Comparison with animals is unpleasant for most of us. I’m not talking about diminutive nicknames like “pussy” and “bunny.” I'm talking about completely innocent designations for livestock and dogs, taking into account their gender, which have long been firmly entrenched in our speech as curse words. Meanwhile, whether we like it or not, we are all a little bit animals. And a mechanic with nine years of education, and a learned professor - we all live guided by the ancient instincts embedded in us. Evidence of this is rudiments and atavisms. For those who did listen to this topic in school, let me remind you: atavisms are something that animals have, but ideally should not occur in people. However, sometimes, very, very rarely, it occurs. For example, a tail. Or webbing between the fingers. And even a third breast in women. Unlike atavisms, each of us has rudiments. The most famous is the appendix. And also the tailbone, the third eyelid, the ability to get goosebumps, and even body hair. In fact, we don’t really need all these parts of the body today. But nature is not inclined to waste its time creating useless things. Rudiments and atavisms must have a logical explanation. I wonder why in distant, distant times we had all the above attributes and why some of them remain with us today? Are you interested too? Then read on!
WAGGING THE TAIL
It is almost impossible to see a tailed man today. And all thanks to the skill of surgeons - they learned to remove unnecessary processes deftly and without a trace. But there were times when people who were endowed with a tail by nature had no choice but to wear them all their lives on the lower half of their back - where the tailbone is located for most people.
Tailed facts
In the 13th century, Marco Polo wrote that the inhabitants of Sumatra, every single one, had tails like those of a dog. In 1890, scientist Paul d'Enjoy caught a member of the Indo-Chinese Moi tribe who had a tail 25 cm long. The researcher assured that all Moi have tails, but from generation to generation the tails become shorter and shorter as a result of crossing with tailless neighboring tribes.
In 1848, a boy was born in Germany with a tail 10 cm long. When the boy cried, screamed, or got angry, the tail moved, that is, it reacted to emotions in the same way as animals do. And in 1889, the journal Scientific American described a 12-year-old boy from Thailand who had a soft tail 30 cm long.
In 1930, Dr. Velazquez of San Pedro informed the public that, while swimming in the sea near San Truilo in Honduras, he saw on the beach “a Caribbean woman who had thrown off her clothes, exposing a tail at least 20 centimeters long, from the appearance of which one could judge that it has been shortened."
The presence of a tail is considered an anomaly. And yet, up to a certain point, absolutely each of us possessed it. Only we don’t remember about it. Each human embryo in the first half of pregnancy (at the end
1st and early 2nd month) has a tail. Then, if the fetus develops normally, the tail becomes smaller and smaller until it disappears completely. But sometimes a malfunction occurs, and then tailed babies are born.
EXTRA DETAIL?
According to statistics, in the United States alone, 300-400 people die every year from an untimely excised appendix. Meanwhile, any surgeon will say that this operation is one of the banal and ordinary. In addition, it does not entail any harm to health. The appendix is not a kidney, it was cut out and forgotten. But if so, why is it present in our body at all? Scientists say that this process of the cecum is nothing more than a legacy of our herbivorous ancestors. In animals, this sac (cecum) is much larger than in humans, and serves to facilitate the digestion of food rich in fiber. For example, a koala's appendix is 1 to 2 meters long! The human appendix is very small - from 2 to 20 centimeters and does not participate in the breakdown of food. But it has a nasty habit of becoming inflamed, causing appendicitis - inflammation of the appendix. And here, as in the case of the tail, surgeons again come to the rescue. However, there are other scientists - those who question the idea that the appendix is a vestige in humans. They argue that people who had it removed in childhood are physically and mentally less developed than people who have it. However, this theory has not been confirmed, at least not officially.
WISDOM FACTOR
Those who know how painfully long and unpleasant it is for wisdom teeth to erupt will understand my indignation: why did nature leave these details if we don’t need them at all? Not only do these teeth announce their appearance when a person has long left childhood, but they also have a disgusting habit of growing incorrectly, interfering with their “non-rudimentary” brothers, which is why these “wise” teeth have to be removed. What a procedure, I tell you! We inherited wisdom teeth from our ancestors, when the skull was formed somewhat differently, the jaw was much larger, and the food at that time was much tougher than what we eat today. Then wisdom teeth fulfilled their intended purpose - they were chewed with. Now only dentists are happy with their presence - one third of people turn to doctors with a request to remove them.
