Pace Two 



EVOLUTION 



January, 1928 



Man's Complete History 



By George A. Dorsey 



George A. Dorsey 



THE exact spot where Man was born is not known. 

 There are two versions as to the date of his birth. 

 One- — the Mosaic, as interpreted in 1654 by Bishop 

 John Lightfoot — says that "Man was created by the 



Trinity on October 

 23, 4004 B. C, al 

 nine o'clock in the 

 mornin g." The 

 other — the Book of 

 Nature — estimates 

 Man's birth at 80,- 

 000,000 B. C. 



Moses wrote the 

 Book of Genesis 

 about 1500 B. C 

 God began the Book 

 of Nature at the 

 Beginning of Eter- 

 nity; it will be fin- 

 ished at the End. 



Man at first was 

 so small he could 

 play hide-and-seek 

 in a needle's eye. 

 His name was Bac- 

 terium. He was 

 the only living thing. Land and 6ea were not yet fit 

 for other life — there was no food to live on. It was 

 Bacterium's job to make the world fit. For eons he 

 plugged away, turning rock into soil. 



The little Algae, half-brothers to Bacterium, helped 

 mightily, turning sunshine into food. 

 The pyramid of life had begun. 



Other chemical elements were taken up into the little 

 bodies. More millions of years and inconceivable labor. 

 Real protoplasm came to be. 



Meanwhile the earth had doubled in size and was 

 now fit to live on. Man was now a real cell. He could 

 move about, could multiply. He could make more 

 protoplasm — living matter, food. 



We think we work. In five years one pair of one- 

 celled organisms could produce 10,000 food-balls, each 

 the size of this earth. 



Even then Man was a better engine than he has ever 

 made; he could stoke, repair, adjust, increase and pre- 

 serve himself. He was more wonderful than the sun- — 

 the sun cannot reproduce itself. Man could, even when 

 he was only one-cell big — and at that so small that 

 billions of him could hide in a thimble. 



Many cells organized to make a body. This could dis- 

 tribute its work, save up for a rainy day; part could 

 rest while other parts worked. An epoch-making step. 



Marvelous progress from now on. Tryings on of 

 many bodies. Tryings out of new foods, new ways to 

 get food, new safety devices, new ways to avoid death. 

 Innumerable failures. But, in general, progress. 



From round — like a Jellyfish — Man became long — 

 like a Worm. He could tell right from left now, and 

 his head from his tail. A big step — especially when he 

 sprouted legs. He could go on journeys. He had blood 

 cells to get oxygen. Muscles. Ali- 

 mentary canal. Eyes to see with. 



Another epoch — about twenty mill- 

 ion years ago: Man became a Fish. 

 Jaws, gills, fins, scales. He began 

 to grow a skeleton — at first a mere 

 gristle shell to protect his tiny brain. 

 His skull today has not forgotten its 

 origin. 



Then Man started for dry land. 

 Developed lungs. Changed fins into 

 fingers and toes. A great step for- 

 ward. His name was Amphibian. 

 He liked himself so well he sang a 

 song, the first vocal music this earth 

 ever heard. Even today Mrs. Frog 

 ;annot find her mate unless he croaks. 



Man learned to love the sun: he 

 became a Reptile. Ten million 

 years ago. He had a big brain, a 

 four-chambered heart, warm blood. 

 He could breathe through his shell. 



Man lost part of his family here, 

 certain Reptiles took to the air and 

 became Birds. Not Man himself. 

 He stayed on the ground and per- 

 fected an incubator for his eggs and 

 built it inside his body so he could 

 carry it with him. He developed 

 milk and called himself Mammal. 

 He tried out several types of bodies, 

 kinds of teeth, and methods of loco- 

 motion. 



But the Eagle had a more perfect 

 body, keener vision, and better cir- 

 culation; it could travel faster and 

 instead of coarse hair had fine feath- 

 ers. Man decided he would fly. His 

 body was too heavy; he could only 

 carry it to the tree-tops. He decided 

 to stay there and be a Primate. 



Man now had the time of his life. 

 But he was top-heavy; he had more 

 brains than he could use in a tree. 

 So he climbed down, lett off his tail, 

 began to straighten up, and change 

 his name to ape. That was two or 

 three million years ago. 



He shortened his arms, lengthened his legs, straight- 

 ened up, balanced hi6 head; became Man. That was 

 probably one million years ago. 



(Another article by Dr. Dorsqy in next issue of Evolution) 



