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diff --git a/78733-h/78733-h.htm b/78733-h/78733-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7dd4b72 --- /dev/null +++ b/78733-h/78733-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12256 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> + <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no,date=no,address=no,email=no,url=no"> + <title> + The master of destiny | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .5em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .5em; +} + +.p1 {margin-top: 1em;} +.p2 {margin-top: 2em;} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: 33.5%; + margin-right: 33.5%; + clear: both; +} + +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +@media print { hr.chap {display: none; visibility: hidden;} } + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} +table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } +table.autotable td, +table.autotable th { padding: 0.25em; } + +.tdl {text-align: left;} +.tdr {text-align: right;} +.tdc {text-align: center;} + +.pagenum { + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: small; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + text-indent: 0; +} /* page numbers */ + +blockquote { + margin-top: 0; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +.center {text-align: center; text-indent: 0;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} + +figcaption {font-weight: bold;} +figcaption p {margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: .2em; text-align: inherit;} + +/* Images */ + +img { + max-width: 100%; + height: auto; +} +img.w100 {width: 100%;} + + +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +.poetry-container {display: flex; justify-content: center;} +.poetry-container {text-align: center;} +.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} +.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} +.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:small; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; +} + +.ph2 { + text-align: center; + font-size: x-large; + font-weight: bold; +} +.transnote { + margin-left:17.5%; + margin-right:17.5%; +} + +.x-ebookmaker .ep4 {margin-top: 4em;} +.x-ebookmaker .ep6 {margin-top: 6em;} + +li { margin-top: 0.25em; margin-bottom:0; line-height: 1.2em; } + +/* Poetry indents */ +.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3.0em;} +.poetry .indent4 {text-indent: -1.0em;} + + +/* Illustration classes */ +.illowp100 {width: 100%;} +.illowp20 {width: 20%;} + </style> +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78733 ***</div> + + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_cover" style="max-width: 24em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/i_cover.jpg" alt=""> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</span></p> + +<p class="center ep4" style="font-size: x-large;"> +THE MASTER OF DESTINY +</p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ii">[Pg ii]</span></p> + + +<p class="center ep4"><span style="font-size: small;">BOOKS BY</span><br> +FREDERICK TILNEY</p> + +<p class="center">THE BRAIN FROM APE TO MAN</p> + +<p class="center p1"><span style="font-size: small;">IN COLLABORATION WITH</span><br> +HENRY ALSOP RILEY</p> + +<p class="center" style="font-size: small;">THE FORM AND FUNCTIONS OF THE<br> +CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM</p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</span></p> + + +<h1 style="font-family: sans-serif;">THE MASTER OF DESTINY</h1> + +<p class="center" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.05em;">A BIOGRAPHY<br> +OF THE BRAIN</p> + +<p class="center p1" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; letter-spacing: 0.05em;">BY FREDERICK<br> +TILNEY, M.D.</p> + +<p class="center p1" style="font-family: sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.05em; margin-bottom: 2em;">WITH A FOREWORD<br> +BY AUSTEN FOX<br> +RIGGS, M.D.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="i_titlepage" style="max-width: 32em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/i_titlepage.jpg" alt=""> +</figure> + +<p class="center" style="font-family: sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.1em;">DOUBLEDAY, DORAN & COMPANY, INC.<br> +GARDEN CITY MCMXXX NEW YORK</p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</span></p> + + +<figure class="figcenter illowp20 ep6" id="colophon" style="max-width: 3em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/colophon.png" alt="" data-role="presentation"> +</figure> + + +<p class="center p2" style="font-size: x-small;">COPYRIGHT, 1929, 1930<br> +BY FREDERICK TILNEY<br> +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED<br> +PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT<br> +THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS<br> +GARDEN CITY, N. Y.</p> + +<p class="center" style="font-size: x-small;">FIRST EDITION</p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="FOREWORD"> + FOREWORD + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Race after race of man has appeared on this earth, +lasted but a short span of time, and then met disaster +and extinction. Our modern race is of this series. We +have reason to believe that it differs in quality from +its forerunners chiefly in its cerebral endowment. +That its progress from animalhood to civilization is +due to this endowment, is not questioned, for its victory +over environment, its ascendency over all other +animals is plainly due to its superior brain power.</p> + +<p>How did this race originate? Like all the other +races preceding it? Or by some aberrant, instantaneous +freak of creation? How did it acquire its characteristic +brain? As the bird its wings, as the elephant +its trunk, as the camel its hump, or by a divine +act of separate and special creation? Those who maintain +the quarrel over man’s origin are not those who +have familiarized themselves with the history of the +world and its creatures; they are not the astronomers, +the geologists, the biologists, the anthropologists or +the archeologists. They are clearly those who prefer +believing to thinking, the traditionalists, good men +mayhap but not necessarily wise. In the earlier days +of science (it is only four or five hundred years old), +its devoted labourers were persecuted by Church and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</span>State. They had to give respectful attention to criticism +or else perish by fire and sword. But, as we have +advanced slowly from religious persecution and the +auto-da-fé to mere intolerant and wordy remonstrance, +the scientist has paid but scant attention to +these quarrels. He feels that as they are not of his +making, neither are they his concern. Perhaps he is +not quite right there. To be sure, he is criticized, not +wisely but too well, and for the most part not quite +fairly. We have criticized him for an assumed lack of +reverence, but even more for his obvious indifference +to our criticism. This has justice in it for, though his +indifference to criticism may be excused, the ignorance +upon which this criticism is founded should be his +first concern, for the man of science is the teacher +and ignorance is his very opportunity. Heretofore, +however, he has seen his opportunity too narrowly, +for he has been content to teach only the few embryo +scientists apprenticed to his own particular field. +He has not, until very lately, realized that his hard-won +knowledge is far more needed and therefore far +more owed to those who are most ignorant of it, in +short, to the great mass of men and women outside +the scientific world.</p> + +<p>“You are irreligious,” said his critics. “You have +been weighed and found wanting in that devotional +attitude we find essential to humanity. You do not +even listen to our reproaches. You are irreverent!”</p> + +<p>For the most part, there has been no answer. The +men of science have been strangely preoccupied with +their own business of finding out all they can of their +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span>fellow man, of his nature, his origin, his difficulties, +his dangers, and of his predictable future, all in the +faith that such knowledge will ultimately benefit +mankind.</p> + +<p>Now at length one of them has made rejoinder to +these protests. He admits that he has been preoccupied, +especially so in the past twenty years, with +laborious but fascinating research into just these +questions so vitally concerning his fellow man. He +admits that he had not thought his scientific gleanings +would interest any but scientists, but he denies irreverence +and insists that neither he nor any other +who spends his life in studying man and his place in +nature could lack reverence. He cannot find himself +entirely in accord with any of the eleven surviving +religions which guide the lives of many men to-day. +The twelve extinct religions of the past also leave him +unsatisfied. Nevertheless he worships devoutly, +though in a temple transcending in significance and +beauty any wrought by the hand of man. His devotion +is no mere lip service expressive of the self-protective +instinct, but one that takes form in labour. +In spite of disappointment and hardship, he has persevered +through years in that labour, with the single +object of gaining a deeper understanding of man and +his place in nature.</p> + +<p>It is now our turn to admit error and ask if we may +not share in the fruits of his research—even though +our understanding has thus far been alien to his field +of labour, even though our path has not led us to his +temple, even though we have not been aware of his +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</span>devotion. We urge him to speak to us, not as to scientists, +but as to his fellow creatures, fellow citizens and +fellow sufferers. We urge him to speak to us plainly, +believing that whatsoever has value in human knowledge +may be simply told.</p> + +<p>With some hesitation he has consented. He has +chosen to speak to us of the brain, as the most direct +approach to the comprehension of the nature of man. +He points out that this master organ of life holds the +secret of human success, that its function is human +progress, its neglect human disaster.</p> + +<p>The immensity of the retrospect of his story will +create in us the wholesome effect called humility. +The prospect he pictures is fraught with the terror +of what may happen, but it also holds forth inspiration +to courage and is golden with hope. No man can +follow this account without being inspired by a vision +of the dawning of a new era of progress, not an era of +greater possessions but of better use of those already +possessed; of better relations between peoples and +races; and being sobered by a realization that this +hope lies in developing still further the efficiency +of the master organ of destiny, through training +and education.</p> + +<p>The scientist speaks. He tells what he has seen and +heard and read through the long pilgrimage of years, +searching for the truth, and he gives us the fruit of +these labours, simply and accurately. But scientific +accuracy and matters of fact are only his raw material. +They are woven into the fabric of a true story, vibrant +with adventure, warmed by the love and reverence +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</span>of the humanitarian, and illumined by the prophetic +imagination of a poet.</p> + +<p>This tale of man’s emergence is fascinating, inspiring, +stimulating, but when it brings us to the +climax of the present it becomes a challenge. We are +faced by an awful question. Shall the glorious race +of modern man sink into oblivion, as all the preceding +races have sunk, or may he save himself from chaotic +ruin? If he is to be spared for further progress to +greater heights of happiness, he must take heed of +his own history, he must value his forebrain as his +master organ and set himself diligently to develop +its powers more fully than ever before. To this end +he must discard the last bit of fundamentalism, and +the false security of all superstition; he must learn +to depend courageously on his own power to understand +and control himself; he must give up superhuman +sanctions for evils that his intelligence has +long since discarded. Knowledge must replace superstition—else +the embattled hosts of the world will +again be at their bloody work of extinction, praying +to the same god, using the same old prayers. It is +only by increasing the scope of his forebrain through +self-knowledge, training, and education that man +can save himself from the old pitfalls from which +neither the old nor the new religions have heretofore +saved him. It is only thus, through understanding, +that he can ever hope to make full use of the forces +of growth and change which we call evolution. But +our scientist gives us reason to hope that through +intelligence, itself a product of evolution, man may +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</span>yet not only escape destruction by these forces but +may even go far toward gaining a mastery over them +which will insure the progress of his race toward planes +of usefulness and happiness as yet undreamed of.</p> + +<p>It is indeed time that we think of ourselves as men +in the making and cease to consider ourselves as gods +and the lords of a finished creation.</p> + +<p class="right"> + <span class="smcap">Austen Fox Riggs.</span> +</p> + +<p> + Stockbridge, Massachusetts,<br> + October, 1929. +</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS"> + CONTENTS + </h2> +</div> + + +<table class="autotable"> +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="font-size: x-small;"> +PAGE +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +FOREWORD +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#FOREWORD">v</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdc" style="font-size: x-small;"> +CHAPTER +</td> +<td> +</td> +<td></td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +I. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +PRIMITIVE ANCESTORS<br> +Origin and Early Days of the Brain +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_I">1</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +II. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +ANCESTORS BEFORE THE APES<br> +The Brain from Fish to Man +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_II">24</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +III. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +MAN IN THE MAKING<br> +Human Progress from Prehistoric to Modern Times +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_III">51</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +IV. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +EDEN OR EVOLUTION<br> +Genesis and the Origin of Species +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IV">85</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +V. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY BEGINNINGS +OF MAN<br> +Influences of Forest and Plain on Brain Development +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_V">107</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +VI. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +DAWN OF THE PRIMATE BRAIN<br> +The Lowest of the Monkey Kind +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VI">129</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +VII. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +ON THE WAY UPWARD<br> +Brains of the Old World Monkeys +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VII">152</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +VIII. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +MANLIKE TENDENCIES<br> +Brains of Gibbon and Orang-Outang +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">168</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +IX. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +HUMAN IN MINIATURE<br> +The Brain of the Chimpanzee +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_IX">186</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</span></p>X. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +ALMOST HUMAN<br> +The Brain of the Gorilla +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_X">212</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +XI. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +HUMAN AT LAST<br> +The Brain of Prehistoric Man +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XI">239</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +XII. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +IMPLEMENTS OF HUMAN SUCCESS<br> +How the Hand, Foot, and Brain Led the Way +to Humanity +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XII">267</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +XIII. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +ESTIMATES AND VALUES<br> +Assets and Liabilities of the Human Brain +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">301</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +XIV. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +THE FINAL TEST OF THE BRAIN<br> +World Coöperation and Recivilization +</td> +<td class="tdr" style="vertical-align: top;"> +<a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">330</a> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <p class="ph2 ep4"> + THE MASTER OF DESTINY + </p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I"> + CHAPTER I + <br> + PRIMITIVE ANCESTORS + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">ORIGIN AND EARLY DAYS OF THE BRAIN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Since every well-arranged biography should start +at the beginning, we may first inquire into the origin +of the brain. The early history of such an important +organ must be closely interwoven with the genesis of +man. If man were the result of a separate creative +miracle, so also was his brain.</p> + +<p>But we are not obliged to accept this view which +attributes the universe and all living things to creative +miracles. There is another and equally reasonable +possibility. We may, for example, assume that man +and all else came into existence by that process of +continuous change and progressive development +called evolution. We have excellent grounds for accepting +such an assumption. Astronomy, geology, +biology, chemistry, and all of the sciences relating to +mankind have revealed the essential facts. Any other +interpretation must disregard or repudiate this convincing +record. With such a record as this to guide us +we may turn our attention to the origin of the brain.</p> + + +<h3 id="Earliest_Forms_of_Animal_Life"> + <i>Earliest Forms of Animal Life</i> +</h3> + +<p>The inception of life on our planet was simple in +the extreme. The earliest animals, although well +organized, possessed no special organs in the strict +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span>sense. In the beginning there was nothing which +could be specifically called a stomach or a heart, a +lung or a kidney. Certainly there was nothing even +remotely resembling a brain. The business of living +was transacted within a single cell. This cell was so +small that it could not be seen by the naked eye. +Each of these cells was sufficient unto itself. Each +played its own separate part with a simple programme +of existence. Each was required to get its own food, +to carry on its own chemical activities of digestion +and elimination. Finally, after it had been successful +in this remarkable process, it was called upon to +produce offspring, to perpetuate its species. This last +act was the crown and climax of its life, for in this +way it conferred a material immortality upon its kind.</p> + +<p>The amœba, among living animals, is a good example +of this simple life. It is wholly intent upon +carrying on within itself the earliest traditions of +existence. All of its life is conducted within a single +microscopic cell, which is at once its office and workshop. +It has nothing in its make-up that could in the +ordinary sense be called an organ. In such amœban +animals as these there seems to be nothing progressive, +nothing to suggest the possibilities of further advancement. +Each amœba might, if such a thing were +possible, look back over a long line of ancestors exactly +like itself. In looking forward it might see no +great possibility of progress. Perhaps it might reach +the more specialized conditions of its present-day +relatives with contractile threads in their substance +and vibrating hairs by which to move themselves +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span>about. At best the outlook of the amœba for progress +was restricted within very narrow limits.</p> + + +<h3 id="Familiar_Animals_of_Earliest_Type"> + <i>Familiar Animals of Earliest Type</i> +</h3> + +<p>Certain events in the long history of these little +animals have acquired much human interest. At +times some of these simple lives become strikingly +dramatic. Their monotonous existence is changed +and they pass through certain exciting phases. Such +a drama is often enacted when certain amœbæ gain +entrance into the body of another animal and there +become parasites. The other animal may be some +huge beast or even man himself. One unpretentious +amœba (<i>Amœba histolytica</i>), if it gains entrance into +the intestinal tract of man, may cause amœbic dysentery +and abscess of the liver. Another single cell +animal (<i>Trypanosome Gambiense</i>) living in the blood +of certain cattle is often conveyed by the tsetse fly +to human blood where it produces the fatal disease +known as “African sleeping sickness.” This small animal +claims hundreds of thousands of victims a year. +In tropical Africa its devastations go on unchecked +over an area of more than a million square miles. +In this region sleeping sickness kills as many persons +as all other diseases combined. From five to seventy +per cent. of the inhabitants in different localities are +stricken. Cattle, horses, and other domestic animals +cannot be kept because of this disease. On this account, +and also because the area in which the sickness +rages is extremely fertile, it has been said that the +conquering of this malignant protozoan would be +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>equivalent to the discovery of a new continent.</p> + +<p>Even better known are the several acts in the cycle +of the <i>plasmodium malaria</i>. This protozoan animal +is often borne by the Anopheles mosquito and injected +into the blood of man. Then follows the familiar +series of pathological events consisting of chill, fever, +and sweat, called malaria. In certain respects it seems +like retributive justice when this animal is injected +into the body of man to cure the effects produced by +another microörganism. The other organism is the +spirochæte which causes syphilis. It often produces +changes which destroy the human brain in consequence +of a disease known as paresis. Many other +protozoan animals are parasites, but in the main they +live and have lived simple, unobtrusive lives.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding their apparent simplicity of structure +and action, these minute animals, like all other +things, have been subject to the influence of continuous +change. They have responded to this influence +in different ways. In many instances, through generations +of reproduction, they have effected combinations +and recombinations of their essential constituents +out of which have emerged modifications of their +original structure. Often these changes have proved +progressive and contributed to more complex modes +of living. Often they have been regressive or non-progressive. +It was the progressive modifications in +these earliest animals that were of utmost importance +to the origin of the brain. This organ was not yet in +sight, but adaptations working toward it were soon +to appear.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Critical_Changes_in_Animal_Existence"> + <i>Critical Changes in Animal Existence</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the course of time certain critical changes took +place in the lowly scheme of animal existence. These +were distinctly progressive changes. Some of the single-cell +animals began to live in colonies. Circumstances +thus conferred upon them a community life. They +began to exist in close contact with others like themselves +and were compelled to forego their simple, independent +habits. They were, in fact, actually joined +to each other by rather slender bonds of their own +vital substance—protoplasm. This was an epochal +stride forward. It was the first step which led to +progress. In some instances it brought about entirely +new relations between these animals and the world +in which they lived. Now, since these small cells +were grouped together as colonies, each individual +cell lost much of its own independence. Its interests +became, in some degree at least, the interests of the +group. If, as a single cell by itself, it had been thoroughly +self-contained, now it was necessary for it to +follow the needs and inclinations of its neighbours. +It was forced to observe the conventions and habits +of its colony. This condition of affairs exists in what +are known as the colonized protozoans. In addition +to the advantages of community life there was another +and far more important reason why this new +kind of existence was a critical step. It introduced +for the first time the principle of differentiation or +class distinction. A division of labour was thus +made possible. Some of the cells in each group were +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span>forced to take up positions on the outer surface of +the colony. Others occupied places inside of the +group. This arrangement immediately created a distinction +between “outer cells” and “inner cells.” +It was destined to have far-reaching consequences +because it established a difference in the responsibilities +of two great classes. The outer cells made an +immediate and direct contact with the world. They +were nearest to the water, to the light, and to all of +the outer chemical substances necessary for living. +They were like guards and outposts about a camp, +defending the colony from adverse influences. They +might be likened to the first line of battle in the aggressive +struggles for life, acting as foragers and procurers +of food. The rôle of the inner cells was different. +Their contacts with the world were more indirect +and established largely through the outer cells. Their +offices were especially confined to the inner workings +of the colony. They became the germ cells whose +function it was to insure the immortality of the species. +This arrangement was a momentous advance in +the direction of progress. It was particularly momentous +because it laid the foundations upon which all of +the great developments in the animal world were to be +built. In a certain way, it was also a prophecy, for it +foretold the coming of animals that were to follow +the protozoans. These newcomers, the metazoans +(animals which came after the first forms of animal +life), were to possess a body with outer cells engaged +chiefly in the efforts of life, while the inner cells +would be particularly concerned with the essence of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span>living, such, for example, as digestion, assimilation, +and circulation.</p> + +<p>This remarkable process of class distinction among +cells developed new and useful methods in living. It +brought about a division of labour in the business of +life. Different parts of the animal now had different +obligations to fulfil. Some parts served to move the +body about, some were employed in digesting food, +some in eliminating waste, some in breathing and +circulation, some in reproduction. In the end, this +division of labour resulted in the formation of a body +made up of many different organs, each having its +own particular responsibilities. We may find an +excellent example of the very earliest stages of this +division of labour in Volvox, one of the colony-forming +protozoans. Most of the colonized cells of +this minute animal are on the outside, forming a hollow +sphere. These cells are equipped with minute +hairs or flagellæ which, by their constant motion, +keep the animal rolling around in the water like a +hollow rubber ball. In this manner it seeks and finds +its food, and thus also it may escape when threatened. +But all of the cells of Volvox are not on the outside. +A number of them are tucked away from the actual +surface of the animal. These are the sex cells to which +is entrusted the important duty of reproduction.</p> + + +<h3 id="Early_Influences_at_Work_to_Form_the_Brain"> + <i>Early Influences at Work to Form the Brain</i> +</h3> + +<p>Even by this time in the history of the earth, although +animal life had been developing for millions +of years, there was no sign of anything like a brain. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>The forces, however, which would eventually bring +such an organ into existence were already at work. +Perhaps from this great distance it may be difficult +to recognize the exact nature of these forces as they +began to act at this particular stage of life. They +were present nevertheless, faintly discernible like +the first streaks of dawn which precede the sunrise. +This figure of speech may seem to imply that in the +end the brain was the actual sun destined to rise +above the horizon of animal life and ultimately to +dominate all progressive achievement. The rest of +this biography must prove whether this is an extravagant +figure or not. One important influence +behind those forces that eventually produced the +brain stands out clearly. It seems to have been the +direct result of that class distinction among cells +which caused such effectual division of labour. With +this subtle influence at work it required one further +critical step to set in motion the events which were to +end in the formation of a brain. This step was taken +when the sponges (<i>Poriphara</i>), the simplest of metazoan +animals, came into existence. They differed +from the protozoans, even the colonized protozoans, +because their bodies were more complexly organized. +The individual cells forming them had lost most of +their separate independence. All of these cells were +now incorporated in a single living individual, and +each cell was subordinate to the interests of the whole.</p> + +<p>Cell distinction had become still more important +because of the increase in size of these animals. The +outer cells now formed a covering or skin called the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>“ectoderm.” The inner cells constituted the wall +of a cavity, which might be likened to the lining of +the stomach. The lining is called the “entoderm.” +Many minute openings or pores in the outer covering +established communication by means of small canals +with the inner cavity of the animal. Through these +pores water is inhaled and carries with it particles +of food into the inner chambers. These particles are +absorbed, and the water is then exhaled through a +larger opening called the “osculum.”</p> + +<p>It was at this critical point that a decisive factor +leading to the formation of the brain made its appearance. +Some of the deep cells around the pores +and outlets of the sponge formed “muscles.” In +many respects this was a new device, and the sponges +become especially interesting because of this innovation +in animal life. The innovation itself resulted in a +special machine for producing motion; namely, the +muscle cell. Such muscle cells in the sponge are extremely +simple. They form rings around the pores +and the outlets which, by contracting, regulate the +flow of water through the animal. But such muscle +action as this is extremely important because if the +water in the sponge contains an abundance of food +particles, muscular contraction prevents too rapid +outflow. This slowing of the ex-current stream, among +other things, allows more time for absorption and +digestion. The muscles in different parts of the sponge +act independently. Each one is, so to speak, a free +agent, occupying its position at its own particular +pore or outlet. If, however, it became necessary for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span>all of these muscles to contract at the same instant in +a concerted effort, let us say, to make the sponge +move, there would be no mechanism to assure harmony +of action. The muscle cells at each outlet would +react according to their own inclinations—some relaxing, +others contracting. Confusion of action could +scarcely fail to result. The sponge, however, does not +need to move about in order to get its food. Being +stationary, it obtains its nourishment by sucking the +water through its pores, and by regulating the flow +the muscle cells do all that is required of them.</p> + + +<h3 id="A_New_Motor_Device"> + <i>A New Motor Device</i> +</h3> + +<p>Simple as is this muscular equipment, it possesses +great possibilities for further development. It clearly +indicates how such mechanisms for producing motion +might be expanded to create all of the surprising +varieties of motors which in time enabled animals +to move about over the earth, in the water, and +through the air. It is true that the simple strands +of muscle in the sponge are far from powerful; but +when a number of muscular strands are collected +together they may take form in such muscles as the +biceps of the arm, the great extensors of the leg, or +those covering the entire body.</p> + +<p>The presence of the muscle cells created the need +for a nervous system to control and regulate their +activities. In order to act together muscles require a +supervisor. The first important step in this direction +was taken when certain simple animals like hydras +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span>and sea anemones (<i>Metridium</i>) made their appearance. +These animals are equipped with muscles in +several parts of their bodies. Some of them, unlike +the sponges, have the power to move about a little, +crawling slowly like snails. They are also capable of +moving their many tentacles, and thus are able to +reach out and grasp food. All of these movements +call for the action of the many different muscles. +The sea anemone has thirteen different sets of such +muscles, the exact coöperation of which requires the +closest harmony of action. Each part must be mutually +adjusted to the others. It must act in the right +rhythm and with the proper force. Such delicate adjustment +as this could not be left to chance. It needed +an adjuster and regulator. It required also a system +of communication between the cells in order that each +might sense how the others were acting during any +given interval of time. In consequence of these requirements +many cells were specialized as timers, +signallers, and dispatchers. They acted like independent +telephone stations, each serving separate districts; +such, for example, as the individual tentacles +of hydra or of sea anemones. These separate stations +were known as nerve cells. <i>In them the first elements +needed for the origin of the brain made their appearance.</i> +At first they were scattered and had limited communication +by means of slender strands, the nerve fibres. +There was as yet no central operator for receiving +and routing their messages which were transmitted +rather diffusely by a loose nerve net.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Foundation_Stones_of_the_Brain"> + <i>Foundation Stones of the Brain</i> +</h3> + +<p>In spite of this apparent simplicity, these nerve +cells were the foundation stones of the brain. Scattered +as they were, they lacked that unity of action +which is the real secret of nerve power. A more +constructive plan for utilizing their capacity was +requisite at this stage. Such a plan was eventually +forthcoming. It was exactly what might have been +expected in the progressive development of any good +business concern; namely, consolidation. In effect, it +was a merger uniting the separate nerve units into +one centralized system. How this merger was brought +about may be recognized in such animals as the jellyfish +(<i>Cœlenterates</i>). In them the body equipment consists +of an outside layer called the “exumbrella,” and +an inner layer, the “subumbrella.” In the latter +the older arrangement of the nerve cells as scattered, +more or less independent stations still persists. These +stations form a net of communication on the under +surface of the animal. But where the subumbrella +joins the exumbrella, making the rim of the jellyfish, +the nerve fibres and the nerve cells form a nervous +ring entirely surrounding the animal. This is the first +time in the history of animal life that an actual central +nervous system makes its appearance. This ring of +nerve fibres and cells acts as a central receiving and +dispatching station. It is a central office for receiving +information from the outside world and a dispatcher +for sending orders to different portions of the animal +so that all parts may coöperate harmoniously. Certain +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span>special organs develop along the rim of the jellyfish, +whose functions have some bearing upon the +sense of direction. These structures are known as the +marginal sense organs or “lithocysts.” They are in +direct communication with the central nervous +system. Certain other sense organs are also present +in the form of red or black specks of pigment at +the bases of the tentacles; they are the “ocelli,” +which are sensitive to light and are, in fact, the simplest +form of eyes. Thus, in such low forms of animal +life as the jellyfish, the first signs of special sense +organs made their appearance, and the nervous elements +were for the first time organized to form a +central governing mechanism for the animal.</p> + + +<h3 id="Nerve_Concentration_in_Forming_the_Head"> + <i>Nerve Concentration in Forming the Head</i> +</h3> + +<p>Following the merger of the scattered nerve cells to +form a central system, the process of developing a +brain had opportunity to advance along another new +line. The circular nervous system of the jellyfish +passed through many modifications as it adapted +itself to the form of different types of lowly animals. +The great impulse thus imparted toward the formation +of the brain veered off in numerous directions +until a new and decisive change occurred in the arrangement +of the muscles. At this juncture certain +animals appeared whose bodies were much elongated +and slender. Their muscles were arranged in straight +rows, one behind the other. Such an arrangement had +definite advantages for transportation, and these +advantages were utilized by such animals as the flat +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>worms (<i>Platyhelminthes</i>). Many of the nerve cells +and fibres became concentrated in the head end of +these animals. This head region in a general way took +the lead in directing the activities of motion and +transportation. It also had centralized in and about +it many of the most important structures of life. +The animal at this critical stage now possessed a head +and a body. In the broadest sense the development +of such a head may be likened to the creation of a +definite executive office within which was established +a supreme organ to preside over the rest of the +body.</p> + +<p>Further concentration of nerve cells in the head of +the animal was the next step in this constructive +process. This advance added materially to the centralization +of nerve power, which was the keynote +in the formation and growth of the brain.</p> + +<p>If this process of successive upbuilding seems mysterious +and almost miraculous, especially from its +feeble beginnings in a single cell, it is scarcely more +remarkable than the commonplace miracle that has +resulted in the development and birth of every newly +created animal since the dawn of time. The offspring +of each species—fish or fowl, beast or man—has its +beginning in a single cell. It passes through stages of +cell colonization, of class distinction among cells, and +of specialization of organs for the various functions of +life.</p> + +<p>In the main, these two processes have run parallel +in their programmes of construction—the beginning +and development of life on our planet, the beginning +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>and growth of every new life created. Summarized +thus briefly, these successive stages necessary to bring +the brain into existence may appear unimpressive. +But when we consider that each forward step required +ages for its achievement, we may appreciate that this +was indeed a marvel of progress. From nerve cell to +brain is a few short words in print; but it required +millions of years for the slow advances to attain +even the humble level of the flat worms.</p> + + +<h3 id="Development_of_Better_Brains"> + <i>Development of Better Brains</i> +</h3> + +<p>With the head at length in its proper place and the +most simple kind of brain installed within it, vast +horizons of life still lay ahead. Better mechanisms +were needed for a more successful struggle with +existence. More capable motors were required for +more efficient locomotion. These improvements came +after the passage of long intervals of time. By degrees +more highly developed animals, such as bees, ants, +beetles, or other insects, lobsters, crayfish, and shrimp, +began to appear. Their brains were much better organized +than those of the lowly worms. The special +senses of sight, smell, and taste became highly important, +while the central organ which presided over +all activities acquired a remarkable complexity in its +structure.</p> + +<p>How much these animals gained from their better +brain power is clearly seen in their behaviour. The +achievements of ants and bees and beetles, as well +as many other insects, have long been a matter of +wonder, a theme of interest and fascination. If we +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>credit these animals with highly capable brains, it is +their just due. One detail in their organization, however, +became a serious handicap to them in their +further development. The passageway from the +mouth to the stomach ran directly through the centre +of the brain. If the brain grew extensively it would +encroach upon the gullet, ultimately shutting off the +only channel for food. This embarrassment actually +overtook many insects like the mosquito. Here the +brain became large. The tube connecting the mouth +and the stomach was thus reduced to a fine calibre, +and the animal was forced to depend upon the highly +concentrated fluid diet obtained by sucking blood. +Coarser forms of food could not pass the œsophageal +ring which the brain forms about the gullet. Thus +the stomach and the brain came into serious competition +with each other. If the brain grew larger the +stomach would be deprived of food. In consequence, +this situation created a dangerous hazard to life.</p> + + +<h3 id="Advent_of_Backboned_Animals"> + <i>Advent of Backboned Animals</i> +</h3> + +<p>In addition to this stomach-brain dilemma, animals +such as the insects suffered from another handicap +because of the outer skeleton which protected their +bodies. This skeleton was in the form of a more or less +rigid shell, as in the lobster, crab, or crayfish. It was +to overcome the effects of such handicaps, according +to some authorities, that the great race of backboned +animals came into existence. In any event, such animals +seem to have circumvented the difficulty of +having a brain which surrounded the gullet. They also +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span>overcame the necessity of carrying a heavy shell about +on the outside of their bodies. An inner skeleton did +away with this embarrassment. It is not altogether +clear how or when this transition took place. Many +students of this matter believe that the basis for this +change is to be found in the starfish group of lower +animals (<i>Echinoderms</i>). Others maintain that the +change began with some creature not unlike the horseshoe +crab (<i>Limulus</i>). It is also believed that the +animals which served as the intermediate forms for +this advance were the ostracoderms, a group which +has long since become extinct. They are known +to us only through fossil preservations. They +possessed, however, so many fishlike features that +they may well have served as the forerunners of the +earliest animals with backbones. Whatever else is in +doubt, one detail of this transition is definite. The +brain, already well developed in certain lower creatures, +now received a fuller opportunity to advance +along more advantageous lines. The first gains of this +kind are seen in the fish. Judged by outward appearances +the object of such new brain development was +to provide a more efficient regulator for a new and +more efficient kind of animal. The fish, in one particular +at least, showed higher specialization. It was built +for speed in locomotion. The shape of its body, the +arrangement of its muscles, the position of its fins, +the design of its head, and the form of its tail gave +it many advantages over lower animals. Equally +important were the special organs by which it sensed +the world. The fish possessed powerful and remarkably +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>constructed eyes. It had most delicate organs +for smell, and an effective apparatus for taste. In +fact, all of the senses of the body were now so thoroughly +organized that each one of them had its own +special department in the brain. According to this +new type of administrative organization, an endbrain, +an interbrain, a midbrain, and a hindbrain +were established for distinct departmental purposes.</p> + +<p>In spite of this better arrangement, there were still +decided limitations in the brain. The most serious +of these deficiencies lay in the mechanism regulating +the energy turnover. The fish had little power to withhold +its reactions. Its impressions from the outside +world produced almost immediate responses. Such +rapid reactions precluded the wide range of acts which +characterizes more deliberate behaviour.</p> + +<p>The brain machinery for the most ample kind of +living was not yet present at this stage of animal +development. It did begin to make its appearance, +however, when certain of the fish assumed partial +adjustment to life on land. These adventurous pioneers +managed to crawl out of the muddy waters at +times when there was a lack of oxygen or when the +supply of food was insufficient. They set on foot those +progressive changes that gave rise to fore and hind +limbs in such amphibians as the frogs. When these +latter animals made their appearance nearly all of +the fundamental problems of the vertebrate brain +had been solved. Nevertheless, there was still the +need of certain expansions in brain power and these, +in some part, were supplied during the age of reptiles.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span></p> + +<p>As yet, however, that handicap of almost instantaneous +reaction which seriously limited the life of +fish had not been entirely overcome by the amphibian +or by the reptile. These animals still lacked the brain +mechanisms needed for the deliberate and varied actions +of the most efficient life. They had not yet altogether +escaped from the ancient tyranny of automatic +or reflex reaction.</p> + +<p>At length the mammals, throughout the different +periods of their long progressive age, introduced the +final detail of brain perfection. The secret of this perfecting +detail was the addition of a new mechanism +to the brain never possessed by animals before +this time. The great and new areas of the cerebral +hemispheres now came slowly into existence. With +them developed new and greater capacities for action +together with far more effective adjustments to +life.</p> + + +<h3 id="Vast_Ages_of_Animal_Life"> + <i>Vast Ages of Animal Life</i> +</h3> + +<p>All of these developments reach back a great distance +in time, so great that it is difficult to calculate +its exact duration. According to modern estimates the +first animals came into existence about 1,000,000,000 +years ago in the Proterozoic period. This period +was followed by the Palæozoic, which began approximately +300,000,000 years ago, and is known as +the Age of Fish. Then came the remarkable Age of +Reptiles, beginning about 200,000,000 years ago, +followed by the Age of Mammals, which commenced +in the neighbourhood of 65,000,000 years ago. The +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span>present Age of Man has had a short duration, extending +back only about 1,000,000 years.</p> + +<p>Two methods have been depended upon in determining +these figures and the age of the earth. +The first is based upon the rate of deposit and upbuilding +of sedimentary rocks. The estimated period +required for the development of each rock layer has +provided a time-table for the age of the different +strata of the earth’s crust. The second method calculates +the rate at which common salt is extracted +from the land and deposited in the oceans. Imprints +of fossil animals upon the several rock layers also +reveal the age of different strata. The discovery of +radium afforded the latest gauge for estimating +geologic time. The physicists now tell us that former +calculations have been far too modest and that we +must go back still further to reach the actual beginnings +of our earth. Their “radioactive clock” indicates +that the earth is 1,600,000,000 years old.</p> + +<p>During all this vast interval there has been a succession +of great changes in the earth and its waters. +Continents have risen above sea level, to be submerged +again. Great inundations of continental +oceans have swept inward and made vastly different +land divisions from those which exist to-day. North +America has been more or less widely flooded by +great oceans at least fifteen times. Other continents +have been similarly inundated. Mountain ranges have +risen and crumbled away by erosion. In point of +geologic time most of the present mountains are relatively +young. The oldest of these is the Appalachian +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>range which was formed during the Permian period +approximately 230,000,000 years ago. The Rocky +Mountains appeared at the close of the Cretaceous, +100,000,000 years ago, while the Swiss Alps are of +much later development, having been formed at the +close of the Miocene about 15,000,000 years ago. +Even the Himalayas are relatively young when compared +with the earth’s antiquity. They had not taken +on their full gigantic proportions until the close of +the Eocene about 45,000,000 years ago.</p> + +<p>According to many authorities, great continental +land connections once existed between Africa and +what is now part of South America. This connecting +continent disappeared beneath the ocean long ago. +So also did the land connection between Asia and +North America in the region of the Bering Sea. An +important land connection existed between England +and the Continent, across what is now the English +Channel, in Pliocene times. It was present, therefore, +at some time within the last 6,000,000 years. Immense +inland seas have drained off or evaporated and left +in their places great desert spaces, like the Bad Lands +of the West.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Long_Upward_March_Toward_Humanity"> + <i>The Long Upward March Toward Humanity</i> +</h3> + +<p>While these changes were in process marked alterations +in climate affected the surface of the earth. +Glacial ice caps descended from the poles, later to +recede and leave the earth invested in tropical warmth. +Time and again these changes recurred. The crust of +the earth, chilled by intense refrigeration for protracted +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>ages, grew warm again for equally long periods +when tropical vegetation crept up toward the poles. +These changes in vegetation have been accompanied +by many changes in the animal inhabitants of the +globe. Species of animals in profusion have come into +existence only to follow the path which led to extinction. +In many cases the forms of life began simply +and progressed by graded stages to greater structural +complexity. Man is an outstanding example of this +rule. He began in much simpler form than that in +which he now exists. This relative simplicity is particularly +true of his brain.</p> + +<p>Thus, as if descending a long stairway, we may +pass by the successive terraces of the earth’s history +toward the beginnings of geologic time. The expanse +of this time is difficult to conceive. From the inception +of animal life in the long Proterozoic Age, +throughout the ages of Fish, Reptiles, and Mammals, +man’s brain was in the making. Irresistible +forces molded the various stages of its progress. +Species, genera, families, and even entire orders of +animals came into existence and disappeared as +wastage in a great experiment. Yet, through all vicissitudes +of time and change, the long upward march +toward humanity held its place. Ultimately it became +the dominant feature in creation. The advent of man +introduced a new era. It remains to be seen whither +the forces moving in this Age of Man will take us. +They may be leading to extinction. The way to such +a termination is clearly open to our race. On the +other hand, the brain has made man what he is and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>may save him for better things. Its interesting pioneer +ancestry, although extremely remote, has left a well-established +record. The history of its development +through the process of evolution in the backboned +animals is still more interesting.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II"> + CHAPTER II + <br> + ANCESTORS BEFORE THE APES + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">THE BRAIN FROM FISH TO MAN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<h3 id="Practical_Significance_of_Evolution"><i>Practical Significance of Evolution</i></h3> + +<p>There are many who still harbour resentment against +the ape, especially in explaining man’s origin. As a +result, hostilities often flare up against evolution. +It cannot be denied that the unattractive ape is at +the root of these reactions. He is the bar sinister and +the real stumbling block in the evolutionary theory. +He is also, to many people at least, the entire gist of it. +That we are descended from monkeys is rather generally +accepted as the meaning of evolution. This view, +at best, is a superficial explanation of what evolution +really means. No scientist to-day believes that any +one of the living apes is ancestral to man. These animals +belong to families totally divergent from the +human family. They have ascended well up into the +trees. Here doubtless they will remain, quite as unconcerned +in human origin as they are innocent of +participation in it. Our interest in evolution should +not centre upon the ape kind. The line of our ancestry +reaches far back of them through millions of years. +We were in the making long before there were any +apes on earth. They, in their tree life, merely afforded +the last finishing touches which shaped our +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>course toward humanity. If we wish to acknowledge +our hereditary indebtedness properly, we would be +compelled to recognize in our family tree that highly +important line of mammals which first introduced the +custom of arboreal living. Back of them are still older +lines which deserve equal ancestral credit. Here are +found those animals without the existence of which +we should never have arrived. Among these is the +vast assortment of reptiles, together with mammal-like +reptilians which appeared in the Age of Reptiles. +All of these reptilian forms were in their turn indebted +for existence to earlier amphibians and fish, +their progenitors during the long Age of Fish. Thus +the true line of evolutionary descent leads us from +fish to man. Not until we appreciate the meaning of +this long vertebrate lineage through all its various +phases does the vital significance of evolution become +clear. If we view it in this way it is possible to sense +the irresistible force that has carried animal life onward +and upward through the ages from the earliest +times. This force may still carry us onward. In its +broader applications such a viewpoint should make an +urgent appeal for thoughtful consideration. It offers +many suggestions concerning further advances and +readjustments in human behaviour.</p> + + +<h3 id="Evidence_of_Evolution_in_Our_Bodies"> + <i>Evidence of Evolution in Our Bodies</i> +</h3> + +<p>The brain is one of the best witnesses testifying to +this long evolutionary development of man. It contains +convincing evidence of this process in three +striking particulars. First, it gives numerous signs +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>indicating its primitive origin from the lowest of the +vertebrates, the fish. Second, it bears identifying +marks of intimate association with animals of its own +class, the mammals. Third, it has a large number of +details in its special mechanisms possessed in common +with all of the primate order, to which man belongs +together with the lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, and +apes. This evidence is not circumstantial. It is direct +and unimpeachable. It leaves no point in the line of +man’s long descent to be decided by inference. It +embodies factors which led, step by step, to the upbuilding +of the human brain.</p> + +<p>Other tissues and organs of the body tell the same +story of slow, steady progress upward, from some low +and simple phase of life, through many graded stages +of improvement until the human form at length +came in sight.</p> + +<p>The blood has been an especially positive witness +concerning this progressive development. Tests with +many different kinds of animals show that the blood +of man is much nearer to that of the great apes than +to the lower Old World monkeys. The relation between +the human blood and that of the New World +monkeys is still more remote. In general, these blood +tests are among the most convincing proofs of evolution.</p> + +<p>The bony system of the body is another decisive +witness. The skeleton of the fore and hind limbs sheds +much light on the changing adjustments which have +been made in the motor apparatus. The use of the +limbs as fins, paddles, wings, hoofs, paws, claws, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>hands, or feet, indicates the broad family relations +and kinship of various animals. The size and shape +of the skull and the character of the teeth reveal the +manner in which this evolutionary process has passed +through its several stages. The muscular system, +the system for eliminating waste products of the +body, the heart and the lungs, all afford important +evidence of vertebrate kinship and evolution. The +increase in the complexity of the breathing apparatus, +from the early gill stages of the fish to the lung of +the mammal, through all its many intermediate +phases, discloses with astonishing clearness the course +of this progress.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Embryo_as_a_Witness"> + <i>The Embryo as a Witness</i> +</h3> + +<p>Testimony from another source also stands undisputed. +This corroboration comes from the manner +in which all vertebrates are conceived and formed. +The witness in this case is the embryo, which in all +animals begins in the same way. Embryonic existence +starts from a single cell. It holds true to the +earliest beginnings of animal life that first appeared +in a single cell such as the amœba. In the higher animals +this cell is called the ovum. From it, after fertilization, +two cells are derived, then four, then eight, +then sixteen, until it has an appearance closely resembling +some of the colonized protozoan animals. Here +again, even in man, is seen that decisive stage in +which a critical cellular distinction is made between +outside and inside cells. From this time specializing +progress in the growing individual goes forward. Each +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>new phase repeats in a general way a stage of development +previously attained in the evolution of life. All +embryos of vertebrate animals pass through such +phases. The fish embryo carries the process up to +the stage characterized by those improvements which +developed during the Age of Fish. The amphibian +embryo takes the process one step farther. It adds +new features essential to living on land. Embryos +of reptiles and of birds introduce the progressive +advancements peculiar to their kinds. The mammal +embryo takes the final step, prior to which it passes +successively through the several phases of the lower +grades of life. The human embryo follows the mammalian +plan and puts the finishing touches of development +upon what the mammal has gained from all the +stages below it. Fish, amphibians, reptiles—all have +their beginning in a single cell. Regardless of the +differences in body form, in mode of life, and in +behaviour, all are cast in a mold of development +based on a common design. Thus, while the blood, the +bony system, the muscles, the teeth, the eliminating +system, the heart, and the lungs tell the story of +progressive development, the embryo gives a summary +of this process by disclosing the general plan +which underlies the manner in which every backboned +animal is formed.</p> + +<p>The brain contains a comprehensive record of this +progress. There are reasons why this is the case. Brain +influences pervade and dominate all other systems. +This organ is the great transformer of energy, which +so assembles other parts in operation that the body +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>as a whole becomes a smoothly acting machine. It +receives sensory impressions from its environment. +It controls the reactions incited by these impressions. +In this dual capacity the brain has been especially +sensitive to those influences of change and adjustment, +of action, reaction, and interaction that have +affected animal life during its long existence. It has +responded to these changes and has retained the impression +of such responses. In many cases it has been +structurally improved. Gradually it became capable +of sensing the world more effectively. It acquired the +capacity to react on a broader scale. Developing along +certain progressive lines it has served to transform +impressions received from the senses in such a way +as to produce an increasingly more effective turnover +of nervous energy. For this reason it is necessary +for us to estimate the value of such senses as were +utilized in this way. Without going too extensively +into detail, it may be said that, with extremely few +exceptions, vertebrate animals possess four chief +varieties of sense. Each of these supplies the brain +with stimuli necessary to its proper reaction.</p> + + +<h3 id="Value_of_Our_Senses"> + <i>Value of Our Senses</i> +</h3> + +<p>First, chemical sense, through special organs for +smell and taste, conveys information concerning +certain chemical conditions in the surroundings. The +sense of smell derives its impressions from gaseous or +volatile substances which, among other things, may +create a pleasant or a disagreeable odour important in +selecting food. The sense of taste gathers its information +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span>from substances in solution. It depends upon acid, +sweet, bitter, salty, or other similar stimuli. The +primitive headquarters for taste are in the hindbrain, +while the endbrain serves in this capacity for the +sense of smell.</p> + +<p>Second, body sense furnishes information concerning +what transpires within the body, as in the heart +and lungs, in the stomach and intestines, and in other +special organs. It also supplies equally important +information concerning what contraction is occurring +in the muscles, how the bones are being moved, what +postures the different parts are assuming, and how +the body as a whole is being balanced.</p> + +<p>Third, contact sense makes known what is going +on immediately outside the body. It depends upon +many things which touch the body surfaces, such as +the touch and pressure of a handclasp, the temperature +of water upon the hand, the vibration of a heavy +vehicle running over the ground. Body and contact +senses had their original headquarters in the midbrain +and interbrain.</p> + +<p>Fourth, distance sense supplies information concerning +objects in the world outside of the body more +or less remote from it. The information which this +sense brings is news from abroad. It is gathered by +the sense of sight and the sense of hearing. Sight, in +a way, is touch at a distance. When an animal sees its +enemy a long way off it, so to speak, touches this +enemy with its eyes and thus gives the brain the +needed information while there is yet time for escape. +Sight depends upon light waves, and hearing upon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>sound waves. By such means these two highly specialized +agents of distance sense gather their information. +The central offices of sight and hearing were at +first situated in the midbrain.</p> + +<p>All impressions obtained from these senses were +and still are the raw materials utilized in the energy +turnover produced by the brain.</p> + +<p>Improvement was not always the result of the +great struggle for adjustment. There were many +ups and downs, many trials, many failures. Yet a +certain insistent tendency toward progress was constantly +in evidence. By means not entirely clear, this +tendency ultimately succeeded in finding some way +to become effective. It appears to have exerted its +influence by selecting definite parts of the animal +machinery for emphasis or repression.</p> + +<p>Often some highly selective improvement was developed +in the brain to meet special conditions. Such +is the expansion in the bird’s brain by which the sense +of sight is greatly amplified. This special increase +makes it possible for the bird to see its prey from +great distances in the air, as the hawk sees the fish +in the water, or the vulture detects the presence of +carrion by its keen eyesight. The sense of smell in +birds is much less developed than vision.</p> + +<p>In scenting animals, like the dog, the fox, and the +cat, selective improvement has affected the sense of +smell. In a few instances the addition of a relatively +new sense was the means by which improvement +manifested itself. Such an addition is seen in that +transition when fish life first began to assume the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>characters of living upon land. At that juncture the +sense of hearing was added in some amphibious +animals belonging to the same class as the frog. +These and other methods for getting a better supply +of raw materials through the senses contributed to +progressive development in the brain.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Sense_Combiner"> + <i>The Sense Combiner</i> +</h3> + +<p>Still more effective was the improvement which +came as a new mechanism. It provided a special +apparatus that may for convenience be called the +“sense combiner.” The office of this mechanism was +to assemble sense impressions in the brain, to make +composite pictures of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and +all other senses. This sense combiner served also as +an effective depository for impressions already received. +It held them in readiness for use as a background +of experience that would be needed for new or +subsequent situations. At a glance it is evident that +the brain having the best sense combiner would outstrip +all others in its efficiency and output. In the +earliest vertebrates this new mechanism did not acquire +a centralized headquarters. Its operations were +controlled from several scattered stations in the +brain. Obviously such division of responsibility could +not be considered an efficient method of control. +Centralization was needed, and certain stages in the +development of the brain from fish to man illustrate +how this improvement was gradually brought about.</p> + +<p>The first or fish stage, as might be expected, expresses +the beginning of this process of improvement +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>in simplest terms. There are many who do not credit +the fish with such a thing as a brain. These animals, +however, are equipped with an effective organ of this +kind. Its efficiency is not high according to human +standards, yet, as we shall presently see, it has many +characteristics of the human organ and reacts to +similar stimuli.</p> + +<p>In the fish brain there are nearly all of the working +departments found in man. Much variation exists +even among fish. Some of them have very simple +brains. This is true of the earliest forms, but the more +advanced types acquired brains thoroughly efficient +for the special complexities of existence in which they +had to live. The several departments in these brains +are adjusted to their requirements. The sense of smell +in the fish is particularly well developed. It has certain +limitations, however, due to the fact that it +must depend upon substances borne by the water. +The department of this sense, nevertheless, occupies +the major portion of what in these descriptions will +be called the endbrain. The sense of taste is also well +organized in fish. In certain of them, like the catfish, +it has received special emphasis, because in addition +to taste organs in the mouth there are organs of this +kind scattered over the entire body from head to tail. +The primitive central office of the sense of taste in +fish is located in the hindbrain. Body sense is highly +developed because most of the fishes are able to +control their muscles and joints in an amazing way +as they dart about in the water. Balancing of the body +in swimming is another important problem in the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span>locomotion of the fish. It is solved by means of certain +highly specialized water levels (semicircular canals). +The body sense department occupies the interbrain. +The sense of sight in most fish is fairly well advanced, +although it has distinct limitations. Being placed on +the side of the head, each eye acts more or less independently +of the other, and the fish, so to speak, gets +a two-eyed picture of its surroundings. It will subsequently +become clear that one of the most important +events in the progress of the brain has been the development +of that kind of vision in which both eyes +receive the impression of an object at the same time. +Then again, the medium in which the fish lives is in +many respects less favourable for the passage of light +rays than the air. The retina of the fish’s eye which +first receives the light rays also indicates a relative +simplicity in the organization of vision. For these and +other reasons the fish’s sense of sight cannot be as +effective as in the higher forms of life. This sense department +is located in the midbrain.</p> + + +<h3 id="Starting_with_the_Fish"> + <i>Starting with the Fish</i> +</h3> + +<p>The fish stage in the development of the brain +shows a striking deficiency in its lack of provision +for a sense of hearing. Strictly speaking, fish have no +ears. It is believed that the ability to hear which the +human being possesses is denied to them. In still +another respect, however, a more obvious deficiency +makes itself apparent. The brain is poorly equipped +in mechanisms that could specifically be called sense +combiners. Some slight degree of combination between +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>the senses does take place, but this at best is +meagre and simple. Consequently the brain’s output, +that is to say, its productive turnover, is limited. +It confines itself to those reaction patterns with +which we are familiar in the habits and behaviour of +fish. The limitations by which these patterns are restricted +are evident in the fact that the animal’s entire +life programme is carried on largely under water. +If an attempt were made to estimate the capabilities +of the fish as a machine compared with other animals, +it would almost certainly receive a low rating. The +justification of this low estimate is obvious. The +reasons for it are twofold: first, the relatively low +degree of development in each of the sense departments +including the lack in one department (sense of +hearing); second, the poorly developed sense combiner.