The History of Creation, Vol. 2 (of 2): Or the Development of the Earth and its Inhabitants by the Action of Natural CausesHaeckel, Ernst
Science
The History of Creation, Vol. 2 (of 2): Or the Development of the Earth and its Inhabitants by the Action of Natural Causes
Haeckel, Ernst
Evolution; Heredity; Human beings -- Origin
Now, before we venture upon the attempt hypothetically to explain the
phyletic divergence of mankind, and the genealogical connection of its
different species, we will premise a short description of the twelve
named species and of their distribution. In order clearly to survey
their geographical distribution, we must go back some three or four
centuries, to the time when the Indian Islands and America were first
discovered, and when the present great mingling of species, and more
especially the influx of the Indo-Germanic race, had as yet not made
great progress. We begin with the lowest stages, with the woolly-haired
men (Ulotrichi), all of whom are prognathic Dolichocephali.
The _Papuan_ (Homo Papua), of all the still living human species, is
perhaps most closely related to the original primary form of
woolly-haired men. This species now inhabits only the large island of
New Guinea and the Archipelago of Melanesia lying to the east of it
(Solomon’s Islands, New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, etc.). But
scattered remnants of it are also still found in the interior of the
peninsula of Malacca, and likewise in many other islands of the large
Pacific Archipelago; mostly in the inaccessible mountainous parts of the
interior, and especially in the Philippine Islands. The but lately
extinct Tasmanians, or the natives of Van Diemen’s Land, belonged to
this group. From these and other circumstances it is clear that the
Papuans in former times possessed a much larger area of distribution in
south-eastern Asia. They were driven out by the Malays and forced
eastwards. The skin of all Papuans is of a black colour, sometimes more
inclining to brown, sometimes more to blue. Their woolly hair grows in
tufts, is spirally twisted in screws, and often more than a foot in
length, so that it forms a strong woolly wig, which stands far out from
the head. Their face, below the narrow depressed forehead, has a large
turned-up nose and thick protruding lips. The peculiar form of their
hair and speech so essentially distinguishes the Papuans from their
straight-haired neighbours, from the Malays as well as from the
Australians, that they must be regarded as an entirely distinct species.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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