1296 



VARIETIES OF MANKIND. 



external and constantly-acting power. But 

 for this there is neither in the skeleton, the 

 ligamentous apparatus, nor the muscular sys- 

 tem of Man, any adequate provision ; so that 

 in any other than the vertical position, his 

 head, which is relatively heavier than that of 

 most Mammalia, would be supported with 

 more difficulty and effort than it is in any 

 other animal. 



The position of the face immediately be- 

 neath the anterior portion of the cranial 

 cavity, so that its front is nearly in the same 

 plane as the forehead, is peculiarly character- 

 istic of Man ; for the crania of the Chimpanzee 

 and Orang, which approach most nearly to that 

 of man, are entirely posterior to, not above, 

 the : face (see figs. 800 802.). It should 

 be remarked that in the young ape, there is a 

 much greater resemblance to man in this re- 

 spect, than there is in the adult ; for it is at 

 the time of the second dentition, that the 

 muzzle of the ape acquires its peculiar elonga- 

 tion and consequent projection in front of the 

 forehead ; and the whole cast of the features 

 is altered at the same time, so as to approxi- 

 mate much more closely to that of the lower 

 Quadrumana than would have been thought 

 likely from the inspection of the young ani- 

 mal only. This projection of the muzzle, 

 taken in connection with the obliquity of 

 the condyles, is another evidence of want of 

 adaptation to the erect posture; whilst 

 the want of prominence in the face of Man 

 shows that none but the erect position 

 can be natural to him. For supposing that 

 with a head formed and situated as at pre- 

 sent, he were to move upon all fours, his 

 face would be brought into a plane parallel 

 with the ground ; so that as painful an effort 

 would be required to examine with the eyes 

 an object placed in front of the body, as is 

 now necessary to keep the eyes fixed on the 

 zenith ; the nose would then be almost inca- 

 pacitated for receiving any other odorous 

 emanations, than those proceeding from the 

 earth or from the body itself; and the mouth 

 could not touch the ground, without bringing 

 the forehead and chin also in contact with it. 

 The obliquity of the condyles in the Qua- 

 drumana enables them without much difficulty 

 to adapt the inclination of their heads either 

 to the horizontal or to the erect posture ; but 

 the natural position, in the highest among 

 them, is unquestionably one in which the 

 spinal column is inclined, the body being par- 

 tially thrown forwards, so as to rest upon the 

 anterior extremities ; and in this position, the 

 face is directed forwards without any effort. 



The vertebral column in Man, although not 

 absolutely straight, has its curves so arranged, 

 that when the body is in the erect posture, a 

 vertical line from its summit would fall exactly 

 on the centre of its base. It increases con- 

 siderably in size in the lumbar region, so as 

 to be altogether somewhat pyramidal in its 

 form. The lumbar portion, in the chim- 

 panzee and orang, is by no means of the same 

 proportional strength, and contains but four 

 vertebrae instead of five. The processes for 



the attachment of the dorso-spinal muscles to 

 this part, are peculiarly large and strong in 

 man ; and this arrangement is obviously 

 adapted to overcome the tendency, which the 

 weight of the trunk in front of the column 

 would have to draw it forwards and down- 

 wards. On the other hand, the spinous pro- 

 cesses of the cervical and dorsal vertebra?, 

 which in other Mammalia are large and strong, 

 for the attachment of the ligaments and 

 muscles that support the head, have compara- 

 tively little prominence in man, whose head is 

 balanced upon the summit of the column. 



The base of the human vertebral column 

 is placed on a sacrum of greater proportional 

 breadth than that of any other animal ; 

 this sacrum is fixed between two widely 

 expanded ilia ; and the whole pelvis is thus 

 peculiarly broad. In this manner the fe- 

 moral articulations are thrown very far apart, 

 so as to give a wide basis of support ; 

 and by the oblique direction of the axis of 

 the pelvis, the weight of the body is trans- 

 mitted almost vertically from the top of the 

 sacrum to the upper part of the thigh bones. 

 The pelvis of the anthropoid apes is very 

 differently constructed. That of the orang, 

 for example, is much longer and narrower ; 

 its alae extend upwards rather than outwards, 

 so that the space between the lowest ribs and 

 the crest of the iliac bones is much less than 

 in man ; their surfaces are nearly parallel 

 to that of the sacrum, which is itself longer 

 and narrower ; and the axis of the pelvis 

 is nearly parallel with that of the verte- 

 bral column. The position of the human 

 femur, in which its head is most securely 

 retained in its deep acetabulum, is that 

 which it has when supporting the body in 

 the erect attitude ; in the chimpanzee and 

 orang, its analogous position is at an oblique 

 angle to the long axis of the pelvis, so that the 

 body leans forwards in front of it ; in many of 

 the four-footed Mammalia, as the elephant, 

 it makes a right angle with the vertebral 

 column ; and in several others, as the horse, 

 ox, &c., the angle which it makes with the 

 axis of the pelvis and vertebral column is 

 acute. In this respect, then, the skeleton of 

 man presents an adaptation to the erect pos- 

 ture, which is exhibited by that of no other 

 mammal. 



The lower extremities of Man are remark- 

 able for their length, which is proportionally 

 greater than that which we find in any other 

 mammalia, excepting the kangaroo and a few 

 other leaping animals. The chief difference 

 in their proportional length, between man and 

 the semi-erect apes, is seen in the thigh ; and 

 from the relative length of this part in him, 

 and the comparative shortness of his anterior 

 extremities, it happens that the hands of Man, 

 when he is standing erect, only reach to the 

 middle of his thighs, whilst in the Chimpanzee 

 they hang on a level with the knees, and in 

 the Orang they descend to the ancles. The 

 human femur is distinguished by its form and 

 position, as well as by its length. The obli- 

 quity of its neck still further increases the 



