T 



INTRODUCTION TO PART 1 1 1 



"^1 1 E <irc'at man-likr ixpcs lia\ t' at(|uirccl an c'spt'cial interest because (j1 

 w icicsprcaci iiotorirtx aroust'cl b\ thciii as tlu' su])p()st'cl lorehcars or 

 clirc'tt ancestors of man. i his reputation has crt'ated an attitude 

 toward the anthro|)()ids which has not always redounded to their credit. 

 Indeed, it often has inspiretl {\\v eloquence ot sentimental tirades, lor which 

 tlicy have been the c|uite uiidestaN inti objects. And yet, in such a number of 

 their structural ieatures and beha\ioral specializations do they resemble 

 their more exalted iieiuhbors in the human family, that a most unpU'asant 

 suspicion still lurks in the minds of many. A strani^ely persistent leeling 

 exists that there ina\ be sonu' fundamental truth in the alleged simian line 

 of human descent. In some this has produced an almost morbid curiosity 

 concerning the man-likt' apt's. Otiurs, pt'rhaps more scientilically inclined, 

 have assiduously followed tlu' matter in order to satisfy themselves concern- 

 ing the relation which these great apes bear to the races of man. 



At \arious times and by \arious authorities, each one ol the three great 

 anthropoids has been put in close relation to man. Thus, the orang-outang 

 has been considered tlu' nearest approach to human kind among the anthro- 

 poid apes. Such a \ie\\ was long suppnrted b\- Sir Richard Owen. Other 

 equalb important authorities place the chimpanzee in this close relationship 

 to tlu' human family, while man\, like the present writer, believe that this 

 j)osition should be assigned to the gorilla becaiise this animal, especiall\ in 

 the dillerentiation of the central ner\()us system, seems to correspond most 

 closel\ to the human t\|X'. All of the great man-like apes, however, have so 

 much in common with their higher coordinate, man, that the c|uestion as to 

 which of them is most humanoid becomes somewhat academic. It is prob- 

 able, moreo\er, that each of the higher primates, perhaps with the exception 

 of man himself, represents a cul-de-sac in the process of progressive speciali- 



477 



