The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-11-18
THE ASCENT OF MAN.
Nov Mr.. Newbert's Interesting Lecture at
the First Parish,

lsev. Mr.. Newbert's Interesting Lecture at
1 the First Parish,
nev. Il. E. Newbert Of Augusta, daliv-
= rst Parish house last evening on "The
Ascent Of Man, illustrated by many
peautlful stereoscopio views. Rev. E. b..
Newbert said substantially: That man
mas everywhere preceded history Is q
SELF evident fact And that his place in
nature is being.discovered by science is no
less certain. Man comes late in geologic
ume The earth g crust records vast
period in which man was not. In the
lowest known system of rocks marks of
organic life are rare. The next chapter
Introduces us to multitudinous forms of
invertebrate life. This is followed by the
age of fishes. the first stage In the reign
OF vertebrates. Then comes the age of
amphibians, the beginning OF lung
breathing animals. The age of reptiles
succeeds. Still we are far from man.
fhe last life series is the culm mating
step In the long process We come to ths
age of mammals, the reign of the suck
giving, lung-breathing hand-uslng,
warm blooded mothers. Man has his
place here. 1t IL long step from the
highest ape to the lowest man, but
science and oosmic philosophy can span
| 1t.
Evolution does not assert that man
came from ths ape, but that at some re-
mote time both men and ape had COM
mon anoes trail line. The divergence was
carly and complete.
| In the slow differentiation of man fro
the animal many agents have had part
1t Is suffi Gent to mention the erect
stature, and the free use of the hands for
purposes other than locomotion; the de-
velopment Of articulate speech; the dis
covery of the use of fire, and heightened
infancy-the care of the helpless babe.
Man probably originated within an
area which may be termed Euro-Asia.
From this Euro-Asiatio continent he has
migrated over all the earth, modified In
haii and color of skin oy physiological
changes adapting him to now climatic
conditions.
All tha evidence argues the great an
tiquity of man. Sir William Thompson
gives one million years as the minimum
time since the earth was ready for vege-
table and animal life Man has little
part this. We cannot 90 beyond the
records man has left of himself. These
assure us that he was in Europe in inter
Glacial, and robably in pre-Glaola
times. Allowing that the last glacial
period began 240, 900 years ago, and ended
81, QUO years ago, we get data for some
rough estimate. Five hundred thousand
years may not be too bold conclusion.
| This "Riverdrift" man of pre-Glacial
Europe, adapted to sub-tropical
| climate, appears to have become extinct
before the close of the Glacial epoch. He
Is succeeded by the "Cave-man,' whose
| bones and stone implements are found in
many portions Of Europe. he Is still in
the rough stone age, but shows an i'm
provement over the "Riverdrift" man.
de was contemporary with the reindee1-
whose meat became his food and whose
homes were utilized for weapons and
tools. He buried his dead in caves, but
had none of the higher arts of life, He
had not domesticated any animal, nor
did he till the soil. The rough stone age
ends where the age Of polished stone be
gins. A new race, thaving a higher
culture Is everywhere in evidence in
Europe. These men were farmers and
herdsmen. They had domestioated the
dog, the horse, the OK, pig. goat and
sheep. They built rude huts OF logs and
thick planks. They raised many of the
fruits and cereals known to us. They
spun flax and wove coarse cloth of hemp
or linen. They fshed with nets and
boats and buried their dead in barrows.
Still civilization WAS far of. This
Peolithic man was little better than
savage. he ages of bronze and iron
gradually succeeded the age of stone.
Again race clashes with race, During
the latter part of stone age a new race Of
men, the harbingers everwy here of civil
lzation, appeared in Europe. These were
the Celtic Aryans.
The Naolithic man was small of
stature, with dark olive complexion.
The new race were tall and large. with
blue eyes and white skin. They seem to
have mixed with the settled population,
giving rise to the present mixture of
races. These Celts were nomad herds
men, crossing Europe in OK carts. they
could count up to one thousand. Their
only social institution was poly gamous
marriage. Human sacrifice was practiced.
1t cannot be that they brought the art OF
making bronze from Asia, as has been
long believed; but associated with the
settled race they seem to have gradually
discarded the use of stone for that of
bronze. The line between barbarism and
civilization may be drawn whers the art
OF writing begins. alphabetical writing
may have been known in the Homeric
age, but our earliest record is $40 B. G. |
Iron began to displacs bronze at the
dawn OF written history. Civilization
awaited this metal. The Aryan probably |
learned the art of smelling iron from the |
East. 1t was..unknown in northern Italy |
and portions of Greece In the twelfth |
century B. @. Iron was beginning to be |
used in Greece in Homer's time. The |
Gauls had iron swords when they in
vaded Italy in the fifth century B. G.