E— GEOGRAPHY iii 



Turning to Fig. 5 B, we find the same process illustrated in the evolu- 

 tion of the Artio-dactyls (or even-toed mammals) based on data given by 

 Matthew (1915). The antelopes are earliest and are displaced farthest 

 from the centre. The sheep are latest and still characterise the common 

 cradleland. The fossil strata are in accord, using the palaeontologist's 

 ' Law of Superposition.' No biologist doubts that the zones and strata 

 in the case of these mammals indicate the order of migration and of 

 evolution for the Artio-dactyls. 



The writer believes that primitive man was differentiated into the five 

 major races long before the later races reached Western Europe. This 

 evolution almost certainly took place in Asia and occurred before the last 

 Ice Age. It certainly far antedated early Neolithic times. ^ Hence early 

 man of such a primitive type can surely be considered as obeying the same 

 laws of migration as the higher mammals. If now the pre-Columbian 

 distribution of the major races (Negro, Mediterranean and Alpine) be 

 plotted in a block diagram (Fig. 5 C), we find a series of zones and strata 

 closely resembling the two already charted. It is difficult to escape from 

 the conclusion that the centre of Asia is the commdn cradleland where 

 evolution progressed most actively in the case of primitive man — just as 

 Matthew has shown it progressed most actively here to produce new types 

 of the earlier mammals. Indeed, we can almost exactly parallel the spread 

 of the rhinoceros from Asia with the spread of the negroes, while the spread 

 of the Pleistocene Equidae is the same as that of Alpine man (Matthew, 

 Figs. 20 and 17). 



The centre of stimulus in Fig. 5 A was the commercial progress in the 

 city. In the case of the mammals and man it was the stimulating climate 

 of south central Asia. I have shown in a number of books and papers 

 (see bibliography) that this region in the past has been characterised to a 

 marked degree by such climatic features, but lack of space prevents my 

 covering this ground again. 



C 3. Corridors into the Continent. 



It is of considerable interest to use our knowledge of the relative 

 accessibility of the other continents from Central Asia, and to see how 

 the consequent migrations agree with the ' Zones and Strata ' hypothesis. 



Most anthropologists accept Asia as the cradleland of the later, i.e. the 

 Alpine, Mediterranean and Australoid, Races. If we are to assume that 

 the earlier negroes or negritoes evolved in Africa, then we are faced with 

 several cumbrous inconsistencies. Where did the negroes (and negritoes) 

 of Melanesia and thereabouts come from } If Africa is suggested, the 

 obvious reply is that it is far simpler to assume that both African and 

 Melanesian negroes come from south Asia, i.e. the same centre of racial 

 evolution as did the other races. Moreover, the ' Zones and Strata ' hypo- 

 thesis leads us to believe (even if this be not actually proven) that primitive 

 races persist in the marginal lands, precisely where they did not evolve. 



1 It is probable that the first Alpine peoples reached Fiance (Solutre, etc.) 

 in Aurignacian times [vide A. Keith) ; and Koeppen dates this as far back as 

 74,000 years ago. Neolithic times in France were only 8,066 years ago (Keith 

 1931 and Koeppen 1932). 



