shaft in man and in some of the apes.! More
closely related forms are seen in the hyena, jaguar, ocelot, jaguarondi,
and gray wolf.

Postero-laterally the upper part of the bone presents remnants of a
sharp but stout-based high ridge, which occupies the place of and is
analogous to the occasional third trochanter in man but shows differ-
ent form. This elevation is in direct continuation with the gluteal
crest and the latter forms an inseparable constituent of the linea
aspera. ‘The upper portion of the anterior border of the third tro-
chanter is somewhat overhanging, much as in the jaguar femur used
for comparisons (25097, U. S. National Museum).

Laterally, below the third trochanter, there is in the Tetraprothomo
no trace of the belly which forms, particularly in Indian femora, a
prominent feature of the usual flattening of the bone at this point;
the shaft is slightly flattened in this region as in some recent and
fossil Carnivora and other mammals, but bears little resemblance to
the human type.

1 In one of the alouatas examined (A. sen., No. 4785, U. S. National Museum), a narrow and almost wholly
lateral surface extends from below the great trochanter over about five-sixths of the shaft.

372 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

The linea aspera descends straight from the third trochanter and
the gluteal ridge as a marked postero-external border to the middle
(in length) of the shaft, where it bifurcates, one well-developed ridge
extending downward and slightly forward along the lateral aspect of
the shaft to the pronounced plantaris tuberosity, while the other
descends near the median line of the posterior surface, and at about
the junction of the lower with the middle third of the bone divides
into the medial and lateral epicondylic lines, of which the former is
the more noticeable. The situation of the upper two-thirds of the
linea aspera is much more lateral than in man or in any of the apes
but is practically identical with that in many of the carnivores.

The nutritive foramen in the Tetraprothomo is situated 8.9 cm.
above the lowest part of the external condyle, apparently near the
middle of the bone. It is located close to the median lip of the linea
aspera. In the femur of the Bolivian bear at the Museo Nacional the
foramen is 8.5 cm. above the external condyle, the total ‘‘ bicondylar”’
length of the bone being 17.4 cm., hence in very much the same
position as in Tetraprothomo, but is placed more toward the middle of
the posterior surface of the bone. The latter is also true of the jaguar
and ocelot; in a jaguarondi and a coyote the canal was found placed
both in height and laterally much as in the femur from Monte Her-
moso. In man there are in most cases two canals for the nutrient
arteries, one situated near the middle and the other, more constant,
near the junction of the middle and superior thirds of the shaft, the
upper one often in the linea aspera, the lower one in or near its medial
lip. In most of the anthropoid apes and monkeys the canal appears
to be situated near the upper third of the bone, in or near the median
.lip of the linea aspera and about the middle of the posterior aspect of
the bone.

Below, a short distance (14 mm.) above the upper termination of
the trochlea, the shaft presents a distinct shallow patellar fossa. This
fossa measures about 9 mm. in length, 8 mm. in breadth, and 1.5 mm.
in maximum depth. <A very similar fossa was found by the writer in a
chimpanzee, a baboon (C. porcarius), and a cinnamon bear. In a
striped hyena a marked depression exists immediately above the
trochlea. In a Canis mezxicanus (No. 1384, U. S. National Museum) a
shallow fossa exists 12 mm. above the trochlea, hence in about the
same position as in the Tetraprothomo, and there is an additional large
depression just above the trochlea. No fossa exists in the gorilla, orang,
or gibbon. In a few American monkeys a slight hollow is found just
above the trochlea. In man there is immediately above or very near
the trochlea a more or less marked depressed surface, with some larger
vascular foramina, but this surface is never clearly defined and never
constitutes a distinct fossa as seen in the Tetraprothomo.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 373

The uppermost portion of the bone shows features very much
at variance with corresponding features of the human species. The
anterior surface is less flat than in man. Nothing remains of the
great trochanter except the base. This basal part is entirely unlike
the same part in man and apes and is directly continuous with the
base of the large and adjacent prominence corresponding to the third
trochanter. Allied conditions are encountered in the jaguar, wolf,
and other Carnivora. The greater trochanter must have been different
in form from that in man and most Primates. Its base was weakest
antero-laterally, where in man and the anthropoid apes, particularly
the gorilla and orang, it is of pronounced strength. This weakness
exists in connection with an extension far forward of the trochan-
teric fossa, which is a zoomorphic characteristic found in the monkeys,
but more especially in the carnivores. On the other hand, the part
of the great trochanter lying postero-laterally to the digital fossa and
the groove leading from it to the posterior surface of the bone, is
relatively stouter in the Tetraprothomo femur than in man or the
Primates, owing to its strengthening by the third trochanter.

Beginning in the median line at the base of the great trochanter,
about where in man we find the upper end of the anterior inter-
trochanteric line, and thence proceeding downward and outward
to the lateral border, just below that part of this border which is
contributory to the third trochanter, there is a low but distinctive
crest, a result of ligamentous or muscular attachment. This ridge
is not to be confounded with a vertical muscular impression found
on some mammal femora and rarely even on those of man. It is wholly
distinctive and runs in an opposite direction from the anterior
oblique or spiral line in man (which seems to be lost with the missing
upper part of the bone), and corresponds probably to the interval
between the crural and the vastus externus muscles. It was not
found by the writer in any of the Primates, but was faintly indi-
cated in the Bolivian bear, partially represented in the cinnamon
bear and the jaguar, well marked in the striped hyena and the gray
wolf, and is fairly distinct in the Indian dog from California.

Posteriorly the upper extremity of the Monte Hermoso femur
shows features so unlike both human and primate that no close
approximation of the forms is even suggested.

The minor trochanter lies much more mediad than in man and
the gorilla, though slightly or no more so than in other apes; the
closest analogies are found, however, in the Carnivora. (PI. 65.)

The minor trochanter in the Tetraprothomo is also situated very
high; with the bone in the bicondylar position the superior part of
it is only 2 mm. lower than the base of the trochanteric fossa. This
position is paralleled in a hyena and a coyote and approximated in

874 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULD. 52

other Carnivora, as well as in a cebus, but in none of the other Primates
compared.

The form of the minor trochanter is that of a stout, dull, slightly
intercepted ridge and not that of an isolated tuberosity, as in man and.
in all the Primates that were examined. In this respect it differs, even
though to a less extent, from the modern and most of the ancient
Carnivora whose femora were used for comparison. The lower”
part of the minor trochanter ridge extends downward and out-
ward to the middle of the posterior surface of the bone, where it
fades out. There is no trace of the posterior part of the spiral line,
which is usually well-marked in the primates as well as in modern
and in most fossil Carnivora, but it may be represented by the pro-
longation downward of the minor trochanter ridge just described.

The most striking peculiarity of this upper part of the posterior
surface of the bone, however, consists in the presence of a well-
defined, elevated semicircular crest (pl. 65), curving from the lower
part of the minor trochanter downward, outward, and then upward
to the upper portion of the rear part of the great trochanter, con-
necting with the lateral boundary of the groove which leads to the
trochanteric fossa. This line forms the lower boundary of a sur-
face which approximates circular form, is moderately concave from
side to side and occupies fully the space between the trochanters.
All these are features which find absolutely no analogy in and can
have no generic relation to man or any of the Primates. They imply
differing or at least much more developed muscle (quadratus femoris ?)
and differing function. But they occur in the Carnivora. The
semicircular crest is represented typically in the ocelot and in less
regular forms in the cinnamon bear, striped hyena, jaguar, gray
wolf, Canis mexicanus, and the old California dog. It is also found,
as will be shown later, in some of the fossil Carnivora. This char-
acter alone suffices to take the Monte Hermoso femur definitely out
of the primate range.

The lower extremity of the Tetraprothomo bone is morphologically
even farther removed than the upper, if possible, from the corre-
sponding part of human and even ape femora. It is that of an
ancient cat or a related carnivore and not that of a primate. (Pls.
66-68.)

It presents a high and narrow trochlea, narrow, high and deep
condyles, and narrow, deep intercondylic notch. The separation
inferiorly of the trochlea and the condyles is much more distinct than
in man or any of the apes. The axis of the trochlea is more nearly
vertical than in man or other Primates. The lateral ridges binding the
trochlea are much more elevated and better defined than in any human
femora or those of anthropoid apes, and they are much more nearly
parallel than the lateral trochlear boundaries in man and most apes.
The lateral ridge is higher, a trace less sharp, and extends farther up

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HRDLICKA] - SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 875

than the median one; and the upper boundary of the trochlear sur-
face is less clearly marked than its other borders. All this points
steadily away from the Primates and equally as steadily toward the
carnivores, especially the cats.

The trochlea in the Tetraprothomo ranges in width from 15 mm. to
18 mm., and when the femur stands about vertical it reaches in height
19 mm. from the horizontal plane. Owing to the height, shallowness,
and prolongation inferiorly of the border of the trochlea, it is impos-
sible that the mammal from which this femur came walked with the
hind limbs erect or even approximately so. The hind limbs were
necessarily kept partially flexed, as general in cats, dogs, and other
carnivores.

Finally the ligamental and muscular facets and elevations differ
greatly, particularly along the lateral border of the bone, from those
in the human and also in the ape species.

The plantaris tuberosity is very pronounced, much more so than
in any primate, but very much as in the hyena and some of the feline
. species. Its outer boundary forms a part of the lateral border of the
femur (of the lateral epicondylic line).

There is in the lateral epicondyle a very pronounced gastrocnemic
notch (for the lateral head of the gastrocnemius), and almost vertically
below this notch are two adjacent depressions, the lower for the
external lateral ligament, the upper possibly for a slip of the biceps.
Finally, below them is a well-marked popliteal groove.

On the median condyle is seen a marked depression for the adductor
and another even larger for the medial head of the gastrocnemius.
All these muscles were apparently strongly developed, in adaptation
to jumping or running. As to the two facets on the lateral condyle
besides those of the gastrocnemius and popliteus, they are met with
in many of the carnivores but in none of the Primates examined. The
remaining impressions agree in general with those in the Carnivora,
particularly the Felide.

When the Zetraprothomo femur stands on a horizontal surface in
the bicondylar position, the lower part of the shaft is seen to ascend
less inclined outward than in man or in any of the anthropoid or other
apes, except the baboon. This important difference is due to the rela-
tively longer internal condyle in man and the Primates. On the other
hand, the axis of the shaft of the Monte Hermoso specimen is exactly
the same in regard to lateral inclination as in the hyena, puma,
jaguar, ocelot, wolf, and coyote, and much like that in other Canide.

Viewing the Monte Hermoso bone from below, the specimen is seen
to resemble the femora of many of the Carnivora much more than those
of any of the Primates, except in the relative antero-posterior dimen-
sion of the median condyle, which, in comparison with that of the lat-
eral one, is somewhat greater than in any of the specimens with which

376 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

it is contrasted except in the bear; the exact curves of the trochlear
ridges, particularly of the external one, also approximate most closely
to those of the bear.

The thickness of the shaft at the lowest portion of the diaphysis is
relatively to its breadth much greater in the Tetraprothomo than in
either man or any other primate, being precisely like that observed
in many feline species.

Finally, the popliteal surface in the Monte Hermoso femur is per-
ceptibly convex from side to side. In man and the majority of apes,
it is slightly concave or flat, in the gibbon and some monkeys slightly
convex, in the dogs slightly concave to slightly convex, in the cats
flat to convex (ocelot, Hoplophoneus), as in the Tetraprothomo.

Conelusions.—The femur of the Tetraprothomo bears only a slight
resemblance to that of man or the anthropoid apes, and but little
greater to that of the lower monkeys. It presents no feature which
would make obligatory or even possible its inclusion in the Primate
class, but on the other hand it shows many features which approx-
imate it to a distant family of mammals.

The class of mammals with which the characteristics of the femur
connect it most closely are the carnivores, and among these especially
the cats. All the evidence leads to the deduction that the Monte
Hermoso femur is a femur of some extinct moderate-sized felid,
though possibly a member of a subfamily other than that of the
felines. It is probably useless to look for an exactly analogous form
among the present South American or other modern cats, and this
statement may apply even to the North American fossil Felide, but
that does not affect its claim as a member of the same stem.

That Carnivora have not been found hitherto among the Monte
Hermoso fauna does not prove their absence from the formation, for
as yet this is known but very imperfectly ; moreover, while looking over
the Monte Hermoso fossils in the Museo de la Plata with Professor
Roth, the writer came across the metatarsal of a large-sized carnivore,
so that even the claim of the absence of this class of mammals from
the Monte Hermosean deposit is no longer tenable.

Comparison with fossil Carnwora.—lIn order to make the identifica-
tion of the Monte Hermoso femur still more definite, the writer
examined, with the kind assistance of Mr. J. W. Gidley and Dr. W. D.
Matthew, the femora of fossil dogs and cats present in the paleonto-
logic collections of the United States National Museum and the
American Museum of Natural History. The comparison was carried
out especially with the Felide Hoplophoneus (Oligocene), Nimraous
(Oligocene), Dinictis (Oligocene), and Pogonodon (Miocene); with the
Canide Daphxnus (Oligocene), 4lurodon (Miocene), Enhydrocyon
(Miocene), and Mesocyon (Oligocene); and with the procyonid
Phlaocyon (Miocene). All of these are North American forms, no
South American fossils being available in the two institutions.

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN ate

The substance of the results of the comparison can be stated in a
few words: There follows in general a strengthening of the deductions
resulting from the comparison of the Tetraprothomo specimen with
recent forms. The Monte Hermoso femur is that of a carnivore.
As might be expected, it presents complete identity with none of the
fossil forms examined, but it possesses strong group relations with
them all. As to family, it affiliates most closely with the Felide.

Entering more fully into detail, the comparisons showed that
as to shape the shaft in all the fossil Felide that were examined
and also in the Phlaocyon resembles very closely that of the Tetrapro-
thomo femur, while in the Canidz it presents perceptible differences.

The backward bend of the shaft, in general slight and diffuse, is
quite marked in the Pogonodon, where it extends from the lower
two-thirds of the shaft.

The outward curvature of the shaft is practically absent from the
dogs, is present to a slight degree in the Phlaocyon, and is general in
the cats; in the Pogonodon it is of very much the same grade as in
the femur from Monte Hermoso.

Torsion of the shaft was found to be much like that in the Tetra-
prothomo femur or only slightly less in all the Felide, but it was
decidedly less in the Canidz and also in the Procyonide.

The linea aspera is of the same or closely related type as that in
the Tetraprothomo, in the cats, and also in the Daphzenus, while in the
rest of the dogs and in the Phlaocyon it is distinct, running more
mediad and being in general nearer the type shown by the Primates.

The gluteal ridge forms in all cases, as in the Tetraprothomo, a con-
stituent and indistinguishable part of the linea aspera.

The third trochanter is present in all the fossil cats. It is usually
an oblong and well-marked tuberosity forming a constituent part of
the lateral ridge which, lower down, becomes the linea aspera, very
much as in the Tetraprothomo. In the dogs, except the Daphenus,
in which these features are much as in the cats, the third trochanter
approximates more a distinct tuberosity, tending toward isolation
from below. In the Phlaocyon the features are again much as in the
Monte Hermoso femur. In nearly all these bones the superior part
of the anterior border of the third trochanter is somewhat overhanging,
as in the Tetraprothomo specimen.