AND Wiggles His EARS
As a child, I was very jealous of the neighbor boy - he could move his ears! His skill did not bring any practical benefit, but it looked so impressive. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move my ears even a millimeter. At that time, I did not yet know that the skill of the neighbor boy was an atavism that he inherited as a result of a small genetic mutation from distant ancestors. In ancient times, the ability to move your ears could save your life: a moving ear better catches the source of a sound - for example, a sneaking saber-toothed tiger or an enemy hiding behind a tree. Animals use this ability to this day: have you noticed how a dog’s ears rise, how an alert horse spins its ears, how a cat listens to barely audible sounds? But evolution has denied us, humans, this skill, considering that the number of dangers has already noticeably decreased. And only selected individuals have not lost the ability to move their ears.
There is still an ongoing dispute between scientists studying human evolution as to whether atavisms and rudiments should be considered proof of the “animal” nature of man. But I’m thinking: even if this is so, what’s offensive? After all, animal comes from the word “belly”, which in Old Church Slavonic means life. This means that every living creature endowed with life is a little bit of an animal. And you, dear reader, too.
Artists and thinkers of the Renaissance, following the ancient Greeks, admired the expressive forms of the human body, the accuracy and coordination of its movements. Admiration, even reverence can be heard in the words of Leonardo da Vinci: “Look at these beautiful muscles, and if it seems to you that there are a lot of them, try them, reduce them, if they are not enough, add them, but if they are enough, give praise to the First Builder of such a marvelous machine.” In the XVI-XVIII centuries. many researchers continued to believe that studying nature and man was reading a book created by the Creator. It is unlikely that any of them would dare to talk about the imperfection of creation.
Is there really nothing superfluous in our body? The answer to this question was received only at the beginning of the 19th century, when data accumulated on the structure of not only humans, but also other creatures. Comparative anatomy, which by that time had become an independent discipline, helped to understand that humans are structured according to the same plan as vertebrates. (True, the project according to which God or nature created the world allowed, according to many scientists, countless variations.) Anatomists could not help but notice that the same parts of the body - bones, muscles, internal organs - differ in size in different organisms form. Sometimes some “details” are completely absent, sometimes they are very small and relatively poorly developed compared to similar parts in other species. Underdeveloped organs that seemed useless began to be called rudimentary or rudiments(from Latin rudimentum - “rudiment”, “first principle”). Apparently, this term was first used in the 80s. XVIII century French naturalist Georges Louis Buffon.
Rudiments were found not only in animals, but also in humans. For example, in the inner corner of the eye there is a barely noticeable fold called the crescent fold. This is a remnant of the third eyelid, a nictitating membrane well developed in reptiles and birds. It serves to lubricate the eyeball with a fatty secretion secreted by a special gland. In humans, a similar function is performed by the upper and lower eyelids, so the semilunar fold turned out to be superfluous and was reduced (from lat. reductio - “return”) - decreased.
Some bones, muscles, internal organs and their individual parts also turned out to be superfluous. For example, the coccyx bones are the remains of the caudal vertebrae, which have fused, decreased in size and become simpler. Raven-shaped or coracoid (from Greek“coracoides” - “raven-like”), the bone is needed by amphibians, reptiles and birds to attach their forelimbs. Mammals managed without it, and small remains of this bone fused with the scapula. Mammals also lost their cervical ribs - what was left of them was a perforated transverse process of the cervical vertebrae.
A classic example of vestigial human mice is the ear muscles. They are well developed in many mammals and are needed to direct the ears to the source of sound. Another rudimentary human muscle is the pyramidal abdominal muscle. And the notochord, the elastic axis that gave rise to chordates (humans also belong to their phylum), has turned into a gelatinous mass inside the intervertebral discs in humans.
