CHAPTER V. 



EVOLUTION OF INTELLIGENCE 

 AND LONGEVITY. 



AT some time in the past there was a com- 

 mon ancestor for man and the ape. We 



do not know that common ancestor, but we have 

 some concepts in regard to him. We are not con- 

 cerned here with how tall he was, how much hair 

 was on his body, or what color that hair may 

 have been. The immediate things under con- 

 sideration are those qualities of mind and mus- 

 cle which enabled him and his descendants to 

 meet the conditions involved in the struggle for 

 existence. 



Considering the things we have learned in 

 archaeology and palaeontology it is highly prob- 

 able that the nearest common ancestor of man 

 and the ape was less intelligent than is the ape 

 today. Still, for the sake of our argument, it 

 will be assumed that the ape of today is the same 

 in intelligence as was that common ancestor. 

 With that assumption we have the case of hu- 



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