As to height, the minor trochanter is situated in all the fossil
Carnivora except the Phlaocyon (in which it is somewhat lower)
much as in the Monte Hermoso femur, and most of the specimens
bear also a similarity to the Tetraprothomo bone in the very median
situation of the tuberosity, the only exceptions being the Nimraous
and Aflurodon, in both of which the trochanter is somewhat less
nearly medial, and the Hoplophoneus, in which it is even more
nearly medial than in the Tetraprothomo. As to the form of the
minor trochanter, in none of the specimens compared is this quite

878 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

as ridgelike as in the bone from Monte Hermoso; yet in all the Felide
and also in the Knhydrocyon and Phlaocyon it exists as a tuberosity
arising from a ridge. In the rest of the dogs it is merely a pro-
nounced tuberosity.

The anterior oblique line passing from the middle of the upper-
most portion of the shaft to beneath the third trochanter, was not
found in any of the fossil femora with the exception of the Enhydro-
cyon, in which there are traces of the same.

In all the dogs the posterior portion of the spiral line is entirely
distinct and runs separate from the minor trochanter, proceeding
downward to form the linea aspera. In the Phlaocyon it extends to
the side of the minor trochanter and from this downward, as in the
dogs. In the cats the upper portion of the spiral line is less distinct
than in the dogs and tapers out without reaching the linea aspera;
besides this there exists in the Felidz a more or less marked ridge pro-
ceeding downward and outward from the inferior part of the minor
trochanter itself, as in the Tetraprothomo.

The semicircular crest extending from the minor to the major
trochanter and forming one of the most characteristic features of the
Monte Hermoso femur, is present but situated high in the Nimraous;
in the Dinictis it is well-marked but slightly less deep than in the
Monte Hermoso femur; in the Hoplophoneus well-marked and
nearly as in the Tetraprothomo; in the Pogonodon very much as in
the Tetraprothomo. In the Daphenus and in the Mesocyon it is
well represented but runs more nearly transversely, and there are
only traces of it in the other dogs and the Phlaocyon.

The antero-lateral surface, so well defined in the Monte Hermoso
specimen, is seen in very much the same form in all the Felide, and
also in the Enhydrocyon and Phlaocyon, but in the remaining dogs
it is not well or not at all differentiated.

As to the secondary ridge which runs along the median border of
‘the Tetraprothomo femur, traces only of this are seen in the Nimraous
and Hoplophoneus, the Dinictis being doubtful.

In the cats and the Phlaocyon the flatness of the anterior surface
of the upper portion of the femur is slightly to moderately greater
than in the Tetraprothomo and moderately to decidedly greater in the
dogs.

The more or less marked flattening of the shaft below the third
trochanter exists in all the fossils examined. (See measurements,
p-. 382.)

In the shape of the base of the great trochanter, and in the situation
as well as the shape of the digital fossa, the femora of Nimraous,
Atlurodon, and Daphxnus approximate closely to the Tetraprothomo,
the others being more distant.

The patellar fossa is absent from all the fossil Carnivora examined,
except in the Zlurodon, in which it is low in position and shallow,

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 379

and in the Enhydrocyon, in which it is both in situation and form
exactly as in the Tetraprothomo. <A femur of Arctothervwm possesses
also a very much similar patellar fossa.

In the principal features of its lower extremity the Monte Hermoso
femur shows itself again typical of the carnivore and is again approxi-
mated most closely by the fossil cats, as it is by the modern Felide.
The resemblance to the fossil femora, however, is even greater than to
the modern, because several of the ancestral species present a decid-
edly longer (antero-pesteriorly) median condyle. However, the mor-
phologic relations of the bones extend to every important feature of
the lower extremity. The fossil forms nearest in these particulars to
the Tetraprothomo are the Nimraous, Pogonodon, and Hoplophoneus,
then the Dinictis and Mesocyon, Phlaocyon, and the other dogs. The
lateral ridge of the trochlea is higher, slightly less sharp, and reaches
farther up than the median one, in the Nimraous, Dwnictis, and
Pogonodon, than in the Monte Hermoso specimen. ‘The plantaris
tuberosity is well marked in the fossil cats, particularly the Hoplopho-
neus, but in the Daphenus and the Enhydrocyon it especially resem-
bles that in the Tetraprothomo. The lateral gastrocnemic notch in
all the fossil cats is exactly like that in the Tetraprothomo, and in
the other species is more or less closely related to that in the Argen-
tine bone. In none of the fossils is the facet for the lateral ligament
situated quite as high as in the Monte Hermoso specimen, but it
approximates that location in the Hoplophoneus, Pogonodon, and
Daphenus.

The axis of the Tetraprothomo femur, standing on the two condyles,
is paralleled exactly by that of the Pogonodon femur and very
nearly so by the femora of the other cats as well as by that of the
Daphzenus. In the Pogonodon the likeness extends to all the mod-
ifications of the axis.

In its inferior aspect the Tetraprothomo femur approximates more
closely the fossil than the modern species and specially so the cats,
owing to the greater length in the cats of the median condyle, but
it also resembles closely the Enhydrocyon, Mesocyon, and Phlaocyon.

The thickness of‘the shaft at the lower portion of the diaphysis in
all the fossil cats is very much like that in the Tetraprothomo; in the
other fossils the thickness is somewhat less. (See measurements.)

The posterior surface of the lowest portion of the diaphysis (popli-
teal space) is moderately convex from side to side, as in the Monte
Hermoso femur, in that of the Nimraous, Pogonodon, and Hoplo-
phoneus, but in none of the other fossils.

Conclusions.—All the above details, combined with those derived
from living forms, demonstrate that the Monte Hermoso bone can not
possibly be other than that of a carnivore and that, on the whole, it
approximates more closely the femur of the fossil as well as of the

880 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52 ¢

modern Felide than it does any other bone. These considerations
justify the classification of the Monte Hermoso femur, at least provi-
sionally, with this family.

In order to complete the study and comparisons of the Monte
Hermoso specimen, the writer took a series of measurements, which
are presented in the tables that follow. The figures only confirm and
accentuate the visually noted differences between the Tetraprothomo
femur and the femora of the Primates and its affiliations with the
Carnivora, more especially the cats. The table of indexes is particu-
larly worth perusal, for it shows in concentrated form the enormous
differences between the bone under consideration and the corre-
sponding bone of the Primate, and its close approximation to the
corresponding bone in cats, in such important features as the relative
proportions of the lower part of the diaphysis and those of the entire
lower extremity.

Measurements of the Monte Hermoso femur and of femora of man and apes

mh aaa Pilea Alo- av

etra- im- +>_ | cepha- uata | uata

pro- pea ae pan- {Orang sia lus | seni- | seni- ou
Zee por- | culus | culus |2YP°*

carius} (a) (b)

Diameters of subtrochanteric

flattening:
ibs oso tat ieee ee 2 eee eee AoA QR | 229 Ya mma YA WT 1.9 1, 25 ie elaali 0.9
MMIC ee ss co een eae L.50)|) s2. 2 | eA 2.45 | 1.95 | .95] 1.45 95 9 -75
Platymorie index 526... 2 -- eee 78.8 | 83.7 |88.8 | 86.0 | 67.2 |79.2 | 76.3 | 76.0" | 81.8 | 83.35

Diameter of lower end of shaft
just above gastrocnemius at-

tachments:
Breadth, maximum.......... 3.1 G.2) \"oov 4.8 5.5 | 2.0 3.2 215d Sh eelee
Thickness, minimum ........ 2.255329 | 2.4 2.55 | 2.7 .9 12 Saito 9 -95
L0G (> Oe eee eer eae ae 72.6 | 62.9 |42.1 | 63.1 | 49.1 |45.0 | 48.4 | 46.5 | 48.6 | 59.4
Diameter lateral of lower ex-
tremity (1), maximum......... 3.80} 7.8 | 6.3 6.1 TO (Pou Sato |? 26 2.35 | 250
Diameter anteroposterior of
lower extremity, maximum....| 3.80} 5.9 | 4.9 4.55 | 4.9 | 2.0 3.2 1.8 1.8 1.65
Breadth-depth index of lower
extremitys. 2 ssaetes esse 100.00 | 75.6 |77.8 | 74.6 | 70.0 |74.1 | 85.3 | 66.7 | 76.6 | 82.6
Diameter anteroposterior of
inner condyle, maximum ...... 3.8 6.2. }.5.1 4.8 5.7 | 2.2 3.3 2.0 1.85 | 1.8
Diameter anteroposterior of
outer condyle, maximum ...... 3.4 5.95 | 4.2 4.3 ye Ps ee 1.9 1.65 | 1.65

Percental relation of length of
inner to that of outer condyle..|111.8 |104.2 |121.4 |111.6 |126.7 |107.4 |106.5 |105.3 |112.1 |109.1

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 381

‘Measurements of the Monte Hermoso femur and of the femora of some modern Carnivora

Length, biecondylar, about..........-
Length, bicondylar, to tip of minor
trochanter) about...........-...-.-
Diameters of shaft at middle:
Maximum: Soe a et
1) Crtea) bhael es ase a eee et eee
Circumference at middle.......-..---
Diameters of subtrochanteric flatten-
ing:
Marinas eve cso nse on 8 wstee ns
Lined te eA ae oe eee eee
ah VANCMCUN GORE. oa ad < Seek is
Diameter of lower end of shaft just
above gastrocnemius attachments:
Breadth, maximum.............-.
Thickness, minimum...........--

Diameter lateral of lower extremity,!
ei eh? ee ee
Diameter antero-posterior of lower
extremity,? maximum..............
Breadth-depth index of lower ex-
REBIUUG Ye soe chien aeons atin cise
Diameter antero-posterior of inner
condyleymaximume'.2.5.%.2-:-.---
Diameter antero-posterior of outer
condyle, maximum...............-
Percental relation of length of inner
to that of outer condyle............
Distance of nutritive foramen from
lowest position on outer condyle...

1 Rod of compass lying on both borders of trochlea.

Young
Tetra- i Jaguars (2),
PTO- | pears adult, left
thomo left. femur
femur
cm cm. cm cm
ty 7 ae See ee ee er 23.9

1.55 1.3 2.05 2.05
73.8 70.3 71.9 70.7

Sole ES ise =| owe hsiie= 4.1
2120 eee aajecalSeede=e 4 3.0
(CSL bese Seal See RSE 73.2
Bots Ue asee ee 4.9 5.0
Se OOS cet 4.75 4. 80
LODO see eo 96.9 96.0

3.4 1.8 4.7 4.9

111.8 | 116.7 | 103.2 97.9

8.9 ee ee a een

Pumas (2)

d Hyena
ele, eth Ocelot Srna
cm. cm. cm. cm.

denwseee 24.7 16.8 20.9

72.7 | 8.1 |. 686 | 69.6

sen eene 2.2 1.8 2.35
Be eee 71.0 81.8 71.2

103.7 97.7 95.2 101.2

5.2 4.3 3.0 4,15

5.15 4,25 3.0 4.05

101.0 | 101.2 | 100.0 102.5

2 Anterior branch of compass lying on both borders of trochlea.
8 Epiphyses detached, adolescent.

382

BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY

[BULL. 52

Measurements of the Monte Hermoso femur and of some fossil femora of Carnivora

Diameters of subtro-
chanteric flattening:
Maximum
Minimum? 2icc-e-
Platymeric index. .....-.
Diameter of lower
end of shaft just above
gastrocnemius attach-
ments:
Breadth, maximum
Thickness, mini-

90910 107 SRO ORC ae
TRIE oe cse et oes eee
Diameter lateral of
lower extremity ,max-
TMU Joes hme se eee

Diameter antero-poste-
rior of lower extrem-
ity, maximum........

Length-breadth index
of lower extremity... -

Diameter antero-poste-
rior of inner condyle,
PUUCAUOIUTIN tetcpa = exert are

Diameter antero-poste-
rior of outer condyle,

Percental relation of
length of inner to that
of outer condyle

1.55
73.8

3.1

2.25
72.6

ee

Bel pe dea |e
ane i- | plo- | plo- | Pogo-) my Da- | Enhy-
nic- | pho- | pho- | no- phe- | dro-

raous | ‘tis | neus | neus | don rodon | ‘hus eyon

(U.S. |(A.M.)

N. M.
(Fel.) |(Fel.)) (Fel.) | (Fel.) |(Fel.) | (Can.) | (Can.) | (Can.)
2.9: | 2.55 |, “(?) 2.75 | 3.1 2.3 (?) 1.85
Liiva” | sey (?) 158, ;2.2 1.55 | (?) 1.35
GOSS g 665 %H |e. aS 64.5 171.0 | 67.4 | 71.0 | 78.0
3.6 | 3.7 3.4 3.8 | 4.9 3.0 Dd, 2.3
2.8 | 2.4 2.45 | 2.8 | 3.6 1.9 2.2 1.4
77.8 |64.9 | 72.1 | 73.7 (78.5 | 63.3 | 81.5 | 60.9
5.0 | 4.6 4.25 | 5.0 | 6.2 4.4 3.75 | (2)
4.9) | 4.10) 8.9.1 4,6 det | 4.05) 3.85 152)
98:0» 89.0. |. 91'8 | 92.0 9109 | 92.0 ) 97.4 Neeoueas
4.75 | 4.0 3.9 4.7 | 5.5 4.1 3.95 | (2)
4.9 14,2 3.@ 1) 4.4 15.75) 4.0 3.7 (?)
96.9 |95.2 |105.4 |106.8 95.6 |102.6 \106.8 |.......

Meso- | Phlao-
eyon | cyon

(Can.)| ( Proc.)

(2) 0.9
(2) 0.65
ase 72.2
2.2 1.3
1.65| 0.9
75.0 | 69.2
3.15] 1.75
2.85 | 1.85
90.56-| 94.6
3.0 1.85
2.85) 1.7
105.3 | 108.8

HRDLICKA] SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN 3838

Comparison of the principal indices of the Tetraprothomo specimen and other femora

Relation in
peat Length- length of
Platy- Tadiot breadth | medial to
meric eae index of |lateral con-
index ! lower ex- | dyle (lat-
end of t ity 3 ]
diaphysis2| temity eral con-
dyle=100)
Mian oe ees epi oo seme ee etrase cece ste esate ad 483.7 62.9 75.6 104.2
J esonlil bine) sYOskO1 FE) OTe) 3 23) 8 oo Sea eae ae 78.8 47.3 74.1 116.8
IMODK CNS coer eta wow aoe peak to taba omck 79.3 50.7 77.8 108.2
SRE ADLOUNOIMOS came e a st crcie aie = Calcio ae ok 73.8 72.6 100.0 111.8
Ancient North American Felide..-.............--..-.- 65.6 72.4 92.6 100.0
Modern South American Felide ..............-...-....- 73.6 75.8 597.9 100.7
Ancient North American Canide ..............----..-- 70.5 70.2 93.3 104.9
Modern North American Canide .............-.....-.- 83.8 79.4 114.2 104.9
Ursus Americanus...... als lel eres penis RC ot ha | 60.5 60.3 97.3 125.7
Hyena striatate $322 See 232 ie toh alee eat ie le 72.7 63.2 101.2 106.2

1 Diameter antero-posterior minimum of subtrochanteric flattening x 100 and + by the diameter lateral
maximum taken at the same height.

2 Diameter antero-posterior of lower end of the diaphysis, just above the gastrocnemices insertions
x 100 and ~ by the diameter lateral taken at the same level.

3 Diameter antero-posterior maximum of the condyles x 100 and ~ by the diameter lateral maximum; -
measurements taken as indicated in footnote of table on p. 381.

