. The study of animal life. Zoology. I Animal Life and Ours 345 man's ancestor. It is possible that the race of men—for of a first man evolutionists cannot speak ^began in Miocene times, as offshoots from an ancestral stock common to them and to the anthropoids. We often hear of " the missing link," but surely no one expects to find him alive. And while we have still much to. learn from the imperfect geological record, it must be remembered that what most distinguishes man will not be remarkable in a fossil, for brains do not petrify except metaphorically, nor can we look for fossili
. The study of animal life. Zoology. I Animal Life and Ours 345 man's ancestor. It is possible that the race of men—for of a first man evolutionists cannot speak ^began in Miocene times, as offshoots from an ancestral stock common to them and to the anthropoids. We often hear of " the missing link," but surely no one expects to find him alive. And while we have still much to. learn from the imperfect geological record, it must be remembered that what most distinguishes man will not be remarkable in a fossil, for brains do not petrify except metaphorically, nor can we look for fossilised intelligence or Fig. 71.—Young gorilla. (From Du Chaillu.) 5- Possible Factors in the Ascent of Man.—In regard to the factors which secured man's ascent from a humbler form of life we can only speculate. (a) We have already explained that organisms vary, that the offspring differ from their parents, that the more favourable changes prosper, and that the less fit die out of the struggle. Thus the race is lifted. Now, from what we know of men and monkeys, it seems likely that in the struggles of primitive man cunning was more important than strength, and if intelligence now became, more than ever before, the condition of life or death, wits would tend to develop rapidly. (i) When habits of using sticks and stones, of building shelters, of living in families, began—and some monkeys exhibit these—it is likely that wits would increase by leaps and bounds. (c) Professor Fiske and others have emphasised the importance of prolonged infancy, and this must surely have helped to evolve the gentleness of Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Thomson, J. Arthur (John Arthur), 1861-1933. New York, C. Scribner's sons [printed at the Edinburgh press]
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1892
