darwin and modern science-第42节

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


ividuals　in　a　cave　near　Krapina　in　Croatia。　　（Gorjanovic…Kramberger　〃Der　diluviale　Mensch　von　Krapina　in　Kroatien〃；　1906。）　　It　is　in　particular　the　form　of　the　lower　jaw　which　is　different　from　that　of　all　recent　races　of　man；　and　which　clearly　indicates　the　lowly　position　of　Homo　primigenius；　while；　on　the　other　hand；　the　long…known　skull　from　Gibraltar；　which　I　（〃Studien　zur　Vorgeschichte　des　Menschen〃；　1906；　pages　154　ff。）　have　referred　to　Homo　primigenius；　and　which　has　lately　been　examined　in　detail　by　Sollas　（〃On　the　cranial　and　facial　characters　of　the　Neandertal　Race〃。　　〃Trans。　R。　Soc。〃　London；　vol。　199；　1908；　page　281。）；　has　made　us　acquainted　with　the　surprising　shape　of　the　eye…orbit；　of　the　nose；　and　of　the　whole　upper　part　of　the　face。　　Isolated　lower　jaws　found　at　La　Naulette　in　Belgium；　and　at　Malarnaud　in　France；　increase　our　material　which　is　now　as　abundant　as　could　be　desired。　　The　most　recent　discovery　of　all　is　that　of　a　skull　dug　up　in　August　of　this　year　（1908）　by　Klaatsch　and　Hauser　in　the　lower　grotto　of　the　Le　Moustier　in　Southern　France；　but　this　skull　has　not　yet　been　fully　described。　　Thus　Homo　primigenius　must　also　be　regarded　as　occupying　a　position　in　the　gap　existing　between　the　highest　apes　and　the　lowest　human　races；　Pithecanthropus；　standing　in　the　lower　part　of　it；　and　Homo　primigenius　in　the　higher；　near　man。　　In　order　to　prevent　misunderstanding；　I　should　like　here　to　emphasise　that　in　arranging　this　structural　series　anthropoid　apes；　Pithecanthropus；　Homo　primigenius；　Homo　sapiensI　have　no　intention　of　establishing　it　as　a　direct　genealogical　series。　　I　shall　have　something　to　say　in　regard　to　the　genetic　relations　of　these　forms；　one　to　another；　when　discussing　the　different　theories　of　descent　current　at　the　present　day。　　（（Since　this　essay　was　written　Schoetensack　has　discovered　near　Heidelberg　and　briefly　described　an　exceedingly　interesting　lower　jaw　from　rocks　between　the　Pliocene　and　Diluvial　beds。　　This　exhibits　interesting　differences　from　the　forms　of　lower　jaw　of　Homo　primigenius。　　（Schoetensack　〃Der　Unterkiefer　des　Homo　heidelbergensis〃。　　Leipzig；　1908。）　　G。S。））

In　quite　a　different　domain　from　that　of　morphological　relationship；　namely　in　the　physiological　study　of　the　blood；　results　have　recently　been　gained　which　are　of　the　highest　importance　to　the　doctrine　of　descent。　　Uhlenhuth；　Nuttall；　and　others　have　established　the　fact　that　the　blood…serum　of　a　rabbit　which　has　previously　had　human　blood　injected　into　it；　forms　a　precipitate　with　human　blood。　　This　biological　reaction　was　tried　with　a　great　variety　of　mammalian　species；　and　it　was　found　that　those　far　removed　from　man　gave　no　precipitate　under　these　conditions。　　But　as　in　other　cases　among　mammals　all　nearly　related　forms　yield　an　almost　equally　marked　precipitate；　so　the　serum　of　a　rabbit　treated　with　human　blood　and　then　added　to　the　blood　of　an　anthropoid　ape　gives　ALMOST　as　marked　a　precipitate　as　in　human　blood；　the　reaction　to　the　blood　of　the　lower　Eastern　monkeys　is　weaker；　that　to　the　Western　monkeys　weaker　still；　indeed　in　this　last　case　there　is　only　a　slight　clouding　after　a　considerable　time　and　no　actual　precipitate。　　The　blood　of　the　Lemuridae　（Nuttall）　gives　no　reaction　or　an　extremely　weak　one；　that　of　the　other　mammals　none　whatever。　We　have　in　this　not　only　a　proof　of　the　literal　blood…relationship　between　man　and　apes；　but　the　degree　of　relationship　with　the　different　main　groups　of　apes　can　be　determined　beyond　possibility　of　mistake。

Finally；　it　must　be　briefly　mentioned　that　in　regard　to　remains　of　human　handicraft　also；　the　material　at　our　disposal　has　greatly　increased　of　late　years；　that；　as　a　result　of　this；　the　opinions　of　archaeologists　have　undergone　many　changes；　and　that；　in　particular；　their　views　in　regard　to　the　age　of　the　human　race　have　been　greatly　influenced。　　There　is　a　tendency　at　the　present　time　to　refer　the　origin　of　man　back　to　Tertiary　times。　　It　is　true　that　no　remains　of　Tertiary　man　have　been　found；　but　flints　have　been　discovered　which；　according　to　the　opinion　of　most　investigators；　bear　traces　either　of　use；　or　of　very　primitive　workmanship。　Since　Rutot's　time；　following　Mortillet's　example；　investigators　have　called　these　〃eoliths；〃　and　they　have　been　traced　back　by　Verworn　to　the　Miocene　of　the　Auvergne；　and　by　Rutot　even　to　the　upper　Oligocene。　　Although　these　eoliths　are　even　nowadays　the　subject　of　many　different　views；　the　preoccupation　with　them　has　kept　the　problem　of　the　age　of　the　human　race　continually　before　us。

