Man And His Ancestor: A Study In EvolutionMorris, Charles
Science
Man And His Ancestor: A Study In Evolution
Morris, Charles
Human beings -- Origin
The power of walking on a lower limb and grasping an upper one once
attained, a succeeding step in evolution quickly appeared, and one of
prime importance to our inquiry. The animal had ceased to be in a full
sense a quadruped, while not yet a biped, and a variation in the length
of its limbs was almost sure to take place. This is an ordinary result
when animals cease to walk on all fours. In the leaping kangaroo and
jerboa a shortening of the arms and lengthening of the legs appear. Here
the arms are relieved from duty and a double duty is laid on the legs,
with the consequence stated. In the ancient dinosaurian reptiles,
upright walkers, the same was the case. Those varied from quite small to
very large animals, but in all known instances the fore limbs were
greatly reduced in size. A similar condition may be seen in the birds,
the bones of whose fore-limbs have largely aborted from lack of
employment as walking organs.
In the case of the apes and lemurs, while a similar effect has taken
place, an interesting difference appears, due to the difference in
conditions. In these animals the fore limbs are not freed from duty as
organs of locomotion. In many cases, on the contrary, they have an extra
duty put upon them, with the result that they have grown longer instead
of shorter. Very likely these animals differed considerably in the past,
as they do to-day, in the degree of use of their legs and arms. Many of
them walk in the quadruped manner, either on the ground or in trees.
Others make much use of their hands and arms in grasping and swinging.
Great differences in the use of the arms and legs may have arisen in
different species. In some, the legs may have been mainly trusted to for
support, and the hands used for steadying. In others the arms may have
been the chief locomotive organs and the feet have given steadiness.
Here the legs may have grown the longer, there the arms, the limbs
developing in accordance with their degree of employment. In the lower
monkeys and the lemurs, the bones of the pelvis are altogether
quadrupedal in character. This is not the case in the higher forms, and
in the highest apes the pelvic bones approach those of man.
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