Page:Prehistoric Britain.djvu/62

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54
PREHISTORIC BRITAIN

parietal region; and the bones are remarkably thick. The forehead is steeper than that of the Neanderthal type, with only a feeble brow-ridge; and the conformation of the occipital bone shows that the tentorium over the cerebellum is on the level of the external occipital protuberance, as in modern man. Seen from behind the skull is remarkably low and broad, and the mastoid processes are relatively small. The right mandibular ramus is nearly complete to the middle of the symphyses, lacking only the articular condyle and the upper part of the bone in advance of the molars. The horizontal ramus is slender, and, so far as preserved, resembles in shape that of a young chimpanzee (Anthropopithecus niger). The lower symphysial border is not thickened and rounded, as in man, but produced into a thin inwardly-curved flange, as in the apes. The ascending ramus is comparatively wide, with extensive insertions for the temporal and masseter muscles, and a very slight sigmoid notch above. Molars 1 and 2, which occur in their sockets, are typically human, though they are comparatively large and narrow, each bearing a fifth cusp. The socket of molar 3 indicates an equally large tooth, placed well within the ascending ramus of the jaw. The two molars have been worn perfectly flat by mastication, a circumstance suggesting that the canines resembled those of man in not projecting sensibly above the level of the other teeth. The weakness of the mandible, the slight