</p> + +<p>Professor Gregory has devoted much time in the +American Museum of Natural History to the study +of the progressive stages from fish to man, and especially +to those changes which appear in the head. +He has shown that in this fish stage the animal at +first had no lower jaw and no teeth. Its mouth served +as a sucking organ, which thus obtained food in the +form of minute organisms and small particles of organic +matter. Certain new patterns were introduced +with the appearance of primitive sharks. These animals +had a lower jaw impregnated with lime salts, +thus made effective for supporting many successive +rows of formidable teeth. Such sharks also had well-developed +gills. Certain lobe-finned fishes of a somewhat +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span>later period (<i>Crossopterygian</i>) began to live in +streams and swamps. By means of their peculiar fins +they were able to crawl over the surface of the land, +and thus they were the forerunners of the next more +completely air-breathing stage determined by the +appearance of the amphibians.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Beginning_of_Life_on_Land"> + <i>The Beginning of Life on Land</i> +</h3> + +<p>The second or amphibian stage came after those +steps had been taken which led certain modified +forms of fish life to attempt a partial adjustment to +living on land and to breathing air. True amphibians +then made their appearance. Animals called tetrapods, +or four-footed creatures, were the result of this change. +They were the forerunners of all higher animals. By +the slow conversion of their fins and paddles into +legs they acquired a new kind of transportation +machinery. With the aid of these four legs the animal +could now hop about on land and also swim in the +water much as do the frogs. Such a transformation +had a profound effect upon the entire body, which +became greatly shortened and in many instances +no longer possessed a tail (except in the polliwog +stage). The head also changed. New devices were +necessary for the purposes of air-breathing, which replaced +the old method of getting oxygen out of the +water. One of the most important changes, however, +was the addition of the new sense of hearing. The +amphibians, living partly on land, were now able to +receive useful information by means of air waves. +The advent of this new sense was destined to have +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span>momentous effects upon the further development of +the brain. Each of the several sense departments is +well represented in the frog. The sense of smell is +highly organized. It contains some improvements +over the fish for the reason that the animal is now +able to scent odours borne by the air. The sense of +taste shows little if any improvement. Compared with +many of the fish it has actually receded. Body sense +is well provided for and shows certain refinements +due to the fact that it has taken on the new responsibility +of sensing four legs. It also has the duty of +supervising what is going on in the muscular machine +when the animal performs its new kind of motion, +hopping about over the ground, leaping into the +water, or using the new frog-method of swimming. +The department of the sense of sight shows some +improvements when contrasted with that of the fish. +The frog is able to adjust its vision both to air and +water. While on land it is able to see many things that +never come into the range of the fish’s field of vision. +Some of the frogs even go so far as to have what is +called a third eye in the middle of the forehead. This +organ, however, is but poorly developed and serves +more for light perception than for actual seeing. The +introduction of the sense of hearing, by establishing +certain innovations in the frog brain, provides an +advantage over the fish. It is, however, in furthering +the development of the sense combiner that the frog’s +brain shows its most distinctive advance. The two +great hemispheres are now clearly outlined. The endbrain, +in consequence of land-living and air-breathing, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>has taken an important step forward. In all further +advances this part will bear the chief burdens of +progress and improvement.</p> + +<p>The frog and his kind represent a machine that in +many respects is not much better organized than the +fish. But amphibians did serve to introduce advantages +that were utilized in new adjustments to life; +such, for example, as living on land, breathing air, +getting about on four legs, and being able to hear. +Besides this, the way was now opened for a better +type of sense combiner. There was promise, if not +actual profit, in these new amphibian endowments. +Professor Gregory has shown that among the most +important changes in the amphibian head were those +which ultimately led to the formation of the ear. +The skin in this region was already beginning to act +as a tympanic member or eardrum.</p> + + +<h3 id="Epoch_of_Giant_Reptiles"> + <i>Epoch of Giant Reptiles</i> +</h3> + +<p>The third or reptile stage witnessed that critical +advance that came with the fully established habit +of living on land. The amphibians, both those which +retained and those which lost the tail, took the first +somewhat hesitating steps in this direction. They +were, however, essential predecessors to the next +higher order, the reptiles, which upon their arrival +stepped out boldly. During the remarkable Mesozoic +period these reptiles covered the earth with their +dominating and often hideous presence. No period +compares with this one for the awe-inspiring inhabitants +that peopled the world. It was then that +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>the gigantic dinosaurs were the overlords of creation. +Some of these monstrous creatures were composed +of many tons of flesh and bone. They became the most +terrific fighting machines ever produced by nature. +Even the tail, which had disappeared in many of the +amphibians, became prominent as part of the offensive +equipment in these reptile monsters. Gigantic +size was an outstanding structural feature. But these +huge dimensions carried their own penalties. They +were extremely hazardous and destined to bring +catastrophe. Even if some of the great reptiles might +have been thoroughly efficient fighting machines, +they lacked the essential advantages of progressive +brains and brain power. In this respect they had +improved but little. That tremendous monster <i>Tyrannosaurus +rex</i>, the most destructive engine ever +created, had a body weighing many tons, with a brain +of less than a pound.</p> + +<p>The prolific Mesozoic reptiles inhabited the land +and infested the waters of the earth, its oceans and +inland seas, its lakes and rivers. They also for the +first time attempted to realize the advantages of +another mode of life. Having adjusted their weird +bodies to the water and to the land, they next took +to the air. Late in the Permian or Triassic times +(150,000,000 years ago) some lizard-like reptiles, +partially biped in habit and distantly related to the +great two-legged dinosaurs, assumed habits of life +adapted in part to the trees. Specialization of their +fore limbs led to wing-like structures for purposes of +volplaning to the ground. Such modified fore limbs +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span>eventually acquired the character of wings, and thus, +according to some authorities, the most ancient of +known birds had their origin in the Age of Reptiles. +Many students of this subject believe that bird life +may have begun at an even earlier period.</p> + +<p>More conservative and also far less conspicuous +was another tendency which developed in this reptilian +age. For a long time it remained most unpretentious. +The spectacular development of huge +animals for land and sea held the centre of the stage. +Mere size, however, is not always sufficient for success +and progress. In any event, a certain number of +relatively small reptiles began to show changes along +entirely different lines. At first it was difficult to discern +the signs of progress in them. Slowly, however, +significant modifications came about in two important +details: First, in the readjustment of the fore +and hind legs, so that acting together they began to +lift the body of the animal clear off the ground. The +second great change was an alteration in the teeth, +which were gradually specialized until they assumed +the characters recognized in those later animals +known as mammals. These two new traits, developed +by relatively inconspicuous reptiles, led in time to +animals that became the actual forerunners of the +mammals. They are known as the pro-mammalian +reptiles (<i>Cynodont</i>, <i>Theriodont</i>).</p> + + +<h3 id="Reptile_Forerunners_of_the_Mammals"> + <i>Reptile Forerunners of the Mammals</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is probable that while these momentous changes +were in process an equally important modification +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span>had begun. This change affected the blood. It caused +the blood cells to become smaller and at the same time +better conveyers of oxygen. These cells also began to +lose their nuclei. As a result, certain animals passed +from a cold-blooded, scaly reptilian condition to that +of the warm-blooded, hair-covered mammal. The +constant warm temperature of the blood in these +mammalian forerunners must have been a decisive +influence favouring the further development of the +brain.</p> + +<p>In many respects the reptilian brain is inferior to +that of the mammals. All of its sense departments are +fairly well represented. The senses of smell and taste +have made slight advances over the amphibian +stage. Body and contact senses have perhaps gained +some slight advantage over the previous period. In +sight and hearing there were some improvements. +Collectively the reptilian mechanisms for managing +impressions obtained through the senses are considerably +better than those of such animals as the +amphibious frog. At least one of the reptiles (<i>Sphenodon</i>) +developed a third eye in the middle of the forehead. +This is not, however, a highly efficient visual +organ. The sense combiner in the reptile also shows +some advantage, although in the main the reptilians +appear to have acquired little more of practical value, +except greater speed and more power, than their predecessors, +the amphibians.</p> + +<p>Even when reptile development took that bent +which led to the appearance of birds, the brain received +but a slight benefit from this adjustment to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span>the air. Selective progress in the bird’s brain is unquestionably +found in that marked expansion involving +the department of sight. Body sense also expanded +to meet the requirements of sensing and balancing +the body in flight. But to offset these advances both +the sense of smell and the sense of taste have undergone +considerable recession. Adaptive progress here, +as in many other instances, emphasized one department +with some apparent loss of advantage in other +parts. Consequently the sense combiner, which ultimately +produces the most effective combinations of +sense impressions, has shown no conspicuous advantage +among the birds.</p> + + +<h3 id="Disappearance_of_the_Great_Reptiles"> + <i>Disappearance of the Great Reptiles</i> +</h3> + +<p>The reptile stage of life, especially in its most imposing +phases, witnessed but little advance in the +progressive development of the brain. During this +period all of the great departments of brain structure, +such as the endbrain, the interbrain, the midbrain, +and the hindbrain, were retained and somewhat expanded. +But that highly important mechanism that +was finally to act as the superbrain, technically +known as the neopallium (new outer coating of the +brain, the cortex), had not yet been acquired. It may +be in part for this reason that, as the Mesozoic period +advanced, catastrophe was rapidly overtaking +many of the great reptilian groups. Of the eighteen +orders of reptiles that once filled the world, all but +five were mysteriously swept into oblivion. Why +they passed is not yet clear. It may have been due to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>great changes in the surface and climate of the earth +at different times. It may have been that the gigantic +size of these reptiles made the struggle for existence +too severe or the food supply too precarious. Whatever +the cause, they all seem to have paid the penalty +of excessive specialization. The five orders which have +survived these destructive catastrophes include the +snakes, the crocodiles, the lizards, the turtles, and the +lizard-like tuateras of New Zealand.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding this wholesale destruction, there +was a priceless heritage handed down from the Age +of Reptiles. This heirloom was the beginning of the +warm-blooded mammal, which slowly developed +from the humble pro-mammalian reptiles. It endowed +the animals that were to rule the next great +period of the earth’s history with power to get about +on four feet, with increased ability to withstand +great changes of climate, with added capacities in +preparing their food for digestion. This last advantage +depended upon a new kind of teeth which the +mammals inherited from their immediate reptilian +ancestors. All of the teeth possessed by primitive +reptiles were fang-like (laniary), used for seizing their +prey or tearing their food. These reptiles had no +grinding teeth, and this condition left the responsibility +of digestion to the stomach and other organs. In +most of the mammals digestion begins in the mouth +with actual mastication. The early pro-mammalian +reptiles (<i>Cynodonts</i>) were equipped with grinding +teeth, and their dental apparatus, as in all mammals, +included incisors, canines, pre-molars, and molars. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>Teeth such as these were important items in the +legacy received by the mammals from their ancestors, +the pro-mammalian reptiles.</p> + + +<h3 id="When_the_Warm-blooded_Mammal_Appeared"> + <i>When the Warm-blooded Mammal Appeared</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the fourth or mammalian stage, life entered upon +the Age of Mammals with all of these new endowments. +Almost at once it began to show signs of +progress. It was in the brain that this progress became +most apparent. A new mechanism long in the +making now came into existence. This new structure +may be rightly called the superbrain (neopallium), +since it soon proved to be the most decisive step +yet taken in the development of the sense combiner +and in the further expansion of all the senses. At +first it did not make its appearance in any preëminent +manner. It came as an outer covering over the ancient +parts of the endbrain. Within it, however, were possibilities +of expansion such as were possessed by no +other part of the brain. Ultimately it added about +twelve billion cells to be used in many different kinds +of brain activity. This addition was especially characterized +by the orderly arrangement of the cells, +layer upon layer, almost as if each successive layer +imparted some new capacity for the management of +life. In its fully developed form this structure constitutes +the cortex of the hemispheres, and with its +fibre connections makes up as much as eighty per +cent. of the entire brain.</p> + +<p>It could hardly be expected, even after the first +arrival of the mammals, that this new brain addition +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>would at once attain its fullest development. In fact, +the first attempts along this line were feeble. A new +and great production of weird mammals was in +process. It might almost seem as if the imposing +shadows of the previous Age of Reptiles still hung +over these early mammalian experiments. Huge, +ungainly proportions were still the fashion. In many +instances the primitive mammals themselves developed +gigantic and awkward bodies. They were +strange, unsightly beasts as we know them now from +their fossilized skeletons and from reconstructions of +them. Were it possible to reassemble them, what a +sensation they would create in our modern world. +Even the best efforts of our foremost showmen would +be ineffective to describe those strange monsters of +most unfamiliar appearance, with their peculiar +armours, their long unsightly horns and tusks, their +strange hoofs and claws. The mammoth, the mastodon, +the amblypod, the titanothere, the creodont, +the sabre-toothed tiger, and many others would be +among them to excite wonder.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Paths_to_Extinction_and_Progress"> + <i>The Paths to Extinction and Progress</i> +</h3> + +<p>But all of these have passed, in part at least, because, +like the dinosaurs, they possessed inferior or +unprogressive brains. Indeed, many of the earliest +mammals had brains that in some particulars resembled +those of the reptiles. They grew in size and +power until they became repulsive brutes, although +their brains improved but little. In many of them +the superbrain developed only in a small way. It +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>was notable not for its size but for the position it occupied +above more ancient structures. In their +struggle for life these huge beasts seemed to be unable +to adjust themselves to changing environment; so +probably when the conditions became too severe, +not having the capacity to adapt themselves, they +failed to survive. Many orders of these animals became +extinct in the early part of the Age of Mammals +(Oligocene and Eocene, thirty million to sixty-five +million years ago). Others, showing more progressive +tendencies, continued to advance, and their descendants +have come down into modern times. One striking +difference between these progressive and unprogressive +mammals was certainly in the brain. Wherever +this organ remained primitive, wherever the +superbrain was only feebly developed, the fate of +extinction seems to have been a foregone conclusion. +Such animals soon reached the end of their line. But +wherever the superbrain expanded, there the signs +of progress were unmistakable. One extremely important +factor in the survival of most of the mammals +alive to-day was the progressive development in the +most recently acquired portion of the brain. Great +practical results were brought about by its expansion +in the administration of brain power. It produced, +so to speak, the final consolidation of all the sense +departments under one roof. Reactions connected +with the sense of smell and of taste, which had so +long depended upon the primitive endbrain, marked +this structure as the most advantageous location +for centralization. Whatever may have been the influences +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span>that established this preference, here the +departments of body and contact senses, of sight and +hearing, were finally organized. The effects of this +consolidation were immediately felt by the endbrain. +It at once became a superbrain in the truest sense. +Rapid expansions in the actual size of the hemispheres +were the first signs of this new development. Then +came the process of convolution and folding to obtain +more brain room, and this for the same reason was +followed by still more complex convoluting. These +advantages especially favoured contact sense, the +expansion of which was largely due to the fact that +the mammal body was now covered with a highly +sensitive skin equipped with hair. Such a skin was a +new sensory device by which finer impressions of +touch might be conveyed to the brain. In this manner +the animal was able to form more complete judgments +concerning objects with which it came in +contact. Little by little, these judgments of touch +became more critical and discriminating. A great +range of understanding of the world through touch +sense was made available. One critical impression of +touch was added to another until complex judgments +in this sense were constructed. Similar expansions +in the powers of vision, hearing, and body sense led +to their localization in this new part of the brain. +Their most effective activity soon required still further +extension, which ultimately, by the development +of the frontal lobe, made provision for the highest +faculties. The mammals have thus shown their +progressive tendency in the acquisition of an efficient +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>sense combiner. Through their better sense capacities +they have been able to understand their surroundings +more thoroughly than lower animals. Consequently +their energy turnover in the brain has resulted in a +better output by means of which they have made +more ample adjustments to life. All of this they have +been able to accomplish because they possessed a +mechanism of incalculable value, the superbrain. +Yet the mammals have not in all cases utilized this +mechanism to its full extent. Its advantages have been +applied in different ways and for different purposes. In +some instances they have been utilized for the special +adjustments of the hoofed animals, or in the hunting +craft of the great meat-eaters, or in that furtiveness +of the moles, which seek their protection by burrowing +in the ground. The advantages of the superbrain were +applied to many other diverse specializations, such +as the adjustments of bats for flying, or of beavers, +seals, whales, and porpoises for living in the water.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Superior_Brain_of_Mammals"> + <i>The Superior Brain of Mammals</i> +</h3> + +<p>The mammalian brain has made possible a wide +range of behaviour and adjustment. This range exceeds +that of the fish, amphibian, reptile, or bird. +Concerning the increased capacity of the mammals +as a class there seems to be no doubt. But this greater +power of adaptability is also true of every mammal. +The differences in this respect between the lower +mammals, like the rat, the opossum, or the sloth, +when compared with the bird, the snake, the frog, or +even the fish, may not be striking. But when we contrast +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>the actions and capabilities of such mammals as +dogs, horses, elephants, or any of the cat family with +those of the bird or snake the vast differences speak +for themselves. A dog, for example, has by comparison +with lower vertebrates a greatly increased capacity +for getting on in life. He is capable of adapting himself +to many complications incident to his associations +with man. He has a much more ample repertoire of +performances. He is capable of learning many intricate +accomplishments. In general, such learning is +also true of most of the higher mammals; it is particularly +true of those having a highly developed superbrain. +Even aquatic mammals like the seals show a +remarkable degree of adaptability. They are among +the most interesting of trained performers. A casual +glance is sufficient to reveal what an excellent superbrain +they possess. Elephants, in spite of their huge +proportions and awkwardness, are capable of remarkable +adjustments. Their brains are also highly +developed.</p> + +<p>Yet, however decisive the mammalian superiority +in brain power may be over the lower vertebrates, +most of the mammals are held down by many handicaps, +restrictions, and limitations. They all possess +a capacity for broad adjustments to strictly limited +conditions. For life in the water, in the air, upon the +plains, underground, or in the forest, they may be +well adapted. But the specializations of their own +bodies hold them to their specifically restricted adjustments. +With trunk and head, with hoof and paw, +with wing and flipper, they may do the things which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>these implements make possible. Here their opportunities +cease. In this way even the progressive mammals +are confronted by serious obstacles. These mammalian +obstacles were difficult to overcome. Some of the +mammals, however, became specialized for a more +varied kind of life. They manifested a strong tendency +to live chiefly in the trees. This fact influenced +their further adjustments profoundly. It opened the +way for new specializations in their limbs. It gave a +new direction to progress, which finally called upon +the brain for its supreme development. These important +tree-living animals are the monkey kind and +the manlike apes. All of the events in adjustment +preceding this great epoch might be likened diagrammatically +to a succession of plateaus. Each plateau, +beginning with that of the fish, then rising to the +level of the amphibians, of the reptiles, and finally of +the mammals, contributed some important elements +to progress. From these at length came the upper +level of the apes, that plateau destined to give rise to +many varieties of primates, and also to afford those +footholds essential to the further upward climb of +man.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III"> + CHAPTER III + <br> + MAN IN THE MAKING + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">HUMAN PROGRESS FROM PREHISTORIC TO + MODERN TIMES</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<h3 id="Arrival_of_Man"><i>Arrival of Man</i></h3> + +<p>Long before man appeared upon the scene the brain +had passed through certain preliminary grades. Its +basic patterns had been perfected. Its most important +mechanisms had been improved. All manner of animals +inhabited the earth in those preparatory days—fishes, +amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals of +many varieties. They were the stepping stones of +progress. When at length the first members of our +family arrived their brains were barely human, and +they themselves were crude human beings. There +was a certain triumph in their advent, however, for at +last there were men. The Age of Man which they +inaugurated was to differ from all preceding ages in +the products of human achievement. This great inaugural +event, however, made no particular stir in +nature. Its beginnings were insignificant and humble, +just as the brain of these earliest men was a far less +imposing organ than that possessed by modern people. +It was still a crude brain, unrefined in many of its +structural details and small in its capacity. Hundreds +of thousands of years were still necessary for such a +brain to attain its highest efficiency.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span></p> + +<p>To most of us who are accustomed to count time +as the hours between breakfast and dinner, or, at the +most, as the proverbial threescore years and ten, +these long periods sound fabulous and fantastic. In +contemplating the past our vision usually stops short +at the beginning of history, about five or six thousand +years ago. Such a focus is unfortunately nearsighted. +It leaves us insensitive to the much longer prehistoric +period. Through all this unrecorded time man +struggled upward to achieve those successes which +at length established the Age of the Frontal Lobe.</p> + +<p>Much evidence of this great prehistoric period is now +available. Examined carefully and without prejudice +it reveals what man must have been when his human +journey first started. It tells us much of how he lived +and acted; also by what means he succeeded in lifting +himself up step by step from his lowly beginnings.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Duration_of_Human_Existence"> + <i>The Duration of Human Existence</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is natural that our first inquiry should be concerning +the length of time during which the human +race has inhabited the earth. The exact figures, as +might be expected, are a matter of much dispute +and difference of opinion. All authorities, however, +agree that the several stages of human progress must +have required a remarkably long period. None of +the modern estimations of this period is less than +five hundred thousand years. Many calculations, +such as those of Sir Arthur Keith, far exceed this +figure and place the origin of man as far back as a +million years or more. The beginnings of the human +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span>species are usually attributed to the early part of +the Pleistocene, or the late part of the Pliocene. +Keith, however, believes this does not permit of +sufficient time for that development which produced +all of the effects evidenced in the known features +of modern man, as well as those of certain extinct +varieties that have long since passed from the human +stage. Concluding his famous work, the <i>Antiquity +of Man</i>, Keith expresses the opinion that “There is +not a single fact known to me which makes the existence +of the human form in the Miocene period an +impossibility.” This view would set the origin of man +back to an astonishingly remote period in the neighbourhood +of twelve or fifteen million years ago.</p> + +<p>Professor Osborn has recently revised his original +estimations concerning the beginning of the human +race. He now attributes the rise of man to a time one +and a half million years ago.</p> + +<p>In all his races, both living and extinct, man constitutes +the sixth family in the primate suborder, +<i>Anthropoidea</i> (manlike). This family is known as the +<i>Hominidæ</i> (men of all types). The progenitors of the +human family split off from a common primate stock +at some time early in the Oligocene. At this critical +juncture, probably twenty-five million years ago, two +great branches of the suborder parted company. +Thenceforth they developed independently of each +other. The first branch from this common stem gave +rise to human races. From the second branch arose +the great modern anthropoid apes, including the +orang-outang, the chimpanzee, and the gorilla. The +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>vast difference that exists between man and all other +living creatures is evident in the complexity of human +affairs. In size and form of body there are many notable +resemblances between man and the apes, particularly +the great apes. But here the similarity ends +abruptly. Man has created a new world, which he +strives to control both by laws of his own making +and by subjugating more or less completely all other +creatures to his will. His races to-day throughout the +world are collectively known as the species <i>Homo +sapiens</i> (man of wisdom). This species comprises the +African, the Australian, the Mongolian, and the +European varieties of mankind.</p> + + +<h3 id="Four_Extinct_Races_of_Men"> + <i>Four Extinct Races of Men</i> +</h3> + +<p>Study of human fossils and ancient implements has +revealed the former existence of at least four prehistoric +races of man. These races took their parts in the +human drama and then, in consequence of factors not +altogether clear, became extinct. It is not surprising +that man’s obscure prehistoric beginnings are all but +lost in the great geological ages which lie behind his +recorded history. There can be small wonder that +such insignificant traces of his remains have yet been +brought to light. The search for these remains has +been in progress for little more than a century. +Doubtless when this exploration becomes more extensive, +also when more people are engaged in its +organization, a considerable collection of relics revealing +man’s primitive stages will be discovered. +Nothing more than a meagre record could be expected +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>because so little effort was originally made to +preserve the remains of the earliest prehistoric men. +In those long-distant days the bodies of the dead +were either disposed of by burning, or merely cast +out to be devoured by beasts and birds of prey.</p> + +<p>The principal criteria for estimating the antiquity +of human remains are four in number. First, the age +in geological time of the strata within which the remains +are found. Second, the fossil remains of the +animals associated with the fossil remains of man, +whether these be of still living forms, or entirely extinct +species. Third, the human artifacts, that is, implements, +ornaments, and other objects produced by +human hands, found with the remains. Fourth, the +structural characteristics as to skull and other parts +of the skeleton, which distinguish these fossil men +from living races.</p> + +<p>Quite as important as the fossilized bodily remains +of prehistoric man are those ancient works of human +hands that have been slowly collected as a result of +untiring search and scientific industry. It is now possible +to classify this great body of evidence. Besides +revealing the actual presence on earth of prehistoric +man, this classification clearly demonstrates the occurrence +of certain cultural stages prior to the historic +period. The extinct races of men already brought +to light appear to vary considerably from the modern +man; so much so, in fact, that a question has been +raised concerning the wisdom of creating for each of +them a new genus within the human family. One +reason for this distinction is that no one of the extinct +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>races may properly be called the ancestor of living +man. Some arrangement in the chronological order of +man’s appearance on earth is desirable. The exact +period of each extinct race cannot be given. But +within certain broad limits we are able to assign each +prehistoric man to his proper time and place.</p> + + +<h3 id="Javan_Ape_Man"> + <i>Javan Ape Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>Probably the oldest, most primitive of extinct +races is the ape man of Java (<i>Pithecanthropus erectus</i>). +This ape man belonged to what is called the Trinil +race, which, according to Keith, originated more +than one million years ago. The ape man, although +definitely human in type, had many simian qualities. +He was also so similar to man as to justify the view +that he represents some transitional stage in human +evolution. He possessed a head and a face not unlike +those of an ape, but his brain was nearly twice the +size of the brain of any simian including the largest +of the great apes, the gorilla. It was this transcendent +advantage that lifted him above all of the anthropoids +and assured him an unassailable place as a +member of the human family.</p> + +<p>The fossil remains of the ape man were discovered +in 1891 by a Dutch army surgeon. Dr. Eugen Du +Bois made the discovery on the Bengawan River in +central Java where he had been excavating in the +hope of finding pre-human fossils. He actually did +find a number of mammalian bones, including a single +upper molar tooth, which he regarded as those of a +new species of ape. On carefully clearing away the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span>rock and gravel at this site on the bank of the river, +the top of a skull came to view about a yard from the +spot where the tooth had been found. Further excavation +brought to light a second molar tooth and a left +thigh bone. Both of these were about fifteen yards +from the place where the skull had been discovered. +These scattered parts were carefully studied by Du +Bois, who, in 1894, published a description of a new +animal—<i>Pithecanthropus erectus</i> (<i>Pithecus</i>, ape; <i>Anthropus</i>, +man). The entire term was meant to signify +an upright standing ape man. The word “<i>erectus</i>” +refers to the thigh bone concerning which Du Bois +observes:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>We must therefore conclude that the femur [thigh bone] +of <i>pithecanthropus</i> was designed for the same mechanical functions +as that of man; the two articulations [upper and lower joint +surfaces] and the mechanical axis correspond so exactly to the +same parts in man that the law of perfect harmony between +form and function of a bone will necessitate the conclusion that +this fossil creature had the same upright posture as man, and +likewise walked on two legs.... From this it necessarily follows +that the creature had the free use of the upper extremities—now +superfluous for walking—and that these last [the arms and +hands] were no doubt already far advanced in the line of differentiation, +which developed them in mankind into tools and +organs of touch.... From a study of the femur and the skull, +it follows with certainty that this fossil cannot be classified as a +simian ... and as with the skull so with the femur the differences +that separate <i>pithecanthropus</i> from man are less than those distinguishing +it from the highest anthropoid [great ape].... +Although far advanced in the course of differentiation this +Pleistocene [Age of Man] form had not yet attained to the human +type. <i>Pithecanthropus erectus</i> is the transition form between +man and the anthropoids which the laws of evolution teach +us must have existed; he is the ancestor of man.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span></p> + +<p>More extended study of the brain of this ancient +fossil creature shows that he was in reality human. +This man did, however, retain so much that was ape-like +in his make-up that it is difficult to agree with +Du Bois in his view that <i>pithecanthropus</i> was a direct +human ancestor. He was, of course, able to walk +upon both feet much like his modern successors. +It also seems probable that in stature this primitive +man was not greatly inferior to the human races of the +present. It is likely that he employed his hands in the +use of weapons and certain crude implements. It +also seems probable that he depended upon very +primitive means for protecting himself against the +numerous enemies that beset his path and lay in wait +about his camping places. His time doubtless was +fully taken up by the arduous task of gaining sustenance +for himself. So busy was he in these obligatory +pursuits that he had little opportunity for developing +industries or cultural activities. This human creature +with his ape-like appearance was closely related to +many beast-like contemporaries in the animal kingdom. +He managed to hold his position among them +only by a narrow margin of superiority. His ascendancy +was derived from a dawning ingenuity, which +enabled him to equalize the struggle by the cunning +of his hand. He took advantage of primitive shrewdness +and contrivance to outwit his natural antagonists +that far excelled him in power and speed.</p> + +<p>However manlike <i>pithecanthropus</i> may have been +in respect to the posture of his body and the general +character of his locomotion, it is certain that he was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span>much below any of the known races of man in his +brain power. His face and head each bore a closer +resemblance to the ape than to man. His brain indicates +that he had probably acquired some mode of +speech, primitive no doubt, yet sufficient for the +purposes of simple human communication. It is likewise +probable that he lived in tribes and, being gregarious, +had learned some of the advantages accruing +from community life. He may have had some crude +notion at least of the division of labour and its compensations +in sharing the results.</p> + + +<h3 id="Dawn_Man_of_England"> + <i>Dawn Man of England</i> +</h3> + +<p>From certain flints, which seem to have many +features indicating their use as instruments, Professor +Osborn believes that there were primitive men living +in England at a time earlier even than that assigned +to the ape man of Java. These prehistoric people are +called “Subcrag Dawn men.” It is his opinion that +they made use of certain flint instruments called +“rostro-carinates.” Dr. Osborn, believing that these +primitive people are close to the beginning of the +human race, places their origin in the Pliocene, +1,300,000 years ago. In consequence of the discovery +of certain somewhat different flint instruments, he is of +the opinion also that the Subcrag men were followed +at a little later period by the Foxhall Dawn men +(antiquity about 1,200,000 years). Disputes about +these early prehistoric Englishmen arise from the +fact that no actual human remains of them have +yet been found. This, fortunately, is not the case +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span>with the now famous English Dawn man of Piltdown, +attributed by Professor Osborn and other authorities +to the last part of the Pliocene (a little over a million +years ago). Piltdown is a town in the weald of Sussex +not many miles from the English Channel, between +two branches of the Ouse River. To the east of it is +the plateau of Kent upon which have been found +many flints of earliest prehistoric times. It was at +Piltdown that the most famous of English Dawn men +was discovered by Mr. Charles Dawson. The fossilized +remnants consisted of a number of fragments of this +extinct man’s skull. Because of the fragmentary condition +of this fossil, it was necessary to give each piece +its proper relation to the head in order to reconstruct +the skull. A reconstruction of the Piltdown skull was +first presented to the Geological Society of London, +in December, 1912, by Sir A. Smith-Woodward of +the British Museum, and its discoverer, Mr. Charles +Dawson. The announcement of this remarkable discovery +deeply stirred the interest of scientific circles. +An unknown phase of the early human existence was +about to be revealed. The reconstructed skull as pieced +together impressed all who saw it as a strange blend +of ape and man. It seemed that the missing link for +which the early followers of Darwin had ardently +searched was at length forthcoming. But whether this +was the long sought-for missing link or not, the +Piltdown strata in Sussex told of a race of human +beings who inhabited England long before history +had made its feeblest beginnings. Dr. Smith-Woodward +believed that the Piltdown fossil dated back to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span>the early part of the Pleistocene period, but Sir +Arthur Keith and Professor Osborn now advocate +an antiquity far more remote going back to some +portion of the Pliocene. Although it is impossible to +be more exact in these estimations of prehistoric +time, it is clear that a very primitive race of men +lived in England long before Cæsar’s invasions; in +fact, ages before the ancient Britons claimed the +land that was to produce many of the most brilliant +lights of history. By some the Piltdown man is regarded +as the direct ancestor of modern races; by +others he is held to be an independent branch of the +human family of quite unknown affiliations.</p> + + +<h3 id="Neanderthal_Man"> + <i>Neanderthal Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>Some time early in the Pleistocene, variously estimated +from 800,000 to 900,000 years ago, another +race of man made its appearance in Europe. This was +the Heidelberg race (<i>Homo Heidelbergensis</i>). These +people manifested many traits distinctly more human +than the ape man. It is believed from the implements +found in the neighbourhood of his fossil remains +that the Heidelberg man made use of crude implements +both of wood and stone. This man, although he +became extinct before human progress had made +great advances, appears to have been the ancestor +of the Neanderthal race (<i>Homo Neanderthalensis</i>). +This latter is the third race of prehistoric men recognized +up to the present time. Much more than all +others who had gone before him, Neanderthal man +has left traces of himself. Many of these relics are +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span>the stone implements that he employed. From these +implements it is evident that the organization of his +life had made long strides in the direction of his more +modern successors. His advances in industry and in +cultural development laid the foundation for all the +stages that progressively evolved as the human race +rose through the Old Stone Age. Yet the fate of +Neanderthal man was not unlike that of other prehistoric +men. In time he also became extinct. His +disappearance occurred about fifty thousand years +ago, when a fourth and even greater race of primitive +men came into Europe. These were the Cromagnons. +After they had completely replaced the Neanderthals +they flourished for a long time, in the end to be replaced +by the races of Neolithic men which continued +dominant up to the time when man gained mastery +over the metals.</p> + +<p>It seems clear, then, that the earliest human beings +began as simple, nomadic hunters. After the +passage of great intervals of time and an actual succession +of races, men acquired the crude essentials +of manufacture and then gradually, as in the Cromagnon +period, developed the dexterity and æsthetic +sense of the artist. Finally, in the New Stone Age, +they learned the practices of agriculture.</p> + +<p>The past of prehistoric man has been subdivided +into periods characterized by the presence of implements +employed in his several activities. In general, +these periods bear the name of French stations or +towns near which the discoveries of the implements +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>have been made. French archæologists have so successfully +devoted themselves to the efforts of classifying +the flint implements that they have established +a chronological order in the development of human +progress during the long periods of man’s prehistoric +existence.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Old_Stone_Age"> + <i>The Old Stone Age</i> +</h3> + +<p>Man’s first great epoch on earth was the Old Stone +Age (Paleolithic, 900,000 years ago). In this era, +which began at some time in the first interglacial +period, the only implements were devised from flint +or stones of other kind, from wood, carved ivory, and +bone. The Old Stone Age was followed by the Neolithic +(New Stone Age), which began in postglacial +times and rapidly led up to the thresholds of history, +through the Bronze and Iron ages.</p> + +<p>Long before the Old Stone Age it is probable that +man was at work in the slow development of industries +that later were to assume great importance. +Hunting was the great incentive out of which all of +his early industries were evolved. Little is known of +his cultural development, although it seems fairly +clear that the Subcrag Dawn men used certain implements +called rostro-carinates, while the Dawn +men of Foxhall and Piltdown employed very primitive +implements known as eoliths. These were so +crude in appearance that they are looked upon by +many as merely accidental forms. With such simple +and limited instruments, man’s struggle for existence +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>in these earliest days must have been most severe. +Even at the time when the Old Stone Age began, +the primitive flint implements manifested considerable +development. For example, in the Pre-Chellean +cultural stage (beginning 700,000 years ago), the +chase is represented almost exclusively by a simple +flint knife. This knife, although extremely crude, in +conjunction with other equally crude combinations +of stone and stick, gave man a slight balance of power +over other animals inhabiting the field and forest as +his competitors. His simple equipment furnished +the means to gain his daily food, and to establish that +footing by which he rose step by step.</p> + +<p>War in this period was not among man’s highly +organized pastimes. He appears to have had no implements +for warlike pursuits. He had, however, invented +certain instruments for industrial and domestic +purposes, such as a flint scraper, a planing tool, +a drill, and a stone hammer. Nothing among his +primitive equipments appears to have answered the +purposes of art or artistic production.</p> + +<p>In this early Pre-Chellean period, man was a vagrant +hunter. He lived without the protection of +habitation and was thus exposed to the devastations +of the great meat-eating animals that followed his +wanderings. He had not acquired sufficient constructive +ingenuity to protect himself against these dreaded +marauders. They stalked him in his marches by day +and lay in wait on the outer edges of his camps to +find him an easy prey when he slept at night. The +less fortunate members of his tribes were within easy +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>reach of these night prowlers that waited only for +darkness to help them in the capture of their human +quarry. Man’s slow imagination required ages to +show him that he held in his own hands the power to +subjugate the beasts of prey. For a long time he +struggled on this low level of intelligence. He lived a +hand-to-mouth existence, passing his days like other +animals, getting his food supply as he dared, and protecting +himself as best he could. Doubtless some +critical occurrence like the discovery of fire and its +uses may have furnished a new incentive for his advance. +Some great change in climate with increasing +cold may have stimulated him to more vigorous +exertion, may have forced him to become a more persistent +hunter of animals, both for their meat and the +warmth to be had from their protecting skins. Long +winter seasons when game was scarce may also have +taught the wisdom of storing his supply of provisions +and thus aroused in his imagination some conception +of the advantages in thought for the future. Living +along with him was an imposing host of other mammals. +Among them were the lion, the wolf, the cave +bear, the deer, and the wild boar. Over the plains +roamed the Etruscan rhinoceros, the Mosbach horse, +and the ancient elephant. Following this game he +wandered from station to station, always living near +the course of the great rivers, but showing little +tendency to establish a permanent abode. A restless +migrant, he was moved by the dictates of the seasons +almost as instinctively as the migratory birds and +beasts. He had not learned the secrets which later +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>enabled him to stand against the severe vicissitudes +of climate. The idea which gave him that self-assurance +to stake out his own claim, to assert his right +to his own angle of earth, was still in embryonic +state.</p> + + +<h3 id="Neanderthal_Progress"> + <i>Neanderthal Progress</i> +</h3> + +<p>The foundations of that possessive sense destined +to become the chief characteristic of the human race +and at length the ruling passion of humanity had as +yet been laid down only in their simplest form. It was +Neanderthal man who introduced the first real advances +over this primitive level of life. In the Chellean +cultural period (500,000 years ago), even more in +the Acheulean period (400,000 years ago), his race +developed rapidly. His progress is shown by a great +increase and considerable refinement in all of the small +implements which he employed.</p> + +<p>He now developed a chisel or adze-like tool for +shaping his wooden implements. He made flint points +to form darts and spear heads to aid him in the chase. +But for all these advances, it was not until Neanderthal +man passed into his wonderful Mousterian stage +of culture, about 300,000 years ago, that the human +race took a most decisive step forward. This step was +in every sense critical and epoch-making. It may also +be looked upon as a highly profitable step. The effects +of it have made themselves felt with increasing force +upon all the subsequent development of the human +race. It was a new departure that, taken so long ago, +actually led the Neanderthal man to the threshold of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span>an idea in many ways quite original. Ultimately the +expansion of this idea was to become one of the keystones +of all social organization. It may indeed be regarded +as the fundamental principle in the upbuilding +of human society. This notable step forward gave +the Mousterian man the first real conception of +property holding. It implanted in his mind that germ +out of which grew the rights of possession. This was +an idea which was handed down by him as an heirloom +to all the remainder of his race, and to all other +races of mankind. The conception of property holding +developed from the fact that the Neanderthal man +in Mousterian times became a cave dweller. He sought +shelter from the elements in these rude dwellings +fashioned by nature. Why he had not availed himself +of these shelters long before is not difficult to understand. +The caves which he might have found to his +liking were already inhabited by dangerous tenants, +such as the cave lion, the leopard, the hyena, the +wolf, the great cave bear, and perhaps even the dread +Machærodus or sabre-toothed tiger. All of these were +his natural enemies. For the most part they had been +successful enemies. Man had scarcely dared to dispute +the right of way with them, far less the right of possession. +Through all his long periods of upward progress, +he had not yet learned the means by which he +could contend with these beasts of prey on anything +like an equal footing. They took from him at will and +his retaliation at best was feeble. They, rather than +he, were the real masters of the situation. This state +of affairs was bound to continue until some critical +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>discovery revealed a new instrument whose deadliness +placed in human hands a supremacy over these +creatures. Some strategy, some modification of the +old flint instruments, perhaps some new combination +of them with fire, at length gave Neanderthal man +the needed advantage and then he drove the hostile +beasts out of the caves. In time he established there +his own dwelling places, and there proclaimed his inalienable +right of possession. Such a hazardous undertaking +undoubtedly required a hardy courage and an +unwavering persistency. Yet a hard-fought contest +of this kind could not fail to have a marked influence +on the final outcome. Once man had gained the right +of ownership, all of the struggles incident to it served +to emphasize his final sense of possession. This triumph +did much to stimulate human desire for gain. +It seems fairly clear that from it arose the incentives +of conquest. Since Mousterian times man has expended +much of his energy in exploiting this new advantage. +He has made laws to justify and regulate it. +The rights of possession have had a dominating influence +over all of his economic and political organizations. +Most of his moral code has been built up +around these rights. States and empires have been +founded upon them, while the governing principle +in the life of the individual has been the right to have +and to hold. In a word, this newly expanded sense of +possession started by Neanderthal man has become +an essential element in all the achievements of mankind. +It has no less been the cause of much woe and +maladjustment in the race.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Mousterian_Success_and_Character"> + <i>Mousterian Success and Character</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is difficult to estimate the importance of this +contribution to the development of human progress. +We may at least give Mousterian man due credit for +establishing this new assertiveness. He likewise deserves +recognition because this achievement was an +outstanding milestone on the road toward higher +humanity. For this reason it is worthy of a special +commemorative date. As chronicled by Professor +Osborn, this memorable occurrence, the beginning of +cave dwelling, took place about 300,000 years ago. +In more senses than one it was a red-letter day for +humanity. It was especially a red-letter day because +of the recurring bloodshed of innumerable wars destined +to arise out of the lust and greed inspired by +this expanded sense of possession. This, however, is +the most unfavourable aspect of the Mousterian’s new +idea. He himself should not be made to appear too +black on this score. He was actually a considerable +personage and introduced many other new ways of +looking at life that have been highly advantageous to +us all.</p> + +<p>Living in dark caves as he did, especially in the +long bleak winters, as the glacial periods crept down +upon him, he must have found much of mystery in +those dim recesses to stimulate his imagination. It is +probable that he became a believer in occult forces +of nature, and perhaps even developed a system of +magic. These suppositions become more probable from +the fact that he, for the first time in human experience, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span>established the custom of burying the dead. +The men who lived before him belonged to what may +be called the pre-burial period. This fact unquestionably +accounts in part for the scanty human remains +before Mousterian times. The Neanderthal Mousterian +not only buried his dead but he developed an +elaborate burial ceremony. The general nature of this +ceremony is shown by the position of the body and +of the limbs as they were found folded and flexed in +the fossilized remains of these men of the Old Stone +Age. With certain primitive people this is still the +custom. Even in the case of some of the ancient Egyptian +kings many personal belongings were buried with +the dead. Favourite weapons of the chase, useful +implements of one kind or another, ornaments and +other trinkets presumably dear to the departed ones, +have been found with the skeletons in these Neanderthal +sepulchres. Special attention was given to +prevent pressure upon or crushing of the head by +means of placing large flat stones upon either side of +it. There are some indications that even as far back +as the Old Stone Age man, as part of his burial +service, deposited certain articles of food beside the +body of the departed. All of these facts clearly reveal +that as long ago as 300,000 years man had acquired +his first religious ideas. There is every suggestion +about these burial ceremonies that the Mousterian +cave man believed in another life after death. He +appears to have had a strong conviction that the +body was but a temporary container of some intangible +spirit that in its time passed on into another +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>world. It seems probable that he also believed in the +return of the departed spirit to its earthly habitations, +else why did he place food in the sepulchres? In his +crude way of thinking he seems to have had certain +well-fixed ideas of the pursuits and occupations in the +life hereafter. For this reason he left a useful collection +of weapons and other implements close at hand, ready +for the spirit that had left the body. The Mousterian +idea of immortality may have been simple, but there +is no doubt that it existed. Whether there was a belief +in God or not is difficult to discern. It is probable, +however, that the Mousterian, like all other primitive +people, did have some conception of a supreme being, +and that he had thus laid the foundations of religion.</p> + +<p>It is for these reasons that the cave-dwelling Mousterian +man especially deserves our attention. The +features of his face and the character of his body as +reconstructed by scientists make him appear to be a +particularly formidable human being. Everything +about him indicates that he was powerful and aggressive. +In a word, he was a splendid fighting machine +with heavy, protruding lower jaw, low beetling brow, +thick and short neck, long and heavy-muscled arms, +short, powerful legs slightly bent at the knees. He was +a fierce and dangerous antagonist; one, from all we +know of his history, as courageous as he was powerful. +It is probable that in consequence of his cave dwelling +he had begun to live in fairly large organized communities. +Such life as this had many influences upon +his social activities. It developed his use of language. +It stimulated his interest in industries other than +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>those of the chase. It caused expansion in his imagination, +leading to the establishment of racial tradition. +It produced the spirit of individual competition as +well as the pursuits of tribal rivalry. War up to this +time seems to have been limited very largely to individual +encounters. Now for the first time differences +of opinion and controversies between one community +and another were most likely settled by group combat. +Here, therefore, were laid the foundations of war +that was to prove one of the most irresistible and +costly of all human indulgences. The self-assertiveness, +which must have resulted from the cave man’s +realization that he had finally gained the upper hand +in many details over the natural world, caused him to +change his attitude. Instead of being a fugitive, he +now became a conqueror. It was this positive self-feeling +that gave rise to most of his more expansive +ideas. The multiplication of these ideas easily led him +on into the realm of fancy and brought him many +illusory interpretations concerning the workings of +nature.</p> + +<p>During the Mousterian period Neanderthal man +did not make many material changes in the implements +used before his time. In some instances there +was a distinct improvement of the old ideas; in others +there was a distinct decline or even suppression of +some of the most effective instruments. The cave +man’s aims, however, were considerably modified by +his new mode of life. His sheltered existence lessened +his physical powers to resist disease. The making +of clothing from the skins of animals also grew out of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span>this more sheltered type of life. In the end it produced +a people less accustomed to the elements than +those earlier and hardier races that had lived in the +open. The effects of this need for clothing made themselves +felt not only in the industry of producing +garments but quite as much in the production of implements +necessary for such work. Cave dwelling +permitted disease and imperfect hygiene to go their +full length in producing inroads upon this great Mousterian +race. The ravages of infection and contagion +had better opportunity to exert their baneful influences. +These and other insidious factors were secretly +at work. In course of time the Mousterian culture +began to show signs of a steady deterioration. For +some mysterious reason these men of the Old Stone +Age slowly began to lose ground. The prominence +held by the Neanderthal race during lower Palæolithic +times was distinctly on the wane as this period +approached its end.</p> + + +<h3 id="Cromagnon_Ascendancy"> + <i>Cromagnon Ascendancy</i> +</h3> + +<p>Finally a profound change came over the inhabitants +of western Europe. For some as yet unknown +reason the Neanderthal race entirely disappeared +from the earth. Its place, however, was taken by +another and a greater people, the Cromagnons. Without +question this was a replacement of a lower race +by one of much higher development. The Neanderthal +was on a distinctly lower plane than any now +existing human type. The Cromagnon ranks high +among the races of mankind in intellectual attainment +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span>and in known capacities for production. He +belongs to the species <i>Homo sapiens</i>, that same species +of man which has made modern history. He held +sway during the last part of the Old Stone Age, appearing +in Europe about fifty thousand years ago. +Like those races which had gone before him, he passed +through many interesting phases of culture and +growth. All of these were characterized by the development +of stone implements, thus making him still a +man of the Old Stone Age. He added many new attainments +as a result of new human capacities. He +stands out particularly as the first artist of mankind, +and sets a mark as one of the most splendid examples +of humanity both for his superb physical appearance +and for his remarkable mental qualities. But he, too, +like all others who preceded him, was destined to decline +and then to disappear.</p> + +<p>The Cromagnon is interesting to us because he was +the probable conqueror of the great Neanderthal race. +What secret power he had to achieve this conquest, +to subdue and destroy these fierce cave dwellers, is +still unknown. It may have been that he brought with +him some new implements for warfare, such as the +bow and arrow, and that he had many other advantages +of this kind. In any event, he showed no +quarter to the Neanderthals, whom he seems to have +destroyed completely. He did not even follow the +custom of many conquerors, of intermarrying with +the women of the conquered race. No generally admitted +sign of Neanderthal features or characters +persists among the race of men after the last Mousterian +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span>days. Beyond question it was the increased +brain power of the Cromagnons which gave them +their real advantages. This opinion is based on the +appearance of the large brain case of this race and the +development of the almost modern forehead and forebrain. +In the main, our admiration for the ancient +Cromagnon people depends upon something entirely +different from their powers of conquest. They may +have been great as warriors, but they were far greater +as artists. This is the aspect of their lives that interests +and influences us most.</p> + +<p>The Cromagnons were a race that developed somewhere +in Asia and migrated westward into Europe. +They came in contact with the Neanderthals and +probably destroyed them. They had no ancestral +connections of any kind with this other race. They +possessed a brain capable of more complex ideas, +greater comprehension, more reasoning powers, a +wider, more facile imagination. Still more they were +endowed with a highly artistic sense and were capable +of advanced education. Their society was differentiated +along the line of capacity and talent for work. +Their artistic productions as shown in the mural +decorations of their caves were so excellent as to +place them among the truly great achievements of +mankind. In the pursuits of industry and domestic +life, the Cromagnons added little in the way of innovation. +They adapted and perfected what the +Mousterians had previously used. They did introduce, +however, what no other people had ever employed; +namely, tools and implements for sculpture +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>and engraving. These tools in the main were small +and delicate instruments made of flint. Among these +was a fine drill, an engraver, an etcher, a carving +chisel, a mortar, a hammer stone, and a polisher.</p> + + +<h3 id="Cromagnon_Cultural_Periods"> + <i>Cromagnon Cultural Periods</i> +</h3> + +<p>The Cromagnon, like the Neanderthal, passed +through certain cultural phases. Each of these periods +lasted many thousands of years and each of them +was much longer than the Christian Era. The first +of these cultural steps was the Aurignacian period, in +which the great awakening of artistic enthusiasm +occurred. The peak of artistic devotion, however, +came in the Solutrean period, which was the acme of +achievement in the flint industry. Decline set in +during the next, the Magdalenian period, which +brought the closing stage of Cromagnon culture. And +then in the Azilian period the last survivors of the +greatest race in the Old Stone Age, grown old in their +industries and feeble in their art, saw the setting of the +Cromagnon sun and the passing of their kind into the +darkness. Many changes came about in Cromagnon +industries, due to the influences of trade invasions +and new inventions, but in their art these people +showed one continuous and sustained development.</p> + +<p>The impressive feature about Cromagnon art, +especially in the Aurignacian period, is the absence +of that period of infantilism and crudity almost always +observed in the artistic development of primitive +races. The Cromagnon first reveals his artistic +effort in a state of sturdy youth. His art passed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span>directly into a relatively mature stage. Its treasures +preserved in the art galleries of the ancient caves, +comprising remarkable drawings, sculptures, and +paintings, fully warrant the title of “Palæolithic +Greeks” conferred upon the Cromagnon. Indeed, they +resemble the Greek and Egyptian artists in many +ways. Like them, the Cromagnon resorted to painting +his reliefs whether they were of the bison, the horse, +the deer, or the great mammoths. The relative simplicity +of his technical skill depended upon the employment +of fewest possible lines and boldest of +strokes. To his accuracy of reproduction and his simplicity +of style he imparted a third great quality. +This added artistic element, which has made his art +live in a class well up to the standards of later periods, +was a feeling of motion, particularly of locomotion. +With this he vividly endowed the animals carved +upon the walls of his cavern, upon bone or ivory.</p> + + +<h3 id="Motives_of_Cromagnon_Art"> + <i>Motives of Cromagnon Art</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is clear that the Cromagnons were cave dwellers +like the Neanderthals, but they also depended largely +upon the chase for their living. Why, then, did they +in the dark recesses of their caverns resort to these +remarkable artistic activities? These efforts could +scarcely be meaningless diversions. They must have +been more than pastimes, for hours not devoted to the +hunt or combat. Such arduous pursuits as these +surely had some serious and pertinent object in their +lives. Many explanations have been offered for the +remarkable outburst of artistic enthusiasm in Cromagnon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>times. The one most generally accepted is +that the art of these people was a part of their hunting +magic. In the history of primitive races it has repeatedly +occurred that drawing and design have a special +significance in the actual maintenance of life. For example, +the Australians draw pictures of animals they +use for food. Sitting on the ground about these pictures, +they perform certain ceremonies which they +believe will insure a plentiful supply of the food they +need. The American Indians are in the habit of carving +images of animals. They also draw the signs +representing rain. In the presence of these emblems +they make incantations and believe that by this +means they will secure abundant harvest and complete +success in their hunting expeditions. Images +and pictures act as a sort of magic talisman by means +of which to exercise an influence over those animals +which serve for food.</p> + +<p>But we do not need to go back into the pre-history +of the Old Stone Age, or to the superstitions of people +still in a primitive stage. Not so long ago the picture +of a man was supposed to represent his spirit, and the +possessor of such a picture could exert a magic power +over his person. Only a few centuries ago learned +judges condemned to death men and women on the +evidence that they possessed images or pictures of +people they were accused of bewitching. Until quite +recently there were certain sorcerers and magicians +in Sicily who for a price would destroy a hated enemy +by the simple executionary method of sticking pins +into a wax image of this undesirable person.