Fig. 141.—Imaginative statue of Pithecanthropus erectus.
A restoration of the skull is shown in Fig. 142, and it is apparent that in respect of the shape of the roof, at least, the Pithecanthropus stands just about midway between the Chimpanzee and the most primitive living man. The gradual approach to the human type, as we move upwards in the primate scale, is very striking. The Pithecanthropus is by some regarded as the result of an abortive attempt at 'man making,' by others as a true transition form. We cannot in any case be very far from the truth if we hang up his picture among the portraits of our ancestors, for the transitional form would necessarily be closely similar to him in its main features.
The next ancestor of whom we have any knowledge is definitely a human being. This is the primitive man who inhabited Europe in earlier Diluvial times, particularly in the interval between the first and the second great ice ages. To him, from the place of his first discovery, the name of the Neandertal man has been applied, and he is classed by scientists as belonging to a different species from modern man, the latter being named Homo sapiens, while he is given the less flattering name of Homo primigenius. He was characterised, as may readily be seen from the skull illustrated in Fig. 143, by a very low and receding forehead, with heavy ridges of bone over the eyes. In shape of head he stands midway between the Javan ape-man and the Australian native, the lowest type existing at the present day. Further ape-like peculiarities are the prominence of the lower part of the face, the very large and massive lower jaw, and the receding chin, shown in Fig. 144. From the skulls which have been found it is possible to form a good idea of the man's appearance, which idea has been expressed by a German sculptor in the bust illustrated in Fig. 145.
One may be permitted to hazard a guess at the cause of the process "running to brain," which is the main feature of the last phases of man's Evolution. The most probable theory seems to be that man came into existence owing to the disappearance of forest over an area inhabited by some high anthropoid ape. Ill-adapted as this ape would certainly be for a life on the plains, it was saved from extinction only by its high intelligence. And as cunning and reason would now, in the new environment, be the most important assets, the process of natural selection made for progress chiefly in respect of these characters.
The faculty of articulate speech, which we must regard as an accidental result of the great brain development, has given the human species that great advantage which it possesses over all other animals of being able to accumulate knowledge and experience from generation to generation. It is this mass of experience, which is not inherent in man's nature, but has to be impressed afresh on each successive generation, which accounts for man's unique position in the animal world. But it is no part of the scheme of this book to deal with the evolution of language or invention or culture, and we must conclude.
Mankind are divisible into many types and races, some of which, like the Australian aborigines and the Veddas of Ceylon, are relatively primitive, others like the Germanic races being undoubtedly high in the series. None of the differences are sufficient, however, to make it necessary to regard mankind except as members of a single species. The lower races have from time to time disappeared before the higher, and the process continues at the present time. However much we may regret it, this process has undoubtedly been a great factor in the progress of the species as a whole.
Fig. 142.
Skulls of
Lemur.
Chimpanzee.
Australian Bushman. Skulls of
Howling monkey (Mycetes).
Pithecanthropus (restored).
European man.