CHAPTER XXXV 



MAN'S PLACE IN NATURE 



Classification. In our study of the classification of 

 animals we learned that man is a member of the mam- 

 mals, the highest group of vertebrates. The particular 

 class of mammals which includes monkeys, apes, and 

 man is known as the primates. In body structure all 

 the members of this class are very similar, the gorilla 

 being most like man. 



The greatest difference between man and the man- 

 like apes is not in structure but in intelligence. There 

 is a great mental gap between man and the most 

 intelligent of the apes, the chimpanzee! However, there 

 undoubtedly once lived on the earth races of men who 

 were of a much lower scale of mental development than 

 the present inhabitants. 



Differences between man and other primates. Struc- 

 turally there are some very apparent differences 

 between man and the other primates. Man is more 

 erect in position. The back of the head, the cranium, 

 is relatively larger in man, thereby balancing the head 

 on the vertebral column. The arms are much shorter ; 

 the thumb is well developed and can be opposed to the 

 fingers ; the great toe is smaller and can not be opposed. 



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