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span></p> + +<p>It seems to require no further explanation to understand +the pictorial efforts of the Australian natives +and American Indians. Like them, the Cromagnons +drew for the most part the animals which they employed +for food. This may not in all respects be a satisfactory +answer to the question: Why did man of the +Old Stone Age resort to art? It is, however, a good +working theory. It shows a real motive for his efforts +in this direction. To his mind, all of his works of art +assured him some peculiar magical control over the +animal life that was necessary for his living and well-being.</p> + + +<h3 id="Men_of_the_New_Stone_Age"> + <i>Men of the New Stone Age</i> +</h3> + +<p>The fate of the Cromagnon race was no exception +to what had gone before or what would follow many +times thereafter. Race after race, nation after nation, +rose and became master, declined and passed into +final extinction. As the day of Cromagnon ascendancy +waned a new race invaded western Europe. The Old +Stone Age came to its end approximately ten thousand +years ago with the advent of the more vigorous +Neolithic (New Stone Age) man. He developed a +great innovation in manufacturing his implements, +making his instruments better and more useful by +polishing the stone. Neolithic man was far more practical +and thoroughly utilitarian than his predecessors +in the Old Stone Age. He introduced many +economic advantages and substituted the benefits +of applied science for the delusions of magic and sorcery. +The man of the New Stone Age, unlike his +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>Cromagnon predecessor, did not alone pray for his +crops. He tilled the soil and planted seed. Perhaps he +believed in a magic ritual for his hunting expeditions, +but to make his food supply as secure as possible, he +domesticated many animals that he liked to eat. +He was unwilling to depend solely upon hunting +magic and art sorcery. He had discovered the true +magic of agriculture and sought to control nature by +the toil of his hands rather than by mysterious incantations +and pictorial art. As a farmer and a cattle +raiser he required a permanent home, and in consequence +the New Stone Age gave a fresh impulse to +the upbuilding of man’s possessive sense. Neolithic +man became a land holder, and this advance was a +long, provocative step in the direction of modern +humanity. Because of it man had to learn new ways +and means of defending his claim and of asserting his +right. Very quickly this new assertiveness led to the +more sanguinary ages of Bronze and Iron with their +effective equipments for offense and defense. Its +influences finally reached historical times. Ultimately +these more aggressive tendencies created all of the +armed camps that we are pleased to call civilization, +ancient, mediæval, and modern.</p> + +<p>At the close of the New Stone Age all of the direct +ancestors of modern European races were established +in Europe. During the Bronze Age man rapidly +learned those new capacities which enabled him to +make a permanent record of himself, and thus he +entered upon his real historic period. Some authorities +set the beginning of this period only so far back as +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>the beginning of the Egyptian calendar. In round +numbers this is five or six thousand years ago.</p> + +<p>The dawn of history was followed by a procession +of great events which began in the early Egyptian +dynasties. The development of Pharaonic art and +culture, the regal splendours of Babylonia and Chaldea, +the incomparable achievements of Greece and +Rome, followed in rapid succession. Each of these +civilizations in its turn contributed to the development +of the race. Then came the long eclipse of the +Dark Ages in mediæval times, and at length the +brilliant light of the Renaissance, the illuminating +influences of which have been carried forward in that +steady progress of material accomplishments characteristic +of modern times.</p> + +<p>A brief review of man’s progress in his prehistoric +existence shows the following races in his advancement, +known by fossil remains:</p> + +<blockquote> +<ol> +<li>Ape man of Java (<i>Pithecanthropus erectus</i>). Professor Osborn +prefers to consider him the Dawn man of Trinil. +Probable antiquity about one million years. Probably +employed crude stone implements and was a nomadic +hunter. Had a poorly developed human brain; nothing +known of his cultural development. Chief contributions +to human progress: human frontal lobe, human speech, +and a complete erect posture.</li> + +<li>Dawn man of Piltdown, England (<i>Eoanthropus dawsoni</i>). +Antiquity over a million years, probably employed crude +instruments known as eoliths and thus belonged to the +Dawn Stone Age. Had a fairly well-developed human +brain. Was a migrant hunter. Nothing known concerning +his cultural development. Chief contribution to human +progress: further development of the brain.</li> + +<li>Heidelberg man of Germany (<i>Paleoanthropus</i>). Antiquity +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>about 800,000 years. Fairly well-developed human brain +and frontal lobe. Probably employed crude stone implements. +Little known of his cultural phases. Chief contribution +to human progress: first man of the Old Stone Age +and probable progenitor of the Neanderthal race.</li> + +<li>Neanderthal man (<i>Homo primogenius</i>). Probable antiquity +600,000 years. A well-developed human brain and frontal +lobe. Made and improved many flint implements. Hunter +and cave dweller. Had definite cultural periods known as +the Chellean, Acheulean, and Mousterian. Chief contributions +to human progress: established idea of permanent +abode, became dominant over other animals of the earth, +introduced human burial, laid the foundations of religion. +Founder of human assertiveness and supremacy.</li> + +<li>Cromagnon man (<i>Homo sapiens</i>). Probable antiquity 50,000 +years. Well-developed human brain and frontal lobe of +modern type. Hunter and artist, employed somewhat +refined flint implements of the Old Stone Age. Had definite +cultural periods known as the Aurignacian, Solutrean, +Magdalenian, and Azilian. Chief contribution to human +progress: the conqueror of Neanderthal man; the world’s +first great artist. The founder and introducer of art.</li> + +<li>Neolithic man (<i>Homo sapiens</i>). Probable antiquity 10,000 +years. Human brain and frontal lobe of modern type. +Employed polished flint implements of a highly developed +kind. Was a hunter, herdsman, and farmer. Chief contributions +to human progress: introduction of agriculture, +culinary art, domestication of animals; also establishment +of more permanent abode.</li> + +<li>Bronze and Iron Age men (<i>Homo sapiens</i>). Probable antiquity +7,000 years. Human brain and frontal lobe of modern +type. Used implements made of bronze and iron. Chief +contribution to human progress: introduction of the metals +for human utility.</li> +</ol> +</blockquote> + +<p>In addition to these prehistoric races of men, certain +other early members of our family have been +recognized in the latter part of the Pliocene and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>early part of the Pleistocene. These races include the +Subcrag and the Foxhall Dawn men who appear to +have employed the rostro-carinate flints. Still another +race was the Cromerians, who made and used the +giant flints found embedded in the cliffs of Cromer.</p> + +<p>Prehistoric man is thus gradually emerging from +his long obscurity. His skeletal form is known from +more than 350 specimens of his fossil remains. In +Java, in central Asia, in Rhodesia, central Africa, in +Gibraltar, in the Island of Jersey, in France, in +Germany, in England, in Austria, and in Galilee, +Palestine, these remains have been found.</p> + +<p>All phases of man’s early existence are important +to our modern thought and development. As the +curtain of the past is lifted to reveal the long, prehistoric +vista of human existence, it is possible to sense +the vast distance that man has come since his journey +began. It is also possible to see how he has made his +way and why he has progressed. From its earliest appearance +on earth the race has grown in humanity +as the brain expanded. In man’s first struggles brain +power endowed him with a capacity to develop and +to hand down certain cultural activities. The earliest +instruments that he fashioned gave rise to an uninterrupted +stream of human achievements which has +passed on as the main current of culture and knowledge. +It was this capacity for progressive and racial +learning that distinguished the human brain. Estimated +by his accomplishments, it seems necessary to +assume the existence in man of some special power +different from all other living creatures. This distinguishing +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span>endowment is variously called the soul, the +psyche, the spirit of man, or human genius. Its name +may be immaterial, but its source is the secret of our +supremacy. If we acquired this power as the divine +gift of a creative miracle, that is one thing. If we +earned it through a long and tedious process of evolution, +that is even a more promising and an altogether +different thing.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV"> + CHAPTER IV + <br> + EDEN OR EVOLUTION + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">GENESIS AND THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<h3 id="Early_Beliefs_in_Creation"><i>Early Beliefs in Creation</i></h3> + +<p>Although we may entirely reject the evidence of +man’s presence on earth long before the dawn of history, +even so there still remains a perplexing question +that must be answered. What was man’s origin? +It is surprising how many people have attempted to +solve this troublesome problem. It seems to be one +of the first questions that primitive man tried to +answer for himself when he began his earliest speculations. +He was naturally anxious to know who made +the land and the water and the sky and all that is in +them. He was especially interested, when he thought +about such things, in deciding how he came to be +what he was himself. And so, from earliest times, beliefs +concerning the beginning of things have sprung +up all over the world. They constitute a mass of +speculation, which is called cosmogony (beliefs or +theories about the creation of the universe). Only a +few races or tribes of mankind have failed to indulge +in speculations leading to such beliefs. Appearing as +they do in the infancy or early life of a race, these +beliefs must be the fruit of the primitive human mind. +In peoples who have failed to progress and have always +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>remained primitive, such beliefs, like many +other traits and customs, continue for generations +almost unchanged. Sometimes they become an important +part of the religion of the race. If they are +looked upon less seriously they form themes for folklore.</p> + +<p>This searching question about man’s origin has +always been present and is, in fact, still with us. In +times gone by, when man was primitive, or at least +more primitive than he is to-day, he tried to answer +the question as best he could. He was hampered by +lack of facts because his knowledge and understanding +of his own surroundings were limited. His racial +experience in the world had yet been too brief for +him to do more than see the great generalities of +nature. At best he could merely surmise the truth +of the universe. He had neither the training, the +methods, nor the instruments necessary to disclose +the intimate details upon which reasonable theories +might be based. Being so largely destitute of facts, he +relied upon intuition or drew heavily upon his imagination. +It is a matter of wonder that his beliefs often +took such noble form.</p> + +<p>Not infrequently a common central theme runs +through the beliefs of primitive people, even though +they may belong to different races and are separated +from each other by long distances. Such, for example, +is the belief in the manlike appearance of the Supreme +Being held by the Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, and +many other ancient civilizations. Early ideas concerning +<i>creation</i> illustrate this common or central theme +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>still more vividly. Doubtless the conception of creation +has its supreme expression in the opening chapters +of Genesis in the Hebrew Testament. But other +primitive people had exactly the same ideas about +creation and the origin of man. This way of solving +the problem must have been one of the inherent +tendencies of the human mind in its earliest beginnings. +Isolated peoples in far-distant parts of the +earth could not have shared such similar ideas as a +result of racial contacts or propinquity. Time and +distance set them widely apart. The similarity might +be ascribed to traditions handed down from a common +stock. In any event, an identical theme runs +through the creation story of many different peoples. +The most effective record of this theme is given in +Genesis, especially in the first chapter, the King +James version of which is accepted by many as the +highest literary mark ever set by the English language. +It is of particular interest for us to follow the +sequence of events in this incomparable chapter which +depicts creation with such grandeur that it may well +be called inspired.</p> + + +<h3 id="Early_Accounts_of_Creation"> + <i>Early Accounts of Creation</i> +</h3> + +<p>According to this record, creation proceeded as a +succession of separate miracles. First came the miracle +creating heaven and earth, then the creation of +light, of the firmament, of the earth set apart from +the waters, of vegetation upon the earth, of the sun, +moon, and stars, of fish and fowl, of beasts and cattle +and all creeping things, of man and woman together +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span>in the image and likeness of the Creator. The second +chapter of Genesis repeats the story of creation, but +this time in a minor key, with certain striking differences +and discrepancies. The grandeur of the original +description and its sublime intuition are missing. The +master mind which conceived it has obviously been +replaced by one at once much more naïve and manifesting +a thoroughly parochial interest in the affairs +and frailties of humankind. This second narration +largely reverses the original order given to creation. +By it man is created before all other animals and +woman last of all. This account produces man from the +dust of the ground, into which the Creator breathes +the breath of life and gives him a living soul, while +the rib taken from man is used to create woman. The +discrepancies in the two accounts are obvious at +once. To explain them the second chapter is attributed +to a very early writer (Jehovistic document). The +first chapter is ascribed to a much later writing +(Priestly document) made during the Hebrew captivity +in Egypt.</p> + +<p>Earlier than this Biblical record was the Babylonian +idea of creation. These people also conceived that +man was molded out of clay. According to the Babylonian +version of creation, the god Bel cut off his own +head, and the other gods, catching the flowing blood, +mixed it with the dust of the earth, and from this +bloody paste molded the forms of men. The Babylonians +believed that men were wise because their +mortal clay was thus tempered with divine blood. +According to the Egyptians, the father of the gods +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span>molded men out of clay on his potter’s wheel. A Greek +explanation of man’s origin contains the same idea, +in that Prometheus is said to have molded the first +men out of clay at Panopeus in Phocis. These naïve +conceptions about the origin of mankind, common to +the Hebrew, the Babylonian, the Egyptian, and the +Greek, were doubtless handed down to these ancient +civilized people by their savage or barbarous forefathers. +Legends of creation of exactly this kind are +current among savages and barbarians of the present +day. It is particularly interesting to note the different +forms in which this story has made its appearance in +many distant places of the earth.</p> + + +<h3 id="Creation_Beliefs_of_Barbarous_People"> + <i>Creation Beliefs of Barbarous People</i> +</h3> + +<p>The Australian blacks, near Melbourne, held that +the Creator cut large sheets of bark with his big knife. +He placed on one of these a mass of clay and prepared +it with his knife until it had the proper consistency. +Then he set a portion of the clay on another piece of +bark and fashioned it in human form, making first +the legs and then the trunk and arms and finally the +head. Having finished his molding, he took stringy +bark from the eucalyptus tree, made hair of it, and +attached it to the heads of his models. When all was +finished he blew his breath into the mouths and noses +and navels of these clay men until they rose and +spoke as full-grown human beings.</p> + +<p>In New Zealand the Maoris believed that a certain +god took red riverside clay, kneaded it with his own +blood into a likeness of himself, with eyes, legs, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span>arms exactly similar to his own. When this model +was finished he breathed into it the breath of life +through its mouth and nostrils, with the result that +the clay man at once came to life and sneezed.</p> + +<p>Among the Tahiti there is a tradition that the first +man and woman were made by the chief god, who +created them out of red earth. In Netherland Island, +one of the Ellice Islands, a great deity is supposed +to have made models of man and woman out of the +earth and brought them to life by lifting them up. +Similar in general conception is the tradition of creation +among the Pelew Islanders who believe that +certain of their deities made man and woman out of +clay by kneading it with the blood of various animals. +This feature is a new detail and somewhat of a +departure from the general story. It shows, moreover, +the interest which these primitive people had in explaining +the different behaviour of their fellow men. +Thus they believed that the characters of these first +men as well as their descendants were due to the +characteristic traits of the animal whose blood was +mingled with the clay. Men, for instance, who had +rats’ blood in their clay were thieves. Those who had +serpents’ blood were sneaks and informers. Those +who were vitalized by cocks’ blood were brave and +daring.</p> + +<p>According to a Melanesian legend in one of the +Banks Islands, the great hero Qat molded men from +red clay taken from the marshy riverside. At first +he made men and pigs to appear alike, but subsequently +he forced the pigs to go upon all fours and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span>caused men to walk upright. This distinction indicates +man’s early recognition of the subtle meanings +of the erect posture. Qat also constructed a female out +of flexible twigs. Finally she smiled at him, and by +this unfailing sign of feminine allurement he immediately +recognized her as the first woman.</p> + +<p>Inhabitants of the Kei Islands believe that their +ancestors were fashioned out of clay by the supreme +god who breathed the breath of life into the clay +models. The Dyaks of British Borneo claim that the +first man was made by two birds. After several failures +in attempting to hew him out of rock they at +length molded him out of damp clay and infused into +his veins the red gum of the Kumpang tree. When +they called him he answered, and they gave him a +name which in the Dyak tongue means “molded +earth.”</p> + +<p>In India also the same kind of legend explains +man’s origin. The Kumis who inhabit the hill tracts +in eastern India believe that a powerful god made the +world and the trees and the creeping things first. +After this he made a man and a woman, shaping +their bodies from clay. When he had finished his work +a great snake came while the god was sleeping and +devoured the two images. This occurred several times, +so that the deity was much perplexed. Feeling that +after his day’s work he needed a good night’s sleep, +it was impossible for him to sit up to protect his handiwork. +At length he conceived the plan of making a +dog out of clay before he created his next models of +man and woman. This device solved the problem in a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>satisfactory manner. The god was now able to sleep +in peace after his hard work of modelling human +beings, since the dog, watching over them, would +bark and frighten away the destructive serpent. To +this day the Kumis believe this is the reason why dogs +howl when a man is dying.</p> + +<p>Africa has similar legends about the creation of +mankind. Many of the natives on the White Nile +believe that men were modelled out of clay. They +even go so far as to explain the different complexions +of various races by the differently coloured clay out of +which they are molded. Their great creator, wandering +about the world, found pure white earth or sand +and from this he fashioned the white man. Returning +to Egypt he molded red and brown men from the +mud of the Nile. Finally, coming upon black earth +far in the depths of Africa, he created black men.</p> + +<p>The story of man’s creation out of clay also occurs +in America among the Eskimos and the Indians from +Alaska to Paraguay. Many of the Eskimos have +the belief that a certain spirit made a man of clay. +Then having set him upon the shore to dry he +breathed into him and gave him life. Certain Indians +of California conceive of an all-powerful being who +created man out of a deposit of clay which he found +on the shores of a lake. From this clay he made both +male and female, and the Indians of the present day +are descended from this original clay man and woman.</p> + +<p>The Mayas in Central America believe that their +gods first made men out of clay, but that these clay +models lacked vitality because they were dissolved +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>by water. Then the gods created man out of the wood +of one tree and the woman from the sap of another. +Unfortunately these human beings could neither +move nor propagate their kind, and for this reason +the gods caused a shower of pitch to produce a flood, +which destroyed this wooden race. A few of them +survived, however, and from them are descended the +small monkeys. The Maya gods at last created four +perfect men out of yellow and white maize, and, wishing +to confer the greatest boon, while these four perfect +beings slept, four women were created for them.</p> + + +<h3 id="Primitive_Ideas_Foreshadowing_Evolution"> + <i>Primitive Ideas Foreshadowing Evolution</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is interesting also to find that all savage people +did not believe in the legend that ascribed the origin +of man to clay models or to effigies made by some +supreme being. Many primitive races appear to have +preferred the theory of evolution to this other idea +of creation. In any event, even if they did not fully +recognize the nature of their belief, their idea was +that man evolved from some lower form of animal +life. The particular form of animal from which this +evolution started varied considerably with the local +colour, with the character and with the opportunities +of different people.</p> + +<p>Some California Indians believe that they are +descended from coyotes. In their early stages of +evolution all members of their tribe walked on all +fours. Slowly they acquired some of the features of +human beings, one toe or one finger at a time. Then +came an eye or an ear, until at length these animals +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>grew to be perfect human beings by losing their tails. +This loss, which was regarded as deplorable, came +from the habit of sitting upright.</p> + +<p>The Iroquois, belonging to one important clan, +hold that they are the descendants of mud turtles +that formerly inhabited a certain large pool in their +territories. The Choctaw Indians believe that they +were descended from crayfish, while throughout the +Osage Indians it is generally understood that their +ancestors were a male snail and a female beaver. A +great flood carried the snail down the Missouri River, +leaving him upon a bank, where the sun ripened him +into a man. In time he met and married a beaver +maid, and these two were the ancestors of the Osages. +The Delaware Indians call the rattlesnake their +grandfather and would on no account destroy one of +these serpents.</p> + +<p>Certain Indians of Peru claim to be descended +from the puma or American lion, and this animal is +worshipped as their god. Some natives of East Africa +look upon the hyena as one of their ancestors. The +death of this animal is mourned by the whole people +with great funereal ceremony. On the Gold Coast of +West Africa certain tribes believe that they were +descended from the horse mackerel.</p> + +<p>Natives of Borneo think that the first man and +woman were born from a tree which had become +fertilized by a creeping vine that waved to and fro +in the wind. Some of the primitive inhabitants in the +northeastern extremity of Celebes believe that they +are descended from apes and that the parent stock +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>of these animals still inhabits the woods. The aborigines +of western Australia considered that their ancestors +were swans, ducks, or various other kinds of +water birds, which were later transformed into men.</p> + +<p>All of these illustrations of the creation idea among +primitive people show that man has held at least two +widely different views about his own origin. One of +these is the idea of separate miraculous creation; the +other corresponds to or foreshadows the theory of +evolution. In accordance with the view of separate +creation, a god or a tribal hero was the great creator +who fashioned the first members of the race in their +present form. According to the other view, man +was evolved from lower forms of animals, or even +from vegetable life. These two viewpoints of man’s +origin still divide the peoples of the world. It is probably +true, as Sir James Frazer has said, that “by +weighing one consensus against the other, with +Genesis in the one scale and the Origin of Species in +the other, it might be found, when the scales were +finally trimmed, that the balance hung even between +creation and evolution.”</p> + +<p>The development of the evolutionary theory among +civilized people has a long history. This theory has +already passed through many interesting phases. +Doubtless other equally interesting phases lie before +it. At present there are many who still believe that +Darwin was the originator of the evolutionary idea. +This belief is in no sense true. The origin of the doctrine +long antedates Darwin’s time. It may be traced +back to the age when the human race first began to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>think clearly. Like many other things of high cultural +value, it had its earliest recognizable beginnings +in the Greek period—in those days when man sought +to gain an intelligent understanding of himself and +the world in which he lived.</p> + + +<h3 id="Growth_of_the_Evolutionary_Theory"> + <i>Growth of the Evolutionary Theory</i> +</h3> + +<p>The basic conception of evolution is as old as +Empedocles (450 <span class="allsmcap">B. C.</span>). Aristotle (384-322 <span class="allsmcap">B. C.</span>) +was the originator of the theory of animal descent, +which he formulated with remarkable clearness. A +strong inhibiting influence fell upon this conception +of life as a result of mediæval scholasticism. This +influence restrained further developments until the +subject was again reopened in the Eighteenth Century. +The works of Leibnitz and Buffon (1707-1788) +reawakened interest in this problem. Modern constructive +efforts to formulate the theory of evolution +did not begin, however, until the early Nineteenth +Century. By a strange coincidence, the real founding +of this theory occurred in the year of Darwin’s birth, +1809. Up to this time, with few exceptions, it was +thought that man’s body was the result of special +creation. Some savage people, as we have seen, have +believed that man was derived from lower animals. +But this belief was only a fantastic forerunner of the +evolutionary concept. The birthplace of the theory +was in Paris. It may appear strange that such a doctrine +did not originate in the great schools of learning, +and that it first saw the light in the quiet, out-of-the-way +location of the Museum of Natural History. The +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span>names of three scientific immortals are associated +with this revolutionary conception of the animal +kingdom. All three of these distinguished men lived +at the same time, worked together at the same place, +and together profoundly influenced our modern +views of man’s place in nature.</p> + +<p>The most noted of this famous trio in his own day +was Cuvier (1769-1832). He was a professor of comparative +anatomy and though only forty years of +age was accumulating the material for his epoch-making +work, <i>Ossements Fossiles</i>. This work was to +show conclusively that the great ages of time, filled +with multitudes of strange, extinct animals, had +passed over the earth before the dawn of our modern +era. Cuvier believed that each group of these extinct +animals represented a series of separate creations. It +was doubtless his energetic and brilliant insistence +upon this point that denied to the French nation the +first place of distinction in advancing the theory of +evolution. Although he held vigorously to the old +creative interpretation of life, Cuvier was in a sense +an unconscious promoter of the evolutionary idea. +His recognition of a succession of epochs in the earth’s +history and in the animal inhabitants of the globe +was an important step toward the modern theory. +Besides this, his keen powers of observation had enabled +him to discern one of the chief principles underlying +evolution. This principle is known as the law +of “correlation of parts.” In consequence of this law +there is a definite relation of one part of the body to +another, as well as a combination of these parts in the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>habits of the animal. Thus, horns belong with hoofs, +and hoofs are associated with complicated grinding +teeth, which latter in their turn are possessed by +animals having complex stomachs and feeding on +plants.</p> + +<p>The second great pioneer in the discovery of life’s +true origin was somewhat younger than Cuvier. This +was Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. He was intent upon seeking +the common plan upon which all animals with +backbones were built. In this way he was laying the +foundations of that broad conception of life which +holds that all living things have a common descent.</p> + +<p>The third of these great French contemporaries +was more obscure than either of his associates in the +Museum. In his own period the public heard and +knew little of him. He was a retiring person, but an +indefatigable student. As time passes it is he who +stands as the towering figure of this famous trio. In +1809, when he was already sixty-five years of age, he +made his remarkable contribution to knowledge. +His careful studies of nearly fifty years were then +published in two small volumes entitled <i>Philosophie +Zoologique</i>. This was a milestone in human progress. +In consequence of this work alone the name of Jean +Baptiste Pierre Lamarck will stand as one of the most +eminent figures of science. From his long and laborious +researches he had reached the conclusion that all +living creatures were the outgrowth of a common +tree of life. In this treatise of his there appears the +first clear declaration that man has been evolved +from some anthropoid ancestor like the chimpanzee, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>and that man’s erect posture has been derived from +one which was ape-like.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Lamarckian_and_Darwinian_Theories"> + <i>The Lamarckian and Darwinian Theories</i> +</h3> + +<p>The Lamarckian theory of evolution holds that +progress takes place by the imperceptible transformation +of one species into another through the efforts +of the organism to adapt itself to new conditions. It +also maintains that, by inheritance, the changes thus +produced are handed on from one generation to the +next. These changes may be slight, almost insensible +variations produced by the use or disuse of certain +parts and organs. Through their accumulated effects +they are capable of transforming one species into +another. The following quotation from Lamarck’s +<i>Philosophie Zoologique</i> (Vol. 1, p. 349) furnishes some +of the more important details in the concept by which +he explains the evolution of man:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>Indeed, if any race of primates (quadrumanes) whatsoever, +particularly the more highly evolved of them, were to lose, +either from force of circumstances or any other cause, the +aptitude for tree climbing and of grasping the branches with +their feet, as with their hands, for security of grip, and if the +individuals of this race, for a series of generations, be obliged +to use their feet only in walking, and cease using their hands as +feet; then there is no doubt, from the evidence produced in the +foregoing chapters, that these apes would finally be transformed +into man (bimanes) and that the great toe would no longer be +separated from the other toes like a thumb, the feet merely +serving the purposes of progression.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Despite the fact that Lamarck was a pioneer he +did not, in so far as the evolution of man is concerned, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span>induce a single anatomist of his own time or of a succeeding +generation to follow in his footsteps. In this +respect his great work remained strangely ineffective. +The more persuasive introduction of the evolutionary +theory was made by an illustrious English naturalist, +Charles Darwin. After a somewhat mediocre university +career, for which he received the degree of Bachelor +of Arts, Darwin devoted himself to the natural +sciences. In his early manhood he spent five years on +the famous barque <i>Beagle</i> in which he made a trip +around the globe. Twenty-three years later (1859) he +published his renowned <i>Origin of Species</i>, which +proved to be one of the most revolutionary books ever +written. In an educational sense, Darwin was far +more fortunate than Lamarck. Almost at once he +obtained the ear of the public and started the theory +of evolution on its strenuous course around the world. +Twelve years later (1871) he published his second +monumental book, <i>The Descent of Man</i>, which proved +to be the most telling step in our modern knowledge +of man’s evolution. These two great books set forth +the Darwinian theory. Like Lamarck, Darwin believed +that progress from lower to higher forms of +animal life took place as a result of insensible variations. +These variations were due to what Darwin and +one of his contemporaries, Alfred Russell Wallace, +called natural selection. This factor was the prime and +sufficient cause of evolution. Through its operations +new species arose by the selective action of external +conditions upon individual variations. Natural selection, +as a law, implies the effects of those forces which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>separate living creatures into two groups—those +which survive and those which, being ill equipped +to make the struggle for existence, perish. The selective +effects of external conditions on an organism +or its parts operate in such a way that individual +variations or peculiarities of advantage are perpetuated +in the race and thus give rise to the survival of +the fittest. Darwin in his <i>Descent of Man</i> makes clear +his opinion of the manner in which natural selection +has operated in human evolution:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>As soon as some ancient member (elsewhere defined as some +species of anthropoid like the chimpanzee) in the great series +of the primates came to be less arboreal, owing to a change in +its manner of procuring subsistence, or to a change in the surrounding +conditions, its habitual manner of progression would +have been modified and thus it would be rendered more strictly +quadrupedal or bipedal.... Man alone has become a biped and +we can, I think, partly see how he has come to assume his erect +attitude which forms one of his most conspicuous characters.... +As the progenitors of man became more and more erect and their +hands and arms more and more modified for prehension and +other purposes, with their feet and legs at the same time transformed +for firm support and progression, endless other changes +in structure would have become necessary. The pelvis would +have to be broadened, the spine peculiarly curved, and the head +fixed in an altered position, all which changes have been attained +by man. It is very difficult to decide how far these modifications +are the result of <i>natural selection</i> and how far of the +<i>inherited effects</i> of the increased use of certain parts or of the +action of one part on another. No doubt these means often +coöperate.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Comparing the explanations given by Lamarck +and by Darwin it is clear at once that they have much +in common. Both suppose that man was evolved from +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>a chimpanzee-like anthropoid. Both agree that the +transformation had been initiated by a change from +an arboreal to a terrestrial mode of existence. Both +believe that the results of habit or of function acquired +by one generation may be inherited by the +next generation. Darwin made certain important +additions to this theory. He applied the law of natural +selection—the tendency of successful individuals to +survive and prosper. He also recognized the effects of +sexual tendencies and perceived that there was a law +of correlation of parts. By this latter mechanism a +number of structures were modified at the same time +to suit some particular function of the body.</p> + +<p>Since Darwin’s time, although the general principle +involved in the theory of evolution has been accepted +by scientists everywhere, there has been much discussion +concerning specific details of the evolutionary +process. Simultaneously with the conviction that +evolution was a fact in the animal life there arose an +eager desire to discover its underlying causes. Many +students of the problem have arrived at independent +explanations of their own. To some the theory of +Lamarck has been considered satisfactory; to others +Darwin’s interpretation is most convincing. Such +differences of opinion as do exist among those who +have seriously pursued this matter centre primarily +upon the causes of evolution. For this reason a number +of different theories are recognized to-day. It is +probable that these theories do not represent all of the +differing shades of opinion concerning this subject at +present. They may be said, however, to express the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span>high points of difference. Their chief interest lies +in the fact that they indicate the degree of energy and +determination devoted to the solution of this problem. +Recent students of the Darwinian theory have modified +and extended it in such a way as to make the law +of natural selection entirely sufficient to explain +evolution. Such students, with Weismann the most +prominent among them, deny the inheritance of +acquired characters. This view is known as the neo-Darwinian +theory.</p> + +<p>Lamarck’s original conception was also modified +and became the basis of the neo-Lamarckian theory. +This view recognized all of Lamarck’s ideas, including +insensible variation, use and disuse of parts, and +hereditary transmission. But it added to these causative +factors certain influences of consciousness and +the will, thus introducing an internal and psychological +principle in the evolutionary process. In +America this newer view of Lamarck’s conception +has been vigorously upheld by many naturalists +(Cope and Hyatt) who attempted to explain evolution +according to the fundamental laws of growth +plus the inherited effects of use and disuse.</p> + +<p>Explanations such as these seem to lose sight of +many influences acting upon animal life from without +and along certain determinate lines. These influences +were highly specific in their character and embraced +definite chemical and physical factors. Their effects +were concentrated upon limited organic areas, such, +for example, as the eye, but they spread to correlated +organs like the brain, the muscles, and the bones, all +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>of which are functionally continuous with the visual +apparatus of vertebrates. Such a spread of modifying +influences from a determinate focus like the eye +throughout the entire body caused a widespread +tendency to variation and thus afforded the opportunity +for progressive development. This explanation +is known as the Orthogenetic Theory (Eimer, 1897).</p> + +<p>Still more recently the pendulum has swung away +from this extremely materialistic viewpoint in what is +called the Creative Theory of Evolution (Henri +Bergson, 1907). According to this explanation the +variations that bring about evolution from lower to +higher forms of life require some good genius to preserve +and collect the effects in the interest of progress. +This presiding genius working from within is the +original impetus of life, the <i>élan vitale</i>, or vital impetus +(entelechy), which like some internal perfecting +agency passes from one generation of germs to the +next and through the developed organism bridges +the interval between generations.</p> + +<p>Philosophy, with its conception of an internal +creative power common to all life and biology, pinning +its faith to physicochemical factors, have vied with +each other in bringing to light the causes of evolution. +Among the latest explanations is the Energy Theory +(Henry Fairfield Osborn, 1918). This interpretation +holds that the life of every animal is due to the action, +reaction, and interaction of four types of energy. The +first type arises from chemical elements and compounds +surrounding the animal (inorganic environment). +The second is the energy derived from the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>body substance of the developing organism (protoplasm +and body chromatin, the chief substance in the +nucleus of body cells). The third source of energy is +from the sex cells, especially those parts of them +which contain the hereditary elements (hereditary +chromatin). The fourth type of energy comes from +the living matter surrounding the animal (life environment). +Selection and adaptation are constantly +at work upon the reactions of these four types of +energy. Divergence in the form of different animals +depends upon adaptations to special conditions of +life as seen, for example, in the whales and the meat-eaters. +Altogether there are twelve major environments +for living, like the plain, the forest, the air, the +sea, which require special adaptations. All life has +tended to radiate out into such habitat zones, and +the four types of energy represented by each living +creature have been adjusted to a particular environment. +This spreading out of life into many different +zones of existence is a recognized principle in natural +selection (law of adaptive radiation. Osborn).</p> + +<p>The most recent interpretation is that offered by +the Emergent Theory of Evolution (C. Lloyd Morgan, +1928). Evolution, according to this explanation, is +the name given to the plan of sequence in all natural +events. Orderly sequence presents from time to time +something genuinely new. In the physical world +emergence is exemplified by the advent of each new +kind of atom, each new kind of molecule, each new +form of life. Emergence is not the mere addition to +or subtraction from existing properties. It is the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>appearance of something new and unpredictable from +the combination of properties already in existence. +A true emergence of this kind is produced by the +combination of carbon and sulphur out of which the +gaseous carbon bisulphide arises. This gas is totally +different from either sulphur or carbon, its two combining +ingredients. It is something genuinely new and +hence an emergent. This principle affects all spheres +of life in such a manner that it is possible for new characters, +new structures, new activities to appear as +emergents from preëxisting elements. Variations and +progressive development may be thus explained as the +result of orderly sequence.</p> + +<p>In spite of the differences in opinion among scientists +concerning the evolutionary process, there is an +almost unanimous agreement with regard to the +correctness of the general theory of evolution and the +principle underlying it. To attempt a critical estimation +of these several theories would be futile and +far removed from our present purpose. Doubtless +each one of them contains some portion of the truth. +It is, however, their large number that is of striking +significance, inasmuch as these theories indicate a +widespread, profound, and growing interest concerning +evolution among intelligent people. Whatever +their minor differences, such theories demonstrate a +determined effort in the search for truth and manifest +tendencies in thinking which cannot fail eventually +to reshape the intellectual outlook of mankind.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V"> + CHAPTER V + <br> + BIRTHPLACE AND EARLY BEGINNINGS OF MAN + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">INFLUENCES OF FOREST AND PLAIN ON + BRAIN DEVELOPMENT</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The place of man’s origin is a matter of little significance +if he came into being by a creative miracle. Any +one of a hundred natal sites, chosen for reasons of +local pride or racial prestige, might have served the +purpose. Eden undoubtedly was most colourful, but +otherwise it had no exceptional advantages. Once +created and upon his feet, man had the world before +him to conquer and possess. Such was the beginning +and end of his story.</p> + +<p>If, on the other hand, the human race came through +evolution from lower forms of animals, then man’s +homeland is of utmost significance. It must have +exercised a strong influence not only upon his origin +but also upon all his life and progressive development.</p> + + +<h3 id="Africa_Europe_or_Asia"> + <i>Africa, Europe, or Asia</i> +</h3> + +<p>Some students of this subject have regarded Africa +as the most likely birthplace of man. According to +this view the human form first appeared as certain +Nilotic negroes. From this homeland man spread +throughout the world. On the other hand, the accumulating +fossil evidence of man’s existence seems +to be strongly in favour of western Europe as a centre +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>of human dispersal. Professor Osborn points out that +between the years 1823 and 1925 there were discovered +in this part of the world alone no less than +116 individuals belonging to the Old Stone Age or to +the Dawn Stone Age. Two of these were members of +the Piltdown race. Fossils of forty other individuals +belong to the Neanderthal race. Seventy-four are +accredited to the Cromagnon and other races that +lived in late Stone Age times. Remains of 236 individuals +belonging to races that lived between the end +of the Old Stone Age and the beginning of the New +Stone Age were also found. These fossil men, in all +352 individuals, have been discovered within the last +hundred years. During the same period, a little more +than a century, only one human fossil has been found +in the entire continent of Asia, one in the Holy Land, +and two in Africa. Such a great preponderance in +numbers clearly favours Europe as the home of primitive +man. Africa, Asia, and those parts of Oceania +formerly connected with the Asiatic continent, have +borne no such abundant evidence of man’s early +presence. Both the northern and southern continents +of the New World have revealed nothing as yet that +may be accepted as representing man in his early prehistoric +period. This survey of the globe seems to +limit the first appearance of man to European regions. +In this connection it should be borne in mind that the +various countries of Europe have been carefully explored +in the search for early human fossils, while in +other parts of the world the search is little more than +just begun.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span></p> + +<p>Northern Asia has also been regarded as likely to +contain the site of man’s birthplace. This has been +the view of certain French authorities who consider +the Eskimos as the most ancient northerly race of +mankind. From this homeland there was a progressive +southward migration of primitive tribes under +the influence of the severe conditions imposed by +northern glaciation. More recently attention is being +directed to central Asia as the birthplace of man. This +locality was suggested long ago by the great American +scientist, Joseph Leidy, and this viewpoint has been +supported by Professor Osborn. Dr. Matthews in +considering the matter of climate and evolution discussed +the origin and migratory history of man. He +believes that Asia was the centre of dispersal for +human migrations, which were among the last of great +migratory movements of animals in the history of the +world. It is his opinion that most scientists to-day +would place this centre in or about the Great Plateau +of central Asia. In this region, now barren and very +sparsely inhabited, are probably the remains of civilizations +more ancient than any yet recorded. Immediately +around this region and lying upon its +borders are the territories of the earliest civilizations +known to man. Chaldea, Asia Minor, and Egypt lie +to the west, India to the south, China to the east. +From this central region came successive migrations, +which overflowed into Europe during prehistoric, +classical, and mediæval times. The history of India +shows that similar invasions poured down upon it +from the north. Toward the east, invasions in successive +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>waves entered the Chinese Empire and North +America by way of Alaska, spreading southward over +the two continents of the New World.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Top_of_the_World"> + <i>The Top of the World</i> +</h3> + +<p>Since his recent visit to Mongolia, Professor Osborn +is strengthened in his conviction that central Asia will +prove the homeland not only of man but of all the +greater forms of mammal life. Here, he believes, in the +Gobi Desert, were the ideal surroundings for the early +development of Dawn men who were the direct ancestors +of the human race. His belief in this part of +the world as the birthplace of man depends upon +certain characters in the terrain which are essential to +racial development, concerning which he reasons as +follows: Man’s earliest existence was mainly in the +open either along river bottoms and river drifts or on +uplands and plateaus. Such a life developed the finest +physical qualities of the race. The earliest man could +not have been a forest-living animal. Such parts of +the human race as lived in forested lands have either +been exceedingly slow in their development or have +gone backward. Thus, the South American Indians, +living in the forests, are much behind those who live +in the open. Of the latter, those who live in the uplands +are further advanced than those who lived in +the river drifts. An alert, progressive race cannot +develop in a forest, and it would be impossible for such +country to serve as the centre of human radiation. +Higher types of men do not develop in a lowland +river bottom country, because food is plentiful and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span>vegetation luxurious. It is upon the plateaus and the +high uplands that life is most exacting and calls for +exertions which are most beneficial for development. +Mongolia was probably a region forested only in part, +certainly not a country of dense forests. It was a most +favourable upland country throughout the entire Age +of Mammals. Here the conditions of life were apparently +ideal, and since all other indications point to +Asia as the place of man’s origin, Professor Osborn +looks to Mongolia and Tibet, which he calls the top +of the world, as the most favourable centre offered by +nature for the birthplace of man. Here he has hopes of +finding our remote human ancestors. He is, however, +guarded in this view, which he feels must be treated +merely as an opinion. It is not yet a theory, but is, +however, an opinion sufficiently sound to warrant +further extensive investigation. In consequence, +several great Asiatic expeditions have been sent out +by the American Museum of Natural History into +the Gobi Desert. Under the leadership of Dr. Roy +Chapman Andrews this exploration was undertaken +in the search for fossil men. One of the explorers, Dr. +Nels C. Nelson, soon made the remarkable discovery +that in the wide expanse of this ancient desert there +had lived, ages ago, certain people whom he called +“dune dwellers of the Gobi.” His discovery included a +great collection of flint implements of the Mousterian +type, closely resembling those found in the cavern of +Le Moustier in France, and thus belonging to the Old +Stone Age. These newly discovered implements reveal +the existence of man at a much earlier period in the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>Gobi Desert than the Mousterian period in Europe. +Indications of an earlier Stone industry were also +found in Mongolia. Some of these ancient implements +show that long ago there were probably men living +in this part of the world who belonged to the Dawn +Stone Age.</p> + +<p>The latest evidence in favour of Asia as the home +of primitive man was supplied by a surprising fossil +discovery made by Turville-Petre (August, 1925). +This new find consists of a skull of Neanderthal type, +discovered in Palestine and known as the “Galilee +skull.” The rapidly accumulating discoveries of the +past three years sustain Professor Osborn’s view that +central Asia is the homeland of the human race. He +concludes that “while the anthropoid apes were +luxuriating in the forest and lowlands of Asia and +Europe, the Dawn men were rising in the invigorating +atmosphere of the relatively dry plateaus of +central Asia.”</p> + + +<h3 id="Home_Surroundings_Necessary_to_Human_Evolution"> + <i>Home Surroundings Necessary to Human Evolution</i> +</h3> + +<p>If, as a result of evolution, man took origin from +lower animals, these must of necessity have been +mammals nearly like himself. They must have borne +and nursed their young as he did. Mammals other +than the primates differ so much from man that they +could scarcely stand in the direct line of his origin. +How different from him are all of the great races of +hoofed animals, including the great varieties of cattle, +horses, deer, camels, giraffes, and elephants. All of +these are highly specialized and seem at once to exclude +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>themselves even as remote relatives of man. +So it is also with the pawed animals, the great families +of dogs, cats, rats, and hares. These are definitely +quadrupeds, clearly designed to meet the issues of +life upon four legs. They fail to disclose anything +resembling a near approach to man, either in form of +body or mental capacity. The winged animals like the +bats, strange specializations of the mammal kind, +bear little resemblance to the human form and offer +a poor beginning from which such a form might start. +The swimming mammals, like seals, whales, and porpoises, +also exclude themselves from direct connection +with the line of man’s ancestry. In fact, all mammals +must be put to one side in considering this question, +except a single remarkable group. The apes and their +kind alone bear an undeniable semblance to men both +in body and in behaviour. Many of their parts are +similar to the human, such as their hands and feet, +fingers and toes all equipped with nails, as well as their +thumbs which may be held against each finger in +turn. The apes have acquired a more or less erect +posture. Some of them, called manlike apes (anthropoids), +possess so many characteristics in common +with man that they alone of all animals might be regarded +as connected with the direct line of origin. If +this relationship be true, then the nature and location +of man’s original homeland is of profound significance. +Wherever this place may be, it should bring into +combination two distinctly different types of home +surroundings. It should provide this combination in +order that the apes might supply the last long step by +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>means of which man has ascended into humanity. +These two different but essential types of abode are:</p> + +<ol> + <li>Home surroundings favourable for ape life.</li> + <li>Home surroundings favourable to human life.</li> +</ol> + +<p>A third condition must bring these two elements +into final combination. These specialized surroundings +must be relatively near together, so that transition +from one to the other may readily take place. +Does Mongolia and particularly the Gobi Desert fulfil +all of these three conditions?</p> + +<p>According to Professor Osborn’s theory, the uplands +and plateaus are the most favourable places for +human development. Such being the case, we must +also agree, then, that the forests are equally essential +to the life of apes. Only a few of these animals have +adjusted themselves to life outside of wooded country. +Living in the trees, therefore, is the existence that +favours the life of the subhuman primates (lemurs, +monkeys, and apes). The forest provides the home +surroundings favourable for ape life, just as the +plains afford those conditions favourable to human +life. Does such proximity of these two essentials exist +in the region of the Gobi Desert? Mongolia is not a +densely wooded country. It is a territory forested +only in parts. In this light it does not seem to be an +ideal locality for the final transition from ape to man. +To explain this defect, Professor Osborn at present +holds that man in evolving had but a brief and very +distant phase of tree life. He believes that the quadrumanous +arboreal stage was extremely remote in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span>geologic time. It was never a profound or exclusive +mode of life. There are those, on the other hand, who +firmly maintain that in this ape to man transition a +long intermediate period of tree living was necessary +in order to bring about those changes in the primate +stock which laid the foundations for human existence. +This life in the trees was essential to determine the +erect posture of man, to free his hands ultimately for +purposes other than locomotion; in fact, to free them +so that they might become the chief incentives in the +further development of the human brain. Even from +this viewpoint, Mongolia may still be considered the +homeland of mankind. The forested lands throughout +its extent and upon its borders might well serve as +adequate surroundings for the development of life +during that critical intermediate phase when the first +ancestors of men had parted company with the apes +and had at length become humans.</p> + +<p>With many animals there has been a strong tendency +to take refuge in the trees. The chief object of +this tendency was to make life more secure either by +escaping danger or by obtaining food. But with the +coming of the ape kind this arboreal habit took a +somewhat new turn. It furnished the early members +of the monkey kind a permanent abode. Such a +change to a more or less fixed dwelling in the trees +produced marked modifications in the animals themselves. +It created a new type of home and developed a +new kind of thoroughfare over highways in the tree +tops. In order to acquire a proper equipment for such +transportation, both fore and hind paws became +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>grasping organs. In consequence these animals developed +four hands. They gradually gave up the older +pattern of paw and claw, and by developing a new +instrument connected with the arms and legs they +acquired a supreme facility for grasping the branches +of the trees. The tail also, in some cases, acquired +similar grasping powers. Thus, as the trees became +the home and the highways of these animals, their +four grasping hands and their grasping tails gave +them a mastery over the forest which they used to +their own peculiar advantages.</p> + +<p>The forest background of their lives played an +important rôle in the molding of their behaviour. The +perpetual semidarkness of their home surroundings +exerted a subtle influence upon them. It might be +that the forest in which they lived stood on the edge +of a wide plain with a clear opening from which to +look into the farther distances outside. Undoubtedly +there must have been an alluring temptation in the +green plains and their inviting freedom. Yet for these +tree-living animals to venture into this open space +was a hazardous undertaking. There were many +dangers lurking in the plain and over it. Fierce +creatures of every kind were there. Reptiles, mammals, +and birds, all of them beasts of prey, were lying +in wait for just such an adventuresome excursion. +So for the time at least, and until they were better +prepared to cope with the enemies outside, the semidarkness +was safer, even though the view were +limited and many interesting things were left unexplored.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Effects_of_Tree_Life"> + <i>Effects of Tree Life</i> +</h3> + +<p>The lemurs were probably the first of these new +tree-living animals. Their bodies were still slender +and furry, their heads long and fox-like, their eyes +widely separated, and their tails long and bushy. But +in their hands and in their feet they showed the real +beginning of fingers and toes. This stage marks the +transition from some lower form of mammal to the +primates (lemurs, monkeys, apes, and man). It was a +profound change, and in it the new order of primates +had its origin. The steps preceding this important one +we shall consider subsequently. But with this advance +there began a period of tree living which influenced +all of these animals as they and their successors +passed through their many stages upward. The little +animal known as Tarsius, perhaps even more than +the lemurs, shows the effects of these new influences +caused by tree-living habits. The monkeys of South +America reveal the manner in which the next step +forward was taken. The effects of it appear in the +shape of the head, in the almost human expression +of the face, in the closer relation of the eyes to each +other, and in the shape of the nose and the position +of the mouth. All of these features prophesy the coming +of the still more manlike apes. Above everything +else, these South American monkeys are conspicuous +in the history of development because of their almost +human hands, and also because of their hand-like +feet. Most of the members of this group acquired +prehensile or grasping tails. With the appearance of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span>the Old World monkeys, this tail began to wane in +importance. It lost all of its grasping power and was +reduced to much the same condition as in other +animals not of the monkey tribe. Some of the Old +World apes, such as the gibbons, developed the ability +to stand and walk upright. In addition to this erect +posture these apes had passed through another phase +that brought them nearer to man. They had lost their +tails. This had come about, doubtless, from their +habit of sitting upright. The erect posture of the +gibbons, however, was most important as a forerunner +of further developments in the great manlike +apes, the orang-outang, the chimpanzee, and the +gorilla. These animals had grown so large that for +most of them living in the trees was a matter of some +inconvenience. It was necessary for them to come to +the ground at times, because they found it difficult +to swing from tree to tree like the smaller monkeys. +Of the great manlike apes, the orang-outang still +adheres rather closely to the forest. The chimpanzee, +which has developed even greater cleverness +in climbing, seeks the ground oftener. He has learned +to walk upon all fours, using the knuckles of his hands +as a support in this act. Like the orang-outang, he +can stand up quite erect and walk like a man. Finally +the gorilla, the largest of the manlike apes, often +attains the size of nearly four hundred pounds in adult +life, and standing erect may reach the height of nearly +six feet. He also is able to walk upright. But the influences +of tree living are so strong even with the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span>gorilla that he has not yet made a good adjustment +for life upon the ground. If it were not for the prodigious +strength in his great arms it would be difficult +for him to take to the trees, and he thus shows a betwixt +and between specialization, not entirely suitable +for the ground and too large for security among +the trees.</p> + +<p>All of the manlike apes are capable of standing and +walking in the upright posture, but in this posture +they are awkward and inefficient. Their awkwardness +is due to the fact that the foot in all three of them +retains many characters of a hand. None of them has +a good foot for effective heel and toe walking on the +ground. Yet in spite of the handicaps in their poor feet, +in spite also of their long, ungainly arms, these apes +are able to venture beyond the limits of their forest +home. Some of them live in the plains or on the mountain +sides. By their great strength they are equipped +to cope with many of the dreaded enemies outside of +the forest. The orang-outang seems to have no natural +enemies because of its own great offensive power. +Only two of the larger reptiles presume even to attack +it—the crocodile and the python. According to +the natives of Borneo, the orang always succeeds in +killing the crocodile through main strength by standing +upon its back and opening its jaws until he is able +to tear out its throat. It is reported that if attacked +by the python, the orang seizes the reptile with both +hands, squeezing it with such force and biting it so +ferociously that the outcome of the combat is soon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>decided in favour of the anthropoid. The gorilla also +has conquered most of its antagonists in the animal +world, and is regarded as the most powerful and the +most dangerous brute enemy of man. All of these +apes have acquired a certain freedom in using their +hands, which are thus made available for acts of self-defense +and even for a considerable degree of exploring +their surroundings.</p> + +<p>Progress in the direction of mankind had its beginning +when the tree-living tendency of the apes began +to recede. The recession of such tree life paved the +way for those first indecisive but promising steps +which took the great apes out of their ancient forest +homes into the inviting plain. Finally with the complete +passing of tree life there began that long and +adventurous journey which was to lead over every sea +and into every land, until no region of the earth remained +for further conquest, until the full development +of the hand and the upright posture had more +and more bent the forces of nature to the designs of +the races of man.</p> + + +<h3 id="Stages_in_Developing_the_Erect_Posture"> + <i>Stages in Developing the Erect Posture</i> +</h3> + +<p>The advances made toward mankind through the +intermediate stepping stones of the great apes and +smaller monkey kind may be traced through successive +stages of tree life up to the time when the fully +erect posture became an accomplished fact. These +stages have been recognized as a result of exhaustive +studies made by Professors Gregory and Morton. +They consist of gradual changes which finally gave +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>rise to the human foot. This structure permitted man +at length to stand upright and thus gave him the free +use of his hands for constructive purposes.</p> + +<p>The first stage came in the Eocene (beginning of +the Age of Mammals, about 65,000,000 years ago). At +this time certain four-footed land-living animals began +to live in the trees. This arboreal life had profound +effects upon the fore and hind paws. In order to climb +among the branches a clinging grip was necessary. +Long, sharp claws developed in consequence of this +requirement. The digits of the paw were short and the +palms well padded. The thumb also was short but not +opposable. As yet there was no squatting or half-sitting +posture. The toes were likewise short and +clawed. The heel was lifted off the ground. The sole +was well padded and the great toe large. These four-footed +animals made only an imperfect adjustment to +tree life. Their movements were slow and their range +of action correspondingly limited. The tree shrew is a +good living example of such animals, while certain +fossils of the Eocene belonging to this type have been +described by Professors Matthews and Gregory.</p> + +<p>The second stage in developing transportation +came with certain light, lemur-like animals. They +were still slow and cautious in getting about and depended +upon a clutch-like grip. This new kind of +grasping produced long digits like fingers. The toes +were changed in the same manner, so that the feet +began to look more like hands. (Living examples of +this stage, <i>Loris</i> and <i>Lemur potto</i>.)</p> + +<p>The third stage was a more decisive advance since +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>transportation through the trees now combined the +advantages of climbing and leaping. Locomotion was +swifter and more effective. A tendency to a partially +erect posture developed, and squatting or sitting up +was tentatively established. All of the fingers became +much longer. Most of them had finger nails, so that +these animals at last possessed what might be called a +hand. Changes of the same type took place in the +toes. The thumb and the great toe became more +powerful and both were opposable. They could be +brought in contact with each of the other fingers or +toes in turn. In these animals the hands were now +well formed and the feet looked much like hands. It +is for these reasons that such animals are called +quadrumanous (four-handed). (Representative animals +of this stage, <i>Lepidolemur</i> and <i>Notharctus</i>.)