Geology；　too；　has　made　great　progress　since　the　days　of　Darwin　and　Lyell；　and　has　endeavoured　with　satisfactory　results　to　arrange　the　human　remains　of　the　Diluvial　period　in　chronological　order　（Penck）。　　I　do　not　intend　to　enter　upon　the　question　of　the　primitive　home　of　the　human　race；　since　the　space　at　my　disposal　will　not　allow　of　my　touching　even　very　briefly　upon　all　the　departments　of　science　which　are　concerned　in　the　problem　of　the　descent　of　man。　　How　Darwin　would　have　rejoiced　over　each　of　the　discoveries　here　briefly　outlined！　　What　use　he　would　have　made　of　the　new　and　precious　material；　which　would　have　prevented　the　discouragement　from　which　he　suffered　when　preparing　the　second　edition　of　〃The　Descent　of　Man〃！　　But　it　was　not　granted　to　him　to　see　this　progress　towards　filling　up　the　gaps　in　his　edifice　of　which　he　was　so　painfully　conscious。

He　did；　however；　have　the　satisfaction　of　seeing　his　ideas　steadily　gaining　ground；　notwithstanding　much　hostility　and　deep…rooted　prejudice。　　Even　in　the　years　between　the　appearance　of　〃The　Origin　of　Species〃　and　of　the　first　edition　of　the　〃Descent〃；　the　idea　of　a　natural　descent　of　man；　which　was　only　briefly　indicated　in　the　work　of　1859；　had　been　eagerly　welcomed　in　some　quarters。　　It　has　been　already　pointed　out　how　brilliantly　Huxley　contributed　to　the　defence　and　diffusion　of　Darwin's　doctrines；　and　how　in　〃Man's　Place　in　Nature〃　he　has　given　us　a　classic　work　as　a　foundation　for　the　doctrine　of　the　descent　of　man。　　As　Huxley　was　Darwin's　champion　in　England；　so　in　Germany　Carl　Vogt；　in　particular；　made　himself　master　of　the　Darwinian　ideas。　　But　above　all　it　was　Haeckel　who；　in　energy；　eagerness　for　battle；　and　knowledge　may　be　placed　side　by　side　with　Huxley；　who　took　over　the　leadership　in　the　controversy　over　the　new　conception　of　the　universe。　　As　far　back　as　1866；　in　his　〃Generelle　Morphologie〃；　he　had　inquired　minutely　into　the　question　of　the　descent　of　man；　and　not　content　with　urging　merely　the　general　theory　of　descent　from　lower　animal　forms；　he　drew　up　for　the　first　time　genealogical　trees　showing　the　close　relationships　of　the　different　animal　groups；　the　last　of　these　illustrated　the　relationships　of　Mammals；　and　among　them　of　all　groups　of　the　Primates；　including　man。　　It　was　Haeckel's　genealogical　trees　that　formed　the　basis　of　the　special　discussion　of　the　relationships　of　man；　in　the　sixth　chapter　of　Darwin's　〃Descent　of　Man〃。

In　the　last　section　of　this　essay　I　shall　return　to　Haeckel's　conception　of　the　special　descent　of　man；　the　main　features　of　which　he　still　upholds；　and　rightly　so。　　Haeckel　has　contributed　more　than　any　one　else　to　the　spread　of　the　Darwinian　doctrine。

I　can　only　allow　myself　a　few　words　as　to　the　spread　of　the　theory　of　the　natural　descent　of　man　in　other　countries。　　The　Parisian　anthropological　school；　founded　and　guided　by　the　genius　of　Broca；　took　up　the　idea　of　the　descent　of　man；　and　made　many　notable　contributions　to　it　（Broca；　Manouvrier；　Mahoudeau；　Deniker　and　others）。　　In　England　itself　Darwin's　work　did　not　die。　　Huxley　took　care　of　that；　for　he；　with　his　lofty　and　unprejudiced　mind；　dominated　and　inspired　English　biology　until　his　death　on　June　29；　1895。　　He　had　the　satisfaction　shortly　before　his　death　of　learning　of　Dubois'　discovery；　which　he　illustrated　by　a　humorous　sketch。　　（〃Life　and　Letters　of　Thomas　Henry　Huxley〃；　Vol。　II。　page　394。）　　But　there　are　still　many　followers　in　Darwin's　footsteps　in　England。　　Keane　has　worked　at　the　special　genealogical　tree　of　the　Primates；　Keith　has　inquired　which　of　the　anthropoid　apes　has　the　greatest　number　of　characters　in　common　with　man；　Morris　concerns　himself　with　the　evolution　of　man　in　general；　especially　with　his　acquisition　of　the　erect　position。　　The　recent　discoveries　of　Pithecanthropus　and　Homo　primigenius　are　being　vigorously　discussed；　but　the　present　writer　is　not　in　a　position　to　form　an　opinion　of　the　extent　to　which　the　idea　of　descent　has　penetrated　throughout　England　generally。

In　Italy　independent　work　in　the　domain　of　the　descent　of　man　is　being　produced；　especially　by　Morselli；　with　him　are　associated；　in　the　investigation　of　related　problems；　Sergi　and　Giuffrida…Ruggeri。　　From　the　ranks　of　American　investigators　we　may　single　out　in　particular　the　eminent　geologist　Cope；　who　championed　with　much　decision　the　idea　of　the　specific　difference　of　Homo　neandertalensis　（primigenius）　and　maintained　a　more　direct　descent　of　man　from　the　fossil　Lemuridae。　　In　South　America　too；　in　Argentina；　new　life　is　stirring　in　this　department　of　science。　　Ameghino　in　Buenos　Ayres　has　awakened　the　fossil　primates　of　the　Pampas　formation　to　new　life；　he　even　believes　that　in