4 Average of 25 femora of whites, of both sexes.

Notes on identification of Monte Hermoso femur, by J. W. Gidley.—
The cast of the Tetraprothomo femur was also submitted for compari-
son to Mr. J. W. Gidley, custodian of fossil mammals, U.S. National
- Museum, who kindly furnished the following report: ‘A careful com-
parison of the cast with numerous examples of both living and fossil
mammals seems to show no characters in common with any of the
Primates that are not also common to some or all of the carnivores.
The proximal end, although broken, shows some especially charac-
teristic features unlike those of any Primates. The trochanteric
fossa 1s depressed to near the level of the lesser trochanter, the lesser
trochanter is shifted to the extreme inner border of the posterior face,
and the posterior area in this region is broadened and flattened.
These features suggest a decided resemblance to many of the dogs,
especially Urocyon and Vulpes. The distal end, however, in its more
broadened patellar groove and general aspect is more cat-like in
character, suggesting Felis onca, although the inner condyle is rela-
tively longer [antero-posteriorly] than in any of the living species.
In this respect the South American femur more nearly resembles
the more primitive cats of the Hoplophoneus type. Thus, while it
does not seem possible with the material at hand to determine defi-
nitely the particular group to which it may belong, the characters
presented in this femur point undoubtedly to a carnivore rather than
to a primate relationship.”

384 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Finat REMARKS ON THE MonTE HERMOoSO SPECIMENS

The preceding pages show that the identification of the Monte
Hermoso. atlas and femur as representing a human precursor, of
whatsoever age, is In no way sustained.

In the first place the two specimens present a family difference and
can not be considered together, the atlas beng human, the femur
carnivore.

As to the atlas, the geologic evidence of the find is entirely unsatis-
factory, while the bone is not only thoroughly human but its charac-
teristics are in no instance beyond the range of individual variation
of the Indian atlas. Its identification as belonging to another species
of man rests on the unwarranted assumptions of its antiquity and of
the existence of such a species of man. It falls among the class of ill-
starred specimens which have been dragged into the service of other-
wise unsupported notions relating to the dawn of human history,
only to be subsequently dropped of necessity into obscurity as having
no bearing on the subject. Its extraction is problematical, but even
if found in quite intimate relation with the real Monte Hermosean
loess, it is not necessarily old. It may well have been derived from
the dune above the Monte Hermoso barranca, which, as shown
before, contains numerous traces of the modern native of the coast,
and which fall from the crumbling edge above the ledges into
pockets of the lower ancient formation.

As to the femur, it must be relegated to some ancient branch of the
cat family or other related carnivore not as yet represented in col-
lections elsewhere, for the discovery of which due credit should be
given the most indefatigable and successful of South American col-
lectors, Carlos Ameghino.

VIII. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS

The final conclusions reached as the result of the researches
recorded in the preceding pages regarding early man in South
America, may be thus briefly summarized:

A conscientious, unbiased study of all the available facts has shown
that the whole structure erected in support of the theory of geologically
ancient man on that continent rests on very imperfect and incorrectly
interpreted data and in many instances on false premises, and as a
consequence of these weaknesses must completely collapse when
subjected to searching criticism.

The main defects of the testimony thought to establish the pres-
ence of various representatives of early man and his precursors in
South America are: (1) Imperfect geologic determinations, especially
with regard to the immediate conditions under which the finds were
made; (2) imperfect consideration of the circumstances relating to
the human remains, particularly as to possibilities of their artificial
or accidental introduction into older terranes, and as to the value of
their association from the standpoint of zoopaleontology; (3) the
attributing of undue weight to the organic and inorganic alterations
exhibited by the human bones; and (4) morphologic consideration
of the human bones by those who were not expert anthropologists,
who at times were misled in the important matter of placing and
orienting the specimens and who accepted mere individual variations
or features due to artificial deformation as normal and specifically
distinctive characters.

As to the antiquity of the various archeologic remains from Argen-
tina attributed to early man, all those to which particular importance
has been attached have been found without tenable claim to great
age, while others, mostly single objects, without exception fall into
the category of the doubtful.

As to the many broken, striated, grooved, and perforated animal
bones, the writers have not been convinced that these are in any case
necessarily the work of geologically ancient man. In those instances
in which the originals were examined, the markings observed were
either clearly recognized as due to gnawing rodents or to other non-
human agencies or as of doubtful origin.

The conclusions of the writers with regard to the evidence thus
far furnished are that it fails to establish the claim that in South

21535°—Bull. 52—12——_25 385

386 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

America there have been brought forth thus far tangible traces of
either geologically ancient man himself or of any precursors of the
human race.

This should not be taken as a categorical denial of the existence
of early man in South America, however improbable such a presence
may now appear; but the position is maintained, and should be
maintained, it seems, by all students, that the final acceptance of the
evidence on this subject can not be justified until there shall have
accumulated a mass of strictly scientific observations requisite in
kind and volume to establish a proposition of so great importance.

IX. LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

RELATING TO THE SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN AND HIS
PRECURSORS IN SOUTH AMERICA #4

(See also pages 51-53)

AmeEGHINO, I’. Ensayos para servir de base 4 un estudio de la formacién pampeana.
(Série d’articles publiée dans le journal La Aspiracién, de Mercedes, d’aotit 1875
jusqu’a janvier 1876.)

Notas sobre algunos fosiles nuevos de la formacién pampeana, Mercedes, 1875.

Etude sur age géologique des ossements humains rapportés par Francois

Seguin, de la République Argentine, et conservés au Muséum d’ Histoire naturelle

de Paris. (Not published. Quoted in his La antigtiedad, etc., m1, p. 421.)

Noticias sobre antigtiedades indias de la Banda Oriental, Mercedes, 1877, p. 6.
El hombre fésil argentino, La Prensa, 28 de marzo 1877.

(Also in Catalogue spécial de la section anthropologique et paléontologique de la

République Argentine 4 l’ Exposition de Paris, 1878.)

L’homme préhistorique dans le bassin de la Plata. (Compte-rendu Congrés

international des sciences anthropologique, Paris, 1878, pp. 341-350.)

La plus haute antiquité de homme dans le Nouveau-Monde. (Compte-rendu

Congrés international des Américanistes, 3™° session, m1, Bruxelles, 1879, pp.

198-250. )

L’homme préhistorique dans la Plata. (Revue d’Anthropologie, 2™* sér., 1,

Paris, 1879, pp. 210-249.)

La antigtiedad del hombre en El Plata, 2 vols., Paris-Buenos Aires, 1880-81.

Escursiones geolégicas y paleontolégicas en la provincia de Buenos Aires.
(Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Cérdoba, v1, Buenos Aires, 1884,

pp. 168-195.)

Informe sobre el Museo Antropolégico y Paleontolégico de la Universidad

Nacional de Cérdoba durante el afio 1885. (Ibid., vr, 1885, pp. 347-360.)

Monte Hermoso. Article published originally in La Nacion of March 10, 1887.
- (Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias, Buenos Aires, 1887, pp. 5-6, 10.)
——— Lista de las especies de mamiferos fésiles del mioceno superior de Monte Her-

moso, hasta ahora conocidas, Buenos Aires, 1888, p. 4.

—— Contribucidn al conocimiento de los mamiferos fésiles de la Reptiblica Argen-
tina. (Actas de la Academia Nacional, Cordoba, v1, Buenos Aires, 1889, pp.
45-99.)

Sinopsis geoldgico-paleontolégica. (In Segundo Censo de la Republica

Argentina, mayo 10 de 1895, t. 1, pp. 146-149.)

Paleontologia argentina. (Pub. de la Universidad de la Plata, No. 2, Oct.,

1904, La Plata, 1904, pp. 76-79. )

Les formations sédimentaires du crétacé supérieur et du tertiaire de Patagonie

(Anales del Museo Nacional de Buenos Aires, xv (ser. iii, t. vur), 1906, pp.

416-450.)

1 Arranged alphabetically by authors, with the publications of each in chronologic order.

387

388 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

AMEGHINO, F. Notas preliminares sobre el Tetraprothomo argentinus, un precursor del
hombre del Mioceno superior de Monte Hermoso. (Ibid., xvr (ser. iii, t. 1x),
1908, pp. 107-242.)

Le Diprothomo platensis. (Ibid., xrx (ser. iii, t. x1r), 1909, pp. 107-209.)

—— Geologia, paleogeografia, paleontologia, antropologia de Reptiblica Argentina.
(Estudio publicado en el Nimero Extraordinario de La Nacidn, del 25 de Mayo
de 1910, Buenos Aires; separate pp. 1-25.)

Descubrimiento de dos esqueletos humanos fésiles en el pampeano inferior del

Moro. (Separate, Congreso cientifico internacional americano, Buenos Aires, 10

4 25 de julio de 1910, pp. 1-6.)

Descubrimiento de un esqueleto humano fdésil en el pampeano superior del
Arroyo Siasgo. (Ibid., 1910, pp. 1-6.)

— Sur orientation de la calotte du Diprothomo. (Anales del Museo Nacional de
Buenos Aires, xXx (ser. ili, t. xm), 1910, pp. 319-327.)

—— La industria de la piedra quebrada en el mioceno superior de Monte Hermoso.
(Congreso cientifico internacional americano, Buenos Aires, 1910, pp. 1-5.)

Une nouvelle industrie lithique: L’industrie de la pierre fendue dans le Ter-

tiare de la region littorale du sud de Mar del Plata. (Anales del Museo Nacional

de Buenos Aires, XX (ser. iii, t. xm), 1911, pp. 189-204.)

L’4ge des formations sédimentaires tertiaires de |’Argentine en relation avec

Vantiquité de ’homme. (Ibid., xxu (ser. iii, t. xv), 1911, pp. 45-75.)

La calotte du Diprothomo d’aprés Vorientation frontoglabellaire. (Ibid.,

pp. 1-9.)

L’age des formations sédimentaires tertiaires de l’Argentine. (Ibid., pp.
169-179.)

(See Gervais, H.)

Basor, J. Paleontologie ¢lovéka. (Véstnik Klubu Piirodovédeckého, v Prostéjové
(Moravia), xrv, 1911.)

Biake, C. C. On Human Remains from a Bone Cave in Brazil. (Journal of the
Anthropological Society of London, 1, 1864, pp. cclxv—celxvii.)

Bouts, M. Discussion and Reviews. (Compte-rendu Congr. int. d’anthr. et d’arch.
préhist., xr sess., Paris, 1900, p. 148; and l’Anthropologie, xxm, No. 1, Paris,
1911, pp. 68-71.)

BuRMEISTER, GERMAN.’ Lista de los mamiferos fdésiles del terreno diluviano (en
Argentina). (Anales del Museo Publico de Buenos Aires, 1, Buenos Aires, 1864—
1869: pp. 121-122 (brief reference to Lund’s finds in Brazil; no fossil human bones
as yet from Argentina); p. 298: El hombre fosil argentino (refers to Seguin’s find;
reproduced in Ameghino, La antigiiedad, etc., 1, 374-375.)

Sur les cranes, les mceurs et V’industrie des anciens Indiens de la Plata.

(Compte-rendu Congr. int. d’anthr. et d’arch. préhist., 1872, Bruxelles, 1873,

pp. 342-351.)

Die Ureinwohner der La Plata Staaten. (Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesell-

schaft fiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, xvu, April, 1875,

pp. 2+4.) .

Los caballos fésiles de la Pampa argentina; also under German title, Die

fossilen Pferde der Pampasformation—Buenos Aires, 1875,

Description physique de la République Argentine, tome 11, Buenos Aires, 1876,

p. 216; tome mm, Buenos Aires, 1879, pp. 41-42.

Descripcién fisica de la Reptiblica Argentina. (Anales del Museo Publico de

Buenos Aires, 1, 1879, p. 41.)

1 Spanish form; in a number of publications the name appears in the German form, HERMANN.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 389

BuRMEISTER, GERMAN. Bemerkungen in Bezug auf die Pampas-formation. (Ver-
handlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft fiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urge-
schichte, xv1, Berlin, 1884, pp. 246-247.)

Lista de los mamiferos fésiles del terreno diluviano. (Analesdel Museo Piblico
de Buenos Aires, 1, 1864-69, p. 298.) See also, Ameghino, F., La antigiiedad, etc.,
pp. 374-877; and Lehmann-Nitsche, R., Nouvelles recherches, ete. (Revista del
Museo de La Plata, xtv, Buenos Aires, 1907, pp. 209-213.)

Buscuan, G. Die tertiiren Primaten und der fosile Mensch von Siidamerika, (Das
Ausland, Lxv, 1892, pp. 398-700; also, Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift,
vi, 1893, pp. 1-4.)

Das Alter des Menschen in Amerika. (Die Umschau, xm, 1909, pp. 949-956;
also, Zentralblatt fiir Anthropologie, xtv, Braunschweig, 1909, pp. 368-71.)

Comses, P., Fils. Le Diprothomme. (Cosmos, Paris, 25th Sept., 1909 (N. s., No.
1287), pp. 34446.)

Desor, E. Homme des alluvions anciennes de ]’Amérique du Sud. (In Mortillet’s
Matériaux pour l’histoire de homme, etc., 2° Année, Paris, 1866, p. 262.)

FRIEDEMANN, M. Vorlage eines Gipsabgusses des Schiideldaches von Diprothomo
platensis Ameghino. (Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, 1910, Heft 6, pp. 934-35.)

Gervais, H., rt F. AMecuino. Les mammiféres fossiles de Amérique du Sud,
Paris and Buenos Aires, 1880.

Gervais, P. Zoologie et paléontologie générales. Premiére série. Paris, 1867-69.

Débris humains recueillis dans la Confédération Argentine avec des ossements
d’animaux appartenant a des espéces perdues. (Journal de Zoologie, u, Paris,
1873, pp. 231-34.)

Giurrripa-RueceErI, V. Die Entdeckungen Florentino Ameghinos und der Ur-
sprung des Menschen. (Globus, Bd. xcrv, Braunschweig, 1908, pp. 21-26.)

Un nuovo precursore dell’ uomo. II ‘‘ Tetraprothomo argentinus.’’ (Rivista
d'Italia, fascicolo di gennaio, Roma, 1909, pp. 137-47.)

HANSEN, SOREN. LagoaSanta Racen. Enanthropologisk Underségelse af Jordfundne
Menneskelevninger fra brasilianske Huler. Med et Tillaeg om det jordfundne
Menneske fra Pontimelo, Rio de Arrecifes, La Plata. (En Samling af Afhand-
linger, e Museo Lundii, 1, 5, Kjébenhavn, 1888, pp. 1-37.)

ImeRING, H. von. El hombre prehistérico del Brasil. (Historia, 1, Buenos Aires,
1903, pp. 161-172.)

Kosett, W. Ameghinos Forschungen in den argentinischen Pampas. (Globus, Bd.
Lx, no. 9, Braunschweig, 1891, pp. 132-136.)

Koiken, A. Die Vorwelt und ihre Entwickelungsgeschichte, Leipzig, 1893. (Dis-
cusses Roth’s discoveries.)

KotimMaAnn, J. Schiideln von Lagoa Santa. (Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, xv1, Berlin,
1884, pp. 194-99.)

Hohes Alter der Menschenrassen. (Ibid., pp. 200-05.)

Lacerpa, A. de. Documents pour servir & histoire de ‘homme fossile du Brésil.
(Mémoirés de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris, 2™° sér., m, Paris, 1875, pp.
517-42.)

LacerpA, Finuo, AND Ropricuez Prrxoto. Contribuigdes para o estudo anthro-
pologico das ragas indigenas do Brazil. (Archivos do Museu Nacional, Rio de
Janeiro, 1, 1876, pp. 47-76.)

LacerpbA, J. B. de. O homem dos Sambaquis. (Ibid., v1, 1885, pp. 175-203.)