</p> + +<p>The fourth stage was but a short step from leaping +and climbing to swinging from branch to branch or +running along the branches. This swinging by the +hands is called brachiation. It had far-reaching influences +upon all subsequent stages. Such swinging +naturally lengthened and strengthened the arms. It +produced a better grasping grip around the branches +and caused the fingers to grow longer. The thumb did +not participate in this increase of size. It actually was +reduced in strength and prominence. This is true in +most of the New World monkeys. In some of these, +like the spider monkey, the thumb has disappeared +altogether. It should be remembered that most of +these animals had a prehensile tail which they used +much like a fifth hand. The foot also developed a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>grasping grip and looked if anything even more like a +hand than before. All of the South American monkeys, +besides their ability to swing from the limbs of +trees, can run along on the top of the branches in +what is known as “pronograde” locomotion. But +their swinging propensity probably had the greatest +influence upon the final developments of transportation. +It tended to bring the body in a close approach +to the upright position. Many of the Old World +monkeys sat in a semi-erect sitting posture, and from +their habit of squatting developed thick pads (ischial +callosities) over their buttocks. The leg became +lengthened but was yet too much flexed at the hip to +permit of the most complete erect posture. This stage +is represented both by the New World and Old World +monkeys, with the exception of the baboons. These +latter animals are an interesting variation. They more +or less deserted the old custom of living in the trees. +Their bodies and heads assumed many dog-like +characters, and they returned to a four-footed ground-living +type of locomotion. In consequence their limbs +became shortened, as was also true of their fingers and +toes. All of these important changes took place in the +early part of the Oligocene (second period in the Age +of Mammals, probably 30,000,000 years ago).</p> + +<p>The fifth stage occurred much later in this period +when another decisive advance was introduced. For +one thing, the tail entirely disappeared. The legs became +more extended at the hip. Swinging from branch +to branch was the chief means of getting about. +This produced extremely long arms and hands, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span>because this swinging mode of transportation was +predominant it kept the trunk more and more in the +upright position. Such straightening up of the body +introduced the most positive influence toward standing +erect up to this time. The legs did not grow in proportion +to the arms, and the feet retained a close +resemblance to hands. On the ground such animals +as these could make their way with considerable +speed, standing upright and running much as man +runs. The only difference between this kind of gait +and that of the human was due to the great length of +the arms and the poor feet.</p> + +<p>This stage in the development of the upright posture +is often seen in motion pictures of those animals +which portray this particular phase of locomotive +advance. These are the remarkable apes known as +gibbons. Those familiar with them in the zoölogical +gardens, or in moving pictures, will remember the +peculiar way in which they run upright, holding their +long arms stretched out much like balancing poles. +Thus erect, they speed about in getting their food or +playing with other monkeys. Their upright gait is +awkward but extremely interesting. Once, however, +they get into the trees their locomotion has all the +grace of a bird in flight. This gibbon stage of development +was one of extreme importance, since it gave the +primates preceding man their first chance to stand +upon two feet and to run about in something like human +fashion. It is this stage that many authorities +consider indispensable in the final working out of the +human erect posture and human locomotion. Many +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span>students of this question also believe that the upright +posture could never have been attained unless animal +life had passed through that particular phase in the +development of transportation called brachiation. It +seems certain that this stage itself was dependent +upon a preceding and extremely long period of life in +the trees.</p> + +<p>The sixth stage developed early in the Miocene +(third period of the Age of Mammals, about 15,000,000 +years ago). One of its chief factors was a great +increase in the body weight of the apes. This greater +weight caused the animals to come nearer to the +ground, as is the case of the chimpanzee and the +gorilla. These animals actually spend much time +upon the ground. In consequence, it was necessary +for them to make certain transportation adjustments. +Their locomotion in the trees was still of the brachiating +type—that is, they depended largely upon their +arms for swinging. The arms thus became long and +powerful. When the gorilla stands erect his hands +hang below his knees. The legs are relatively short, +but the feet in consequence of living so much on the +ground look less like hands than in the lower apes. +They have well-recognized broad heels, but flat soles +without much of an arch. The lesser toes are human +in appearance. They are much shortened and have +little resemblance to the fingers of a hand. The great +toe is shorter and only in a slight degree opposable. +This is especially so in the mountain gorilla, in which +the great toe bears a striking likeness to the same part +in man. The flexion of the leg at the hip is somewhat +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>decreased and as a result the gorilla is able to stand +upright in almost human fashion. All of these changes +appear, to a less degree, in the chimpanzee also. Both +gorilla and chimpanzee are able to stand erect, to +walk, and even run in this posture. Their gait, however, +is awkward. They are greatly hampered in their +locomotion by the extreme length of their arms. +Usually in getting about on the ground they run upon +all fours, using their arms somewhat like crutches +and coming down at each step on the knuckles of the +flexed hand. When aroused or charging to the attack, +the adult male gorilla usually stands upright and +beats its fists upon its chest, at the same time emitting +a terrifying growl. When it is necessary for the animal +to make speed in flight or for other purpose, it usually +comes down upon all fours. Arboreal locomotion in +all of the three great apes still retains much of the +brachiating type. It thus requires the retention of the +hands as part of the locomotor apparatus. Tree life in +the chimpanzee and the gorilla, combined with partial +use of the ground, did much to develop the essentials +of the erect posture. It did not, however, free the +hands to that extent which permitted their exclusive +use for purposes more constructive than transportation. +However strong the inclination toward life +upon the ground may have been in the manlike apes, +they were committed long ago by their predecessors +to a life in the trees. This commitment still kept them +true to their kind and to their simian inheritance. If +they were to be more than apes, it was necessary for +them to shed the stigma that tree life stamped upon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>them. This the modern apes were never able to accomplish.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Parting_of_the_Ways"> + <i>The Parting of the Ways</i> +</h3> + +<p>At length, however, in spite of many obstacles, the +tendency toward the erect posture found a new opening. +It was the foot that led the way to this great +opportunity. It provided an efficient supporting +structure with a well-developed heel, a non-opposable +great toe, and a sole containing an effective longitudinal +arch. Man could at last stand upright and be +secure upon a capable pair of feet. At some period late +in the Miocene two branches from the stock of those +animals, which had managed to get into something +approaching the upright posture, parted company. +This was a critical juncture. Thenceforth one branch +proceeded one way and the other followed an entirely +different course. The apes accepted the trees +as their lot. Man, because of his two human feet and +what they supported above them, acquired the earth +and all it contains. Thus with tree life a thing of the +past, with a true ground-gripping foot, with longer +legs, with an actual erect posture, the hands were +finally liberated for the purposes of human success.</p> + +<p>The development of the human foot, which must +have been in progress through vast periods of time, +marks the decisive parting of the ways between the +apes and the races of men. It is doubtless true that the +specialization of the hand has been a potent influence +affecting the expansion of the brain and of brain +power. The hand itself, however, was ultimately +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>dependent for its free and unhampered use upon the +development of the foot. This great factor was the +forerunner of all those elements in structural organization +which finally brought about the erect posture, +which set the head upon the shoulders so that the +eyes might look forward and upward, and at length +made it possible for the eyes to guide the actions of +the hands.</p> + +<p>Step by step, the brain has kept pace with these +progressive alterations. Old and new parts of it alike +bear the imprint of adaptive change. The combinations +determined by life in the trees and by the +development of four hands have been worked out +through graded stages, from the humblest of the +monkey kind up to man. Beginning with the lowly +tarsius and lemurs, this advance may be traced +through intermediate phases to its ultimate goal in +the human brain. Mongolia, as many authorities +agree, may have been the land that saw man’s earliest +beginnings. Whatever his homeland, a long period of +tree life was necessary to develop in his predecessors +those specializations by which he rose to his allotted +position. It is in the tree-life part of man’s history +that we see the dawn of the primate brain; for it was +then there occurred the earliest exploits of that great +order of mammals, the primates, to which all the +monkeys, the great apes, and man belong.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI"> + CHAPTER VI + <br> + DAWN OF THE PRIMATE BRAIN + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">THE LOWEST OF THE MONKEY KIND</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>We are now approaching a critical period in the +history of the brain. It is a period that contains many +incidents of the utmost importance. Particularly +noteworthy are the episodes which favoured the production +of human characteristics in the animal kingdom. +These characteristics showed many manlike +tendencies that much later were to appear full fledged +in the human race. They were from the first limited to +a single, highly interesting order of mammals. And +this seems especially strange because from the beginning +of the Age of Mammals (65,000,000 years ago) +a great variety of new animals came into existence. +The fact that a single group out of all this vast number +was picked out to develop human resemblances +must hold the secret of some potent selective influence. +Such an influence was definitely at work. Its +operations were slow but steady. Little by little it +changed and reshaped the structure of the body until +at length there appeared a race of animals so human +in their organization that they might well have been +the forerunners of mankind.</p> + +<p>It would be difficult to conceive the kind of modification +in structure that could produce the form of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span>man from a horse, from a whale, or even from a dog. +But this difficulty becomes far less in the case of the +animals usually referred to as the monkey kind. In +many features of their structure these animals resemble +men. Existing in a great variety of forms, +they manifest numerous modifications in the different +parts of their bodies and exhibit a wide range of behaviour +in their habits. Only a superficial acquaintance +with them is necessary to reveal their many +progressive traits. But their progress, like all other +progress, had its humble beginnings. At first the apes +were very simple creatures. Their coming, however, +marked the dawn of a new day in animal life. We shall +be interested to follow the advances that occurred in +their mental capacities as they slowly made their +progressive strides forward. We shall be particularly +struck by those changes which gradually led up to +the development of a brain capable to control all of +the complex activities of human behaviour.</p> + +<p>Naturally we may expect to find a simple controlling +organ in the lowest of the monkey kind. As we +pass upward, however, into the higher families of the +apes, we shall not only observe a pronounced increase +in manlike tendencies but, as the great anthropoids +at length become human in miniature and then almost +human, we shall recognize in these animals a +brain which very closely resembles that of man.</p> + + +<h3 id="Class_Distinctions_in_the_Monkey_World"> + <i>Class Distinctions in the Monkey World</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the ape world there are animals of high and low +degree. Some are so humble that it is hard to decide +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>whether they actually belong to the monkeys or not. +With few exceptions they all prefer to live in the +jungles and tropical forests. We could not fail to be +impressed by the striking resemblance that many of +them bear to man. Yet there are such marked differences +among them that they cannot all be regarded as +members of the same family. If we grouped them as +we do human races, we might most advantageously +assign them to certain large classes according to their +nearness to man.</p> + +<p>Monkeys of lowest degree include the lemurs, the +tarsiers, and all of the New World monkeys.</p> + +<p>The intermediate monkeys in the next higher grade +are those which live in the Old World, with the exception +of the three great manlike apes.</p> + +<p>The higher anthropoids occupy the top rank and +are the nearest to man both in their appearance and +in their habits.</p> + +<p>These three ranks in apedom did not appear at the +same time. One rank, so to speak, successively developed +from another. By a process of selection and +adjustment the higher forms arose from the lower. +The ranking great apes owe their superiority to many +traits and characters which they inherited from more +humble forerunners and which they improved by the +process of progressive development. The lowest +monkeys likewise had their day of upward progress, +during which they emerged from some mammal still +lower in the animal scale. These forerunners of the +earliest primates, the lemurs and tarsiers, had in all +probability been gradually specializing during the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>latter part of the Age of Reptiles. Their ancestors +came from that stock of mammal-like reptiles which +started from lowly beginnings and remained modestly +in the background during the reptilian period.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Lemurs"> + <i>The Lemurs</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the endeavour to get some conception of these +distant predecessors of the monkeys and apes, it is +believed that the tree shrews possess those simple +characters necessary for the proper starting point. +The shrew is an insect-eater and lives in the trees. +It has many specializations in its legs, in its head, and +in its trunk. These special adjustments might serve +as the beginning of those important changes in the +body which later distinguished the monkey kind. In +the first place, the small size of the tree shrew was +particularly favourable for this purpose. Then, in the +second place, its habit of living in the trees foreshadowed +advantages of great promise. Such an +epoch-making adjustment made its appearance when +paws were replaced by hands and when definite hand-like +feet appeared. If an animal like the tree shrew +were the forerunner of the monkeys, it is not difficult +to appreciate how the lemurs arose from this stock. +They and their kind may be looked upon as the first +chapter in the history of the ape world and the ape +brain. At present they live exclusively in Madagascar +and its small adjacent islands. They are not known +in any other part of the world, although fossils of +them indicate that they were widespread throughout +the globe in earlier times. The reasons for their present +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span>exclusiveness and their insular homes are not clear. +Geologists claim that the parts in which they live +originally had land connection with the continent thus +permitting their wide dissemination. The later disappearance +of this connection accounts for their +present isolation.</p> + +<p>There is much in the appearance of the lemurs that +distinguishes them from the monkeys and apes. Their +most distinctive feature, the head, is much like that +of a fox and is drawn out in a long pointed muzzle. +Many characters appear in lemurs not seen in +monkeys. They have no cheek pouches. Their tails, +never prehensile, are usually furry. They develop +no gluteal pads, which many apes possess in consequence +of their squatting postures. It is in their +hands that they resemble monkeys most strikingly. +They have fingers and toes with finger nails and toe +nails. The thumb and great toe are always well developed, +but the second or third digit is often greatly +modified. They also have mammary glands like the +monkeys. In the female these glands assume certain +definitely human characters. The lemur is a little +smaller than the domestic cat. Its fur is thick and +woolly. Its large and prominent eyes are more widely +separated than in monkeys. The ears are long and +have tufts of hair on their upper portions. The arms +are not quite so long as the legs. The tail is long and +often bushy. Fleshy pads appear on the palms of the +hands and soles of the feet, as well as upon the palmar +surface of the fingers. These enable the animal to +grasp the branch of a tree with great tenacity.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p> + +<p>Little is known of the lemur’s habits in the wild +state. It is not strictly nocturnal, for some of these +animals are known to seek their food during the day. +Often they travel about in troupes consisting of many +individuals. Most of them live in the forest. Their +food consists of fruits, insects, birds’ eggs, and birds +themselves, which latter they are most skillful in +catching. During the heat of the day they sleep with +the head beneath the arm and the tail curled about +the neck. When walking they go upon the hands and +feet, both when on the ground and in the trees. The +tail is used in the manner of a balancing or steering +organ. Sometimes they assume a semi-erect posture on +the hind legs, or sit in a half-crouching position. Both +hands and feet are employed primarily for climbing +or running about on the ground.</p> + +<p>The lemur has great ability in leaping from tree to +tree. Its movements are so rapid that it can only with +difficulty be followed by the eye. Hunters say that it +is easier to kill a bird on the wing than a lemur when +leaping. If pursued and shot at it has a habit of +dropping suddenly from the topmost branches into +the bushes, giving the hunter the impression that he +has succeeded in killing the animal. This impression +is soon dissipated upon seeing the lemur in another +tree at a considerable distance from the spot where it +fell. When wild the animals are said to subsist largely +upon bananas. They also seem to be fond of the +brains of birds. After fracturing the bird’s skull with +their teeth, as they might puncture a nutshell, they +suck the brain out of the brain case. The lemur, however, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span>does not eat the rest of the bird. We may see +from this description that this is an animal of great +agility. Not only does it possess much speed in its +locomotion, but it also manifests the utmost nicety +in balancing and remarkable precision in all movements.</p> + + +<h3 id="Tarsius"> + <i>Tarsius</i> +</h3> + +<p>Another of these lowest monkeys is a strange little +animal called tarsius, which has acquired a notable +reputation. Several learned authorities have singled +it out as the standard bearer of human origin from +some lower mammal. The tarsius is about as large as +a small squirrel. Its appearance is peculiar because of +its closely set bulging eyes, its long tufted tail, its +protruding ears, and the small circular pads on the +end of each finger and toe. Tarsiers have two curious +habits that attract attention at once. They can leap +with astonishing swiftness from tree to tree, often in +pursuit of insects, and when they turn their heads +they seem at one instant to be looking forward and +the next directly backward. Their eyes, though very +large and prominent, do not seem to give them the +best of eyesight. The animals can see well at night, +but during the day they appear to be almost stupid +because in the sunlight their vision is imperfect. +Tarsius lives in the jungle, usually in the low countries +of the Malay Islands. During the day it passes +most of its time clinging in a vertical position to the +trunks of the smaller trees and underbrush. The way +in which it supports itself is interesting and peculiar. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>With its fingers and toes it firmly grasps its slender +support, at the same time pressing inward with its +long tail, which acts like a spring against the tree. +If its tail is pulled away from this support the tarsier +at once tends to slip backward. The tail, which has +no grasping power, is used like a rudder for balancing +and steering when the animal is in motion.</p> + +<p>In some respects tarsiers are quite human. They go +about in pairs and are not gregarious like most of the +monkeys. Furthermore, they give birth to but a single +offspring at a time. After the breeding season the +female and her young find a home by themselves. +There are no indications that these animals build +nests or even live in holes of trees. The tarsier often +falls asleep in its characteristic clinging position, and +the head then sinks downward much as that of an old +man asleep in his chair. Often the young tarsius will +perch upon the mother’s head while she is asleep, +and in this position fall asleep itself. The general +behaviour of the animal is extremely stereotyped and +limited. It learns but little under training. In captivity +it is able to make but few new adjustments. +During the day its enormous bulging eyes give it an +almost ridiculous appearance as it gropes awkwardly +for food. This no doubt is due to the fact that its eyes +are constructed for hunting at night and do not contain +the specialization essential to the sharpest kind +of vision. On the ground tarsius leaps like a frog but +is very awkward. In the trees, however, it is extremely +agile, and is probably the quickest jumper of all +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>mammals. While grasping a small branch it can turn +its head so as to look directly backward and jump +more quickly than the human eye can follow. It +seems to be looking in one direction and jumping in +another. This is due to the great rapidity with which +it turns its head. In captivity it is pugnacious and +cannot be tamed. It performs its toilet much as a +cat does and thus keeps itself scrupulously clean. It +is not known to make vocal sounds indicating fear +or anger. On rare occasions, and particularly when +young, it has been heard to squeak. The infant +tarsius clings to the hair of the mother’s chest like +other young monkeys. The eyes are open at birth, +and many reactions appear at once that are long +delayed in such animals as the rat, cat, dog, and +higher apes.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Marmosets"> + <i>The Marmosets</i> +</h3> + +<p>Another lowly monkey is the marmoset. It has less +renown than tarsius but is nevertheless an interesting +animal. It is often carried around in the pocket of its +owner and fits conveniently inside of the old-fashioned +fur muff. The marmosets belong to the group of the +New World monkeys. They inhabit South America +and Central America. Their chief interest arises from +the fact that they represent one of those moments of +faltering experienced by the monkeys in their upward +strivings. These little animals have an almost +pathetic expression and features that are in many +ways quite human. Yet in spite of this human-like +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span>appearance they indicate an actual backsliding in the +attempts at progress. This backsliding is most apparent +in their fingers and toes. In fact, the entire +hand and foot have lost most of their human resemblance. +The finger nails are now replaced by sharp, +talon-like claws, and the toes are equipped in the +same way. The marmosets, both because of their +diminutive size and the imperfections in their hands +and feet, are now looked upon as monkeys that show +signs of retrogression.</p> + +<p>The marmoset is as large as a small squirrel and +covered with a thick, silky fur. It is naturally very +timid but soon becomes friendly to those with whom +it is familiar in captivity. The female produces two +or three young at a birth and in this respect is unlike +most of the monkeys. The marmoset’s facial appearance +and shape of head are certainly more ape-like +than the lemur’s. The eyes are set much closer together, +and are separated by a flat, narrow nose suggesting +that vision now depends on the simultaneous +operation of both eyes. The animal has a long, bushy +tail. It lives in the tree tops or small underbrush and +climbs the trees in a manner similar to the squirrel. +Although it has a cat-like agility, it does not make +the long and daring leaps characteristic both of lemur +and tarsius. It often loses its grip on the branches +and falls from a considerable height to the ground. +In captivity it shows little inclination to develop new +actions. It is not easily trained, and to teach it to +do tricks of any kind is most difficult. It lives upon +worms, insects, and fruit. It is known also to invade +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span>birds’ nests and suck the eggs. Very rarely does it +prey upon bird life and then only when it is able to +overpower one of the smaller birds or unprotected +young.</p> + + +<h3 id="South_American_Howling_Monkeys"> + <i>South American Howling Monkeys</i> +</h3> + +<p>In this group of lower monkeys we encounter one +with a highly interesting personality, known as the +“red howling monkey of South America.” He is a real +monkey, noisy and disagreeable, often attaining the +size of a fox-terrier. He always seems to be in an unpleasant +mood, showing his teeth and howling on the +slightest provocation. In spite of all this ill temper, +he belongs to the progressive party of the monkeys. +There is not the slightest doubt that he has made +definite advances along the lines of progress. If we +should question this progress we would soon have our +doubts set at rest when we saw the astonishing manner +in which he uses his tail like a fifth hand. Even +more convincing in this respect is the almost human +appearance of his hands. Not long ago a young woman +visiting the ape house in the zoölogical gardens was +struck by these human similarities. She was still more +impressed when a large howling monkey thrust his +long tail through the bars and deftly tossed her hat +into the air.</p> + +<p>The howling monkeys enjoy this gift of a capable, +grasping tail in common with most of their fellows +who live in South America. The prehensile tail is +especially well developed in the spider monkeys and in +the woolly monkeys. At its end this tail looks like a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span>long, tapering finger. It is a highly developed sense +organ and gives the monkey a new instrument for +locomotion and for exploring. These monkeys are +able to swing themselves from the branches by their +tails and thus leave the hands and feet free for other +purposes.</p> + +<p>In addition to this highly efficient tail, the howlers +have developed a larynx and vocal cords with which +they produce awe-inspiring sounds. Their mournful +howlings are often audible for miles around, and it is +supposed that they employ their cries as a means of +defense to intimidate their enemies. The howling +monkeys possess a slightly opposable thumb and +well-developed fingers. While they are described as +being the most ferocious of the South American monkeys, +they are also credited with a low degree of intelligence. +The face of this monkey is naked with the +exception of a heavy beard that hangs beneath the +chin. In captivity they are practically untamable +and soon die. Their fur is usually black, but in some +cases is brown or reddish brown. They live largely +upon fruit, although like other South American +monkeys they feed upon caterpillars and insects.</p> + + +<h3 id="Measuring_the_Mentality_of_New_World_Monkeys"> + <i>Measuring the Mentality of New World Monkeys</i> +</h3> + +<p>Professor Thorndike, of Columbia University, has +made careful studies concerning the behaviour of +several South American monkeys. He was chiefly +interested in the manner in which monkeys differ +from other animals in the mental capacities and +methods of learning. In making his tests he devised +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>certain experiments which utilized boxes with pegs, +bolts, bars, and hooks. The object of these tests was +to find out how the animal learned to release itself +from confinement, or gain access to a goal containing +food. Professor Thorndike concluded that these +monkeys did not learn by reasoning. They do, however, +form more and a greater variety of associations +than other mammals. Their combinations of this +kind are remarkably slow and ineffectual in providing +any new behavioural accomplishment. Concerning +the general mental development of the South American +monkeys, Dr. Thorndike believes that they represent +a certain advance from the generalized type +of mammals toward man. This is particularly true of +their sense equipment and their localized vision. All +of this, he believes, is in reality an advance due to +the brain acting with increased delicacy and bringing +into line those activities which distinguish human +mental faculty from that of all other animals. Here, +at length, among the lower monkeys is well-attested +proof of some progress toward the development of +human capacity.</p> + + +<h3 id="Monkey_Behaviour"> + <i>Monkey Behaviour</i> +</h3> + +<p>The way in which these lower members of the +monkey kind behave deserves particular attention. +It gives us the opportunity to observe certain striking +resemblances to our own human behaviour. This +question is one of primary importance. It acquires +especial interest as we compare the brains of the +monkeys and apes one with another. As the brain +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span>continues to improve from one stage to the next, we +should be on the lookout for new developments in +behaviour. It might perhaps be impossible to appreciate +all of these minute changes among the monkey +kind. It is even somewhat questionable whether such +an exact comparison at the present time is necessary +or possible. Yet there are certain outstanding traits +of conduct that may be easily traced from stage to +stage. One of the most important of these traits depends +upon the development of the tail from the time +when it first acted as a rudder-like organ for steering +and balancing the animal until it acquired all of its +great facilities as a fifth hand. After this it began to +recede in importance and finally disappeared. The +tail thus created a special cycle of behaviour which +had important bearing upon the final outcome of +man’s adjustment.</p> + +<p>Another group of reactions centre upon the manner +in which the hand made its appearance, including the +progressive changes in behaviour when the monkeys +first became four-handed. All of these changes were +dependent upon living in the trees and gradually +found their culmination in an animal that could stand +upon two feet and use its hands. Such usage as this +foretold the beginning of human skill, of human right-handedness, +and of human speech.</p> + +<p>Very important were the changes in behaviour that +made their appearance as the eyes worked more in +harmony with each other. They produced a kind of +vision better able to guide the movements of the +hand and give more complete information concerning +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span>distance, direction, and perspective. But far exceeding +all other changes for getting a better control over +the surroundings were those progressive advances +introduced for making the fullest combinations of +sense impressions. These advances favoured the development +of better powers for learning and for profiting +from experience. Progress in all of these particulars +concerning the behaviour of the monkeys may be +clearly traced in corresponding expansions in their +brains.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brains_of_the_Lower_Monkeys"> + <i>Brains of the Lower Monkeys</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the brains of these four very simple members of +the monkey kind we may readily see the expansions +that promoted development in the governing organ. +It will be apparent at a glance that progress followed +no direct or easy path. It met many rebuffs and obstacles. +Often it faltered and even stumbled. But +struggling on it finally reached solid ground and then +went forward to real advances.</p> + +<p>Placing the brains of the lemur, tarsius, marmoset, +and howling monkey side by side we may see how this +progress began. To guide our way in following this +advance, certain signposts and milestones will prove +serviceable. Three of these landmarks are deep grooves +or clefts. They appear in the superbrain and indicate +the places in which progress has been particularly +active. Around these grooves the outer covering of +the superbrain has been folded to make room for more +brain cells. This folding produces convolutions with +the result that the more convoluted a brain is, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span>more cells it has for the development of brain power. +Each of these three grooves has its own special meaning +as a landmark:</p> + +<ol> +<li>The “Sylvian groove” is a fissure that runs +between the department for the sense of hearing, +called the “temporal lobe,” and the department for +body and contact sense, called the “parietal lobe.”</li> + +<li>The “central groove” is a fissure between the +department for body and contact senses and the +department of supreme brain activity, called the +“frontal lobe.” This lobe of the brain is situated +immediately above the eyes and behind the bone of +the forehead (frontal bone). A small frontal lobe +means a low brow with a correspondingly inferior +mentality. As this lobe of the brain increases from +ape to man, the forehead gradually becomes higher +and more prominent.</li> + +<li>The “ape groove” separates the occipital lobe +in the back of the head from the parietal lobe. In the +occipital lobe is situated the department for sight.</li> +</ol> + +<p>The three grooves form the boundary lines between +the four chief departments of the superbrain, each +of which is known as a lobe; namely, (1) the parietal +lobe, department of body and contact senses; (2) +the temporal lobe, department of hearing; (3) the +occipital lobe, department of sight; and (4) the frontal +lobe, department of the high mental faculties like +judgment and reason.</p> + +<p>Further advances from this point will occupy our +attention in tracing the brain of the monkey kind +upward. Two other landmarks in the brain have +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>special value. One of them is the bridge (pons) which +connects the larger brain (cerebral hemispheres) with +the lesser brain (cerebellum). This lesser brain acts as +the chief muscle timer and adjuster. It balances one +muscle’s action to that of another and adjusts the +force of such action. All of our most exact movements, +whether in walking or writing or speaking, depend +upon the little brain. If it is injured or destroyed the +movements of our hands and feet, head and trunk, +become shaky, unsteady, and very irregular. For an +animal to become highly skillful requires high development +in the little brain. The animal having the highest +intelligence also possesses the greatest capacity +for skill in its actions. The size of the bridge reflecting +the degree of this skill is a good index of the intelligence +possessed by the animal.</p> + +<p>The pyramid is another important indicator of +progress. Like the bridge, it is found on the base of +the brain. It is called pyramid because of its somewhat +pyramidal shape. It acts as the main trunk +line for getting the orders of the superbrain out to the +muscles. It transmits, so to speak, the highest commands +of the brain in controlling the motor machinery. +By means of it we act according to the dictates +of our wills. If both of these great pyramidal trunk +lines are interrupted, we become completely paralyzed. +The pyramids conduct the highest output of the +brain’s activity and increase in direct proportion as +the animal’s behaviour becomes more and more +complex.</p> + +<p>The brains of low monkeys are of small size: lemur, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>18 grams; tarsius, 6 grams; marmoset, 6.2 grams; +and howling monkey, 24.5 grams.</p> + +<p>Size and weight of brain, we must bear in mind, +vary to a considerable degree with the size of the +body, so that certain other signs of expansion in the +brain are more impressive. These signs clearly indicate +that progress is under way as follows: First, the +large superbrain begins to cover over the lesser +brain. In lemur this extension backward has only +just begun. It is only slightly more marked than in +many of the lower animals, like the cat and the dog. +In tarsius the large brain has extended backward over +the lesser brain to a considerably greater degree. +This is an important change because the tarsier has +transferred much of its business of sight to a new department +in the occipital lobe of the superbrain. The +marmoset shows this transfer carried a little farther, +for the large brain now overhangs the lesser brain. +The great advance shown in the howling monkey reveals +the way in which the superbrain has taken complete +control of the situation. It now covers over the +lesser brain entirely. All of this change in the superbrain +has been mainly in the interest of making a +better department for sight, but the departments for +the sense of hearing and for body and contact senses +have not been behindhand in expanding in these lower +monkeys.</p> + +<p>Another pronounced sign of progress is the gradual +change in the position of the groove of Sylvius. In +lemur it is almost vertical, as in the cat, in the dog, +and other lower mammals. The arrangement of other +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span>smaller grooves around it is also similar to that in +lower animals. In the tarsius this groove is equally +primitive. It is beginning to tip backward a little in +marmoset. Finally, in the howling monkey this groove +has become quite oblique, as it is in most of the apes +and man.</p> + +<p>All of this change has occurred as a direct result of +perfecting the organization in the department of hearing. +The more tilted the Sylvian groove becomes, the +better developed is the temporal lobe which carries +on the business of hearing. The tilting backward of +this groove also results from an increase in that part +of the superbrain which lies immediately about the +groove. This is the parietal lobe, the department of +contact and body sense. It is in this department that +the especially important information concerning the +movements in the hands and feet is registered. Thus +the tilting backward of the Sylvian groove plainly +tells the story of improvements in the departments of +hearing and of body and contact sense.</p> + +<p>Still another sign of progress appears in the central +groove, which has an equally interesting history. In +the lemur this groove is just discernible as a faint dent. +In position it resembles a corresponding groove in +animals like the cat and dog. Lemur in this respect +suggests that in its striving to part company with +the lower animals, to break away from ancient contacts, +and to get on an independent new line of its +own, it has not been entirely successful. This central +groove shows where the chief department of the superbrain +begins, that is, the frontal lobe. In the lemur +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span>this department is poorly developed. In tarsius it is +impossible to find anything that looks like a central +groove. This animal’s brain is an example of some +of that hesitation which was encountered in the path +of progress. The same faltering is also seen in the +brain of marmoset, which has no central groove whatsoever. +These little South American animals, it must +be remembered, are thought to be backsliders, and +this particular defect in their brain strongly supports +that conclusion.</p> + +<p>In the brain of the howling monkey we find the +central groove now well developed. The superbrain +shows that it is at length pursuing some definite +policy of expansion in its most responsible department. +Emphasis in growth is now obviously given to +the frontal lobe for advancing the capacity to transact +all higher mental faculties. In the howling monkey +this department may not have attained any high degree +of development, but its presence is undoubted, +and from this relatively simple beginning it is only +a matter of further expansion to bring into existence +the most productive mechanism of the brain. The +howling monkey shows its superiority over all lower +monkeys in another respect. It has developed the ape +groove, and by it the boundary between the department +of sight and the department for body and contact +sense is fully established.</p> + +<p>Viewed as a whole, the brains of these four lower +monkeys show distinct progress in the interests of +developing a more efficient superbrain. Each of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span>sense departments has gradually become better defined +in its boundaries, and doubtless correspondingly +better organized for the administration of its duties. +Rising supreme above them all there finally appeared +the controlling department of the chief executive in +the frontal lobe. We see this in its earliest stage in +lemur. It assumes still more importance in the howling +monkey. The departments of sight (occipital +lobe), of hearing (temporal lobe), of body and contact +sense (parietal lobe), show the effects of steady improvement +from lemur up to the howling monkey. +If there have been some hesitations, even some slipping +back in the organization of efficiency, it is because +some of these animals were rather uncertain +disciples of progress. They may have been, as is probably +true of tarsius, too close to the starting point +where the real advances of the monkey kind began; +or perhaps, like the marmosets, they ran into early +difficulties along the upward climb. It seems probable +that they were not able to extricate themselves with +credit from these hazards or to overcome the obstacles +that confronted them. For this reason their brain +shows some actual backwardness. With these exceptions, +however, the evidence of progress is undisputed. +It seems sufficient to convince the most sceptical. +The purpose of the progress is also sufficiently +plain. It clearly appears to be that effort toward +promoting organization in the superbrain so that the +offices of the supreme executive might be established +in the permanent quarters of the frontal lobe.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Measurable_Improvements"> + <i>Measurable Improvements</i> +</h3> + +<p>Any doubts due to lack of measurable proofs may +be easily overcome by several comparative measurements +of the bridge and the pyramid. The size of +these structures, both of which reveal the behavioural +capacities of animals, has been carefully estimated. +Accordingly the bridge has been assigned the following +values: lemur, .055; tarsius, .057; marmoset, +.095; howling monkey, .103. Thus the bridge, called +by some authorities an index of intelligence, shows +distinctly the advances made among these simple +monkeys.</p> + +<p>Quite as striking are the figures for the pyramid, +which indicate the degree of voluntary control that +the superbrain has over all actions: lemur, .110; +tarsius, .032; marmoset, .064; howling monkey, .137.</p> + +<p>From these figures the howling monkey stands in +advance of his monkey associates in the index of his +voluntary control. Doubtless much of this advantage +is due to the high degree of hand-like specialization +in this animal’s hands and feet. But the grasping +tail of the howling monkey should not be overlooked. +If tarsius and the marmoset appear to stand lower +than the lemur, it is because one of them is a primitive +type of animal with a much restricted repertoire of +reactions, and the other, the marmoset, is a backslider +less richly endowed in the more effective motor +capacities.</p> + +<p>All of these features in the brain seem to coincide +with progress in the behaviour of the lower monkeys. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span>They show the path which progressive advance has +pursued. In the beginning, emerging from those +strivings of lower mammals and with much of the +mammalian heritage handed down by them, the +lemurs took the first step of the monkey kind toward +a new type of brain. There was prophecy in these +early attempts made by the lemur. In some degree at +least they foretold what this new kind of brain was to +be. Obviously they had as their distant mark the +ultimate upbuilding of the superbrain until an adequate +department for the supreme executive of life +was produced. If tarsius hesitated in reaching out +toward this objective, it was none the less travelling +in the right direction. The destination of this course +was clearly visible in the brain of the howling monkey +and other similar monkeys of the New World. In +this manner the first primate steps toward a more +highly efficient type of brain were taken. The conditions +of tree life both incited and successfully urged +them onward.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII"> + CHAPTER VII + <br> + ON THE WAY UPWARD + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">BRAINS OF THE OLD WORLD MONKEYS</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>We have seen that the first steps leading to improvements +in the primate brain were taken by certain +humble creatures living in distant parts of the earth, +and by the great tribes of the New World monkeys +inhabiting South America and Central America. +These steps did not lead far along the path of progress. +They were only a beginning, the first harbingers +of man’s arrival. Many lowly animals in the ape house +at the zoölogical gardens reveal numerous features +suggestive of the human being. Such features not only +include their fingers, finger nails, toes and toe nails, +but even more their facial appearance. Many of these +monkeys look like diminutive old men. They snarl +and show their teeth when angry. Their way of indicating +displeasure is almost human. They make +certain expressive gestures, like nodding or tilting of +the head to one side in a quizzical or even pathetic +manner. They make plaintive cries or sounds, in some +cases almost like the notes of a bird, or they scream +out loudly in anger. All of these New World monkeys +are notable for one other reason. They do not make +any of those humorous grimaces that are so amusing +in the Old World monkeys. These latter manifest a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span>certain drollness in their constantly changing facial +expression.</p> + +<p>The Old World monkeys include about three quarters +of all living species. They are embraced in one +great family, but the members of this family show +many differences ranging from the huge dog-faced +baboon to the small bonnet monkey. Some of them +are gentle and affectionate, some are savage, pugnacious, +and treacherous. This entire family is spread +out over the hot or semitropical regions of the world. +Many of its members live in the damp, tropical +forests; others prefer rocky, almost barren country, +and a few seek their homes in temperate climates. +Some monkeys are found among the lower ranges of +the Himalayas and may be seen in the winters playing +among the branches of snow-laden trees. Two varieties +seem to have a surprising endurance in really +severe cold. They inhabit the elevated regions of +eastern Tibet.</p> + +<p>In picturing to ourselves the characteristics of a +monkey we are apt to have the conception of an +animal that can hold on and hang by its tail. None of +the Old World monkeys has this kind of tail. The +greatest number of them live in the trees, and the +tail, while generally short and stumpy, in some cases +is decorative and almost plume-like. Most of the +Old World tribes are especially interesting and amusing +because of a large elastic pouch in each cheek. +This pouch the monkey greedily crams with food in +his haste to get his meal into safe-keeping. When the +cheek pouches are filled both cheeks are bulged out +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span>and give the animal somewhat the appearance of a +gourmand embarrassed by a mouthful of delicacies. +Later on, at his leisure, the monkey chews and swallows +the food.</p> + + +<h3 id="Baboons"> + <i>Baboons</i> +</h3> + +<p>By far the largest of the Old World monkeys are +the baboons. They may be recognized at once by +three characteristics. The head and face look much +more like those of a dog than is true of other monkeys. +They have long and dangerous fangs in the +upper and lower jaws. They go about, like most four-legged +animals, upon hands and feet which have +much the appearance of paws.</p> + +<p>Further acquaintance with the baboon shows him +to be a surly, unmannerly, savage, and thoroughly +undependable creature. All of his tribes have fleshy +pads over the buttocks, which in some cases are large +and brilliantly coloured. Some members of his clans, +such as the mandrill, have faces which look like gruesome +masks or hideously painted savages. The skin +over the nose is a fiery red, while the cheeks are swollen, +ribbed, and of a vivid blue colour. A beard of +golden hue hangs beneath the chin in contrast to the +dull olive drab of the body. Protruding over the lips +are savage canine teeth, long and dagger-like. These +baboons are about as large as a good-sized dog. The +colouring of the face adds considerably to the repulsive +unattractiveness of the animal. They run +along on their hands and feet, with their eyes directed +downward, so that they are obliged to elevate the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>large overhanging eyebrows in order to look upward +and forward. They go about with the palms of the +hand and soles of the feet laid flat upon the ground. +The mother is often seen walking or scampering +around with a young baboon clinging to her back. +Sometimes the mother will sit up on top of a rock +just like a human being. Her offspring often perches +on her neck after the fashion of a well-trained acrobat.</p> + +<p>All of these monkeys are gregarious. They travel +about in large numbers. Often as many as a hundred +individuals collect in one herd. Because of their aggressive +disposition, they are dangerous enemies, +especially when irritated or disturbed. Their long, +sharply pointed, canine teeth are capable of inflicting +severe wounds. Although they have no actual speech, +they utter certain sounds that seem to be thoroughly +understood by all members of the herd. There is +quite a variety in these sounds. Some of them resemble +barks, grunts, or even screams. Often they make +low and subdued murmurs with various inflections, +the meaning of which all the baboons seem to understand +immediately. Sometimes the slightest murmur +from one of the members of the herd will act as a +signal or warning. This is particularly true when the +baboons are out on an expedition of pillage or mischief. +On such occasions they always station a lookout or +outpost at some favourable point from which the +signal may be given upon the approach of danger. +The faintest murmur made by one of these lookouts +will start the marauding baboons scampering away to +safety.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Disposition_of_Baboons"> + <i>Disposition of Baboons</i> +</h3> + +<p>For the most part they live in rocky places near +ravines, crags, or hilly promontories where grass and +trees are scanty. Their favourite abodes are usually +places surrounded by wide plains. This kind of home +enables them to lie in wait for the right moment to +perpetrate some thieving expedition upon a garden +or field and at the same time to have every opportunity +of escape. They are much given to mischief of +this kind. Consequently they are feared and despised +by the inhabitants of the country which they infest. +If attacked, they often turn upon their pursuers and +inflict serious wounds upon their assailants. Some +baboons prefer to live in the dense forest and climb +readily about even in the tallest trees. Those that +live in more open country are very agile in clambering +among the rocks and are able to reach lofty +heights or positions of safety. The baboon eats a +little of everything, although its chief diet consists of +roots, fruits, reptiles, and insects. To procure their +food they are continually searching, turning over +stones beneath which the desired food may be concealed. +When young the baboon is often quite gentle +and affectionate, but with most of them this disposition +changes when they grow up. In captivity baboons +are surly and unfriendly. Even those born and reared +in captivity are more difficult to approach and teach +than other apes. They are vindictive and treacherous. +Their disagreeable dispositions accord well with their +unpleasant and often repulsive facial expressions. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span>Their savage reactions and lack of intelligence have +earned for them the reputation of being the lowest of +the Old World monkeys. Baboons seldom assume the +erect position for standing or walking. They do, however, +sit upon their haunches in a somewhat crouched +position, but not so freely as many other Old World +monkeys. They all live in Africa, with a slight extension +into Arabia. It is well that these animals never +grew to the size of the great apes, for had they done +so they certainly would have been among the most +dreaded and frightful creatures ever known on earth.</p> + +<p>Dr. Ditmars, who has spent much time in observing +monkeys, reports many interesting studies and experiments +concerning their behaviour. Apparently +the habit of throwing missiles when enraged is not +uncommon among baboons. Any angry monkey may +in its rage grasp and hurl an object such as a drinking +pan, but there is usually no accuracy in its aim or intention +in its act other than an expression of irritated feelings. +None of the monkeys has ever been known to use +a stick or a club in attacking others or defending itself. +Although the throwing of missiles is almost unknown +among monkeys, the baboon marks an exception. +As an instance, one day Dr. Ditmars found the visitors +to the ape house almost in a panic, due to the +savage behaviour of a big yellow baboon. A part of +the cement had fallen out of the wall of his cage and +broken up into sharp pieces. These pieces the baboon +was hurling at the visitors through the bars in a +most deliberately offensive manner and with effective +aim. The crowd in consequence had retreated to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span>various points of safety. Later a shovelful of coal +was placed in the cage of this same baboon. The +pieces of coal he also used as missiles, throwing them +with calculating aim at the keeper and other attendants. +The baboon seems to have an excellent throwing +arm, and Dr. Ditmars credits him with good control +and much speed. During this experiment a baboon +of a different species acted in precisely the same way. +In both of these animals their pitching capacity was +demonstrated without any previous practice or instruction, +and from these observations it would appear +that baboons are natural-born pitchers.</p> + + +<h3 id="Macacus_the_Indian_Monkey"> + <i>Macacus, the Indian Monkey</i> +</h3> + +<p>Another one of the Old World monkeys, the macacus, +shows a different side of the picture. He is more +friendly, more gentle, more full of fun, and forever +up to some sort of monkeyshines. Many of these +monkeys live in India. Mr. Kipling has described them +in his famous “Road Song of the Bandar-Log”:</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">Jabber it quickly and all together!</div> + <div class="verse indent0">Excellent! Wonderful! Once again!</div> + <div class="verse indent0">Now we are talking just like men.</div> + <div class="verse indent4">Let’s pretend we are ... never mind,</div> + <div class="verse indent4"><i>Brother, thy tail hangs down behind!</i></div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p>These monkeys have their homes throughout the +Indo-Malayan regions. They extend northward into +China and Japan and eastward into Tibet. The macaques +have a stout body and a proportionately large +head. There is considerable variation in the tail, which +ranges from a long, sweeping, plume-like appendage +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span>with a tuft at the tip, as in the lion macaque, to +a thick, stubby tail much like that of a dog which +has been docked. The pigtail monkey has a curled +appendage. One of the macaques of Japan has a mere +stump, while the Barbary ape has no tail at all. The +macaques are the typical monkeys about which most +of the favourite stories concerning the ape kind have +had their origin. Their enormous cheek pouches, their +facial grimaces, and the motion of their lips make +them unusually fascinating to watch. They are extremely +noisy, jabbering most of the time. They +seem to have an extensive vocabulary of sounds, consisting +of shrill calls, grunts, low mutterings, barks, +chattering noises, and almost ear-splitting yells, +which they emit in moments of rage. They are playful +and quarrelsome, and these two phases of their behaviour +pass without sharp line one into the other. +They never become involved in serious combats because +they seldom remain at one thing long enough +to be effectual fighters. In their quarters at feeding +time they usually make a real pandemonium in their +frenzied efforts to stuff their cheek pouches as full +as they can. They have absolutely no consideration +or courtesy on these occasions. Their table manners +are not only rough but actually ruthless, and the most +delicious morsels go to the strongest. The weak, the +young, and the female obtain what is left or go without. +These monkeys are often docile and affectionate. +They make the most amusing kind of pets. No animal +is more mischievous or more destructive about a +home where there is anything within reach to break. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>Sometimes when they grow up they develop the unpleasant +tendency of being too strictly a one-man +animal. To protect their owner against an imaginary +danger they will often attack strangers or visitors.</p> + + +<h3 id="Behaviour_of_Macacus"> + <i>Behaviour of Macacus</i> +</h3> + +<p>The head of the macaque is much less dog-shaped +than that of the baboon. The eyes are set closely together, +and the animal sits on its haunches a good +deal of the time holding its head upright, so that the +eyes are directed forward. Its posture in sitting is +quite human, while its attentive gaze gives the impression +that it is watching intelligently all that is +going on. Its nose is short and has a fairly good nasal +bridge. The lips are thin and the upper one is particularly +long. The hands and feet closely resemble human +hands, except that the palm is not so broad, the fingers +are longer, and the thumb shorter. In its movements +the macaque is remarkably deft. It changes from one +position to another with surprising swiftness. These +monkeys go about in herds, often of considerable size. +If captured young the animal is easily trained and +quickly learns many amusing tricks. It is full of +mischief and curiosity. Macacus monkeys frequently +become a nuisance in the neighbourhood of towns +where they live in large numbers. When full grown +they are sometimes quite ill tempered and often +savage even to the extent of attacking the inhabitants +without much provocation. For the most part +they live in cultivated tracts along the banks of +streams. They seem to seek rather than avoid the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span>habitations of man. They manifest little fear for their +human neighbours and take a real delight in molesting +them by many annoying pranks. Sometimes their +attentions are vigorously resented and their human +neighbours turn upon them. Their behaviour on such +occasions is like that of tantalizing small boys who +take an almost idiotic delight in the vain efforts of +their pursuers to overtake them, and continue their +aggravating antics in order to prolong the excitement +of the futile pursuit. If one happens to be captured, a +number of them will turn back to take the part of the +unfortunate captive. In their native haunts they are +constantly on the move. Repose is totally foreign to +their daily programme. Scampering, swinging, chattering, +screaming, they go among the trees all day +long. Either their actions are without design, or else +their purpose changes so rapidly and frequently that +their behaviour has the appearance of ceaseless motion. +When together they are very quarrelsome, constantly +nagging or teasing each other, but here, as +in all of their activities, the object of their anger, +the victim of their jest, is as quickly shifted as their +fleeting attention. Having no fear of the water, they +are able to swim for long distances and greatly enjoy +it. They feed upon spiders and many other insects, +besides fruits and berries. As compared with the +baboon, they show a greater mental alertness.</p> + + +<h3 id="Mental_Tests"> + <i>Mental Tests</i> +</h3> + +<p>Considerable psychological study has been made +of the macaques, particularly concerning their ability +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span>to learn and their mentality. Dr. Kinnaman, who +has made some of these studies, believes that they +have attained a higher level of intelligence than that +ascribed to the New World monkeys by Professor +Thorndike. He thinks there is some evidence that +the macaques have powers of reasoning, although of a +low order. Dr. Hobhouse agrees with this view and +adds that the macacus monkey seems to be possessed +of definite ideas. Professor Yerkes, after a longer and +more systematic study with experimental methods +better suited to the problem, agrees with Professor +Thorndike that the macacus may have a certain number +of limited ideas. It is clear to him also that there +are extreme differences in the mentality of different +species of monkeys. The slow process which they display +in the solution of problems is quite surprising, +in many instances being actually less rapid than in +some of the lower mammals.</p> + +<p>One question is certain to arise at this point: How +do the Old World monkeys compare in mentality +with lemur and tarsius and with the monkeys of the +New World? Perhaps the best answer to this question +may be obtained by watching the actions of these +different animals in their cages at the zoölogical +gardens. Looking at a lemur as he jumps about restlessly +among the supports of his cage, it is quickly +concluded that this animal, not unlike a diminutive +fox, is interesting only because of his remarkable +agility. Tarsius would probably not be found in most +zoölogical gardens because these animals do not survive +long in captivity. The marmosets would attract +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span>little more attention than the lemurs, not only because +of their small size, but also because of their +lack of interesting reactions. Howling monkeys, +spider monkeys, and woolly monkeys are more interesting +because of the remarkable way in which +they use their tails like a fifth hand. Their facial +expression and their general behaviour, however, are +somewhat monotonous.</p> + +<p>The Old World monkeys, especially the macaques, +hold the attention and create a real interest. Here is +to be seen a busy world of jabbering, mischievous, +tricky, athletic monkeys whose antics easily rival the +best of human clowning. There can be no doubt that +these Old World monkeys are on a higher mental +plane than those of the New World. The main fault +to be found with them is that they never get anything +really done, except perhaps filling the pouches in +their cheeks just as full as they can. Even the grouchy +baboons show some signs of better mental powers +than the South American monkeys. They have a +thoroughgoing hostility for their human contemporaries +which they have never changed, and their +powers of organized banditry show a degree of mental +capacity that is foreign to the lower monkeys. This +capacity we should consider all the more noteworthy +because the baboon manifests a distinct tendency to +lose some of the benefits derived from living in the +trees. It almost seems as though, to a certain extent, +it had retrograded. This retrogression appears in +the fact that many of the baboon’s characteristics are +less ape-like and more dog-like than other Old World +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span>monkeys and also because its hands and feet seem +to be specialized more in the direction of paws. Yet, +in spite of this backsliding on the part of the baboon, +the monkeys of the Old World are as a whole eminently +more efficient in their actions and capacities +than any of the New World monkeys, the lemurs or +tarsiers.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brains_of_the_Old_World_Monkeys"> + <i>Brains of the Old World Monkeys</i> +</h3> + +<p>A question may arise concerning the relation in +point of time which the Old World monkeys bear to +those of the New World. All of the evidence supplied +by fossils indicates that lemurs and tarsiers, as well +as the monkeys of South America and Central America, +came into existence long before those species +which inhabit Africa and Asia. According to most +reliable records, the monkeys had their start some +time early in the Age of Mammals. It is correct, therefore, +to look upon the Old World monkeys as a later +and higher stage of development in apedom. This +conclusion is borne out when we view the brains of the +macaque and the baboon. In this comparison we may +be able to detect many signs indicating improvements +in the brain; in fact, all doubts may be set at +rest concerning the superiority of Old World monkeys.</p> + +<p>If we look at the baboon’s brain we are impressed +by the fact that it has many more grooves and many +more convolutions than the brain of the South American +monkey. The convolutions and the grooves of the +brain indicate the amount of cell space which the +superbrain provides for developing brain power. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>As between the baboon and the macaque, the difference +in this respect somewhat favours the former. This +difference is small and may perhaps be discounted +by the fact that in macacus the grooves have a slightly +more advanced arrangement in consequence of which +certain departments of the superbrain show more progressive +tendencies than in the baboon. This is particularly +true of the department of hearing (temporal +lobe) and the department of body and contact senses +(parietal lobe). Comparing the groove of Sylvius, +whose general angle furnishes such an important +standard in rating a brain, there is more of a backward +tilting seen in this groove of the macaque than +in the baboon. Such an inclination is characteristic +of higher races. The central groove appears to be +about on a par in both brains, and the ape groove is +likewise well developed both in the macaque and the +baboon. These three great boundary lines separate +the four major lobes of the superbrain. The department +of sight in the occipital lobe in macacus has no +real advantage over the corresponding area in the +baboon. As already noted, the departments of hearing +and of body and contact sense are better organized +and somewhat more expansive in macacus than in +baboon. But when we come to the preëminent part +of the superbrain, that portion in which the chief +executive function is located, namely, the frontal +lobe, the baboon actually seems to have some real +advantage. Recalling the ugly disposition and ferocious +nature of this animal, we may question why he +is superior in this highest part of his brain to the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>lively and humorous little macaque. It is unfortunate +that we have not as yet any good psychological studies +of the baboon by which we may compare him +with his more nimble associates. Doubtless it is the +disagreeable nature and uncompromising aversion +which the baboon has for mankind that make it so +difficult to estimate him psychologically. Yet there +may be something of an enviable consistency in the +baboon’s aversion to man that implies a better type +of mental power than one might infer from the jabbering, +ceaseless activities of the macacus and all of the +other bandar-logs. Some explanation of this sort must +at present suffice until we are possessed of better +standards for psychological comparison.</p> + +<p>The two important structures on the base of the +brain furnish a definite idea of an animal’s rating. +Accepting their evidence, it appears at once that the +bridge (<i>pons</i>) bears out our previous observations +concerning the powers of the superbrain. This evidence +gives the baboon a higher standing in intelligence +than the macacus. The value assigned to the +bridge in the baboon is .164, while in the macacus it is +.150. This contrast gives an interesting corroborative +estimate of the superior mental powers of the baboon. +From the figures indicating the relative size of the +pyramid, it would seem that the macacus is somewhat +more richly supplied in his variety of skillful movements +than the baboon. The figure in macacus is .147 +and baboon .143. While this is not a marked difference, +it seems to indicate an advantage probably +derived from the more nimble and acrobatic actions +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span>of the macacus. This animal has acquired a more +highly efficient mastery of tree life as compared with +the more sluggish tendencies of baboons, most of +which prefer to live upon the ground and go about like +other four-legged animals. These contrasts between +the Old World monkeys are interesting for what they +show in themselves. They give rise to many questions +which we would be glad to see answered by more +exact and extensive study. The reasons why the baboon +or the macacus should be endowed with superior +qualities in one particular or another, or why there +should be corresponding improvements in the brain, +are not clear. There can be no doubt, however, that +in the Old World monkeys as a whole both behaviour +and brain are in many respects superior to the monkeys +of the New World. We cannot fail to discern +the special points of this superiority in the brain. +It seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that when +the Old World monkeys made their appearance they +definitely advanced the cause of progressive improvement +and that from this progress the brain profited +as much as or even more than any other part.