Scientists found more and more “extra organs” in humans, and the assumption of the perfection of the “crown of creation” no longer seemed unshakable. Rudiments did not remain a detail of interest only to anatomists, but served for broad scientific generalizations. Thus, Charles Darwin used them as one of the proofs of the origin of man from animals. He explained the presence of rudiments by the fact that during the course of evolution, some organs became smaller and almost disappeared as unnecessary. It follows that man was not created once and for all perfect and unchangeable, but rudiments are only remnants of unnecessary parts of the body that have not yet disappeared. The teaching of evolution has made it possible to take a fresh look at known facts and clarify which human organs should be considered rudiments.
In 1902, the German anatomist Robert Wiedersheim (1848-1923) published a book in which he listed no less than 107 rudimentary human organs, unsuitable for performing any function or greatly simplified, capable of not functioning fully. The first includes body hair, which cannot protect a person from the cold; a vermiform appendix of the cecum (appendix), unable to digest coarse plant foods; as well as the coccyx, semilunar fold, remnants of the chord, etc. The list of the latter includes the epiphysis - the endocrine gland. Apparently, the pineal gland is a rudiment of the parietal eye, which was present in the most ancient vertebrates. Having lost its main function (vision), it acquired a new one - the production of hormones. It is believed that the most famous rudiment, the appendix, is an organ of the immune system.
In addition to rudiments, scientists identify atavisms(from lat. atavi - “ancestors”) are characteristics lost by humans during evolution and occur as a rare exception. Textbook examples are thick body hair, a tail, and extra nipples. There is also a concept provisional authorities(from lat. provisor - “taking care of something in advance”): only the human embryo has them, and then disappears; their functions are performed by other parts of the body.
The focus of modern biological science is the study of the genome of humans and other living beings. Data on the origin of rudiments will probably help to find out which genes are turned on or, conversely, blocked during the development and reduction of certain organs.
In this article we will look at atavisms and rudiments: we will give their definitions and characteristics, and give examples. It should be understood that these are not synonyms. After reading this article, you will learn what the difference is between concepts such as atavisms and rudiments.
What are rudiments?
Rudiments are not parts of the body that turned out to be completely unnecessary. They have only lost, at least partially, their original purpose. Organs considered to be rudiments play a certain role in the functioning of the body. Try, for example, to take away the wings of an ostrich... Without them, will this animal be worse or better? The answer is obvious: although its wings are less functional than those of other birds, the ostrich needs them. Its wings, for example, allow it to maintain balance when moving.
Wings of a Kakapo parrot
The kakapo parrot is found in New Zealand. He, like an ostrich, cannot fly at all. However, it has small wings, the muscles on which are atrophied, as well as an underdeveloped keel. This animal is nocturnal. He runs on the ground and loves to climb trees. Nevertheless, he still does something from the life of birds. A parrot, when climbing to great heights, occasionally performs jumps, simply using its wings for gliding. However, this jump most often ends unsuccessfully. The "bird" often flops on the ground. The parrot is not capable of climbing trees. However, this is his main occupation. But it is fully adapted for flight, since the body of this bird is identical in design to other parrots (with the exception of certain aspects). But kakapo cannot fly at all. However, he tries, which sometimes ends sadly.
Are rudiments necessary?
Thus, rudiments can be useful, but they are always a remnant of something that was much more effective in the past. This parrot's wings are vestigial because they have lost the ability (partially) to perform their former functions. It's the same story with the ostrich. He is no longer able to fly, but he still has wings (as well as hollow skeletal bones, which are typical for full-fledged birds).
Man is no exception here. We also have atavisms and rudiments. Examples of the latter are the appendix, which is an organ that is certainly useful. However, among our ancestors its significance was more significant - it played a more important role in the digestion of food. Therefore, the appendix is a vestige. But sometimes it is somewhat more difficult to determine what role rudiments and atavisms play in humans. For example, answering the question why we need molars today is no longer so simple. It is known that the pain and troubles they cause sometimes force us to turn to a surgeon.
