The Concept of Whole Mendelism vs Darwinism:
The Genesis, the Origin of Man (Human Species) or the Beginning of Man as a new form of Life has a basis that lies outside the operation of Natural causes. Mendelism, ‘The Theory of Heredity’ formulated by Gregor Mendel provides the insights to study the problem of Man’s Origin.
On the basis of Mendelism, it can be said that Modern Man did not descend from Primates and is not truly related to other members of Hominid Family. Man’s relationship with other zoological species has to be explained on the basis of reproductive history and inheritance of biological traits.
I coined the phrase “Whole Mendelism” #WholeMendelism to claim that Man recognized as the Anatomically Modern Man, the species named Homo sapiens, sapiens arrived on planet Earth due to a special act of creation.
There are no Natural Conditions, no Natural Factors, no Natural Mechanisms, no Natural Processes, and no Natural Causes to transform any of previously existing members of Hominid Family to establish the reality of Human Species. To make the transition from an old species to a new species which is often called ‘Evolution’ or ‘Darwinism’, the breeding interactions of species involved must operate according to the Laws of Inheritance discovered by Gregor Johann Mendel, the Father of Genetics.
In this article, I describe the Laws of Inheritance and the problems that I encounter to verify Darwinism while using the Mendelian Principles of Heredity and Variation. For example, if evolutionary biologists or anthropologists claim that anatomically modern human species or its immediate ancestral species had reproduced with archaic hominids such as Neanderthals, the human genome has to include one complete ‘Haploid’ set of chromosomes normally occurring in the mature germ cell called Egg or Sperm which means 22 chromosomes (Autosomes), and 1 X or Y chromosome (Sex chromosome) derived exclusively from the Neanderthal genome. Secondly, the human population must include a few members that can be clearly identified as Neanderthal.
Mendel’s Laws of Heredity are in operation since the time of Origin of Life giving the opportunity to Carolus Linnaeus also known as Carl Linnaeus, (b. May 23, 1707, d. January 10, 1778) Swedish botanist, a doctor of medicine, to frame principles for defining genera and species of organisms and to create a uniform system for naming them.
Linnaeus published his Systema Naturae in 1735 and Genera Plantarum in 1737. He presented and explained his classification system that was based mainly on flower parts which tend to remain unchanged from generation to generation.
Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae gave a very precise description of man, placing him among the Class – Mammals, in the Order of Primates which includes the apes. Further, Linnaeus described the varieties of man such as The Asian, The African, and The European. He depended only on external characteristics to place objects into a rational set of categories. Thus Linnaeus formulated a Static Taxonomy in which Species of living things appear to be immutable in type throughout the ages.
The Species, the fundamental unit of Classification, consists of populations of morphologically similar individuals that share the similar collection of characteristics whose combination is unique to the Species. In other words, Species is distinguished by its ability to maintain its stability from generation to generation. Since Species is self-perpetuating, they maintain the stability of all other groupings like the genera, phyla, and families which remain fixed from generation to generation.
Apart from the observed stability of all recognized Species, the chemical molecules that are essential to compose the Living Matter, Material, or Substance called Protoplasm have always maintained their stability. For example, water molecule is the most important of all the biomolecules of Life and its chemical composition and properties are held stable over billions of years.
The Natural Law of Propagation:
The French naturalist Buffon in his monumental compendium on Natural History (44 Volumes), Histoire Naturelle General et Particulière – 1749-1804), described man as a zoological species.
Buffon determined species not by their physical appearances but by their reproductive history. Two individual animals or plants are of the same Species if they can produce fertile offspring. Species are known only through the history of its natural propagation. By the law of natural propagation, offspring will always be of the same species as the parent organism. A Species always breeds true. Its members always generate organisms which can be classified as belonging to the same Species, however much they vary among themselves as individuals within the group. The sub-groups, the races or varieties of Species are able to breed with one another, but diverse Species cannot interbreed.
Organisms different in Species cannot reproduce productively and if crossbred, like the horse and the ass, they produce a sterile hybrid like the mule.
The Natural Law of Propagation can be described as “The Law of Creation and Individuality.” Each kind of living thing always arrives as an original, distinctive, unique, and one of its own kind of object. No living thing has an independent choice of its own and there is no choice other than that of existing as a created object that can be identified as a specific individual thing with Individuality. Even with the use of the latest reproductive technology such as cloning, man cannot use the reproductive process to cause the existence of two identical living things. The term ‘Species’ must be used for purposes of ease and convenience as they are trillions of Individual living things with Individuality. In my view, the French naturalist Buffon had defined the term ‘Species’ correctly using the Natural Law of Propagation.
The Origin and Extinction of Species:
It will be interesting to note that a vast majority of species found on Earth have emerged suddenly and have disappeared suddenly. For example, Cambrian, first geologic Period in the Paleozoic Era witnessed sudden emergence of a great variety of marine animals especially trilobites and brachiopods about 600 million years ago. This “Explosion of Life” is aptly named ‘Cambrian Explosion’. Similarly, towards the end of Cretaceous Period, third geologic Period of the Mesozoic Era and the beginning of Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era, about 65 million years ago, a global extinction event called K-T Event was responsible for eliminating approximately 80 percent of all species of animals. Dinosaurs which reached maximum development became extinct while new forms of life appeared with new hereditary traits.
