THE AGE OF THE HUMAN RACE IN THE LIGHT OF 



GEOLOGY^ 



By Stephen Riciiakz, S. V. D. 



St. Mary's CoU<(jc and Scmiiiarj/, Tcthny, 111. 



[With 3 plates] 



There is perhaps no problem upon ^Yluch we find more divergence 

 of opinion than upon this one of the age of the human race. Between 

 those who still adhere to an age of 0,000 or 8,000 years, as was assumed 

 by the older Biblical exegesis, and those who are exceedingly liberal 

 even with millions, we find all possible shades of opinion. Thus it is 

 impossible for a nonspecialist to find his way through this tohu 

 vabohu and to form a clear judgment. In consetjuence many have 

 only ridicule for all endeavors to give even approximate figures. The 

 disagreement even amongst the greatest authorities seems to them to 

 show that we can accomplish nothing toward the solution of this 

 I)roblem. However, the situation is not so bad as that, and although 

 there are many uncertainties which prevent the determination of 

 exact figures and which are the cause of the discrepancies among 

 scientists, at least a minimum age can be assigned to mankind. In 

 the following pages an attempt has been made to derive such a mini- 

 mum from the geologic facts and to show that the age of mankind 

 can not be less than a certain number of millenniums, although it 

 may of course be higher. 



MAN IN THE GEOLOGIC TIME SCALE 



It is impossible to express the age of mankind in the usual measure 

 of years, unless we know the position of man in the geologic time 

 scale; that is, the relative age of the human race must be found out 

 in terms familiar to geologists. In what geologic period did man 

 arrive on earth? To be more exact: In what geologic period do we 

 find the first unmistakable indications of man's presence? 



It is, first, an established fact that man was witness of the glacia- 

 tion in northern and central Europe. His tools and weapons and his 



' Reprinted liy poriniKsion, with author's revision, from publications of the Catholic 

 Anthropological Conference, vol. 1, No. 2, March, 1029. 



