272 THE CASE AGAINST EVOLUTION 



the arms are short and specialized for prehension alone, while 

 the legs are long and terminate in broad plantigrade feet 

 specialized for progression alone. Man, consequently, is not 

 adapted to arboreal life. In the ape, the spine has a single 

 curve, and the occipital foramen (the aperture through which 

 the spinal cord enters the brain-case) is eccentrically located 

 in the floor of the cranial box; in man, the spine has a double 

 curve, and the occipital foramen is centrally located, both 

 features being in adaptation to the upright posture peculiar 

 to man — ''die zentralle Lage dieser Oeffnung," says Ranke 

 alluding to the occipital foramen of man, "m der Schddelbasis 

 ist filr den Menschenschddel im Unterschied gegen den Tier- 

 schadel eine in hohem Masse typische^ ("Der Mensch," vol. I, 

 p. 378.) In the ape, therefore, the vertebrae have an adapta- 

 tion producing convexity of the back, precluding a normal 

 upright posture, and enforcing progression on all fours. It has, 

 moreover, powerful muscles at the back of the neck to carry 

 the head in the horizontal position necessitated by this mode 

 of progression. In man "the skull has the occipital condyles 

 placed within the middle fifth, in adaptation to the vertical 

 position of the spine" (Nicholson), the spinal cord enters the 

 cranial box at a perpendicular, and the head balances on the 

 spinal column as on a pivot, all of which ensures the erect 

 posture and bipedal progression in man. There are, moreover, 

 no neck muscles to support the head in any other than the 

 vertical position. There are many other differences, besides: 

 the ape, for example, has no chin, while in man there is a 

 marked mental protuberance; man has a slender waist, but 

 the ape has a barrel-like torso without any waist; the ape 

 has huge bony ridges for the attachment of muscles, e.g. the 

 sagittal crest, the superciliary ridges, etc., while in man such 

 features are practically absent. 



Ranke has given a very good summary of the chief anatom- 

 ical differences between man and the anthropoid apes: "The 

 gorilla's head leaning forward, hangs down from the spinal 

 column, and his chinless snout, equipped with powerful teeth, 



