''The March of Progress'',
originally titled ''The Road to Homo Sapiens'', is an illustration that presents 25 million years of
human evolution
Human evolution is the evolutionary process within the history of primates that led to the emergence of '' Homo sapiens'' as a distinct species of the hominid family, which includes the great apes. This process involved the gradual development o ...
. It was created for the ''Early Man'' volume of the ''
Life Nature Library'', published in 1965, and drawn by the artist
Rudolph Zallinger.
It has been viewed as a picture of the discredited theory,
orthogenesis
Orthogenesis, also known as orthogenetic evolution, progressive evolution, evolutionary progress, or progressionism, is an obsolete biological hypothesis that organisms have an innate tendency to evolve in a definite direction towards some go ...
, that evolution is progressive.
As such, it has been widely
parodied and imitated to create images of progress of other kinds.
The picture of progress in evolution was anticipated by
Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The stori ...
's 1863 ''
Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature
''Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature'' is an 1863 book by Thomas Henry Huxley, in which he gives evidence for the evolution of humans and apes from a common ancestor. It was the first book devoted to the topic of human evolution, and discusse ...
''.
Illustration
Context
The illustration is part of a section of text and images commissioned by
Time-Life Books
Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...
for the ''Early Man'' volume (1965) of the ''
Life Nature Library'', by
F. Clark Howell.
[Howell, F. Clark and the Editors of Time-Life Books (1965), ''Early Man'', New York: ]TIME-LIFE Books
Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...
, pp. 41–45.
The illustration is a
foldout entitled "The Road to Homo Sapiens". It shows a sequence of figures, drawn by natural history painter and muralist
Rudolph Zallinger (1919–1995).
[ The 15 human evolutionary forebears are lined up as if they were marching in a parade from left to right. The first two sentences of the caption read "What were the stages of man's long march from apelike ancestors to ''sapiens''? Beginning at right and progressing across four more pages are milestones of primate and human evolution as scientists know them today, pieced together from the fragmentary fossil evidence."][
]
Sequence of species
The 15 primate figures in Zallinger's image, from left to right, are listed below. The datings follow the original graphic and may no longer reflect current scientific opinion.
* ''Pliopithecus
''Pliopithecus'' {meaning "more ape") is a genus of extinct primates of the Miocene. It was discovered in 1837 by Édouard Lartet (1801–1871) in France, with fossils subsequently discovered in Switzerland, Slovakia and Spain.
''Pliopithecus'' ...
'', 22–12 million year old "ancestor of the gibbon line"
* ''Proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...
'', 21–9 million year old primate which may or may not have qualified as an ape
* ''Dryopithecus
''Dryopithecus'' is a genus of extinct great apes from the middle– late Miocene boundary of Europe 12.5 to 11.1 million years ago (mya). Since its discovery in 1856, the genus has been subject to taxonomic turmoil, with numerous new specie ...
'', 15–8 million year old fossil ape, the first such found (1856) and probable ancestor of modern apes
* ''Oreopithecus
''Oreopithecus'' (from the Greek , and , , meaning "hill-ape") is an extinct genus of hominoid primate from the Miocene epoch whose fossils have been found in today's Tuscany and Sardinia in Italy. It existed nine to seven million years ago in ...
'', 15–8 million years old
* ''Ramapithecus'', 13–8 million year old ape and possible ancestor of modern orangutan
Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
s (now considered a female ''Sivapithecus
''Sivapithecus'' () (syn: ''Ramapithecus)'' is a genus of extinct apes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills of the I ...
'')
* ''Australopithecus
''Australopithecus'' (, ; ) is a genus of early hominins that existed in Africa during the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. The genus ''Homo'' (which includes modern humans) emerged within ''Australopithecus'', as sister to e.g. ''Austral ...
'', 2–3 million years old; then considered the earliest "certain hominid"
* '' Paranthropus'', 1.8–0.8 million years old
* Advanced ''Australopithecus'', 1.8–0.7 million year old
* '' Homo erectus'', 700,000–400,000 years old, then the earliest known member of the genus ''Homo''
* Early ''Homo sapiens'', 300,000–200,000 years old; from Swanscombe, Steinheim and Montmaurin, then considered probably the earliest ''H. sapiens''
* Solo Man
Solo Man (''Homo erectus soloensis'') is a subspecies of ''H. erectus'' that lived along the Solo River in Java, Indonesia, about 117,000 to 108,000 years ago in the Late Pleistocene. This population is the last known record of the species. ...
, 100,000–50,000 years old; described as an extinct Asian "race" of ''H. sapiens'' (now considered a sub-species of ''H. erectus'')
* Rhodesian Man, 50,000–30,000 years old; described as an extinct African "race" of ''H. sapiens'' (now considered either '' H. rhodesiensis'' or '' H. heidelbergensis'' and dated much earlier)
* Neanderthal Man
Neanderthals (, also ''Homo neanderthalensis'' and erroneously ''Homo sapiens neanderthalensis''), also written as Neandertals, are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. While the ...