The importance of the appendix in the human body
One of the most famous human vestiges is, perhaps, the appendix. The concept of appendicitis (inflammation of this appendix) is closely related to it. In surgical practice, interestingly, operations for appendicitis are among the most common. The disease often harbors serious complications in the form of an abscess (an abscess forms in the abdominal cavity) and peritonitis (the tissue covering the abdominal cavity becomes inflamed).
However, the appendix also has useful functions. It maintains microbiological balance in the intestines, promotes adequate digestion, and also supports local immunity, since it contains a large amount of lymphoid tissue.
What are atavisms?
One of the most important evidence of evolutionary theory is atavisms. They are found quite often and today are well studied. Atavisms are characteristics that appear in a particular individual and do not correspond to the currently widespread species. These are traces that have been preserved because they were once natural to an individual that was at a lower stage of evolution. Over time, she improved her external and functional qualities, gradually getting rid of unnecessary signs. But traces of an old-style individual are preserved in the genetic code, which is why atavisms sometimes arise. They are present from birth in an individual and cannot be formed during life. This is often a hereditary trait.
From what ancestors can rudiments and atavisms appear?
The presence of rudiments and atavisms proves the existence of evolution. And now you will see this. Mammals, as well as birds, are without exception the ancestors of reptiles. In turn, reptiles were the ancestors of amphibians, amphibians - fish, etc. It can be argued that only from our ancestors can atavisms appear. However, parallel branches will not be able to influence each other in any way. For example, a person can have atavisms from mammals (fur, nipples, tail) and even reptiles (the so-called “snake heart”). As you probably already guessed, we also only have rudiments from mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish. And atavisms and rudiments from parallel evolutionary branches (in our case, birds) are impossible. Also, birds will never show signs of mammals, but they can show signs of reptiles. Thus, the presence of rudiments and atavisms in animals (as in humans) is not an accident, but a natural event, predicted by evolutionary theory.
Atavisms in humans
Examples of atavisms in the human body can be given as follows.
1. Elongated coccyx, or caudal process. It appears as a result of the fact that, according to Darwin, man has common roots with the ape, which had a tail.
2. Thick hair. In humans, the abundance of hair on the face and body reveals signs of our ancestors. These characteristics allowed them to exist in different climatic conditions. Such cover began to decrease over time, but in some cases it transformed into atavism. This atavism is expressed in excess hair on the face (beard in women) and on the body (long thick hair).
3. There is an additional pair of nipples. The fact that man descended from a mammal is evidenced by the presence of three pairs of nipples on the body. These organs are often not functional, but there are cases when, along with the main ones, extra mammary glands also work.
Why do atavisms not appear in everyone?
Even if the external manifestation of a trait is completely lost, fragments of the genetic “programs” that ensured the development of this trait in the ancestors can remain in the genome for a long time. One of the main and, perhaps, the most delicate principles of regulation of gene function in the body is post-transcriptional control. That is, everything that the gene responsible for the development of this or that atavism has “accumulated” is “cleaned up” in the developing cell of the embryo. Thus, an unnecessary sign is not formed. However, under special circumstances (extreme effects on the embryo, mutations), these gene programs can still work. It is then that we encounter anomalies that can sometimes be fatal (for example, in the case of an oval window, an unclosed interatrial foramen).
The fate of the rudiments
Rudiments, by their genetic essence, are practically “unsuppressable”. Therefore, they are found in most individuals (for example, in humans - coccygeal vertebrae, molars, etc.). It is important to note that these signs usually do not cause significant harm to the individual. Perhaps they are even a potential basis for the development of a useful trait in the future. It can be assumed that they will not be removed from the genetic code by evolution any time soon. Or they won’t even be confiscated at all.
Thus, there is a big difference between such concepts as “atavism” and “rudiment”. The difference is that rudiments appear in almost all individuals, while atavisms appear only in some.
Charles Darwin's opinion
What does Charles Darwin think about this? The founder of evolutionary theory believed that atavisms and rudiments are the most important sign that people, like other creatures, developed over time into other species. Proponents of this idea were so carried away by the search for non-functioning organs that they found about 200 of them in the human body. Their theories have now been refuted. Of course, no one denies the existence of rudiments and atavisms, but their meaning is a controversial point. Most of these organs have been proven to have a functional purpose. However, this does not exclude the possibility that the genetic predisposition, due to which atavisms and rudiments are formed (their examples are not limited to those presented in this article), is inherent in every organism.