</p> + +<p>Turning back for a moment to the brains of the +New World monkeys and comparing them with those +of the Old World group, we will find sufficient +evidence to convince us that the chief organ of the +body was surely on the way upward, and that the +first humble steps taken by the earliest members +of monkey kind had been supplemented by further +and bold advances.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII"> + CHAPTER VIII + <br> + MANLIKE TENDENCIES + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">BRAINS OF GIBBON AND ORANG-OUTANG</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>There is little about the Old World monkeys, either +in their mode of life or in their appearance, to inspire +respect or confidence. The savage fierceness of the +baboon, the mischievous nonsense of the macaque, +seem like flimsy foundations upon which to build a +race of intelligent human beings. When these animals +first made their appearance they were but vague +foreshadowers of what mankind might be. It is not +alone their form and structure that interests us; their +actions, habits, and behaviour must be carefully +studied at the same time.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Anthropoid_Gibbon"> + <i>The Anthropoid Gibbon</i> +</h3> + +<p>Had the human eye been able to observe all that +transpired in the early days of the monkey kind, it +would have been difficult to believe that a race of +men was in the making. It would have seemed incredible +that from these chattering, restless monkeys +change and modification could eventually bring forth +that development necessary for the human form. And +yet in the course of time changes of this kind did bring +into existence an ape which bore a much closer resemblance +to man. It was then possible to foresee how, +from this new kind of animal, certain human features +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span>might be derived. This particular member of the ape +world is the gibbon. All of his tendencies make him +somewhat shy and inconspicuous. At the zoölogical +gardens he is generally sitting high up on a perch in +his cage with his long arms folded over his head, peering +quietly about him. His fur is usually dark, although +some members of his family are quite light in +colour. The most impressive thing about the gibbon +is the fact that he can stand up, walk, and run upon +two legs. This he does a little awkwardly, but not +unlike a human being. In a certain memorable moving +picture, an unusually interesting silvery gibbon +nearly usurped the rôle of leading man. His marvellous +feats earned for him universal applause, and +whenever he appeared he was the centre of attention. +Among its most stirring moments, this picture shows +a dramatic scene in which a great Indian elephant +whose young one has been captured demolishes the +dwelling of the jungle native who has trapped her +offspring. Shortly after the native with his wife and +children has escaped to safety, the gibbon emerges +cautiously from the wreckage of the home. Through +the darkness of the forest he discerns the glistening +eyes of a tiger that is about to spring upon him. +Realizing that retreat is cut off, he takes to flight. +In escaping he stands upright and runs like a man, +screaming in his fright in a thoroughly human manner. +Fortunately for the gibbon, the branch of a tree +comes opportunely in his path, and then, with a single +upward bound, he is off like a bird through the trees +to safety.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span></p> + +<p>Gibbons are gentle, affectionate creatures. They +are also timid and at the first sign of danger hurry +away through the forest as far up in the trees as they +can go. The gibbon’s body and head are relatively +small, being only a little larger than some of the +smaller macaques. The animal’s legs are short and it +has no tail. A prominent feature is the exceptional +length of the forearm and of the fingers. The hand is +slender and longer than the foot. The female bears +one young at a time, which the mother carries under +her body, the young one clinging to the fur on her +chest with hands and feet. This burden does not +embarrass her in the slightest as she swings her way +from tree to tree through the forest. She makes as +good time in this transportation as the unincumbered +males.</p> + +<p>In the wild state the gibbons never leave the jungle, +and live for the most part throughout southern Asia +and the adjacent islands. A few of them venture from +the inland forests to the vicinity of the coast. All of +the gibbons are highly developed for life in the trees. +This specialization is important not only for the +effects it has had upon these apes but also for those +developments in them which were to be of subsequent +and substantial advantage to the rise of man.</p> + +<p>There are many different varieties of gibbons such +as the white-handed gibbon, the silvery gibbon, the +white-cheeked gibbon, the slender gibbon. The +animal that we shall consider is the hoolock gibbon +of India. He gets his name from a peculiar sound or +cry which he makes. If it were at all possible to imitate +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>this cry it might be expressed as “hooloo! hooloo! +hooloo!” Mr. Candler has studied this interesting +animal at close quarters, and his account of its habits +is well worth quoting:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>The Hoolock swings along the thinnest part of a bough or +to the slender end of a bamboo, until it bends to its weight, then +with a swing and a sort of a kick-off he flies through the air +seizing another branch, and swinging along it with the accuracy +of a finished trapeze performer. I fancy he does very little walking +in the wild state, for I have never seen a wild Hoolock on the +ground. Moreover, they are only found in the dense jungle +where the ground is everywhere covered with tangled vegetation. +The Hoolocks are extremely shy and it is difficult to watch +them as they are concealed by leaves high up on the bamboo +clumps or tops of forest trees. The cry of the Hoolock is characteristic. +It is a very pleasing note, rising and falling in intensity, +and reminding one somewhat of a pack of beagles giving +tongue on a scent, which is waxing and waning in strength as a +larger or smaller number of the band join in the chorus. It is +heard chiefly in the early morning, then through all the heat of +the day there is silence, but towards evening as the sun sets you +may hear it again.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>One might almost think that their early morning +cry was like a rising bell, and their cry toward evening +was their curfew.</p> + + +<h3 id="Manners_of_the_Gibbon"> + <i>Manners of the Gibbon</i> +</h3> + +<p>Gibbons live in fairly large communities. They are +constantly on the move. From what is known of their +intelligence it seems probable that their movements +are guided by definite plans. They even seem to have +some simple sort of governmental system. Tea planters +in India often keep these gibbons as pets for years. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span>They run about the compound quite freely. At times +they suddenly disappear and are gone for several +months. Eventually they return quite unconcerned, +as if nothing had occurred to interrupt their pleasant +human associations. For the most part the gibbon +is sociable. After he has become acquainted he will +often sit on the arm of a person’s chair at breakfast. +Whatever his appetite, he will never reach out for food +at the table, although his long arms give him much +advantage over his human host. Nor will he ever +snatch things off the table. His manners are above +reproach and he keeps himself scrupulously clean. +As the day is drawing to a close it is his habit to get +ready for the night. At sunset he settles down to sleep, +safely seated in the fork of a tree, usually with his +long arms over his head. He is never boisterous, mischievous, +or noisy. Oftentimes he seems to be more +in sympathy with children than with grown-ups.</p> + +<p>The diet of the gibbon includes a long list of foods, +such as fruits, leaves, and young shoots, spiders, +birds’ eggs, insects, and young birds. If captured +young the gibbon is readily tamed. He is never sulky +or ill tempered and shows marked intelligence both in +learning many tricks and adjusting himself to the +rules of the home.</p> + +<p>The locomotion of these animals among the trees is +totally different from that of the monkeys. The latter +climb about using both hands and feet. Gibbons +employ their arms almost exclusively, swinging from +branch to branch, with the legs tucked close to the +body. This is such an important change in the transportation +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span>methods of apedom that we should give it +particular attention in order to note what effects it +had produced upon the gibbons themselves. In the +first place, swinging from one limb to another by the +hands greatly elongated the forearm and the fingers. +This kind of locomotion gives the gibbon the appearance +of taking tremendously long strides with his +arms. The right hand, first grasping a branch, permits +the animal to swing twelve or more feet to the next +branch which is grasped by the left hand. In the next +step the forward stride is taken by the right hand. +Thus the animal alternates the right and left hand +just as we alternate the right and left foot. It is +probably for this reason that the gibbons have been +called “tree walkers” (<i>Hylobates</i>).</p> + +<p>The second effect produced by this kind of swinging +locomotion, called brachiation, is even more decisive +in the final outcome. Transportation such as this +swinging by the hands drew the body more and more +into the upright position. It brought about many of +those fundamental changes which made it possible +for the gibbon to stand upright, walk, and run upon +two legs. Compared with other animals of this class, +the gibbon is the most two-legged of all the apes. He +walks rather quickly in the erect posture. His gait is +waddling, and if pursued he will make every effort +to reach some support by which he can swing himself +to safety. In walking he turns his leg and foot outward, +which gives him a bow-legged appearance, +added to which the shortness of his legs makes his +movements in walking and running far less graceful +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>than these acts ultimately came to be in their highest +exponent, man. Here undoubtedly may be discerned +important elements for the inception of human locomotion. +They appear in an animal which can stand, +walk, and run upright, and also possesses well-developed +hands.</p> + + +<h3 id="Gibbons_Resemblance_to_Man"> + <i>Gibbon’s Resemblance to Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>The gibbons are said sometimes to scoop up water +in the hollow of the hand in order to drink. At other +times they stretch out their long arms among the +foliage and lick off the dew which adheres to their +hair, in this way quenching their thirst.</p> + +<p>In view of these facts our estimate of the gibbon +may credit him with certain manlike traits. Yet his +resemblance to human beings, considering the animal +as a whole, is at best sketchy and vague. Casual +observation of the gibbon does not bring any clear +association with the human being at once to mind. +Only after watching him, after noting the manner in +which he gets about, after seeing him walk and run +on two legs, is it possible to recognize certain tendencies +which point in the human direction. It is for +this reason that the gibbon is said to represent a stage +preceding the manlike apes. Some students of this +question class the gibbon with these anthropoid apes. +It seems better judgment, however, to consider him +rather an animal showing dispositions which serve +as a starting point for the anthropoids. These tendencies, +as they are crystallized in the gibbon, represent +an introductory chapter in the history of all +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span>those animals which later became notable because +they walked more or less upright and had the use of +hands. Thus the gibbon is often spoken of as pro-anthropoid. +He himself is a modern animal. One of +his venerable ancestors, very much like himself, +lived long ago—<i>Propliopithecus</i> of the Oligocene. +The descendants of this ancient extinct ape with the +long name, whose fossil remains have been found in +Egypt, followed two lines of development. One line +led up to the modern anthropoid apes and man, the +second to the modern gibbons. The first offshoot from +this line gave rise to a great ape which in many features +looks much more like man than does the gibbon. +This is the orang-outang. He is one of the big apes +seen in the large primate cages of the zoölogical +gardens. He may be recognized by the brownish-yellow +hair which covers his body, by his face which +bears a humorous caricatured resemblance to man, +and by the erect posture which he assumes much of +the time. Although he climbs about his cage and its +supports like a skillful acrobat, this manlike ape lacks +the grace and agility of the gibbon. He is wild and shy, +but possesses enormous strength, which makes him +more than a match for the most able-bodied man.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Orang-Outang"> + <i>The Orang-Outang</i> +</h3> + +<p>The orang lives in Borneo and Sumatra. He has +not been found elsewhere in the world. In his island +home he enjoys a deserved reputation because of his +prodigious strength. When full grown he stands a +little over four feet in height. He has a heavy body, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span>short thick neck, receding forehead, thick lips, and a +face uncovered by hair. His muzzle protrudes to form +a thick and heavy upper jaw, with a large mouth +and large teeth. In the full-grown male the cheek +pouches become greatly enlarged, so that they look +like an old-fashioned ruff around the head. This feature +gives him a hideous and gruesome appearance. +The arms are long, reaching almost to the ankles +when the orang stands upright. The hands are long +and narrow, the thumb is short, the fingers are united +by webs at their bases. The legs are short in comparison +to the length of the body and considerably bowed. +The feet are long and narrow. The great toe is short, +but it can be used for grasping the branches. Fleshy +pads over the buttocks are present in the adult male, +but the orang has no tail. He is easily distinguished +from the other great apes by his bulging muzzle and +his light yellowish-brown hair. He seldom exceeds +four feet two inches when standing upright, but his +outstretched arms together measure nearly eight +feet from finger tip to finger tip. Some specimens +killed by hunters have been reported to stand five +feet three inches high.</p> + +<p>Among the first accurate accounts of the orang-outang’s +life is that of Alfred Russell Wallace appearing +in his famous book <i>The Malay Archipelago</i>, from +which the following description is an extract:</p> + +<blockquote> +<p>The orang has a wide distribution, inhabiting many districts +along the coast of the island [Borneo] where it appears chiefly +confined to the low swampy forests. It particularly affects a +country which is low and level with a few isolated mountains, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>on some of which the Dyaks have settled and planted many +fruit trees which are a great attraction to the orang, as his most +desirable food seems to be unripe fruit. The habitual habitat of +the animal is in the lofty virgin forests, in which they can roam +in every direction with as much facility as the Indian on the +prairie, passing from treetop to treetop without being obliged +to descend to the earth. The orang makes his way leisurely +through the forest, with remarkable ease. He walks deliberately +along the larger branches, in a semi-erect attitude which his +great length of arm and the shortness of his legs causes him +naturally to assume. But this proportion between his limbs +is increased by his walking on his knuckles and not on the palm +of his hand. He chooses those branches which intermingle with +those of an adjoining tree. In approaching these he stretches out +his long arms, seizing the neighboring bough with both hands +and then deliberately swings himself across to the next branch, +on which he walks along as before. He never jumps or springs +nor even appears to hurry himself, yet he manages to get along +almost as quickly as a person can run through the forest beneath. +The long powerful arms are of greatest use to the animal, as +they enable him to climb easily the highest trees, to seize fruit +and young leaves from slender boughs which will not bear his +weight and to gather leaves and branches from which to form +his nest at night. When wounded he endeavors to make a nest +in which to remain quiet, and similarly at night prepares a +resting place in the tree to sleep. He likes this place low down in +the tree, not over 20 or 30 feet from the ground, probably because +in this position it is warm and less exposed to the wind.</p> + +<p>The orang, it is said, makes a new nest for himself every night +or perhaps remakes an old one. In rainy weather the animal +covers himself with leaves or large ferns, and this may have led +to the belief that he actually builds huts in the trees. The animal +does not arise from his bed in the morning until the sun is well +up and has dried the dew upon the leaves. He seldom returns +to the same tree two days in succession.</p> + +<p>They have no particular fear of man, and only retreat slowly +after a considerable period of scrutinizing inspection. They do +not have so much of the gregarious tendencies as do the other +large apes. Two full-grown animals are seldom seen together, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>but males and females are sometimes accompanied by half-grown +young ones. At other times three or four young animals +are seen together. Their food consists almost exclusively of +fruits, leaves, buds and young shoots. They seem to prefer the +unripe fruit, even when very sour or intensely bitter, the red +fleshy arillus being a particular favorite. The orang rarely +descends to the ground except when pressed by hunger, when +it seeks the succulent shoots at the riverside. In very dry weather +it also comes down from the trees in quest of water, of which +it generally finds sufficient in the hollow of the leaves. They have +been seen upon the ground playing together, at which times +they assume the erect posture and grasp each other with their +arms.</p> +</blockquote> + +<p>Wallace believes that the orang seldom stands or +walks erect unless when using its hands to support +itself by the branches overhead, or when attacked. +He also thinks that the representations of it walking +with a stick are quite imaginary. In its general demeanour +the orang would impress one as dull and +apathetic. When seated among the branches its back +is bent, its head is bowed, and its long arms either +reach up to grasp a branch overhead or hang listlessly +by its sides. Some explorers have maintained that the +animal builds huts for itself in the trees. This is largely +an exaggeration, but the orang has developed an interesting +technique for building itself a nest in the +trees as night approaches. Small branches are first +laid crosswise to form a framework, and over this a +thick bed of leaves is placed. The orang is quite +fussy about the construction of its bedroom and takes +good care to cover itself up when the wind is chilly +or the night stormy. Even in captivity the animal is +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span>particular about the details of its bedchamber and +always manages to cover itself with straw or newspapers +if it happens to find them in the cage.</p> + +<p>The orang has other constructive tendencies. He +often manifests some engineering skill in devising +supports for himself in his cage. With these he will +amuse himself by the hour, climbing upon the support, +dropping to the floor, and repeating the entire +performance time after time in as many different +ways as he can. In one instance a young male orang +found a long rope hanging from the roof of his cage. +He clung to the rope by his left hand and both feet. +With his free right hand he passed the end of the rope +around the bars, turned it through a right angle, and +pulled it tight. In this way he made an interesting +perch for himself. If anyone detached the rope he at +once replaced it and thus remade his perch.</p> + +<p>On the ground the orang is clumsy. He usually goes +on all fours, and his walking gait has been likened +to that of a very old man bent down by age, hobbling +along with the aid of a cane. It is interesting to note +that in walking he goes on the outer borders of his +feet. His stride is short and shuffling. Even when +hurrying he lopes along rather than runs. Unlike the +gibbons, the orang does not use his hand as a drinking +cup. His lower lip protrudes in a capacious trough +for collecting rain water. If given a pail of milk or +water the orang lifts the pail and pours the fluid into +this trough and then swallows it. When captured +young the animals can be trained and taught to obey +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span>many words of command. In time they get over their +shyness and seem to like human companionship. +They are, however, easily frightened. Females when +pregnant separate themselves from the others and +remain more or less in seclusion until the young are +born. The offspring grow slowly and, like human +infants, require the care of their mothers for a long +time. When the mother moves about the young one +clings to the hair of her chest. This is a marked characteristic +of child care throughout the ape world.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Orang_in_Infancy"> + <i>The Orang in Infancy</i> +</h3> + +<p>Wallace recites an interesting experience which he +had with a baby orang whose mother was shot and +killed by him in the forest the preceding day. This +experience is especially interesting because of its +many human resemblances. When Wallace stooped +to pick up the helpless infant orang that lay sprawling +on its back, his long beard was immediately seized +by the grasping hands and feet of the youngster. +It was a long and painful ordeal to get away from +this clinging infant. The baby orang had but a single +tooth, but soon its milk teeth began to appear, much +as in a human infant. The lack of milk on the island +made it difficult to feed the young ape. When a finger +was placed in its mouth it would suck with great +vigour, drawing in its cheeks in a vain effort to extract +milk. After persevering for a long while it would +give up in disgust and start screaming, much as would +a human baby under similar circumstances. When +handled or nursed it was always quiet, but if laid +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>down by itself it would invariably cry. It enjoyed +being rubbed after its morning bath and was quite +happy while its hair was being combed and brushed.</p> + +<p>For the first few days it clung desperately by all +four hands to everything it could reach, and Wallace +remarks that it was necessary for him to be cautious +in keeping his beard out of the way. He felt that the +infant ape was lonely and needed companionship, so +a little harelipped monkey of the macacus variety was +obtained as a playmate. It was curious to see the +difference in the actions of these two animals, the +one an offspring of a humbler monkey, the other born +of one of the great manlike apes. The two young ones +were about the same age. The orang, just like a human +baby, would lie upon its back helplessly rolling +from side to side, stretching out all four hands into +the air and striving to grasp something, although +hardly able to guide its fingers to any desired object. +When dissatisfied it opened wide its almost toothless +mouth and expressed its discomfort in an infantile +scream. The little macacus monkey, on the other +hand, was constantly on the go, running and jumping +about, examining everything in sight, taking hold +of objects with greatest precision, balancing itself on +the edge of its box and searching everywhere for food. +There could scarcely be a greater contrast. One could +hardly escape the conclusion that in the orang, as in +man, a long period of slow growth is necessary for its +final development. The advantages of such growth +are sufficiently apparent and need no further comment.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Psychological_Tests"> + <i>Psychological Tests</i> +</h3> + +<p>The orang-outang has not yet been so extensively +subjected to psychological study as its more sociable +fellow ape, the chimpanzee. It is fortunate, however, +that at least one of this species has come under the +critical observation of an astute student of animal +behaviour, Professor Robert M. Yerkes, of Yale +University. In his notable contribution on the mental +life of monkeys and apes, Professor Yerkes has described +certain tests devised for estimating the intelligence +of lower animals, and applied to the partly +grown orang known as “Julius.” These tests were +devised on what is known as the “multiple choice +basis.” Julius, after many unsuccessful efforts to solve +his problems by the method of trial and error, quite +unexpectedly seemed to get the idea of what was +wanted. He suddenly responded to the test without a +single mistake. He seemed to solve his problem quite +as if he knew what it was all about. It took him a +long time, but at last he showed that he was capable +of some kind of thinking. The curve of learning as it +was charted day by day from the actions of Julius +indicated that if he had been a human subject his +mental process would possibly have been described +as rational. Professor Yerkes feels justified in concluding +from this evidence that the orang solves his +problems ideationally. In general, Julius appeared to +be far superior to other monkeys in his intelligence. +His mental processes were slow, but the method of +learning by ideas seemed to replace the simpler way +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span>of trial and error which is common throughout the +monkey world. Julius persistently endeavoured, and +often vainly, to gain some insight into a situation. +Even though slow, he showed nevertheless that the +brain had at length attained the development necessary +for the production of real ideas. However questionable +this attainment may be in the monkeys or +in other lower animals, there seems to be little doubt +about its existence in the orang.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brains_of_the_Gibbon_and_Orang"> + <i>Brains of the Gibbon and Orang</i> +</h3> + +<p>Upon reviewing the facts concerning the gibbon +and the orang, we may ask certain questions. For +example, does the real progress which these two members +of the ape world show in their capacity to do +things manifest itself as a measurable difference in +their brains? Would it be possible to maintain that +these were indeed the brains of more capable and +more intelligent animals than the monkeys? Certain +features about the brain of the gibbon and the orang +are striking. In the first place, the pattern of their +convolutions is more complicated. The orang especially +has more grooves and convolutions upon the +surface of the superbrain. It is believed, and many +facts sustain the belief, that convolutions indicate in +a general way the capacity of an animal to develop +brain power. In the gibbon the increase in convolutions +is not so pronounced as in the orang, although it +is not difficult to see that in this respect the gibbon’s +brain is much improved when compared with lower +monkeys. Upon identifying the familiar landmarks, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>it is obvious that the groove of Sylvius, the central +groove, and even the ape groove form more decisive +boundaries and outline more prominent lobes than in +macaque or baboon. The superbrain departments +for sight (occipital lobe), for hearing (temporal lobe), +for body and contact senses (parietal lobe), are all +more extensive. Each lobe, by the presence in it of +smaller secondary grooves which do not appear in the +lower monkeys, shows how its capacity has expanded. +The grooves of the brain, in their arrangement, number, +and relations, now begin to assume an appearance +similar to that of the human brain. Each sense +department in the orang is well organized. Each has +gained in prominence, thus indicating how the senses +of sight and hearing, and body and contact senses, +have increased their capacity. By means of its amplified +sensory combinations the superbrain was eventually +capable of producing intelligent reactions. +The area in front of the central groove manifests the +chief improvement. This is the part of the brain in +contact with the frontal bone. It has made some advances +in the gibbon but is still more prominent in +the orang. At this stage it is possible to speak of a +well-developed frontal lobe acting as the headquarters +of all higher mental functions. The large increase in +the size of the orang’s brain is in some degree proportional +to the size of the animal’s body. Many other +factors have actuated this expansion and will receive +special consideration in a subsequent chapter.</p> + +<p>If it were possible to reduce the difference in intelligence +between the orang and the gibbon to actual +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span>figures, the contrasts would be marked. Certain +estimations of this kind are significant. The bridge +(<i>pons Varolii</i>) on the base of the brain, which may be +regarded as an index of intelligence, has a value of +.200 in the gibbon and .300 in the orang. The pyramid, +indicating the degree of skill in movement attained +by the animal, as well as the degree of controlling +itself by the dictates of its will, also shows a considerable +difference. This difference is again in favour +of the orang, whose pyramid is estimated at .160, +while that of the gibbon is .138.</p> + +<p>Many other points indicating similar advantages +held by the orang over the gibbon might be cited. +They have the same general meaning, namely, that +the orang possesses a better brain. In fact, all of the +evidence gathered from this animal reveals many +manlike tendencies. Such tendencies, both in brain +and behaviour, first became notable in the gibbon. +At this stage they were not prominent features. They +were, so to speak, in a preparatory or pro-anthropoid +phase. In the orang those manlike tendencies foreshadowed +by the gibbon became more definite and +better developed. They formed the foundations for +new combinations out of which was to emerge a still +higher type of animal.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX"> + CHAPTER IX + <br> + HUMAN IN MINIATURE + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">THE BRAIN OF THE CHIMPANZEE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The chimpanzee has a well-established reputation +for many sterling qualities. He is a comedian of no +mean talent, and often as a buoyant fun maker earns +a large salary. He is also famous as an acrobat.</p> + +<p>Depending upon his species, the chimpanzee varies +in height from four feet to four feet five inches. As a +class these apes are spread out over more territory +than any of the other great anthropoids. They live in +West and Central Equatorial Africa ranging from +Gambia in the north as far south as Angola. In colour +they are black with thick hair over the entire body, +except the brow and face. In some species the scalp +is bare, as in the bald-headed chimpanzee. All varieties +are powerful but lightly built animals. They +possess great strength and agility. In spite of his relatively +short stature, the chimpanzee is a dangerous +enemy even for the strongest man. His head is flattened +in the region of the forehead, which has a thick +bony ridge above the eyes. The ridge of the nose is +flat. The mouth is large and the lips thick. The ears +are especially large and project upward almost as +high as the vertex of the head. The lower jaw protrudes +considerably. The teeth in general are large +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span>and formidable, the canines in particular being prominent. +The skin over the face is usually dark, but in +some species it is lighter than surrounding areas. +This is particularly true in the region of the mouth +and nose. The body is short and the abdomen pendulous. +The legs are shorter than the arms. The foot is +short with a great toe that is thick and opposable. +The other toes are united by a web near the base. +The arms are long, with finger tips reaching a considerable +distance below the knees when the animal +stands erect. The hands are broad, the thumb is +short, and the fingers webbed near their bases, as in +the case of the toes. As is true of the other great anthropoids, +the chimpanzee has no tail. The female +bears one young at a time, which she carries when +passing through the forest and along the ground in +the manner characteristic of other apes.</p> + + +<h3 id="Intelligence_of_the_Chimpanzee"> + <i>Intelligence of the Chimpanzee</i> +</h3> + +<p>Concerning the habits of the chimpanzee in its +native state little is known. Fortunately, many of +these animals have been captured when young. +Some of them have become noted circus performers, +or famous moving-picture actors. A number of them +have been studied from the standpoint of their behaviour +and psychology. One of the best records of +the chimpanzee comes to us as an echo of the Great +War. It furnishes another instance of German thoroughness +and scientific enterprise.</p> + +<p>Some years ago the Prussian Academy of Science +established at Teneriffe in the Canary Islands a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>special station equipped for the study of the great +manlike apes. It was here that Professor Köhler +found himself during the Great War and here he remained +interned with nine chimpanzees for two years. +During this time he lived with these animals largely +shut off from the rest of the world by the naval +blockade. The report of his experience and studies is +given in a delightful narrative published both in English +and German called <i>The Mentality of Apes</i>. The +following descriptions of the chimpanzee are taken +from Professor Köhler’s book. In this work his chief +purpose was to test the intelligence of the larger manlike +apes. To this end it was necessary to devise certain +methods which he called “roundabout tests” +because they complicated ordinary situations in such +a way as to require intelligence on the part of the +animal for their solution.</p> + +<p>Early in the study one of the most quick-witted +chimpanzees in the collection was given the following +problem: From the roof of the animals’ playground a +basket of bananas was suspended by means of a +string passed through an iron ring. The end of this +string was tied in a noose and placed over the limb +of an old tree at a height of nine feet from the ground. +When all was ready, the chimpanzee called “Sultan” +was sent out into the playground. He, of course, was +familiar with this basket and associated it with feeding +time. On entering the enclosure Sultan saw the +basket at once and then began to manifest signs of +agitation because, contrary to custom, he was all +alone in the open. He began at once to show his feelings +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span>in true chimpanzee style. Jumping about he expressed +his extreme disapproval at being alone by +making a thundering noise with his feet against the +wall of the ape house. It seemed as if he were calling +upon the other chimpanzees to come out and join +him. He even tried to get in communication with +the other animals by climbing up and looking in at +their windows. But all of this was to no avail. Presently +he appeared to take a renewed interest in the +bananas. He looked up at the basket, and having +sized up the situation made for the tree, climbed +quickly to the noose, pulled the string until the basket +bumped against the roof, released the string, pulled it +a second time even more vigorously, until a banana +fell to the ground. Sultan then left the tree, but soon +ascended once more, now to pull violently upon the +string until it broke and the entire basket fell. Immediately +he scampered down, took the basket, and +went off in a corner to eat the fruit. Thus Sultan, in a +comparatively brief time, solved this roundabout +problem by obtaining the objective in spite of the +obstacles put in his way.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Chimpanzees_Use_of_Implements"> + <i>The Chimpanzee’s Use of Implements</i> +</h3> + +<p>Many experiments were made to see how much the +chimpanzees make use of implements, but in the +main these experiments were not necessary. The +chimpanzee, as if by nature, handles many objects +in his immediate surroundings in a variety of ways. +His powerful hands serve in a most natural manner +as a useful link between him and the world of things +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>outside. His feet, although far more than a second pair +of hands, may be used in emergencies when the human +feet would be quite useless. The jaws and teeth +are also serviceable, and are employed as among +many African tribes and other primitive people. +The handling of everyday objects by the chimpanzee +comes almost entirely in the nature of play. Sometimes +under the pressure of need it appears that new +knowledge acquired from using objects at play will +be put to still better use in gaining some desired objective. +In the main, however, what the chimpanzee +may use in this way is without the slightest idea of +immediate gain and serves only to increase the joy +of living. Thus jumping with the aid of a stick or pole, +invented by one of the brightest chimpanzees, was +imitated by all the others as a means of entertainment. +Later it was put to more practical use for obtaining +food which was suspended above them and out +of reach. In order to get this food it was necessary +to resort to some means of lifting their body toward +the desired goal. In the end the jumping with a stick +in play was converted to a sort of pole vaulting by +means of which the chimpanzees all acquired a +thoroughly businesslike method for getting such food +as was out of reach over their heads. These chimps +also used straws and twigs as we use spoons. At first +this was more or less in play during mealtime, especially +after their first thirst had been quenched. +Then they liked to amuse themselves by dipping the +water up with a straw and sucking the straw. Once +some red wine was poured into the drinking water +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span>which they shared in common. At the first taste of +this new mixture they all paused for a moment and +looked at each other; then one of the chimpanzees +began to spoon up this wonderful drink with a straw, +and all the others immediately followed his example. +In learning to use twigs and straws for spoons there +was no possibility of imitation. None of the chimpanzees +had a chance of seeing a human being use a +knife or spoon while eating. The twig or stick was also +employed quite deftly in other ways, adding to its +usefulness as a table utensil some of the properties of +a weapon for the chase. In the summer time a species +of ant infests the part of the Canary Islands where +these great apes were housed. These ants passed in a +wide stream, moving along over the beams, around a +wire netting which encircled the playground. The +chimpanzee has a great liking for acid fruit, which he +prefers to all others. It is no doubt for this reason +that he relishes the formic acid in the ants. Usually +upon seeing the ants the chimpanzee simply rolled +his tongue along a beam over which they were crawling +and thus gathered them in to himself. If the wire +netting came between him and this coveted delicacy, +such a method of capture would not suffice. In consequence, +all of the chimpanzees soon learned to +use sticks and straws, which they thrust through the +wire netting and held in this position until covered +by ants. The straws were then withdrawn, and the +insects promptly licked off and devoured. This +method of capture proved most satisfactory and entertaining. +Their attention was entirely absorbed in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span>the process of overcoming the obstacle between them +and the delicate morsels which they craved.</p> + + +<h3 id="Strong_Human_Resemblances"> + <i>Strong Human Resemblances</i> +</h3> + +<p>If a mouse, a lizard, or some small crawling animal +entered the playground, the chimpanzees at once +became greatly excited. They manifested all of the +hunting interest apparent in the human species under +like circumstances. There was also evidence of fear +and timidity on these occasions, not, however, confined +to the female alone. Even the bolder chimpanzees +that evinced the greatest hunting interest did +not give chase with any creditable show of courage. +They manifested caution and hesitation throughout +the entire performance. Nearly every movement on +the part of the poor quarry was followed by nervous +gestures of the chimps. The largest ones hesitated to +make a capture by a sudden snatch with the naked +hand. It was amusing and almost laughable to see +these powerful apes stretch out their hands with the +evident intention of catching the prey, with fingers +all pointed in anticipation, then suddenly, on the +slightest movement of the mouse or lizard, quickly +withdraw the hand again. A firm grasp upon one of +these little wriggling animals appeared almost as +impossible for the chimpanzees as for many people. +Despite the great excitement which the presence of +invaders occasioned, the little animals would often +escape because the chimpanzees lacked that last degree +of daring necessary to make a successful capture. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span>Presently they learned to use sticks upon the +small intruders of their domain. With these weapons, +if the victim did not escape, they would at length +dispatch it. This they did in no spirit of cruelty but +rather in sheer excitement of the chase.</p> + +<p>Professor Köhler took great pains to observe the +rapidity with which the chimpanzees adjusted themselves +when confronted by new conditions for the +first time in their lives. One of the most striking +tests of this kind was their introduction to the electric +current. It was decided to observe how the chimpanzees +would act when they made the acquaintance +of this entirely new circumstance. For this purpose +one wire from an electric induction coil was attached +to a metal basket filled with bananas and suspended +from the roof. The other wire from the battery was +made fast to a metal netting upon the ground beneath +the basket. In a short time all of the chimpanzees +became intensely interested in the fruit above their +heads. They were particularly eager to reach the +bananas. To do so it was necessary for them to stand +upon the wire netting on the ground. At first one +chimpanzee approached cautiously. Having taken +up his position with both feet upon the wire netting, +he reached slowly up to the metal basket. This of +course immediately made a connection which delivered +an electric current through his hand. The reaction +of the chimpanzee was astonishingly human. +Immediately upon touching the basket he felt the +shock of the current and with a cry of dismay bounded +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span>off in great surprise. His curiosity, however, was not +yet satisfied. He still had a hungry longing for the +bananas. Everything about the situation looked +thoroughly familiar and innocent to him. He could +see no reason why the basket on this occasion should +treat him so rudely or why he experienced such an +unpleasant sensation in trying to get his food as he +had done a hundred times before. Appetite and curiosity +finally got the upper hand, and stealing up +cautiously he made a second attempt. This time he +was less hasty in grasping the basket and spent +several moments in hesitating attempts to touch it, +drawing his hand back now and again. At length, with +a sudden grasp, he reached for the goal, only to +receive another shock. In apparent indignation he +hopped away in much the same manner as might any +human being who had inadvertently touched a hot +stove. Nothing would do, however, but that all of +the chimpanzees in turn should follow the example +of their leader and try to get the bananas away from +this strange thing that seemed to be outwitting them. +One after another they made their futile attempts +until it became a pathetic sight to see them sitting +around in a mournful ring, sometimes looking at their +hands, sometimes shaking them resentfully, and always +gazing wistfully at the inaccessible delicacies. +Most of the chimpanzees during this test reacted in +a manner which might easily be called human. It was +rather impressive to observe that all of their reactions +under these conditions were actual counterparts of +human behaviour.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Chimpanzee_Sports_and_Nest_Making"> + <i>Chimpanzee Sports and Nest Making</i> +</h3> + +<p>In handling other objects the chimpanzees showed +a strong tendency to develop new habits. After a +time they did not confine themselves alone to thrusting +and hitting with sticks. They soon began to +throw them around. In moments when they were +greatly pleased (and chimpanzees have a joyful, +buoyant nature) they showed their delight in a new +way, especially when very good food was being provided. +On such occasions one of them would seize +another and shake him violently out of sheer pleasure +and approval. Under such provocation a large chimpanzee +developed the habit of taking a stick and +flinging it forcefully at some comrade in his vicinity. +This frequently happened in play also. One female, a +remarkable athlete called “Chica,” developed the +amusing pastime of stealing up behind her companions +as they sat quietly at rest, and from fairly close +quarters hurling a stick at them. Immediately she +would scurry off, apparently much delighted by the +discomfort that she had caused. From throwing +sticks it was but a short step to throwing handfuls +of sand at one another, and finally stones of varied +size and weight. At first their aim was poor, but soon +throwing stones became a ruling passion among them, +and some of them became dangerously expert, especially +the wily Chica. She practised so continuously +that she soon acquired great skill and an excellent +aim. From this pastime she appeared to derive much +satisfaction, whether hurling stones at her fellow +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span>apes or at her human associates. Both ape and man +acquired such a genuine respect for her ability in +this regard that whenever they found her in this +mood they quickly retired to safety and permitted +the expert marksman to find her amusement on less +sensitive targets. All of these hurling activities, which +were in the nature of play, might for a few moments +determine an exciting stone battle. But the sharpshooting +Chica was so obviously superior that the +fray was certain to be short lived.</p> + +<p>Almost all of the chimpanzees made nests for themselves, +even from the earliest infancy onward. In +these operations, as might be expected, the full-grown +chimpanzee made the best beds. It may not be +altogether clear why the adult female was the best +chambermaid of all. Her efforts in bed making did in +fact show a precision in tidiness that was unequalled +by any of the others. Usually in the evening, as the +strenuous play of the day subsided, all of the apes +began to gather heaps of straw. In the centre of each +heap a chimpanzee would sit quietly and begin to +twist the ends of the straw together. This work continued +all around the edge until a natural nest, not +unlike that of the stork, was formed. The younger +animals in their nest making were less exact. They +seldom made so neat a turning down of the outer +edges, but on some occasions, when they apparently +took more pains with their handiwork, their movements +during the preparation of the nest were exactly +like those of the older females. Nests were often +made during the day in pure fun, and many different +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span>materials, such as string, grass, branches, rags, ropes, +and even wire, were collected for this purpose. It was +quite evident that in their nest-making activities +the younger chimpanzees imitated the actions of the +older ones.</p> + + +<h3 id="Clowning_and_Masquerade"> + <i>Clowning and Masquerade</i> +</h3> + +<p>Objects of many kinds interested these apes. They +seemed particularly fond of carrying quite a variety +of rubbish about on the body in one way or another. +Nearly every day some of the animals began walking +around the playground with a piece of rope, a bit of +rag, a blade of grass, or a twig upon the shoulders. +Some of them if given a bit of metal chain would put +it proudly around their necks like a necklace. Bushes +and brambles were often carried in considerable +quantities spread out over the entire back. In these +actions they affected a manner that revealed tendencies +familiar to human masquerading in grotesque +or fantastic costumes. One of the chimpanzees contracted +the habit of carrying around empty preserve +cans by grasping the lid of the can between his +teeth. All of this occupation was done as diversion or +entertainment, from which the chimpanzees derived +much visible pleasure. The clowning actions of these +apes clearly held the attention of those not actively +participating in the performances, and many of them, +like little children, attempted to imitate the antics of +the leader. When dressed up in these various ways +the chimpanzees often displayed an almost impish +self-important audacity, strutting about among their +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span>companions or advancing upon them in a menacing +way. One of the older females, attired for play, would +trot around in a circle with several of the smaller +animals following closely at her heels. Sometimes the +entire company playing in this fashion would march +around in a circle, one behind the other. The largest +animal would stamp its foot at each step, as though +beating time for the parade. The other animals followed +suit by an accentuation of the marching movements.</p> + + +<h3 id="Manufacture_and_Building"> + <i>Manufacture and Building</i> +</h3> + +<p>Not only did the chimpanzees acquire many ways +for employing objects which they encountered, but +some of them actually went one step farther. They +manifested a degree of ingenuity in constructing special +implements for themselves. The results of this +constructive industry, it must be admitted, were relatively +simple. On the other hand, there can be no +doubt that the chimpanzee does manufacture instruments, +in a modest way, which help him to gain +his ends. One of the most talented apes learned to +fit a small piece of bamboo into the cavity at the +end of a larger piece. In this way he built a long bamboo +pole, which was especially useful for procuring +food hung above his head and out of reach. All of the +chimpanzees ultimately developed some degree of +constructive or engineering ability. They actually became +builders on a small scale. This ability grew out +of their learning to use boxes in order to reach objects +over their heads. Using one box led to the advantage +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>of piling one box on top of another and thus constructing +a tower. They were not all equally expert as +builders. As might be expected, the more quick-witted +and alert members of the group learned how to +build first, and this they did entirely of their own +initiative. After they had built a tower of this kind, +the long bamboo stick came in handy as a means to +bring the suspended banana to the ground. Here two +modes of solving a problem were combined—that of +building, and that of using the long pole. Building +operations soon became a favourite pastime; yet in +spite of the fact that they were given every opportunity +they never developed an efficient labour organization. +However helpful united efforts may have been +toward their ultimate aim, the chimpanzees failed to +realize the advantages of a mutual aid society. There +was doubtless a reason for their lack of intelligence +in developing higher efficiency in this respect. Almost +invariably their building operations were dictated by +a desire to obtain food that was out of their reach. +Among the chimpanzees this goal was in no sense a +mutual interest. It was a matter of the utmost selfish +concern to each chimpanzee. So whatever advantage +there might have been in a division of labour, there +was never a thought of dividing the spoils. When the +chimpanzees gravely assembled in the presence of a +basket of food hung up over their heads, they gazed +about for proper materials to use as tools in reaching +the desired goal. One would bring a pole; another +would drag up a box. These were put in position preparatory +to constructing a tower. The building +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span>would then begin in earnest. When the first stages of +construction were complete several of the animals +at the same time would show great impatience to +clamber up. Each one of them acted as if either he or +she were the sole proprietor of the structure. Often, +too, the box already in position would be snatched +away by some competitive group in the building industry +and dragged off to be used in the construction +of a rival tower. This would usually result in a wrangle +among the architects. In fact, the entire company +of builders might come to blows over this infringement +of property rights. After the subsidence of these +Babel-like controversies the building would be resumed +and the structure would continue to grow in +height until it became an object of ever-increasing +excitement to the assembled workers, each manifesting +a keen desire to mount it. In consequence of this +highly individualistic competition and due to their +restless efforts, the tower would sometimes tumble +over and the result of their labours be destroyed. +Then it was necessary to begin all over again. Usually +in this renewed effort only the more diligent and +patient of the chimpanzees adhered to the original +purpose. The others became interested in more trivial +occupations. Eventually the tower was finished, and +the more diligent as well as the more patient of the +toilers quietly mounted to the summit of the structure +and, either with or without the aid of the pole, obtained +the coveted bananas. Sometimes, however, +just when the diligent one was ready to reap the just +reward of his efforts, some member of the group endowed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span>with unusual athletic prowess rushed up +stealthily and with great speed to the top of the tower +and seized the prize before the rightful winner had +time to protest or retaliate. In all of this building enterprise +there is something so fundamentally human, +so reminiscent of modern methods, that it seems inaccurate +to class these reactions too rigidly in the +category of ape behaviour.</p> + + +<h3 id="Emotions_of_the_Chimpanzee"> + <i>Emotions of the Chimpanzee</i> +</h3> + +<p>The chimpanzee, according to Professor Köhler, +has a range of expression of emotion even greater +than that of the average human being. The chimp +shows his feelings by his entire body, not merely +by his facial expressions. It is his custom to jump up +and down both in joyful anticipation and in anger or +annoyance. In extreme despair or disgust, which +the animal shows on slight provocation, he has the +habit of flinging himself upon his back, rolling wildly +to and fro, swinging and waving his arms about his +head in a frantic manner not, on the whole, very +different from the way in which some non-European +races manifest their disappointment and dejection. +The chimpanzee is not known to weep, nor does he +laugh in quite the human sense of the term. There is +something approaching human laughter in his rhythmical +gasping and grunting when he is tickled. While +quietly watching objects that seem particularly +pleasing (and his greatest delight comes from observing +little children) the face of the chimpanzee, especially +around the mouth, has an expression not unlike +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span>a human smile. When perplexed or in doubt, he has +a way of scratching the surface of his body, especially +the arms, breast, or upper portions of the thigh. It +has not been stated that during these moments of +perplexity he scratches the head, as is the common +human custom. He conveys his meaning not only of +emotional distaste but also of definite desires. The +expression of his wishes is in large part shown by +direct imitation of the actions desired. Thus, when +one chimp wishes to be accompanied by another, he +gives the latter a nudge and pulls him by the hand. +If one chimpanzee wishes to receive bananas from +another, he imitates the movement of snatching +or grasping accompanied by pleading glances. The +summoning of another chimpanzee from a considerable +distance is often accompanied by a beckoning +that is very human in character. Their many actions +in all instances are characteristic enough to be understood +by their comrades.</p> + + +<h3 id="Surgical_Interests"> + <i>Surgical Interests</i> +</h3> + +<p>The chimpanzee is especially prone to pay close +attention to the wounds or injuries received by his +fellows. The motive of this attention may scarcely +be called mutual aid. The removal of splinters from +each other’s hands and feet is a favourite clinical +operation. In this pursuit the chimpanzee employs +methods usually in vogue among the human laity. +Two finger nails are pressed on either side of the splinter, +which is thus elevated until it may be caught and +removed by the teeth. Professor Köhler himself, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span>once having suffered from such an accident, ventured +to allow one of the chimpanzees to remove the splinter +from his hand. On perceiving the condition, the chimpanzee’s +face at once assumed an expression of eager +intensity, and his attention became concentrated in +preparation for his surgical efforts. He seized the +hand, examined the wound, forced out the splinter +with two somewhat powerful squeezes of his finger +nails, and then closely examined the hand to be satisfied +that his work was well done.</p> + + +<h3 id="Morals_Among_Chimpanzees"> + <i>Morals Among Chimpanzees</i> +</h3> + +<p>There is much of interest in the experiences of +another distinguished observer, Dr. Charles F. +Sonntag, formerly Prosector of the Zoölogical Society +of London, who has called attention to the fact that +the chimpanzee is said to be filthy in its habits. +He observed that many of these animals in captivity +do not manifest such traits, nor do they +show any tendency toward immoral behaviour as +has been claimed. It seems unfortunate even to imply +that such a delinquency as immorality exists among +chimpanzees or, for that matter, any of the lower +mammals. But since the point has been raised, it may +be well to recall that morals are of human making. +They are designed to modify, to restrain, or to prevent +the development of certain animal tendencies which +are a human heritage from the great animal kingdom. +If the chimpanzee in any of its actions tends to depart +from the code of morality established by man in one +part of the world or another, this can be no reproach +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span>to the ape, since man himself has not yet been completely +successful in building up a system of restrictive +laws to protect himself from the devastations of +his own animal inheritance.</p> + +<p>Professor Köhler, from his long studies of the chimpanzees, +concluded that these apes manifest intelligent +behaviour of a general kind familiar in human +beings. Not all of their intelligent acts are similar to +human acts, but by means of well-chosen tests the +character of intelligent conduct can always be traced +in the chimpanzee. These apes differ among themselves +just as much as people do, in their mentality +and intelligence. Some of them may be mentally +deficient, just as there are mentally deficient human +beings. One remark of Professor Köhler’s is a keen +social criticism with a wide application to life in general. +He maintains that the tests designed for the +chimpanzee serve two purposes: First, they determine +the intelligence of the apes; and, second, they test +the intelligence of the examiner. This is eminently +true in all intellectual contacts between human +beings. It is a fact that the chimpanzees stand out +among all other animals in their form, in their actions, +and in their understanding. In these respects they +come much closer to the human standard than any +other ape, with the possible exception of the gorilla. +All of these observations agree well with the theory +of evolution, and in particular with the close relations +existing between the growth of intelligence and the +development of the brain.</p> + +<p>Many other chimpanzees have been studied from +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span>time to time. The conclusions drawn from them have +been closely similar to those already cited. Romanes +some years ago studied the trained chimpanzee, +Sally, which was famous for her high degree of intelligence. +Under training this animal acquired the ability +to count. She could draw a number of straws to six +or seven, and upon request would indicate with +straws the exact number she had been instructed +to show. This achievement, in combination with +many other extraordinary performances, reveals certain +striking likenesses to man, particularly as to the +degree of the chimpanzee’s power to learn.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Chimpanzees_Social_Traits"> + <i>The Chimpanzee’s Social Traits</i> +</h3> + +<p>Others besides Professor Köhler are willing to give +the chimpanzee credit for unusual good-fellowship. +All admit that he is a most friendly creature. Often +an affectionate attachment exists between him and +his owner or keeper. He is never loath to indulge in +his clowning performances to please and entertain his +human friends. His actions on these occasions have +doubtless been the models for the ludicrous mimicry +of olden times now generally referred to as “aping.” +In many of the army encampments in Africa, monkeys +and apes have been the much-prized pets of the +officers. It was not uncommon to find among these +pets the highly sociable chimpanzee. Frequently the +officers manifested much zeal and interest in training +their charges and felt a real pride in exhibiting them. +Sometimes on gala occasions these simian pets occupied +places at the table beside their owners. They +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span>partook in most approved style both of food and of +drink. Not a few of them have shown a distinctly +human characteristic in their strong liking for intoxicating +liquors. The chimpanzee has always had a decided +penchant in this direction. At mess dinners +and on other occasions he not only manifested a keen +liking for good wines but took his share with the rest. +Often he, like his human companions, rose to hilarious +heights. Often, too, it was necessary to lead him off to +bed in such a deplorable condition that he would +appear next morning with a shaky hand on his brow +and that sad expression which plainly told the consequences +of festive revelry. One of these chimpanzees +had a particular fondness for afternoon tea and would +join the officers’ group at this time as a matter of +course. His manners were altogether agreeable. He +acquired all of the airs essential to such occasions +even to certain banal chatterings.</p> + + +<h3 id="In_Prophecy_of_the_Human_Brain"> + <i>In Prophecy of the Human Brain</i> +</h3> + +<p>If doubts should remain concerning the superior +and almost manlike capacities of the chimpanzee, +these may be soon put at rest by inspection of his +brain. In this organ there are indications of the means +by which the chimpanzee has acquired his new and +extensive powers of learning, his greater understanding, +his higher capacity for adjustments to life, and +his many reactions which are so nearly human.</p> + +<p>Every sense department in the superbrain has +shown pronounced improvements. A survey of the +chimpanzee’s brain shows it to be a mechanism better +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span>organized for the purposes of efficient output than +that of other apes and monkeys. It is a larger brain. +It also has a greater richness in grooves and convolutions +showing that its capacity for developing brain +power has been much increased. The groove of Sylvius +has been tipped backward in consequence of expansions +in the department of hearing and the department +of body and contact senses. In the department +of hearing (the temporal lobe) the convolutions are +more complex than in any other lower apes or monkeys. +In fact, the entire pattern of coil arrangement +in this part of the superbrain is similar to that seen +in man. It has, perhaps, a simpler design, but the +essential features of the pattern may all be identified. +In the department of sight the same principle of expansion +has been at work. The convolutions in the +occipital lobe have increased both in number and +complexity of arrangement. There are more grooves +and more convolutions in this region than we have yet +encountered. Such also is the case in the department +for body and contact senses (the parietal lobe), in +which the grooves and convolutions manifest an +arrangement identical to that of man. The lesser +brain, lying as it does tucked away beneath the occipital +pole of the superbrain, also shows marked increase +in size, so that the subsidiary department +essential to postures of the limbs and body, and also +to balance, has kept pace with the superbrain. Appraised +on the value of its great working departments, +a brain like this reveals the manner in which +progressive development has advanced.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span></p> + +<p>The organization for transacting the functions of +hearing has been greatly improved, if we judge by +the enlargement of the temporal lobe. Furthermore, +it appears that certain sub-departments for handling +these transactions have been established. They doubtless +have to do with a better filing system for auditory +impressions and especially for correlating the impressions +of things heard with similar records of things +seen. This method of cross reference produces a better +understanding of all objects encountered in the surroundings. +A practical illustration may assist in +visualizing the manner in which such associations +operate. If in their home life the chimpanzees are +suddenly startled by the report of a gun, which they +have never heard before, the entire family may be +greatly perturbed by the harsh and unfamiliar sound. +The sound alone might be startling and disagreeable, +but the sound cross referenced by the sight of the +hunter and gun comes to mean peril. Instances of this +kind might be multiplied to show how essential to +success in life this system of cross reference is. In fact, +it is the amplification of this system that underlies +our progress as individuals or as a race. The structural +signs of this progress are to be found in the region of +the brain that we have been discussing. We may +recognize them in the increased number of convolutions +which provide for better development of brain +power. Equally pronounced are the advances that +have taken place in the organization of body and +contact senses. This department lies immediately +above the Sylvian groove in the parietal lobe. It receives +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span>all communications transmitted from the outside +world by the sense of touch and by the various +movements of the body. The convolutions in this +region indicate a highly organized department which +we might expect in view of the remarkable performances +of the chimpanzee. Walking a tight rope, eating +his food with a certain degree of good manners, drilling +to music, or driving an automobile, the chimpanzee +clearly demonstrates how expert he has +become in the use of his hands and feet. His cleverness +depends upon his ability to sense the things he +touches and to appreciate the finest grades of motion +made by his arms and legs. In addition to this high +degree of sensing in his hands, he has also acquired +greater capacity for appreciating movements and +postures of his entire body. Unless the chimpanzee +had this expanded department for body and touch +senses, it would be impossible for him to learn many +of the performances which he does so skillfully. He +also would be unable to apply this skill under the +direction of his masters or according to the dictates +of his own wishes. It is not difficult to understand, +therefore, why all the great departments of the senses +have increased so much in size in the chimpanzee. +Obviously, by amplifying and refining the raw materials +received as sense impressions, the output seen +in the chimpanzee’s behaviour has been correspondingly +amplified and extended. The significance of +growth in the parietal, the occipital, and the temporal +lobes in this light becomes clear.</p> + +<p>One important detail in the superbrain of the chimpanzee +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span>we have not yet considered. It will be recalled +that the central groove is one of the salient landmarks +in the brain. Its outstanding importance arises from +the fact that it is the boundary line of the frontal +lobe. All of the territory lying in front of this groove +represents the last acquired department of the superbrain, +the one having the highest authority. It is here +that all of the highest brain functions are located. +Judgment and reason are included in this list. But +to these should be added the ability to profit by +experience in the better guidance of life, the upbuilding +of personality, and the proper adjustment in all +courses of action requiring initiative, insight, restraint, +and self-control; and, finally, recognition of +responsibility and appreciation of opportunity.</p> + +<p>The frontal territory in the chimpanzee is more +extensive than in the orang or any other of the lower +apes. It shows an additional amount of convolution. +The frontal coils for producing the brain power of +this highest department have attained a development +not far below that of man. The counterpart of each +human convolution is present, the only difference +being that each individual convolution in the chimpanzee +is less complex than in man. These facts about +the frontal lobe, which we must regard as the permanent +headquarters of the chief executive of the superbrain, +are in harmony with what Professor Köhler +and other students of animal psychology have told +us about the chimpanzee’s intelligence. Man’s frontal +lobe is a highly complex facsimile of the chimpanzee’s, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span>just as human intelligence is a more complex development +of the higher mental powers.