By: Allama Mohammed Shihabuddin Nadvi

Cro-Magnon Man
Cro-Magnon man, the second representative of the “intelligent” man or Homo sapiens derived its name from Cro-Magnon caves in France from where fragments of its skeleton were found. It is presumed to have appeared some 35,000 years ago.

Fully modern man – whose first representative is the Cro-Magnon – emerged within this period, perhaps 35,000 years ago, during the time of action, of development and elaboration of stone technology… 66

The Cro-Magnon is the name of a cave at Dordogne in France where skeletal remains were found in 1868 A.D.67 They had long heads, low foreheads, very broad faces, deep-set eyes and tall stature.68 They were reigning the earth between 35,000 to 10,000 years B.C. Another estimate puts them to have reigned on the earth some 25,000 years before Christ.69 Their cranial vault had a 1,600 cubic centimeter capacity.70

Cro-Magnon man, like his predecessors in hominid evolution, was a hunter and a gatherer. Nomadic groups moved from place to place in the continual search for food. All of this changed about 7,000 to 8,000 B.C. when, in the Middle East, Neolithic man began to cultivate crops and rear domesticate animals.71

Does Cro-Magnon Man Exit?
The disappearance of the Cro-Magnon man is as mysterious as the Neanderthal man. A few observations could be studied:

Perhaps as complex as the question of origin is that of the duration of Cro-Magnon culture and the disappearance of Cro-Magnon man. The later question is, in a sense, more a matter of genetics than of descriptive anthropology, since it is assumed that the Cro-Magnon race or type was simply absorbed into later European population.72

It is simultaneously suggested that the disappearance of Cro-Magnon man is akin to Neanderthal man.73

The question of the relation of Cro-Magnon man to earlier forms of Homo sapiens is still unclear… (Similarly) the question of the relationship of Cro-Magnon peoples to the distinctive Neanderthal peoples who preceded Cro-Magnon man in Europe, is still to be settled.74

This is a clear indication that it was a different species altogether. However, if it is established through further research that the Cro-Magnon man does not exist today and is fully extinct then it will not be difficult to accept “Adam” as the originator of man. And research so far has come very close to accept this fact. Its appearance took place nearly 10,000 years ago.

Advocates of evolution are of the view that the existence of man or people akin to man is incontrovertibly established by the archaeological sources. But reality is different. The precedence of one species over the other species in terms of epoch, is no proof in itself that the later originated from the earlier. It will be rather more appropriate to assume that “developed species” came into being due to the physical changes of the earth noticed over a period. In the changed physical circumstances the earlier species must have gone extinct.

But a lot of metaphysical factors too are soon in the play, as we have discussed in the light of the Islamic traditions earlier. Any “Law-bound” or “Shariah-bearing” species or “intelligent” species is raised on the earth as a test and is appointed vicegerent of God. But when it fails to fulfill its duties and in discharge of responsibilities, a new creature is raised to enter the arena. This has been a divine tradition. This will be discussed in detail in incoming chapters.

However, the sum total of the discussion so far is that it is not accurate or appropriate to surmise that the developed species of today have resulted from graduation of lower species into developed ones. It is a hypothesis not supported by any concrete proof. Added to this are a number of mysteries raised in the process. Even Darwin had to confess that there are difficulties in establishing the links between modern day man and its purported predecessor.

In a series of forms graduating insensibly from some ape-like creature to man as he now exists, it would be impossible to fix on any definite point when the term man ought to be used.75

Thus the evolution theory merely appears to be hypothesis not duly supported by facts. Rather the facts have only gone against it.

There are enough facts that point to specific creation of man as opposed to the evolution. One among them is the more rapid psychological evolution of man thereby giving birth to civilisation in comparison to the biological evolution. This has thrown up a note of interrogation before the experts who confess it thus:

Another difference between biological and psycho-social evolution is that, whereas the former is slow and has taken over three billion years to produce man, psycho-social evolution is alarmingly rapid and is accelerating. It has taken only 10,000 years for man to pass from bows and arrows to thermo-nuclear weapons.76

Even renowned historian Toynbee was of the opinion that “consciousness” emerged more rapidly in the last 5,000 years than previous one million or half its years.77

At this stage one has to ponder and question how suddenly there was a phenomenal briskness in the development of “conscious and psychological qualities” among the creatures. Is it without any reason or purpose? If this universe does not betray any pattern or system in its mechanism, this extra-ordinary phenomenon could not be without any reason and this significant matter must not have assumed any significance all of a sudden. All this only hints at appearance of Adam who was created by the designer of this universe by blowing spirit into the matter, thus compressing an event into a few thousand years which otherwise would have claimed billions of years to happen by itself.

