Abstract
PHOTOGRAPHS of the ‘Pithecanthropus skull’ recently obtained at Trinil in Java by Dr. Heberlein have now been received by Dr. Dubois of Haarlem. At the time of the discovery it was positively announced to be of the pithecanthropus type; but Prof. Elliot Smith has received a cablegram from Dr. Dubois in which he says, “Photographs received show caput humeri stegodon.” The second pithecanthropus skull thus turns out to be a pleistocene elephant ! Much disappointment will be felt at this pronouncement, which, however, does not come entirely as a surprise. The information received in England from America soon after the first announcement made it clear that the discovery was not likely to prove so important as at first indicated. The more complete statement of the character of the find and the conditions in which it was obtained—it was not found in situ as at first stated, but was obtained from the inhabitants of the village, and it was also said not to be a complete skull—pointed to the need for suspending judgment on the importance of the find. The wide publicity given to the discovery serves to emphasise the dangers of over-hasty dissemination of news through the ordinary channels of the press without effective and well-informed supervision such as might be afforded through the medium of a centralised scientific news service.
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News and Views. Nature 118, 887–891 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118887a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118887a0