</p> + +<p>These improvements in the superbrain are borne +out by both the bridge and the pyramid. The bridge, +recognized as a reliable index of intelligence, has the +value of .400 in the chimpanzee, a rating much above +the orang or any of the lower apes already considered. +The pyramid also shows a corresponding increase, +having a value of .172, and thus indicating a greater +development in skilled acts and in the voluntary control +over the actions of the body. These two structures +show that the superbrain has, in fact, become +a more efficient governor for the guidance of a larger, +a more complex, and a more effective machine. Every +detail in the brain of chimpanzee clearly demonstrates +the marked advance that has been made in the steady +upward climb. We are able to identify all of the chief +features characteristic of the human brain.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X"> + CHAPTER X + <br> + ALMOST HUMAN + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">THE BRAIN OF THE GORILLA</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The largest member of the ape world is the gorilla. +There is much dispute to-day concerning the place +he occupies in relation to man, and also as to what +rating his intelligence deserves. Neither of these +questions can be settled at present. His case, in fact, +requires much more study than has yet been given +to it. Recently the gorilla has been befriended by +several famous African explorers like the Bradleys +and the late Mr. Carl Akeley. They have given him +a rather favourable recommendation as an inoffensive +and retiring animal. In spite of this vindication, however, +most persons who have any acquaintance with +him regard the gorilla as a dangerous, savage brute. +Standing upright, he is nearly as tall as the average +man. Sometimes his height reaches six feet, and often +the adult male attains the great weight of nearly +four hundred pounds.</p> + + +<h3 id="A_Superlative_Fighting_Machine"> + <i>A Superlative Fighting Machine</i> +</h3> + +<p>The body of the gorilla is stout and large. His legs +are short but his arms are extremely long. When +standing erect the tips of his fingers reach to about +the middle of the leg below the knee. His huge and +grizzly head, flat, broad nose, prominent muzzle, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span>large mouth, very large canine teeth, and protruding +ears all give the animal a terrifying appearance.</p> + +<p>The manner in which he rises on his hind legs and +makes the forest reverberate with his roars when +attacked is one reason why the gorilla is considered +the most savage of all beasts. His hands are large +and thickly covered with black hair on the back. The +palms of the hands have no hair. They possess many +grooves and markings with strong human resemblances. +The thumb is somewhat short for the size of +the hand, but is thick and bears a broad nail. The +animal’s body as well as the head up to the brow +line is covered with thick, black, shaggy hair. The +skull is massive and heavy. The eyes are surmounted +by a heavy ridge of bone, and a thick bony crest extends +from the bridge of the nose to the back of the +skull along the middle of the head. All of these bony +structures provide the gorilla with a most effective +fighting helmet. The massive head, the short neck, +the powerful arms, and the savage teeth create +the impression of a superlative fighting machine—a +sort of dreadnaught. But this machine has one +inherent weakness. The feet and legs are inadequate +for a finished fighter. The gorilla is able to assume +the upright position and walks thus in an awkward +manner, using the arms in balancing. In the main, +however, he goes on all fours, especially when making +speed through the underbrush or climbing among the +trees. He rises upon his hind legs largely for purposes +of inspection in order to make a survey of the +surrounding territory.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span></p> + +<p>Many species have been identified. They all live in +Africa. One variety inhabits the Gaboon in West +Africa. It also extends into regions of southern and +northern Cameroon, near the border of the French +Congo. This variety of gorilla is especially adapted +for forest life. Another type, sometimes spoken of as +the mountain gorilla, inhabits mountainous localities +in the Belgian Congo.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Gorillas_Ancient_Disrepute"> + <i>The Gorilla’s Ancient Disrepute</i> +</h3> + +<p>The gorilla has been long and unfavourably known +to mankind. Ancient rumour of him spread abroad +many unsavoury reports about his savage disposition. +In the Fifth Century <span class="allsmcap">B. C.</span> gorillas were first spoken of +as wild, hairy men living in Africa. The Carthaginian +Admiral Hanno, in his famous voyage to the Pillars +of Hercules, appears to have been the first white man +to encounter them. He and his comrades unexpectedly +came upon a group of these wild people. All of the +men fought so savagely that they made their escape, +but Hanno and his friends were able to capture three +of the women. These females were so ferocious and +unfriendly that it was necessary to kill them. Their +skins were preserved, taken to Carthage, and there +placed in the Temple of Juno, where they were held +sacred until that city was destroyed.</p> + +<p>The famous explorer, Paul Du Chaillu, in his <i>Explorations +and Adventures in Equatorial Africa</i> describes +the gorilla as gregarious. He found them going +about in companies of eight or ten. Sometimes the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span>older males become superannuated. Then they live +solitary lives apart from these small communities. +When grown old they appear actually grizzled with +age, and the hair, which in youth is black, becomes +almost white. Du Chaillu was probably the first +European to kill a gorilla in its native forest. His +description of their habits was thought to be an exaggeration, +but later information largely upholds his +opinion. He believed that the gorilla did not, as often +claimed, lurk in the trees just above the roadside in +order to reach down with his great arms and snatch +up the unsuspecting passer-by. He discredited the +ancient story that these animals attack elephants +and beat them to death with sticks, and that they +carry off native women to devour them in the depths +of the forest. He did not even believe that the gorilla +built itself houses or nests from twigs among the trees, +or that large bands of them made attacks upon men +whose homes were in the neighbourhood of the forest. +Du Chaillu reported that the gorilla lives in the loneliest +portions of the dense African jungle. It is seldom +found in the same place two days in succession. It +prefers deep wooded valleys or rugged heights and +roams about over a large area in search of food. It +consumes a large amount of food, such as pineapple +leaves, berries, wild sugar cane, and other vegetable +matter. The animal sleeps sitting on the ground with +its back against the trunk of a tree, and when full-grown +seldom ascends high among the branches. The +young sleep in the trees, and possibly the females may +occasionally do so.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Like_Some_Monster_of_a_Nightmare"> + <i>Like Some Monster of a Nightmare</i> +</h3> + +<p>In spite of their reputation to the contrary, the +gorillas are in reality shy. The female will run to +shelter at the first sound of alarm, carrying her young +one with her. The male, however, is less hurried in his +retreat. In fact, he seems to act upon the theory that +the best defense is an attack. He rises up on his hind +legs for a moment, showing his savage face among +the underbrush. Then, glaring at the intruder, he +begins to beat his chest with his closed fists, at the +same time uttering a deep, terrifying roar. This sound +begins at first as several loud barks like those of a dog +and then changes to a deep-throated growl, which is +emitted with redoubled force, causing echoes in the +forest like distant thunder. Du Chaillu said that the +horror of the animal’s appearance at this time is +beyond description. It seems like some monster of a +nightmare, an indescribable piece of hideousness.</p> + +<p>In walking, the gorilla waddles from side to side as +he proceeds upon his hind legs. Meanwhile, in order to +balance himself, he swings his great arms at his sides, +which makes him appear more determined and awe-inspiring. +When attacking, his features are distorted +by hideous wrinkles, and his lips are drawn back +revealing long fangs in the powerful jaws by which a +human limb could easily be crushed.</p> + +<p>The celebrated African explorer, Mr. Akeley, has +pointed out that there is no difficulty in shooting the +gorilla. In fact, against modern firearms this animal +is as defenseless as a crippled woman. Such hunting +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span>is thoroughly distasteful and seems to be an atrocity +closely akin to murder. It was due to Mr. Akeley’s +efforts that the King of Belgium recently set aside a +large territory in the Congo as a gorilla sanctuary, in +which all hunting of this animal is prohibited. Here, in +the vicinity of the three extinct volcanoes, Mt. Keno, +Mt. Karissimbi, and Mt. Visake, Mr. Akeley hoped +that a biological station might be established for the +further study of the gorilla’s behaviour. In this +sanctuary, now known as Albert National Park, he +believed it would be possible to gain a footing on +close and intimate terms with this gigantic ape. +Mr. Akeley was convinced that the gorilla’s reputation +for ferocity was greatly exaggerated, and that the +animal was actually a timid and retiring beast. This +new estimate of the gorilla’s disposition gives encouragement +to the expectation that in time this fast-disappearing +offshoot of the prehuman stock may +furnish its full testimony concerning the evolutionary +process.</p> + + +<h3 id="Training_the_Young_Gorilla"> + <i>Training the Young Gorilla</i> +</h3> + +<p>In adult life the gorilla is untamable. If captured +young, as much may be done with it as with many +other apes in captivity. The following account of a +gorilla’s life in civilization, given by Miss Alyse +Cunningham, of London, testifies to this fact. It is +the story of the young gorilla called “John Daniel the +First.” The record was made by Miss Cunningham +herself. At first she had no fancy for this animal; in +fact, she felt rather a dislike for anything in the shape +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span>of a monkey or an ape, but she soon became interested +in the young gorilla and took his education +seriously in hand. The animal was presented to her +by her nephew, Major Penny, shortly after the end +of the Great War. He was much interested in apes +and bought the gorilla with the idea of seeing how +much mentality it possessed and how much it could be +developed. John Daniel was captured when very +young in the French Gaboon country and came to +England when he was about three years of age. Major +Penny first saw the young gorilla on exhibition, during +the Christmas holidays, in a large show window of +a well-known shop in London. The animal attracted +much attention and large crowds gathered daily to +watch him. As a dry-goods advertisement he was a +splendid investment, but unfortunately at that time +he was suffering from rickets. With the severe changes +of weather in the Christmas season he contracted an +attack of influenza. On this account his owners were +compelled to retire him from his advertising post and +found themselves at their wit’s end to know what to +do with this sick infant gorilla. When he was finally +sold to Major Penny his original owners did not think +he would survive for very long. In this respect their +calculations went astray. Miss Cunningham took the +sickly gorilla, nursed him as she would a child, brought +him through his influenza, and so successfully cared +for him that during the next three years he reached +the weight of 112 pounds and the height of three feet +four and a half inches. Meanwhile, he acquired many +of the habits and adjustments necessary to fit him as +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span>an interesting if somewhat unusual member of the +household.</p> + + +<h3 id="John_Daniel_the_First"> + <i>John Daniel the First</i> +</h3> + +<p>We are indebted to Miss Cunningham for the excellent +account of his life, which indicates the extent +to which this great ape may be trained and educated. +Little John, immediately after his recovery from influenza, +began to show some singularly childlike +emotions. He was gentle and affectionate in response +to the tender care he received. But he became too +much attached to his new and kind friends. His devotion +in this respect created some difficult situations +in the household. If he were left by himself at night +he would shriek from fear and loneliness. Perhaps +he remembered the long and cheerless nights when he +was a Christmas exhibit in the department store. In +any event, Miss Cunningham was forced to treat him +just as she would any little child. She coaxed and +soothed and petted him until she had allayed his +fears. Then he would become quiet and fall asleep. +But even this was not sufficient. It soon became +necessary to place her nephew’s bed in the room adjoining +the cage of the gorilla. Apparently he craved +companionship of some kind and at length became +quite happy under this new arrangement.</p> + +<p>John soon began to grow and to put on weight. He +gradually got over his rickets. At first he was taught +to be clean in his habits by a system of rewards and +punishments. At the end of six weeks he was thoroughly +housebroken. At this time he was taken out of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span>his cage and allowed the freedom of the house. Thereafter, +John would always run upstairs to the bathroom +of his own accord. He would turn the knob of a +door and took pains to see that he always left it closed +behind him. He showed strong likes and dislikes in +the matter of food. There was one feature that always +puzzled Miss Cunningham in this respect. Generally +speaking, John was not a thief. He manifested average +honesty, but when it came to food he much preferred +to steal it than have it given to him. It was +difficult to understand the motive underlying this +course of action. There were some things about it +that seemed to indicate a real satisfaction derived +from stealing, due, perhaps, to an outcropping of his +native cunning. Perhaps it was the consequence of a +well-recognized quality of natural aloofness characteristic +of the gorilla in general that made John +Daniel averse to receiving favours from others. He +would always avoid any food that had been exposed +to the air for long. He was particularly fond of +oranges and apples, but would never eat them if they +had been cut a few hours. John had what almost +amounted to a passion for eating roses. The more +beautiful they were, the more he seemed to like them, +but nothing would induce him to eat faded roses. +Nuts he did not much care for, although at times he +showed a liking for walnuts. A cocoanut was always +a problem to him. It was most amusing to see how he +went about this problem. He understood that it was +necessary to break the cocoanut. First he would throw +it upon the floor, but failing to break it this way +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span>he would finally bring it to one of the members of the +family with an appealing look for help. If given a +hammer he would use it viciously on the nut, but +never effectively. After several failures John would +take the nut and the hammer to someone, indicating +what he wanted.</p> + + +<h3 id="Johns_Social_Behaviour"> + <i>John’s Social Behaviour</i> +</h3> + +<p>John had a good understanding of tools, almost too +good, in fact. In consequence, hammers, chisels, and +saws were kept in hiding, and if John happened to +find them he was apt to indulge in a somewhat ruthless +carpentry on the household furniture. From his +babyhood, and while he was growing up, he was always +fond of people. He liked to have them come to +visit him at his home. Far from being timid and shy, +he was quite the reverse. Whenever there were visitors +he always liked to show off, just like a child. He +would take the visitor by the hand and lead him +round and round the room. This amused John greatly, +and if his guest responded playfully all went well, but +if there was any sign of nervousness or fear John took +an impish delight and would run by the visitor, giving +him a smack on the leg. Then, perching himself on a +chair, he would grin foolishly at his own mischief. +This was the only blemish on his company manners, +and he always appeared a bit shamefaced when rebuked +for such misbehaviour. He did not, however, +go the length of making apologetic overtures to his +offended visitor, but kept himself aloof with an air +of injured innocence.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span></p> + +<p>Miss Cunningham had few misgivings about John +when she had company in the home. He was always +very obedient to her and seemed to recognize that +her wishes were law. It hurt him apparently to be +guilty of any act which caused her displeasure, and +while sometimes he would perpetrate some mischief +on the sly he would always be on his best behaviour +when he felt Miss Cunningham’s eye upon him. His +table manners were rather good. He always sat at the +table, and when the meal was ready would pull up +his chair to the designated place. He never cared for +great quantities of food, and his actions at table required +little, if any, more reproval than did an ordinary +child. He was especially fond of drinking water +from a tumbler. He always took afternoon tea with +the family. He had a particular liking for this beverage +and with it would eat a thin slice of bread with +plenty of jam. He also liked his demi-tasse of coffee +after dinner. The family estimate of him was generally +high. He was regarded as the least greedy of all +the animals that had ever come under the observation +of his owners. He would never snatch for anything at +the table, and he always ate slowly. He was accustomed +to drink large quantities of water, which he +got for himself whenever he wanted it by turning on +the tap. Strangely enough, he always turned off the +water when he had finished drinking.</p> + + +<h3 id="A_Gorilla_with_a_Sense_of_Humour"> + <i>A Gorilla with a Sense of Humour</i> +</h3> + +<p>John Daniel had a very good opinion of himself. +He was quite well poised and self-contained. Nothing +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span>seemed to ruffle him, and he could amuse himself in +simple ways by the hour. He seemed to believe that +his own estimate of himself was shared by others and +appeared confident that everyone was delighted to +see him. Often he would stand on the window sill and +throw up the shade. In a short time a large crowd +would collect on the street below to watch this unusual +sight at the window. He enjoyed such publicity +immensely and would stand watching the people for +a long time. Once in a while, if the crowd grew very +large, he would pull the shade down deliberately in +their faces and run away shrieking with laughter, in a +way which seemed to indicate that he was conscious +of having perpetrated a huge joke upon his audience +outside. Of course, this entire reaction and the motives +underlying it are open to several interpretations. +Skeptics will say that the version here given endows +the gorilla with attributes more human than he could +possibly possess. However that may be, those who +actually observed these performances were impressed +by the fact that John Daniel did act in a seemingly +human manner.</p> + + +<h3 id="Fondness_for_Little_Children"> + <i>Fondness for Little Children</i> +</h3> + +<p>John was especially attached to Miss Cunningham’s +three-year-old niece, who often came with her +mother to stay at the house. They would play together +by the hour. The gorilla seemed to know just +what this little girl wanted him to do. If she cried for +any reason, when her mother came to pick her up, +John would give the mother’s hand a nip with his +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span>teeth or slap her with the full weight of his palm, +apparently thinking that she was the cause of the +child’s grief. One day Miss Cunningham was dressed +for going out, and John Daniel wished to sit on her +lap to bid her good-bye. It chanced that her gown +was a light-coloured one, and she pushed him away, +saying that she feared he might soil her dress. Poor +John was deeply distressed. At once he lay down on +the floor and cried like a baby for a moment. Then he +looked around the room, found a newspaper, laid it +on Miss Cunningham’s lap, and climbed up on it. This +was the cleverest thing he had ever done. Those who +saw it said they would not have believed it had they +not themselves been present.</p> + + +<h3 id="Like_a_Child_in_Play"> + <i>Like a Child in Play</i> +</h3> + +<p>John Daniel apparently could stand a good deal of +cold weather. He would often climb out on the roof +when the thermometer was below the freezing point. +He did not seem to mind how cold it was so long as +he could come back into a warm room when he wanted +to. Then he would go directly to the fire, rub his +chest, and sit down with his feet cocked up on the +fender. Exercise was necessary to keep him in good +health, and John got much of this by playing hide-and-seek +with Major Penny. In the morning before breakfast +and in the evening before dinner the Major +would run up and down stairs, in and out of all the +rooms. The game appeared to delight the gorilla, +who would giggle and laugh while being chased. He +never took any chances about going into a dark room, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span>however. Invariably he would make sure to turn on +the light first.</p> + +<p>It was his habit to retire each night at eight o’clock, +and it was not necessary to tell him to do so more +than once. He had his own little room adjoining that +of Miss Cunningham’s nephew, in which he had a +spring bed of his own, with blankets and pillows. At +night he would get up out of bed by himself, go back +to bed, and pull the blankets up over himself quite +neatly. One of John’s greatest pleasures was to stand +on the top rail at the foot of the bed and jump on +the springs, just like a little child. He was never +taught any tricks, but simply acquired knowledge +by himself. In the summer time John was taken by +train to the family’s cottage in the country. He occupied +his seat in the railway coach like any other +passenger, without so much as a chain around his +neck. When out of doors the broad fields and open +country seemed to terrify him, but he was singularly +happy and contented in the quiet garden or in the +woods. He seemed to fear full-grown sheep, cows, +and horses, but colts, calves, and lambs attracted +and amused him. It seemed to those who cared for +him that he recognized youth and was sympathetically +drawn to it.</p> + + +<h3 id="John_Becomes_Famous"> + <i>John Becomes Famous</i> +</h3> + +<p>As the years passed he became more devotedly +attached to the family. If left alone he would make a +great noise, shrieking and crying. This tendency increased, +so that after three years it was necessary to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span>make some other arrangement for him. Through a +misunderstanding which his owners have always regretted, +John was sold to a circus. He was taken +across the Atlantic to New York. Here, after a +month’s separation from his devoted friends during +which time he refused to take food and showed every +sign of real homesickness, he died in the tower of the +old Madison Square Garden, in April, 1921.</p> + +<p>Many of the New York daily papers published a +notice of this remarkable ape’s death, telling how the +gorilla, John Daniel, homesick and disconsolate without +those who had befriended him, died of a broken +heart. The skeleton and taxidermic preparation of +this gorilla, who has contributed so much to our +knowledge and understanding of the great apes, may +be seen in the anthropoid collection in the American +Museum of Natural History, bearing the label “John +Daniel.”</p> + + +<h3 id="A_Gorilla_at_Afternoon_Tea"> + <i>A Gorilla at Afternoon Tea</i> +</h3> + +<p>As an interesting sequel to this history of what +appears to be the first gorilla raised under the conditions +of such intimate domestic life, it may be +added that Miss Cunningham secured another gorilla, +which she called “John Daniel the Second.” John +Daniel the First was a little over six years old when he +died and was then less than half grown. These two +great apes resembled each other closely in their +emotional reactions and in their responses to training. +Both were about of the same age. John the Second +was perhaps a less likable individual and had a disposition +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span>more in keeping with the ancient reputation +of gorillas. Several years ago, while he was visiting +in New York, a number of scientists were invited to +have afternoon tea with him at a certain fashionable +hotel. On this occasion the troglodyte host was found +seated in a comfortable chair. He displayed much +gravity and apparent enjoyment as he drank from a +cup of tea. During the course of conversation John +the Second was for a moment not the actual centre of +attention. Suddenly he dashed across the room with +unbelievable swiftness and attacked one of his visitors +with repeated rapid blows of both fists in the neighbourhood +of the solar plexus. Just as quickly he +hopped over the foot of the bed and from this point +of vantage watched the discomfiture of his guest. +A moment later, when less sharply watched, he +hurled his full weight in most approved football style +against a distinguished professor of zoölogy, who, +as a result, was thrown from his chair. In the intervals +between these presumably playful diversions +this powerful gorilla sat quietly. Yet, in spite of his +innocent demeanour, one was suspicious that he was +casting about for the next piece of mischief that he +might perpetrate. There was a degree of roughness +and sudden strength in the playfulness of this young +gorilla that afforded some idea of the terrific power +these animals must possess when full grown.</p> + +<p>The attractive prospect of a biological station in +Africa, as suggested by the late Carl E. Akeley, for the +study of the gorilla is inspiring. It should be possible under +these circumstances for one scientifically inclined +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span>to saunter into the jungle of a morning, call to some +particularly promising gorilla, and with the troglodyte +spend many profitable hours in biological study. +If the full-grown gorilla, however, is anything like +John Daniel the Second, this studious occupation +might not prove so simple. Indeed, it seems probable +that only the most hardy of human adventurers will +ever enjoy the privileges of anything approaching a +familiar acquaintance with these giant apes. Such +adventurers may live to report that the great brutes +have acquired no marked degree of gentleness even +in their own gorilla sanctuary.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Art_of_Capturing_Young_Gorillas"> + <i>The Art of Capturing Young Gorillas</i> +</h3> + +<p>On a number of occasions young gorillas have been +captured alive. Mr. Ben Burbridge, using some clever +tactics, has succeeded in capturing several small +gorillas. The approved style of such hunting is to +lure the young animal away from the older gorillas; +then, grasping the throat, force it to the ground until +helpers arrive to slip a stout bag over its head. On +one occasion Mr. Burbridge succeeded in artfully luring +a gorilla from the rest of his family. He at once +proceeded to seize him in the usual manner. Immediately +he realized that he had caught a tartar. +The young gorilla was much stronger than any man, +and grasping both of Mr. Burbridge’s hands he forced +them into his savage mouth. Nothing but iron nerve +and quickness of wit would have saved a man under +these circumstances. Realizing his inability to overpower +the gorilla or free himself from its vise-like +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span>grip, Mr. Burbridge did the only thing left for him to +do. He thrust his hands down the animal’s throat as +far as they would go. Several natives finally succeeded +in overpowering and binding the young giant. +The first burlap bag put over his head he split asunder +like a piece of gauze. At length he was bound and +carried off to camp. But this young monarch of the +volcanic mountain sides would not accept captivity. +He was unapproachable and so actively hostile that he +soon died. Later, Mr. Burbridge succeeded in capturing +and bringing home to Florida a small female +gorilla, weighing sixty-five pounds, which he called +“Congo the Second.”</p> + + +<h3 id="Professor_Yerkes_Studies_Congo_the_Second"> + <i>Professor Yerkes Studies “Congo the Second”</i> +</h3> + +<p>We are extremely fortunate that this gorilla has been +studied by Professor Yerkes, who in a book recently +published, called <i>The Mind of a Gorilla</i>, has given us +another of his brilliant works on animal behaviour. +This is a most readable account of Congo’s actions, +and those who wish further information will derive +much pleasure from Professor Yerkes’s story. All of +his observations are illuminating and helpful in understanding +the brain of this great troglodyte.</p> + +<p>The mountain gorilla, as Professor Yerkes points +out, is built for strength rather than speed. Congo, +although still in her childhood, and weighing only +sixty-five pounds, was amazingly strong. She could +lift weights and overcome resistances that required +the full strength of a grown man. In her play with a +young Airedale terrier she became so rough that the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span>dog finally avoided her. Her climbing among the +trees, about which she seemed eager, was scarcely +any better than that of an active small boy. It was +easy to outrun her and throw her off her balance. +The tremendous strength of the gorilla must, therefore, +be looked upon as the real secret of his success +in life. Without this strength he probably would not +have survived, since he has neither the skill in climbing +nor the speed upon the ground to escape his +deadly enemies. His deadliest foe is the leopard. +This stealthy and powerful cat often steals up to a +gorilla family and snatches away the little ones. The +gorilla’s sole defense against the leopard is his gigantic +strength. If at present this great ape is threatened +with extinction it is because his natural enemies are +increasing in number. Man with his modern equipments +must be listed among these hostile contemporaries. +For ages the struggle between the gorilla +and his enemies in the jungle has been going on relentlessly. +The great ape has been able to maintain +that margin of superiority which permitted his kind +to come down into modern times.</p> + +<p>Professor Yerkes devised a series of tests for determining +the mental capacity of the young gorilla, +Congo the Second. These were arranged in several +groups such as the following:</p> + +<ol> +<li>The use of the stick as an implement.</li> + +<li>The use of simple mechanisms showing adaptive +ability.</li> + +<li>The uses of boxes and piling boxes.</li> + +<li>Tests for memory.</li> + +<li><span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span>Observations of social relations.</li> + +<li>Study of emotions and incentives to action.</li> +</ol> + + +<h3 id="The_Mind_of_a_Gorilla"> + <i>The Mind of a Gorilla</i> +</h3> + +<p>In all, twenty-four tests were employed in the +experiments to fathom Congo’s mind. Among them +were the stick used as an implement, a buried jar of +food, food suspended and made accessible by using +the stick, food suspended and made accessible by +piling boxes one on top of another, the use of hammer +and nail in imitation of a man using the same implements, +the mirror test and the animal’s reaction to the +looking-glass. Professor Yerkes carried on his studies +through a number of weeks on two different occasions. +The first series was conducted in January, 1926, and +the second series, largely repeating the conditions +of the first, in January, 1927. During this time the +little gorilla had grown and prospered. She had +doubled her weight in twelve months and she manifested +many changes in her behaviour. In the first +place, she had become somewhat destructive, although +when she first came to Shady Nook in Florida +this was not the case. Her curiosity had increased as +had also her powers of imitation and her emotional +expressions. She was much more self-reliant and likewise +more coöperative. She showed a very considerable +improvement in her ability to solve the problems +of the several tests given to her. In using the +stick she manifested greater cleverness and adaptability, +with some indications of real insight into the +situations that confronted her. There were signs also +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span>that she had gained a greater degree of adaptability +in the use of simple mechanisms. These appliances +in her earlier tests baffled Congo, but upon repetition +a year later she not only gave evidence of memory +concerning the tests but also had more ability in solving +the problems which she had previously failed to +master. She showed much improvement, particularly +in piling boxes one upon another. Certain memory +tests, which were unsuccessful in January, 1926, were +quite successfully performed in January, 1927. Heretofore, +no animal except man has been capable of +correct response in these particular memory tests. +Congo’s success possibly demonstrates the existence +of a mechanism in the gorilla brain that is possessed +by the most highly organized animals only. It is this +mechanism, doubtless, which distinguishes man and +the great apes from all other mammals. Buried food +tests also demonstrated an ability to remember after +intervals of one or two days. Congo’s emotions likewise +had changed. At first she appeared aloof, independent, +and inexpressive. She still remained reserved, +and although playful she was highly self-controlled. +Her emotional expression by voice, face, and attitude +was rare, and seldom appeared in response to definite +provocation. Her incentives and motives seemed +much more complex than in lower animals, like rats +and guinea pigs. Congo was moody, having her good +days and bad days in doing the tests. The inducements +offered her to perform certain acts did not +have the same certainty that they have with lower +animals. In her social relations she was extremely +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span>simple. She apparently gained an increased interest +in those with whom she was familiar and also with +strangers. She enjoyed visitors and acted in a limited +way to entertain them. Seeing herself in the looking-glass, +she had a marked interest in her image. In the +second series of tests her interest in the mirror seemed +more intelligent than the first. In sexual interest +Congo showed a marked development. At first she +manifested nothing resembling sex play, but in the +course of the year this became evident in her relations +with her dog companions and other objects. Ultimately +she had a decided preference for the male dog.</p> + + +<h3 id="Mental_Comparisons_of_the_Great_Manlike_Apes"> + <i>Mental Comparisons of the Great Manlike Apes</i> +</h3> + +<p>Professor Yerkes’s comparison of the behaviour of +the three great apes, the orang, the chimpanzee, and +the gorilla, is particularly interesting and important. +He carefully guards his statement by acknowledging +that these are rough comparisons based on the intimate +study of only a few individual apes. The physical +differences between these anthropoids may have +a definite bearing upon their mental characters. The +chimpanzee is well but lightly built. The orang, in +contrast, is loosely built, with arms that seem much +too long and liable to be in the way. The gorilla is +stocky, somewhat clumsy, but of impressively strong +build. The general disposition of these three apes +varies somewhat according to their physiques. The +chimpanzee is sanguine, buoyant, alert, and snappy. +The orang-outang is melancholy and taciturn. The +gorilla is reserved and aloof almost to the point of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span>manifesting a superiority complex. In their attitude +toward others and things in general this same difference +is observed. The chimpanzee is preëminently a +leader in playfulness and invention of ways to amuse +himself. He is quick, impulsive, energetic, and comical. +He has much enthusiasm and optimism, all of +which makes him the showman’s prize. The orang +is more slow and cautious, with little impulsiveness +and no show of optimism. He seems more stable and +dependable than the chimpanzee. He is certainly +more readily depressed and discouraged than his +livelier cousin. The gorilla is calm, reserved, cool, and +calculating. His disposition is quite the opposite of +that of the chimpanzee. The terms sullen, morose, +ferocious, and unrelenting did not, however, apply +to Congo, who was placid, self-dependent, and usually +superior to the incidents of her artificial life in captivity. +In curiosity the chimpanzee heads the list. +The orang is a close second. The gorilla may be +stirred to curiosity, but under such circumstances +usually acts as though he considered himself superior +to such childish indulgence. The manner and methods +of learning in these three great apes are remarkably +interesting. In learning by imitation from man, +the chimpanzee has a long lead. The orang is not +entirely unsuccessful in this matter, but the gorilla, +especially as typified by Congo, shows an actual resistance +to learning by imitation of man. The ability +to acquire new habits and adjustments to life by +means of trial and error shows that the great apes +rank as follows: Chimpanzee first, orang second, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span>gorilla third. Learning by ideas, experience, insight, +and understanding seems to reverse this order and +puts the gorilla at the head of the list.</p> + +<p>Professor Yerkes appears to think that, as compared +with chimpanzees and orangs of like age, Congo +was remarkably slow in adapting herself and was more +limited in initiative, originality, and insight. He concludes +that the general tendency to rate the gorilla +in a mentally higher class than the chimpanzee or +orang finds no support from his study of Congo. He +also believes that conclusions based on a single specimen +of this great ape are not sufficient to determine +the mental rating of the gorilla. This animal, like the +chimpanzee and the orang, indeed like man himself, +has great individual variations in mental development.</p> + +<p>Such records as those of John Daniel, First and +Second, made by observers little trained in the +technical methods of behavioural study, must of +course be accepted with some reservations. Viewed +in the light of Professor Yerkes’s studies on Congo, +they do afford an illuminating picture of the gorilla’s +mental capacity, disposition, and ability to learn. To +say the least, in all of these qualifications the largest +of the great apes is strikingly human. Its brain, +which weighs and measures more than that of other +apes, is in many respects nearer to the brain of man. +In the gorilla’s brain it is possible to discern the +process by which the progressive development of this +organ has made great strides. All of the landmarks +of the superbrain are more distinctly human in their +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span>arrangement and disposition than in the chimpanzee +or orang. If the chimpanzee’s brain is a human +miniature, the resemblance to man in gorilla has +become still more striking. The position of the Sylvian +groove and of the ape groove marks the boundary +of the two great departments of sight and hearing. +In the gorilla both of these have increased the area +for radiating brain power. The convolutions in both +of these regions bear a close resemblance to those of +the human brain. This similarity is likewise true in +the department for body and contact sense, where +the convolutions have increased in complexity as well +as in relative size. The central groove forms the +boundary for a well-defined frontal lobe. If it were +possible to make a measurable contrast of this permanent +headquarters for the higher faculties in gorilla +to that of chimpanzee, it seems fair to say that the +gorilla would show some slight advantage. This advantage +may account for the gorilla’s greater reserve, +which in some ways indicates a more mature attitude +toward life, especially when compared to the restless +and more childlike behaviour of the chimpanzee.</p> + + +<h3 id="Secret_of_the_Gorillas_Survival"> + <i>Secret of the Gorilla’s Survival</i> +</h3> + +<p>Professor Yerkes would perhaps be unwilling on +the strength of his studies to admit any measurable +degree of superiority on the part of the gorilla’s mentality +over the chimpanzee. Unquestionably this is a +proper point of view in the light of those great apes +which have been available for experiment and investigation. +In the main, such gorillas have been +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span>both too young and too few in number to permit any +just estimate of their real ability. One fact in their +history does speak forcibly in behalf of their mental +superiority over all other apes. In form and physique +the gorilla occupies an intermediate position. He is +not well adapted for great successes living upon the +ground. He is too heavy to capitalize the full advantages +of living in the trees. Added to this is the +fact that he is both slow and clumsy. His one physical +asset in the struggle for life is his gigantic strength. +By means of this advantage he has been able to meet +all comers of the wild, to contend with such deadly +enemies as the leopards and other members of the +great cat family. He has eked out an existence in a +territory filled with all manner of hazards. Yet in +spite of his handicaps he has not only held his place +in nature but he has kept his line a vital and going +concern with all the increasing odds against him. +This success in adjustment must depend upon something +more than mere chance. We are perhaps fair in +assuming that added to his chief asset of brute-like +strength there have been certain superior mental +qualities derived from a superbrain and particularly +from a frontal lobe which surpassed that of all his +animal competitors.</p> + +<p>The index of his powers to adjust himself to a +strenuous life is shown by his bridge (<i>pons</i>). This +gives him a rating of .480, which is still higher than +in the case of the chimpanzee. Most interesting in +this connection is the fact that the pyramid in the +gorilla is .161, which is considerably less than in the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span>chimpanzee. The pyramid, as will be recalled, indicates +the degree of skill that an animal has in controlling +its voluntary movements; that is, in making +its muscles act in many and varied ways according +to the dictates of the will. That the agile, speedy, and +acrobatic chimpanzee should surpass the clumsy and +slow-moving gorilla in this particular might be expected. +In almost every other detail of its development +the brain of the gorilla is nearer to man than +is the brain of any other ape, great or small. Those +who have studied this question are fully convinced +of the near approach in brain structure which all three +of the great manlike apes make to the human brain. +If any final estimation is justified at the present time, +the gorilla’s brain appears to be the most advanced of +all the apes and is, in fact, almost human.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI"> + CHAPTER XI + <br> + HUMAN AT LAST + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">THE BRAIN OF PREHISTORIC MAN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Those individual characteristics which distinguish +the orang, chimpanzee, and gorilla may be easily +recognized. Yet, notwithstanding their striking differences, +these animals all belong to the same family, +called the <i>Simiidæ</i>. As a family this was and still remains +the highest in the ape world. All of the great +apes manifest certain pronounced manlike tendencies. +Up to this point they were progressive, but beyond it +they did not go. They were not equipped to reach the +upper footholds or to gain the vast plateaus on the +top of the world. This last achievement remained for +another, who, being freed from many simian restrictions, +had already outstripped the anthropoids.</p> + + +<h3 id="Human_Superiority"> + <i>Human Superiority</i> +</h3> + +<p>As a machine, this newcomer in the animal world +was more effective than any of his forerunners. His +human superiority was not due to higher speed, +greater strength, or better staying powers. Many +of his animal competitors could far outdistance him, +could easily overpower him, could surpass him in endurance. +He did, however, have an exceptional advantage. +He was able to combine these essential +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span>qualities with many others in a variety of ways and +thus gain an ultimate supremacy. In the end it was +better brain power that raised man above his lower +contemporaries and set him on his path toward human +success. This new power of his did not come all +at once. It needed the steady effort of ages to reach +its present development. Compared with the existence +of other species, the human race is relatively +young. In point of geologic time so also is the human +brain. Many students are agreed that temporally and +in other respects our brain has scarcely outgrown its +childhood. The brain power of to-day may require +further ages of development to attain its highest +possibilities.</p> + +<p>When man first appeared on earth he had much in +common with the great apes. Although not descended +from them, he had inherited with them many qualities +from a common ancestor. It is now settled beyond +question that in earliest times the human brain +possessed all of the basic patterns and mechanisms +still to be found in the gorilla, the chimpanzee, and +the orang. It had one fundamental advantage that +greatly improved its capacity for developing its +power. Expansion was the secret of this advantage. +It was apparent in all parts of the superbrain, +but most prominent in the department +of the highest mental faculties, the frontal lobe. We +may discern this great advance at a glance by comparing +the sloping, narrow foreheads of the great +apes with the high and prominent brow of man. The +frontal lobe gradually pushed forward over the eyes, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span>and in consequence the forehead slowly rose above +them. It seems fair to say that as the brow grew +higher through successive stages the race gradually +rose in humanity. We are still much in the dark concerning +the early phases of this slow rise to power. +Some of the stages, it is probable, we shall never +know. On the other hand, a large number of human +fossils have been found during the past century. +From these it is possible to decipher what the human +brain must have been like at certain critical periods +of man’s long journey. The brain, like all other soft +parts of the body, disappears in time after death. How +is it possible, therefore, to speak about the brains of +men long since dead, or of races long ago extinct?</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Fossil_Records_of_Man"> + <i>The Fossil Records of Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is true that only the bones of ancient peoples remain +to tell us what they were like. Many of these +bones have become fossilized by impregnation with +minerals and are, so to speak, turned into stone. Thus +they make an enduring record of man’s bony framework. +From these petrified bones we can read many +things about the people of the past to whom they +belonged. We can measure their height, determine +the manner in which they held their bodies in walking, +and estimate their muscular strength. We may +even rebuild their bodies about their skeletons by +using certain standard measurements and so gain a +fair idea of what these men must have looked like +when alive. From the shape of the head it is possible +to decide whether the jaw was massive and protruding, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span>or of modern type; whether the cheek bones were +heavy and prominent or relatively inconspicuous; +whether the forehead was low and receding or high +and broad; whether the nose was flattened or had a +high nasal bridge; whether the chin was weakly developed +or large and firm; whether the brain case was +small, round, and narrow, or long, high vaulted, and +capacious.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brain_Casts_of_Extinct_Races_of_Men"> + <i>Brain Casts of Extinct Races of Men</i> +</h3> + +<p>Many other characters of extinct races may be +determined by means of exact measurement. So much +has already been accomplished in this way that it is +possible to reproduce a reasonable facsimile of races +that vanished long ago. It is possible also to reproduce +a reasonable likeness of their brains. Reproductions +of this kind depend upon the use of the fossil skulls +as molds from which plaster of Paris casts are made. +Upon the inner surface of the skull the brain makes +certain definite impressions. It leaves grooves in the +bone where great arteries run. It shows deep indentations +caused by the convolutions. It contains +other landmarks indicating the size and position of +certain prominent features in the brain. These casts +do not show the brain characters in all their sharp +details because within the skull the brain is covered +by three layers of membranes and surrounded by a +thin jacket of fluid. In consequence, all of the prominent +characters, although easily recognized, are somewhat +veiled. It is for this reason that we are unable to +detect every coil and groove in a brain cast of a fossil +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span>skull. We may, however, discern many important +features and thus form an accurate estimate concerning +the brain characters of several prehistoric races +of man. Many casts of this kind are now available for +study.</p> + +<p>It is probable that a number of distinct species of +prehistoric races have passed away leaving no trace of +themselves. Even the bones of man’s body gradually +crumble into dust unless, by some fortuitous circumstance, +they are slowly converted into stone through +the deposit of mineral salts. It seems likely that only +a few of man’s skeletal remains have been preserved +for us in this manner. By far the vast majority have +gone the way of all flesh and most bones. The few +precious relics that we thus far have had the good +fortune to discover are treasured as rare possessions. +They tell us in a somewhat disconnected way of many +ancient people who have lived long before our times. +Yet, however disconnected this story may be, however +wide its gaps, however serious its omissions, it +would be improper to overlook the fossil evidence of +these early people. The fossilized relics must be permitted +to set forth the story which they have to tell +while we endeavour to keep our interpretations +within the bounds imposed upon us by the nature of +the evidence.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brain_of_Java_Ape_Man"> + <i>Brain of Java Ape Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>The brain cast representing the most ancient race +of men yet discovered is that of the ape man of Java +(<i>Pithecanthropus erectus</i>). Dr. Eugen Du Bois, when +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span>he made his wonderful discovery in Java, found almost +the entire skull cap of this primitive man, who +lived somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 years +ago. His brain was remarkably small. It was not +nearly so large as our modern brain or even as the brain +of many other prehistoric people. Its capacity was +only 940 cubic centimetres. This is small for a human +brain, which ranges between 1000 to 1400 cubic centimetres. +But if it is small for a man, it is much larger +than any ape brain. An interesting comparison as to +the size of the ape man’s brain is afforded when the +brains of a large gorilla, of the Java ape man, and of a +modern man are placed side by side. At once the differences +are apparent. The brain we are now considering +clearly occupies an intermediate position between +the gorilla and modern man.</p> + +<p>The striking feature about the brain of the lowly +ape man is the great expansion which has taken place +in the department and permanent headquarters of the +highest mental faculties—the frontal lobe. Compared +with the brain of the gorilla, there can be no dispute +as to the great advantages held by the ape man in +this part of his brain. The convolutions are plainly +shown in this frontal area. In fact, these coils are more +prominent in this region than elsewhere. This fact +does not imply that the convolutions in the brain are +supreme in the frontal lobe of the ape man. If they +seem less prominent in the other lobes it is only because +the frontal coils in all cases make more positive +impressions upon the skull. It is fortunate, though, +that these coils may be so clearly seen in that region +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span>of the superbrain which reveals the development of +the highest faculties. We should also bear in mind +that this department of the chief executive in the +frontal lobe is preëminently a human possession. A +comparison with the gorilla’s brain shows at once +the great expansion which has occurred in the most +responsible portion of man’s superbrain. In consequence +of such frontal growth the human race distinguished +itself in creation by acquiring all that is +implied in the title <i>Homo sapiens</i> (man of wisdom).</p> + +<p>Another decisive feature appears in this frontal +region. The left convolutions are slightly larger than +those on the right side. In all probability this difference +in size indicates that a highly characteristic +human quality has already been introduced. In the +ape man the right hand already appears to have become +the leader in all the varied skillful performances +of manual achievement.</p> + + +<h3 id="Speech"> + <i>Speech</i> +</h3> + +<p>In this early period it seems likely that man was +using his hands for constructive purposes. Of far +more significance and bearing more decisively upon +the destiny of humanity is the appearance of a well-marked +coil in the lower portion of this frontal lobe +on the left side. In all living races of man this convolution +is associated with the control of spoken +language. From this specialization it is apparent that +the ape man had acquired the powers of speech. Even +if his frontal lobe were small, it far surpassed that of +any ape however highly developed.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span></p> + +<p>It is clear from these facts that the primitive ape +man of Java had risen to a plane far above the gorilla, +although he was still much below that of modern +man. Visualized from his brain, this Java man must +have had increased powers of reasoning. He must +have been capable of making better adjustments to +life than the gorilla or any of the great manlike apes. +He possessed the ability to build up a greater sphere +of experience and make some approach to human +personality. His tendency to right-handedness was a +distinctly human character, around which are built +many of man’s most productive specializations. In +all of his qualities the Java man was much below his +later human successors. It is difficult to estimate how +much skill he had acquired with his hands, but it +seems almost certain that he added one supreme +advantage to the motor equipment of animal life. +<span class="allsmcap">HE HAD LEARNED TO SPEAK</span>—to communicate in verbal +language. The animal machine had acquired a +new means of expressing itself. It was capable of +developing a new output in the production of which +it became highly prolific.</p> + +<p>Several theories have been advanced to explain +the development of human speech. One of these +attributes the origin of language to gestures, especially +those made with the hands. Gestures indicating direction, +location, distance, size, shape, motion, number, +and many other specifications became associated with +vocal expressions. These symbols were the basis of +language, which required special speech centres in +the brain for its control.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span></p> + +<p>This means of communication laid the foundation +of all human knowledge. Doubtless the linguistic +ability of the Javan ape man was extremely crude, +but he had taken a decisive step in a direction necessary +to the further development of mankind.</p> + + +<h3 id="More_Effective_Use_of_the_Senses"> + <i>More Effective Use of the Senses</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the department of his body and contact senses +the ape man’s brain shows marked advances over the +apes. The expansions here must be regarded as +particularly connected with the free use of the hands +and arms and the assumption of the erect posture. A +much richer supply of raw materials in the way of +sense impressions from the legs and arms, and from +the body, generally speaking, made possible a more +effective turnover and output of nervous energy. +During this time man was learning many new uses +for his hands in devising original means for maintaining +and advancing his footholds in life.</p> + +<p>The departments of sight and hearing situated respectively +in the occipital and temporal lobes of the +brain show that degree of expansion which supplied +greater human powers. Man could see, and understand +better what he saw. He could hear, and understand +more fully what he heard. He was capable of +more effective appreciation of his surroundings. If he +obtained a better idea of the world through his sense +of sight, he put these more ample impressions to +better use in the visual direction of his actions and +more especially in guiding the work of his hands by +his eyes.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</span></p> + +<p>If his sense of hearing likewise gave him better +understanding of the audible world about him, it was +most important in that it contributed to the upbuilding +of his vocal speech. Sounds which he heard began +to have new meanings to him. From this it was but +a step to translate such sounds into spoken words +with fixed meanings of their own.</p> + +<p>In all of these particulars the brain of the ape man +had made definite advances. It was superior to all of +its forerunners in the animal kingdom. The fact that +it had thus advanced brings to mind many perplexing +questions. Why had this great change taken place? +What causes had produced the marked extensions in +the frontal lobes and in all other lobes, sufficient at +last to lift man up to a human level? Attempts to +answer such questions venture into the field of conjecture. +Many factors yet unknown may have been +the real causes in producing this remarkable change.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Human_Hand_and_Foot"> + <i>The Human Hand and Foot</i> +</h3> + +<p>One great difference between man and the manlike +apes seems to be based upon the character of the feet. +Man had at length acquired two feet upon which to +stand upright and make his way. His erect posture +had caused many changes in his body, including the +position of the head, the relation of the eyes, and the +length of his limbs. None of these changes had more +telling effect upon human destiny than the final freeing +of the hands for occupations other than locomotion. +In this way man acquired his most useful +advantage—the hand. It became his chief reliance, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</span>the basis of his constructive abilities, and the guide +of his analytical powers. It has been the achievement +of his hands that has carried man onward. Some +authorities believe that brain development was the +chief factor in human progress. Such no doubt is the +case, but it was the hand that called upon the brain +for its progressive development.</p> + +<p>Whatever other factors were at work, the hand was +one of the most potent influences in the rise of man. +With the brain to direct its action, to expand its +usefulness, with the upright posture to give free range +to its executions, with speech to make its accomplishments +available to all, the hand became a master key, +opening all the ways leading through the vast domain +of human behaviour. If the influences which determined +human emergence from the lower levels +of animal life might be catalogued as a working +theory, they would perhaps appear in the following +order:</p> + +<ol> +<li>The development of the human foot upon which +to establish the erect posture.</li> + +<li>The freeing of the hand in consequence of the +erect posture for the purposes of human success.</li> + +<li>The expansions of sight and hearing for the +better appreciation of the world and the more effective +guidance of action.</li> + +<li>The development of speech.</li> + +<li>The establishment of human personality and +the development of higher mental faculties. For the +successful administration of these special powers, a +brain of at least human capacity was necessary.</li> +</ol> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Brain_of_Piltdown_Man"> + <i>Brain of Piltdown Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>When Mr. Dawson found the fossil remains of the +Piltdown Dawn man he brought to light another view +of the human prehistoric brain. There are many indications +that the Piltdown men had made great +strides in their brain power. This is especially apparent +in the frontal lobe. The convolutions are +prominent, especially that one upon the left side which +plainly indicates the power of speech. These early +inhabitants of England must have been more gifted +than the humbler ape man. Such at least is the evidence +of the frontal lobe in which the department +of the highest mental faculties was much better +developed. Similar advances appear in the parietal +regions, suggesting that the hands of these Dawn +men had acquired increased capacities as constructive +agents and sensory organs. The large expansion +in the department of body and contact senses plainly +signifies great advantages gained in exploring the +world. Piltdown man must have understood the consistency, +the texture, and shape of the things he +touched. The weight and mobility of objects gave +him information concerning their use. The advantages +of wood and stone for projectile and penetrating +purposes, the utility of sharp edges, the flexibility and +tensile strength of various tissues, like the bark of +trees or climbing vines, all came to him as revelations +evoked by his new powers for sensing his world. These +revelations were of much service in other ways. The +Dawn man could utilize these sense impressions in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span>directing new actions which helped him to overcome +obstacles or to gain greater security. He could now +combine stick and stone in a manner advantageous +for his daily contacts with life. There may be some +question whether the earlier ape man of Java had +learned the secret of making implements for himself. +With the Dawn man of Piltdown the case is different. +It seems most likely that he had already established +the industry of instrument making. Some students of +this question still hesitate to believe that the dawn +flint implements (eoliths) found in association with +the Piltdown remains were really the product of human +hands. It is probable that the Dawn man already +possessed the great advantage of being right-handed. +The chipping of stone implements would make it +necessary for him to hold the flint in one hand and +flake it skillfully with the other. The departments of +hearing and sight both show an expansion similar to +that in the other parts of the brain.</p> + +<p>The Piltdown brain is superior to that of the Java +ape man in all particulars. It indicates the power of +speech, the development of right-handedness, and the +establishment of higher mental faculties. It also attests +that the Dawn man had come a long distance +from that parting of the ways at which the human +race separated from the great apes.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Neanderthal_Brain"> + <i>The Neanderthal Brain</i> +</h3> + +<p>The time assigned to the Dawn man’s day on earth +varies considerably according to different estimates. +The latest calculations place this time at a little over +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span>a million years ago. By comparison, Piltdown men +were certainly more ancient than another race which +dominated Europe for long ages. This was the famous +Neanderthal race. These early and long extinct +people migrated into Europe from the East. Their +scattered fossil remains found in many different parts +tell the same story of an unusually powerful race. In +stature they were relatively short, probably not +averaging much more than five feet three inches in +height. Their arms were long and powerful, their +necks thick and extremely muscular. Their legs were +heavy and slightly bent at the knees. As a race they +were distinguished by the shape of their heads and +the size of their brains. The Neanderthal had a low, +retreating forehead and a head that was peculiarly +flat near the top. It seems as if the head were especially +constructed as part of an effective fighting +machine. Heavy ridges of bone surmounted the eyes +much as is the case in the gorilla. The head was set +down well upon the shoulders. The jaws were heavy, +indicating that the teeth as well as other parts of +the body might be employed in combat. The nose +was broad and flat and the chin lacked prominence. +All of these features must have given the Neanderthal +man a brutish appearance. The low beetling +brow, the flattened vault of the skull, the heavy jaw +with receding chin, the broad flat nose, all gave him +a countenance not unlike that of the great apes. +Visualized from his fossil remains, the Neanderthal +was a savage-looking creature. He would have been a +dangerous wayfarer for the unwary to meet. He was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span>probably so hideous in his appearance that his presence +gave offense to men of more refined sensibility. +This seems like a harsh judgment upon the Neanderthal. +It is a low estimate of him which his brain does +not justify. As a matter of fact, the size of the Neanderthal +brain is somewhat greater than that of any +modern races. If size alone were the standard, such +a brain would not indicate a low degree of mental +organization. But size alone is not a reliable indicator +of brain capacity. Unusually large brains are often +inferior in their brain power. It is said that the largest +brain, both by weight and measure, was that of a +feeble-minded gardener at one time employed in a +large public garden in London. The volume of the +Neanderthal brain is not a convincing argument as +to its efficiency. From other indications, however, it is +certain that this race had made definite advances in +human progress. They were skilled artisans and flint +workers. They had command of fire, which was employed +in the upbuilding of distinct industries. Far +from being lowly, ape-like creatures, they had many +of the higher attributes of man.</p> + +<p>The earliest discovery of these ancient people occurred +in 1848 when Lieutenant Flint found the +first Neanderthal skull in an old quarry at Gibraltar. +The real meaning of this find, however, was not appreciated +until more than sixty years later.</p> + +<p>One of the most important Neanderthal discoveries +was made in the valley of the Dordogne in southwestern +France. In a cavern near the little village of +La Chapelle-aux-Saints, the abbés Bouyssonie and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span>Bardon (autumn, 1908) found the skeleton of a +primitive man. The body rested upon its back, with +its head toward the west, its legs, thighs, and forearms +folded together. The head had been protected by +flat stones, and many skillfully worked flints of the +Mousterian period surrounded the body. There was +every evidence of interment and burial ceremony +about the discovery which, it was finally decided, +was the skeleton of a middle-aged man belonging to +the Neanderthal race. By measurement it was found +that the skeleton must have contained a brain of large +size, considerably larger than the average modern +brain. The brain cast of this prehistoric man gives us +some clear idea of Neanderthal brain power. In shape +the brain is distinctly flat. The arching in the region +of the forehead, so prominent in modern races, is +absent. This part of the brain seems to sink inward +as if the frontal lobe had gone somewhat into eclipse, +or had not yet made that decisive expansion characteristic +of later races of man. This condition, however, +corresponds exactly with the low retreating forehead +of the Neanderthal. When compared with the ape +man of Java, or with the Dawn man of Piltdown, the +Neanderthal brain does, however, show expansion in +all of its major departments. The parietal, occipital, +and temporal lobes have all increased in size. This is +true also of the frontal lobe, but the ratio of expansion +appears to be less here than in other areas. It is in this +department that the real flatness of the brain is most +pronounced. The convolutions in the frontal lobe fail +to give the superbrain those dominant characters +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span>which produce a high, wide forehead in modern man. +This apparent failure of the frontal lobe to attain +greater proportions must have had far-reaching influences +upon the life and destiny of these primitive +Europeans.</p> + +<p>All of the major departments of the brain show +considerable expansion. The entire brain of the +Neanderthal gives evidence of progressive development +at the same time that it manifests many signs +of deficiency and incomplete realization along the +higher lines of progress.