H E S P E R O C Y O N / A N C I E N T D O G F A M I L Y
The long muzzled face looks like a dog.
The stance could be shared with a cat.
Long neck. Long tail. Too long for a
modern dog. The long torso allows for
considerable bend - like a greyhound.
The spring of the back adds to the animal's
propulsion. The leg's backward knee is
actually the animal's ankle. Beneath it
are the foot bones that never touch ground.
I C E A G E E L E P H A N T
The Pleistocene extends back over two million years.
It was a time of fluctuating cooling and warming climates.
At its peak the last Ice Age covered 30 percent of the
globe's land area. The fossils of this species of elephant
were uncovered in South America. Elephants populated
the Earth everywhere.
P A L A E O L O X O D O N A N T I Q U U S
Thirteen feet tall at the shoulders.
Just about fifteen tons on the scale.
It's hard to come up with the name
of a four-legged mammal that is larger.
The diverse and widespread family of
elephants is now reduced to a shrinking
pool, mostly domesticated or protected
inhabitants of government lands.
A L L I N T H E F A M I L Y
Flat footed. Every member of this family of species
uses its foot bones for feet, and not a leg extension.
The tree dwellers, Gibbons and Orangutan,
have arms that reach the full length of their body to
touch the ground. The Gorilla's head is larger than the
human's but half of its skull is made up of a massive jaw.
Only the human stance is totally vertical. What truly
stands out, though, is the size of the human cranium,
where the brain resides, holding within its confines
the ability of reason and imagination.
P R I M A T E R E S O R T
This lakeside resort is representative of a Pleistocene
environment that primates of all sorts continue to favor.
It has a healthy forest, access to plenty of water as well
as providing a comfortable, mild climate for lounging.
It's ideal for gibbons, orangutans, chimpanzees and
gorillas. Humans would add a Hyatt.
S A B E R T O O T H
11,000 years ago Ice Age saber toothed tigers
inhabited what is now Los Angeles. There were likely
human witnesses to the likes of these Saber Tooths,
Mammoth Elephants and Giant Sloughs.
It is in this arena that human awareness may first
separate these people from the ancients.
It is the isolation of human consciousness.
A new story begins.
* * * * *
OVER EASY
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