Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1895-11-03

FRESH IDEA OF EVOLUTION
Prof. w. J. McGee's Theory Of
the Ascent of Man.
THE HOME OF AGRICULTURE
How Man Was Forced Into Social Habits-Ad-
yanced IDEAS of Disciple Of OAR
win and Huxley,
THE HOME OF AGRICULTURE

Here is Il new lIleOT9 lGldllIS " Tie
ascent of man from the ape form. 1t
will doubtless excite the interest of
scientists in every country when brought
to their attention 1t is divulged by
Prof w. ]. MCGEE of the bureau of
ethnology of Washington, one of the
best known evoiutionists in American
scientific circles. According to the Phila-
delphia Times, it has never before been
published or publicly communicated to
the scientific world.
Professor MCGEE last fall while eX-
ploring the desert regions of southwest
ern America, discovered a. collection of
ruined Cities thought to belong to an
ancient aboriginal race living in what is
now Arizona and Mexico A study of
these regions, together with that of other
deserts of this country and the old world,
led him to the belief that the desert,
rather than the fertile country, must
have been the cradle wherein man de-
Veloped the greater part Of his Superior1-
ty above the ape form. Hitherto 1t has
been the universal belief that lands of
fertility served this elevating purpose.
The desert, Professor MCGEE believes,
was also the home Of agriculture. He
also Is of the opinion that future step
In the course of mans evolution Will be
the disregard of agriculture and the at
tainment of mineral food directly from
II.
therefore, cease to eat vegetables and
animal food, and his alimentary organs
must be changed in accordance with his
nourishment.
This theory will doubtless appear in
more extensive and technical form in
some of the professors future scientific
publications. However, the brief inter-
view following, which the writer was
recently granted by the author of this
theory, contains the substance of the ar
gument, emitting all technioalities. such
as might fatigue the popular mind. >
IT believe" began Professor MCGEE,
'that the desert was originally the home
of agriculture, and that to it's burning
sands and barren wastes man directly
owes his present state of advancement.
In other words, the desert is one of the
principal factors in mans evolution, and
On his latter strides on planes above the
Simian form.
1T Is now a generation since Darwin
showed that not only are the bones, mus
Giles, nerves and other organs Of lower
animals essentially similar to those of
man, but there are found in the human
body certain rudimentary organs without
function and whose presence can only
be explained on the hypothesis of de-
scent from ape-like or monkey-like an
cestors to whom these organs were use
full. Later observations, made most con-
spicuously by Huxley and Haeckel, have
convinced nearly all biologists that the
human species Is related to the man-like
apes, and through them to every lower
order of earthly life.
During the historic and the immedi-
ately previous prehistoric age, made
known to US through archaeology, inteli-
genoe prevailed and man came to RUE
over the earth and to destroy or mold
ITO his will its animals and plants. While
changes in mans own body now seem
ITO have ceased his work and his institu-
hons are constantly changing, ever for
the better His last short age, therefore,
AS characterized by change more rapid
Afhap ever before in the history of the
1earth.
d mo definite record has yet been found
pf the beginning of human existence on
Nhe earth Written history ends at 5000
br 5000 years ago. But man was then
thinking, speaking and writing man, like
the higher barbarians of today The indi-
cations of human antiquity found in the
direct products of intelligence would
seem to carry the beginning of the race
at least 10000 or 10000 years, or, perhaps,
twice as long, into the past.
After man really became man, differ
entiated from the ape, he lived for some
time in fertile and humid regions, where
he was brought into conflict with other
organisms, and where he made conquests
because of his omniverous or all-devour-
ing character Like the beasts he went
to the water sides to find drink and to OBJ
tain the products of fertile and humid
soil AS his intellect budded, bloomed
and bore fruit In new conquests over ma
ture he dug wells. opened canals, con-
structed water ways and converted riV
ers. He did not go into the desert region
until pushed there by other men, in fact
there are few organisms that push into
arid regions except as a sort of overflow.
Man must have exactly the same, first
hunting the humid and fertile regions of
the earth, where he might find food of
some kind without much search But
a the races of mankind grew larger and
larger some were pushed into the desert
regions where they began to develop in
new lines. But 1t was through this mis-
fortune, mark you, that man gained his
present supremacy over other animals.
He was forced to learn the science of ag-
riculture and 1t was only after gaining
his superiority that he spread the science
of agriculture over the whole earth.
''All animals and plants of the desert
live in colonies, between which there is
nothing but barren sands. The struggle
for existence is between the animals of
plants and the physical conditions of the
locality, and they have learned through
instinct that aiding each other is the only
means of prolonging their lives. Very
often their dependence upon one another
has become so extensive that one cannot
exist without the other. For instance the
yuccamoth can only live on the yucca
tree ana the farmer ant now eats nothing
but the grass which it has cultivated in
its peculiar little farms.
Assume that mankind is introduced
into the desert He Is compelled to CO.
operate with other living things, just as
well as any other animal Now, we have
term by which to express this CO.
operation, and that term Is agriculture.
In every part of the world we can trace
culture, as recorded in history, to an
arid region. The oldest countries of the
western hemisphere in which we find cul-
ture were Egypt and Babylonia. These
tYere both desert regions.
III have noticed many interesting ca SEES
OF this cooperation. between plants and
animals in arid lands. For instance, in
our desert lying in southern Arizona and
further south from Mexico mesquite
tree will spring up inthe plain. Within
two or three years the birds resting in the
branches drop the seeds of the cacti
which they have gathered in their daily
labors. Some species of cactus like
pithy vines, are unable to grow alone,
so the mesquite tree and the cactus often
combine their thorns for mutual pretec-
tion Then grass seeds, blown by the
wind, lodge about the roots and grasses
grow and go to seed beneath the shelter