Evening star., 1901-02-02
THE BIRTHPLACE OF MAN
CONFLICTING ARGUMENTS = ON ITS
PROBABLE LOCATION.
Eminent Authorities Have Placed II
In Almost Every Section Of
the World.

s. Warrington in the Ninete Century.
Where was the cradle of the human
race? Hackel thinks it may have been in
the south Of Asia, Wallace in Central
Asia, Wagner in Europe and Darwin in
Africa.
Taking into consideration, however. that
man deteriorates In a tropical climate, and
advances in countries where the tempera-
ture in the hottest season of the year sell
dom exceeds 20 or so degrees Fahrenheit,
and remembering how great must have
been the heat during the Eocene epoch, We
shall have no difficulty in perceivng that
We must turn to those regions of the north.
where the temperature at that time would
be similar to that of the south of Europe
at the present day II We wish to find the
most suitable habitat" for our early an
cestors.
If we concentrate our attention on the
traces of ''prehistoric man. found in the
northwest corner of Europe, we sur
prised to note their number and Importance
az compared with those found in other
parts of Europe, in Asia. or in Africa. 1t
Is not only the fiints found In Suffolk, and
In almost every part of England (some OF
which are said to be preglaciaD, and In
Belgium, France and Germany, but there
are also the human remains found in the
caves-the Brixham cave. and kents hole,
near Torquay-the Neanderthal skull,
found near Dusseldorf; the Spy skeletons,
near Namur; the Borreby skulls, in Den
mark; the Engis skull, and others too nu-
merous to be mentioned; and when in addi-
ton to all this We remember that the
dryopithecus was native of France we
are at first naturally inclined to jump to
the conclusion that here, in this northwest
portion OF Europe. was the cradle of the
human race. But unfortunately, SO far
as this supposition Is concerned, we find
hot 40 n Anyo onfn
not to an even earlier period similar work.
ed dints and other human relics are found
in America. Now in order to get from
Torquay, or the valley Of the S0mme, from
America to these places, mangmust either
have crossed by the Beriug Straits or by
the now submerged route, across Iceland
and Greenland. And this Is, a. most I'M
portant fact which We cannot 5gainsay CT
disregard. But II this be so we are COM
PEELED to admit that long before the glacial
epoch (Which is said to have lasted from
100000 years ago up to about $1,000 years
ago) man was in or near. the arctic re-
Gions. There Is no getting away from this
fact. And as the human race was. there
fore near the Polar regions at q time long
anterior to that Of any of the, fints found
in Great Britain or in the So1ame valley,
We are unwillingly compelled, to relin-
quish the hypothesis that the cradle of the
race may have been in the northwest OF
In North Amefica!t
IT, on the other hand. we sturnIour atten-
tion to the trace of prehistoric man. in
North America we find that these equal
II they do not exceed those Of Europe. A
large number Of them are referred to in
an article by Mr.. Wallace which appeared
In this Review In November, 1887. and
among them he mentions that when the
great mastodon now in the British museum
was found by DIR. kock in the Osaga val
ley. Missouri, number of stone arrow
heads and charcoal were found near 1t.
and that one of the arrow heads lay under
the thigh bone Of the mastodon and In con-
tact with 1t. This animal, it will be renem-
bered, was found at depth OF twenty feet.
under seven alternate layers Of loan. grav-
| ell, clay and peat, with a forest OF old
trees on the surface. He also refers as
| follows to the case OF the Calaveras skull:
'In the year 1866 some miners found In the
cement. In close proximity to petrified
! oak. q curious rounded mass Of earthly ana
stony material containing bonsss which they