which for the Stammbaum of
the species of men is of the highest
significance, namely that human languages
probably had a multiple or polyphyletic
origin. Human language as such probably
developed only after the species of
speechless Urmenschen or Affenmenschen
had split into several species or kinds.
With each of these human species,
language developed on its own and
independently of the others. At least this is
the view of Schleicher, one of the foremost
authorities on this subject.… If one views
the origin of the branches of language as
the special and principal act of becoming
human, and the species of humankind as
distinguished according to their language
stem, then one can say that the different
species of men arose independently of one
another.
Haeckel's view can be seen as a forerunner
of the views of Carleton Coon , who also
believed that human races evolved
independently and in parallel with each other.
These ideas eventually fell from favor.
Haeckel also applied the hypothesis of
polygenism to the modern diversity of human
groups. He became a key figure in social
darwinism and leading proponent of scientific
racism , stating for instance: [14]
The Caucasian, or Mediterranean man
( Homo Mediterraneus ), has from time
immemorial been placed at the head of all
the races of men, as the most highly
developed and perfect. It is generally
called the Caucasian race, but as, among
all the varieties of the species, the
Caucasian branch is the least important,
we prefer the much more suitable
appellation proposed by Friedrich Müller,
namely, that of Mediterranese . For the
most important varieties of this species,
which are moreover the most eminent
actors in what is called "Universal History,"
first rose to a flourishing condition on the
shores of the Mediterranean.… This
species alone (with the exception of the
Mongolian) has had an actual history; it
alone has attained to that degree of
civilization which seems to raise men
above the rest of nature.
Haeckel divided human beings into ten races,
of which the Caucasian was the highest and
the primitives were doomed to extinction. [15]
Haeckel claimed that Negros have stronger
and more freely movable toes than any other
race which is evidence that Negros are
related to apes because when apes stop
climbing in trees they hold on to the trees
with their toes, Haeckel compared Negros to
“four-handed” apes. Haeckel also believed
Negros were savages and that Whites were
the most civilised. [16]
However, Robert J. Richards notes: "Haeckel,
on his travels to Ceylon and Indonesia, often
formed closer and more intimate relations with
natives, even members of the untouchable
classes, than with the European
colonials." [17]
In his Ontology and Phylogeny Harvard
paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould wrote:
"[Haekel's] evolutionary racism; his call to the
German people for racial purity and
unflinching devotion to a "just" state; his
belief that harsh, inexorable laws of evolution
ruled human civilization and nature alike,
conferring upon favored races the right to
dominate others . . . all contributed to the rise
of Nazism."
In the same line of thought, historian Daniel
Gasman states that Haeckel's ideology
stimulated the birth of Fascist ideology in Italy
and France. [18]
Asia hypothesis
See also: Asian origin of modern humans
Haeckel claimed the origin of humanity was to
be found in Asia: he believed that Hindustan
(South Asia) was the actual location where the
first humans had evolved. Haeckel argued
that humans were closely related to the
primates of Southeast Asia and rejected
Darwin's hypothesis of Africa. [19][20]
Haeckel later claimed that the missing link
was to be found on the lost continent of
Lemuria located in the Indian Ocean, he
believed that Lemuria was the home of the
first humans and that Asia was the home of
many of the earliest primates , he thus
supported that Asia was the cradle of hominid
evolution. Haeckel also claimed that Lemuria
connected Asia and Africa which allowed the
migration of humans to the rest of the world.
[21][22]
In Haeckel’s book The History of Creation
(1884) he included migration routes which he
thought the first humans had used outside of
Lemuria .
Embryology and
recapitulation theory
Illustrations of dog and human
embryos, looking almost identical at 4
weeks then differing at 6 weeks,
shown above a 6-week turtle embryo
and 8-day hen embryo, presented by
Haeckel in 1868 as convincing proof
of evolution. The pictures of the
earliest embryonic stages are now
considered inaccurate. [23]
When Haeckel was a student in the 1850s he
showed great interest in embryology, attending
the rather unpopular lectures twice and in his
notes sketched the visual aids: textbooks had
few illustrations, and large format plates were
used to show students how to see the tiny
forms under a reflecting microscope, with the
translucent tissues seen against a black
background. Developmental series were used
to show stages within a species, but
inconsistent views and stages made it even
more difficult to compare different species. It
was agreed by all European evolutionists that
all vertebrates looked very similar at an early
stage, in what was thought of as a common
ideal type, but there was a continuing debate
from the 1820s between the
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