﻿870 
  Forty-seventh 
  Report 
  on 
  the 
  State 
  Museum. 
  

  

  union 
  with 
  the 
  fibula 
  and 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  weight 
  of 
  the 
  body, 
  

   increased 
  by 
  the 
  velocity 
  of 
  running, 
  tends 
  to 
  break 
  or 
  bend 
  it." 
  

   Compared 
  with 
  modern 
  tibia, 
  it 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  the 
  prolongation 
  of 
  

   bone 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  the 
  interroseus 
  ridge 
  is 
  seldom 
  much 
  in 
  excess, 
  

   while 
  the 
  backward 
  prolongation 
  is 
  generally 
  present 
  and 
  pro- 
  

   nounced 
  ; 
  still, 
  when 
  a 
  series 
  of 
  platycnemic 
  tibiae 
  is 
  compared, 
  

   one 
  with 
  another, 
  the 
  relative 
  amount 
  of 
  surface, 
  available 
  for 
  

   the 
  insertion 
  of 
  muscles, 
  in 
  front 
  of 
  and 
  behind 
  this 
  ridge, 
  shows 
  

   much 
  variation. 
  According 
  to 
  the 
  view 
  of 
  Manouvrier 
  those 
  

   tibia, 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  character 
  is 
  most 
  pronounced, 
  should 
  show 
  

   the 
  greatest 
  amount 
  of 
  posterior 
  prolongation, 
  but 
  a 
  comparison 
  

   of 
  figures 
  4 
  and 
  5 
  shows 
  that 
  such 
  is 
  not 
  necessarily 
  the 
  case. 
  

   Finding 
  this 
  platycnemism 
  absent 
  in 
  the 
  bones 
  of 
  infants 
  and 
  

   children, 
  more 
  frequent 
  and 
  more 
  pronounced 
  in 
  the 
  males, 
  but 
  

   entirely 
  absent 
  in 
  a 
  large 
  percentage 
  of 
  individuals, 
  he 
  reasoned 
  

   that 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  necessarily 
  an 
  acquired 
  character. 
  

  

  What 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  more 
  plausible 
  explanation 
  has 
  been 
  reached 
  

   by 
  approaching 
  the 
  question 
  from 
  another 
  direction. 
  If 
  found 
  

   inconsistent 
  with 
  known 
  facts, 
  or 
  those 
  to 
  be 
  discovered, 
  it 
  has 
  

   the 
  present 
  advantage 
  of 
  most 
  satisfactorily 
  accounting 
  for 
  

   this 
  and 
  other 
  structures 
  in 
  early 
  man 
  and 
  their 
  later 
  occurrences 
  

   in 
  prehistoric 
  and 
  modern 
  races. 
  We 
  have 
  in 
  both 
  man 
  and 
  the 
  

   higher 
  apes 
  a 
  group 
  of 
  associated 
  characters 
  ; 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  those 
  

   discussed, 
  the 
  relatively 
  greater 
  length 
  of 
  the 
  forearm, 
  the 
  deforma- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  pelvis, 
  the 
  posterior 
  position 
  of 
  the 
  foramen 
  magnum, 
  

   etc. 
  A 
  single 
  character 
  in 
  common 
  might 
  be 
  considered 
  a 
  mere 
  

   coincidence 
  but 
  an 
  entire 
  group 
  of 
  them 
  demands 
  some 
  explana- 
  

   tion. 
  That 
  man 
  has 
  descended 
  from 
  the 
  apes, 
  as 
  we 
  now 
  know 
  

   them, 
  is 
  not 
  tenable, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  structural 
  peculiarities 
  could 
  

   not 
  have 
  been 
  directly 
  inherited 
  by 
  man 
  from 
  these 
  apes. 
  Two 
  

   alternatives 
  remain, 
  either 
  man 
  has 
  descended 
  from 
  an 
  ancient 
  

   man-like 
  ape 
  or, 
  independently 
  created, 
  he 
  has 
  passed 
  through 
  a 
  

   stage 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  an 
  ape-like 
  man. 
  For 
  the 
  purposes 
  of 
  this 
  paper 
  

   it 
  matters 
  but 
  little 
  which 
  the 
  reader 
  is 
  disposed 
  to 
  accept. 
  The 
  

   similarities 
  in 
  structure 
  are 
  believed 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  brought 
  about 
  by 
  

   corresponding 
  similarities 
  in 
  life 
  habits, 
  and 
  if 
  the 
  theory 
  of 
  descent 
  

   (better 
  "ascent") 
  is 
  accepted, 
  these 
  habits 
  are 
  believed 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  

   continued 
  beyond 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  the 
  ape 
  received 
  the 
  " 
  breath 
  of 
  

   life 
  " 
  and 
  became 
  man. 
  The 
  one 
  common 
  habit, 
  capable 
  of 
  suffi- 
  

  

  