Lenmann-Nirscue, R. Ueber den fossilen Menschen der Pampaformation. (Corres-
pondenz-Blatt der deutschen Gesellschaft fiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie und
Urgeschichte, xxx1, Miinchen, 1900, pp. 107-08. See also Virchow, pp. 108-09.)

Centralblatt fiir Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, v, Jena, 1900,

pp. 112-13, 138-41 (Reviews).

390 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Leumann-Nirtscue, R. L’homme fossile de la formation pampéenne. (Compte-rendu
Congr. int. d’anthr. et d’arch. préhist., xm session, Paris, 1900, pp. 143-48.)

In collaboration with C. Burckhardt, A. Doering, J. Fruh, H. v. Ihering,

H. Leboucq, R. Martin, S. Roth, W. B. Scott, G. Steinmann, and F. Zirkel—

Nouvelles recherches sur la formation pampéenne et homme fossile de la

République Argentine. (Revista del Museo de la La Plata, xv, Buenos Aires,

1907, pp. 143-488.)

Homo sapiens und Homo neogxus aus der Argentinischen Pampasformation.

(Verh. xv1, Int. Amerikanisten-Kongresses, Wien, 1909, pp. 98-98; also in Na-

turwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift, N. F., Bd. vu, Jena, 1909.)

El hombre fésil pampeano. (Boletin Oficina Nacional Estadistica, La Paz,
Bolivia, v1, 1910, pp. 363-366.)

Lista, R. Sur les débris humains fossiles signalés dans la République Argentine.
(Journal de Zoologie, vi, Paris, 1877, pp. 153-57.)

Lovisato, D. Dialcune armie utensili dei Fueghini, e degliantichi Patagoni. (Atti
dellar. Accademia dei Lincei, Classe di scienze morali, etc., memorie x1, Roma,
1883, pp. 194-202.)

Lunp, P. W. Letter of Aug. 20, 1840, to C. C. Rafn. (Referred to in Berlingske
Tidende, Feb. 12, 1841; in Aarsberetning fra det Kgl. nord. Oldskriftselskab for
1840, p. 5; in Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, Stuttgart, 1841, pp. 502, 606;
in Nouvelles Annales des Voyages, 1841, D., v1, p. 116; in Breve till C. C. Rafn,
udg. af B. Grondahl, Kjébenhavn, 1880, p. 247; and in Liitken, Chr. Fr., Indle-
dende Bemaerkninger, etc. En Samling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1,
Kjébenhaven, 1888.)

Blik paa Brasiliens Dyreverden, etc. (Kgl. danske Videnskabernes Selskabs

Skrifter, 4 Raekke, 1x, Kjébenhavn, 1842, pp. 195-96.)

Carta escripta da Lagda Santa (Minas Geraes) ao Sr. 1° Secretario do Insti-

tuto. (Revista trimensal de Historia e Geographia, Rio de Janeiro, tv, 1842, pp.

80-87.)

Letter of Jan. 12, 1842, to Secretary of Institute de Historia e Geographia, Rio

de Janeiro. (Referred to in Kéllner Zeitung, Sept. 9, 1842; American Journal of

Science, xttv, New Haven, 1843, p. 277; Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal,

XXXVI, 1844, pp. 38-41; Froriep’s Neue Notizen, xx1x, 1844, p. 247; L’ Institut,

x, 1842, p. 356; Neues Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, Stuttgart, 1843, p. 118; Pro-

ceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, m1, 184445, Phila.,

1846, pp. 11-13.)

Carta do Dr. Lund, escripta da Lagoa Santa (Minas Geraes a 21 de Abril de

1844. (Revista trimensal de Historia e Geographia, Rio de Janeiro, v1, 1844,

pp. 326-34.)

Letter of Mar. 28, 1844, to C. C. Rafn. (Referred to in Antiquarisk Tids-
skrift, 1843-45, Kjébenhaven, 1845, p. 154; in Mém. Soc. Roy. Antiquaires du
Nord, 1845-49, Copenhague (n.d.), p. 49; in Compte-rendus Acad. Sci. Paris, xx,
1845, p. 1368; in L’Institut, xm, 1845, p. 166; in Froriep’s Neue Notizen, xxxv,
1845, p. 161; and in Liitken, Chr. Fr., Indledende Bemaerkninger, ete. EnSam-
ling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, 1888, Kjébenhaven, 1845, p. 5.)

Lirxen, Cur. Fr. Exposition de quelques-uns des cranes et des autres ossements
humains de Minas-geraés dans le Brésil central découverts et déterrés par le feu
Professeur P. W. Lund. (Compte-rendu Congr. int. des Américanistes, Copen-
hagen, 1883, p. 40.)

Indledende Bemaerkninger om Menneskelevninger i Brasiliens Huler og i de
Lundske Samlinger. (En Samling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, 4, Kjében-
havn, 1888, pp. 1-29, with a good abstract in French.)

Martin, R. Ossements humains, trouvés en 1887 par M. Santiago Roth a Baradero,
etc. (In Lehmann-Nitsche’s Nouvelles recherches, etc., 1907, pp. 374-86.)

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 391

Mocut, A. Nota preventiva sul Diprothomo platensis Ameghino. (Revista del Museo
de La Plata, xv, Buenos Aires, 1910-11, pp. 69-70.)

Appunti sulla paleoantropologia argentina. (Archivio per 1’Antropologia e

la Etnologia, xx, Firenze, 1910, pp. 203-54.)
Moreno, F. P. Noticias sobre antigtiedades de los Indios, del tiempo anterior 4 la con-
quista descubiertas en la provincia de Buenos Aires. (Boletin de la Academia
Nacional de Ciencias de Cérdoba, 1, 1874, pp. 130-49.)

Description des cimetiéres et paraderos préhistoriques de Patagonie. (Revue

d’ Anthropologie, 17 sér., m1, Paris, 1874.)

Viaje 4 la Patagonia austral, emprendido bajo los auspicios del Gobierno

nacional, 1876-77, tomo 1, Buenos Aires, 1879. (Reviewed in Revue d’Anthro-

pologie, 2™¢ sér., 11, 1880, pp. 303-09.)

Sur deux cranes préhistoriques rapportés du Rio-Negro. (Bulletins de la
Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, 3™° sér., m1, 1880, pp. 490-97.)

Morse iu, E. Osservazioni critiche sulla parte antropologico-preistorica del recente
““Trattato di paleontologia’’? di Carlo Zittel. (Archivio per l’ Antropologia e
la Etnologia, xxvi, Firenze, 1896, p. 140.)

Nenrinc, A. Menschenreste aus einem Sambaqui von Santos in Brasilien. (Ver-
handl. Berl. Ges. fiir Anthr., Eth. und Urg., Sitzung vom 16 Nov. 1895, pp.
710-21.)

Oures, F.F. Los Querandies, breve contribucién al estudio de la etnografia argen-
tina, Buenos Aires, 1897, pp. 87-91.

——— AnD OC. Brucu. Los Aborigenes de la Reptiblica Argentina, Buenos Aires, 1910.

PAMPEAN FORMATION. ‘The Man of the Pampean formation. (American Naturalist,
xu, 1897, pp. 827-29. Based on Ameghino’s work.)

QuaTREFAGES, A. DE. L’homme fossile de Lagoa Santa en Brésil et ses descendants
actuels. (Compte-rendu Acad. Sci. Paris, t. 93, no. 22, pp. 882-884.)

Histoire générale des races humaines. Introduction a l’étude des races
humaines: [in 2 pts.] Paris, 1887-89, pp. 85-86, 105.

Reruarpt, J. De brasilianske Knoglehuler og de i dem forekommende Dyre-
levninger. (En Samling af Afhandlinger e Museo Lundii, 1, 4, Kjébenhavn,
1888, pp. 1-56; Memoir read in 1866.)

River, P. La race de Lagoa-Santa chez les populations précolombiennes de l’equa-
teur. (Bull. et Mém. Soc. d’Anthr. Paris, 5™° sér., rx, f. 2, 1908, p. 209 et seq.).

Roru, 8. Fossiles dela Pampa, Amérique du Sud, 2™° catalogue, San Nicolas, 1882, pp.
3-4 (17° éd.); Genova, 1884 (2™° éd.).

Beobachtungen tiber Entstehung und Alter der Pampasformation in Argen-

tinien. (Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft, xi, Berlin, 1888, p.

400 et seq.) :

Ueber den Schaedel von Pontimelo (richtiger Fontezuelas). (Briefliche
Mittheilung von Santiago Roth an Herrn J. Kollmann). (Mittheilungen aus
dem anatomischen Institut im Vesalianum zu Basel (1889), pp. 1-11. Repro-
duced in Lehmann-Nitsche’s Nouvelles recherches, etc.)

ScuwaBe, G. Studien zur Morphologie der siidamerikanischen Primatenformen.
(Zeitschrift fiir Morphologie und Anthropologie, Band xi, Heft 2, Stuttgart,
1910, pp. 209-58.)

Senet, R. Los ascendientes del hombre segtin Ameghino. (Boletin de la Instruc-
cién Piblica, Buenos Aires, m, no. 6, pp. 1-52.)

Sera, G. L. Sull’ uomo fossile sud-americano. (Monitore Zoologico Italiano, xxu,
Firenze, 1911, pp. 10-24.)

Srerer,G. L’apologia del mio poligenismo. (Atti della Societaé romana di antropo-
logia, xv, fasc. 2, Roma, 1909, pp. 187-195.)

Paléontologie sud-Américaine. (Scientia, v1, Bologna, 1910, pp. xvi-4.)

392 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

Sievers, P. Review of Ameghino’s Sinopsis geoldégico-paleontolégica. (Segundo
Censo de la Reptblica Argentina, 1, 1898, 148. Petermanns Mittheilungen,
xLv1, 1900, p. 72.)

Srrain, Isaac G. Extract of a letter giving the synopsis of the translation, by him-
self, of a letter from Dr. Lund, R. 8. A., Copenhagen, to the Historical and Geo-
graphical Society of Brazil. (Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences,
Philadelphia, 11, 1844-45, Phila., 1846, pp. 11-13.)

SrrosBeL,*P. Materiali di paletnologia comparata raccolti in Sudamerica, Parma,
1885, 3 fasc., p. 34, pl. v1, fig. 47.

TEN Kare, H. Sur les cranes de Lagoa-Santa. (Bulletins de la Société d’Anthro-
pologie de Paris, 3™° sér., vu, 1885, pp. 240-44.)

Topmvarp, P. Eléments d’anthropologie générale, Paris, 1885.

Trovessart, E. Les primates tertiaires et l’>homme fossile sud-américain. (L’An-
thropologie, m1, 1892, pp. 257-74.)

VALENTIN, J. Bosquejo geolédgico de la Argentina. (Article ‘‘Gea” in the third
edition of the Diccionario geografico argentino, of F. Latzina, Buenos Aires, 1897,
p. 37.) (Concerns Roth’s discoveries.)

Vareta, F. L’homme quaternaire en Amérique. (Congrés international des
sciences anthropologiques tenu 4 Paris du 16 au 21 aofit 1878, p. 288.)

VERNEAU, R. Cranes préhistoriques de Patagonie. (L’Anthropologie, v, Paris,
1894, pp. 420-50.)

Les anciens Patagons, Monaco, 1903, pp. 126-29.

Viranova, J. L’homme fossile du Rio Samborombon. (Compte-rendu Congrés
international des Américanistes, 8°™° sess., Paris, 1890, Paris, 1892, pp. 351-52).

VircuHow, R. Ein mit Glyptodon-Resten gefundenes menschliches Skelet aus der
Pampa de la Plata. (Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft fiir Anthropologie,
Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, xv, 1883, pp. 465-67.)

Crania ethnica americana, Berlin, 1892, p. 29 et seq.

Voat, ©. Squelette humain associé aux glyptodontes. Avec discussion (Mortillet,
Zaborowski, Vogt). (Bulletins de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris, 3™° série,
Iv, 1881, pp. 693-99.)

Wiser, L. Das Alter des Menschen in Siidamerika. (Globus, Bd. xcrv, Braun-
schweig, 1908, pp. 333-35.)

Leben und Heimat des Urmenschen, Leipzig, 1910.

ZEBALLOS, E. 8. Estudio geolédgico sobre la Provincia de Buenos Aires. (Anales
de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina, 1, Buenos Aires, 1876, pp. 258-68, 309-21;
m1, 1877, pp. 17-35, 71-80.)

ZitreL, K. A. Handbuch der Paliontologie, Miinchen und Leipzig, 1888-94, p. 724.

ADDENDA

Since the preceding report was completed, four additional publica-
tions on some of the remains attributed to ancient man in South
America have reached the writer, and he has learned that the sub-
ject is also dealt with in a more general way in three recent works
which thus far he has not seen, namely:

Branca, W., Der Stand unserer Kenntnisse von fossilen Menschen, Liepzig, 1910;
Serat, G., L’Uomo secondo le origini, l’antichita, le variazioni e la distribuzione
geografica, Torino, 1911; and Frasserro, F., Lezioni di Antropologia, 2 vols.,
Bologna, 1911.

Of the four special papers above mentioned the first to reach the
writer was that ‘‘On ancient man and his predecessors in Argentina,”
by K. Stolyhwo,! one of the European delegates to the International
American Congress of Sciences, held at Buenos Aires in July, 1911.

Stolyhwo examined the more important of the skeletal remains
and his conclusions are as follows:

The skull of Arrecifes (p. 28): ‘‘On the basis of personal examina-
tion of the specimen I am of the opinion that its form is that of the
contemporary man.”’

The skull of Miramar (pp. 33-34): ‘‘Shows an artificial deforma-
tion.”

The Necochea specimens: ‘‘Skull No. I is not artificially deformed
and its form corresponds completely to that of H. sapiens.” No. I
shows traces of post-mortem deformation. No. III is deformed arti-
ficially besides showing poor reconstruction, including that of the
orbits. Further, these specimens show no peculiar features in com-
parison with the skull of H. sapiens and should not be regarded as
distinct therefrom. They differ in no essential features from skulls
of the American natives.

As to the Diprothomo (pp. 34-88), the special features of the frag-
ment as described by Ameghino became apparent only through faulty
orientation of the specimen. The fragment ‘shows no important
difference from a similar part in the present man.’’ The length of
the frontal, on which stress has been laid, is duplicated and even

1 Stotyhwo, K., W sprawie cztowieka kopalnego i jego poprzednikéw w Argentynie; in Sprawozdania
z posiedzen Towarzystwa Naukowego Warszawskiego, tv, No. 1, Warsaw, 1911, pp. 21-41.

393

394 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [BULL. 52

exceeded in some of the modern skulls of whites in the Warsaw col-
lections and in general the bone is entirely like that of H. sapiens.
‘The position of Diprothomo as a precursor of man is untenable;”
though, should the geologic position claimed for the fragment become
firmly established, the specimen would have much weight as evidence
of the existence of man in the Lower Pliocene.

The atlas of Monte Hermoso (pp. 31-32) ‘“‘is entirely like a
human atlas.” A comparison showed that in one of the recent
atlases of the collection the main features that characterize the
Monte Hermoso specimen are even more accentuated. The dimen-
sions of the Monte Hermoso atlas are moderate, such as are found in
IIomo sapiens. The formation, on the basis of this specimen, of a
new species of man, as attempted by Lehmann-Nitsche, is not justified.

The femur of Monte Hermoso (p. 30) ‘“‘does not appear to me
possibly to proceed ‘from the same individual as the atlas. The
specimen is of small size and belonged to a much smaller animal
form.”

