Man's Physical Ancestors

Man's physical ancestor, the great ape-like animal which already stood erect have been known by different names to the scientists. In fact a series of these animals are known and the purpose of this section is to examine them and their way of life. Over time, during the evolutionary process different groups of apes appeared but were mostly partially bipedal. Later development saw the appearance of more direct ancestors which already to some extent stood erect such as the Homo habilis, then came Homo erectus, which to a considerable degree had characteristics which could make it qualify as a physical ancestor of man.

Later, we have early species of Homo sapiens such as the Neanderthal man who probably already bore human spirits within. Further evolutionary changes of course led finally to the appearance of man as he is today. But what are the behavioural characteristics of these ancestors? According to the scientists, the earliest physical ancestors would be members of the genus Australopithecus who could be considered to be direct ancestors because after them came those who through their ways of life could be said to have been early humans.

No tools have been associated with any of the Australopithecines but this genus had several characteristics which could mark as a physical descendant of man. To quote Abd-ru-shin again "Through the continuously striving forming there grew up in time the most highly developed animal which, by thinking, already made use of various aids for its sustenance and defence." The genus Australopithecus gave birth to the first tool-making species which has been called Homo habilis. There were several types of Australopithecuses but essentially they were bipedal and although earlier Australopithecines had canines, later ones already had the canines growing to the level of the lower teeth. Australopithecus, especially the later types is known to have a large brain volume which increased rapidly with the advent of Homo habilis.

Differences, however, began to emerge with the advent of Homo habilis and one of the most important differences was the appearance of tools. But could Homo habilis be an animal? According to the passage just quoted the highest animals already could think and as such made use of various aids for their sustenance and defence. Could these aids be tools? We read further in the Lecture "The Creation of man" that "Even today we can observe certain species of animals which make use of certain aids to secure and store their necessities of life, and which often show astounding cunning in defence." From this it is clear that if lower animals have been seen to have such attributes, how more so the highest animals.

From this it can be inferred that these highest animals had already through thinking been able to devise various means of survival which would include the use of tools. In the first place these animals could think, in other words, they had enough brain capacity to think, which could make them to some extent consciously devise better ways than their predecessors to hunt and gather. These animals therefore had several aids and means which they had devised as a result of their ability to think at their disposal and some of these aids would have been tools even though they may have been in the most rudimentary forms.

Therefore, from this it could be asserted that the evolution of the animal went on into the stage of tool making. Therefore, the very earliest tools in their most rudimentary forms would have been those of the animals. If they were to be the highest animals they had to possessed of abilities which would surpass those traditionally ascribed to animals, and if they were supposed to serve as an intermediate link they really had to possess qualities which would make it possible for them to act as effective bridges. They had to have something a little bit closer to the human. They had to have qualities and a way of life on which the human spirit can build in the further evolution. Although they were completely different species, there had to be a basis for amalgamation and absorption of the human spirit germs into such bodies.

After having developed the capacity to think and the abilities to make tools, the human spirits could now take it from there. Through this ability to think they already provided the opportunity for the development of those aspects of the brain which would prove very useful to man. If they had not developed this ability to think the basis would not have been formed for the formation anatomically of those parts of the brain which humans absolutely need for them to be able to unfold fully and express their volition under the pressure of the spirit. Something was therefore formed which could later be built upon.

If this bridge had been missing, it would have been impossible for humans to make use of this body. A gap would have existed which would have been impossible to fill up. The stepwise nature of the Laws of the Creator shows that this could not have been but the case. No imperfections and gaps can be seen in the Works of God. Everything gears into each other and this characteristic could also be seen in the course of evolution. Therefore, by the time man incarnated everything had already been prepared for him. He already had a functioning brain which would form a basis for carrying out spiritual volition into the earthly.

With his already functioning brain he did not depend entirely on the instinct which is a characteristic of lower animals. This highest animal therefore stood higher indeed than all other animals which depend entirely on their instincts. This is a very important evolutionary development because without this a basis would not have been formed for the entrance of man who was essentially a creature who was supposed to live above the instinct. The basis was therefore given to him for this and this indeed helped him further. Without this, a gap would have existed and the human spirits would have found it difficult to live in a body that did not offer them the help they needed for the control of their coarser instinct which even today remains very important. This basis allowed the spirit to act through the brain to do this.

Following on the heels of Homo habilis, we have Homo erectus and the various types of Homo sapiens. We have said above that there were various types of Australopithecuses but the later types showed considerable bipedalism, increased brain size, quasi-modern dentition, including the reduction on the size of the canines. These animals, however, were not associated with any tools which would show that they did not engage in an appreciable amount of thinking and as such depended entirely on their instincts. These could not possibly have been the highest animals. Through their way of life they offered no qualities that could have served as a basis for the entrance of man. With Homo habilis, we could say that we have one of the more direct physical ancestors of man.

This creature was also bipedal and probably more so than its predecessor, a great increase in the size of the brain and a more modern dentition. This creature was also called the "handy man" because its increased brain size and the modification that went with it gave it the ability to fashion tools for its activities. Through the use of these tools he was therefore a more effective hunter. It is not impossible that it was also a gatherer. Its stone tools, however, were rudimentary, used mainly for cutting meat. It was actually the first to use tools according to present knowledge.

Better tools are associated with the appearance of Homo erectus and we see more sophisticated tools adapted for better hunting and cutting, we also see the use of bones as tools. In fact, it has been discovered that later types of Homo erectus had far larger brains with volumes reaching close to present humans. It is called Homo erectus because it stood far more erect than all its predecessors and bipedalism was pronounced. It is possible that the entrance of the human spirit germs occurred during either the stage of the late Australopithecines or that of Homo habilis. With the appearance of these two the stage was indeed set for the entrance of man with everything he would need already in place.

In summary, man's physical ancestors already had all the qualities and characteristics that made the transition possible. They already stood on two legs, a phenomenon called bipedalism; gradually they stood upright; they could already think and as such could make tools for efficient hunting; the chances are that they had developed many other means for efficiently sustaining themselves, for example gathering.

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