In my analysis, Life on planet Earth existed for over 3.5 billion years simply abiding by the Law of Natural Propagation without giving any chance to speculate the possibility of the arrival of a new species of life by transformation of a previously existing form of life.
In Darwinism, new species arise when, among the varieties of an existing species, certain intermediate forms become extinct, and the other circumstances are such that the surviving varieties now become more sharply separated from one another in type, and are able to reproduce their kind, and, in the course of many generations of interbreeding, also tend to breed true. This ‘Theory of Evolution’ is not consistent with Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance and Variation.
The Unit Character called ‘Gene’ conserves its identity during the process of reproduction which could be either ‘Inbreeding’, or ‘Interbreeding’. A species is always known by its reproductive history for the Unit Characters or Genes get propagated to the next generation during both inbreeding and interbreeding process.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs THEORY OF EVOLUTION: GREGOR JOHANN MENDEL (1822-1884), THE FATHER OF GENETICS. AT THE AUGUSTINIAN MONASTERY IN BRNO (1843-1868), HE CONDUCTED OVER 29,000 BREEDING EXPERIMENTS CHIEFLY ON GARDEN PEAS (PISUM SATIVUM).
Gregor Johann Mendel (1822-1884), Austrian monk noted for his experimental work on Heredity. At the Augustinian monastery in Brno (1843-1868) he conducted experiments chiefly on Garden Peas (Pisum sativum) using a controlled pollination technique and a careful statistical analysis of his results. He produced the first accurate and scientific explanation of ‘Hybridization’. Some evolutionary geneticists and evolutionary anthropology scholars have shared opinions claiming that the ‘hybridization’ of unknown, ancestral Homo sapiens with other species of the genus Homo such as Neanderthals, and Denisova may have resulted in the production of the anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens). Their views on the blending of hereditary factors are not supported by Mendel’s classic experiments in Hybridization. According to Mendel, inheritance is particulate. Distinct genetic factors combine to produce a certain somatic result without losing their separate identities. They can, therefore, be reassorted and enter into new genetic combinations in the next generation.
For the last two decades, the prevailing view in human evolutionary genetics has been that Homo sapiens first appeared in Africa around 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, and descended from a single lineage. However, according to new research from the University of Cambridge, modern humans are a result of two populations (potentially Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus) that diverged 1.5 million years ago and came together in an admixture event 300,000 years ago, in a ratio of 80:20%.
The Modern Synthesis updates Charles Darwin’s original theory of natural selection by integrating it with Gregor Mendel’s laws of inheritance and modern population genetics.
While classical Darwinism focused on organism-level observation and natural selection without knowing how traits were passed down, the synthetic theory explains evolution as a change in allele frequencies within a population’s gene pool driven by genetics.
Core Comparison
| Feature | Classical Darwinism | Modern Synthetic Theory |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Focus | Observable traits of individual organisms and species over time. | Gene pools, alleles, and microevolution within populations. |
| Mechanism of Heredity | Unknown; relied on flawed concepts like blending inheritance. | Particulate inheritance based on Mendelian genetics and DNA. |
| Source of Variation | Recognized natural variation but could not explain its origin. | Genetic mutations, recombination, hybridization, and gene flow. |
| Evolutionary Forces | Primarily Natural Selection. | Natural Selection, Mutation, Genetic Drift, and Gene Flow. |
Key Differences in Detail
Understanding of Heredity:
Darwin knew traits were inherited but lacked a physical mechanism, which led him to accept some mistaken blending ideas. The synthetic theory uses Mendelian genetics to prove traits are passed down as distinct units (genes and alleles) that do not blend away.
Origin of Variation:
Darwin could only observe the variations that already existed in a population. The synthetic theory identifies random DNA mutations and genetic recombination during sexual reproduction as the fundamental raw materials that create new traits.
Forces Beyond Selection:
Darwin viewed natural selection as the sole guiding force of adaptive evolution. The synthetic theory adds genetic drift (random changes in gene frequency, important in small groups) and gene flow (movement of genes between populations) as major contributors to evolutionary change.
Forces Beyond Selection:
Darwin viewed natural selection as the sole guiding force of adaptive evolution. The synthetic theory adds genetic drift (random changes in gene frequency, important in small groups) and gene flow (movement of genes between populations) as major contributors to evolutionary change.
The hypothesis of Hybridized Anatomically Modern (HAM) humans is fundamentally inconsistent with the Laws of Inheritance discovered by Mendel. If modern man is a product of Hybridization, the present, surviving human population would include a few surviving members of Neanderthals, Denisova, and other ancestral hominids such as Homo heidelbergensis, Homo erectus who successfully reproduced with an unknown, ancestral Homo sapiens species which got transformed into ‘HAM’ humans.
