Man's place in nature, and other anthropological essays . had never been known inEurope. Radermacher has had the kindness to send methe skull of one of these animals, which measured fifty-three inches, or four feet five inches, in height. I havesent some sketches of it to M. Soemmering at Mayence,which are better calculated, however, to give an idea ofthe form than of the real size of the parts. * Briefe des Herrn v. Wurmb und des H. Baron von ^Voll-zogen. Gotha, 1794. 32 MANS PLACE IN NATURE. These sketches have been reproduced bv Fischer andby Liicge, and bear date 1783, Soemmering havingrec


Man's place in nature, and other anthropological essays . had never been known inEurope. Radermacher has had the kindness to send methe skull of one of these animals, which measured fifty-three inches, or four feet five inches, in height. I havesent some sketches of it to M. Soemmering at Mayence,which are better calculated, however, to give an idea ofthe form than of the real size of the parts. * Briefe des Herrn v. Wurmb und des H. Baron von ^Voll-zogen. Gotha, 1794. 32 MANS PLACE IN NATURE. These sketches have been reproduced bv Fischer andby Liicge, and bear date 1783, Soemmering havingreceived them in 1Y84. Had either of Yon Wurmbsspecimens reached Holland, they would hardly havebeen unknown at this time to Camper, who, however,goes on to say:—^ It appears that since this, some moreof these monsters have been captured, for an entireskeleton, very badly set up, which had been sent to theMuseum of the Prince of Orange, and which I saw onlyon the 2Yth of June, 1784, was more than four feethigh. I examined this skeleton again on the 19th. Fig. 7.—The Pongo Skull, sent by Radermacher to Camper,after Campers original sketches, as reproduced by Lucse. December, 1785, after it had been excellently put torights by the ingenious Onymus. It appears evident, then, that this skeleton, w^hich isdoubtless that which has always gone by the name ofWurmbs Pongo, is not that of the animal describedby him, though unquestionably similar in all essentialpoints. Camper proceeds to note some of the most importantfeatures of this skeleton; promises to describe it indetail by-and-bye; and is evidently in doubt as to the THE MAN-LIKfi APES. 33 relation of tliis great Pongo to bis ^^ petit promised further investigations were never car-ried out; and so it happened that the Pongo of VonWurmb took its place by the side of the Chimpanzee,Gibbon, and Orang as a fourth and colossal species ofman-like Ape. And indeed nothing could look muchless like the Chimpanzees or the Orangs,


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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubj, booksubjecthumanbeings