March of Progress (illustration)
Encyclopedia
Human evolution
Human evolution refers to the evolutionary history of the genus Homo, including the emergence of Homo sapiens as a distinct species and as a unique category of hominids and mammals...
, it depicts 15 human evolutionary forebears lined up as if marching in a parade from left to right. The image has been copied, modified and parodied
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
countless times and has proven controversial in a number of respects.
The March of Progress was originally commissioned by Time-Life Books for the Early Man volume (1965) of its popular Life Nature Library
Life Nature Library
The Life Nature Library was a popular series of hardbound books published by Time-Life between 1961 and 1965. Each of the 25 volumes explored a major topic of the natural world. They were intended for, and written at a level appropriate to, an educated lay readership.Each volume was written by a...
. This book, authored by anthropologist F. Clark Howell
Francis Clark Howell
Francis Clark Howell, generally known as F. Clark Howell was an American anthropologist. He altered the landscape of his discipline irrevocably by adding a broad spectrum of modern sciences to the traditional "stones and bones" approach of the past and is considered the father of modern...
(1925–2007) and the Time-Life editors, included a foldout section of text and images (pages 41–45) entitled "The Road to Homo Sapiens", prominently featuring the sequence of figures drawn by noted natural history painter and muralist Rudolph Zallinger (1919–1995). As the popularity of the image grew and achieved icon
Cultural icon
A cultural icon can be a symbol, logo, picture, name, face, person, building or other image that is readily recognized and generally represents an object or concept with great cultural significance to a wide cultural group...
ic status, the name "March of Progress" somehow became attached to it.
Scientists have noted that early human evolution
Timeline of human evolution
The timeline of human evolution outlines the major events in the development of human species, and the evolution of humans' ancestors. It includes a brief explanation of some animals, species or genera, which are possible ancestors of Homo sapiens...
did not progress in any linear, sequential fashion nor did it move along a "road" toward any predetermined "ideal form"; they have faulted the image with being misleading in implying these things. With regard to the picture's notoriety, Howell remarked that "The artist didn't intend to reduce the evolution of man to a linear sequence, but it was read that way by viewers.… The graphic overwhelmed the text. It was so powerful and emotional".
Original sequence of species
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 of which are 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). This implies that none of the first four primates are to be considered actual human ancestors. Likewise, the seventh figure (Paranthropus) is said to be "an evolutionary dead end".The 15 primate figures in Zallinger's image are, from left to right, as follows (the dating follows the original graphic):
- PliopithecusPliopithecusPliopithecus is a genus of extinct primates of the Miocene and Pliocene. It was discovered in 1837 by Édouard Lartet in France, with fossils subsequently discovered in Switzerland and Spain....
, 22–12 million year old "ancestor of the gibbonGibbonGibbons are apes in the family Hylobatidae . The family is divided into four genera based on their diploid chromosome number: Hylobates , Hoolock , Nomascus , and Symphalangus . The extinct Bunopithecus sericus is a gibbon or gibbon-like ape which, until recently, was thought to be closely related...
line" - Proconsul, 21–9 million year old primate which may or may not have qualified as an ape
- DryopithecusDryopithecusDryopithecus was a genus of apes that is known from Eastern Africa into Eurasia during the late Miocene period. The first species of Dryopithecus was discovered at the site of Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne, France, in 1856...
, 15–8 million year old fossil ape, the first such found (1856) and probable ancestor of modern apes - Oreopithecus, 15–8 million years old
- Ramapithecus, 13–8 million year old ape and possible ancestor of modern orangutanOrangutanOrangutans are the only exclusively Asian genus of extant great ape. The largest living arboreal animals, they have proportionally longer arms than the other, more terrestrial, great apes. They are among the most intelligent primates and use a variety of sophisticated tools, also making sleeping...
s (now classified as SivapithecusSivapithecusSivapithecus is a genus of extinct primates. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.5 million to 8.5 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Siwalik Hills in what is now India, Nepal, and Pakistan...
) - AustralopithecusAustralopithecusAustralopithecus is a genus of hominids that is now extinct. From the evidence gathered by palaeontologists and archaeologists, it appears that the Australopithecus genus evolved in eastern Africa around 4 million years ago before spreading throughout the continent and eventually becoming extinct...
, 2–3 million years old; then considered the earliest “certain hominid” - ParanthropusParanthropusThe robust australopithecines, members of the extinct hominin genus Paranthropus , were bipedal hominids that probably descended from the gracile australopithecine hominids...