The Law of Biogenesis and The Law of Natural Generation:
The term ‘Generation’ means to produce offspring. The term ‘Propagation’ means to transmit hereditary characteristics by reproduction. The Law of Biogenesis states the Principle that living organisms originate only from other living organisms closely similar to themselves. It is ‘The Law of Like Generating Like’. A species always breeds true to its own species. Its members always generate organisms which are classified as belonging to the same species, however much they vary among themselves as individuals within the group. The sub-groups, the races, or varieties of species are able to breed with one another, but diverse species cannot interbreed. By the Law of Natural Generation, offspring will always be of the same species as the parent organism. Hence, species is self-perpetuating and maintain the stability of all other groupings like the genera, phyla, and families which remain as fixed from generation to generation. In Plant and the Animal Kingdom, a species distinguishes itself by its ability to maintain its stability from generation to generation. The Mendelian System of Heredity states that an inherited characteristic is determined by the combination of two hereditary units (now called genes), one from each of the parental reproductive cells or gametes(Sperm and Egg Cell). The term genome describes the complete haploid set of chromosomes of a sexually reproducing organism normally occurring in mature germ cell called egg or sperm. This number of chromosomes is characteristic of each species. Every human being arrives on planet Earth with an original, unique, distinctive, and one of its own kind of genome that has never, ever existed in the past, and would never exist again in the future. Sexual reproduction is a creative process which involves a type of cell division called ‘Meiosis’ that results in the production of Sperm or Egg Cell. Fertilization of egg cell by sperm always creates a new kind of genome while the number of chromosomes (Diploid set) that is the chief attribute of species is held constant.
The Genesis, Origin or The Beginning of Anatomically Modern Humans:
To explain the Genesis, Origin of Man, The Beginning of Man on the basis of Darwinism, demands the presence of two, identical, rare, mutant individuals (a male, and a female) to produce offspring and to establish an entirely new, modern “human population” in all geographical regions of the Old World. About 10, 000 years ago, modern humans may have shared the planet with a few surviving members of Neanderthals and other hominid species. Techniques of DNA extraction and genomic sequencing have advanced and find application in the understanding of the genus Homo. The claims about Hybridization of archaic humans such as Neanderthals with Homo sapiens find support from DNA studies of the current, members of the human population as compared to DNA sequences extracted from Neanderthal fossils. But those shared genetic traits are not of major significance and do not account for the morphological appearance of either Neanderthal or modern man. At the same time, it may be noted that 30 – 35, 000 years ago, Neanderthals disappeared from the fossil record. Similarly, Hominid Denisova, discovered in the Altai Mountains, Southern Siberia lived 41, 000 years ago. Homo sapiens floresiensis (Flores Man) of Indonesia suddenly disappeared 12, 000 years ago. Hominid Red Deer discovered in China lived 14.5 to 11.5 thousand years ago.
To make a credible claim about interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, we need to demonstrate the presence of traits characteristic of Homo sapiens sapiens in the DNA extracted from Neanderthal fossil specimens. It will be correct to claim that from Holocene Epoch or Series, approximately for the last 10, 000 years, modern humans constitute the only surviving members of the Hominid Family found on planet Earth.
Charles Darwin uses the term species to signify “a set of individuals closely resembling each other” – a class of plants or animals having certain characteristics. The French naturalist George Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) in his monumental compendium on Natural History (Histoire Naturelle General et Particuliere, 44 Volumes, 1749-1804) described the man as a zoological species. Buffon determined species not by their physical appearances but by their reproductive history. Two individual animals or plants are of the same species if they can produce fertile offspring. According to Buffon, a species is known only through the history of its propagation. Buffon opened the way to the development of Paleontology to discover lost species. The status of the Anatomically Modern Humans as a distinct species is verified as human populations consist of members that are genetically similar, interbreeding or potentially interbreeding individuals that share the same collection of inherited characteristics, whose combination is unique to our species. Diverse species cannot interbreed. Organisms different in species cannot reproduce productively and if crossbred, like the horse and the ass, they produce a sterile hybrid like the mule. Hybrid is the term for the offspring of a cross between two different subspecies or species. In Genetics, the hybrid is the term for the offspring of parents differing in any genetic characteristic.
Interbreeding or Hybridization means to produce offspring by crossing two individuals of unlike genetic constitution. The offspring of different races, varieties, species, etc., are called ‘hybrids’. If Neanderthal is one of the parents of Anatomically Modern Humans, the identity of the second Hominid parent has to be ascertained, and the characteristics of that parent are accounted for using Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance. The social and cultural behavior of anatomically modern man consistently displays a tendency that prefers and encourages ‘inbreeding’. The prevailing social and cultural norms of human society, in general, tend to oppose sexual behavior that may be identified as ‘interbreeding’. In the selection of a mate for breeding, the anatomically modern man prefers an individual who closely resembles the members of his/her own stock.
The concept of Hybridized Anatomically Modern (HAM) humans cannot be verified in the absence of any surviving members of Neanderthal, Denisova, or other Hominid population with whom the modern man may have reproduced about 10, 000 years ago.
Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance:
Mendel demonstrated the inheritance patterns through breeding experimentations. He discovered in 1866 hereditary factors or “genes” whose existence he deduced without seeing them. Mendel’s statistical analysis of his data provided the mathematical basis for modern Genetics. There are four principles of hereditary phenomenon discovered and formulated by Mendel:
1. The Law of Independent Unit Characters which states that characters such as height, color, etc., are inherited separately as Units,
2. The Law of Segregation which states that body cells and primordial germ cells contain pairs of such Unit Characters and that when gametes (Sperm or Egg Cell) are produced, each gamete receives only one member of each such pair,
3. The Law of Dominance which states that in every individual there is a pair of determining factors for each Unit Character, one from each parent, if these factors are different (heterozygous), one Character (the Dominant) appears in the organism, the other (Recessive) being latent; the Recessive Character can appear in the organism only when the Dominant is absent; hence in all crossbred generations, Unit Characters are shown in varying combinations, each appearing in a definite proportion of the total number of offspring, and
4. The Law of Independent Assortment which states that any one pair of Characters is inherited independently, notwithstanding the simultaneous transmission of other traits. This Law is modified by the discovery of Linkage and Pleiotropy. Linkage describes the tendency of some genes to remain together and act as a Unit or Linkage Group. In Inheritance, the Linkage Group of genes are generally found in the same chromosome. Pleiotropy is the condition in which a single gene exerts simultaneous effects on more than one character in the offspring.
About Genetics and The Constancy of Genetic Code
Genetics is an important aspect of many areas of Biology. Genetics helps in the study and identification of specific types of organisms; research in Molecular Genetics involves studies on chemical structure and functions of genes at the molecular level; Cyto Genetics studies location of genetic material in cells and the role of genes in cell division; Developmental Genetics studies the genetic function in embryological phenomena; Behavior Genetics studies the role of gene in regulating behavior; Population Genetics studies genetics in relation to the “evolutionary” process. Medical Genetics involves the application of genetic principles to the practice of Medicine such as the study of inheritance of diseases in families. Genetic factors cause many health disorders affecting man. Some human diseases are entirely genetic in origin and environmental factors play little if any part. This group of genetic disorders includes chromosomal abnormalities and so-called “Unifactorial Disorders” which are due to single gene defects or Mendelian factors. There are over 3 thousand of such unifactorial disorders. The mode of inheritance of such disorders is straight forward and follows Mendelian Principles. Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance have their practical applications in Medical Genetics.
However, the use of Mendel’s Principles in Population Genetics to verify The Theory of Evolution is highly controversial because of the speculative postulates about the transformation of an old species into a new species. Several single-celled Blue-Green algae, plankton, microbes, viruses, protozoans, insects, crocodiles, turtles, sharks, and other organisms are known to be existing on Earth from billions to several millions of years. The unchanging genetic code in all past and present members of these long-lived species permit the genes to have the same effects on their carriers from generation to generation. Because of the constancy of the genetic code, we can identify the existence of individual species which maintain their species-specific traits as per Mendelian Principles. There are numerous kinds of longest living species on Earth and their identification is possible because of their genetic codes have essentially remained unchanged.
THE ORIGIN OF THE GENETIC CODE IS UNKNOWN. THE VAST MAJORITY OF ORGANISMS BREED WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THEIR OWN SPECIES PROPAGATING THEIR OWN UNIQUE GENETIC CODES.
While describing Genetics as the area of Biology concerned with the study of inheritance, the process by which certain characteristics or traits of organisms are handed down from parent to offspring, I claim that a creative mechanism, a creative process or a creative operation is at work when Genetics accounts for variations in similar or related animals and plants. I emphasize the fact of all organisms existing as Individuals with Individuality. In Nature, living things have no choice other than that of existence as Individuals with Individuality. Even a mob of genetically identical (“Clones”) colony of bacteria of E. coli are experimentally proved to behave as Individuals with Individuality.
In higher organisms with cells that contain a Nucleus, the genetic material called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is carried by structures known as Chromosomes in the Nucleus, and the cytoplasmic structures are known as Mitochondria. The genetic material called RNA (ribonucleic acid) is found in the Nucleolus (present inside the Nucleus) and structures called Ribosomes found in the Cytoplasm.
The Ribosomes are the sites of protein synthesis present in the Cytoplasm. DNA interacts with ‘transfer RNA'(t-RNA), ‘Messenger RNA'(m-RNA), and Ribosomal RNA in the process of protein synthesis. The Chromosome is divided into Units called Genes. Each Gene is responsible for a particular trait and hence Gene is the Unit of inheritance. The term ‘allele’ describes either of a pair of genes at the same position on both members of a pair of chromosomes and conveying traits that are inherited by Mendelian Laws. There could be small chemical differences in genes that are expressed as different versions of the same trait (‘alleles’). Each gene is responsible for the manufacture of a particular protein which is involved in the development of a trait associated with it. Each chromosome of each species of higher organisms has a definite number and arrangement of genes which govern the structure and functions of the cells. It is important to note that, while genes are located inside the Nucleus of the cell, the actual protein synthesis occurs in structures called Ribosomes present in the Cytoplasm outside the Nucleus. While we appreciate the role of genes as Units of Inheritance, we should give equal importance to the Living Substance, the Living Material, or the Living Matter called Cytoplasm that is found inside the living cells, outside the Nucleus of the cell. There are basically three classes of Genes: 1. Structural genes which determine the sequences of amino acids that go to make up proteins or the smaller chain of molecules known as polypeptides, 2. Coding genes which specify molecules that function in the processes involved in protein synthesis, and 3. Regulatory genes which are called Noncoding genes for they act solely as “Recognition” sites for enzymes and other proteins involved in controlling protein synthesis.
