. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology. THE PROBLEM OF MAN'S ANTIQUITY 113 Three lines of evidence were considered : the intrinsic evidence of the jawbone ; the intrinsic evidence of the haches ; and the extrinsic evidence, that is to say the geology of the site and the circumstances of the Fig. 18. Moulin-Quignon jaw. After Delesse. Nat. size. Musee de l'Homme, Paris. The form or morphology of the jaw was not discussed, but clearly it conformed with that of Homo sapiens (Text-fig. 18). When the question of whether the condi- tion of the jawbone was consistent
. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology. THE PROBLEM OF MAN'S ANTIQUITY 113 Three lines of evidence were considered : the intrinsic evidence of the jawbone ; the intrinsic evidence of the haches ; and the extrinsic evidence, that is to say the geology of the site and the circumstances of the Fig. 18. Moulin-Quignon jaw. After Delesse. Nat. size. Musee de l'Homme, Paris. The form or morphology of the jaw was not discussed, but clearly it conformed with that of Homo sapiens (Text-fig. 18). When the question of whether the condi- tion of the jawbone was consistent with fossil antiquity came up for consideration, Busk was allowed to saw it in half, just in front of the solitary molar, so that the section included a portion of the roots. Falconer pointed out the many features which were against the jaw being contemporary with the black mangano-ferruginous gravel in which it was said to have lain. It showed no abrasion or appearance of having been rolled on the river bed, the thin coronoid process was as perfectly pre- served as in a Recent jawbone, while the black sandy coating washed off with the greatest ease when the specimen was brushed in warm water. There were no dendrites on the bone, which therefore differed conspicuously from bones of undoubted fossil antiquity in the Somme gravels. The true fossil bones also contrasted strongly with the Moulin-Quignon jaw in having lost most of their gelatine. On sawing, the jawbone proved to be hard and firm, and the " fresh section afforded a distinct odour of sawn bone ". Internally the bone structure was free from any kind of mineral impregnation. The dental nerve canal contained fine grey sand, but without any speck of the black matter which was so conspicuous in the enveloping matrix. The section of the root of the molar " showed that the dentine, so far as it was exposed, was perfectly white, full of gelatine, and in no respect different in appearance from that of a Recent t
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