In this book, Belgian scientist Jos Verhulst presents the most thorough research to date elaborating an evolutionary theory first set forth by Dutch anatomist Louis Bolk in the early 20th century. This theory is based on the proposition that dynamic principles inherent in the development of individual organisms are also at work in animal evolution as a whole. For example: A chimpanzee fetus is strikingly similar to its human counterpart: its cranium is rounded, its face flat, and its hair is restricted to its head. As it develops, however, the chimp diverges from its original, humanlike form, assuming specialized apelike features. In a detailed comparative study of numerous organs, Verhulst shows that, unlike the other primates, humans retain their original juvenile form. Standing Darwin on his head, he concludes that humans have not descended from apes but rather that apes evolved by diverging from a humanlike prototype. He also shows that our human tendency to retain our fetal form (fetalization, or retardation) is complemented by further development (hypermorphosis) of such organs as the legs, heels, forebrain, and larynx through which we attain our eminently human capacities of upright posture, thinking, and speech.

In the last chapter, Verhulst sketches a broad view of how retardation and hypermorphosis have worked together in animal evolution. He speculates, for example, that vertebrates evolved from invertebrates when ancient sea squirts (a form of tunicate, a marine invertebrate) retained their larval characteristics and developed them further as they evolved into fish. Sea squirt larvae are free-swimming and resemble tadpoles. Their brain includes a light-sensitive eyespot, and they have a rudimentary spinal cord. In their adult stage, however, they are sessile filter-feeders with neither nerve cord nor eyes. Verhulst postulates that primitive tunicates like the sea squirt retained their larval characteristics (through retardation) and evolved (through hypermorphosis) into fish, the first vertebrates. Following in a tradition as old as Darwinism, he proposes that, from the very beginning of animal evolution, these dynamics have led progressively toward the emergence of the human form. In this view, the gradually emerging human prototype is seen as the driving force and central trunk of the evolutionary tree, as the wellspring from which the animal world has sprung.

Contents

Foreword by Mark Riegner ix

Preface xv

1. Basic Issues in Human Evolution

Introduction
Goethe, the Goethean Tradition, and Darwinism
Karl Snell (1806-1886)
Wilhelm Heinrich Preuss (1843-1909)
The Primitive Aspect of the Primates
The Most Primitive Primate
Dollo’s Law
Ontogeny and Phylogeny

2. Fetalization and Retardation

Fetalization
The Paradox of Fetalization
Progressive Emergence of the Human Gestalt
The Paradox of Retardation

3. Growth and Retardation

Introduction
Retardation: The Primal Phenomenon
An Example: Growth in Men and Women
Cephalocaudal Growth and Hypermorphosis
Hypermorphosis
Distoproximal Growth
Hypermorphosis and the Distoproximal Growth Pattern
The Seven-Year Rhythm in Human Growth
Retardation and the Idiosyncrasies of Human Body Structure
Fatty Tissue
The Digestive Tract
The Breastbone (Sternum)
Goethean and Steinerian Synthesis
Proterogenesis (Schindewolf’s Theory)
Fetalization and Hypermorphosis: Steiner’s Contribution

4. The Animal Element in Humans

Atavisms or Evolutionary Potentials?
Darwin’s Tubercle
Zygodactyly
Supernumerary Nipples
The Tail
The Future of the Human Species

5. The Upper Limbs

The Hand
Basic Hand Movements
Hand Specialization in Anthropoid Apes
The Primitive Shape of the Human Hand
The Hand Index
The Thumb Index
The Digital Flexor Muscles
Arm Location and Ribcage Configuration
The Shoulder and Other Examples of the Progressive Emergence of the Human Gestalt
The Shape of the Shoulder Blade
Humeral Torsion
The Deltoid Muscle and Its Insertion Sites
Nails and Claws

6. Uprightness

Bipedalism
Balance in Human Posture
The Torso’s Center of Gravity
Knees and Feet
The Resting Position
Upright Walking
Upright Posture and the Head
The Mastoid Process
The Location of the Organs of Balance
The Effect of Upright Walking on the Birth Canal
The Vertebrae
The Cervical Vertebrae
The Thickness of the Vertebrae
The Sacral Vertebrae
The Foot
Pentadactyly as a Retardation Phenomenon
The number of phalanges in reptiles and mammals
Bokian Retardation
Bokian retardation in the fingers and toes

7. The Organs of the Thorax

The Cardiovascular System: Introductory Remarks
Protein and DNA Structure
Systemic and Pulmonary Circulation
The Cardiac Skeleton
The Embryological Development of the Heart
The Mammalian Heart as a Fetalized Organ
The Aortic Arch in Humans and Animals
The Human Lung as a Retarded Organ
General Comments on the Lungs’ Location within the Thorax
Retardation Phenomena in the Human Lungs
Respiration, Uprightness, and Speech

8. Human Reproduction

Rhythms in Human Reproduction
Reproduction and the Lunar Cycle
Seven-Year Periodicity
The Male Genitals
The Female Genitals
The Enigma of Human Reproduction
Descent of the Testicles
Menstruation
Hair Patterns and Sweat Glands
Milk

9. The Facial Skull

Introductory Remarks on the Shape of the Skull
The Teeth
Some Details of Dentition Patterns in Humans and Anthropoid Apes
Teeth and Speech
The Mandible (Lower Jawbone)
General Remarks
The Chin and the Change of Teeth
The Retarded Growth Pattern of the Human Mandible
The Temporomandibular Joint
The Cheeks
The Ossification Pattern of Facial Skull Sutures
The Conundrum of the Premaxillae (Ossa Incisiva)
Other Apparent Acceleration Phenomena in the Human Facial Skull
The Ossification Pattern of the Human Facial Skull as a Bokian
Retardation Process
Additional Comments on the Seven-Year Rhythm in Skull Development

10. The Phenomenon of Synergistic Composition

The Descent of the Larynx
Laryngeal Descent and the Fetalization of the Human Skull
The Brain
Retardation Effects within the Brain
The Forebrain as a Retarded Organ. Bokian Retardation
Cranial Flexure and Profound Retardation
The Tunicates as Overspecialized Vertebrates
The Echinoderms
Profound Retardation
The Phenomenon of Synergistic Composition

Afterword

Bibliography

Index

About the Author