THE ORIGIN OF MAN. The proofs of man's origin from some other primate is now strong. Anatomically he presents no absolute differences from the anthropoid apes, except in the organs of speech. The relative differences between man and apes are very great, though chiefly confined to the capacity of the skull, the size, number, and complexity of the convolutions of the brain, and the specialization of the forearm in direc tions ministering to the behests of his brain. lie passes through the same embryological phases as the higher mammals. Man's origin from some mammal is strongly attested by the presence in his body of a large number of vestigial charac ters. which indicate an aneesto• that went on all fours—sonic features appearing shortly before and after birth. hinting at an ape ancestry. The scanty remains of the fossil races. that of Neanderthal or Spy, exhibit some primitive characters. but the discovery of the skull-en p, femur, and molar teeth of the ha van so-called 'missing link' ( PithrranthropIts 0'7(1'1110 affords weighty evidence of the descent of man from some gibbon-like ape. (See Gin noN.) Experts in craidology state that the crani al capacity of this intermediate form is about, 1000 cubic centimeters, while that of a few Aus tralian skulls is even less than that WO cubic centimet era ) . ( See PITHECANTHROPUS.) This creature stood erect, and was of the average height of man. linless, then, new discoveries occur in some other tropical region. the view may be provisionally held that man arose in ,lava, or at least in southeastern Asia, where members of the lowest race of mankind—the Aetas of the Philippines—still exist, and until recently the Kalang-people of Java, a race of negritos allied to the Akkas of Central Africa.
At the out'et man was a social being; his erect posture, large brain, hands, so well adapted to carrying out the suggestions of his developing intellect, so that he was the first tool-maker and worker in stone, bone, and wood, and the first being to tame other animals and to cultivate the soil—these qualities enable him to dominate all other animals. At first living a roving, soli tary life as a hunter, tribal communities gradually arose here and there, living in fixed habitations and leading a sedentary life, and the develop ing man eventually became a herdsman, and after long ages a farmer. Even temporary cessations from intertribal wars were provocative of intellec tual growth, and permitted the origin and growth of the germs of the arts and sciences. Meanwhile he began to migrate, and became, during the Paleolithic age, scattered over wide areas of the earth's surface. Then ensued a process of isola tion by geographical and climatic barriers and the differentiation into races, the black being confined to Africa, the yellow to Asia, the red Indian to the Americas, while the cradle of the white race was in the region now including cen tral and southern Europe, and Africa north of the Sahara and the Sudan.
The more civilized man grew, the more pro lific he became. The lowest races early, as a rule, ceased to grow. The yellow races in subtropical regions advanced much further in the arts and sciences, but finally remained in a comparatively backward, semi-fossil condition.