Chapti:k XW'III 

 MAN— PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE 



PREHISTORIC man Is ^na(luall\ cnH'iiiinjj: from Iiis lon^s. obscurity. 

 It is now possihir to discern certain attributes of his which still live 

 and are as vital to further human progress as they were to iiis own 

 day on earth. His skeletal form is known from more than 350 speemiens ol his 

 fossil remains. These re\cal that strikiny harmony of structure which 

 pervades all human kind. But in them also may be detected manv subhuman 

 specializations and numerous \ariants representing, no doubt, only a small 

 portion of the human t'xperimental types discarded by nature belore Homo 

 sajjiens was at length deri\ed. 



All [phases of man's earliest existenct' are singularly pertinent to modern 

 thought and development. ^ et the past has shut in so closely In-hind us 

 that our racial consciousness is almost wholly restricted to an historical 

 world. This scotomatous \ie\\ of human existence loses sight ol the pre- 

 paratory biological episodes ujjon which our being depends. 



E\'OLUTioxAL Significance of the Ape-Like Characteristics of 



PKiMirn E Men 



\\ ith tlu' appearance oi' prehistoric man the curtain is lilted to reveal 

 a hinnan |)erspectlve of almost impenetrable depth. Looking through this 

 long vista of time it is ])ossible to sense, in some measure at least, the vast 

 distance man has come sinti' his human iourneying began. There are mile- 

 stones along this course which tell of critical turnings and partings ot the 

 way. A number of these critical jjoints are indicated by human rtmains. 

 Certain prominent features of man's skeleton denote that his course did not 



lead in ail directness to the standards of ad\anced human organization. 



925 



