The times., 1901-04-07
MANS FIRST APPEARANCE
Aboriginal Human Being Believed
TO Have Been Black-Skinned.

There is doubtless no subject so fun OF
interest to mankind as man himself. His
foibles, fads. and fancies, his color, gait
snd a thousand other points peculiar To
him are matters so fun of human interest
hat one never tires of considering them
Even his irresistible resemblance to 9th
er animals. while it may take the conceit
out of him a little. is of more than passing
interest. The influences which made nm
white. black and all the intermediate
shades is a question which no doubt mas
at one time or another puzzled every
thinking man or woman.
That man was black when he first ap-
peared on earth is capable of demonstra-
ton. the scientists say, beyond reason
able doubt That the full-blood negro OF
today represents man as he was IN ms
earlier state is substantially true, they
claim Accepting the scientists theory as
true. it is of interest to note the condl-
tions which gave origin to the various
races Of men and the forces which op-
Grated to change his color from black 10
white and also to trace the influences TO
which original man was subjected, Whlch
gave him the characteristics he possesses
today. and which carried him farther ana
farther from an animal resemblance and
brought him into his present intellectual
and physical state.
1t Is an accepted fact that locality and
climatic conditions affect the physical
man as well as animals. Food operates
as potent factor also. other influences
enter in also as agents in producing modi-
hcation and changes from the original
type. but external environment more than
any other influence is responsible for the
-s..r Of and :
condition as he is today.
Man first appeared on the south coast
Of Asia and the outlying islands such as
Borneo. Sumatra. Java, or in what is
known as the MaIaysian group of isl
auds. which includes the Philippines.
These localities are what are called the
'-Intertropic lands and here was the
cradle of humanity. Here we find the ne
gro in his practically aboriginal state.
TIE Neerito in the Philippines is original
man with perhaps only such variations
from the original erect man as must be
expected The character Of the land sur
face where man first appeared was, and
still is low and marshy. The proximity
to the Indian Ocean helps 10 make the
climate damp and moist. The tempera-
ture is high The sun beats down on
this cradle snot Of humanity. hot and
burning. We have. therefore. intense
heat, great humidity. and moisture.
These conditions are the influences when
operate TO darken the skin OF man rs
psCially is this true OF moisture. In coun-
tries where there is intense heat and in
tense dryness, such as Arabia and dis
tricts bordering on the Desert of Saba
"a, We find the inhabitants are dark, but
of a much lighter color than the dwellerS
In countries that are intensely not. but
intensely moist In the latter districts
h. . III los
These latter conditions are present in
the southern coast Of Asia and in the
Malaysan group Of islands. 1t is believed
10y anthTopologists that while tempera-
ture is a factor in determining the color
of the skin, moisture eXertS a greater
Influence, and where great heat and great
moisture are to be found together as an
external condition, there viii exist the
conditions which will darken the color
OF the human skin.
keaue. IN his recent work on anthrO-
pOloEE. says: The color, Psychologists tel
Us. is mainly. if not essentially. q matter
Of climate and possibly diet. II appears
that pigment IS common to all people, only
darker in negro, Papuan, Australian. and
Oceanic Negrito. Waltz adduces many eX-
amples 10 show that not and damp cOun-
tries favor the QaTkeniug of the skin and
that the same race tends to be much
darker IN low, marShy districts than on
The neighbOring upiands. Lepsius. a good
observer declares somewhat emphat-
Cally that the hotter the climate the dark
er the color Of the negro. He adds that
proceeding from Africa eastward the iso-
thermal line Chat is, the line of equal
heat of greatest heat intersects the re
gicDs in South hern Asia which are inhabited
10y the darkest peoples on the CONT
nent. There may be some eXaggeratiOn i'm
this statement and there are some eNcep-
liOnS regarding the direct relation Of heat
10 color. but the exceptions are probably
due TO local influences or TO the absence
Of one or the other Of the factors which
combine 10 daTken pigment Thus
Echweinfurth, in his Heat Of Africa at
tributes The reddish hue Of the Bougus
and other negroes Of the hot. moist White
Nile basin 10 the feTrugin0us nature Of
the lateTite soil, and the same causes ap-
pear 10 have produced the same results
among the Nim-Niam Of the Nile Valley.
But the physical as well As moral charac-
teristics are the outcome not Of one or two
but many causes acting simultaneously on
the organism which cannot escape either
from its environment or from It's own ter
deneies.
INFLUENCES UPON TIE COLOR or MEN
Color is que TO descent or to various
local circumstances and other influences.
such as dryuess moisture, food aspect.
altitude OF fora (herbaceous or arboreaD
Of the land 10y all Of which the complex
ion may De diversely affected and mere
temperature largely ueutralized. The ne
gro migrating from the moist tropical
zone nOrthWards OF southwaTds. or trans
retain for an indefinite period his da rk
color On the other hand the Semitic
ana Hamitic Inhabitants OF the intensely
hot but Intensely dry regions OF Arabia
and the Sahara are Of distinctly light
complexion Color is not a racial charac-
teristiC. but an adaptation OF the organ
ism TO hot, moist, malaTiOus climate in
which the negro thrives and the white
man perishes.'
il may be explained in passing that the
"Hamite' races mentioned by Keane, re
60 frfrg fHnfg Of D aFFl
coast Of Africa. such as the Moor, the
Egyptian, the BaTbaTy States, in short
that section known as the Levant The
inha bitants Of this section are light col
Ored as compared with the negro type
and not iufreqGenty pronounced blondes
are found among them Of <ITe Hamite
blood The term -Iamlte, however. IS an
arbitrary name and Is used 20 dlScrlml-
nate between the inhabitants of North
ern Africa and the Semitic peoples. The
two are closely allied in racial character
istics, yet differing in sufficient respect as
q mark them a separate people or race
As a separate race, however, they
nrs rapidly becoming extinct This
IS due not TO degenerative ten
dency. but 20 the mixing Of
their blood with that Of other races. thus
obliteratinR racial lines. The inhabitants
OF ancient Carthage were Hamites. Old
Hannibal. who fought Fabius, the old Ro-
man general, belonged 10 this race, and
the Moors who fought Spain for 700 years
were Hamites. The dark skin ana black
hair and eyes Of the Spaniard are due 70
a Moorish mixture, the pure-blooded
Epauiard being blue-eyed and tending 70
the blonde type.
That something more than heat is nee
pssary 10 darken the pigment IN man s
pkin is evidenced when the EsQumau
and the Laplander are considered. High
temperature certainly is not apt TO be
found in their localities. This is one of
the exceptions TO which Keane refers
doubtless when he speaks Of mere tenn
FeratuTe largely neutraliZed,
II Is fair TO assume that the Malaysian