Any examination of the matter, analysis of the elements and ingredients, properties and characteristics would have no remote possibility of their bearing consciousness or perception. These mysterious qualities cannot be anything but divinely blown and spiritually inspired. These are supernatural in character and thus unfathomable on lines or other physical facts. These are the divinely gifted attributes by which the human being see, speak, write, listen, ponder, perceive and argue. Even the previous species had all these qualities in some measure. So they too were bound by a divine law. However its degree was far less in intensity than is with Adam which is Adam’s distinguishing characteristic. The Qur’an has the following verses to explain this phenomenon:

When I have fashioned him (in due proportion) and breathed into him of My Spirit, fall ye down in obeisance. (Qur’an, 15:29 & 38:72)

Then He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit. (Qur’an, 32:9)

Is it not the miracle of the divine spirit that the human civilisation and culture has been ever advancing forward and it has known no stagnation. And this position has been enjoyed by none else other than the man.

We have honoured the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of Our Creation. (Qur’an, 17:70)

The biologists now admit that the “biological evolution” of man which was an unconscious and `meaningless’ process has almost ceased to happen and that now cultural evolution has taken over the evolutionary process itself. Prof. Tomlin comments:

If this theory (theory of evolution) disposed of the idea of special creation, it introduced an idea almost as difficult to grasp namely the interiorization of the evolutionary process at the stage of man, whereby conscious intelligence succeeded an apparently unconscious and ‘meaningless’ process. In short, cultural evolution succeeded biological evolution, but how it did so, remained obscure.78

Could it be termed anything but manifestation of the divine spirit? However the materialists deny, the facts cannot be obscured.

On the earth are signs for those of assured faith as also in your own selves: will ye not then see? (Qur’an , 51:20-21)

This was all about what we have so far known with regard to the “evolution of man”, and a cursory glance over what is said to be the fossil fragments of prehistoric man. Evidently all this does not prove the evolution theory. The evolution theory is neither substantiated by the resemblances among the proximate species. However it will be natural to question as to where the extinct species as indicated by the fossil fragments be placed among the living beings. From Islamic point of view, the answer is straight. Jinns and Hinns have inhabited the earth even before the man. Again this leads one to question as to who should be termed Adam among these previous species and who were Jinns and Hinns. It could be resolved by applying the parameters set by the Qur’an and the Sunnah and the qualities attributed to the Prophet Adam. Those of the species conforming to these qualities should be categorised under human beings. The “modern man” could thus well be termed as Adam, while scope for Cro-Magnon man’s falling under this category is doubtful. If the modern man, whose origin dates back to 10,000 years ago, took birth from Prophet Adam, the Jinns must have begun from the Cro-Magnon species or may possibly have begun from Neanderthal man. Nothing could be said conclusively in this regard. We need to wait for more investigation into this aspect.

Some other disturbing factors intrude into the investigations which include sudden disappearance of certain species from fossil record such as Neanderthal species; age gap between other species etc. This however resolves itself if one goes into the Islamic interpretation of the history of creations. As would be seen from the Qur’an, these species might have been destroyed or eliminated as a consequence of universal disobedience towards divine order. They were replaced by other species. A slight hint is available in the story of Prophet Adam, where the angels said to have driven out the Jinns from the earth. (To be cont.)

References:

66. Ibid., Vol. 8, P. 609.
67. Ibid., Vol. 5, P. 289.
68. The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, 1982. P. 201.
69. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1983, Vol. 5, P. 289.
70. Ibid.
71. The Illustrated Book of the Human Body, P. 9.
72. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1983, Vol. 5, P. 290.
73. Ibid., (Micropaedia), Vol. V, P. 105.
74. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1983, Vol. 5, P. 290.
75. Ibid., Vol. 8, P. 1043.
76. Ibid., Vol. 7, P. 21.
77. Toynbee, Mankind and Mother Earth, Oxford University Press, New York, 1976, P. 25.
78. The Encyclopaedia of Ignorance, Oxford, 1978, P. 228.