Rudiments and atavisms - proof of evolution?
Materialists see evidence of evolution in rudiments and atavisms. Materialists call rudiments (Latin rudimentum - rudiment, initial stage) organs that have fewer capabilities compared to similar organs in other creatures, which is perceived as a loss of their basic meaning over time. For example, many birds fly with the help of their wings, and ostriches use their wings to maintain balance while running, shake off insects, courtship dances, etc. One of the most famous human rudiments is the coccyx, mistaken for the remnant of the tail.
The term “atavism” has now fallen out of scientific use, but it continues to be used outside academic circles. Atavism (lat. atavismus, from atavis - ancestor) is understood as the presence in an individual of characteristics characteristic of supposedly distant ancestors. For example, in humans it is hair on parts of the body where there is usually none.
At first glance, especially if you believe in evolution, rudiments and atavisms may well serve as confirmation of Darwin's theory. However, they are also well explained by the concept of creation.
In the second half of the 19th century. Along with the growing popularity of the theory of evolution, interest in everything that confirmed it in one way or another increased. Charles Darwin, already widely known at that time, in his book “The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection” (1871) listed a number of organs that he classified as vestigial. At the end of the 19th century. – early 20th century Many scientists enthusiastically searched for “unnecessary” organs in the human body. And they were delighted that there were many of them - about two hundred. However, over time, their list began to thin out, as their beneficial properties were established: some organs produced the necessary hormones, others began to work under certain external conditions, others were needed at a certain stage of the body’s development, and others acted as a reserve. Therefore, most likely, the concept of “rudiment” will soon be revised.
Here is what, for example, is written about the coccyx in the Wikipedia encyclopedia: “The coccyx has quite an important functional significance. The anterior sections of the coccyx serve for attachment of muscles and ligaments... In addition, the coccyx plays a role in distributing physical load on the anatomical structures of the pelvis, serving as an important fulcrum... when a sitting person bends over.” And here’s what you can read about the appendix there: “The appendix is... a kind of “farm” where beneficial microorganisms multiply... The appendix plays a life-saving role in preserving the microflora.”
Rice. The organs, which today are called rudiments, each play their own role in the functioning of the body.
That is, the organs, considered rudiments, each play their own role in the functioning of the body. Try to take away the wings of an ostrich. Will this living creature be better or worse without them? The answer is obvious: the ostrich needs wings, although they are less functional than those of flying birds. If the rudiments are needed by the organism, then they do not prove evolution! Now if only in our body were completely found unnecessary elements as remnants of development “from simple to complex”, then this would be a significant confirmation of Darwin’s theory. However, all creatures have an optimal functional structure, and each is harmonious in its own way, pointing to the Author who created it.
As for atavisms, that's a different story. The fact is that this term is no longer entirely scientific, and therefore ambiguous. Let's take hair for example. They are needed for thermoregulation, protect against friction, microtrauma, irritation, diaper rash... They also play an important role in the functioning of the skin. The sweat and sebaceous glands are located near the hair follicle. The excretory ducts of some of the sweat glands and most of the sebaceous glands exit to the surface of the skin along with the hair. Sebum prevents the development of microorganisms, softens the skin and gives it elasticity. However, if a person’s entire body is covered with hair, then materialists call this pathology atavism and associate it with distant ancestors. Why? Yes, because monkeys and many other animals are completely covered with hair. But wool, although it is similar to human hair, is significantly different from it. Excessive hairiness in people is simply a disease well known to doctors under the name hypertrichosis.
Echoes of “our animal past” also include additional underdeveloped nipples, which are sometimes found in humans. Although these nipples are clearly human, and not cow or monkey. Some materialists also consider the “tail,” a rare extension in people in the coccyx area, to be an atavism. But in fact, such outgrowths from the human body are not a tail, like the tails of animals. This extension represents a tumor, growth, or cyst. That is, it is a disease often known as the coccygeal tract. At the same time, for some reason, materialists are not embarrassed by the fact that there are no people with scales, gills, wings, feathers and fins... And for some reason, evolutionists do not claim that humans had, for example, six-fingered, three-legged and two-headed ancestors, although people are sometimes born with similar deviations.
