Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-01-17

How far removed from the ape or even
the ape-man this graduation may be no one
can say.
Professors Schwalbe and Klaatsch last
year produced facts which appear to prove
positively that man in the form Of today
cannot have existed before the last inter-
glacial period. Whatever came before that
was a creature that was not man as we
know man now.
valley and the man OF Krapina were such
creatures. Perhaps the same form was
existent then in other parts Of the world.
The famous ape-man of Java, Pithecan-
thropus erectus, possibly was the Asiatic
ancestor Of this man in being.
How Old Is HeP
How old is he? Professor Penck, at the
last meeting Of naturalists in karisbao'
laid down the law that the duration Of the
glacial period had been at least half a
million of years. The earlier Stone Age
alone-not an epoch, but merely stage of
development-he thought was most GER
tainly at least 100000 years. I'VE can es-
innate the age of the species known as
man in Europe as several hundreds OF
thousands Of years. he declared.
Studies of skulls and skeletons from the
last Stone Age, which is supposed to date
back from 1000 to 10000 years. show no
noticeable differences between man OF Inat
remote time and the man OF To-Day. inns
in itself shows how immense must nave
been the time that did afford opportunity
for structural changes. -
How great these changes We're ana now
enormous consequently must have been
the time that elapsed between the exist
ence of the missing link and the exist,
ence Of the man of Krapina and the arrival
of the man as we know him. Is SHOWN ny
the skull of the creature.
The skull Of Krapina Is longer even tnan
the skulls of Spy and the Neander valley
far longer than any modern skull
1t is as low as 1t Is long. 1t is SOC much
xhor he
TODAY that there is established this Iact
about this ancestor of man: He was sepa-
rated from the man Of today 6y daa
greater difference than was the difference
between him and the ape ,,
Structure of bones, the immense tnick-
ness over the eyes, decided cont.actioia,
in the sides Of the Krapina sKuli oeso tha
the eyes, are all characteristics or the
But there are other characteristics In the
Neander valley and Spy and krapina Skulls
monkey. Some Of these differing charac,
teristics point to reversion to FORMS Stiil
more primitive than the monkey. Wnle e
others show development to"aro l"e
human being Of our own type.
No ssMissing Link"
THESE d,yergencies in opposite directions
have led European scientists to reach one
important conclusion. that Is tnat the
primitive man. the man OF Krapina ana
Spy and Of the Neander valley IS not
missing link between man and ape
In the Krapina man there Is distinct
furrow between the eyebrows over the sad
dIe of the nose 1t Is a structural charac-
ter that does not occur in apes 1t is one OF
the facial signs that makes race look III
telligent
anart The frontal part of the brain had
been developed much more greatly, tnere-
fore, than in the ape. whose eyes are Close
together.
A striking popularity lies in the teeth Of
the primitive creature. 1t Is an established
fact that the teeth of the modern human
being are degenerated. Evolution OFTEN
uses degeneration as a help IN us pro-
cesses. The teeth of the man or kraplna
are greater even than those of the ape
Even the front teeth have two roots, where
only few of our teeth have more than one.
The grinders actually are larger toward the
back while our grinders are more or less
stunted and diminutive
That and other peculiarities about the
teeth Of the man of Krapina are round In
the teeth Of a prehistoric ape discovered IN
the miocene formations in Germany, the
dryopithecus. This ape-man or man-ape
existed and vanished many ages before the
time of glacial man. So the missing link
is to be looked for in the dim past far be-
yond the time of the jewellers in the Croa-
tian cave.
Matter Of Curvature.
In the Krapina skeletons the curious for
ward curvature of the bones of the upper
thigh was pronounced. 1t was this same
curvature that led to the conviction that
the famous skeleton OF Java was form
between animal and human being. Profess
sor Virchow alleged that this curvature was
not natural, but that it was due to dis
ease and he protested against the adoption
of any theory based on it. He admitted
that if it were natural it would prove ana
Ironically that the Java skeleton really was
that of man-ape form and not merely the
skeleton of a human being, very old, but
still in all essentials like present human
beings. But he would not admit that the
curvature was natural.
Wen, the Krapina skeletons all show the
same curvature, and 1t is no longer to be
doubted that 1t is natural.
The Belgian scientist, Fraipont, believed
that these skeletons showed that this man
form could not walk upright or at least did
not walk upright habitually.
Other scientists do not agree with this.
They say that the study Of the bones does
not justify such a conclusion. But they all
agree that these primitive man creatures
did not walk erect and freely as We do.
The very fact that their legs were inordi-
nately short while their bodies were long
would have made it necessary for them to
walk In a shambling, clumsy, more or less
uncomfortable way. The heavy. crude knee
have Strengthened out their knees or moved
easily as we do.
Could he Speakp
''Their power of speech probably was not
nearly equal to that Of the present man."
says DR.. Hagen. Our organs OF speech,
particularly the tongue, are governed by a
group of muscles which are fastened to q
little double-pointed growth Of bone on the
inside Of the chin. In the anthropofd ape,
who lacks the power Of articulate speech.
we find groove in that place instead of a
growth Of bone. That same groove we find
in the man of Krapina.
There is another proof Prof. Walkhoff
OF Munich has shown by means Of the
Roentgen rays that wherever muscle-pull
ing or pressure act on bones, certain thick
ening and toughening Of the bones occurs,
lyir in the direction Of the stain. In the
jaw Of human beings these chickering's are
pronounced wherever the muscles Of the
organs Of speech lie. But in the anthropoid
ape these characteristics are missing en-
tirely. In the man Of the Neander valley
find faint traces Of them. If We can
prove this theory still further by examina-
ton of the jaw bones Of persons who were
born dumb, we shall have q great light on
the beginnings OF our articulate human
speech"
A Story Of the Telephone.
vi