222 ARBOREAL MAN 



would agree to name as a human being. We have now a 

 complexity of species, and even genera, of " human " 

 remains, and yet, as is indeed inevitable, we have no 

 criterion by which all will agree to judge such remains 

 as belonging to an evolutionary stage universally recog- 

 nized as being " human." Some, it is true, have boldly 

 taken this question in hand or, rather, have made 

 assertions as to when the change took place, and when 

 the ancestor of Man became definitely human. 



Munro has stated his conviction clearly, and, for him, 

 Homo sapiens came into being with the " attainment of 

 the erect position," and the consequent possession of its 

 accompanying benefits. But the statement of his case 

 needs examination: "With the attainment of the erect 

 position and the consequent specialization of his limbs 

 into hands and feet, Man entered on a new phase of 

 existence. With the advantage of manipulative organs 

 and progressive brain he became Homo sapiens." 



If it be these things which determine Homo sapiens as 

 a species, then Homo sapiens need not be limited to Man 

 the upright, for all these things are effects of an arboreal 

 life, and we know not to what lengths they had carried 

 evolution while the animal was still arboreal. Even if 

 we are to limit our ideas of " Man " to an animal which 

 walks upright upon its two feet, we must not fall into the 

 very usual error of ascribing to this upright posture all 

 those changes and benefits accumulated among the 

 branches. Different anatomists have assigned varying 

 importance to the upright posture, and its accompanying 

 blessings. Among the earlier of them it was customary 

 to see something very distinctive typically human, if 

 not partially divine in this posture. " In the external 

 conformation of man we immediately remark his upright 

 stature; that majestic attitude which announces his 

 superiority over all the other inhabitants of the globe." 

 This is the statement of William Lawrence, a man who 

 in 1820 was regarded by the authorities of St. Bartho- 



