94 THE WHENCE AND THE WHITHER OF MAN 



Thus among the anthropoids the orang is perhaps 

 most similar to man in cerebral structure, the chim- 

 panzee in form of skull, the gorilla in feet and hands. 

 No evolutionist would claim that any existing ape 

 represents the ancestor of man. The anthropoids 

 represent very probably the culmination of at least 

 three distinct lines of development. But we must re- 

 member that in early tertiary times apes occurred all 

 over Europe, and probably Asia, many degrees farther 

 north than now. In those days, as later, the fauna and 

 flora of northern climates were superior in vigor and 

 height of development to that of Africa or Australia. 

 It is thus, to say the least, not at all improbable that 

 there existed in those times apes considerably, if not 

 far, superior to any surviving forms. Whether the 

 palaeontologist will find for us remains of such anthro- 

 poids is still to be seen. 



But you will naturally ask, " Is there not, after all, a 

 vast difference between the brain of man and that of 

 the ape ? " Let us examine this question as fully as 

 our very brief time will allow. Considerable emphasis 

 used to be laid on the facial angle between a line 

 drawn parallel to the base of the skull and one ob- 

 liquely vertical touching the teeth and most prominent 

 portion of the forehead. Now this angle is in man 

 very large — from seventy-five to eighty-five degrees, or 

 even more, and rarely falling below sixty-five degrees. 

 But this angle depends largely on the protrusion of 

 the jaws, and varies greatly in species of animals show- 

 ing much the same grade of intelligence. In some not 

 especially intelligent South American monkeys the 

 facial angle amounts to about sixty-five degrees. In 

 this respect the skull of a chimpanzee reminds us of a 



