|
|
Zypro Gorgy Dectorum 11
Page 06
Many were the wonderful things which had been found in digging near Cuzco; but most interesting of all to me were the deformed crania--some flattened to almost an incredible extent on the top, others elongated backward to an amazing degree, others still with the central part of the skull deeply depressed, so as to form two globular swellings at the sides. Others, again, had been squeezed so as to form an angular ridge longitudinally on the summit. One skull particularly interested me, which had a pronounced elongation backward, and a dent just above the forehead which must have been caused by tying the cranium while young and still in a soft condition. Most of the skulls were of gigantic size when compared with those of modern times. The lower part was under-developed. Many of them possessed magnificent teeth.
In animals like sea-anemones and jellyfishes the general symmetry of the body is radial; that is to say, there is no right or left, and the body might be halved along many planes. It is a kind of symmetry well suited for sedentary or for drifting life. But worms began the profitable habit of moving with one end of the body always in front, and from worms to man the great majority of animals have bilateral symmetry. They have a right and a left side, and there is only one cut that halves the body. This kind of symmetry is suited for a more strenuous life than radial animals show; it is suited for pursuing food, for avoiding enemies, for chasing mates. And _with the establishment of bilateral symmetry must be associated the establishment of head-brains_, the beginning of which is to be found in some simple worm-types.
|