Stolyhwo mentions two other communications by Polish men of
science on the Argentine finds,’ neither of which, however, appears
to contain original observations or to be of special importance.

The next publications received relating to early man in Argentina
were Schwalbe’s postscript ? and Sergi’s paper * on the subject of the
Diprothomo.

Schwalbe’s paper is a discussion of several of the more recent
publications dealing with or touching on the Diprothomo (Mochi, Ame-
ghino, Sergi, Branca, Wilser, Friedemann, and v. Luschan).. He
finds that his views concerning the fragment as expressed in his
former publication thereon need no modification; and the obser-
vations of Friedemann and y. Luschan coincide so closely with his own,
that he ‘‘regards the Diprothomo question as definitely settled and con-
siders it wholly superfluous and unnecessary to enter again into con-
sideration of this phantasy-image, which proved to be purely human.”

According to Schwalbe, Branca pronounces himself against the
notions of Ameghino in regard to the Diprothomo as well as the Tetra-
prothomo specimens. The Diprothomo fragment is considered by
Branca, as by v. Luschan, to be clearly of human. origin.

On the other hand, Sergi opposes the opinions of Schwalbe, Friede-
mann, and y. Luschan, on the Diprothome. He accepts as correct
neither the orientation of the fragment as practiced by Ameghino nor
that of Schwalbe, and essays to pose the same on a modern meso-

1 Poniatowski, St., O klasyfikacyach wskaznikéw antropologicznych; in Sprawozdania z posiedzen
Towarzystwa Naukowego W arszawskiego, ut, No. 7, 1910; and Majewski, E., O czaszce prazcztowieka plio-
censkiego, Diprothomo platensis, with discussion by K. Stotyhwo; ibid., m1, No. 12, 1909.

2 Schwalbe, G., Nachtrag zu meiner Arbeit: Uber Ameghino’s Diprothomo platensis; in Zeitschr. fiir

Morph. und Anthr., Band xm, Heft 3, Stuttgart, 1911, pp. 533-540.
3 Sergi, G., Sul Diprothomo platensis Ameghino; in Rivista di Antropologia, xvi, f. 1, pp. 1-12.

ADDENDA. 395

cephalic skull, the top of which has been cut off, on the basis of an
approximation to a natural human position of the roof of the orbits.
The features exhibited by the fragment in this position show that
the specimen ‘‘does not possess characteristics identical with those of
recent human crania; its distinctive features are not even within the
limits of the variation of recent man.”’

As a result of his observations, it seems to Sergi ‘‘that the Dipro-
thomo may belong to the human family, to the Hominide, but it sepa-
rates itself absolutely by many above-described characters from the
living type of man. These characters do not constitute a type that
would ordinarily be denominated as inferior; it is a type of its own, a
type which is related with the hitherto known fossil human forms in
Europe. ... For my part,” Sergi concludes, “I shall continue to
denominate the Diprothomo as [have done in dealing with the descent
of man, namely, Proanthropus.”’

Sergi entertains ‘‘no doubt regarding the antiquity of the fragment”’
and its age, in his opinion, is confirmed by its morphology.

Finally, still another reply to the criticisms of Mochi is published
by Ameghino.? It is not possible to enter into the details of this
extended paper. It relates almost exclusively to the various speci-
-mens representing the Homo pampezeus, H. caputinclinatus, and H.
sinemento. No new data concerning the circumstances of the several
finds are brought forth, the discussion dealing with the morphologic
characters of the skulls. Professor Ameghino acknowledges some
errors in his former statements in regard to certain particulars, but
retains and reasserts all his main views and beliefs. There are evident
some incipient modifications or rather developments in these, but
they do not lead in the direction of Mochi’s opinions.

The above-mentioned publications contain nothing that neces-
sitates any alteration of or addition to the writer’s statements and
conclusions recorded in the several sections of this report.

1A feature which presents considerable individual variations in all races, and hence can easily lead to
error in such procedure as that adopted by Sergi. Only the mean inclination of these parts in different
groups of man may be alike.—A. H.

2 Ameghino, F., Observations au sujet des notes du Dr. Mochi sur la paléoanthropologie Argentine; in
Anal. Mus. Nac. Buenos Aires, Xxui (ser. iii, t. XV), 1911, pp. 181-230.

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INDEX

Page
ACONGUIJA RANGE, reference to......-.....- 255
ALBARRACIN, S. J., publication by..-..--.-- 51
ALGONQUIANS, reference tO..........-.--..-. 183
ACIGEN Ho. .arblClo Dyce as. 2s Soe eee 56
ALSATIAN SKULLS, reference to....---.-...--- 339
ALVEAR—
geologic specimens from......-. 58-64, 79, 93-94
TOICTONGCOS GOn oe eee oe eee Vir, 30
AMBROSETTI, JUAN, acknowledgments to... VI, 226
AMEGHINO, CARLOS—
acknowledgments to.............-- VI, VU, 384
connection with—
Arroyo Siasgo skeleton............ 262-263
Monte Hermoso femur........-.-..-- 352
Necoches finds. .<.29 2 sees see eee 309
relereances (0s 2-9 --eee He aoe test eee 106,
107, 111, 271, 272, 273, 276, 277, 301
stone implements found by-......-.-.-- 103, 123
Tetraprothomo femur found by.-....----.- 347
AMEGHINO, FLORENTINO—
acknowledgments to..... VI, VU, 15, 244, 315, 363
cited on neolithic industries............- 107
cited on several skulls.............-..-.- 294
on age of Argentine finds...............- 11-13
ONOATIOCUES SKIN S552 - 25266 sec cos nae 225-226
on Arroyo de Frias remains.... 197-205, 206, 207
on Arroyo del Moro remains.....-. 272, 273-276
on Arroyo Siasgo skeleton.......-- 262-265, 270
on Arroyo Siasgo Valley ..............-- 269
on ‘‘broken-stone”’ industry. .......--- 104-106
on burial methods of Argentine Indians. 278
on burning of pampas grass.-..........--- 50
on Carcarafié bones.....-....-. 184, 185, 189-191
on certain geologic formations........... 26
on Diprothomo platensis.....-.--------.--- 318-
319, 321, 322-324, 326, 334, 335-343, 345-346
on Fontezuelas skeleton........... 215-216, 218
on geologic formation at Arroyo del Barco 38
on Homo caputinclinatus............----- 395
on Homo pampezus .... 100-104, 289-290, 293, 395
OU OTT SUETIUCTILO wre = ee ye ele 395
on Inter-Ensenadean formation.......... 287
on location of anvil-stones..............- 117
on markings on human bones..........- 252
on Miramar remains........... 290-291, 292, 295
on Monte Hermoso femur ............... 361
on Monte Hermoso geologic formation... 27,
362, 363
ongNecochea TeMsaInSe. oe... cecins es 290,
309-310, 311, 315, 316-317
OncOyvejerowremains |. .6. 22st cec- 2 242-244
onvPataronian skulls) j2c..6.<j-<..-cisse5<5 196
on Samboromb6n skeleton. 233-234, 235-236, 266
on specimens from Argentine coast.... 149, 150
on.“ split-stone’? industry . <...2-~.-=.--) 99-104

on Tetraprothomo argentinus... 346-351, 352-359

AMEGHINO, FLORENTINO—Continued.
on Upper Pampean formation
publications by =. ==. <<.2:-2.- VI, 51-53, 387-388
references to.... 45,48, 111, 114, 117, 153, 193, 216,

297, 238, 253, 272, 276, 278, 299, 300, 301
reply to Outes on ancient stone industry 109-110
stone implements found by at Punta

IR ORVGNWrae setesie tec cce ce nc eeen no 3 123
AMERICAN INDIAN—
morphologic modifications in...........- 5
TAGIGUIL MO wc akan selec eames ceene 183-184
ANIMAL BONES, association of with human
DOCS hashes reeas 32 ae ois acs 7-9, 208-209
ANTIQUITY OF MAN in South America, general
GHSCUSSION) OL} sepia ene Fe ee 1-9, 385-386
ARGENTINA—
aponzmalieulttresin=oe.--- 55) 42ces es 147
tiba\s Vila nee yy tee ee ee eS Se ee 11-13
See also specific names of various finds.
ARGENTINE COAST, character of......... 41, 111-113
Sce also Coquina, Sand dunes, Stone in-
dustries.
ARLDS CH, publication! by~...<--------<.--- 53
ARRECIFES SKULL—
MESerIPUION. <2 oa— sn emee ese ee 230-232, 393
RISUOPY/ fn oon peered ses oe oa eee 225-230
Telerences tO: o-2-222-4- 179, 234, 238, 239, 294, 322
ARROYO BRUSQUITAS, references to.......- 107, 108
ARROYO CAME, references to... -......------ 65, 66
ARROYO CHAPADMALAL, reference to......--- 107

Sce also Chapadmalal.
ARROYO CORRIENTES—

native settlements near........-.----.--- 121
TALCLEW CES GG ce ree ranerae eee esate 106, 107, 108
source of white quartzite.....2..-...----- 115
ARROYO DE FRIAS REMAINS—
contrast with Fontezuelas find........... 220
Chitical remarks, On os 5. ae on es ea cic 206-209
ISUOLY == sense - is ase ae oa se te eee 197-206
references (0. = <-> 2 -ssyestecs 191, 218, 229, 322
ARROYO DEL BARCO, references to..........- 37,38
ARROYO DEL MORO, references to... --- vit, 120, 126
ARROYO DEL MORO REMAINS—
examination of skeletal parts.........- 280-284
ISUGE Vieye = sate eee ee eee er een
Hrdliéka’s observations on ....--...--- 276-280

Sce also Homo sinemento, Laguna Mala-
cara, Necochea remains.

ARROYO DE RAMALLO, reference to.....----- 30
ARROYO DURAZNO, references to....---.--- 107, 108
ARROYO SIASGO REMAINS—
Critical TEMBRKS OU. =. 2-5-2222 ac4 sss ae 269
geologic considerations.......---------- 269-272
WISLOM Yee etecl-tae Sa icin aimee a ele eye icierios 262-266
Hrdliéka’s examination of.....---.--.-- 266-269
TELETCHCES EOI oo oe io nieais so ones aes vu, 235

See also Homo caputinclinatus.

398 INDEX.

Page Page

ARROYO" ANION. ono aeosne Sace one eee 210 | BRUNET, L., publication by................- 53

AUSTRALIAN SKULLS, reference to...........- 329 | BUckine, H.—

AYMARA HEAD DEFORMATION— on tierra cocida and scoria..............- 92
description joe... shee uote eee 299-300 publications:by< sa. 5: 22-2--ee eee 52,53
in skulls from Viedma.- +... - 2.5.25 sa... 301 | BuENos AIRES PROVINCE—
references to... 194,195, 197, 266, 267, 286, 303, 304 ancient inhabitants. . 5-22. .ee eee 122, 234

AZUAC, Teterences lO. 2h- cas cae aeaeeees ae 183, 224 climatic observations.........-...------- 33-34

BABOR, J., publication pyss-ss.sseeeeee ee 388 ee CEC Naar ene ace

Banta BLANCA— Er a aaa "7 7 ee

limatic observations for..............-.- 33-34 Eeolnele despaipaos Ae Esk —

s physical description of eastern part .__.-- 31

references to...-...--- Seen ieie 1, 17-18, 83, 84, 112 specimens of earths irom. ee 57-58
BAJADA MARTINEZ DE HOzZ, references to... 67,68 Rectan aan ak varlens lecakities me
cue ies SR ae pata province.

Ghibicalremarks Ole. scan. sate ee sees 261-2

Fe ms o VEa alias 959-961 | BURCKHARD?, Cant—

on. Baradero skcleton..t2. 022.02 2.2s-ees2 259

LN aceon gen ge b ee fe publication by . 390
BARDEEN AND EMBRYO, publication by.... 2: CR a. Sig eee ee
BARRANCAS DEL NORTE, geologic formation ee ae santied Unies <a Gor iat

6 pe » Seal

Bamaives beste Lenes RPE | con Carearaié bones...) «18-18 iene Maes
geologic formation of. ...... 2226-27,88,67,68 | pontenuelas bonés, sn, 3NB
SEES peter ee oar Set ye on remains of glyptodon.-...._..-....... 223

IDAVARTAINS, (PORES Ola 2c. 25 sees -cce Dees 294 ;

on Saladero skeleton. 2: 3235) 25-eeee 211

BEAURILS, B., find madeiby..2-------s2c--52 291 : eae

on Samborombon skeleton. ............- 233

BELGRANEAN FORMATION, references to.....- 26,64 publications by...........-.-.-.--- 51, 388-389

BELL, on Patagonian tibis.......-.-..---.-- fe references t0............... 192, 198, 209, 210, 263

BELLO Y RODRIGUEZ, cited on measurements RG Ce

wit kg (ET 0 (0) Pe eee ee pe MR ths ges reas apg Ge) 307 sen ;
: on Diprothomo platensis.........---.----- 334

BERTILLON, on Patagonian skull............. 195 satipatiginadty 389

“BLACK STONE” IMPLEMENTS, references E scien cater hlatie Rao

One oss ere Sh aN ee Oe ee ee 114, 121-122 CALCHAQUI—

BLAKE, C. C.— Stlag to) bee 365
on Iuund’s collection. --.--:.- 2.22222. 22 165-167 Bicullscune.t eer Se ee a ee 326, 327, 333
on Sumidouro Cave remains......-...-.. 181 | Cazicur, description of............-------- 111, 299
publication by Senge 6 Te SH SSeS AAS 388 CALIFORNIA—

Boca DEL MORO, references to...........--- 37,80 CAME aoe ens ee a ae a 227, 299

BOHEMIAN PEOPLE, cranial alterations in--.. 5 TEfErGNGe: bO. cn one oe ee 145

BOLIVIAN TRIBES— CALIFORNIA INDIANS, skulls of...........-.-- 174,
T@LELENGE LO. «=< ee eee ene 170 175, 183, 281-282, 286
SEUSS = Sete eae cep ae tee Seee ee se ecmee 286 | Campo PERALTA—

SUG es ema Soe seem sSo se Sa SoeseS see 209, 224 PEOlOLIGMOLES=c aos os eee ee eee 122-123
BONAEREAN FORMATION, references to......- 26, 65 native settlements near..........--..-..-- 121
BoNES— stone implements from............--.- 117,118

markings on, as index of antiquity... .-.- 7-9, | CanEsA, ANDREAS, finds made by...-.--.-- 289, 291

; 252,253,385 | CaNETE (PERU), skulls from...........----- 166
petrographi¢-microscopic examination of. 97-98 | CarcaRANA BONES—

post-mortem alterations in.........-.. 1-2, 5-7 critical remarks on..........---.-..--. 192-194

See also Fossilization. history........----- in 184-192
BoRDIER, on Patagonian skull.........-..-- 195 TelerenCes.. eo ee eee eee 217, 229
Botocupo— CARNEGIE INSTITUTION OF WASHINGTON,

NELELEN CES LO. aa,- sae ao ee eee eee eens 175, 195 references tO. o- cc ecc- cee Le Le eee 49,55

SUIS Gree esiestioocioscasnis sess uSeeee 169 | CasTELNAU, reference to..............------- 166
BOUCHER DE PERTHES, reference to......... 188 | Cavazurti, E., references to.....-.-.------ 272,309
BOULE, M., publications Dy=s---:----se.-- 05,388 "| (ORARA SRULG OWNs. 0) s5s 0s see a ee 170
BRANcA, W., on Diprothomo and Tetrapro- CHAPADMALAL, CHAPADMALEAN, FORMATION—

ROMO aoc coos = an aneee eee ne Aaa 393, 394 GESCEIpHON. «2: onc ace sone ee 46

BRAZILIAN TRIBES, Skeletal remains of.. 157-158, 209 geologic specimens from........-...---- 67-68,

See also Lagoa Santa.

