I have seen the foolish taking root... Job 5:3
"It is evident that beliefs stemming from antiquity regarding the
existence of mythical creatures continued into the early modern period, despite clear statements of caution from Augustine.
Popular superstition and mythology filtered into the minds of many academics when faced with new, but limited numbers of primate specimens from Africa and Asia. These were depicted through sometimes poor drawings, which reinforced error through several centuries.
Tyson’s analysis from the late 17th century showed that there was a clear distinction between apes and human beings, and he argued persuasively that many of the claims from ancient times were most probably sightings of apes and monkeys. Such rational thinking should have clarified matters for science, although Tyson’s work left an opportunity for confusion, and was later criticized by Camper.
Further confusion arose through Linnaeus’ classification scheme which placed human beings within the Primate order, alongside apes and monkeys which were classified within the subgenus Homo nocturnus.
This classification was reinforced by the embellished drawings of Hoppius, arguably one of the first imaginative ape-to-man march-of-progress drawings.
When Darwin and Huxley resurrected the evolutionary link in the 19th century, it was on the basis of comparative brain physiology.
Belief in evolution also fed upon an undercurrent of popular mythology that there existed missing links between apes and men, but the search for the missing links soon passed from the present to the fossil record."
CMI
"It is evident that beliefs stemming from antiquity regarding the
Popular superstition and mythology filtered into the minds of many academics when faced with new, but limited numbers of primate specimens from Africa and Asia. These were depicted through sometimes poor drawings, which reinforced error through several centuries.
Tyson’s analysis from the late 17th century showed that there was a clear distinction between apes and human beings, and he argued persuasively that many of the claims from ancient times were most probably sightings of apes and monkeys. Such rational thinking should have clarified matters for science, although Tyson’s work left an opportunity for confusion, and was later criticized by Camper.
Further confusion arose through Linnaeus’ classification scheme which placed human beings within the Primate order, alongside apes and monkeys which were classified within the subgenus Homo nocturnus.
This classification was reinforced by the embellished drawings of Hoppius, arguably one of the first imaginative ape-to-man march-of-progress drawings.
When Darwin and Huxley resurrected the evolutionary link in the 19th century, it was on the basis of comparative brain physiology.
Belief in evolution also fed upon an undercurrent of popular mythology that there existed missing links between apes and men, but the search for the missing links soon passed from the present to the fossil record."
CMI