The Genetic Code and the Role of Mutations:
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs THEORY OF EVOLUTION: GENETIC CODE DESCRIBES THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE COMPOSITION OF DNA AND THAT OF PROTEINS PRODUCED BY GENES.
The Genetic Code describes the relationship between the composition of DNA and that of proteins produced by genes. Genetic Code is the chemical equation by which hereditary information is translated from genes into proteins. Changes in the genetic code are called Mutations. Mutations can cause a change in protein synthesis. In higher organisms, when mutation involves the germ-line cells that eventually develop into sperm or egg cells, the mutation and its consequence of altered protein synthesis are inherited by offspring. A mutation can be minor and relatively insignificant, or it can cause serious deformity or metabolic deficiency in the organism. Most mutations tend to be harmful. Fortunately, a typical gene in higher organisms is segmented and the entire genetic information of a gene is not contained in a single, unbroken strand of DNA molecule. The value of having the genetic code in segments is to reduce the chances of mutations causing harmful changes in protein synthesis. Certain self-repair mechanisms also exist to deal with the damage done to DNA. Very often, the damaged DNA is repaired or the cell carrying the damaged DNA is killed and destroyed. For this reason, it is important to recognize the simple fact of DNA damage associated with mutations irrespective of its cause. The Theory of Evolution proposes that random, unguided, and apparently purposeless mutations lead to gradual changes in a species and eventually lead to its descent as a new species. As per the Theory of Evolution, mutations may bring about three kinds of changes; 1. Changes in the morphological appearance of an organism, 2. Changes in the skeletal and other anatomical structures of an organism, and 3. Changes in the behavior displayed by an organism.
In higher organisms, the cells are differentiated to perform special functions. For example, muscle cells have the ability of contraction. This physiological function of contraction is easily demonstrated by applying an electrical stimulus to muscle as done in Muscle Twitch in Frog Experiment. Animals have different abilities of locomotion; some crawl or creep, or slide on a surface, some swim, or move in water, some fly or glide in the air, and others walk, run, climb, and swing in a variety of amazing manners. Whatever may be the mode of locomotion, all animal muscle cells display the same physiological function of contraction. While the physiology remains the same, the muscles of each animal species display individualistic functional characteristics. For mutations are random, unguided, and purposeless, they cannot account for guided, sequential and purposeful nature of muscle contractions which have several creative applications in the natural world.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs THEORY OF EVOLUTION: WHAT IS GENETIC DRIFT? CAN IT ACCOUNT FOR THE ARRIVAL OF ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS? CAN WE EXPLAIN MAN AS A PRODUCT OF HYBRIDIZATION AND THE PHENOMENON CALLED GENETIC DRIFT?
In ‘Evolution’ the term ‘Genetic Drift is used to describe a random change in gene frequency within a small population, resulting in mutations which regardless of their adaptive value, become fixed within the group. Variations in diet, variations in physical activity, variations in reproductive behavior, and variations in external environmental conditions may contribute to minor variations in ‘allele’ frequencies without transforming an old species into a new species.
Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance and the Missing Link:
The above image reveals a fundamental problem faced by Darwinism when it attempts to account for Human Evolution. No extinct or living species is able to bridge the gap between the modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens) and his nearest allies among Hominid Family and other Primates such as Chimpanzee and Gorilla.
Senckenberg Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, Germany prepared replicas of Hominid species using the fossils discovered at different geographical locations. Sahelanthropus tchadensis lived 6.8 million years ago. It is one of the oldest Hominid specimens, found in 2003 in Djurab desert in Chad, Africa.
Natural History of Hominid Family:
Senckenberg Natural History Museum, Frankfurt, Germany prepared replicas of Hominid species using the fossils discovered at different geographical locations.
Australopithecus afarensis discovered in Afar region of Ethiopia, Africa in 1975. This Hominid lived 3.2 million years ago.
Australopithecus africanus, this Hominid replica nicknamed “Mrs. Ples” lived 2.5 million years ago. Discovered in 1947, at Sterkfontein, South Africa.
Paranthropus aethiopicus lived 2.5 million years ago. Discovered near Lake Turkana in Kenya, Africa, in 1985.
Paranthropus boisei, nicknamed “Zinz” lived 1.8 million years ago. Discovered in 1959 in the Olduvai Gorge of Tanzania, Africa.
Homo Rudolfensis lived about 1.8 million years ago. Discovered in 1972 in Koobi Fora, Kenya, Africa.
“Turkana Boy” Homo ergaster lived about 1.5 million years ago. Initially thought to be an important “missing link” in Human Evolution.
In Africa, Homo ergaster and Homo erectus are viewed as relatives and thought to be the ancestral forms of later Hominids such as Homo heidelbergensis, Homo neanderthalensis, and Homo sapiens. But, African Homo erectus is not related to Asian species of Homo erectus like Java Man, and Peking Man.
