496 THE EVOLUTION OF MAN 



many of the oldest domesticated animals, the common 

 fowl, camel, goats, cattle, and some of the breeds of the 

 horse, dog, and cat, being of Asiatic origin. This region 

 also is adjacent to Java, the home of the most ancient 

 known type of man-like animal. Furthermore this 

 continent was the center of many human migrations 

 which are known to have radiated into other regions. 

 Also certain features of man's present distribution are 

 best explained on this assumption. Finally, the ancient 

 climatic conditions of central Asia were such as to favor 

 the rapid evolution of the human ancestor. 



Earlier History of the Human Race. — The earlier 

 stages of human evolution are unknown. Nevertheless 

 there are many features associated with the geological 

 changes of Asia, a few million years ago, which when 

 studied in connection with the structure of modern man- 

 like apes and the fossil remains of early man, enable 

 the skilled investigator to make a shrewd guess as to 

 what actually occurred. In the first place the continent 

 was largely covered with tropical forests inhabited, it 

 is believed, by animals resembling, in a broad way, the 

 modern lemur, a monkey-like species. With the eleva- 

 tion of the land and the resultant lowered temperature 

 and increased dryness, these forests in large measure 

 disappeared. Some of the lemur ancestors persisted in 

 living in the trees, and their modern descendants are the 

 gibbons, orang-utan, chimpanzee and gorilla. Others in 

 the struggle for existence were compelled to abandon 

 the trees and make their home in open country. The 

 hind limbs became adapted for walking on the ground. 

 The hands were released from climbing and served more 

 particularly for gathering food and grasping weapons. 

 The brain developed in connection with the increased 

 facility of hand movement, and with the power of speech 

 the traits which characterize the human species became 

 established. This history appears highly fanciful per- 

 haps, but that it contains more than a grain of truth 



