Last Words on Evolution: A Popular Retrospect and SummaryHaeckel, Ernst
Religion
Last Words on Evolution: A Popular Retrospect and Summary
Haeckel, Ernst
Evolution -- History; Religion and science
CATARRHINAE | {and cheek-pouches | {_Colobus_
{ Narrow-nosed | {Sacrum with 3 or 4 | {_Nasalis_
{ apes | {vertebræ |
{ _Eopitheca_ | { | {_Hylobates_
{ Eastern apes | {8. ANTHROPOMORPHA+ | {_Satyrus_
{ (Arctogoea) | { | {_Pliopithecus_*
{ Europe, Asia, and | {Dent. 32=2.1.2.3/2.1.2.3 | {_Gorilla_
{ Africa. | {No tail or cheek-pouches | {_Anthropithecus_
{ Nostrils forward, | {Sacrum with 5 | {_Dryopithecus_*
{ with narrow septum | {vertebræ | {_Pithe-
{ 2 premolars | | { canthropus_*
{ Nails on all | | {_Homo_
{ fingers | |
| |
-----------------------+---------------------------+-----------------
4.--GENEALOGICAL TREE OF THE PRIMATES
[Illustration: Anthropomorpha]
EXPLANATION OF GENEALOGICAL TABLE 1
CHRONOMETRIC REDUCTION OF BIOGENETIC PERIODS
The enormous length of the biogenetic periods (_i.e._, the periods
during which organic life has been evolving on our planet) is still
very differently estimated by geologists and paleontologists,
astronomers and physicists, because the empirical data of the
calculation are very incomplete and admit great differences of
estimate. However, most modern experts aver that their length
runs to 100 and 200 million years (some say double this, and even
more). If we take the lesser figure of 100 millions, we find this
distributed over the five chief periods of organic geology very
much as is shown on Table 1. In order to get a clearer idea of the
vast duration of these evolutionary periods, and to appreciate
the relative shortness of the "historical period," Dr. H. Schmidt
(Jena) has reduced the 100,000,000 years to a day. In this scheme
the twenty-four hours of "creation-day" are distributed as follows
over the five evolutionary periods:
I. Archeozoic period (52 million years) = 12h. 30m.
II. Paleozoic period (34 million years) = 8h. 7m.
III. Mesozoic period (11 million years) = 2h. 38m.
IV. Cenozoic period (3 million years) = 43m.
V. Anthropozoic period (0·1-0·2 million years) = 2m.
If we put the length of the "historic period" at 6,000 years, it
only makes _five seconds_ of "creation-day"; the Christian era
would amount to _two_ seconds.
POSTSCRIPT
EVOLUTION AND JESUITISM
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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