, 100,000–40,000 years old
* Cro-Magnon Man, 40,000–5,000 years old
* Modern Man, 40,000 years to the present
Intention
Contrary to appearances and some complaints, the original 1965 text of "The Road to Homo Sapiens" reveals an understanding of the fact that a linear presentation of a sequence of primate species, all in the direct line of human ancestors, would not be a correct interpretation. For example, the fourth of Zallinger's figures (''Oreopithecus'') is said to be "a likely side branch on man's family tree". Only the next figure (''Ramapithecus'') is described as "now thought by some experts to be the oldest of man's ancestors in a direct line" (something no longer considered likely). That implies that the first four primates are not to be considered actual human ancestors. Likewise, the seventh figure (''Paranthropus'') is said to be "an evolutionary dead end".[ In addition, the colored stripes, across the top of the figure, which indicate the age and duration of the various lineages clearly imply that there is no evidence of direct continuity between extinct and extant lineages and also, multiple lineages of the figured hominids occurred contemporaneously at several points in the history of the group.
]
Reception
The image has frequently been copied, modified, and parodied. It has been criticized as "unintentionally and wrongly" implying that " evolution is progressive". The image has been described as having a "visual logic" of linear progression. ''The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
'' called it "proverbial, much quoted or adapted, familiar to multitudes who have never seen its original version or heard of its maker". The image has become better-known than the science behind it.
With regard to the way the illustration has been interpreted, the anthropologist and author of the section, F. Clark Howell, remarked:[
Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002) condemned the iconology of the image in several pages of his 1989 book, '' Wonderful Life'', reproducing several advertisements and political cartoons that make use of the illustration to make their various points. In a chapter, "The Iconography of an Expectation", he asserted that][
The ]intelligent design
Intelligent design (ID) is a pseudoscientific argument for the existence of God, presented by its proponents as "an evidence-based scientific theory about life's origins". Numbers 2006, p. 373; " Dcaptured headlines for its bold attempt to ...
advocate Jonathan Wells wrote in '' Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth?'' (2002), "Although it is widely used to show that we are just animals, and that our very existence is a mere accident, the ultimate icon goes far beyond the evidence." The book likens a selection of evolution theory textbook topics to the cover illustration thus qualified.
Riley Black, writing for ''Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...
'', argues that the idea of a "march of progress", as depicted in the 1965 Time-Life illustration, dates back to the medieval great chain of being
The great chain of being is a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, thought by medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God. The chain begins with God and descends through angels, humans, animals and plants to minerals.
The great ...
and the 19th century idea of the " missing link" in the fossil record
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
. In her view, to understand life and evolution, "step one involves casting out types of imagery which constrain rather than enlighten." Writing in ''Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San ...
'', Black added that "There is perhaps no other illustration that is as immediately recognizable as representing evolution, but the tragedy of this is that it conveys a view of life that does not resemble our present understanding of life's history."
Parodies and adaptations
The ''March of Progress'' has often been imitated, parodied, or adapted for commercial or political purposes. The logo for the Leakey Foundation and the National Museums of Kenya features a small silhouette of the ''March of Progress'' image itself.[Barringer (2006), ''Op. cit.''] The cover of the 1972 Doors
A door is a hinged or otherwise movable barrier that allows ingress (entry) into and egress (exit) from an enclosure. The created opening in the wall is a ''doorway'' or ''portal''. A door's essential and primary purpose is to provide security by ...
album '' Full Circle'' references the ''March of Progress'', as does the 1985 Supertramp
Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...
album '' Brother Where You Bound'', while the soundtrack CD for the 1992 movie ''Encino Man
''Encino Man'' (known as ''California Man'' in France, Finland, Sweden, Great Britain, Asia, South Africa, and New Zealand) is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Les Mayfield in his directorial debut. The film stars Sean Astin, with a supp ...
'' shows an ape evolving into a skateboarder
Skateboarding is an action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation. S ...
. The December 2005 issue of ''The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...
'' depicts hominids progressing up a flight of stairs to transform into a woman in a black dress holding a glass of champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...
to illustrate "The Story of Man".
Predecessors
Thomas Henry Huxley
Thomas Henry Huxley (4 May 1825 – 29 June 1895) was an English biologist and anthropologist specialising in comparative anatomy. He has become known as "Darwin's Bulldog" for his advocacy of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
The stori ...
's frontispiece to his 1863 book ''Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature
''Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature'' is an 1863 book by Thomas Henry Huxley, in which he gives evidence for the evolution of humans and apes from a common ancestor. It was the first book devoted to the topic of human evolution, and discusse ...
'' was intended simply to compare the skeletons of apes and humans, but its unintentional left-to-right progressionist sequence has according to the historian Jennifer Tucker "become an iconic and instantly recognizable visual shorthand for evolution".
An illustration, with the caption "Evolution", showing two sequences of four images, each illustrating a gradual transformation of an animal into a human, appeared in the 1889 editionProject Gutenberg text
search for second appearance of the word "crusher." Title page image shows "New York: Charles L. Webster & Company. 1889. of Mark Twain's ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court of King Arth ...
''.
See also
* ''Dawn of Humanity'' (2015 PBS film)
References
External links
{{portal bar , Evolutionary biology, Paleontology, Science
Human evolution
Paleoart
Science in society
Science education
Infographics