SACCOPASTORE SKULLS

two hominid fossils found in 1929 and 1935 in a river deposit on the bank of a small tributary of the Tiber River outside Rome. The skulls, which represent an initial phase in the development of West European Neanderthal man, are between 70,000 and 100,000 years old. The strong development of the brow ridges (responsible for the so-called beetle-browed look) and the low, flat crown, large jaw, and small teeth are all characteristic of Neanderthal man. Other characteristics, however, mark these skulls as similar to modern man, thus establishing their position as transitional.