1907.] on Dexterity and the Bend Sinister. 629 



and in some American rifled arrow-heads, being due to the manner 

 of chipping and being most in accordance with their being held in 

 the left hand and chipped bj the right." And the view that the 

 cave-dwellers were right-handed is corroborated by the observation 



Fig. 14. Engraving of Auroch's Hunt. 



of Dr. Lehmann-Xitsche that the clavicle and long bones of the 

 right upper limb in the remains of prehistoric man in Bavaria, 

 are distinctly heavier and more massive than the corresponding 

 bones of the opposite side. Within certain limits, the preponderant 

 use of any part leads to its preponderant development, and so we may 

 infer that these men of Southern Bavaria used their right fore-limbs 

 more than theii' left. 



It appears certain that right -handedness was a characteristic of 

 man at a very early period of his evolution; but it was perhaps in 

 very remote times a less marked characteristic than it has since 

 become, for civilisation has of course in its progress made ever- 

 increasing demand on manual dexterity, and has put a premium on 

 differentiation of function in the two hands. 



But can we go beyond man ? Have we any indications of right 

 and left handedness amongst the lower animals ? On that point 

 opinions are divided. Dr. Ogle, who wrote on Dextral Pre-eminence 

 in 1S71, was convinced that monkeys are, as a rule, right-handed. 

 Of 2o monkeys whom he watched he found 20 right-handed and 3 

 left-handed, and Mr. Osawa of Tokio and several German and 

 American observers who have independently investigated the matter, 

 have supported Dr. Ogle in his view. But it must be confessed that 

 the tokens of right-handedness accepted by these observers were 

 somewhat faint and ambiguous, and one is not therefore surprised to" 

 find Professor Cunnyngham, after familiar intercourse for a number 

 of years with the higher apes in the Dublin Zoological Gardens, 

 differing from these authorities. " I have never been able," he says, 

 " to satisfy myself that they show any decided preference for one arm 

 over the other." 



Soon after Dr. Ogle wrote, I made a few observations, and was 

 inclined tcj agree with him, and during the last three months, through 

 the kindness of Mr. Thomson, I have had observations made by the 

 custodian of the monkey house at Ptegent's Park. He is an adept in 

 monkey manners and free from scientific predilections, and his decided 



