THEORY OF EVOLUTION 495 



wider and higher. The Heidelberg and Piltdown men are considered 

 as contemporaries of about 500,000 years ago. 



A more recent type of European man is known from remains 

 (skullcap and several long bones) found near Dusseldorf, Germany, 

 about the middle of the last century. A rather complete collection 

 of the skeletal parts has since been made. This form is called Homo 

 neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) and is thought to have de- 

 scended from the Heidelberg man. There is division of opinion as 

 to destiny of this man. One group holds that he became extinct 

 sometime between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, during the Great 

 Ice Age in Europe. Another group of anthropologists contends that 

 the negroid and Australoid races of men are the descendants of this 

 man. 



There is a more recent Asiatic group known as the Cro-Magnon 

 man dated with the Old Stone Age of perhaps 40,000 years ago. 

 Some students of early man hold that modern races have originated 

 from this group. Some even suggest that Eskimos may be rather 

 direct descendants. There are fewer of the apelike features in this 

 type than in any of the others and apparently there have been no 

 striking changes in human features since the time of this group. 



From the paleontological evidence which remains, it seems in all 

 probability that the more primitive prehistoric man was apelike. 

 Too, it seems likely that men and apes have originated from a com- 

 mon ancestor. The heavy jaws, receding forehead, strong orbital 

 ridges over the eyes, pointed ears, presence of hair over the ears 

 and parts of the body are exhibited in some groups of modern primi- 

 tive men. There is a close resemblance between the skeleton of the 

 gorilla and the human skeleton. Other notable features of compar- 

 ison may be seen in that the arms of the human infant are propor- 

 tionally long and the grasp of the hand is exceptionally strong. 

 Also the large toe is freer and more prehensile in the infant human 

 than in the adult. 



Man is a rather generalized type of animal as compared with 

 some other mammals. Most of the parts of the body have remained 

 relatively unspecialized, and as a result there is a high degree of 

 adaptability, making it possible for men to live under many diverse 

 conditions and climates. However, man has advanced among ani- 

 mals to a greater degree than others because of the development 

 and use of intelligence. This development of the brain and its func- 