That is, we see a strange picture: materialists explain some congenital deformities and developmental anomalies, supposedly similar to the signs of our ancestors, by kinship with them, that is, they consider them atavisms. And many other defects, including internal ones, which do not have obvious similarities with the supposed ancestors, are called deviations associated with disturbances in the functioning of the body. Although it is clear that in both cases the cause of the pathologies is a genetic or hormonal imbalance, which can be caused by a wide variety of external factors. But it is convenient for materialists to apply to a number of defects not the concepts of disease, defect or anomaly, but the term “atavism”, since it fits into the theory of evolution.
Rice. What is often considered an atavism is an anomaly, and not an inheritance from animal ancestors
Despite partial similarities, all living beings are unique and perfect in their own way, which is excellent proof that we were created by an intelligent Creator. And the fact that there is similarity in a number of organs of different living beings indicates that we have the same Creator! He designed his creations for different conditions and for different tasks, but at the same time successful “architectural” and functional solutions were used and repeated, taking into account the nuances of the species.
Of course, there are people who try to find flaws and imperfections in the bodies of living beings. However, their claims to the Creator are easy to verify - it is enough to surgically correct the found “imperfection” and follow the further fate of the operated creature in different external conditions, comparing it with the unoperated one.
Let us note that similar experiments have already taken place in history. Particularly zealous doctors from the beginning of the 20th century. began to “correct nature’s mistakes” by surgically removing healthy, but, as it seemed to them, unnecessary and even dangerous organs from people. Thus, tens of thousands of people lost their colon, cecum, tonsils, appendix... This practice was stopped only when doctors were convinced of the negative consequences of their “good” activities.
As you can see, the concepts of “rudiments” and “atavisms” used by materialists do not prove evolution, since this issue can be looked at from a completely different angle. It is obvious that the above creationist opinion scientifically supports the concept of creation.
The difference between rudimentary and atavistic characteristics lies in which particular ancestors of a given individual - immediate or distant - one or another characteristic is observed, as well as whether it is the norm or a deviation.
Atavism
Atavism is a characteristic that was present in the evolutionary ancestors of a given species, but is not inherent in the existing species itself. However, the genes encoding it remain and continue to be passed on from generation to generation. Under certain circumstances, these “dormant genes” can “wake up”, and then an individual with an atavistic trait is born.
For example, the tarpan, an extinct wild ancestor of horses, had stripe-like markings on its legs. Modern horses do not have them, but individuals with similar markings are occasionally born. At the beginning of the 19th century, the birth of such a foal from a horse that had been mated unsuccessfully with a male zebra 2 years earlier gave rise to the pseudoscientific theory of telegony.
Atavistic signs are also found in people. Sometimes people are born with continuous hair like apes, with additional mammary glands like those of monkeys, with an appendage in the form of a tail. Until the mid-20th century, such people had one way - to a fair booth or a circus, to amuse the public with their unusual appearance.
Rudiment
A vestigial trait is also a legacy of evolutionary ancestors. But if atavism is the exception, rudiment is the rule.
Rudimentary organs degraded during evolution and lost their functionality, but they are present in all representatives of a given species, therefore, the birth of an individual with such a trait is not a deviation from the norm.
An example of a vestigial organ is the eyes of a mole: very small, practically invisible. However, moles are normally born with eyes; the birth of a mole without eyes is possible only as a result of a genetic anomaly or a disorder of intrauterine development.
An example of a vestigial organ in humans is the muscles surrounding the auricle. They help other mammals move their ears to listen, but few people are capable of this. The rudiment is the coccyx - a degraded tail.
One should not confuse homological organs with rudiments, which appear in everyone during the prenatal period, but fully develop and function in individuals of only one sex - for example, underdeveloped mammary glands in men. Provisional organs, which exist only in embryos and subsequently disappear, should not be confused with rudiments.