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brain_of_Rhodesian_Man"> + <i>Brain of Rhodesian Man</i> +</h3> + +<p>Asia and Europe have produced evidence of prehistoric +man. Until quite recently Africa has been +peculiarly silent in this regard. At length even the +Dark Continent has revealed signs showing that man +of a primitive type has gone a long way toward the +south in his wanderings over the earth. This important +discovery was made in Rhodesia and first +publicly reported in 1921 by Mr. William L. Harris. +The conditions of this discovery were peculiar and +significant. Actual remains of two human skeletons +were found at Broken Hill mine in northern Rhodesia. +Connected with this mine there was originally a +natural cave about 120 feet long. This is known as +the bone cave. It contained a vast number of animal +bones all impregnated with the salts of zinc and lead. +At the bottom of this cave the human remains were +found. Like all of the other bones, the human skeletons +were incrusted by zinc and lead. The cave itself +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</span>seems to have been the ancient feasting place for +hyenas, which dragged thither their prey. There is +some suspicion that these human remains may have +come to their last resting place in the cave of bones +in a similar manner. The cleft of the roof of the cave +here is far in, which suggests the possibility that the +men or women whose bones were found may have +fallen into the cavern. Certain features of the skull, +however, have convinced eminent authorities that +these individuals belong to a very ancient prehistoric +race. The face is far more brutal than that of any +other known human being, living or extinct. The +enormous eyebrow ridges resemble those of the gorilla, +the nose is flat and has that snout-like appearance +suggesting a peculiarly significant mark of the beast, +known only in one other extinct member of the human +family, the Neanderthal man. Another remarkable +feature of the head is the great size of the palate and +teeth. The brain case and the features of the brain +lend support to the view that this Rhodesian man +was even older and more primitive than Neanderthal +man.</p> + +<p>By all the signs of his frontal lobe the Rhodesian +must have been a humble sort of human. Nothing in +this department of his brain suggests any near approach +to the attainments of modern man. The frontal +lobe bears many marks of ape-like characters. It +indicates at the same time a brain power which surpassed +the limits of the great apes. It was a brain +fast carrying man upward to the broader plains of +human experience. The lot of the Rhodesian must +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</span>have been precarious. He was pitted against formidable +animals of the African wilds. But, judged by his +frontal lobe, his brain had not left him destitute for +the exigencies of such competition. He doubtless +possessed the power of speech and the capacity for +making human combinations. Compared with lower +mammals he had a more facile association of ideas +and could profit more effectively from experience. +The evidence of his parietal, temporal, and occipital +lobes indicates definite progress in all departments +of sense perception. His brain was human though still +in the rough. Whatever position is finally assigned +to this far-distant cousin in our human family, he +seems from his brain to have been a very simple sort +of human being, older perhaps and even more primitive +than any of the Neanderthal race.</p> + + +<h3 id="Changes_in_Human_Race_Extremely_Slow"> + <i>Changes in Human Race Extremely Slow</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is impossible to give the exact dates for the appearance +of the different races of prehistoric men. +At best, our ideas concerning their antiquity must +be approximate. Yet these fossils do not leave us in +doubt in one respect at least. We know and we may +prove our knowledge in many different ways that +man has inhabited the globe through long ages, +whether we rate these ages as hundreds of thousands +or millions of years. Throughout these ages man has +varied considerably. At first he bore many close resemblances +to lower forms of life. Slowly he improved +and manifested a progressive advance toward higher +humanity. We may be inclined to question this progressive +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</span>change from one stage to another largely +because our own experience of life is limited to such a +short span of time. Within the memory of any man +the changes in his fellows seem inconsiderable. Mankind +appears to have a dominating fixity in appearance. +It is only a little more than sixty generations +since the birth of Christ, and during this time the +racial characters of men have changed but little. +The white man, the red man, the black man, and the +yellow man, are all much the same in the form of body, +the shape of head, the appearance of face, as they +were sixty generations ago. There is more than a +striking figure of speech in the scriptural definition +that a thousand years are but as a day in the endless +expanse of time. Measured by such days as these, +man has changed slowly but surely. When we contemplate +long days of this kind, each of a thousand +years, their accumulation in the existence of our race +takes on a new meaning. Estimate, for example, how +far back ten days of this time would take us. We +should find ourselves in the life of the world as it was +ten thousand years ago, in that critical period when a +vast social and racial change was altering the colour +and complexion of human existence in Europe. The +senile but still wonderful Cromagnon race was then +limping along to the last stage of its declining old age +and was about to disappear. The hardy and practical +man of the New Stone Age had already arrived and +was fast becoming master of the situation. The Cromagnon +artist-hunter was passing the sceptre of +human control in Europe over to the hard-headed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</span>Neolithic business man. Another fifty days (each of a +thousand years) still further back and we find again +a momentous crisis. At that time the Neanderthal +man was passing. In spite of all his rugged vigour, his +day on earth was done. He had carried on existence +successfully for seven or eight hundred thousand +years, but now the time of his extinction was at hand. +These seven or eight hundred thousand years would +merely be seven or eight hundred days, according to +the new kind of timepiece by which we are endeavouring +to measure the duration of human progress.</p> + + +<h3 id="Cromagnons_Replace_the_Neanderthals"> + <i>Cromagnons Replace the Neanderthals</i> +</h3> + +<p>We may pause to seek some reason for the momentous +change when the Neanderthal appears to have +bowed before the Cromagnon. The real secret in the +failure of the old race and the success of the new may +be found in the brain. It was the increased brain +power of the Cromagnon which produced the supremacy +of this great race. It was this power which gave +Europe its first pioneers in art and, for all mankind, +opened the doors of creative imagination and appreciation +of beauty in the world.</p> + +<p>It would be particularly illuminating if a brain of the +Cromagnon race were available for study. These first +artists occupied an exalted position. They began their +life in Europe about fifty thousand years ago and +carried on their industries for a period twenty times +longer than the duration of the Christian Era. At +present there is no Cromagnon brain cast available. +We may, however, draw analogies from certain of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</span>their human contemporaries, who lived in the middle +part of Europe during the Solutrean period. These +were days when Cromagnon art and industry were +at their zenith, when the Old Stone Age had attained +its culminating stage and flourished in its fullest development. +The Solutrean contemporaries of the +Cromagnons were themselves a remarkable people. +They are known as the “great mammoth hunters of +Prêdmost.” Their fossil remains have been found in +Moravia. Associated with them were the fossilized +bones of nearly nine hundred specimens of mammoths. +In addition to these fossils of men and beasts there +were found many highly worked flints, including +spear heads and other stone implements, all having +a pattern which belonged to the Solutrean period. At +Prêdmost, where this discovery was made, there was a +collective burial of fourteen human beings, with the +remains of six others. These great mammoth hunters +must have been a large and powerful race. Their prowess +as trackers of great game was exceptional. The +character of their brain as revealed by the casts made +from their skulls places them at once on a plane higher +than any of the earlier races of man. In fact, it admits +them to membership in the same race to which we +ourselves belong—that is, <i>Homo sapiens</i>. These intrepid +hunters, according to their fossil remains, +closely resembled their splendid contemporaries of +western Europe, the Cromagnons. Of these latter +there is an ample record in consequence of which they +will always rank among the best representatives of +the human species. Their remarkable artistic contributions +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</span>denote far more than the executive mastery +of art. They signalize that new spirit which had been +breathed into mankind, that devotion to the beautiful +in life which created an abiding enthusiasm in all +of our race for its highest ideals and loftiest purposes. +From the first days of Cromagnon life these tendencies +were dominant. They were a people who delighted +in the lavish use of personal adornment. Coiffure was +of particular interest with the women and a highly +developed personal achievement. Both the men and +the women seem to have been fond of using red and +yellow ochre, much as in modern times, to beautify +the body. If certain Egyptian ladies are credited +with the invention of the lipstick and of rouge, it is +probable that they found their examples for such +artistic practices in these Cromagnon prototypes. +Drawing, painting, and sculpture were not the only +creations of the Cromagnons in the realm of art. It +seems probable that they had invented some form of +music. Their sketches of dances and masks make it +seem likely that to vocal expression they had added +certain artificial accessories in the shape of crude +musical instruments. One character in the artistic +discrimination of these artists and sculptors of the +Old Stone Age is of unusual interest. It shows a +distinct partiality for portraying women of extreme +corpulence. Many of their statuettes have been discovered +which, in spite of their somewhat unsightly +<i>embonpoint</i>, are called Venuses. The most famous of +these is the Venus of Willendorf. It was, however, in +the carving of animal forms that Cromagnon art +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</span>attained its real heights. Many living and extinct +species of birds, mammals, and fish have thus been +immortalized. Back of all this varied artistic creation +there must have been a social organization of high +order, for only a rich human experience could provide +the soil for such vivid and real beauty in art.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Mammoth_Hunters_of_Predmost"> + <i>The Mammoth Hunters of Prêdmost</i> +</h3> + +<p>The brain of the great mammoth hunters of Prêdmost +had a volume close to the standards of modern +men. It had lost those marks of inferiority which +stamp the brains of lower races. It had gained that +refinement of structure in the superbrain which proclaims +the ascendant qualities of humanity. The +groove of Sylvius and the central groove show the +boundaries and the size of the several lobes of the +brain, which correspond closely to those of modern +man. It is in the frontal lobe that the most remarkable +gains are apparent. The convolutions in this +region are prominent and well defined. That flatness +so typical of the Neanderthal brain has disappeared. +These Prêdmost and Cromagnon people were not a +race of flatheads, such as were the Neanderthals. +The human forehead had become high and broad. +It was no longer ape-like and receding, but clearly +indicated that the human brain had developed sufficiently +in its latest acquired and most highly organized +department to demonstrate that man at +length was capable of real humanity.</p> + +<p>From the Java ape-man up to <i>Homo sapiens</i> of +modern times there has been a slow but gradual +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</span>increase in all of the important measurements of the +brain. There has been a gain in length, in breadth, +and in height. Much of this gain has taken place in +the region of the frontal lobe, and thus has expressed +itself in expansion in the highest department for developing +brain power. The meaning of this pronounced +frontal expansion is evident in the progressive extensions +of human intelligence.</p> + + +<h3 id="Progress_of_the_Human_Family"> + <i>Progress of the Human Family</i> +</h3> + +<p>Judged by its brain power, the human family has +clearly been progressive. In this respect it differs from +all other families in the animal kingdom. In various +parts of the world mankind has lagged behind. Such +is the case in the tropics, where the races of men are +still in a primitive stage. This is true also of many +islands of the sea, in the arctic regions, and in other +remote and inaccessible places of the earth. But given +its full opportunity the human family has not failed +to go forward. The line of its progress may not be +deemed wholly satisfactory by the higher standards +of enlightened criticism. Yet in bending the forces of +nature more and more to his will as well as to his +convenience, man has surely progressed. Where he +has stood still, where perhaps he has even fallen +behind, is in the manifest lack of control over his own +nature. His curiosity has led him to inquire into every +phase and aspect of life upon the globe. But in all of +these inquiries he has given far too little thought to +himself. Only within recent years has he become +deeply interested in the mechanisms of his own +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</span>behaviour. Least of all has he devoted time and +thought to the organ of his chief reliance, to the +creator of his successes, to the dictator of his future.</p> + +<p>Since his earliest beginnings man has grown in +humanity as his brain expanded. Such a conclusion +seems irresistible. If we place side by side the brain +casts of the ape man of Java, the Dawn man of Piltdown, +the Rhodesian, the Neanderthal, the Prêdmost, +and the modern, we have before us a demonstration +of this progress more effective than words.</p> + +<p>The regions in which the greatest development has +occurred are easily discerned. Marked additions have +been made to the department of sight in the occipital +lobe, of hearing in the temporal lobe, of body and +contact sense in the parietal lobe. The mechanisms +for the amplification of sense perception and sense +combination have been manifoldly increased. But it +is in the department of the chief executive of life +and experience that the most decisive advance has +occurred. This area of the frontal lobe, so poorly +represented in man’s nearest kin, the great manlike +apes, shows exuberant growth, even in the ape man +of Java. Here its features correspond to those of +modern man in nearly every detail. Its only essential +inferiority is its relative smallness. Its special development +of convolutions denotes the acquisition of human +speech and human reason.</p> + + +<h3 id="Progressive_Development_of_the_Human_Brain"> + <i>Progressive Development of the Human Brain</i> +</h3> + +<p>Were we to select any single area in the superbrain +as the department supreme in mental organization, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</span>we should not neglect the claims of the department +for vision, for hearing, for body and contact sense. +Although each of these has progressively expanded, +we would be much more strongly inclined to favour +that part of the superbrain which has been active +as the superlative sense combiner, which has served +to develop the fullest impressions of human existence, +to accumulate the widest ranges of experience, to +direct most broadly the actions of our behaviour. +Traced through all of their intermediate stages upward, +it is these frontal regions which manifest the +most conspicuous development. The process of this +long, progressive expansion in the frontal lobe reaches +back to the earliest periods of man’s existence. It +conveys an accurate impression of the manner in +which the brain has responded to the demands made +upon it. The human brain may still be considered to +be in its early youth, in spite of the fact that more +than a million years of human striving lie behind it. +This great antiquity, this remarkable flexibility, +have been largely overlooked. By most of us the +human brain is regarded as a finished product. Its +long, prehistoric record as we know it to-day does not +support this point of view. On the contrary, it makes +it appear far more probable that the brain of modern +man is only some intermediate stage in the ultimate +development of the master organ of life. The greatest +possibilities for future progress lie in further expansion +of the frontal lobe. For this reason the brain of +prehistoric man is not merely an antiquarian relic, +it is a sign from the long ages of the past showing the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</span>road man has followed in his upward course. It likewise +conveys some suggestions concerning the future. +For, if the human brain began as a simple organ and +gradually developed through successive stages, there +is reason to believe, if not to predict, that it may +develop still further.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII"> + CHAPTER XII + <br> + IMPLEMENTS OF HUMAN SUCCESS + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">HOW THE HAND, FOOT, AND BRAIN LED THE + WAY TO HUMANITY</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>It is not sufficient to know that the brain began as a +simple organ and gradually became more complex. +Sooner or later we must learn the reasons why it +made this progress. At present we are able to identify +some of the essential principles underlying brain +development, yet with few exceptions the exact +causes are still obscure. We may feel certain, however, +that the progressive advances were due to the accumulation +of slight changes which, modifying brain +structure ever so little, ultimately made it more +highly effective. Such changes in the different parts +of the body are the result of a complex interplay of +influences acting upon the animal as a whole. The +brain has been particularly responsive to this interplay. +It has at the same time been thoroughly conservative. +Throughout all its wide range of variation it +has maintained its basic designs. If readjustment of +the body to certain conditions has resulted in the +depreciation of a special part, such as the eye, the +structure of the brain shows corresponding depreciations. +The principle of compensation has also been at +work. The power which may be depreciated or lost in +one department is, to some degree at least, compensated +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</span>for by others. An illustration of this compensatory +power is afforded by the mole. This animal lives +a burrowing life beneath the ground. Light rays do +not reach it, and it therefore has no need for vision. +In consequence, its eyes do not develop the function +of sight. Its senses of touch and hearing, however, are +greatly amplified, and the structure of its brain gives +evidence of this compensatory readjustment.</p> + +<p>Signs of the close relation between the brain and the +parts which it controls may be found in many organs +of the body. In some instances these signs are outspoken; +in others they are less clear. It is much easier +to find evidence of this correlation in those parts +which play a conspicuous rôle in life. The arms and +legs, the eyes and ears, are particularly good examples. +Modifications which have affected these parts +are distinctly reflected in the brain. If more brain +power is required for their better operation, more ample +provision is made for them in brain structure.</p> + + +<h3 id="Relation_of_One_Part_of_Body_to_Another"> + <i>Relation of One Part of Body to Another</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is a debated question whether the brain or the +external part of the body takes the lead in progressive +modifications. Some authorities believe that all advances +of this kind are dictated by development in +the brain. Others ascribe the determining influence +to the external part. For the present it seems wiser to +consider these modifications as simultaneous, as +affecting the external part and the brain together. +Certain dangers arise from regarding the body as +divided too strictly into definite parts. Such a division +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</span>has advantages for purposes of description, but it +may tend to obscure the important fact that life is +carried on by the body acting as a whole. In this light +the division between external part and the portion +of the brain controlling it establishes an artificial +distinction. Viewed in the light of purposeful life, +one is of little use without the other. Both external +part and the portion of the brain controlling it establish +a special unit which, coöperating with all other +special units, carry on the process of living.</p> + +<p>This view is known as the organismal conception +of life. It estimates the entire animal not as a collection +of different parts but as a combination which +makes life possible. According to this conception +the external structure (arm, leg, eye, ear, etc.) and +the portion of the brain controlling it form an operating +part of the whole. Modifications in the one are +reflected in the other. They cause mutual reactions. +When eyes are developed for different kinds of vision, +corresponding provisions are made for them in the +brain. When legs are specialized for various kinds of +locomotion, brain structure adapts itself accordingly.</p> + +<p>It is important to realize what the eyes and the +ears and the organ of smell have contributed to the +progressive advance of the brain. In all of these organs +there is a marked constancy and sameness among +animals possessing them. Structures presenting a +greater variety of form might have even greater +pertinence. It therefore is a more leading question to +ask what relation the brain bears to the extremities, +to the fore and hind legs, to the hands and feet.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="History_of_the_Hand_and_Foot"> + <i>History of the Hand and Foot</i> +</h3> + +<p>There is a long history of progressive change back +of the hand and foot. In their development they +emerged from more simple structures connected with +the ends of the limbs in certain four-legged animals. +Because they are attached to the limbs in this way, +they have played an important rôle in one of the chief +activities of life—locomotion. The fore and hind legs +act as a series of levers. They are moved by muscles +and in this way make transportation possible. Consequently +the modifications in the ends of the limbs +in response to special types of locomotion have a +most important bearing upon the life of the animal +and thus upon the brain.</p> + +<p>In animals living upon land such parts of the limbs +as touch the ground are modified by many factors; +thus the weight of the body, the speed of movement, +and the kind of locomotion would all exert their modifying +influence. Limbs of several different designs +have thus been produced. Heavy animals, like horses +and cattle, which require speed and endurance for +long journeys, need hoofs. Still larger hoofs were +developed by heavier animals, like the elephant and +rhinoceros. The paw was the design utilized by animals +like cats and dogs. Their bodies were not so +heavy as those of horses and cattle. They were capable +of great speed and needed sharp nails on their +paws to hold the ground in running and springing. +These talon-like nails they also used for defending +themselves or in capturing their prey, as do the lion, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</span>tiger, leopard, and bear. The paw is a more flexible +implement than the hoof. It provides a soft, elastic +pad by means of which the animal touches the ground. +In animals like the seal, walrus, and sea lion the +flipper is the design utilized. Here the digits are connected +by means of a web. The wing is the specialization +in such animals as the bat whose transportation +depends upon flight through the air.</p> + + +<h3 id="Locomotor_Devices"> + <i>Locomotor Devices</i> +</h3> + +<p>These various devices for moving the body about +on the land, in the water, or through the air have +been developed by mammals. By such contrivances +they are enabled to subsist, each according to its +own mode of living. Some of them have returned to a +life in the water. The result of aquatic habits in +mammals is extremely interesting. The flippers of +seals, walruses, and sea lions equip these animals to +swim with great ease and speed. They enable them to +clamber about on the rocky coast by the edge of the +sea, or upon the ice fields of the arctic regions. Because +of its apparent limitations, such a life held +little prospect for developing the powers of higher +intelligence. A flipper is in no sense an efficient implement +by means of which to acquire a superior position +in the world. The seals and all of their kind, therefore, +offer little promise of progress. They are capable +of astonishing proficiency in the control of their neck +muscles and movements of their heads, but this at +best is a meagre advantage. They are somewhat +better off than another group of mammals which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</span>took to the water, namely; porpoises and whales. +Nothing in the equipment of these animals could +serve as efficient instruments by which to gain a preëminent +place in nature.</p> + +<p>By developing wings in connection with their limbs +the bats were also excluded from the lines of higher +progress. However effective they are in flight, their +wings could not be made to serve constructive purposes.</p> + +<p>Animals with hoofs, such as horses and cattle, elephants +and rhinoceroses, acquired solid and reliable +feet for withstanding the heavy strain which their +speed and weight imposed upon them. Hoofs, however, +are far from ideal as universal instruments. +Although sufficient for the work they have to do, +they cannot be utilized for purposes other than those +of transportation except, in a certain minor way, for +offensive and defensive tactics. In these animals all +of the digits are either bound together in one large +supporting pad, as in the elephant, or are encased by +a horny covering, as in cattle and deer. In the modern +horse but one digit persists, and this is surrounded +by a heavy, horny hoof. Such an implement would not +require a highly specialized endowment of brain +power for its control.</p> + +<p>The daily programme of these animals, limited +largely to transportation, calls for no constructive +ability and no intentionally destructive one. The +hoofed animals possess no means for accumulating +or storing food in preparation against a day of need. +They are forced to move from place to place in order +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</span>to find their browsing and grazing lands. They cannot +stand against great changes of climate or season. +They must flee before the advance of winter as well +as from their enemies. The hoof for this reason offered +little promise for the development of a more efficient +kind of instrument. Such hoofed animals as also possess +a trunk developed an accessory organ of much +value. It is doubtless an important factor in the high +specialization of the elephant’s brain. Even this +flexible instrument, however, has its decided limitations.</p> + +<p>All of these mammals, whether hoofed, flippered, +or winged, have failed to develop a brain of superior +qualities. In no instance is it an organ capable of a +high degree of learning or intricate control of life. +The hoof of the horse, cattle, deer, elephant, rhinoceros, +and the like set the stamp of the wild upon +these animals. This is the keynote of their behaviour. +Flipper and wing are equally indicative of inferior +qualifications in so far as efficiency and brain power +are concerned. There may be sufficient reasons for +placing these mammals in the same bracket with +man in the great classes of the animal kingdom. Their +inferiorities are apparent, however, when their intelligence +is estimated by human standards. It is then +clear how far below the human level of brain power +they are.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Paw_in_Relation_to_Hand_and_Foot"> + <i>The Paw in Relation to Hand and Foot</i> +</h3> + +<p>In our search for animals capable of a greater range +of adjustments we will find another group with a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</span>much more promising locomotor equipment. This +group comprises those mammals possessing paws, +such as dogs, cats, bears, rats, squirrels, and the like. +In itself the paw is a most flexible implement susceptible +to many modifications. It possesses five distinct +finger-like processes or digits, each of which is +capable of some degree of individual movement. The +digits may be spread out or drawn together; they +may be folded or extended. In every typical paw there +are eighteen movable joints, each of which is capable +of some independent motion. Twenty-five muscles +make more than seventy separate movements possible. +These figures afford some idea of what a complex +structure the paw is. Attached to the extremity of +each digit is a sharp claw-like nail, beneath which an +enlargement in the skin forms a prominent “tip pad.” +Over each of these pads the skin is arranged in ridges. +The ridges roughen the surface and produce what is +called “friction skin.” The roughened skin and the +claws at the end of the digits give the animal better +ground-gripping powers. In addition to the tip pad, +each typical paw has four enlargements where the +digits come together. These are the “palm” and “sole” +pads. They are likewise covered with ridged friction +skin. The paw terminates in the wrist or ankle, and +at this junction there are two enlargements called +respectively the “wrist” and “ankle” pads. They are +also covered with friction skin.</p> + +<p>This design of paw with its separate digits, its +claw-like nails, and its eleven pads affords an especially +adaptable structure from which to create many +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</span>different kinds of useful implements. In the gnawing +animals, like the rats and squirrels, the paw is developed +particularly for running and climbing. The +long sharp claws serve the purpose of spurs which, +as in the case of the squirrel, may be driven into the +bark of trees. All of the pads in the paw come in +contact with the surface over which the animal is +moving, thus giving information concerning its support +and aiding its transportation.</p> + +<p>In moles and burrowing animals the hind paw retains +its usual features, while the fore paw is converted +into something resembling a shovel. The paw +becomes broad and flat, particularly in the moles, +and there is no suggestion of any of its pads. Since +this specialization is adapted principally for digging +underground, little could be expected in the way of +high attainment for animals of this kind. Their burrowing +capacity is excellent, but this is the extent of +their ability.</p> + + +<h3 id="Special_Uses_of_the_Paw"> + <i>Special Uses of the Paw</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the meat-eating animals, like the dog and the +cat, the individual digits and the claws are somewhat +shorter, but their most important modification is the +fusion of the paw pads and the reduction in the first +digit. This change is a specialization for their more +springy type of locomotion. Such animals run on the +tips of the digits, using especially the second, third, +and fourth digits. The paw pads usually fuse to form +one or two which serve to increase the spring of the +animal. The fore limb of the rat may be accepted +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</span>as the working model, because it has all of the general +features that make up a typical paw. It provides for +running, climbing, clinging, and clawing. When compared +with the paw of a mole, the modifications necessary +for a good digging implement are clearly seen. The +pads are no longer needed and might, as a matter of +fact, be in the way. The digits are shorter and the whole +hand is broader and more scoop-like. The paw of the +mole is modified for the work it has to do and has lost +many of the structures necessary for ordinary locomotion +over the ground. Long claws are no longer essential +for climbing or clinging, and the nails have been +converted into burrowing ground-breakers. The +rabbit and the guinea pig show changes in the fore +paw necessary for rapid transportation in a kind of +jumping locomotion. They have lost the specializations +in the paw necessary for climbing. The nails +and the digits are less long and somewhat heavier. +The squirrel, on the other hand, has a fore paw specialized +for climbing trees. This modification has +emphasized the length of the individual digit and +particularly the length and sharpness of the claws. +Often the squirrel may be seen sitting upon its +haunches holding between its fore paws a nut, the +shell of which it is attempting to crack with its teeth. +Such grasping power is not found in the paws of +animals specialized for running and jumping solely. +The squirrel’s modification of the front paw is extremely +important. It reveals how the animal’s life in +the tree has lengthened the digits as well as the nails. +Some degree of power for grasping small objects has +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</span>come through this lengthening. The fore paw of a +cat compared with that of a dog illustrates other +important specializations. Both of these animals are +strong runners. In running they travel along on the +tips of the digits. For this reason the tip pads and the +friction skin over them have become highly developed +for ground-gripping purposes. The paw pads and the +wrist pads have tended to fuse in order to give an +elastic surface necessary for that springy gait determined +by running on the tips of the digits. The individual +digits are somewhat longer in the cat than in +the dog. The claw-like nail of all the cat family is +one of their distinguishing features. By means of these +claws they are able to climb trees, which is a provision +of great service in procuring food. Dogs, on +the other hand, have short digits, with thick, heavy +nails suited more as spikes in running but not adapted +to climbing. In many of the great cats, like the leopard, +climbing trees is an essential part of their hunting +strategy. For this reason they require long, sharp +claws, which may also be used as weapons in attacking +their prey. The long claws of the bear likewise +indicate a modification of the fore paw in adjustment +to the animal’s climbing propensities. The great +weight of the bear makes it necessary for it to have +these long spur-like claws in order to get a proper +grip on the bark of a tree when climbing.</p> + + +<h3 id="Transformation_from_Paw_to_Hand"> + <i>Transformation from Paw to Hand</i> +</h3> + +<p>Illustrations of this kind might be multiplied to +show that in all animals having paws these implements +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</span>have been modified in one way or another to +suit the kind of work they have to do. In the main, +this work is transportation. But there are many special +problems in the different kinds of transportation. +There are also numerous other adjustments to life +that are capable of producing profound modification +in the paws. From such facts as these it must be +clear that the paw has been serviceable as the basis +for developing instruments suited to many special +purposes. One prominent feature in the several modifications +of the fore paw is the effect which climbing +has had upon the length of the digits and upon the +length of the claw-like nails. In the rat and particularly +in the squirrel these effects of climbing are +especially distinct. When climbing at length became +a dominant factor in the life and livelihood of the +animal, certain still more decisive modifications were +produced in the paws. We may now endeavour to +gain some idea of that important transformation +which occurred when certain groups of animals took +up more or less permanent life in the trees. These +mammals were representative of the monkey kind. +They did not resort to tree climbing as many others +have done as an expedient in hunting or in escaping +from their enemies. The trees became their abodes. +Many changes were induced by this new adjustment +to life, changes which affected the muscles and bones +and even the skin. During the process of this adjustment +certain ridges upon the skin in the palm of the +hand and sole of the foot began to show marked +changes, probably because they were in such immediate +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</span>and constant contact with the branches of +the trees. In their basic designs these ridges which +form the friction skin may be traced back to the simplest +of pawed animals. Their successive modifications +offer one of the most certain guides in following the +stages through which the hand emerged from the +paw.</p> + +<p>Each ridge upon the skin of the paw (<i>chiridium</i>) +is an elevation of the superficial layer which contains, +at regular intervals, the mouths of minute canals +coming from sweat glands. In its simplest form each +sweat gland in regions of the skin not covered by hair +(sole of the foot and palm of the hand) consists of a +mound-like elevation in the centre of which is the +mouth of a sweat duct. With the higher development +of the skin, numbers of these little mounds ran together +in rows thus forming the friction ridges. Depending +upon the pressure and the kind of contact +made with the ground or other surface, the ridges of +the skin are arranged either in concentric circles, in +ellipses, or in parallel lines. They serve two useful +purposes: First, they roughen the surface so that it +can grip the ground more effectively; second, by the +continuous secretion of fluid from the sweat glands, +they keep the skin soft, pliable, and sensitive. In this +last particular, namely, the sensitiveness of the skin, +the ridges also serve in another capacity. They provide +proper locations for nerve endings, necessary to the +sense of touch in all of its various modifications. Thus +the paws in the more minute architecture of their +skin pads and friction ridges afford highly pliable +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</span>and sensitive instruments by means of which different +kinds of mammals are able to adjust themselves +in a great variety of ways.</p> + +<p>After many intermediate stages of transition the +fore paw assumed the appearance of a hand. Simultaneous +with this change the hind paw also began to +manifest many hand-like characters. Potent factors +were at work determining this important transformation. +Their influences were decisive not alone because +they changed the paw into a hand but because they +instituted equally profound changes in the structure +of the brain. Such modifications as these brought +about many adjustments to life destined to be the +special determinants of human behaviour. One of +the first changes to occur in transforming a front +paw into a hand was the direct result of arboreal life. +This modification consisted of a decisive lengthening +of the digits, particularly the second, third, fourth, +and fifth digits. In this way the fingers were formed. +The first digit which ultimately became the thumb +did not lengthen to the same degree as the other four. +The chief influence in producing this lengthening to +form fingers arose from the need of a firm grasp upon +the branches. Its effects appear in the simplest monkeys, +such as tarsius. The small hand of this animal +has four long fingers and a diminutive thumb, all of +which are well adapted to encircling and grasping a +cylindrical branch. Another important transitional +feature is the flattening in the ball of each digit. In +tarsius each finger tip has a disk-like appearance. +This is an extreme development. It produces what +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</span>in effect is a suction pad on the tip of the finger not +unlike that observed in some of the frogs (<i>Hyladæ</i>). +Such suction pads enable the animal to strengthen its +grasp upon the bark. The flattening of the finger tips +due to the pressure required in grasping the limb +of a tree produced a third great change. It caused a +corresponding flattening of the back of the finger tip +and thus developed a broad, flat finger nail to replace +the sharp, claw-like nail of the cat, rat, and other +similar mammals.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Hand_of_Tarsius_and_Lemur"> + <i>The Hand of Tarsius and Lemur</i> +</h3> + +<p>The three changes observed in the most primitive +of the monkey kind (<i>Tarsius</i>) comprise the pronounced +lengthening of the fingers, the flattening +of the finger tips, and the flattening of the finger nails. +These transformations are easily understood in connection +with the necessity of grasping cylindrical +branches. In other words, a prehensile hand came into +existence as a result of living in the trees, and a new +kind of instrument made its appearance in relation +with the upper extremity. The need of a firm grasp on +the branches was the fundamental cause of this modification +of the paw. It had far-reaching effects because +it created the facility to grasp many other objects +and thus struck the keynote of those further developments +which ultimately gave rise to the grasping +hand of man.</p> + +<p>All of the pads covered by friction skin which are +characteristic of lower mammals like the rat and the +squirrel may be identified in tarsius. The tip pads +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</span>are somewhat changed to form the suction disks. +The palm pads, four in number, occupy their usual +position in the angle between the digits. The wrist +pads, two in number, are well developed. By means +of these elastic cushions the animal makes its contacts +with the branches.</p> + +<p>Transition from paw to hand is still more pronounced +in the lemurs. These animals in many ways +stand lower in the scale than tarsius. In them the +lengthening of the digits to form real fingers, the +marked development of the thumb, the appearance +of friction pads, and broad, flat finger nails are all +prominent. The index finger shows certain variations +in its development. In other respects these lowly +members of the monkey kind manifest definite progress +in the change from paw to hand.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Interesting_Case_of_the_Marmoset"> + <i>The Interesting Case of the Marmoset</i> +</h3> + +<p>At this point it is interesting to consider the case of +the marmosets. Here the progress which the paw had +made toward a more effective structural instrument +encountered a serious setback. The hand of these +little animals, in a general way, has much that resembles +a paw. Although it has long fingers and a +prominent thumb, there is an evident slipping backward. +The claw-like finger nails suggest an actual +retrogression in the process of developing a hand. +If the marmosets were actual backsliders, other +monkeys of the New World were particularly progressive. +They developed hands which are extremely +human in appearance. Their long, tapering fingers +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</span>have broad, flat nails. Their thumbs are fairly well +formed. Their finger and palm pads have characteristic +appearances. This interesting group of South +American monkeys show in a most striking manner +those changes which life in the trees has brought +about in the fore paw. Such modifications are especially +significant because of their influence upon the +behaviour of those animals which have taken up a +permanent arboreal life. They have also made a deep +impression upon the structure of the brain. The +transition from a running, ground-living animal to +the simpler arboreal forms is foreshadowed in the +lemur’s hand. In many respects this transition stands +just upon the border line. Its apparent indecisiveness +is recorded in the brain, for the lemur retains many +of the ancient brain features created by older ground-living +habits. At the same time, it indicates certain +adventurous attempts to break away from the earth +and ascend into the trees. The grooves of the brain +show this new departure particularly well. They +retain their strong family resemblances inherited +through long ages of four-legged ancestors. But added +to this they manifest a tendency to assume the characters +which in due course would lift their successors +farther from the ground and into a more erect posture.</p> + + +<h3 id="Appearance_of_the_Hand-like_Foot"> + <i>Appearance of the Hand-like Foot</i> +</h3> + +<p>Up to this point attention has been centred upon +the important changes which attended the transition +from paw to hand. Equally momentous were the +modifications in the hind paws which resulted in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</span>hand-like feet. This transformation slowly altered the +digits, the claw-like nails, and the friction pads. It +modified all of these parts in such a way as to produce +better limb-gripping instruments. A great change in +transportation had taken place. Running over the +ground in easy, secure fashion now gave place to +the more hazardous method of climbing among the +branches of trees. A dependable grip was the prime +need. This capacity required long toes with which to +encircle the branches, a powerful sole, and a great +toe with strong grasping power. The four-legged +animals that travel over the ground on various kinds +of paws support the weight of the body on two main +arches of the foot. One arch consists of an elastic +span between the tip and the sole pads. The other +arch extends between the sole and ankle pads. Generally +speaking, those animals living on the ground +first strike the surface at each step on the tip pads +of the four outer toes. As the full weight of the body +is accepted by the hind paw, the sole pads touch the +ground. Last and most lightly, the ankle pads in +the region of the heels rest on the supporting surface. +In many running animals of this kind the heel touches +the ground infrequently. Their running and walking +in consequence have a springy quality that prepares +them for a quick bounding start at an instant’s notice.</p> + + +<h3 id="Strong_Grasping_Powers"> + <i>Strong Grasping Powers</i> +</h3> + +<p>Animals like the rabbit and kangaroo possess hind +legs that work together, while the fore limbs are put +forward first one and then the other. The most effective +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</span>type of transportation in animals possessing +paws has developed a gait in which the action of +the hind leg of one side follows the action of the fore +leg of the opposite side. This is the manner in which +the dog runs. It is also true of all members belonging +to the great cat family. The hind paw is put down in +the footprint of the opposite fore paw. Apparently +there is no deliberate supervision of this action which +seems to be wholly automatic in its nature. To a great +extent, however, this automatic regularity in the +hind legs ceased when the four-handed animals came +into existence and began to live in the trees. The +problem then was a totally different one. It was not +necessary for these animals to be on their toes every +moment. They did not require the powerful spring +formed by the two arches in the sole of the foot. Their +chief necessity was a foot that would have the grasping +powers of a strong hand. In this way they could +make sure of seizing the branches securely.</p> + +<p>The first digit of the foot, which in most pawed +animals often fails to develop, became of greatest +service to the monkeys. In most of them the great +toe offers an added means for securing a firm grasp. +It may be extended behind the branch while the other +toes encircle it and all working together produce a +firm grip not unlike a wrench on a pipe. The need of a +long lever extending from the tip of the toes back to +the heel, essential to the springy gait of the ordinary +pawed animal, is not so strongly felt in arboreal life. +In fact, a foot which is too long may be an actual +disadvantage, while one facilitating the best kind of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</span>gripping power would necessarily require a shortening +from toe to heel. This was the change which took place +in the early beginning of tree life.</p> + + +<h3 id="Under_Direction_of_the_Eye"> + <i>Under Direction of the Eye</i> +</h3> + +<p>It is difficult to appreciate all of the decisive modifications +throughout the body which the development +of such hand-like structures determined. Their +influences operated in profound and subtle ways. +They caused a great change in body posture. The +animal was now able to reach for branches above its +head. This was a long step in the direction of standing +upright. It modified the relation of the head which in +most four-legged animals is directed so that both +the eyes and the nose are turned toward the ground. +Reaching upward to grasp branches and drawing +the body in this direction lifted the head. It has been +shown that this action of pushing the head backward +and stretching the neck causes the hind legs to +straighten out automatically in exactly the position +necessary for standing erect. Such a beginning of the +upright posture also produced a change in the position +of the internal organs of the body as well as in the +position of the eyes. These modifications influenced +the growth of the superbrain, which finally acquired +that appearance seen only in animals possessing +hands. Coincident with these modifying factors, still +another important change was in process. In all four-legged +animals the paws, and more especially the +hind paws, operate out of sight of the eyes. The +animal does not see their action. The eye does not +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</span>watch and supervise the movements of the paws step +by step, but allows them to shift more or less for +themselves. With the appearance of hands connected +both with the fore and hind limbs, this state of affairs +ceased. Both the hand and the foot now came under +the critical supervision of the eye. The eye was able +to hold in plain view the performances of the hands +and hand-like feet. It could see and direct their movements. +It could single them out individually or watch +them while they all worked together. It could even +make critical discriminations in each hand and in each +foot. It could select a thumb or a great toe, or each +one of the other fingers and toes, and thus guide its +movements. This selective discrimination in the +hands and feet was an advantage never enjoyed by +any of the pawed animals whose habit it is to use all +of the digits together. In this manner both hand and +foot profited by their new adjustments. As instruments +they were capable of a far wider range of application, +although it was not alone by this expansion +in their utility that they became more effective. They +were better agents for sensing the world and possessed +a more ample sensory capacity which arose from +their own multiplied movements.</p> + + +<h3 id="Threshold_of_a_Great_Change"> + <i>Threshold of a Great Change</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the animal kingdom it would be difficult to find +more provocative influences than those which determined +the transformation of paws into four hands. +Considered casually, the appearance of the quadrumanous +monkeys in all their varieties seems little +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</span>more than the addition of many interesting forms of +life. This addition, however, had a far greater significance. +The four-handed stage of animal existence +led to the highest development of the brain. Without +this stage the ultimate advances in life, the supreme +achievements in progress, would have been impossible. +Numerous factors contributed to the acquisition of +hands and hand-like feet, but no one of them was +more potent in the final outcome than the effects of +tree-living. Almost every other combination of habitat +and adjustment had exerted its influence upon the +form of the mammalian body, yet in no other instance +has there been achieved a success comparable to the +development of hands. Most mammals are equipped +with highly efficient eyes, keen ears, and a serviceable +sense of smell. These endowments have had opportunity +to contribute to the efficiency of life. But neither +sight nor hearing nor smell was sufficient of itself to +determine those advantages capable of giving the +animal a supreme position. It was the hand which +opened the door to give the senses those opportunities +never enjoyed before. It called upon the brain for +further expansions to direct new ranges of movement. +It required additional brain extensions for a +greatly amplified sense of touch in the fingers and +palms, in the toes and soles of the feet. It was the +hand, in a word, that afforded an entirely new grasp +upon life and in the end created not only a new order +of mammals but almost a new kingdom of life. The +transition from paws to the hands of the quadrumana +is the threshold of an epochal change. As the paw was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</span>the basic pattern for the hand, the hand was the indispensable +stepping-stone to the development of man. +This formula may perhaps seem altogether too simple +and graphic. It would be such, in fact, if many of the +important intermediate stages in the process of development +were overlooked. These stages may now be +considered.</p> + +<p>The consequences of the transition produced under +the influence of tree-living appear conspicuously in +the lengthening of the digits to form fingers, in the +appearance of an opposable thumb, in the acquisition +of a grasping hand. All of these are definitely adaptive +changes. They are applied directly to meet the +conditions of locomotion through the trees. But if +these modifications conferred upon the animals many +real advantages, they also introduced certain imposing +hazards to further progress. They were adequate +for the mastery of arboreal life, yet at the same time +they permitted the forest to become master of these +four-handed animals. This is true in exactly the same +way that the sea imposes its laws upon aquatic mammals, +the plains dictate to the ungulates, and the air +exerts its control over the bats.</p> + + +<h3 id="Possession_of_too_Many_Hands"> + <i>Possession of too Many Hands</i> +</h3> + +<p>So far as the monkeys are concerned, an obstacle +lies squarely across the path of further progress. They +are possessed of too many hands. Hand and hand-like +foot both serve the purposes of locomotion. Neither +the one nor the other is afforded those opportunities +of exclusive use which are essential to the highest +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</span>development. This is true even of most of the monkeys +of the Old World, like the macaques. Their +locomotion requires the use of all four extremities. +They run along on the top of the branches, grasping +firmly as they go. They leap from one branch to +another, employing all four hands in this mode of +transportation. As a result of these activities the +hands are long and slender, the fingers long and tapering, +and the thumb short but opposable. The foot +has much the appearance of the hand.</p> + +<p>One group of the ape world offers a striking departure +from this more general rule of development. +This exception is particularly interesting. It appears +in the baboon and more especially those members +of their family which have taken up a life upon the +ground. With the baboons the resumption of terrestrial +life came long before any of the monkeys had +made pronounced advances toward the erect posture. +It is for this reason that when these animals adopted +habits of ground life they readjusted themselves after +the fashion of other four-legged animals. They travel +about much like the dog or cat, with their muzzles +directed to the earth. In fact, many of their features, +both in head and body, take on a definite canine +appearance. A feature of special significance is the +manner in which their fore and hind limbs have reacted +to the influences of ground-living. The great +lengthening in the hands, fingers, feet, and toes, +conspicuous in monkeys that live in the trees, has +actually been reversed in the baboon. It is still proper +to speak of hands and feet, but both hand and foot +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</span>have shown striking tendency to revert to paws. +This specialization illustrates a remarkable disgression +in the development of the monkey kind. It means, if +it means anything at all, that the adaptations necessary +for carrying on life in the trees have withdrawn +their influence and permitted the habits of adjustment +to the ground to modify the character of the extremities. +In four particulars the hand of the baboon +shows distinct tendencies to revert to a paw:</p> + +<ol> +<li>All of the fingers are shortened.</li> + +<li>The thumb has been reduced if not to the state +of a vestigial tubercle as in the dog, at least until it +has become extremely rudimentary.</li> + +<li>The nails have become much longer and more +slender, as if they were tending to form claws.</li> + +<li>Both the tip pads and the palm pads have become +more prominent, the latter actually fusing to +form a single palmar cushion.</li> +</ol> + +<p>In the foot similar tendencies toward a paw are +present. The lesser toes and the great toe are much +shortened, and there is a distinct fusion of the plantar +pads. This reversion in the hands and feet of the +baboon shows clearly how readjustment occurred +when the influences of tree living were withdrawn. +It also demonstrates the strong tendency for the +chirideal structures to assume the ancient patterns +of the paw in response to the habits of four-footed +living upon the ground. The baboons, therefore, cannot +be considered in the direct line of progress. They +not only failed to advance the cause of developing +the hand but they did nothing to further the erect +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</span>posture or the progressive expansion of the brain. +It was perhaps the large size of their body that made +it necessary for them to desert the tree and seek more +secure support upon the ground. This increase of body +size, however, came at an early period, long before +the primates had begun to feel those decisive influences +which favoured standing erect.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brachiation_and_the_Erect_Posture"> + <i>Brachiation and the Erect Posture</i> +</h3> + +<p>Considerably later in geologic times another class +of apes made its appearance, which felt the full power +of this determining influence. These animals were the +gibbons. They introduced a new type of transportation. +Their locomotion no longer depended upon running +along on the tops of the branches, or leaping +from one support to the next. They introduced the +novel method of swinging by the hands. Reaching +for a branch over the head with the right hand, the +gibbon swings its body forward to grasp the next +branch in advance with the left hand. Swinging in +this manner, step by step, first with the right hand, +then with the left, these animals walk through the +trees. The results of this arm-swinging locomotion +(brachiation) are apparent in the development of the +hand. The fingers, tip pads, the palm, and the palm +pads are greatly elongated. Similar lengthening is also +apparent in the forearm. The acrobatic manœuvring +requisite to such locomotion has developed a high +degree of skill in using the hands and arms. It also +requires a close coöperation between the movements +of the upper extremities, eyes, and head. The influence +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</span>of these several modifications has impressed itself +upon the brain. But the most decisive effect of the +gibbon mode of locomotion is seen in the posture of +the body. The swinging by the hands well above the +head produces an almost constant erect posture. +The muzzle no longer points, as in the great majority +of monkeys, toward the ground. It, as well as the eyes, +is now directed toward the horizon, and thus those +factors which have contributed most to an upstanding, +forward-looking primate were first introduced by the +gibbon. The foot of these animals, while it retains +many features and markings of a hand, affords a +fairly satisfactory support for bipedal locomotion in +the erect posture. Obviously the effects of tree life +are responsible for these changes in the gibbon. All +other monkeys up to this stage have been embarrassed +by an over-endowment of hands. But the gibbon, by +over-emphasizing the upper extremity, has to some +degree nullified the importance of hand-like feet. It +has begun the solution of that perplexing problem +which was imposed upon the monkeys by their almost +exclusive tree life and which must be solved in order +to provide for the manlike specializations essential +to bipedal locomotion.</p> + +<p>In this gibbon level of the ape world such specializations +began to manifest themselves. From some +gibbon-like progenitor, early in the Age of Mammals, +there arose a common stock capable of producing +all of the modern gibbons, the great anthropoid apes, +and man himself. This gibbon stage of development +contained the potential material from which to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</span>evolve the erect posture, bipedal locomotion, hands +freed for the purposes of the greatest utility, and a +brain adequate to the needs of the highest primates.</p> + + +<h3 id="A_New_Grasp_on_Life"> + <i>A New Grasp on Life</i> +</h3> + +<p>In the three great anthropoids, orang-outang, +chimpanzee, and gorilla, the hand is approaching +more closely to the human pattern. In all three the +leading advance is due to the development of a more +effective opposable thumb. The result of this change +has caused the disappearance of the two wrist pads +so characteristic of the mammalian paw and so prominent +in the great majority of monkeys. Power to oppose +the thumb against each one of the fingers separately +has increased to a great extent. The opponens +muscle of the thumb has become more prominent and +caused the appearance of a conspicuous muscular +swelling in the palm of the hand, the thenar eminence. +The palm muscles developed in connection with the +little finger have likewise occasioned the appearance +of the hypothenar eminence and at the same time +the disappearance of the second wrist pad. These +developments, all clearly seen in the anthropoid +apes, and most prominent in the gorilla, reach their +greatest proportions in man. They are evidence not of +the further adaptation of the hand to locomotion +but of its liberation for other and more constructive +purposes.</p> + +<p>The effects of this advance in the hand from one +primarily intended to provide a firm grip upon the +limbs of trees to one of almost universal application +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</span>are revealed by alterations in the palmar lines. These +lines are three in number, namely, the anterior, middle, +and posterior groove. In the gibbon they extend +across the palm almost parallel to each other. They +are creases which represent the lines of palmar flexion +resulting from grasping cylindrical branches. In the +orang-outang these lines are still essentially parallel, +indicating a hand designed to grasp a cylinder. In the +chimpanzee and gorilla the palmar grooves begin to +converge toward the space between the index finger +and thumb. In man this convergence is complete, +due to the development of the powerful hand muscle +which permits the opposable thumb to reach the +other fingers. This progressive convergence of the +palmar lines indicates the development of a hand no +longer intended for the simple purpose of grasping +a cylinder, but not constructed to take firm hold +upon a sphere. Figuratively this change in hand from +cylinder- to sphere-holding capacity is illustrative of +actual development in the intellectual grasping powers +that became the distinguishing feature of mankind.</p> + + +<h3 id="A_Firm_Foundation_for_Humanity"> + <i>A Firm Foundation for Humanity</i> +</h3> + +<p>Thus far we have been able to trace the stages by +which the hand developed in consequence of tree life. +It is now necessary to follow the modifications which +terminated this arboreal domination and consequently +liberated the animal from the forest. This +transition determined an adjustment to life that was +finally productive of the most effective behaviour. +The outcome of this modification was the freeing of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</span>the hand for purposes other than locomotion. The +immediate agent that made such a result possible +was the development of a foot capable of supporting +the upright posture. This foot, as it made its appearance +in man, passed through a long series of transitional +phases. It had its beginning in a definitely prehensile +stage when in the earliest of the monkey kind +it was hand-like in its appearance. The structure +that was the forerunner of the human foot had the +same bones, the same muscles, the same ligaments. +The only substantial difference was in the form and +arrangement of these parts. Even in such a minute +particular as the three contravehent muscles in the +sole of the monkey’s foot, which draw together the +heads of the metatarsal bones, the correspondence +is complete. These muscles are present and active in +the gibbon. They are much diminished in the chimpanzee. +In the orang and the gorilla they are still +further reduced and closely resemble the atrophic +fibrous strands found in man. A similar correspondence +involves the muscles which separate and draw +the toes together (the interossei). They are deeply +situated in the plantar surface of the foot in most +monkeys. In the orang and gorilla they have exactly +the same position and relations as in man. The human +embryo affords the final connecting link, for in this +stage of development the muscles correspond to those +of the lower monkeys.</p> + +<p>The human foot is foreshadowed by that of the +great anthropoids. It is, in fact, the culminating stage +in that series which had almost reached the human +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</span>goal in the orang, chimpanzee, and gorilla. The +plantar grooves in the feet of the anthropoid apes +clearly indicate the lines of flexion adapting the foot +for purposes of grasping the limbs of the trees. In +passing from the gibbon to the orang and the chimpanzee, +with the slow development of semiterrestrial +life, there is a progressive disappearance of the plantar +grooves. This change illustrates the manner in which +the foot became adapted to the purposes of bipedal +locomotion. Of all the great apes, the gorilla makes +the nearest approach to the human foot. The toes +have become shorter and have lost their finger-like +resemblances. The great toe has become larger and +is partially assuming an axis in parallel with the other +toes. It has also migrated toward the end of the foot +and, in older adults, has lost much of its prehensile +character. Another modification is the gradual broadening +of the heel and the appearance of the plantar +arch. All of these changes have been developed for +the purposes of bipedal locomotion and the erect +posture. In consequence of these new functions the +simple grasping foot of the monkey is altered to serve +as a powerful stepping lever. In its simian form the +foot is a Y-shaped prehensile organ. The stem of the Y +is represented by the long heel. The two branches are +formed by the great toe and the lesser digits respectively. +In the higher primates, such as the orang, +chimpanzee, and gorilla, the simple Y foot has undergone +a striking change. The sole of the foot, including +the ball and the heel, has greatly increased, while the +toes or grasping elements have become shorter. In +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</span>gorilla this is particularly true of all the toes except +the great toe, which has not only become somewhat +longer but now tends to be in the main axis of the foot.</p> + +<p>The most important features in the development +of the foot are the increase in the supporting surface +of the heel and the appearance of the plantar arch. +In the lower monkeys the arch of the foot is double. +In the great apes, more especially in gorilla, the plantar +arch is single and corresponds practically to that of +the human foot. The sole pads have become fused to +form the ball of the foot, while the development of +the heel has caused the disappearance of the ankle +pads.</p> + +<p>Whatever may have been the influences which +caused certain members of the prehuman stock to +desert the trees and live upon the ground, it is clear +that one most important result of this change was the +formation of the human foot. This structure was a +solid foundation for the highest achievements of +organic evolution. It ultimately produced an animal +capable of dominating the world. It was responsible +for all of the extensive changes incident to the erect +posture—for the rearrangement in the shape of the +body, for the squaring of the shoulders and the broadening +of the pelvis, for readjustments in the position +of the heart and lungs, for new provisions in supporting +the abdominal organs, for a reordering in the +relation of the eyes to provide for binocular, stereoscopic +vision, for the modifications in the neck to suit +the purposes of the most effective head movements, +for the freeing of the hands so that they might become +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</span>constructive agents, and, above all, for impressing +upon brain structure the effects of these many progressive +advantages. If there could be any doubt that +the hand and the foot contributed in this decisive +manner to the development of the brain, we might test +this supposition by a pertinent question: What, for +example, would the brain have been if neither hand +nor foot had made its appearance? It is clear to us +what limited advantages were acquired by animals +equipped with hoofs or paws or flippers or wings. +The brain responded to the requirements of these +specialized organs. None the less, such response was +always and unmistakably the brain of an ungulate or +of a meat-eater, of a flying or of a swimming mammal. +It was the brain of a creature of restricted behaviour, +as limited in the development of its intelligence as +it was in the amplitude of its adjustment to life. It +was particularly deficient in one great department +which is the hallmark of all animals possessing hands. +Summarized as briefly as possible, it may be said +that what the brain owes to the hand and foot is the +frontal lobe. Through all the stages of progress, +from the time when the monkeys first began to live +in the trees until their successors, through graded +intermediate phases, developed the hand and foot of +man, this lobe has been the outstanding feature of +the brain.