The Origin of Man and of His SuperstitionsRead, Carveth
Philosophy
The Origin of Man and of His Superstitions
Read, Carveth
Animism; Human beings -- Origin; Magic; Superstition; Totemism
(5) Along with specialisation of the hands went a reduction in
the length and massiveness of the arms; and this must have been
disadvantageous in directly grappling with prey. But it was necessary
to the runner in order to lessen the weight and cumbersomeness of
the upper part of the body and to improve his balance and agility.
The change may also have been beneficial by affording physiological
compensation for the lengthening and strengthening of the legs. And as
soon as unwrought stones and clubs came into use there was mechanical
compensation for the shortening of the arms. The result is an adaptive
co-ordination of the total structure to the life of a two-footed hunter.
(6) Darwin says: “The early male forefathers of Man were, as previously
stated, probably furnished with great canine teeth; but as they
gradually acquired the habit of using stones, clubs, or other weapons,
for fighting with their enemies or rivals, they would use their jaws
and teeth less and less. In this case the jaws, together with the
teeth, would become reduced in size, as we may feel almost sure from
numerous analogous cases.”
(7) Hence the profile began to approach the orthognathous type; and it
progressed further in that direction on account of accompanying changes
in the skull. The skull became less thick and rough, (_a_) because, as
the hands (using weapons) superseded the teeth in fighting, jaws and
neck grew less massive, and their muscles no longer needed such solid
attachments; (_b_) because the head was less liable to injury when no
longer used as the chief organ in combat. At the same time the skull
slowly increased in capacity and became vaulted to make room for the
brains of an animal, which (as we shall see) acquired much knowledge
(parietal association area) and lived by the application of its
knowledge to the co-ordination of increasingly complex and continuous
activities (anterior association area).[5]
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