THE DESCENT OB ORIGIN OF MAN 63 



In man, fhe canine teeth are perfectly efficient instru- 

 Ihents for mastication. But their true canine cliaracter, as 

 Owen" remarks, "is indicated by the conical form of the 

 crown, which terminates in an obtuse point, is convex out- 

 ward and flat or sub-concave within, at the base of which 

 surface there is a feeble prominence. The conical form is 

 best expressed in the Melanian races, especially the Aus- 

 tralian. The canine is more deeply implanted, and by a 

 stronger fang than the incisors. ' ' Nevertheless, this tooth 

 no longer serves man as a special weapon for tearing his 

 enemies or prey; it may, therefore, as far as its proper func- 

 tion is concerned, be considered as rudimentary. In every 

 large collection of human skulls some may be found, as 

 Hackel" observes, with the canine teeth projecting con- 

 siderably beyond the others in the same manner as in the 

 anthropomorphous apes, but in a less degree. In these 

 cases, open spaces between the teeth in the one jaw are 

 left for the reception of the canines of the opposite jaw. 

 An interspace of this kind in a Kaffir skull, figured by 

 Wagner, is surprisingly wide." Considering how few are 

 the ancient skulls which have been examined, compared to 

 recent skulls, it is an interesting fact that in at least three 

 cases the canines project largely ; and in the Naulette jaw 

 they are spoken of as enormous." 



Of the anthropomorphous apes the males alone have their 



1871, p. 366) blames me muoh for not having discussed the numerous oases, 

 which have heen recorded, of various parts arrested in their development. He 

 Bays that, according to my theory, "every transient condition of an. organ, dur- 

 ing its development, is not only a means to an end, hut once was an end in it- 

 self. ' ' This does not seem to me necessarily to hold good. "Why should not 

 variations occur during an early period of development, having no relation to 

 reversion; yet such variations might be preserved and accumulated, if in any 

 way serviceable, for instance, in shortening and simplifying the course of 

 development ? And again, why should not injurious abnormalities, such as 

 atrophied or hypertrophied parts, which have no relation to a former state 

 of existence, occur at an early period, as well as during maturity? 



*^ "Anatomy of Vertebrates," vol. iii., 1868, p. 323. 



« "GenereUe Morphologic," 1866, B. ii. s. olv. 



** Carl Vogt's "Lectures on Man,-" Eiig. translat., 1864, p. 151. 



« C. Carter Blake, on a jaw from La Kaulette, "Anthropolog. Eeview," 

 186Y, p. 295. Schaaffhausen, ibid., 1868, p 426. 