Homo erectus of Africa had prominent brow ridges, projecting face, and a brain volume of about a liter as compared to modern man’s average brain volume of about 1,360 cubic centimeters. Some evolutionary biologists suggested that Homo erectus migrated to Asia and Southern Europe.
Homo heidelbergensis or Homo rhodesiensis. This replica is made from the fossils found in Sima de Los Huesos, Spain in 1993. He lived about 500,000 to 350,000 years ago. Fossils also found in other places like Italy, France, and Greece. Homo sapiens may have appeared 300,000 years ago. Heidelbergensis could be the ancestor of Neanderthals which is often described as a subspecies of Sapiens species.
Homo erectus lived 1, 500, 000 to 300, 000 years ago. Homo erectus discovered in the Republic of Georgia, China, and Indonesia lived until about 70,000 years ago.
Pithecanthropus, “Java Man” discovered in 1891 could be the first to use fire. He used stone tools and belongs to the Lower Pleistocene Period.
It could be of interest to note that Rhodesian Man (Heidelberg Man – Germany) had a large, thick skull, a sloping forehead, a chinless jaw, a brain larger than that of modern man. The height was about five feet (152 cm) or slightly over.
Sinanthropus, Homo erectus pekinensis, or Peking Man belonged to the Middle Pleistocene.
Homo sapiens neanderthalensis lived 56,000 years ago. The above is the replica nicknamed “Old Man of La Chapelle” found near La Chapelle aux-Saints in France in 1908.
Homo sapiens floresiensis, the Flores Man discovered in Liang Bua Cave, Flores, Indonesia in 2003. Lived about 18,000 years ago.
The above is a replica of Homo sapiens found in a cave in Israel in 1969. He lived between 100,000 to 90, 000 years ago. It is important to note that it is not representative of true, modern humans called Homo sapiens sapiens.
Homo sapiens idaltu lived about 160, 000 years ago in Pleistocene Period (Middle Paleolithic), in Ethiopia, Africa, may mark the origin of Homo sapiens, making the distinction between Homo erectus species and Homo sapiens species. They were at the threshold of modern anatomy but not fully modern humans.
Homo sapiens Red Deer represents “Red Deer Cave” people who lived 11, 500 to 14, 500 years ago in Maludong, Yunnan Province, Southern China. Red Deer Man had high domed braincase, small eyebrow ridges, lower jaw ended in a prominent chin, with a body less muscular than those of earlier Hominids.
The Origin of Man – Monogenism vs Polygenism:
The term “Race” is used to describe any of the different varieties or populations of human beings distinguished by physical traits such as hair, eyes, skin color, the shape of the body, head, facial features, and blood groups. These characteristics are transmitted by heredity but they are highly variable; not every member of a race will exhibit all distinguishing traits. It is apparent to claim that races arose in response to inbreeding. Across the majority of human cultures prevalent in Old World, inbreeding is the established cultural norm. In his ‘Systema Naturae'(1735) Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, gave a very precise description of the man placing him among the Mammals in the order of Primates along the apes and the bat. Linnaeus presented a summary of the diverse varieties of human species. He described varieties such as The Asian, The African, and The European. Linnaeus created a system of classification that depended only on external characteristics to place objects into a rational set of categories.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE vs HUMAN EVOLUTION: HUMAN VARIETIES OR RACES AROSE IN RESPONSE TO INBREEDING AND NOT INTERBREEDING. CAROLUS LINNAEUS DESCRIBED HUMAN VARIETIES SUCH AS THE ASIAN, THE AFRICAN, AND THE EUROPEAN.
The French naturalist George Louis Leclerc Comte de Buffon in his monumental compendium on Natural History(Histoire Naturelle general et particuliere, 44 volumes, (1749-1804) described the man as a zoological species. Buffon determined species not by their physical appearances but by their reproductive history. He held the view that a species is known only through the history of its propagation. Buffon claimed that it is absurd to use the same principles for classifying living and nonliving things. Most important, apes and other animals lack the ability to speak. Buffon saw the rise of human intelligence as a product of the development of an articulated language. For animals may lack the ability to attach meaning to their articulated sounds, human language can be used as a basis to define human species and its varieties. Monogenism is the theory that all human beings are descended from a single pair of ancestors. Polygenism is the theory that each race of people has descended from distinct, ultimate ancestors and hence asserts that races are created separately.
If anatomically modern humans are products of interbreeding between different Hominid Family members, it would be difficult to suggest that hybridized humans stopped interbreeding and preferred inbreeding to establish the races or varieties that can be observed today.
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840), Father of Physical Anthropology known for his work ‘De Generis Humani Varietate Nativa (1775-76), did his research in the measurement of craniums. He divided mankind into five great families – Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan, and Ethiopian. Physical anthropologists initially described three primary divisions of people, 1. Caucasoid, 2. Mongoloid, and 3. Negroid. Thomas Huxley in his paper titled “On the Geographical Distribution of the Chief Modifications of Mankind” (1870) described racial varieties such as 1. Bushmen, 2. Africoid, 3. Negritoes, 4. Melanochroi, 5. Australoids, 6. Xanthochroi, 7. Polynesians, 8. Mongoloids A, B, & C, and 9. Esquimaux. Today, some anthropologists entirely reject the concept of “RACE.” The apparent variations among members of the human population have to be explained using Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance which alone can account for breeding behavioral patterns.
