Word: koenigswald
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Died. Dr. Franz Weidenreich, 75, famed German-born anthropologist; in Manhattan. His research on Asiatic skull fossils led to a revolutionary theory that modern man was descended from a giant rather than a pygmy predecessor. Aided by discoveries of Dr. Ralph von Koenigswald, he revamped the chronology of human evolution, placed the huge Gigantopithecus (450-550,000 years old) as man's earliest known ancestor...
Many anthropologists believe that Man developed from a small, feeble ancestor. Gradually he grew bigger until he reached his present peak. But last week Dr. Ralph von Koenigswald, Dutch paleontologist, pressed a new theory. He thinks that Man grew gigantic a million years ago, then shrank to his present size...
...Koenigswald found in Java before the war a great bank of soft, eroding stone peppered with ancient fossils. He organized a gang of natives to pick up bones after every rain. At last he got a hatful of humanlike fragments...
According to a widely accepted theory, Man's arboreal ancestors swung from bough to bough until climatic changes shot the trees out from under them. But Dr. von Koenigswald says there were always plenty of trees in southeast Asia. His giants just got too heavy for Tarzan tactics. When snapping branches dumped them too often, they took to solid ground, armed themselves with stone axes. Then, not needing bulk for protection, they shrank to handier size...
After the Japanese invaded Java in 1942 von Koenigswald was a prisoner for three years. His precious bones were safe. The three Gigantopithecus teeth were hidden in a mile bottle with a Swedish friend.--Life...