The Sifting-out Process 219 



happened so often in evolution, the one race, after 

 having had a strong grip for a long time, disap- 

 peared, while the other race survived and made head- 

 way. Neanderthal Man had his day and then shuffled 

 off the stage. He left no descendants whatsoever. 

 Even if the two species occasionally crossed when 

 they were living synchronously — a possibility that 

 cannot be dogmatically denied — there is no founda- 

 tion for the hypothesis of blending. Some isolated 

 features suggestive of the Neanderthal type are occa- 

 sionally seen to-day in secluded places, but these 

 rehabilitations of the primitive are probably due to 

 a re-awakening of certain structural items character- 

 istic of the remote ancestral stock of Homo, in which 

 the Neanderthal Man and the Modern Man had a 

 common origin. 



Two impressive facts stand out. In the first place, 

 in the divergence of Neanderthal Man from the Homo 

 stem and his subsequent elimination we have a vivid 

 illustration of what we have called "the sifting-out 

 process." It is a common method in organic evolution, 

 but we realize it more when it comes near ourselves. 

 Considered in the light of the whole, it is suggestive 

 of "an increasing purpose." In the second place, our 

 picture of Man's emergence must include the fact 

 that for a time the highest living being was the Nean- 

 derthal species. The Neanderthal men were at the 

 top of the genealogical tree. They lasted for a long 

 time, took a strong grip of things, and then, some- 

 what suddenly, vanished, perhaps only 20,000 years 

 ago. Who can help asking whether from amidst our 



