Evening star., 1931-12-17
FINDS APES BODY
AHEAD OF MANS
Dr.. A. H. Schultz Says Human
Bones Evolved" Less
Through Ages.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Man. below the neck, is less "evolved'
than some of the great apes.
The anatomy of a human being in
MANY WaVS is closer to that of the sup
posed common ancestor OF the anthro-
pod family. it has been found by DR..
A II Schultz, research associate OF the
Carnegie Institution of washington,
who for several years has been making
comparative studies of man, the glbbon,
siaIang, oranoutan, chimpanzae ana
gorilla. Scne of the results of this
study are announced n the year book
of the institution, just issued.
So far as the brain is concerned, man
represents the top peak Of evolution,
but the skeleton tells different story.
In IA skeletal characters, says the re-
port, man is farther removed from the
common ancestral condition than apes,
but in % other characters one or an
other of the apes has become more
highly specialized than man. Human
beings, DR.. Schultz found, have outdls-
tanced the anthropoidS in the evolution
of the pelvis. the long bones OF the legs
and the feet. Most features of the
spine, the shoulder girdles and the
arms are further advanced among the
apes. One family has made more prog
reSS than the others in one or more
resreCtS. Generally speaking. it is
stated. the human spine is closer to
that of the common ancestor than that
OF most of the apes. This is shown eS-
pecially by the variations i'll the num-
ber of vertebrae, which is unstable
among the anthropoids. In man the
number seldom varies. The gibbon is
much more variable.
Evolution Is Traced.
These skeletal studies throw consid-
erable light on the whole subject Of
primate evolution, of which the human
race is the crowning glory. The organ
izations did not progress as wholes.
The evolutionary units are represented
by subdivisions. Evolutionary differ
entiationS have progressed in opposite
directions in different types of primates
and two quite different forms may be
equally far removed from the common
ancestral stock. Each structure, or
group of structures. of each type of
primate has its own characteristic tend
enCy to vary.
The studies. based on 159 different
specimens Of the higher apes, show that
there are five in stead Cf four families
CT primates. The gbbon and the sia-
Eang. ordinarily classed together, vary
so markedly that they must be generi-
Cally separate. Also, the many skeletal
differences between the mountain 60
rllla and the loWland gorilla show that
they represent two different species.
Another study from the same labora
tory shows that the bones and muscles
Of the mountain gorilla'S foot are closer
to those of man than to those CT any
other anthrcpoid. The likenesses may
be cue either to a closer relationship or
to development along the same line be-
rauSe of common enVlrOnmental re-
quirementS.
A dual ancestry for mammals is pos
tulated as a result of other muscle
studies in the same laboratory. There
are three main subdivisions Of the
mammal world-the placentals. who in
clude the vast majority together with
human beings; the marsupials, whose
young are born in an undeveloped state
and are carried for some time in the
'pockets" of the mother, which are
largely confined to Australia, and the
monotremeS. also Australian, who lay
eggs like birds and are imperfectly
warm blooded.
Facial Types Divided.
DR. E. Huber, Carnegie research as
sociate, found clue to the difference
in the facial muscles Of the three types.
The placentals and the rarSupials have
essentially the same sort of facial mus
culature. which must have started from
a common ancestor. Both types have