MENDEL’S LAWS OF INHERITANCE: JOHANN FRIEDRICH BLUMENBACH (1752-1840), FATHER OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY DIVIDED MANKIND INTO FIVE GREAT FAMILIES – CAUCASIAN, MONGOLIAN, MALAYAN, AND ETHIOPIAN.
Charles Darwin – Darwinism – The Origin of Species (1859):
Charles Darwin claimed that new species originate in the course of time. In his view, one species is transformed into another as a product of ‘Natural Selection’ of randomly produced genetic mutations. He formulated an opinion about the factors or circumstances under which some forms of life cease to have the status of species or become extinct. Darwin states, “The Origin of Species, like their extinction, is entirely a natural process which requires no factors other than those at work every day in the life, death, and breeding of plants and animals.” To make the transition from an old species to a new species, certain intermediate forms become extinct combined with the survival of one or more of the extreme varieties. Darwin further attests, “If my theory be true, numberless intermediate varieties, linking closely together all the species of the same group, must assuredly have existed, but the very process of natural selection constantly tends as has been so often remarked to exterminate the parent forms and the intermediate links.” As per Darwin’s analysis, anatomically modern human species may have to be viewed as a variety of one of the Hominid species that simply survived while this ancestral species and all other Hominid species perished towards the end of Pleistocene (Ice Age).
Darwin’s theory of ‘The Origin of Species’ depends on causes that can be divided into two sets of factors:
1. Mechanism of Survival that includes causes or factors which determine the extinction or survival of organisms, and with their survival, their opportunities for mating and reproduction, and
2. Mechanism of Heredity that includes causes or factors which determine transmission of characteristics from one generation to another and variation of offspring from their ancestors and from each other.
In Darwin’s estimate, the factors of ‘Natural Selection’ operate on genetic variations that cause a range of differences within a group. At the same time, it may be noted that the variations generated in the breeding process are never enough to change the basic criteria applied in the identification of any given species. For perpetuation of group characteristics in organisms which manage to survive and reproduce, inheritance of ancestral traits is of utmost importance.
Darwin’s view on the blending of hereditary factors is not supported by Mendel’s classic experiments in Hybridization. According to Mendel, inheritance is particulate. Distinct genetic factors combine to produce a certain somatic result without losing their separate identities. They can, therefore, be reassorted and enter into new genetic combinations in the next generation. If anatomically modern human species appeared suddenly due to abrupt mutations in a single generation of as yet unknown Hominid species, it will not validate Darwin’s view that new forms of life arise gradually as the result of the continuous accumulation of slight and imperceptible variations.
According to Darwin, the environment acts as a selective agency and it acts upon variations produced entirely by causes operating in the breeding process. During the period of the Great Ice Age, Pleistocene Series or Epoch, 1.8 million to 10, 000 years ago, 28 percent of Earth’s land area was covered by ice. Continental glaciers covered much of N. North America and NW Europe. Holocene Epoch or Series that began 10, 000 years ago witnessed a dramatic change in the land area that is covered by ice. Now, about 10 percent of land area is covered by ice and continental glaciers are restricted to Antarctica and Greenland. In other words, areas of the Earth’s surface have become more hospitable for all kinds of Hominid population. There was no geographical catastrophe and there was no environmental change of cataclysmic proportion with serious consequences for the survival of any variety of Hominid species. To adapt to the changed environment was easy, food supply became abundant and there is nothing to suggest that Hominid Family members were preying upon one another in a bitter struggle of existence.
Comparative Anatomy will demolish Darwinism:
According to the Geologic Time Chart which records the physical nature and history of planet Earth, we are living in the Cenozoic Era the beginning of which was marked by the K-T extinction. Most of the major and minor extinction events were the result of causes that are not natural to Earth or terrestrial factors. The exposure of living things to consequences such as collisions with asteroids, comets, or exposure to ionizing radiation do not belong to a category of circumstances that can be called ‘natural’. I prefer to use the term ‘supernatural’ to describe extinction events initiated by extraterrestrial factors. The origin, the beginning, the appearance of the anatomically modern man during Holocene Epoch or Series has no natural cause. No natural condition, no natural factor, no natural mechanism, no natural process, and no natural event can alter the shape and size of man’s cranium. Inbreeding or interbreeding do not change genes, the Units of Inheritance. The sudden, and abrupt change in man’s form and morphological appearance is not due to imperceptible changes and genetic variations that accumulated over a prolonged period of time. If skeletal structures undergo a change due to mutations caused by external factors like climate, physical activity, diet, and opportunities for breeding or reproductive behavior, the skeletal structures of all members of the diverse Hominid Family living at that time have to register a change that affects the germ cells and gets propagated to their offspring as stated by Mendel’s Laws of Inheritance. If a natural condition, a natural factor, or a natural cause can account for a mutation in an anatomically modern human, I would like to examine the evidence for its operation in other members of Hominid Family such as Neanderthal who lived at the same time.
