....and ye fools, when will ye be wise? Psalm 94:8
"A 2026 National Geographic “Stones and Bones” article on October 9 has contrasted the once-common, openly racist teaching (or assertions) of evolutionists with the facts unearthed by researchers over the past century. The article also tells a true story regarding an article about human evolution written in 1916 by Theodore Roosevelt that casts reproach on his otherwise stellar reputation. The real blame, however, should fall on the Darwinian scientists who influenced his thinking.
Neanderthal Man was once considered the premier evidence for human evolution. Today, it is widely acknowledged that Neanderthals were fully human like us. The revised view became evident on the cover of the October 2008 issue of National
Geographic magazine, which labeled Neanderthals “The Other Humans.” (See National Geographic cover, right.)
In the Oct 2026 National Geographic article, Cornell University graduate and science writer Nicholas St. Fleur sharply criticizes a 1916 essay written by Theodore Roosevelt.
In that essay, Roosevelt surveyed the evidence for human evolution as it was understood in the early 20th century. He accompanied his text with illustrations by famed paleoartist Charles R. Knight.
Both the article and its illustrations represent an enormous embarrassment for evolutionists today, effectively illustrating how a handful of fragmented bones were once used to construct an elaborate evolutionary narrative complete with multi-thousand-year timelines. This bias deceived one of America’s great presidents.
The entire evolutionary case Roosevelt presented has since been thoroughly dismantled by mainline science. As is obvious, Roosevelt, a keen naturalist and published ornithologist, deeply “admired Darwin (whose work he was reading at the precocious age of ten), and he wasn’t shy about telling the world” what he believed to be the firmly established fact of human evolution from some hypothetical ape ancestor.
Furthermore, Roosevelt credited Darwin with “convincing practically all men of trained intelligence that the animal world, including man, has developed by evolution, not by an infinity of special creations,” adding that “The law of evolution is as fundamental to our understanding of life as the law of gravitation is to our understanding of the inanimate universe.”
Roosevelt’s unshakeable faith in evolution motivated his 1916 National Geographic piece. The primary evidence he cited consisted of Neanderthals, Piltdown Man, Java Man and Heidelberg Man (Homo heidelbergensis). All three of these supposed ‘missing links’ have since been discredited as evidence of transitional forms in human ancestry.
Roosevelt described Neanderthals as savages who were more advanced than Piltdown Man, yet placed them lower on the evolutionary ladder than any living human group.
this bias by portraying Neanderthals as hunched figures wearing makeshift fur loincloths and wielding crude wooden clubs to beat women. Directly opposite the Neanderthal stood an enlightened “Cro-Magnon Man” (i.e., anatomically modern human), shown upright painting a bison on a cave wall by the warm light of an oil lamp.
Commenting on the stark visual contrast drawn between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, St. Fleur noted:
The reason for this is that decades of archaeological discoveries have thoroughly overturned these early caricatures:
Then, in 1864, a geologist named William King evaluated the
skeletal remains through an evolutionary framework, formally classifying them as Homo neanderthalensis—the first designated extinct human species. In his original paper, King emphasized the creature’s primitiveness:
This look at the history of the attempts to document human evolution history in 1916 illustrated the firm unquestioning belief in human evolution by its adherents. This is in spite of the fact that every pillar of support for evolution in 1916 has been demolished by the progress of science made by the scientists themselves. One has to wonder how much of the proof of human evolution used to support the theory today will likewise be shown to be false in the future."
Neanderthal Man was once considered the premier evidence for human evolution. Today, it is widely acknowledged that Neanderthals were fully human like us. The revised view became evident on the cover of the October 2008 issue of National
In the Oct 2026 National Geographic article, Cornell University graduate and science writer Nicholas St. Fleur sharply criticizes a 1916 essay written by Theodore Roosevelt.
In that essay, Roosevelt surveyed the evidence for human evolution as it was understood in the early 20th century. He accompanied his text with illustrations by famed paleoartist Charles R. Knight.
Both the article and its illustrations represent an enormous embarrassment for evolutionists today, effectively illustrating how a handful of fragmented bones were once used to construct an elaborate evolutionary narrative complete with multi-thousand-year timelines. This bias deceived one of America’s great presidents.
The entire evolutionary case Roosevelt presented has since been thoroughly dismantled by mainline science. As is obvious, Roosevelt, a keen naturalist and published ornithologist, deeply “admired Darwin (whose work he was reading at the precocious age of ten), and he wasn’t shy about telling the world” what he believed to be the firmly established fact of human evolution from some hypothetical ape ancestor.
Furthermore, Roosevelt credited Darwin with “convincing practically all men of trained intelligence that the animal world, including man, has developed by evolution, not by an infinity of special creations,” adding that “The law of evolution is as fundamental to our understanding of life as the law of gravitation is to our understanding of the inanimate universe.”
Roosevelt’s unshakeable faith in evolution motivated his 1916 National Geographic piece. The primary evidence he cited consisted of Neanderthals, Piltdown Man, Java Man and Heidelberg Man (Homo heidelbergensis). All three of these supposed ‘missing links’ have since been discredited as evidence of transitional forms in human ancestry.
Roosevelt’s Fake Neanderthals
St. Fleur aimed his sharpest criticism at Roosevelt’s portrayal of Neanderthals, noting that Neanderthals are now recognized as our extinct cousins rather than inferior evolutionary rivals who disappeared over 40,000 years ago as had previously been claimed.Roosevelt described Neanderthals as savages who were more advanced than Piltdown Man, yet placed them lower on the evolutionary ladder than any living human group.
Deceived by a Biased Artist
St. Fleur highlights how Charles R. Knight’s illustrations reinforced
Commenting on the stark visual contrast drawn between Neanderthal and Cro-Magnon, St. Fleur noted:
"Both Roosevelt and Knight were echoing the scientific sentiment at that time that Neanderthals were dumb and brutish, imagery that has plagued Homo neanderthalensis to various degrees since its discovery in 1856. But now, more than a century after America’s “Rough Rider” president maligned Neanderthals within our yellow borders, scientists are giving the archaic species some long-overdue justice."
The reason for this is that decades of archaeological discoveries have thoroughly overturned these early caricatures:
"Decades of research have reshaped our image of Neanderthals, showing they were likely a sophisticated, intelligent branch of humanity, possibly even capable of art, culture, and empathy. Archaeological clues from scattered sites suggest that some may have buried their dead, practiced rudimentary dentistry, hunted birds at night, managed hearths, manufactured red ocher, constructed structures from cave stalagmites, and more."
Then, in 1864, a geologist named William King evaluated the
“Considering that the Neanderthal skull is eminently simian, both in its general and particular characters, I feel myself constrained to believe that the thoughts and desires which once dwelt within it never soared beyond those of the brute.”
This look at the history of the attempts to document human evolution history in 1916 illustrated the firm unquestioning belief in human evolution by its adherents. This is in spite of the fact that every pillar of support for evolution in 1916 has been demolished by the progress of science made by the scientists themselves. One has to wonder how much of the proof of human evolution used to support the theory today will likewise be shown to be false in the future."
CEH
