The Mind of the Child, Part II: The Development of the Intellect, International Education; Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.Preyer, William T.
Science
The Mind of the Child, Part II: The Development of the Intellect, International Education; Series Edited By William T. Harris, Volume IX.
Preyer, William T.
Child development; Child psychology
"The skull and brain belonged to a boy who was born on the 4th
of October, 1869, the last of four children. Paul was scrofulous
from his youth. He did not get his teeth until the end of his
second year, and they were quite brown in color and were soon
lost. According to the statement of Paul's mother, he had
several successive sets of teeth. It was not until the fifth
year that he learned to walk. He was cleanly from the third
year, but not when he felt ill. His appetite was always good up
to his last sickness of four weeks. His sleep was habitually
undisturbed. He was of a cheerful temperament, and inclined to
play; as soon as he heard music he would dance, and sing to the
music in rather unmelodious tones. When teased he could be very
violent; he would throw anything he could lay his hands on at
the head of the offender. He liked the company of others,
especially of men. By the time he was four years old he had
learned to eat without help. Paul was very supple, was fond of
climbing, and had great strength in his arms and hands
especially; these had actually a horny appearance, and thus
reminded one of the hands of the chimpanzee. He could sit on the
ground with his legs wide apart. His gait was uncertain, and he
was apt to tumble; he ran with knees bent forward and legs
crooked; he was fond of hopping, and seemed particularly
ape-like when doing so. The great-toe of each foot stood off at
an angle from the foot, and thus gave the impression of a
prehensile toe. I thought at first that this deviation had its
origin in the fact that the child, on account of his uncertainty
in walking, wanted to get a broader basis of support; but I
afterward gave up that opinion, because I have never found an
instance of a similar habit in other children with diseased
heads, e. g., hydrocephalous children. Paul could speak but
little, could say hardly any words except _Papa_ and _Mama_, and
even these he did not until late learn to pronounce in two
syllables; he uttered for the most part only sounds that
resembled a grunt. He imitated the barking of a dog by the sound
_rrrrrr_. He frequently stamped with feet and hands, clapped his
hands together, and ejaculated a sort of grunting sound, just as
I have observed in the case of gorillas and chimpanzees.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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