The Antiquity of Man by Arthur Keith

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good-.1916. Williams and Northgate. Third impression. Illustrated.

The chief works on the antiquity of man have hitherto been written by geologists and archeologists. Prof. Keith now treats the subject from the point of view of the human anatomist. The available facts and speculations of geology and archeology are all briefly stated and introduced at appropriate stages in the argument; but the anatomical characters of the various known human remains and their significance form the author's main theme. The plan has obvious disadvantages, for the value of the conclusions depends on the authenticity of the materials, which none but an expert geologist can determine. It also fosters a tendency to make dogmatic statements about the age of the various remains in terms of years, which may please a section of the inquisitive public but cannot be admitted as science. At the same time, the human anatomist is an essential factor in unraveling the story of primitive man, and Prof. Keith has produced an important work, which is all the more fascinating since it is the direct outcome of his own personal observations.