BRETON BROTHERS, reference to............- 210
BENO, SKULEMON:Scceree catteon eee coeseseee 229
Broca, P.—
on Arroyo de Frias bones. ....-......-- 201, 206
on Patagonian skilesessosee- a) ons eee 195, 196
relerencertos. 2c. ee eemeescs sade eee 196
BRuvcH, C., publication) by---.s.--------+-2- 391

Brun. See Brno,

70, 77-78, 91, 92, 104, 108
CHAPALMALEAN. Sce Chapadmalean.

CHInUAHUA; TelerenCe tO. 2.2 seeee eae cee 180
CHINA, loess deposits of............--..--2 21, 22, 23
CHocori REMAINS—
HISGORY Sconce eee tee Dees oemnes ee meee 237-239
Hrdli¢ka’s examination of......-..-..- 239-242
TElereHCES TOLce eee eee 229, 295, 299,322

CLARAZ, G., publication by.....-..--..-.---- 51

INDEX 399
Page Page

CLARK, J. E., references to.........--- 319, 320-321 | ESPARTO GRASS—
CLARKE, F. W., chemical analyses of bones GeSCriptlONls-2 S.j-jenie)=n as J abiats see tobes Sone 48
MODOLGG ON anastasia wtsis 5 -\ ij eet elas 296-297 HEC) Of DURING. 2-2. oosesee sees oe = --- 8485

CLAUSSEN COLLECTION, reference to.....-..-- 165 | EvoLuTIoN, HUMAN—

CoLmmNA DOBLE, reference to........---..---- 109 according to Ameghino................- 13, 323

COLONIA VALCHETA, reference to.....-.-...--- 47 SUM MIATY 2 2 0 sachet eee Sees ee 2-5

CoMBES, P. (FILS), publication bytes «eee 389 FAGGIOM, RopoLPHE—

COMEDEROS, application: SB AGEDYS igcrrin gt: oi connection with Necochea remains....... 309

Coguina, description of. ....------------- 35-38, 41 skeletal remains found by.....-.-.------ 289

Beas eye RG NEO res r= 2e esr a> = FAIRCHILD, J. G., chemical analyses by...... 56,

CORTADERA. Sce Pampas grass. 60, 62, 75, 79, 81-82. 86. 296-297

CRO-MAGNON SKELETAL REMAINS, references 3 are Roni ee

MORIA, referenees)t0-~ 5 gene 2 =o 35, 182
TO ewan en ee =e enna jerdine sae Perry Ey FOGONES, references to...........-------- 46, 50-51

Cross, WHITMAN, on tierra cocida.......---- 20) Soe Be

CUBA, CAVES OF.....-.-.---.----r2+en2-0003- 209 CHILLCAMTEMARKSIONE tess kcces ccs sek 221-225

Curstas, F. R., acknowledgment to........ 301 oes ESSE ORT tad 98

DAKOTA CLAY BEDS, reference to.........--- 49 history and reports.......... se enigaie 213-221

Dat, WM. H.— TOIPRENGES| CO tte =. se/s tee he 179, a 294, 295, 322
on shell collections from Argentina... 41-44,247 | FOSSILIZATION OF BONES, general discussion
co) eaky, eae alas kid ini mies | apis aeee=- cece 2 .- 181, 193, 207-208, 296-299, 315

Davies, W., connection with Lund collec- See also Bones, Mineralization.

ea ere es eee ee 165 | FRASSETTO, F., publication by............-- 393

Davis, GUALTERIO, on climate of Argentina. 33-34 | FRENCH PEOPLE, cranial alterations in...... 5

EWAN Dr AT ol 0) ee 56 | F Cosine AY, M.— :

DE CARLES, ENRIQUE— on Diprothomo platensis.. biekince smoot 340
acknowledgments to.........-.--- VII, Vint, 244 on Monte Hermoso remains......----.- 360-361
connection with— publication by. wesc eee cere eee eee eee ee ee ee 389

Dumemtnd 2. 242, 245 PRUE, Je, publication by -=-----s-2-5-: 242-2 _ 390
Samborombon find...--..---..---- 233,234 | G. A. J.C., publication by...-............-- 53

TOE COS SHOE ieee ey eae === 235,202 | GaLLEY HILL, skull of.............-:-------- 229
DENINGER, cited on Diprothomo platensis.... 338 | q ALLINDEZ, D., acknowledgment to.......-- 301
DERRY, D. E., on Egyptians.............--- 5 | GAuDRY, M., reference to.............---.--- 169
DeEscatzi, N.— GENERAL ALVARADO DEPARTMENT, refer-

[Gio NEMO Noe sc -oaaeaSyccss see ceeenee ol BN COSLO MEER ten hn Le a 107, 108, 109

reference to......-..---..-------+-------- 50 | GENERAL BELGRANO STATION, references to. 31,270
Desor, E., publication by...--.------------ 389 | GEOLOGIC FORMATIONS, Ameghino’s scheme
DESPLAYADAS, application of term.........-. 209 Obs oh 5 Oe AAS SST Tie! ore 329
DIPROTHOMO PLATENSIS— GERMAN PEOPLE, cranial alterations in...... 5

comparison with Homo caputinclinatus. 264,265 | Gprvars, H., publication by...........------ 389

geolopie notes on find.-.......::......- 343-345 | Gervais, P.—

history.....-.------------------------- 318-324 cited on Carcarafié bones.........- 184, 185, 186

Hrdliéka’s examination of............- 325-333 cited on Lagoa Santa skulls.............- 179

Hrdli¢ka’s conclusions on.... -. 332-333, 345-346 on Seguin collection................--.--- 187

RARE ES LEMONS) Ola an rennet ino ecm 333-343 PUblicapions DY sesso eee 389

references'to.-.-...-.----.- 274, 276, 289,310,359 | Giptey, J. W.—

Ska@lsidescribed <2. =< 22 25. .- 292, 295, 393-394 acknowledgment to.........--...--..---- 376
DOERING, A., publication by.....-.......-.- 390 identifications made by....-.......---- 296, 383
Ductoux, E. HERRERO— GrurrripA-RuGGERI, V.—

chemical analyses by..-.....-..--------- 91, 92 on Miramar and other skulls............. 294

publication by.......-...-..------------ 52 on Tetraprothomo femur and atlas........ 359
Dunes. See Sand dunes. PUbMCATONS Pyne. essere eee see os ae 389
Dwicut, TH., publication by, cited......... 236 | GLACIAL EPOCHS, description of.............. 20-21
Ecuapor, ancient inhabitants of............ 179 ea REIS Sopa wee ae ats ie.
Wey EUMNS, Sa PUY Sia UDO. aac = -=---- 2 aa GRATACAP, L. oe on post-mortem alterations
Empryo. Sce Bardeen and Embryo. : ;

ENGLISH PEOPLE, cranial alterations in..... 5 SEU DOD MF eveaeB aidaedtss die opt 34oyror g

GRIMALDI SKELETAL REMAINS, reference to. - - d

egy SOSeAON GUAYAQUIL FEMORA, reference to 282
aebuntale orvenivas...-2) 2 eee 123 ce Se aU Ae be
eseription:. '-.'. acta fe see «---- 287 | HAGUE, ARNOLD, publication by.....-..-.-. 96
geologic specimens from... ...-. GO;G7,09570,74 |) HaMry, referencestO.......-:..2-22---.-2-- 194, 196
TELUS) Ye) OS) FO a eI 12, 26,80,110 | HANSEN, SOREN—

‘«split-stone”’ industry from............- 100 on Fontezuelas skeleton ... 216,217, 219, 220, 221

See also Inter-Ensenadean, Pre-Ensena- on Lagoa Santa remains... 176-179, 181,183,184

dean. PUlicainoHS Ys: -o2 -2.-- ths eae 389

PSKIMO; Telerence to. =.:<. 4, --ss26e0s de ces 184 POLCEBHCOSOMe OS. ots cs eke some eet ed 179

400 INDEX
Page | KOLLMANN, J.—Continued. Page
HAR rT reference LO-. «<2. sscceae ence heen ae 170 on Saladero skeleton............-.-.--- 209-211
HATCHER COLLECTION, references to......-. 140, 147 publication by 2e* Pale Aa 389
HATCHER, Onsthe bolas). -e2es2- + See 147 TERTENCOS TOLL eee ee ecenteee eee 176,191, 258
HEAD DEFORMATION, discussion of.....--- 294,299 | KRAPINA, MAN OF, references to..........- 263, 275
Sce also Aymara.
HEvSSER, J. C., publication by.-......-.-..- 51 | LA CANADA BONES, description of .........- 245
HouMEs, W. H., acknowledgment to....... vi | LACERDA, A. DE—
HOMO CAPUTINCLINATUS, references to.... 235-236, on Lagoa Santaremains............ 155, 170-171
276, 395 publication by: -2.-2.-<21 2 2-Re eee 389
Sce also Arroyo Siasgo remains. See also Lacerda and Peixoto.
HOMO NEOGZUS, references to .... 347,351,359,360 | LACERDA AND PEIXOTO—
HoMo PAMPZUS— cited by Quatrefages. \ =. 22.25 2. see eee 170
comparison of skull with Arroyo Siasgo on Lagoa Santa skulls...........-- 168-169, 173
SRI caeene ne oie ore ee ee 264, 265 reference to Ceara skull............-..--- 170
GeSeniPtiON oa a 2a... 2 is a ae ere ane 310 publication Dy s.ccsac..wie-cts- 2. ee eee 389
OXAMMALION Of 2 <<a... 22 ea'2 9s pase seenee 98 | LACERDA, J. B., publication by. ............- 389
MISEORY 5 <5 52 's2 a2: nats a eptaneee ees ses 289-290 | LAGOA DE SuMIDOURO, description of... .. 160-161
Hrdlicka’s conclusions on...-....-.-.---- 318 Sce also Sumidouro.
MPNSWNE SS UO Sasa Sac eo Sho sesoseaeuee 235, | LAGOA SANTA CAVES (BRAZIL), referencesto. 11
263, 273, 274, 276, 292, 300, 309, 323, 395 See also Sumidouro.
SEQUE-WODKINS Deere ae ane eee 100-104 | Lagoa SANTA REMAINS—
See also Necochea remains. compared with Pontimelo find.........- 216
HOMO PLIOCENICUS, references to.......--- 218, 235 Gritical remankvonle sek ene eee 179-184
See also Fontezuelas remains. Stone -0es ie Pee he ne ae 153-165
HOMO PRIMIGENIUS— . Hrdliéka’s examination of skull.....-..-- 169
comparison with Miramar skull......---- 292 references to: Me-- --2 le ee eee 229,295
references (@--~=--.---- 221, 273, 275, 276, 290, 323 See also Sumidouro.
HOMO SINEMENTO, references to......-.--- 276, 395 LAGUNA DE JUNCAL, reference to...:.....-..- 196
See also Arroyo del Moro remains, Ne- LAGUNA DE LOS PADRES—
cochea remains. geologic specimens from........---.----- 67
HRDLICKA, ALES, publications by .-......-. V, 236 pottery Wom: ss oNer sete ace aoa 120, 151
HULTKRANTZ, J. V., cited on measurements Telerences On) eee ee ee vir, 49-50, 212
OVINE NG) EYER OS Sosa ease ae sasso ashe ease es 307 worked pebbles from.....--..----------- 138
HWANG RIVER (China), references to.. 19,20,21,23 | Jaquna MALACARA—
examination of bone from.......--.----- 98
IpDINGS, J. P., references to......---.- 56, 60, 96-97 geologic notes on region.......... 80-82, 287-288
THERING, MOET kt : : human remains found at.........----- 263, 272
on ancient continent west of Asia......-. 360 ee cetteelcnda nen te ee 121
publications by..........--------.--++- BBDV200: |)" acta toad eae’) eee Oe 120
Teference t0....------+-+++-+-2++2+2-2+2+ Hop See also Arroyo del Moro, Malacara.
ILLINOIAN GLACIAL DEPOSIT, reference LO®. <= 21 LAHITTE, reference to......-...2----2--2-+0+ 291
psa a halen priate LAPA VERMELHA CAVE. See Lagoa Santa
connection with “‘split-stone” industry.. 100 eR ee
description . ....--.--.------.-- 287-288, 316-317 LARRUMBE, FRANCISCO, find made by-.-.---- 237
references to............------- AQ, 100;128-125, |\ 7 5 need $oterehoe tO. = n ne 245
LO WAN GLACIAL, DEFOBETS, Telpreu Oeste <a. at LA TIGRA REMAINS. Sce Miramar remains.
TRoQUuOIS, reference to.....--.-.----------+-- 183 AS TINATAS, Nelerenee tO... ---. 2-2 = eae 245
ISLE VOR PINES) caves Of... 2-2. s26-seeeesaten= 299
: LEBouca, H.—
IsTHMUS OF PANAMA, reference to ..-...-.--- 9 publication by -..is/c-cec-a2) eee 390
JERSEYAN GLACIAL DEPOsIts, reference to. - - Dal TELCTENCES UO! 2 - sam <= see eee 205-206, 207
Jones, F. Woop, on morphology of Egyp- LEHMANN-NITSCHE, ROBERT—
fbsage. 1 if" ro CRE eee 5 acknowledgments to. .....-.------------ VI, 239
Junor, Mr., connection with Diprothomo cited su some ag nn Meee oe a
nn 212 219-299 29 be connectio i se---- 6
platensis find.,......---- 318, 319-320, 321, 343-345 Eo ae hr etry raat: 296-229, 230,231
KANSAN GLACIAL DEPOSITS, reference to... -- 21 on Arroyo de Frias finds.........------- 205
KuLaatscH, H., cited on measurements of on Baradero skeleton ......----.-----.- 259-260
(S381) Re re beep bic ech lese — ee 307 on Carcaranaé bones....---.-----.-- 184, 185, 192
KOBELT, W.— on Chocoriskeleton.....-..-.--- 237-238, 239, 241
on Hontezuelas|find sss jste= =n coo = 218 on Diprothomo Skull. << 2 oo mon -ee eeescea 338
on Samboromb6n man.....-...--------- 235 on Fontezuelas bones. .--.- 218-219, 220, 221, 224
publication) Dys.c2cs-cqeoececnL sce aes =e 389 on Miramar remains--. 290, 291.293, 295, 302, 303
KOLKEN, A., publication by......-- So ack eee 389 on Monte Hermosa atlas... .-.---.- 359, 360, 394
KOLLMANN, J.— on Necochea remains........-..--------- 310
on Lagoa Santa skulls.......-. 172-174, 175, 183 on. O'véjero\remamMs. 3<* -- ee n= =e 242
on Pontimelo skull. .-.-..<---2---- 216, 217-218 on Saladero skeleton..........-.------- 211, 213

INDEX 401
LEHMANN-NITSCHE, ROBERT—Continued. Page Page
on Samboromb6n skeleton..........----- 236 | MIDDLE PLIOCENE FORMATION, “‘split-stone”’

on Tetraprothomo argentinus... 346-347, 351,359 PACS tny MOMS ees. s sos eee 104

Patagonian skulls ignored by..---------- 196 | MmNAS GERAES PROVINCE (Brazil), references

PHBIIGAHIOMS|Dyeese- sso. ooo = 2222s VI, 389 OES Ae i See Sees oo nl ee se 11,158

POLETCHICES Oneweeeee seas 2-2. ae ene 217,299 See also Lagoa Santa.

view of age of Argentine finds...........- -11 | MINDEL STAGE OF GLACIATION, reference to... 21
Lemy, Dr. JosEPH, reference to...........- 131 | MINERALIZATION OF BONES, reference to....-- 385
spay Re publicationibyt: 22 2-2. 6s'n23 02's 390 See also Fossilization.

