Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-03-24
HUMAN BODY LAGS
/ BEHIND BIG APES
Superior Development Seen
+ in GoriIIa's Weight,
Chest and Arms.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

Man still lags far behind some of
his relatives, the great apes.
Evidence to this effect was presented
before the American Association Of
Physical Anthropologists today by DR..
A. H. Schultz of Johns Hopkins Uni
versity, newly elected president. 1t was
based on a great number of physical
measurements of men, anthropoids and
monkeys.
DR.. Schultz pictured men as mem
Der Of the great catarrhine family,
which includes more than 200 species
of old world monkeys as well as the big
apes. This family, he said, appears to
be undergoing evolutionary changes in
numerous directions-such as length
ening Of the arms and legs, Tightening
of the neck, shortening and strengthen
ing Of the trunk, and Tightening OF
the toes and thumbs.
All Exhibit Changes.
All the anthropoids, DR.. Schultz
said, exhibit changes in these direc-
lions from the general pattern OF the
lower catarrhine stock. Some OF the
apes have gone far in one direction,
some in another. Thus all show the
tendency to increase in brain size, but
man has outdistanced all the Others.
There is a tendency to increase in
weight, in which the gorilla has far out
distanced man and the other apes. the
gorilla also has gone farthest In the
tendency towards wider hand. In the
relation of chest depth to chest breadtn
the gorilla also shows the greatest evolu-
tion. Man has gone farthest in the
lengthening Of the legs, the gibbon In
lengthening of the arms.
That these tendencies must be con-
sidered as inherent in the stock rather
than as due to the environment OF a
specific species, Dr. Schultz said, ap-
pears from the facts that the whole
group shows them to a marked degree.
But those for whom particular
tendency Is most valuable have deveI-
oped it most.
Brains of the big apes differ strik-
ingly not only from human brains but
from each other.
Results of an extensive investigation
of the grey matter" variations of an
thropoids were presented before the
association by DR.. G. j. Connolly OF
Catholic University.
The brain of the chimpanzee, DR..
Connolly found, approaches closest to
that of man 1t is very much smaller
in proportion to body weight, but, in
comparison to other apes, it has the
greatest frontal height. Altogether, Dr.
Connolly said, 1t is higher type of
brain than that Of the gorilla or orang-
outang.
Differences Cited.
One great difference between the
prinate and human brain patterns, he
found, was In the distribution Of the
1obes of the cerebral cortex In man
by far the largest of these is the frontal
lobe, covered by the forehead and ex-
tending backwards to deep furrow
known as the sulcus of Rolando run
ming across each hemisphere Of the
vortex about midway between front and
back. A narrow strip of this frontal
lobe contains the brain centers which
control bodily movement. In front of
this Is large area whose functions are
disputed. Some neurologists have
designated 1t as the center for the
higher mental processes, such as in
telligence.
Back Of the sulcus Of Rolando is the
parietal lobe, smaller and containing
some Of the sensation centers. Back OF
this is small area in man, the occipital
lobe, where is located the center of sight.
It was In the relative variations of the
size of these lobes that DR.. Connolly
found some Of his most striking
differences.
1LCldL1VC1y, dS well Uc dUcOluOC1yy bA4C
human frontal lobe Is very much larger
than either of the others. In chimpan-
zee, gorilla and rang-outang, he found,
all three are Of about the same size.
Apparently when the human brain type
began to branch off from the general
primate pattern 1t was largely in the
direction of frontal lobe extension.
Gibbons Brains Vary.
The brains Of all varieties of gibbons,
DIR. Connolly said, differ so strikingly
from those Of the other primates that
it is doubtful whether these agile little
apes should be classified among the
anthropoids. The gibbon brain Is
strikingly wedge-shaped, with a tend
ency to come to a point in front. This
brain study, DR.. Connolly pointed out,
may have bearing on the claim that
the celebrated Pithecanthropus Erectus
OF Java was only a gigantic gibbon.
Most anthropologists have considered
this fossil creature to be the earliest Of
the pre-human types supposed to have
preceded true man on earth. A cast
OF the Pithecanthropus skull, DR.. Con-
molly said, shows clearly that the brain
was not that of a member OF the glib
bon family.
Another striking difference brought
out in DR.. Connolly's study was in the
relative brain sizes of young and adult
apes. The young ape. he said, appar-