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A simplified March of Progress in silhouette.
The March of Progress is the common name for an illustration by Rudolph Zallinger from a section of the Early Man volume of Time-Life's 1965 Life Nature Library called "The Road to Homo Sapiens." It attempts to depict the progression of human evolution over the course of 25 million years from the Miocene epoch to the present, with human ancestors walking toward a modern depiction of mankind. While the image had been preceded by similar drawings from Thomas Huxley's 1863 book Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature and Mark Twain's 1889 edition of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Zallinger's 1965 version has become the most parodied in pop culture, often depicting exaggerated stereotypes from one point to another, or comical examples of de-evolution.
References[]
- One cover of The Amphibian, the Henson Company employee yearbook, features a progression of simple ocean lifeforms becoming Kermit the Frog, with in-between stages including a tailed primate, a humanoid wearing a full-body diving suit, and a clothed man wearing a hat. The cover dubs the illustration, "The Evolution of Excellence."
- The 1988 activity book Magic Pen Painting Book explores the "Muppet Mansion" where Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker share a lab. A poster on the wall titled "Honeydew's Theory of Evolution (Frogus Kermitus)" depicts simpler lifeforms progressing toward Kermit. One figure walks with a hunch, using its hands to walk, while another carries a tool or weapon of some kind.