Lorss— MIraMAR—

as evidence of antiquity of bones ....-..-- 193 Peolopic charactere: seg. Ue ose 3258 22, 23, 26, 27

Meseniphigns seas ee se oS oss seein 24-25 geologic specimens from........-.----. 69-79,

PeTOLTAM NIE ShUGWOR - = en 2 - = as 55 85, 89, 90, 93, 96, 97

specimens described ....... 74, 82-84, 86-88, 92, 94 Teferences’ tO.2s.. 22-52-24 vil, 46, 119, 124, 317
Lovisato, D., publication by.....---.------.- 390 | MIRAMAR REMAINS—

LOWER MISCENE, human remains referred to. 12 INNS 2a he ee ERS Se eae 290-295
(Mina eTCIGFONCS: LO 5-2 oe <9 = Senge = = Sie els ine 193 Hrdliéka’s observations on. .....-.----- 295-306
Lunp, P. W.— relerences to....: 2 arses. tas 229, 301, 322

connection with Lagoa Santa finds.... 153-165, skulls—
171, 175, 181, 183 Cescription ....., 2 -sisaeseese 98, 301, 302, 393

UDLICRHIONS DY <2 eee ae eee 3s aoe 390 references to..-.-.---.---- 179, 239, 309, 310

PPIONeR CES MOM= seer ore ata eae ne 170,179 | MissIssipPI VALLEY LOESS. DEPOSITS, refer-
LUND’S COLLECTIONS, reports on.....-..--- 165-179 ENCE TOs < ee Ps Se ee tok SE Dn 21
LuscHAN, VON— Mocui, A.—

on Diprothomo platensis......-.-..-.+-+-- 341 on) Aurecties Smt = Fo. 2ae noes eee a 229, 230

on Tetraprothomo femur ....-....--.---- 361 on Arroyo del Moro specimens. .. .------ 276
LUTKEN, CHR. Fr.— on Arroyo Siasgo skeleton......------- 265-266

on Lagoa Santa finds.. 154, 160, 171-172, 175-176 on. Chocoruskule: 2337. ace ee oe 238-239

PUBNICRHOUS Dy < 2245222 22522-05255. 390 on Diprothomo platensis....--...-- 334-335, 336

on-Miramariskall:2f2 2 (soc See ea 295

MACALISTER, A., on human atlas....-. 464, 367, 368 On Necoches finds: ¢. 224. 0>: es ee 310-311
MAJEWSEI, E., on Argentine finds..........- 394 PUDHeAlONS Dye a2sesnea aaa 6 eden 391
MALACARA SKELETONS, Hrdlitka’s examina- reference TOs’55.25220385 2352 s28se te eee teen 395
SOLO os eae een nee net Sern 2 ee 280-287 | MONGUILLOT, reference to....--..----------- 226

Sce also Arroyo del Moro remains. MONTANA CLAY BEDS, reference to.....---.- 49
MANOUVRIER, L., cited on measurements of MontTE HERMOSO—

PEM OTO ay eemen Rese een ee 2 alte SLR 307 Gesceripiionss--45<-25>5252 syne 35, 105-106, 112
MAR DEL PLATA— Teulosiciormanome. = 2s eet oe eee 22,

COMUNE oa < = 2s Ete See oe oe 37 26, 27, 82-84, 118-119, 361-364

geologie'character: 25.2.6 -2e).202..e. ee 27,64 PO IBTON CE WEO mc ots fate ee ene vu, 104

POULERYAILOME 2 toh ee 120,151 site of Tetraprothomo find... -...------- 346, 347

references to.. VU, 15,98, 104,109, 110, 112,117,119 stone implements from...- 104,118, 126,138, 150

stone implements from....- 99,100, 104,114,126 | Mont—E HrrmMoso REMAINS—

PLN S Siler: Ses A L. Ss: eas 34 GOSCEND NOM 2 a= 6 ss oe oo on tga ie eet 394
MAR DEL Sup, references to...........--.- 237.291 Hrdliéka’s conclusions on. .... Ce phere: 384
MARTIN, RUDOLF— Hrdliéka’s examination of—

cited on measurements of femora... ...-- 307 PUB LAS erent Sa SESE ee aie ce ee 364-369

on Baradero skeleton.......-..-..- 259-260, 261 ISLE Rs A ee eee = SESE SEAS Se AS 369-383

publication by...-.....--.- eRe es. BE 390 TAPE TAD OUS gs cee tees cnc ce cena 359-361

TOEIPTCNCES TO. yan = = te oS 993 in\; MORAVIA, Televence TO. - +. 6 os<- cme cmete ann 4
MASKA COLLECTION, importance of.......... 4 | MORENO, FRANCESCO P.—

MASSACHUSETTS INDIAN SKULLS, ‘Mmeasure- acknowledgment to .........--..----- oa Wily VEL

ONES. O fama tsess be eet bes ete ey pty ET Se BOS cited on neolithic industries. .....:----.- 107
MatTHEw, W. D., acknowledgment to... ... 376 BHOMNAIG DY. 02.0052 22aps oa soe a 301
Mayorortl, Jos&, reference to...........-- 299, 210 on ‘Carcaranad bones.-....--.--.-.-- 184, 186-187
MEDANOS, meaning of term.................. 112 On Bio Nerroskculls.-2.. - 25-652 194-195, 300

See also Sand dunes. on Tetraprothomo argentinus....-.------- 346
MELANESIANS, reference to............-.---- 183 ROCIO US Dye te tec see ee snes aes 52,391
MENDEZ, GEORGE M., references to......-- 263, 270 references to... ...-. 47, 182, 192, 216, 278, 291, 345
MENDOZzA, references to............--.-..-- vu, 15 view of Patagonian skulls. -........----- 197
MERCEDES, reference to........-------------- 197 MORPHOLOGY, as factor in antiquity of human
METALLIZATION OF BONES, discussed by La- remains. ......... REGRET RT Se ae os 1-5

ee Pe re EP 170-171 MORSELLI, E., publication by. .-.-.--.------- 391

Wee also Fossilization. MOUSTERIAN REMAINS, reference to....----- 338
MEXICAN TRIBES, caves used by..-...-.-..-- 180 | NAULETTE, MAN oF, reference to.....-.----. 275
MIDDLE PAMPEAN FORMATION, geologic speci- NEANDERTHAL MAN, references to.....------ 75,

LECTURER ASS a ae rh ae 58, 63 "292, 323, 329, 342

21535°—Bull. 52—12——_26

402 INDEX
Page | PATAGONIANS, ANCIENT—Continued. Page

NEBRASKAN GLACIAL DEPOSIT, reference to... 21 measurements... cates eq: A peeaered 306

NECOCcHEA— skufls— P
geologic character.....--..-- 22, 23, 26, 27, 316-317 Measurements [225.955 sane we ee oe 304-305,
geologic specimens from. 80-82,89,90,93, 95, 96,97 326-327, 330, 331, 333
references to. vi, 51, 98, 104, $14, 117, 118, 119, 263 “references:f0: << s.<a.<e<<2e ae eee 286, 298
stone implements from. .-.....-.--- 109, 126, 138 See also Tehuelche.

NECOCHEA REMAINS— PEIXOTO, RODRIGUEZ, publication by-...-.... 389
description. .....---------------------- 290, 393 See also Lacerda and Peixoto.
history ....---------------+---++++++--- 308-311 | PERGAMINO, reference to.........--.-------- 209
Hrdliéka’s observations One aeee eneeeee Bi 16 nein Se
aes ray a aiialiads examination of 97-98 references to 2 See P| ee ee 170, 950

MAA cnt “hae a) ee eh mer es eee Skulls... 0050.2 S825... 25.5. 005 Zeb ee ee ee

TGLOTONCESIEOSE ia sae accom noe ee a eee 229,322 abies ew, eee 209, 224

NEGROID RACES, references to.....-..--- Beate 183, Pico, PEDRO, reference to........-.--------- 210
Tne 184, 255, 263, 358 PIGMY RACE, references to..........--- 224, 243-244

NEHRING, A., publication by..-.-.---------- 391 | pregaN SKULL, measurement of....... 327, 328, 331

NEUQUEN RIVER, reference to..-.....------- 15 | pin a rederéniGeben vant Aha ik a 183

NEVADA, Feference 10... -.-.---------+- +024": 96 | prrez, Cesar, on Arroyo Siasgo find...... 271-272

NORDENSKJOLD, reference tO. --..------------ 291 | pPrrHEcANTHROPUS, references to........... 351, 360

NorTH AMERICA, ancient man In. -...------- “as PLAINS TRIBES (North America), reference

OLIGOCENE, human remains referred to....-. 12 |) U0 wn --c wean rn ween tec eec ee wo oe nnn ace 183

Outva, Joss, reference to.....--------------- 272 | PLaya PERALTA—

OSPREY (FLORIDA) SKELETONS, referenceto. 232 examination of cow’s bone from......... 98

OTERO, R., reference to......-.-------------- 209 geologic notes on........- Pe Re bore 2 122-123

Orometolorence (02. << Saeiqsis sos ae 183 POLCTENCS 'tOssi ae ss eases secs eee eee 37

OUTES, FELIX F.— PLAYAS—
acknowledgement to...........--------- VI MOSCHINO... acco nn acne. «See eee 113-117, 288
on antiquities of Argentine coast. ..-...--- 149 TELELCHCE Ons oes ee onis=s oss cose eee enee 51
on “‘split-stone’’ industry......-------- 106-109 site of stone implements...............-- 118
publications DY_..---2.-<<-s-seeee aes 52,53,391 | PLIOCENE, human remains referred to......- 12
TOICLENIED LO. Soe a cienaicinies =a os yas eae 114 | POLYNESIANS, reference to’. -....<5-. => cee 183

OVEJERO REMAINS— PONIATOWSEI, StT., on Argentine finds....... 394
erities! remarks ON osm. soem eee ae sae 255 | PONTIMELO SKULL. See Fontezuelas remains.
ASCO Yio aes ra see oe aeiais ass ee ee 242-247 | Post-PAMPEAN FORMATION, description of.. 27-32
ObSenVALIONSION. ..... =2-<.0 025-524 98, 245-253 | PoToMAC VALLEY, reference to...........-.- 150
TeLerences: LOW.2 ss .ces5 Vill, 11, 212, 322,355,358 | poprpRy—

See also Sotelo. Arroyo de Erias find. .2-- 22-2 -55-505 eee 204
PAJA BRAVA. See Pampas grass. collection by Dr. Hrdli¢ka near Puerto
Pasa g i San Blas Ss lee ape mynreisieaie elt ees 150-151

Rima cent Ole eee 32-38 CERES eee eee oe

MOCSEHIDHION Sse ems ee ce ae Han ses asea 29-30, 41 + a ta ea erat ee 138
PAMPAS GRASS, description of...........-.-- 47,50 PREDMOSE, reference t0—----------22- Se 2

PRE-ENSENADEAN FORMATION, definition of. 322
PAMPEAN FORMATION— z
ee Ne UNO ay Ones eee 15 PRE-KANSAN GLACIAL DEPOSIT, reference to. 21
: : een PROANTHROPOIDA, references to..-..-- 334, 359, 395
CUINALIC VALISIOUS = «o<..52 sees ecin sees o<. 21 =
ESS ape a eae a 18-27, 39-41 PROTHOMO, references tO.....--------- 289, 290, 359
_ | PUEBLOS, ANCIENT. NORTHEASTERN, refer-

NOIGUONCES LOsn estore sacakee re eecrase 100, 107 3

SPGCDMCUS. . cote nee sea eer eee nea = 57 gdh eR pe ipa se Ee pee ch 188

See also Post-Pampean, Upper Pampean. PUELCHEAN FORMATION, description of. 83-84,
PANCHITO, ARAUCANIAN CACIQUE, reference 2 . 105, 362, 363

7p Rs eet ite ca nln «pyle mained 330 PUERTO BELGRANO, site ofstoneimplements. 109

PAPUANS, references to..-.....------------ 178, 184 Puerto San Bras. See San Blas.

PARANA RIVER— PUEYRREDON DEPARTMENT, references to. 107,109
CDATACTOR. ooo ee ec 30-31 | PuntTA MoGorteE, references to.....-.------- 98, 103
TELETENCES COs a6.c acim roremieteisiel geste n/a}s cela nial 15,18 | PuntTA NEGRA, site of stone implements. ..-- 109

Paropt, L., references to.-....- 272, 276, 278, 309,317 | PunTA PORVENIR—

Paso DE LA LAGUNA DE JUNCAL, reference to 301 Geserip lone teesc~ ced cedenincesinameeee 123-125

PATAGONIA— paleoethnologic importance of... .-.----- 108
archeologic finds in.........-.....-- 11, 119-120 relerences 10 2.2.5 se = =n 37, 38, 103, 107, 117
references t05.5., qgeces seer soa llaninmasici= 100 seashore site of ancient man........-.--- 99
stone implements from..........-. 146, 147, 150 stone implements from.......-.------- 106-107
See also Rio Negro.

