i899 S. S. BUCKMAN — HUMAN BABIES 97 



hand — a character very likely to arise in an animal accus- 

 tomed to hold by both hands at once to a branch. Next 

 the flower pot has been picked up by dabbing down the 

 hand on to the rim — the action which a monkey would 

 use in catching at a branch : the thumb has not been 

 brought into play as in an adult ; but the fingers have 

 been made to hold the flower pot between themselves 

 and the palm of the hand. 



The child has got hold of the flower pot just as an 

 arboreal animal like a monkey would get hold of a branch. 

 In fig. 6, again, where the child is grasping a stick, the 

 thumb is very obviously not employed. 



Now the fact that the thumb is not used, which at first 

 sight seems remarkable, is the strongest piece of evidence 

 for the Simian ancestry. The fingers are quite sufficient 

 for tree-climbing purposes; and the more arboreal a 

 monkey becomes the less service does he make of the 

 thumb. " The most arboreal monkeys in the world, 

 namely, Ateles in America, Colobiis in Africa, and Hylo- 

 bates in Asia, are either thumbless or their toes partially 

 cohere, so that their Hmbs are converted into mere grasp- 

 ing hooks."* Also in arboreal animals like the Squirrel 

 and the Dormouse the thumb has practically dis- 

 appeared. It may be known, then, that the pre-human 

 ancestor gave up living an arboreal life before there 

 was time enough for abortion of the thumb. Yet the 

 arboreal life lasted long enough to give a very noticeable 

 character to a baby's hands. 



Thus from the arboreal life it has inherited the habit of 

 keeping the hands in a semi-clasped attitude. Fig. 5 

 illustrates this very well. Fig. 8 also shows the same 

 character to a certain extent. In fig. 10 the idea of grasp- 

 ing something may be noted. And in fig. 2 the instinctive 



* Darwin, " Descent of Man, " Ch. 11. 



