The Great Question of Man’s Origin
As to man’s origin, two main views may be said at present to contest the field. Has man sprung from a single or from several stocks? Do the races of men constitute so many members of one family, or are they four or more unrelated groups? One answer, formerly the accepted one, is based either upon the literal interpretation of Scripture or upon natural theology, and regards him as a distinct creation, separate from and superior to the remaining animals. The other, accepted by many competent authorities, regards him as descended from a hairy ancestor, more or less remotely allied to the anthropoid apes. This theory of his antecedents has been elaborated in profuse detail by Charles Darwin, whose Descent of Man forms the great storehouse of information and speculation on the question. In the beginning, according to the evolutionary view, man was apparently homogeneous—a single species, speaking a single primitive rude tongue (largely eked out by signs and gesture-language), and not divided into distinct varieties. At an early period, however, the species broke up into several races, now inhabiting various parts of the world.