The Descent of Man

almost completely divested of hair. Even the
colour of our beards seems to have been inherited
from an ape-like progenitor; for when there
is any difference in tint between the hair of the
head and the beard, the latter is lighter coloured
in all monkeys and in man. In those Quadrumana
in which the male has a larger beard
than that of the female, it is fully developed
only at maturity, just as with mankind; and it is
possible that only the later stages of development
have been retained by man. In opposition
to this view of the retention of the beard from
an early period is the fact of its great variability
in different races, and even within the same
race; for this indicates reversion,—long lost
characters being very apt to vary on reappearance.
Nor must we overlook the part which sexual
selection may have played in later times; for we
know that with savages the men of the beardless
races take infinite pains in eradicating eve-