Evening star., 1924-12-21
MENTAL EVOLUTION
STILL PROGRESSING
DR.. HrdIicka Says Body of
Man May Be Complete, But
Not intellect.

Evolution, which in thousands O.
centuries has produced man out o
inferior materials of life, still is a
work on the production of still
higher creation, DR.. Ales Hrdlicka
anthropolgist of the Smith sonian In
stitution, said at the conclusion of {
series Of lectures at the New Nationa
Museum Friday afternoon.
Available evidence indicates. DIR
Hrdlicka said, that the evolution o,
the body, a necessary preliminary Il
mental evolution, Is about at an end
Having placed the mind on the human
level, largely through physica
changes. due to the stimulation. o,
environment, nature now Is concern
ed with the perfection of her highes
creation.
Physical Changes Few.
Up to about % 900 years ago. DIR
Hrdlicka said, physical changes ii
the human body were comparatively
marked and rapid. Since they have
been few and inconsequential. The
bodies of the ancient Egyptians, fol
instance, were the same in all i'm
portant details as the bodies of mer
today. There Is no other $4,000 years
in human history when the physica
man has remained so little changed
10 judge from the evidence OF
Skeletal remains.
There actually has been a slowing
up in the process of human evolution
DR.. Hrdlicka said. The making o.
intellect is a slower process than the
making of body. The slowing up has
been due to apparent causes. In tht
past man has evolved through The
demands of and response to environ.
mental agencies, such as heat or cold
desert or jungle. But the race hat
now become stabilized. Winter, fol
instance, does not produce the same
2timuli on individuals who with heat,
ed houses can practically nulliify the
effects of cold. With stabilized in,
dustries there is no longer the in
tense struggle for food. Man has
accommodated himself to the condi-
ditions around him so that they nc
longer produce a marked effect upor
him.
Still Plastic Creature.
But all the evidence shows, Dr.
Hrdlicka said. that man still is e
plastic creature, fully capable OF
changing to meet changed conditions
if necessary. The laws governing evolu.
tion in the past, such as natural selec-
tion, are still active, although man
through knowledge and art, has
somewhat modified them.
Among the evidences during the
present historical period that man Is
changing. DR.. Hrdlicka said, are the
following:
1t is only since the seventh cen
tury that marked increase OF
brachycephalic persons, or indi-
viduals with noticeably broad skull
has been noted. This tendency Is
constantly increasing throughout the
white race.
The facial features, especially dur
ing the past century, have become
more refined.
Intellect of Mass.
The Intellectual production of the
mass Of all the white races of today
ia considerably better than that OF
the mass production in Greece, Rome
Egypt or Babylon. This means. DR.
Hrdlicka said. the intellectual leveI
of the whole people and is not affected
by the fact that Greece, in particular r
produced a few men of genius who
never have been surpassed in theiI
lines. Genius, he said, may crop out
at any time in any race, is completely
out of the ordinary scale, and cannot
be considered in figuring averages.
Since the present evolution is men,
tai. man himself Is interfering with
il seriously. One of the most serious
ways is by war, such as the World
War, which causes a setback which
is not offset by sufficient advantages.
Smaller wars, such as the present
revolution in Albania or the Riffian
war against the Spaniards, he said
sometimes produce benefits which
more than Offset the harm they do,
since few actually are killed and the
property loss Is small.
IdIeness and Luxury.
Perhaps the most serious of all in
references with evolution is idle
ness and luxury. The powers of man
soon become atrophied when they are
not used. They begin to fail almost
as soon as they are neglected. espe-
cialIy the mental powers. There are
d number of instances in history
where nations have risen in short
time to great wealth and affiuence. In
an even shorter time they have sunk
back into a torpor, because once In
possession Of wealth the people have
rested.
a serious cause of interference
with mental evolution is the subject
of civilized man to numerous over
strains. Life in a civilized COM
munity is much more complex mat
ter than among primitive men where
eating and sleeping is the end of al
effort. Civilized man is prone tt
neglect sleep and overstrain his
brain.
The various poisons which civilized
man has himself introduced into his
system constitute another serious
drawback. The actual damage done
by alcohol, cocaine and opium car
he 90 inn n cd nr II-li ialy q
said. He pointed out that these
poisons by no means exhaust the pos
sibilities and that any day somebody
may discover a drug or intoxican
which will have far more devastating
effects.
DIR. Hrdlicka mentioned as a fiftl
deterrent to the natural course o.
evolution the artificial Limitation o
the birthrate in families PHYSICAL,