Cro-Magnon Man lived 40, 000 to 35, 000 years ago. He was discovered in southwestern France in 1868. His height was about 6 feet (180 Cms), had high forehead, short and wide face, developed prominent chin, and a large brain. His brain capacity of 1600 cubic centimeters is larger than the average 1,360 cubic centimeters for anatomically modern human species. He belonged to upper Paleolithic culture of Old Stone Age whereas anatomically modern human species had established its presence in the Mesolithic Period or Middle Stone Age at the end of the last glacial era about 10,000 years ago. Anatomically modern human species developed a culture that included gradual domestication of plants and animals, the formation of settled communities, use of the bow, development of delicate stone ‘Microliths’, and pottery.
The Origin of Human Species – The Origin of Human Language:
In my view, Human Speech (spoken and written) is the criteria by which the difference between the anatomically modern man and other members of the Hominid Family can be made. Human Language is one of the principal characteristics of the specifically human world. Language is the peculiar possession of human beings. While Neanderthal, and Cro-Magnon Man share certain anatomical and physiological traits possessed by the zoological species identified as human beings, they were not true representatives of Homo sapiens sapiens.
In the use of ‘Precision Grip’, both Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon Man fall short of the status called ‘human’. Paleolithic art, paintings, and drawings are not the same as human writing.
The reproductive history of modern man does not support Darwinism and its assumptions about breeding. To identify and to recognize the man as a zoological species, the yardstick has to be defined as morphological appearances are inadequate. I coined the phrase ‘Whole Linguistics’ to use Human Language as the chief characteristic of human species. Whole Linguistics involves three entities, namely 1. A Language User, 2. A Language Interpreter and 3. A Language Creator. It introduces a concept about the Creative Beginning of Man and his Language.
Human Identity, Individuality, and The Major Histocompatibility Complex:
All said and done, the man has no choice about the nature of his physical existence in the natural world. Each man without any choice exists as an Individual with Individuality. The man deploys protein molecules called antigens to identify ‘self’ and ‘non-self’. The antigens causing the immune response that results in rejection of a tissue allograft are known as ‘Major Histocompatibility Antigens'(HLA). In man, the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) is the HLA cluster on Chromosome 6. As MHC antigens were originally described on human Leukocytes (White Blood Cells), they are still referred to as Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA). The role of MHC is not limited to transplantation rejection as the proteins encoded in this region are involved in many aspects of immunological recognition and immunity response. The HLA antigens are remarkable for the extensive degree of genetic polymorphism which makes variability between individuals very great. Even among members of the human population, most unrelated persons possess different HLA. This antigenic specificity established at the molecular level is the evidence for a creative process, a creative mechanism, and a creative principle which determines the Subjective and Objective Physical Reality of Man’s Status in Nature.
The Proof of Pudding is in the Eating:
Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle introduced the notion of Form, Nature, or Essence. Plants and animals are derived from seeds that already contain within them the Form, Nature, or Essence of the species from which they were derived and into which they would subsequently develop. To exist as a thing of a given kind, there could be an innate tendency to strive to develop into a perfect example of itself to fulfill its nature and to realize its full potential. In a purposive or teleological view of the natural world, each natural thing by its intrinsic nature strives to realize its own ideal Form or Essence. Darwinism proposes a view that explains the development of a natural thing in a “mechanistic” and nonpurposive manner. If a new form of life is a product of unguided, random, and purposeless genetic mutations, it will be hard to explain and account for its Form, Nature, and Essence.
All living things define their existence using about 20 Amino Acids. Protein Synthesis involves unique and creative ways of arranging these amino acids into chains called polypeptides. Protein Synthesis is a creative process for the product created by one species has the ability to impart a unique sensory experience in an unrelated species. Man can distinguish plant and animal proteins by using his organs of sense perception. The creative aspect of protein synthesis is in the taste, smell, flavor, color, texture, and palatability of plant and animal proteins. Man further improves the palatability of proteins he consumes by refining his culinary skills. To refute the concept called ‘Darwinism’, the Proof or Verification is in Eating Sweet Garden Peas and recognizing them from their color, taste, smell, flavor, texture, and palatability. Plants and animals do not use sensory functions like vision, olfaction, and taste in protein synthesis. The sensory experience of man is possible for living things have an innate tendency to express their Form, Nature, and Essence. I am asking my readers to contemplate upon supernatural circumstances that may define Form, Nature, and Essence of living things that are not explained by a study of their genes and genetic code.
In my view, the substance or material called the Living Matter has always existed with the same chemical composition resisting any influence of changing Time. The forms assumed by the Living Matter have always varied to demonstrate the operation of a creative mechanism that maintains the stability of each Species while generating variations among members of the same Species and between different Species. I would further seek to explain the arrival of the Human Species as a Creative Event as other member Species of the Genus Homo disappeared simultaneously without any specific contribution made by the Nature or the natural living conditions that prevail on planet Earth.
Dr. Rudranarasimham, Rebbapragada, B.Sc., M.B.B.S.,
Father’s Name: R. Suryanarayana Murty, M.A., B.Ed.,
Sri Venkateswara University, M.B.B.S. Class of April, 1970
Andhra Pradesh Medical Council Medical Registration Number: AMC5282; Date of Registration: September 16, 1971