</p> + +<p>It is perhaps unwise and also unwarranted to speak +of the debt that one organ owes to others, especially +when the activities of all represent a unified process. +Brain, hand, and foot are in the strict sense a single +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</span>functional unit. Each is indispensable to the others. +Yet it may be assumed that it was the new opportunities +for action provided by the hand and foot which +at length gave the brain its human capacities. These +ultimate instruments of man’s success amplified brain +power and increased its sphere of influence. The +hand in particular was the instigator, if not the originator, +of human speech. Herbert Spencer, in his +essay on “The Philosophy of Style,” clearly points +out the fundamental relation of the hand to speech, +in the following words: “To say ‘leave the room,’ +is less expressive than to point to the door. Placing +a finger on the lips is more forcible than whispering +‘Do not speak.’ A beck of the hand is better than +‘Come here.’” As the creator of indicative gesture +the hand laid the foundations for the use of symbols, +which, when vocalized, became established as language. +This attainment was the most important +single step in the ascent leading to humanity.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII"> + CHAPTER XIII + <br> + ESTIMATES AND VALUES + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">ASSETS AND LIABILITIES OF THE HUMAN + BRAIN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>There is substantial evidence to prove that the +brain passed through many intermediate stages before +it acquired sufficient power to enter upon the +latest stage of its progress. Wherever it has come +down into modern times, regardless of race or climate, +it bears marked similarities in its external appearance. +In spite of this strong family likeness, however, +there are many individual variations. Some of these +variations are especially noteworthy. Certain of +them are of utmost importance because it is possible +to discover in them the secret of man’s highest +achievements.</p> + +<p>In the average human brain, as in these notable +exceptions, the principle of development remains unchanged. +Expansion, the root and base of this principle, +has been most pronounced in the departments +capable of creating human supremacy. From order to +order among the mammals, increase in the size of the +brain has been prominent. Depending upon the specialization +of the animal, this increase has affected the area +of vision, of hearing, of body sense, of taste, or of +smell. Only in the family of man has this expansion +made itself preëminent in the frontal region. Frontal +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</span>growth is the dominant character of man’s physical +endowment. It seems reasonable, therefore, to speak +of the entire period of human existence as the Age of +the Frontal Lobe.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Frontal_Lobe_and_the_Expansion_of_Consciousness"> + <i>The Frontal Lobe and the Expansion of Consciousness</i> +</h3> + +<p>Selective development in the brain has had far-reaching +effects. It has provided for special adaptability. +It has furnished one or more of the senses with a +particular degree of keenness. It has determined the +specific lines of reaction. These lines in all animal +life express themselves in three phases: (1) the approaching +phase, (2) the avoiding phase, and (3) the +resting phase. In the vertebrates each phase depends +upon impulses which influence the nervous system, +particularly the brain. The approaching reactions +embrace all efforts made by the animal to reach out +and acquire what it needs. In these reactions the +hunger impulse is the most primitive and the most +important. It arises from the necessity for food and +depends upon stimuli from the entire body, more +especially from the gastro-intestinal tract. Another +series of approaching reactions takes origin in the +herding impulse, which leads to the gregarious association +of animals of the same kind, such as schools +of fish, flocks of birds, herds of cattle. The stimuli +for this impulse come through the contact-receiving +organs. Many approaching reactions express the +essential necessity of the muscles to contract, as in +activities without any other apparent objective. Still +more conspicuous are the approaching reactions +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</span>caused by the mating impulses which arise from +sexual stimuli.</p> + +<p>Impulses of each variety motivating these reactions +of approach ascend higher in consciousness, or acquire +greater clarity, in direct proportion to the brain +capacity of the animal. Consciousness in fish is of a +relatively low grade. It becomes progressively more +extensive in amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, +reaching its highest development in the human +cortex. The frontal lobe in man provides for an incalculable +expansion of these impulses in conscious +clarity.</p> + +<p>The avoiding reactions of animal life likewise depend +upon fundamental impulses whose essential +stimuli arise from the hurt or painful elements in sensation. +All extremes of sensory stimulation may contribute +to impulses underlying the avoiding reactions. +They form the natural armament of protection +upon which the animal depends in adjusting itself +to its surroundings. As in the case of the approaching +reactions, so the impulses necessary to avoidance +are progressively expanded through the vertebrates +until they reach their highest clarity in the human +brain. The resting phase depends upon impulses derived +from the entire metabolism of the body.</p> + +<p>These fundamental impulses which become clearer +in consciousness through the progressive stages of the +animal kingdom tend to interact in their correlations +and determine combinations of great importance. +Avoiding impulses of a protective nature may combine +with approaching impulses to determine a reaction +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</span>of attack in order to save the animal from some +threatening enemy. Thus a protective effort may be a +combination of an avoiding and an attacking attitude +at the same time, as when the mongoose, jumping +backward in retreat from the striking cobra, still +maintains the pose of attack in the entire set of its +body. The resting phase may be employed as camouflage +for an avoiding reaction in what is commonly +known as “playing ’possum,” or it may be used as a +decoy in preparation for aggressive activities of attack, +particularly as seen in the cat family. In man the +range of these combinations has attained the highest +degree of development. The frontal lobe furnishes an +extensive equipment for this purpose. In all modern +races frontal capacity manifests but little difference. +It therefore seems clear that this common denominator +of human success has given man his power to +hold his place in nature and to overcome the difficulties +which have beset his path.</p> + + +<h3 id="Caucasian_Supremacy"> + <i>Caucasian Supremacy</i> +</h3> + +<p>The greater apparent successes of the white race +might presuppose a greater degree of brain capacity +and hence a better frontal lobe. But the frontal superiority +of the Caucasian peoples, if it exists, is at +best slight. The white man’s supremacy must, however, +depend upon some actual advantage. Although +outnumbered two to one, he is to-day the overlord of +the world. Of the 1,700,000,000 human beings now +living, only 550,000,000 are Caucasians. The remaining +1,150,000,000 belong to the yellow, black, and red +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</span>races. In spite of this disparity, the white man’s +policies, his products, his projects, penetrate into +every angle of the earth whose climate, fertility, or +hidden wealth may be exploited by resources of the +Caucasian brain.</p> + +<p>Numerous facts indicate that in the white race +there has been an unusually large number of individuals +with exceptional brain development. Many +Caucasians who have distinguished themselves intellectually +show conspicuous advantages in cerebral +development, especially in the richness of convolutions +and fissures. The region of the brain showing +this richness particularly is the frontal lobe.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brains_of_Modern_Races"> + <i>Brains of Modern Races</i> +</h3> + +<p>This lobe is much the same in all modern races of +men. The Eskimo brain, however, possesses frontal +convolutions which are rather more complex and +tortuous than in the average whites (Hrdlicka). As a +whole, the brain of this northern race is heavier and +larger than the Caucasian. Its excess of weight over +the average white man, according to many observers, +amounts to about 150 grams. The large Eskimo brain +is not out of proportion with the fact that these +people are compelled to contend with an exacting +environment and require much ingenuity to maintain +themselves.</p> + +<p>The brains of the aborigines in Andaman and Nicobar +Islands weigh somewhat less than the average +white brain. The brain is broad and short; the frontal +lobes are a little less massive than in the Caucasian. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</span>The fissures and convolutions are, if anything, +slightly less complex than in the white man, although +the difference is not striking (E. A. Spitzka).</p> + +<p>The negro brain, for the most part, has the same +outline as the European brain (Tiedemann). The +length and height of the hemispheres do not differ +visibly, and their breadth is only a little less. The +convolutions are large in the frontal regions and the +sulci show a greater degree of symmetry than is +usually found in European brains.</p> + +<p>Among the American Indians the average weight +of the brain is somewhat less than the Caucasian +(H. B. Ferris). This is true both of the North and +South American Indian. On the other hand, the fissures +and convolutions, especially in the frontal +region, correspond very closely in complexity and +dimension to those of the white man.</p> + +<p>Examination of Mongolian brains shows that the +average weight of the Chinese brain is slightly less +than that of the Caucasian (Kurz). The Chinese +brain is said to have a number of striking peculiarities +in which it differs from the brain of other races. One +investigator mentions thirty-three peculiarities of +this kind, and yet when each peculiarity is considered +individually its prototype may be found in an extensive +group study of Caucasian brains. The frontal +lobe is richly convoluted and fissured. Kappers believes +that the Chinese brain retains a degree of +infantilism, much of which is shown in the high arching +of the corpus callosum.</p> + +<p>Accepting all of these differences in the several races +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</span>of living men as to weight, dimension, development +of lobes, richness of convolutions and fissures, and +peculiarities in individual details, it becomes clear +that such differences as do exist are slight enough to +be well within the range of individual variation. In +other words, when large numbers of brains of the +several races of modern men are compared, the differences +between them are almost certain to assume no +great importance. We may conclude that the Caucasian, +Negroid, Mongolian, and all other forms of +the modern brain present a striking similarity in their +general appearance and characters.</p> + + +<h3 id="Brains_of_Distinguished_Men"> + <i>Brains of Distinguished Men</i> +</h3> + +<p>When, however, we consider the brains of distinguished +members of the white race, we at once obtain +the impression of striking individual variations. +The brains of many men of genius have been carefully +studied. Spitzka has collected the records of one +hundred such individuals to which he has added his +own studies upon six distinguished scientists. All tell +the same story. These men, noted as jurists, scientists, +mathematicians, composers, dramatists, physicians, +journalists, statesmen, and historians, have with few +exceptions possessed brains which in weight exceed +those of the rank and file of the race. This is true of +the brain of such outstanding men as Beethoven, +Cuvier, Turgenev, Daniel Webster, Lenin, Thackeray, +Joseph Leidy, William Pepper, Edward Cope, and +many others. The brain of the remarkable deaf, dumb, +and blind girl, Laura Bridgman, has been carefully +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</span>studied by Dr. Donaldson. It is notable that in this +instance the frontal lobes, both in size and in the richness +of the convolutions and fissures, were well developed. +It was in this region that the brains of the +distinguished contributors to human progress already +mentioned showed their greatest degree of expansion. +Recently reports on the brains of Sir William Osler, +of Dr. G. Stanley Hall, and of Dr. E. E. Southard +have been published. In each of these remarkable men +the size of the brain and the unusual development of +the frontal lobe have been striking features. The +brain of the great German historian, Theodore +Mommsen, was particularly notable because of its +frontal development, and so also was that of William +Bunsen, the scientist and discoverer.</p> + +<p>In contrast to the massive brains of these other +men of genius, there has recently been brought to +light the fact that the brain of a great modern master +of literature, Anatole France, was remarkably small, +weighing only 1017 grams. This weight is considerably +below the average for the white race (1300-1400 grams) +and not much above the estimated weight of <i>Pithecanthropus +erectus</i>, the Java ape man. The difference between +the weight of Anatole France’s brain and that of +the ape man is 77 grams, according to the estimated +values. Sir Arthur Keith maintains that in spite of +this noted academician’s reputation, known the world +over for his writings as a novelist, philosopher, and +savant, Anatole France was actually an extremely +primitive man. This position taken by Keith would +be difficult to support against the prevailing opinions +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</span>of the day. We should be more impressed by the +degree of richness in development of the frontal lobe +and the complexity of its convolutions and fissures +than by the actual size of the brain. It would seem +most likely that a marked degree of frontal development +has been the decisive factor in the production +of the exceptional brain. Most of the great men who +have left records in respect to their cerebral endowment +confirm Sir Arthur’s contention that a powerful +brain is a large brain. Individual variation may account +for much, however, and a high grade of frontal +convolution, implying as it does a great cell richness +in a cortex, may make amends for many ounces of +weight deficiency. From the facts available it is clear +that human greatness in the main depends upon +largeness of brain and extensive frontal development. +The possessors of such brains have been the leaders +in the activities of the white man, in every line of his +progress, in every detail of his success. They have +been the Caucasian thinkers, the idealists, the philosophers, +the poets and artists; they have been the white +man’s pragmatists, his statesmen and builders of +empire. They have also been his spiritual pioneers, +the founders of his religions and ethics. To them has +been given exceptional power of vision, with equally +great capacities for transforming what such vision +revealed into benefits for their race.</p> + + +<h3 id="Caucasian_Leaders"> + <i>Caucasian Leaders</i> +</h3> + +<p>History gives them their proper places. Their dynamic +personalities have touched the earth and made +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</span>it bring forth its seven wonders and an increasing +multitude of lesser wonders, each a marvel of human +ingenuity. As they touched the earth and made it +produce, so they have touched the hearts and imaginations +of their fellow men until their minds responded +to new aspirations and nobler purposes, +until the mark of the beast was left farther in the +distance and the ascendancy of mankind became +the most stirring theme of creation.</p> + +<p>History also shows how these favoured elements +of the race, under the guidance of their leaders, have +built brilliant civilizations, compelling systems of +religion, far-reaching codes of ethics. Nations have +risen, articulating the ideals of peoples scattered over +vast territories. Cities have come into existence +filled with the treasures of man’s imagination. The +same aspiration shone through them all. It was the +spirit, the determination to reach out where man +had never reached before.</p> + +<p>Whatever were his material successes, still more +important was that inner possession which came to +man during his adventurous development of civilization. +However simple it may have been in the +beginning, it grew rapidly. This priceless possession +was the human intellect. In many tribes of men it +manifested none of the expansion discernible in the +more progressive races. But with its fullest opportunity, +especially under the conditions of European +environment, it developed to the degree which created +a new humanity. Man recognized his interdependence +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</span>with his fellow beings. His social qualities now began +to bear fruit in a new soil and in a more invigorating +atmosphere. The finer traits of his social nature grew +abundantly. Broader conceptions of responsibility +to others, deeper understandings of sympathy, led +to new products of generosity and new vocations of +social devotion. All of the higher sentiments found +easier means of expression. These were new conceptions +denied to lower animals and to the lower races of +man.</p> + +<p>Scarcely less substantial than the satisfaction derived +from this deep social sentiment was the gratification +obtained from an appreciation of the beauties +of nature and from man’s own efforts to duplicate +these beauties in his art and literature. But his eyes +have never contented themselves with earthly attractiveness +alone. When he had possessed the earth +he must still reach out in imagination to gain for +himself the assurance of kingdoms beyond his present +state. In all his civilized period and even long before +man has peered acquisitively into the unknown, to +create for himself a future existence or the hope of +such existence. This yearning for another and an +immortal life has been the basis of his many religious +beliefs. From this theme of religion have grown the +impulses for the best of human achievements. It has +not merely formed a halo about civilization, but has +reached far inward to exert control over almost every +human relation. No influence has been a greater force +in the ennoblement of life. No creation of the brain +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</span>has been a more effective guide in directing human +destiny. No incentive has sustained human hope more +consistently than the solace arising from this deep +source of faith.</p> + + +<h3 id="Age_of_the_Frontal_Lobe"> + <i>Age of the Frontal Lobe</i> +</h3> + +<p>The frontal lobe, which has guaranteed such advantages +to man, brought him his spiritual understanding, +his social attributes, and his satisfactions +from art and literature. It created the means for him +to gain a more adequate knowledge of the world in +which he lived and of the great cosmos of which his +world is but a part. The conquest of reality, the deeper +appreciation of things as they are, the broad expansion +of his knowledge of all things in and about +him, have contributed deep satisfactions to human +life. It is difficult to estimate in this day the value of +all the great contributions to science. It is difficult +also to state which product of man’s frontal lobe, +his social development, his religion, his art, his +literature, or his science, has meant most to the +growth of that imposing figure in which he now presents +himself. No one of these elements may justly deserve +to be set above the others. Deprived of any of +them, the race might have been seriously impoverished; +it might never have attained that position +which entitles it to be considered the supreme achievement +of creation. It is little wonder that the gods +which man set up for himself have been anthropomorphic, +cast in his own image and likeness.</p> + +<p>In later days there were reasons for the Caucasian’s +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</span>assurance, for his self-reliance, for his faith in his own +judgment and reason. Peace and comity existed between +the nations of the earth. Prosperity was within +their borders. Success and progress filled every walk +of life. Social order rested upon firm moral foundations. +This was a human establishment upon which to +depend. But ultimately this record of the white man, +from the beginning of his civilized period down to the +early decades of the Twentieth Century, brings us to a +fateful midsummer day, the 1st of August, 1914.</p> + + +<h3 id="Old_Sores_and_Liabilities"> + <i>Old Sores and Liabilities</i> +</h3> + +<p>Perhaps there are no good reasons for turning back +to such old sores. Can any conceivable advantage +come of opening again those vaults holding that which +we would rather forget? With passing years memory +gradually relinquishes what should be the immortal +lessons of experience. The horror, the degradation, +and all other outgrowths of the protective mechanisms +making for better judgment, for saner living, for +wiser avoidance, are soon forgotten. We look and see +only the whited sepulchre. The dissolution and disease, +the lurking danger for the future, are concealed. Yet +these are our liabilities. If we drive on blindly or with +our eyes closed to them, such prosperity as we have +attained is destined to disintegrate.</p> + +<p>It is the old formula over again that we see beginning +to reproduce itself on that fateful August afternoon. +The expansive demand for power, the will to +dominate, the insatiable determination to possess, +are all disdainfully snapping their fingers in disregard +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</span>of the rights and peaceful pursuits of others. Sacred +obligations are thrown to the winds with the crackling +of a scrap of paper. There are no obligations. +Lust, greed, and the dregs of human cruelty are +seething in the breasts of men turned animals, are +ready to speak with the tongues of every manner of +ruthless torment. By armies men return to the filth +of the earth, living in the mire, breathing the stenches +of their own corruption, inhaling the gases of sadistic +invention, meeting the flame of an earthly purgatory, +and inspired by the single indefatigable impulse to +kill. And for what purpose? None but the old one! To +grasp, to gain, to seize by force! There is no question +of right or wrong. The only question is right of +possession. Both those who attack and those who +defend pray to the same God and pray the same +prayer.</p> + +<p>Here in our own days is the frontal lobe leading a +great fraction of the white race not merely into hell +but to the brink of its own undoing. If it failed in this +leadership it was by the narrowest margin. It has left +us still gasping on the edge of the precipice into whose +depths we have gazed, wondering how long ere we see +them again.</p> + +<p>Courage, endurance, and heroic determination we +say were the compensating atonements for this madness, +for this maniacal era of wanton destruction. +Nobility of purpose rang out in the defiance—“They +shall not pass!” Yet where was the nobility in that +machine-made death which swept regiment after +regiment into oblivion by its withering fire? Who now +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</span>will claim the glory of 400,000 dead in less than a +lunar month, of 8,543,515 fighting men fallen in the +early prime of manhood in four years of war? Is this +the chronicle for a great race to glory in? It is rather +the record of the white man at his lowest ebb, dehumanized +for a mere bauble of possession.</p> + +<p>Thus, through four brief years, out of the unhallowed +precincts of no man’s land, the mark of the +beast came back. The white man learned that the +cloak over his baser passions was a thin veneer. He +learned, or may have learned if there has yet been +time to recover from the overwhelming concussion, +that he is not yet master of himself, that the chief +guide of his life may on slight provocation lead him +not rightly or well, but with unerring precision, into +the pitfalls of extermination.</p> + + +<h3 id="When_the_Pressure_Comes"> + <i>When the Pressure Comes</i> +</h3> + +<p>We speak of loyalties and vocations of devotion. +Where are these when the pressure comes? Where are +they when the man stands with his mob? The greatest +and best things in life at once take flight. There is +not even standing-room for them when hate and +revenge are the passions of the day. It is then that +class stands against class. All that wealth and culture +and luxury have built through centuries finds no +strength against the ire galvanized by equal centuries +of oppression. Those who have suffered their silent +agonies confront those who are about to die. Such +have been the tragedies of revolution. So it was in the +French Revolution, with its history of guillotine +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</span>horrors. Such was the case of Russia in revolt. Such +it has always been wherever the privilege to enjoy, +concentrated for the benefit of the few, has worked +disadvantage to the many. Neither those who for the +time enjoy, nor those who are deprived, have sufficiently +learned the lessons of moderation, self-restraint, +and control over the human spirit to hold +in check the baser impulses.</p> + +<p>War, revolution, and other mass reactions in the +interest of readjusting man’s social conditions are +not rare in our racial experience. Since the beginning +of historic times there have been thousands of wars +of greater or less magnitude. If, during the Roman +era, the gates in the temple of Janus stood open for +centuries and that great people were almost continuously +at war without appreciable cessation, we +moderns would have no need for an energetic gatekeeper. +In one place or another, throughout the +globe, we have been continuously waging war or +producing revolutions. Following the close of the great +World War, a little more than a decade ago, there have +been no less than sixteen wars, and seventy-five +thousand men have died as a result of warfare. Let +those who philosophize in security call war an activity +essential to human progress. Those who know it +through suffering and loss will call it by its proper +name. It is not, however, in war alone that we may +discern the results of our defective control over human +nature. We need turn but a few pages of history +to encounter many other sore spots. Among these +blemishes are those arising from a source which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</span>should have been our most unfailing, our deepest +consolation.</p> + + +<h3 id="Heresy_and_Retaliation"> + <i>Heresy and Retaliation</i> +</h3> + +<p>The spiritual heritage bequeathed by the Great +Galilean retained its influence for little more than two +centuries. Through the dark Middle Ages Christianity +wandered far from the path of its appointed +blessedness. To many it ceased altogether to be a +blessing, and to many others it became an actual +curse, meaning for them torture, imprisonment, starvation, +humiliation, or death by burning at the stake. +There can be little wonder that heresies sprang up +against the inhuman conduct of the mediæval Church. +Corruption, discrimination, demoralization, abuse, +and tyranny went unrebuked. The church militant +was infected by every sin that it was created to prevent. +Heresy was the reaction to such corruption, and +the Inquisition was the retaliation on the part of the +Church to preserve itself against heretical disintegration. +The barbarous zeal which through many +centuries brought misery to mankind in the name of +Christ has been explained in several ways. Some have +denounced it as mere bloodthirstiness or lust of power. +Some have traced it to the doctrine of exclusive +salvation. In order to understand it properly we must +comprehend the stage of civilization in which it +flourished. The feudal military spirit was everywhere +dominant. Society relied more upon force than upon +persuasion. Industrial influences had not yet tempered +modes of thought and action. Throughout the Middle +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</span>Ages men were strangely pitiless in their dealings +with each other. The wheel, the cauldron of boiling +oil, burning alive, burying alive, flaying alive, and +tearing apart with wild horses were the ordinary +means by which jurists endeavoured to deter crime. +In England poisoners were boiled to death as late as +1542 (Rouse and Margaret Davie). One woman, in +1726, was burned at Tyburn. Minor crimes were dealt +with with a harshness unbelievable in this day, including +such hideous procedures as blinding, mutilation, +tearing with hot pincers, breaking on the +wheel, and cutting out the tongue. People of all +nations were accustomed to this cruel savagery and +accepted it in relation to crimes that were thus +punished. By popular detestation heresy was regarded +not merely as a sin but as the worst of all crimes. +This belief was held with equal tenacity both by +the clergy and the laity. Under the influence of such +feelings the Church adopted the harshest measures +and continued to grow more cruel and more unchristian.</p> + +<p>The Inquisition was not a local phenomenon. It +became most intense in Italy, where it gradually took +shape. In time it spread into Germany, into France, +and into Spain. The Spanish Inquisition was employed +for the most part as a state institution to maintain +the throne. It used all of the ingenuity known to +the ecclesiastical inquisitors and added punishments +of its own. The torture chamber, which at first was +not introduced as an inquisitorial instrument, soon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</span>established itself as an indispensable accessory and +flourished in many parts of Europe. There was a +furtiveness in the manner in which the Church doled +out these punishments. For the repentant heretic life +imprisonment on bread and water and in chains was +not a criminal sentence; it was the means of repentance +and salvation for the unfortunate sinner. If the +heretic remained unrepentant the Church washed its +hands of him as a capital offender and turned him +over to the secular authorities to be burned at the +stake. The dungeon in which the unfortunate victim +was imprisoned for life was a frightful chamber, damp, +and infested by rats and vermin. Confinement was +solitary and various circumstances besides pain and +hunger were brought to bear upon the terrorized +imagination of the prisoner. These dungeons were +often ingenious means of torture. One in the Bastille +at Paris had a floor which was conical and pointed +downward so that it was impossible to sit or lie in it. +Another in the Châtelet had a floor continually +covered by water, compelling the prisoner to stand +erect. Persons convicted of heresy were also forced to +wear crosses of cloth, generally yellow, sewed upon +their garments. In this manner the symbol of Christian +devotion was converted into a badge of utmost +shame. Confiscation was another penalty with frightful +effects. Upon arrest for heresy a man’s property +was sequestrated, and his family thrown into the +street. After several centuries of unremitting cruelty +the Inquisition succeeded in suppressing the various +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</span>sects of heretics. For this advantage the Christian +Church paid an unnecessarily high price by gaining +for itself a lasting stigma.</p> + + +<h3 id="Provocations_of_Circumstance_and_Time"> + <i>Provocations of Circumstance and Time</i> +</h3> + +<p>Such interludes as these in the course of man’s +happiness and peace may perhaps be regarded as unfortunate +digressions from the scheme of human behaviour. +Their apology lies in the fact that they +belong to other times by contrast with which we have +shown great improvement. We are much changed for +the better—so much changed that many of these +appalling episodes of history could not occur in this +day. Reassurance of this kind may comfort us, but it +does not provide us with protection against ourselves. +For with due provocations of circumstance and time +there is no guarantee that we would not repeat or +even amplify the ghastly delinquencies of the past. +The pride we feel in our modern progress and prosperity +elevates us to a plane of conscious superiority. +And yet this same pride experienced a sickening +collapse when no later than our own day and generation +it was forced to witness a phenomenon of +eruptive brutality compared to which all former warfare +was insignificant. In spite of this recent experience +we feel sure of ourselves, confident in the great +capacities which have made us men. We possess this +confidence, however unenlightened we may be concerning +the real power upon which we depend, especially +as to its source, its nature, its possibilities, +and its proper management.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</span></p> + + +<h3 id="Compounding_the_Essential_Impulses_of_Life"> + <i>Compounding the Essential Impulses of Life</i> +</h3> + +<p>As no other members of the animal kingdom, we +have compounded each one of the essential impulses +of life. Through our frontal mechanisms we have +raised these primitive drives to the most elevated +planes of consciousness. We have increased their +clarity to the highest degree. It was doubtless the +introduction of symbols which first secured this +greater clarity. Later the development of spoken +language established the universal medium of exchange +within the brain. Lower animals evidently +do not learn to speak. They only acquire the use of +beast cries by which to transmit warnings, sex invitations, +or challenges to combat. Such specific cries +modified by the structural adjustments of man may +have been sufficient for the simple human language +of earliest times. There seems to be no actual barrier +between the vocal activities of birds, dogs, apes, and +men except that superior mechanism of speech provided +by a progressively developing frontal lobe. +From its first introduction language was a societal +phenomenon. All of its products were likewise societal. +If it raised man as an individual, its greatest profits +appeared in the elevation of the social order. Under +this new influence the primitive impulses of hunger, +herding, mating, avoiding, and the rest entered into +complex combinations. In consequence, each primordial +drive was converted into a thriving industry +in the interest of further human satisfaction. Excessive +growth in these industries soon manifested +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</span>many dangerous tendencies. New human expansions +developed out of the primitive impulse of hunger +under the added opportunities of the frontal lobe. +Appetite and indulgence with their tendencies toward +excess came in conflict with sumptuary restrictions +and prohibitions. The effects of frontal expansion +upon the herding impulse contributed to the development +of crime, to the creation of mass phenomena +under the influence of fear, hate, and hope, +to the epidemic spread of group manias and popular +delusions such as were the pilgrimages, crusades, and +demonism of the Middle Ages, such as was the extremity +of ruthlessness manifested in the last great +war. The extension of the sex impulse through the +mechanisms of the frontal lobe is incalculable. From +it have come crops of asceticism and licentiousness, of +poetry and sentimentality, of social order and disorder, +of philosophy and pure bunkum. The expansion +of impulses underlying the avoiding reactions has +produced an unescapable blight upon human life due +to the extensive corticalization of fear. The fear of +bondage or slavery, of tyranny or cruelty, is no longer +upon us. A multitude of more subtle fears, engendered +by modern civilization, have produced our phobias, +our irresistible compulsions, and our great variety of +somatic and psychic anxieties.</p> + + +<h3 id="Human_Nature_Has_Not_Changed"> + <i>Human Nature Has Not Changed</i> +</h3> + +<p>The incentives of life have been magnified and +multiplied upon the screen of the frontal cortex. They +have afforded man his powers of judgment and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</span>reason, his greater capacities to enjoy existence, his +new aspirations of hope. They have supplied him +with his broader opportunities to order and adjust his +life and with his stimulating inspirations of learning. +Each of these new capacities is conditioned by the +circumstance and fashion of a given age. There is no +arguing with such fashion. The <i>mores</i> and the times, +the customs and the place, dominate the products of +the frontal lobe and mold them in constantly changing +patterns. The fashion of yesterday is often the +laughing stock of to-day as that of to-day may be the +jest of to-morrow. These plastic patterns, which the +frontal lobe produces for the conduct of human affairs, +have neither permanency nor assured foundations. +Great principles which we swear by now we know are +wholly transitory. While they last certain moral +notions and devices are in fashion, but these are +conditioned by the times and customs. In such facts +as these may be recognized the variable quality of +human wisdom. Reason is likewise based upon conditioned +reflexes which have grown out of the <i>mores</i> +of the time and place. In this light, if man seems to +have come a long distance from his early beginning, +the path measured in units of real progress is surprisingly +short. “Things happen,” says Sumner, +“which show us that human nature has not changed +and that the brute in each may awake at any time. +It is all a question of time, custom, and occasion and +the individual is coerced to adopt the <i>mores</i> as to +these matters which are then and there current.”</p> + +<p>Morals and manners, like speech, are societal +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</span>adjustments. They are highly conditioned reflexes +acquired through generations of social experience. +Self-restraint, agreeability, and coöperation form the +basic currency of successful social intercourse. They +are the artifacts of group needs, the medium of exchange +in all comfortable and safe contacts between +man and man. That these qualities are superficially +engrafted upon human nature is easily demonstrated. +With adequate provocation the individual discards restraint +and reveals the grossest traits of his aggressive +reactions, the group is quickly resolved into the lawless +mob, and nations are easily excited to martial frenzy.</p> + +<p>What benefits, therefore, will we obtain by further +self-deceptions? It is long overdue that we see through +the thin fabric of traditional delusions wherewith we +have surrounded ourselves. It requires courage to +face the truth and an open mind to recognize it. But +we cannot hope to improve unless we see ourselves as +we are, unless we appreciate our inherent liabilities +as well as our assets, unless, divested of angelic or +godlike disguises, we stand forth for our own inspection +as human animals occupying the foremost +place among living things only by virtue of the best +brain thus far developed. Much that is animal within +us must remain unchanged despite our utmost strivings. +All that is human may be modified, enhanced, +and brought to better fruition.</p> + + +<h3 id="Handicaps_and_Restraints"> + <i>Handicaps and Restraints</i> +</h3> + +<p>Almost from its beginning the race has recognized +its handicaps. It has struggled in many ways against +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</span>its own liabilities, especially those due to increased +brain power. By systems of philosophy the human +spirit has sought to show the reason and goal of life, +has endeavoured to envisage the most desirable pathway +for existence.</p> + +<p>Man has endeavoured to hold himself in check +through religion, bowing to the belief that for every +human being there is some higher power controlling +destiny and for this reason entitled to obedient +reverence and worship. For his hour of need, however, +philosophy and religion offer no reprieve. The +Great War comes, and assurances from these sources +of human reliance have no power to stay the catastrophe.</p> + +<p>Man has experimented through societal organization, +through the formation of governments, +through the establishment of laws, to restrain the +dangerous tendencies of his frontal lobe development. +But if his governments succeeded in utilizing effectively +his efforts at social order, they have also +abused these efforts. In every societal system there +must be a ruling class. According to Professor Sumner, +no class can be trusted to rule society with due +justice to all its members. Whatever the sins of +antiquity, modern society is ruled by the middle class. +It has to its credit the invention of institutions securing +civil liberty and the safety of person and property. +Its history is otherwise not satisfactory. It has +demonstrated that in no popular government could +sufficient control be created to restrain the abuses of +special privilege, to avert the corruption of civic +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</span>power for graft, or to repress the selfish undertakings +of cliques formed on special interests for the purpose +of public exploitation. When faced by this test, +all modern democratic states have failed. Plutocracy +and the unscrupulous powers of wealth are at the root +of the financial scandal, which is the blemish upon all +modern parliamentary organizations. We must recognize +this defect not merely as a tendency of the times +but as a national disease. It spoils every institution +and, extending from one generation to the next, at +length destroys in the masses the faculties of ethical +judgment.</p> + + +<h3 id="The_Cult_of_Success"> + <i>The Cult of Success</i> +</h3> + +<p>By education man has likewise endeavoured to +moderate the recognized liabilities of his frontal +lobe. But, like his customs, his education has varied +with the fashions of his time and place. With one brilliant +exception educational processes have too strictly +been confined to technological training, or to the inculcation +of traditional cultures or mediæval scholasticism. +The ancient Greek alone dealt with his life +and its problems as we well might with ours. We are +imitators and large users of secondhand materials. +He was an originator. His education was an adventure +of discovery, an absorbing search for the understanding +of what constituted the good life. Largely without +traditions and upon his own initiative he endeavoured +to gain a critical attitude toward all of his prejudices, +to liberate himself from the dominance of herd influence, +and to adjust his conduct most intelligently +for the welfare of the state.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</span></p> + +<p>Modern education is especially in a state of confusion. +It is almost wholly devoid of any broader +theme than that embraced in the purpose to teach +the individual the formulas necessary to make good. +There is little effort to inspire a larger point of view, +to instill an understanding of life’s values, an appreciation +of its relations, and of its truly human opportunities +for intelligent living.</p> + +<p>Philosophy, religion, societal order, government, +and education have failed to produce any entirely +satisfactory solution of life. They have scarcely +recognized the existence of the frontal lobe, but, looking +beyond it to some intangible sources of power, +they have neither capitalized its assets nor reckoned +with its liabilities. There is probably a cause of long +standing behind these several failures. For centuries +and ages the incentives of human efforts, even the +best, have laboured under a contaminating influence. +This influence has touched and tainted every aspect +of life. During thousands of years men have struggled +to make good in Europe. The result has always been +the same. From time to time some section of the race +has succeeded, later to weaken, and in the end to +succumb. In the past an invariable cycle of rise, decline, +and fall has dictated the course of life in Europe. +Such was the lot of the Neanderthals. Cromagnon and +Neolithic men both had their days of success and of +disappearance. It was not different with the Greeks +or the Romans who rose and finally, under this spell +of Europe, passed into decline. In many respects the +motive at work in this destructive cycle seemed to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</span>act like some evil influence. It was already well developed +in the first trading exploits of the Phœnicians. +With them it began to migrate westward from harbour +to harbour along the Mediterranean. It implanted +the germs of its spreading infection, which +came to be the dominant spirit of civilization—gold +and a price for everything. Nothing escaped the effects +of this new standardization of human enterprise. The +pioneer Phœnicians carried this gold standard of life +far beyond the Pillars of Hercules to the shores of +Britain until it spread throughout Europe. The source +of this influence lies far back of these earlier civilizations. +It had its origin in those primitive days +when Mousterian cave man tasted the first drafts of +power. The use of this power he justified by one +standard only—success. For three hundred thousand +years the human brain has been conditioned by this +influence. Power increased, successes multiplied, and +the passion for possession became a frenzy. Thus it +was that those whom the gods would destroy they +first made rich; and thus also one civilization after +another met its destruction. No other solution can be +worked out on this standard of existence. It will serve +to exploit nature, including human nature. It may +bend the natural forces one after another to man’s +bidding. It may make him master of the entire world +except in one superlative detail—himself. In proportion +as it has been concentrated upon the conquest +of the earth, it has had little time for the mastery +of the spirit. The old idea is still at work with us +to-day. We have found nothing new, nothing better. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</span>We scarcely attempt to look. It is now our ruling +passion. It has been the contaminating influence +which has for ages frustrated the best human efforts.</p> + +<p>Wealth, with the power to confer upon the greatest +number the benefits of true human satisfaction, is +not to be condemned. Its acquisition and proper +distribution must be intelligently encouraged. Such +wealth is the just return on man’s efforts to make +and maintain for himself a wholesome place in nature. +But riches, representing egocentric aggrandizement +and the upbuilding of special privilege for selfish ends, +are an open sore in all times and a most serious menace +for the future.</p> + +<p>The ancient motive of possession is still the most +powerful urge among civilized peoples. It has exerted +an increasingly evil influence upon modern times. Its +effects have been unfavourable because possession and +power depend upon the offensive and defensive +mechanisms of aggression. Such mechanisms are the +progenitors of war. They promote the conflicts of social +rivalry between classes and incite the struggles +for competitive supremacy between nations. If the +goal of such life is success, the price of such success is +strife. This is the standard of existence which has +prevailed for at least three hundred thousand years. +It seems irrevocable. Nothing visible in our modern +world suggests the cessation of its destroying influence. +In the absence of any present reassurance there +is a strong probability that we are following, to its +bitter ends, a path long familiar to our race.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV"> + CHAPTER XIV + <br> + THE FINAL TEST OF THE BRAIN + <br> + <span style="font-size: medium;">WORLD COÖPERATION AND RECIVILIZATION</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Our most vital issue is no longer a matter of national +prosperity alone. The success and therefore the happiness +of the entire world are at stake. This generation +of ours has taught us what to expect from the +old forces of competitive wealth and nationalism. +It is not difficult to foresee the recurrence of one war +after another. As Dr. Butler has so forcibly said: +“The world is just now standing at a crossroads. +It may take the path in one direction and so make +agriculture, industry, commerce, trade, finance, the +fortunate means of uniting the whole world, of increasing +its prosperity and of buttressing its peace; +or it can take the opposite path and so turn the +nations into narrow-minded, unsympathetic, jealous, +and quarrelling neighbours, and prepare the way for +another cataclysm which, if it should come, would +mark civilization’s end. What are we going to do +about it? Where shall our influence be thrown? +Shall it be for a repetition of the old stupidities, the +old ignorances and the old antagonisms, or shall it be +for a new world order in which selfish competition +shall be supplanted by kindly and large-minded +coöperation? That is in substance the crucial question +which at this moment awaits answer by leaders of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</span>opinion in every land.”⁠<a id="FNanchor_1_1" href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> There are many who believe +that man in his present exalted phase cannot stand +the test. His modern days are numbered just as surely +as were those of his ancient glory. He has no further +reliance, no better assurance now than he had then. +The fate of civilization hangs in the balance; its +chances in many respects are unpromising. There +are no guarantees for the future outside of man himself. +Although we have multiplied in number and +compounded our problems of life, the world in which +we live is much the same as it has been for hundreds +of thousands of years. If man also remains unchanged +we may expect the same lot which befell other successful +people in the past.</p> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_1_1" href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label">[1]</a> From “The New Center of Gravity,” an address delivered at the Parrish +Art Museum, Southampton, L. I., on Sunday evening, September 1, 1929, by +Nicholas Murray Butler.</p></div> + +<p>And yet looking beneath the surface and into the +depths of the organ which has been the chief asset of +our progress, we may discern some promising possibilities. +These are possibilities which if developed +might subordinate or overcome the ancient lures of +power and possession. They might even establish a +new order of existence, a new age of wisdom, with +clearer ways of looking at life and better methods for +realizing its opportunities. We may have no desire +to see these possibilities. We may turn from them +now as we have before. They clearly exist, however, +and chief among them is the possibility of a better +human brain, a brain with much more ample power +by means of which to create a better world.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</span></p> + +<p>Many facts support this possibility. We know from +certain evidence that man in his earliest period on +earth possessed a brain much simpler than that responsible +for his modern successes. Such testimony +is given by the brain cast of the Java ape man. The +entire cerebral structure in this instance was in an +intermediate phase of human development. It was +far in advance of the brain of the highest apes but +much less developed than the brain of modern men. +In spite of its simplicity it gives evidence of human +progress. It had supplied the structural basis needed +for a crude type of humanity. It indicates that the +powers of human speech had been acquired and that +the first steps in the upbuilding of human intelligence +had been taken.</p> + +<p>Compared with this primitive race of extinct men, +the Piltdown and Rhodesian brain casts bear signs +of definite progress. With the passage of time brain +power continued slowly to acquire new capacities. +Nothing makes this conclusion more certain than the +facts revealed by the Neanderthal casts. From them +it is clear that the chief organ of life which directed +the successes of the Neanderthal race had assumed +many aspects of modern development. Most of this +progress in the brain during its gradual stages upward, +through the ape man, the Dawn man of Piltdown, +the Rhodesian, and the Neanderthal, manifests +its highest degree of expansion in the frontal +lobe. With the coming of the Cromagnon race all of +the cerebral requirements necessary to modern man +made their appearance. Thus through more than a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</span>million years the brain has slowly improved. There +has been a steady increase in the size and richness +of its convolutions.</p> + +<p>In contrast with the lifetime of other families in +the animal kingdom the human race has scarcely +passed out of its early youth. Our race seems young +as the ages of the earth are estimated, and our racial +youth justifies the belief that the modern brain represents +some intermediate phase of ultimate development. +The facts of the distant past point ahead to +periods of further progress in the future. Influences +which have operated through vast intervals of time +in slowly advancing the brain from one stage to the +next are doubtless still at work. The impulses necessary +to brain development had their beginning in the +fishes. They continued through reptilian and mammalian +phases and finally passed into the period of +tree life wherein the foundations of the human brain +were laid. It is difficult to believe that this impetus of +progress which persisted for ages has at length ceased +to act.</p> + +<p>The possibility of a better brain finds support in +another fact of great interest. An entirely new force +favourable to progressive development has made itself +felt within the last century. Never before has it +exerted an influence upon the process of evolution. +At present it is difficult to estimate its full value as an +element of progress. This new force arises from the +fact that men and women throughout the world have +recognized the existence of an evolutionary process. +In all places where the earnest search for truth is being +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</span>made this knowledge has become the dominant +note. It cannot fail to lead to new understandings and +to add new quota of power to the organ of our chief +reliance. An adequate appreciation of the processes +underlying natural selection is certain to impart new +and practical significance to the survival of the fittest. +The means which may subsequently be employed to +further such survival cannot be predicted. Whatever +they may be, if they justify themselves by advantageous +results, they will be applied with courage and +intelligence. They may embrace measures of extensive +restriction and intensive selection to meet the conditions +of overcrowding in population, and of inequality +in the emoluments of life. The embarrassments +of the laggard fractions of humanity would +thus be overcome.</p> + +<p>Application of wise societal regulations having as +their object the better apportionment of opportunity +and the greater accessibility of human happiness +might easily be conceived as the outgrowths of such +further extensions in knowledge. Obviously the questions +concerning the character of the means directed +to these desirable ends cannot now be discussed or +foreseen. It is sufficient to indicate that whatever +these agencies may be, provided their results are +calculated to contribute to the betterment of mankind, +they may be discovered and made practical. +This possibility presupposes the attainment of those +advantages which accrue from a better understanding +of man as a participant in a still active process of +evolution.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</span></p> + +<p>If up to this time we have employed the full power +of our intelligence, if we have made the best use of +the brain, there may be actual doubts concerning +further progress. Many reasons justify the belief, +however, that the human race has not yet utilized the +brain to its fullest capacity. Numerous facts support +this view and make it appear certain that we have +developed but a small fraction of our potential brain +power. In exceptional cases of outstanding groups +and highly specialized individuals the brain may have +yielded something approaching its best product. +Even in cases of unusual development there are +deficiencies and inequalities of development due to +the circumstances of training, to the introduction of +adverse influences, and to the universal lack of any +generally acceptable goal of life. A cross section of +any community estimated by its high and its low +intellectual attainments indicates a striking unevenness +in brain development. It also reveals a low rating +in the average intellectual level. Averages of this kind +obtained from nations or races disclose an aggregate +of brain power far below the grade of the brain’s +potential capacity. Instances of individual specializations +make the fractional development of the race +still more evident. If, for example, Laura Bridgman, +deprived as she was of sight, hearing, taste, and smell, +with only a fifth of her brain areas accessible to satisfactory +contacts with the world, made an adjustment +to life equal to the average of such adjustments; if +Helen Keller, almost equally deprived of sensory impression, +is rated by many as belonging to the class of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</span>genius; then the rank and file of mankind uses but a +small fraction of its potential brain power. This fraction +has been variously estimated at one fifth or one +half. It seems obvious that great advantages for the +extension of intelligence might arise from the utilization +of the unemployed fifty to eighty per cent. of +human power. The large portion of the brain not +used by the majority of mankind introduces the +disquieting thought that the usual way of life is the +easiest way. The intelligent way is laborious and +fraught with many trials incident to arduous application. +Brain capacity may be improved only by +patient and continuous effort and by an unremitting +submission to diligent self-discipline. The avoidance +of these exactions has made the development +of the brain a slow process in man. It is the +general disinclination to depart from the path of +least effort which has held human intelligence at its +average low levels. Many factors have contributed +to this attitude. Not the least among them is what +may be called mixed survival. This is a provision by +which not only those thoroughly equipped but those +as thoroughly unfit are presumed to enjoy equal opportunity +in the advantages of life. The unfit depreciate +the general average. Their inclusion creates +the level of mediocrity and retards the progress of the +fittest.</p> + +<p>Another fact affords hope for the further development +of the unused fractions of human brain power. +It is possible to demonstrate that certain structural +and chemical elements in the brain develop in relation +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</span>to the use made of them. This is particularly +true of the insulating substance surrounding nerve +fibres. Such fibres serve the purpose of impulse conduction. +Simple and complex associations alike depend +upon them. It has been shown that the simplest +of these fibre connections come into use early in life +while the most important connections appear at later +periods. In order to be effective the connecting fibres +must be insulated. The insulating material, a complex +chemical substance, makes its appearance in direct relation +to the different periods of mental development. +This insulating substance is least in amount at birth. +It increases noticeably at the end of the first year at +about the time when speech is acquired. It shows +marked additions at the seventh, tenth, and twentieth +years. Thereafter it increases slowly up to the fortieth +year. It also manifests the interesting phenomenon +of gradual decrease in the declining years of the +late decades of life. Apparently the mental development +of different life periods requires differing +degrees of insulation in the brain. The functional +use of definite areas appears to bear a direct relation +to the degree of insulation. The more areas +in use, the more numerous are the insulated nerve +fibres to facilitate proper operation. The child +uses and needs less than the youth, and, in the general +case, the youth less than the adult. The development +of the brain thus appears to be proportional to the use +made of it. In this way human intelligence may be +gauged in terms of actual brain structure. In cases of +low intelligence the demands have been relatively +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</span>small, and large fractions of brain remain undeveloped +because unused. Higher grades of intelligence require +more extensive development because the objectives +of their application are more complex and more exacting. +They are the response to the more extensive +utilization of brain power.</p> + +<p>The recognition of this relation between use and +structural development of the brain clearly points the +way by which human intelligence may be extended. +This relation has long been understood as a biological +principle. It has been practically applied in the training +of muscular strength and endurance, in the +sharpening of the senses, in the cultivation of the +voice. Its practical application to the development of +the brain as a whole has been much less assiduous. +Both in principle and practice this relation of use to +structure indicates possibilities for producing a better +human brain. The unused fractions may accordingly +find opportunity for utilization.</p> + +<p>Still another possibility for advancement arises +from more adequate systems of human training. +The success with which the brain is used depends in +large part upon its conditioning. Such conditioning is +determined by many factors. In the broadest sense +it includes the influence of physical environment +from the earliest moments of life, the effects of societal +habits and ideals both in the family and in the group, +the impress of formal education and educational +forces, and the direction imparted by differing degrees +of satisfaction, health, and disease. If, for example, +the objective is accommodation to Arctic life, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</span>conditioning process differs in many details from that +necessary for adjustment to tropical existence. If the +end sought is success according to European standards, +a totally different set of conditionings is essential +to this result. Civilized nations as well as barbarous +tribes may be trained through generations to the +pursuits and practices of warlike aggression. The results +of such conditioning were clearly demonstrated +in the Great War. Ultimate adjustments are thus +strongly influenced by the group, the group outlook, +the time, and the place. For this reason every experience +in and every contact with existence assumes +high value as a conditioning factor. The entire span +of life, from birth to death, becomes a period of active +training which may be consciously directed. The element +of chief importance in this conscious control is +the recognition of the end to which the training is +directed. If the highest qualities of human happiness +and satisfaction are the objectives, every factor +which contributes to the conditioning must be carefully +estimated and properly adjusted to this end. +Such certainly is not the objective under the modern +cult of success.</p> + +<p>The earth, which we have made a bone of contention, +might, to our infinite advantage, become the +sphere of human content. In order to determine such +a change it is necessary to reëstimate and readjust +every influence capable of conditioning the activities +of the brain. The recognition of the uninterrupted +continuity in the conditioning process and its specific +requirements in relation to definite phases of development +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</span>is most essential. Influences of the physical +environment from the first moments after birth +through all successive periods demand extensive, renewed +attention. In the formation of habits and ideals, +training in the home and in the group reaches down +to the roots of societal life. These phases of brain +conditioning are now largely matters of dogmatic +tradition or confused instruction.</p> + +<p>Our present cult of success dominates formal +education. The profound, far-reaching influence of this +department of life is exerted through the most effective +agencies for adjustment and readjustment. +Education is charged with the responsibilities of devising +the most beneficial methods for conditioning +the brain. It participates in deciding to what ends +such conditioning shall be directed and thus occupies +a position of supreme control over human behaviour. +Its supervision embraces and guides every period of +life. Its disciplines have power to shape the character +of human intelligence. Its inspirations are the hope +of the future. Opportunities are even now at hand +for it to overcome its traditional resistances and to +open new fields for human satisfaction and contentment. +Greater than the power of armies, more compelling +than the military force of the entire globe, is +the peaceful sway which education may exert in the +satisfactory reshaping of existence.</p> + +<p>There should be added to these possibilities of +future progress the fact that man, in spite of his +blemishes, his delinquencies, and failures, is an aspiring +and plastic animal. He is not unwilling to take the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</span>form of any mold in which he may be cast. He has +been the victim of many prejudicial molds—clay in +the hands of circumstance. Yet, whatever his form +or deformities, he has always aspired to rise above +himself. His aspirations have been sublimated in the +heroes he has made to admire, in the gods he has +selected for worship. Unlike all other animals, he +has had the gift of idealization, the power of projecting +far ahead of himself, beyond the limits of his +recognized imperfections, the ideals of what he hoped +or craved to be. Even his societal veneer, his morals, +and his manners are products of his aspirations. His +idealizations of existence in poetry and art show how +tenaciously his vision has dwelt on higher things. +Recognition of his own futilities has made him aspire +to a future life of purification and redemption. Yet in +this aspiring he manifests a lingering childhood, which +reveals his still plastic state. The hereafter which he +has designed for himself is based on an infantile system +of rewards and penalties. This eventual refuge +is an acquisitive immortality born of self-interest and +bred in self-conceit. It bears the taint of ancient and +sordid motives of the race. It has none of the altruism +of that more noble and practical immortality through +which earthly life strives unselfishly to leave a worthy +influence for the benefit of those who later follow the +path of human experience.</p> + +<p>In the light of his possibilities man’s further progress +seems assured. Add to these possibilities his remarkable +plasticity, his aspiring spirit, his youthful +racial development, and it appears inconceivable +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</span>that he should not advance. Science is constantly +placing increased power at his command. While disclosing +to him his place in nature, it is also revealing +what still remains to be accomplished in the conquest +of himself.</p> + +<p>Whatever fault may be found with the technique +of human living, the major complaint is directed +against the persistence of the old objectives. Ancient +motives and standards are obstacles in the path of +progress. A less complex life is needed—one with +new incentives and different goals. Many are living +and have lived this kind of life. One among these, the +Great Galilean, has made it exemplary. As its influence +comes down through the Christian centuries +this life brings increasing conviction that it is the best +yet lived. One third of the globe’s population professes +to follow it. As followers they are frustrated in +their purpose by the persistence of more ancient +influences of the past. Yet it cannot be denied that +any order of humanity higher than the present one +requires extensive modifications in our purposes, our +desires, our outlook on life, our manner of self-expression. +A long step in this direction will be taken +when the ancient password of the Old Stone Age—<i>get</i>, +which for thousands of years has been the mainspring +of existence, is gradually subordinated by the +keynote of a New Golden Age—<i>give</i>. This solution of +the problem is likely to seem utopian. Long ago we +were admonished to try it. If we have failed we need +not altogether despair. The human brain has overcome +other difficulties to which it has been applied. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</span>With all of its possibilities for improvement, it may +in time solve the supremely difficult problem of +human nature. Success such as this depends upon +the further development of science—especially that +comprehensive science which will deal with all of the +principles underlying the behaviour of man.</p> + +<p>In all respects it is a task of gigantic proportions +to build the world anew—to readjust, to recivilize +ourselves. At the same time it is the greatest adventure +ever conceived by man—to construct his +final empire of world coöperation wherein to know +and to control himself. Should this be deemed worth +while, it must be paid for by the intelligent, unremitting +toil necessary to develop the full capacity +of our chief reliance—the human brain.</p> + + +<p class="center p2"> + THE END +</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> +<div class="transnote"> + <p class="ph2" id="TRANSCRIBERS_NOTES"> + TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES + </p> + + +<p><a href="#Page_8">Page 8</a>: original spelling of “Poriphara” retained.</p> + +<p>Typos corrected: “in the dog.” to “in the dog,” (<a href="#Page_146">page 146</a>); “pryamid” to “pyramid” (<a href="#Page_166">page 166</a>); “preeminent” to “preëminent” (<a href="#Page_272">page 272</a>); “sufficently” to “sufficiently” (<a href="#Page_316">page 316</a>).</p> + +<p>Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been left unchanged.</p> +</div> +</div> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78733 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/78733-h/images/colophon.png b/78733-h/images/colophon.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..e77c24e --- /dev/null +++ b/78733-h/images/colophon.png diff --git a/78733-h/images/cover.jpg b/78733-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a398d6d --- /dev/null +++ b/78733-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/78733-h/images/i_cover.jpg b/78733-h/images/i_cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..d8fcd14 --- /dev/null +++ b/78733-h/images/i_cover.jpg diff --git a/78733-h/images/i_titlepage.jpg b/78733-h/images/i_titlepage.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..28f11ed --- /dev/null +++ b/78733-h/images/i_titlepage.jpg |
