THE EVOLUTION OF THE HUMAN FOOT. 523 



continued, and it is worth}' of note that, in 1878, Aeby showed that 

 the astragalus of the newl)ovn child is intermediate between that of 

 an adult man and that of a gorilla. 



Since that period the (jferman anatomists have followed a new road. 

 MM. Bardeleben, Pfitzner, and Thilenius have interested themselves in 

 the study of the supplementary and accidental bones of the tarsus 

 which the older anatomists erroneously considered as sesamoids, show- 

 ing their significance by noting their presence in other types of ani- 

 mals, thus opening to their successors a fecund mine of new reseai'ches. 



Finally, among the most recent, works, there remain to be cited 

 those of Schotl'hausen, who, in 1884, studied the foot of the savage 

 races of men; of M. Sarazin, who made remarka,J)]e studies of the foot 

 of the Veddahs, those ancient inlial)itants of the island of Ceylon, who 

 seem, from all points of view, to be the men who most nearly approach 

 the anthropoids of to-day; of MM. Manouvrier, Topinard, andTestut, 

 authors of man}^ studies of the skeletons of prehistoric men. 



One of our most learned colleagues, M. Volkov, has attempted a 

 monographic study of the skeleton of the human foot. He wished to 

 reach a final solution of the problem, and to show how, by investi- 

 gating a single organ, judiciousl}' chosen, it would be possible to prove 

 the arboreal habits of our ancestors, and he seems to have succeeded 

 perfectly. His work is still unpublished, but he has been good enough 

 to place at my disposal his manuscript and his remarkable collection 

 of drawings and photographs, permitting me thus to give 3X)U the 

 earliest glimpse of his work." I am going to give you the results of 

 his researches and to tell you, supporting myself on the arguments he 

 has furnivshed and upon his measurements, how we should regard the 

 human foot at the present time. 



The study of the human foot, undertaken for the purpose of throw- 

 ing light upon the problem of the origin of man, seems to me to be 

 rationally divisible into three parts: 



First. A part relating to comparative anatomy, in which the foot of 

 man in general, or that of men of difl'erent races in particular, is 

 examined and compared with that of other animals in order to deter- 

 mine the characters by which thev resemble each other. 



Second. An embryological part, in which the foot of man is exam- 

 ined during a period of its development in order to ascertain whether, 

 at any particular stage, it resembles the foot of animals. 



Third. A paleontological part, in which the foot of men of prehis- 

 toric races is examined in order to determine whether it possesses any 



« All drawings reproduced here are after the photographs or sketches of M. Volkov. 

 In the greater number of eases I have confined myself to stating the facts without 

 giving measurements. These would not be suitable for a lecture, and, besides, M. 

 Volkov will soon publish them in detail. 