, 1.8–0.8 million years old - Advanced Australopithecus, 1.8–0.7 million year old
- Homo erectusHomo erectusHomo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
, 700,000–400,000 years old, then the earliest known member of the Homo genus - Early Homo sapiens, 300,000–200,000 years old; from SwanscombeSwanscombe Heritage ParkSwanscombe Heritage Park is a National Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest near the village of Swanscombe in north-west Kent, England, at the Thames east of London...
, SteinheimSteinheim SkullThe Steinheim skull is a fossilized skull of an archaic Homo sapiens or Homo heidelbergensis found in 1933 near Steinheim an der Murr ....
and MontmaurinMontmaurinMontmaurin is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department of southwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
, then considered probably the earliest H. sapiens - Solo Man, 100,000–50,000 years old; described as an extinct Asian "race" of H. sapiens (now considered a sub-species of H. erectus)
- Rhodesian ManRhodesian ManKabwe skull or Kabwe cranium, or Broken Hill 1 is a hominin fossil that was frequently classified as belonging to Homo rhodesiensis. The cranium was found in an lead and zinc mine in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia in 1921 by Tom Zwiglaar, a Swiss miner...
, 50,000–30,000 years old; described as an extinct African "race" of H. sapiens (now considered either H. rhodesiensisHomo rhodesiensisHomo rhodesiensis is a hominin species described from the fossil Kabwe skull. Other morphologically-comparable remains have been found from the same, or earlier, time period in southern Africa , East Africa and North Africa...
or H. heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. H...
and dated much earlier) - Neanderthal Man, 100,000–40,000 years old
- Cro-Magnon Man, 40,000–5,000 years old
- Modern ManAnatomically modern humansThe term anatomically modern humans in paleoanthropology refers to early individuals of Homo sapiens with an appearance consistent with the range of phenotypes in modern humans....
, 40,000 years to present
Criticism
The evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay GouldStephen Jay Gould
Stephen Jay Gould was an American paleontologist, evolutionary biologist, and historian of science. He was also one of the most influential and widely read writers of popular science of his generation....
(1941–2002) condemned the iconology of the image over several pages of his 1989 book Wonderful Life
Wonderful Life (book)
Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History is a book on the evolution of Cambrian fauna by Harvard paleontologist Stephen Jay Gould...
. In a chapter entitled "The Iconography of an Expectation", Gould asserted that
The march of progress is the canonical representation of evolution – the one picture immediately grasped and viscerally understood by all…. The straitjacket of linear advance goes beyond iconographyIconographyIconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
to the definition of evolution: the word itself becomes a synonym for progress…. [But] life is a copiously branching bush, continually pruned by the grim reaper of extinction, not a ladder of predictable progress.
Parodies and adaptations
- The logo for the Leakey Foundation features a small silhouette of the March of Progress image.
- The National Museums of KenyaNational Museums of KenyaThe National Museums of Kenya is a State Corporation that manages Museums, Sites and Monuments in Kenya. It also practices scientific research. Its headquarters and the National Museum are located on Museum Hill, near Uhuru Highway between Central Business District and Westlands in Nairobi...
in NairobiNairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
have long utilized a logo based on the Zallinger image. - The cover of the 1985 SupertrampSupertrampSupertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
album Brother Where You BoundBrother Where You BoundBrother Where You Bound is the ninth album by progressive rock band Supertramp, released in 1985 . It was their first album after original member Roger Hodgson left the band, leaving Richard Davies to handle the songwriting and singing on his own...
resembles the March of Progress. - On the cover of the soundtrack CD for the 1992 movie Encino ManEncino ManEncino Man, released in Europe as California Man, is a 1992 comedy film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Brendan Fraser, Sean Astin and Pauly Shore. The plot revolves around two geeky teenagers from Encino, Los Angeles, California played by Astin and Shore, who discover a caveman in their...
, an ape evolves into a skateboarder. - The 3 March 1994 issue of TimeTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine includes a graphic, "Humanity's Long March", referencing Zallinger's image with a more complicated graphic underneath. - A 1998 issue of Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
features an image of actor Ben StillerBen StillerBenjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
evolving from a hairy ape into a naked actor. - Jonathan Wells's 2002 book Icons of EvolutionIcons of EvolutionIcons of Evolution is a book by the intelligent design advocate and fellow of the Discovery Institute, Jonathan Wells, which also includes a 2002 video companion. In the book, Wells criticized the paradigm of evolution by attacking how it is taught...
takes its title from the illustration and discusses the image from an intelligent designIntelligent designIntelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
perspective. - A graphic in the December 2005 issue of The EconomistThe EconomistThe Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
depicts hominids progressing up a flight of stairs to transform into a woman in a black dress holding a glass of champagne.