PATAGONIANS, ANCIENT— QUATERNARY—
critical remarks on.........-.---------- 196-197 epochs... ..----- +22 2-22 eee eee ee ee ener ee: 20-21
history of specimens............-.-.--- 194-196 WNANUNc sc. ce saae aeons poate 4,12, 153, 186

INDEX 403

Page | RotTH, SANTIAGO—Continued. Page

QUATREFAGES, A. DE, on Lagoa Santa re- on Upper Pampean formation........... 27,32
Mains see ashe 169-170, 171-172, 173, 175, 178 Publications bye-s-saeess--4e-—-- Y= 52, 390, 391
QUERANDI, reference f0..-.. . 222222222222. 187 Telerau Ces LOsee seis eetelaa osteo ec an 15,
45, 58,59, 61, 63, 205, 217, 220, 238, 291, 350

ARN: ©. Co ireterences to.......------- 154, 159-160 view of age of Argentine finds............ il

RAMORINO, G., references to........-.--:-- 197,198 | SALADERO (ARIZONA) INDIANS, reference to.. 221

REGALIA, E., publication by cited........... 236 | SALADERO SKELETON—

REINHARDT, J.— Grincal remarks! >. - co. ceneeseeeecenca 211-213
cited as to Lagoa Santa skulls..... 171,173,175 hhistonya0l find .5 5. nee oe ee 209-211
on Lamd)collection~-<::252222225-2.-- 167-168 TolerenicosMOcct caso ate ee 217, 229
publieatiousiiysessooc22 625322. 2--- 2222 391 | SaALADILLO—

RICHTHOFEN, reference to...........--.------ 22 geologic specimens from.........-..----- 63, 85

Rio: ARRECIFES, references to:-.-..:-.-.--- 213, 215 POUT E ieee ss) eerie liek cl 1, 45-46

Rio CARCARANA, references to. 184,185,188, 189,210 | Sawpaqut, reference to.............--------- 215

Rio CARCARANA finds. Sce Carcaraiid bones. SAMBOROMBON SKELETON—

Rio CoLoraDo— GTUNCALPEMATKS.- 656 cco aman ear etn ce 236-237
geologic specimens from....--....------- 84-85 Histony eee. Sateen cee eee 233-236
MeteneNCes Oe emer ere= ieee aaa = 15, 18, 45, 363 TEISTEMCPSHLON a. fetes ts eee 229, 266, 322

Rio CuRAGcG, referenceitoy...... 2... 0.-2-.eee 18 | Saw Bras—

Rio DAS VELHAS, references to.......-..-- 154, 161 geologic specimens from.........-. 85-86, 92-93

RIO DELA PLATA, references to. 16, 17, 18,31,343-345 mative Settlement at. ..c...--<<c-.ececce 121

Rio DULCE DE SANTIAGO, reference to.. 244,251,255 pottery found at..2.......-..-.-. 120, 150-151

Rio Honpo, references to..----------- 243,245,263 | Sanp BLAST, phenomenon of...........----- 120
See also Santiago del Estero. SAND DUNES—

Rio NEUQUEN, reference to........---------- 278 characteristic of Argentine coast....... 112-113

Rio NEGRO— description ss pccce st eee 33-35, 41, 288-289
CHENG tele aes aa Sa onoeeoperesas-eeseaece 197 relation to native settlements.......... 120-121
native settlements near...........-.----- 121 | San Juan, references to..............------ vir, 15
references to......------------------- 45, 85,187 | San Lorenzo, reference to.............---.- 30, 40
shell beads from....-......-.------------ 126 | Sanra CaTHARINA PROVINCE, reference to... 170

Rio NEGRO VALLEY— SANTA FE PROVINCE, human remains found
archeologic finds. ......-...:--< 119-120, 126, 144 ATS eee ee nts en or ee een Cee 191
human remains from...........----... 11,182, | SantIAGO DEL EsTERO PRovINCE—

216, 227, 278, 286, 298, 300, 301 human remains found in................ 263
Wel C2) 10) 9s = ee eee ee oS aos vil EPICTENCOS LOL =. vac aee e oee eee 242, 243, 255
stone implements from.......-..-- 142-144, 146 See also Ovejero.
See also Patagonians, ancient; Viedma. San XAVIER—

Rio QUEQUEN— destitite of potterys.-.222.02 22s -5seee5 se 120
native settlements near..........--.----- 121 huaMmanitibiss irom este ee he ya ee 308
TOISECHGES LOk= eer =e == 35, 109, 117,315 TEIGLCHECS LO+ = Sae ese aes tae aeS 307, 331

Rio SALADILLO, reference to...--.----.------ 46 stone implements found at............... 119

Rio SALADO— SCHWALBE, G.—

GESCHIPLION > S900 9A SES ee 31, 32,270 on Diprothomo platensis.... 295, 338-340, 343,394
TEICTENCE TOL 222 scuseseiscesses-3--9 Ree 263 gn Miramarshile 22 2% c ee enon pes 295

Rio SAMBOROMBON, reference to.......----- 218 on Tetraprothomo remains.............-- 361

RISS STAGE OF GLACIATION, reference to. -...- 21 DUDUCRMAOUS Dy. sos 2 oes aes esa ee 391

RIvEr, P.— ScoRLE—
ourATreciies: Skimlly 222) 2 322522221252 179, 229, 230 general description ............. 45-51, 89, 94-97
on Diprothomo platensis........--------- 333 specimens described...........- 71-82, 85-86, 92
on Fontezuelas skulls.....---.---------.- 179) Scorn, W..5., publication by: -. 22-0. s---54-6 390
on Lagoa Santa race......-...-...- 179, 183,295 | SEGUIN, FRANCOIS—
on Miramar skulls... =... 222.2 22..2225- 179, 295 connection with Carcarana find........ 184-185
DUbLEshiONS Dy soe se sees eee Soe eee 391 NGS WIAGe Py. .o5..--- 22+ 2-05 189, 190, 191, 193

ROMERO, ANTONIO A., on tierra cocida and MENCNEMCE WO 2 2 capi opine mene essen we 210

SCOMB: cc mee cian sce ces scaroccesesukoeseeees 91,92 | SELLARDS, E. H., oncoquina of Floridacoast. 35-36

ROSARIO; Teferencevto:- 22222 222 22225) 22822.% 15 | SENET, R.—

ROSENBERG, E., publication by, cited....... 236 on Ameghino’s finds relating to early

Rotu, SANTIAGO— EONS ee SS ee eo EN Oe eae 334
acknowledement torso iol l5. loc ce ee VI, VII PUbUCGHIOMI bY 2. 2.2. .-- = Sealants 391
on Baradero skeleton.............. 258-259: 260} SERA, G. ., publication by--.----.-----.-.-- 391
on Carcarafd bones............---- 185, 191-192 | SERGI, G.—
on Fontezuelas bones_-......:..----..--- 213- on Diprothomo platensis....... 334, 393,394-395

215, 216, 217, 219, 221-223 on finds relating to early man........... 359
on Middle Pampean formation........... 27 OD) HOMO PUM PLUS... ocr. cas 3S ase se = 294
on Saladero skeleton........... 209-211, 212, 213 MUDMEATIOUSIDY sa0 = os. 52 osc tame eee eee 391
on Tetraprothomo argentinus........-..-- 346 | SHELLS, finds of......-..--2....... 125, 126, 246, 247

404 INDEX
Page | STONE IMPLEMENTS—Continued. Page
SHEPHERD, E. S., article by........-..-----. 56 pestlesazatt. cnet. 114, 119, 125, 138, 141, 142, 204
SHOSHONI INDIANS, reference to.....-...-- 131, 183 polishine Stoness 2. WeF.. ..<. e:So seen 204
SIERRA DE CORDOBA, reference to....-.-.-..- v7 pressure implements....1 222.2254 2ee 138, 146
SIERRA DE LA VENTANA, references to .....-- 15, projectule points... 25.2.2 seeeeeeee 125, 138, 143
16, 17, 18, 105 teferences\to.e=-.25- yada ae 311,315
SIERRA TANDIL, references to.....-.-. 16, 17, 18, 190 rubbing stonéstess.< ose eee 127
SIEVERS, P.— SCTA DONS ou, 5 cea es ees 107, 108, 114, 119, 125, ©

cited on Miramar skull............-..... 290 137, 138, 139-140, 143, 144, 146, 147, 150, 202

DUBLHCATION DY 2. o-s\-- eeonee cee 392 shaping Of... 4-545 -ciese th cee Pee 126-133
Smmpson, EpDwarRD MarsH— Spalls..- x... o2Nets o> 2 eke ep ee 126

acknowledgments to............------ 321, 344 spearheads .. o.-.-5.-<. 5.0: Foe 119, 146

TOLEFENCES L0hiad = ake eee eee eee 319-320 tenmiInolory =~ --=.</--..ese pee eee 126
BlOURK FOLOLEMCE LO anc 25h oatie sass 183, 221 LOSDOH = =o were ae oct eee 126, 131, 132
SmirH, G. ELLIoT, on morphology of ancient varieties. ... Be ae eee at a ee 138

Gy AIWAINS mateo cise sececse seme eee eee 5 | STONE INDUSTRIES of Argentine coast—
SOTELILLO, finds made near.........-.---- 245, 246 ‘““broken-stone” industry .-....-..=..- 104-110
SoTELO— “split-stone” industry.......--- 99-104, 274, 275

GESCHB MON eoernec ns heeteaeee cece 246, 255-258 supposedly ancient worked stones. ...-- 111-122

TET BLCHICOLLO ee am ece ne cco es siadapa cee 245 | STRAIN, Isaac G.—

RIV TPOT eee ees ee alee te Bi Ls 258 publication Dy’. ~~ -- a ehesa -oeeoee eee 392
Spy, Man or, references to. 263, 275, 329, 355, 356, 358 translator of Lund’s writings. --......--..- 158
STEINMANN, G.— STROBEL, P., publication by. .:-.-.----.sen. 392

on geologic formations of Monte Hermoso. 351 | SUMIDOURO CAVE (BRAZIL), skeletal remains

on pampa formation.................-... 338 PROD 290i ee nets eee Eee ere eee 167-168

UDLGAIONIS Dyess se oa 52,390 | SUPERIOR MIOCENE, human remains referred

METCRENICOOS. oa. Soa ca nose ae 259 tO. - 22222-2222 e eee e eee ee ee eee eter eee BR
STERNUM, perforation of...........2.-..----- 936 || SYPHUMIS, effect on bones —_.- 25. 2 S2een oe 312,314
StoryHwo, K., on finds relating to early TARAHUMARE—

ET EAT oa Yalw =n /nlaln mya mw sage a oe gee ec a 393-394 CAVES TISEd DY sas .ac2 ocu05. sel eee 180
STONE IMPLEMENTS— Skulistol oc ee 183, 286, 303

Tg ea 101-102, 103, 104, 114, 117-118, 119, AGO TEIGLeNCEn to". Cee
120, 125, 126, 127, 133, 135, 138, 142, 146, 150, 277 aac vn ee _ —
BEEOWMOSOS: 2 see ee eae eee 28, femora... se 2 Nae ee 307
114, 119, 120, 138, 139, 146, 197, 200, 202, 210 references*tote: < 42 ae eee 140, 187, 195

awls.....- Cbeenone sen ne seadonto se casers 144 slailis ‘of... oe eae eee 219

PINES 6 Sooo nese s eens Soeer 118, 119, 125, 142-143 TEN Kate, HERMANN—

[DERNORS| oe ners oo aasesassoerasSaaqessAae 120, 125 on Lagoa Santa remains. .......... 174-175, 183

[MNOS oe saqos doses Sosesecmisns Sane 119, 139, 140 on perforation in Indian sterna.......... 236

OLSS-SLOWES «5 oe Spas osc aan 125, 138, 142, 147 publication by. ...- 2-4: ss eee 392

Carelaliy o¢Azio Kei Th 2s le apie re ae Pee + EER aa 126 reference to..........- Foods Ro OF 176

chipped white quartzite. -............. 139-140 | TeRTIARY, period of man’s origin............- 2

(CPTI SV ye ee eo eS reese 102, 103-104,198 | TerRaAPROTHOMO ARGENTINUS—

chronologic bearing. .........----...--- 148-150 description of femur and atlas......... 352-359

(LENSES) 6) et SS eS ae AS 144-145 HishOryed chee ose ee eee 346-352

Glee eee ele eee eet 141 references: =. . bene Lee 243, 322, 323, 334

Gomiesticemtensus:2 <2. 22-2 ces. canoe 140-142, 147 See also Monte Hermoso remains.

(Oba RH Eee eee a vores cee Ee 119, 125, 140, 143, 144,146 | TrerrRa cocIpA—

ethnic bearing = 2-22 -~- oe ania an = 144-145 descriptionress =e fot 5 see eee 45-51

WON Sas 6S Sa spcroseae dae cess pened ees 107 petrographic study of...........6---me-< 55

UNG WR D OLE sere oer aero 210 Specimens ‘deseribed<-->-<5~ see ea eee 69-71,

general descriptions... m5 sssceene= se = 101-104 73-74, 76-79, 84-85, 93-94

PrINGin gs StONCS =. — auc eta ee 114, 127, 277 technical summary as tO........-.------- 88-89

LARTER SS RB A eceooeSaasiac] 264 103,114,119, | Tmm#RRA DEL FUEGO, reference to.......-.--- 179

125, 126-128, 133, 135, 138, 141, 142, 143, 146, 150 ToLMAN, C. F., on formation of caliche....... 299

hatchet-chisel. See chisel, above. TOPINARD, P.—

hatchet-wedge. See chisel, above. on Patagonian:skulls............-.---. 195-196

LOINC ASHER San paccna oC SOO OCeN EE 107, 125, 131, publication by2a--542.¢ 42a... eee 392

137, 138, 140, 143, 144, 146, 147, 150, 189-190, 198 | Tosca FORMATION—

made of beach pebbles-..---G..-.-:...- 126-138 as evidence of antiquity of bones... ... 190, 193

MMSCCMANCOUS Scien m eae eae ee 202, 203, 273 deseniption.. : .35. 25 3235.ceh paces 25-26, 111, 319

MOLES s eee aene 114, 119, 125, 138, 141, 142, 204 TEICTeNCE GOL =.7> Es co ee eee “sty cag, A

TU er=pEstlesins 2 osc sseat eee eee eee 141 | Trenton, N. J., skulls, reference to......-- v

TMU ONS 2 a ea ee ee ee ae 114, | TRIPROTHOMO, references to............-.-- 323, 359

119, 125, 127, 138, 141, 142, 143, 150,180 | Trourssart, E., publication by.....-...-..- 392

PAINT PrINGers © seamen 2 eee een eee 279 | TucuMAN Province, Argentina, references

pebble niclel. <2. 3-522. -seeee=n ease 132-133 WO) Scien s oStk e Seae ene ah cee ae vu, 15, 255

INDEX 405
Page Page
TURQUOISE BEADS, reference to..........---- 126 | Voet, C.—
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, refer- on Fontezuelas skeleton.........-- 213-214, 217
BNGESILO see eee eee ec 56, 60, 62, 75, 79, 82, 86 publication Py - 225. .5.- 56.5 cen se ee ee 392
Uprer EOCENE, human remains referred to. 12 TOICTENCES, COn ea) -Sae n= -iseicik cin ce eee 215, 217
UprekR PAMPEAN FORMATION, description Work. Ei. publication) bys: ..-+-.s.<.cessese Vv
Gin Seat set ee ee 27-32, 40-41
UruGuay, archeologic conditions on coast... 188 Watcott, CHARLES D., Secretary, Smith-
UTAH THIBES, references is Sten a pan eg 183,303 | sonian Institution, acknowledgment to.... VI
VALENTIN, J., publication by. -.------------- 392 | WALKER, CHARLES H., & Co.. references to. 319,344
VaRELA, F., publication by-....-.---------- 392 | ‘‘ WHITE STONE’’ IMPLEMENTS—
VAUGHAN, T. WAYLAND, references to....-- 36, 182 SAP PUCAMON Ol LOMA ccs. sae ks neo cin 114
VERNEAU, R.— SECU OR oe eo soos IOee eeepc 121-122
on deformed skulls from Viedma......... S00) |) Wate, We EX, article bye. --2.-ce se. - aa 56
on measurements of femora......-------- 307 | Wiser, L.—
publications by.....---- PA ee es SARS ot 392 on Diprothomo platensis.......-.-------- 334
RELIC CLONES 55508 soc ate: bof ee = 239 PUDMCATONSDys--2e oes secee = aces ae 392
VERTEBRZ, DORSO-LUMBAR, anomaly of-.--.- 936 | WISCONSIN GLACIAL DEPOSITS, reference to... 21
VIEDMA— WoopwakD, 8S. P., Planorbis recorded by... 1€7
human remains found in.......-------- 301,303 | WricHT, FRED. EUGENE, publication by,
BETOLONGE LOM ene e Ss aniee see eee = eee 197 GiLCM eee anaes pe ea ren Saaianr see a 56
source of stone implements. ...-..----- 119,143 | WuRM STAGE OF GLACIATION......-.------- 21
VILANOVA J.—
on Samboromb6n skeleton......--------- 235 Genivene: Bas
INUDMEsMON Dyes. ----.--4--2--------5--- = 392 at ee ie ag
VILLANUEVA, reference to..........---------- 31 publication by.....-----------+++----+---- 292
VircHow, R.— MOlENEN EE OR. ae ee oe oe eee 199
on Fontezuelas find........-------- 215,216,218 | ZIRKEL, F., publication by....---..-- eee 390
on Lagoa Santa crania..........--------- 179) | ZAIOTEL, Ke AY publicationiby.< -- 2-25 -- 14a: 392
PCA MON SIO yee era ae ime 392

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