The origin of man and of his superstitions / by Carveth Read.

  • Read, Carveth, 1848-1931.
Date:
1920
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The origin of man and of his superstitions / by Carveth Read. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    How big was Lycopithecus to begin with? The answer to this question must affect our view of his relations both to prey and to enemies. Inasmuch as the three extant anthro¬ poids and Man are all of about the same size, there is a presump¬ tion that their common ancestor was in stature superior to the gibbons and to the largest monkeys—in fact, a “ giant ” ape (to borrow a term from Dr. Keith). Dryopithecus “ was smaller than the chimpanzee, but much larger than the gibbon.” 1 Awaiting further evidence of fossils, which is much to be desired, it is probable, on the whole, that Lyco¬ pithecus weighed less on the average than modern man, but more than the wolf. As to competitors and aggressive enemies, there were snakes and crocodiles; but, confining our attention to carnivorous mammals, the time seems to have been favourable to the enterprise of a new hunter. By the middle of the Oligocene, the ancient Creodonts (primitive flesh-eaters which had flourished in the Eocene) were nearly extinct, represented in the deposits by their last surviving family, the Hyoenodonts. Ancestors of the modern carnivores, such as may be called by anticipation dogs and cats, derived (according to Prof. Scott) from the Creodont Family of the Miacidae, were becom¬ ing numerous, but for the most part were still of small size. Apparently, the primitive dogs and their allies must, for some time, have been more formidable adversaries than the primitive cats, especially if we suppose them to have already begun to hunt in pack; and this is not improbable, both on account of their structure and because several distinct varieties and even genera, now extant, have that habit—such as wolf, jackal, dingo, dhole, Cape hunting-dog, etc. In the Upper Oligocene of North America, occurs a dog as big as a large modern wolf, and in Europe the bear-like dog, Amphi- cyon, of about the same size, but said to have been clumsy and slow-moving. There were several other dog-like species ; they continue in the Miocene, and some of them increase in bulk; but true modern dogs or wolves (Canis) do not appear before the Pliocene. Then, too, first occur true bears (Ursus); hyaenas in the Upper Miocene. “ Cats ” belong to two sub- 1 A. Keith, The Human Body, p. 58.