Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-10-12


The origin OF man is still very obscure. 1t
is commonly asserted that he is descended
from some man-like ape such IS the chimpan-
zee, the orang-utang or the gorilla, but that
of course is as reasonable as saying that am
descended" from some Hottentot or Esk1-
mo as young or younger than myself.
Others, alive to this objection say that
man is descended from the common ancestor
Of the chimpanzee, the orang-utang, and the
gorilla. Some "aLtropologists" have even
INDUCED in a speculation whether mankind
may not have double or treble origin; the
negro being descended from gorilla-like an
cestor, the Chinese from a chimpanZee-like
ancestor, and SO
These are very fanciful ideas, to be men
| toned only to be dismissed. 1t was formerly
assumed that the human ancestor was prob
ably arboreal,' but the current idea among
| those who are qualified to form an opinion
| seems to be that he was ground ape" and
| that the existing apes have developed in the
arboreal direction.
| Significance of Mans Great Toe
We give the prevailing opinion. 1t is well
| to bear in mind that the animal ancestry OF
man is still passionately denied by many
| able and learned people And it is only fair
| to them to admit that none of the sub-human
species we shall proceed 20 describe is be-
| lieved by scientific men to be the direct an
cestor of man. At nearest these submen are
cousins and collaterals.
Of course if one puts the skeleton of a
man and the skeleton Of gorilla side by
side, their general resemblance is so great
| that it is easy to jump to the conclusion that
| the former is derived from such a type as the
| latter by a process of brain growth and gen.
| eral refinement But if one examines closely
| into one or two differences, the gap widens.
| Particular stress has recently been laid upon
| the tread of the foot. Man walks on his toe
| and his heel; his great toe is his chief lever
in walking, as the reader MAJ see for him
self if he examines his own footprints on the
| bathroom floor and notes where the pressure
| falls the footprints become fainter. His
| great toe is the king of his toes.
| Among all the apes and monkeys, the only
| group that have their great toes developed
| on anything like the same fashion as man
are some Of the lemurs. The baboon walks on
| flat foot and all his toes, using his middle
| toe as his chief throw-off, much as the bear
| does. And the three great apes all walk on
| the outer side of the foot in a very differ
ent manner from the walking of man.
| The great apes are forest dwellers; their
walking even now Is incidental; they are at
| their happiest among trees. TIL 7 have very
distinctive methods of climbing; they swing
| by the arms much more than the monkeys
do, and do not, like the latter, take off with
a spring from the feet. They have a speci-
ally developed climbing style Of their own.
But man walks so we'll and runs SO swiftly
| as to suggest very long ancestry upon the
ground Also, he does not climb well now;
he climbs with caution and hesitation.
/ Moreover, it is to be noted that he does
not swim naturally; he has to learn to swim,
and that seems to point to long-standing
i separation from rivers and lakes and the
sea.
Conceivab1y the precursor of the men and