File:Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present promise of the principal families of men (1897) (14596837367).jpg

Identifier: ridpathshistoryo01ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present promise of the principal families of men ..
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history Ethnology
Publisher: New York, Merrill & Baker
Contributing Library: Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston University

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g aperiod was required for these changedconditions to become operative in theliquefaction of the lower parts of theglaciers we are left somewhat to con-jecture, but no doubt it required a con-siderable period for the returning ap-proximation of the sun to begin to affectmaterially the glacial cap of the north-ern continents. It may be assumed as a fact scientific^ally determined that the whole of man-life lies this side of the gla- 0 Era of man-life cial period. Indeed, from on this side of ., . ,, the diluvial age. what we know of the con-ditions present in the northern hemi-sphere during that period it would b«impossible for the human race to main-tain an existence upon the earth, even iithe race had existed before. We are,therefore, to conclude that the beingcalled Man made his appearance at asubsequent date, when the globe hadbeen made habitable by the meltingaway of the glaciers, the subsidence ofthe rivers, and the definition of the con-tinents in the forms which they now hold.
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TIME OF THE BEGINNING.—ASTRONOMICAL ARGUMENT 73 It would appear, therefore, that wemight pass over at once from the workof astronomical laws to the geologicalconditions which ensued in and after thediluvian period, with a view to ascertain-ing more definitely at what time manand his works are first discoverable onthe earth. This we shall presently at-tempt to do; but before passing to thegeological inquiry respecting the an-tiquity of our race, it will be well torevert to one or two additional factsdeducible from the laws of astronomy. One of these is that next to the last period of greatest elongation in the earths orbit, falling as it Place of the last thermal epoch did about a thousand cen-turies before the last, oc-curred under such conditions as to pro-duce an epoch of heat in the northernhemisphere. That is, about the year210,000 B. C, when the greatest elonga-tion just referred to was attained, thesun was at or near perihelion in winter,the result being a great increment ofhe

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