^8 THE DESCENT OF MAN 



an ancient form which possessed many characters common 

 to the Gatarrhine and Platyrhine monkeys, other characters 

 in an intermediate condition, and some few, perhaps, distinct 

 from those now found in either group. And as man from a 

 genealogical point of view belongs to the Gatarrhine or Old 

 World stock, we must conclude, however much the conclu- 

 sion may revolt our pride, that our early progenitors would 

 have been properly thus designated." But we must not fall 

 into the error of supposing that the early progenitor of the 

 whole Simian stock, including man, was identical with, or 

 even closely resembled, any existing ape or monkey. 



On the Birthplace and Antiquity of -Man. — We are natu- 

 rally led to inquire, where was the birthplace of man at that 

 etage of descent when our progenitors diverged from the 

 Gatarrhine stock ? The fact that they belonged to this stock 

 clearly shows that they inhabited the Old World; but not 

 Australia nor any oceanic island, as we may infer from the 

 laws of geographical distribution. In each great region of 

 the world the living mammals are closely related to the 

 extinct species of the same region. It is therefore probable 

 that Africa was formerly inhabited by extinct apes closely 

 allied to the gorilla and chimpanzee ; and as these two spe- 

 cies are now man's nearest allies, it is somewhat more prob- 

 able that our early progenitors lived on the African conti- 

 nent than elsewhere. But it is useless to speculate on this 

 subject; for two or three anthropomorphous apes, one the 

 Dryopithecus" of Lartet, nearly as large as a man, and closely 

 allied to Hylobates, existed in Europe during the Miocene 

 age; and since so remote a period the earth has certainly 

 undergone many great revolutions, and there has been ample 

 time for migration on the largest scale. 



" Hackel has come to this same conclusion. See "tTeber die Bntstehung 

 des Menschengeschlechts, " in Virchow's "Sammlung. gemein. wissen. Vor- 

 trage," 1868, s. 61. Also his "Natiirliohe Sohopfungagesohiohte," 1868, in 

 which he gives in detail his views on the genealogy of man. 



" Dr. C. Forsyth Major, "Sur les Singes Fossiles trouvfe en Italie"; "Soe. 

 Ital. des Sc. Nat.," torn, xv., 18fa. 



