The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. 2 vols.

This is really two works. The first demolished the theory that the universe was created for humans while in the second Darwin presented a mass of evidence in support of his earlier hypothesis regarding sexual selection. With respect to human origins, Darwin predicted that the ancestors of humanity would eventually be found in Africa, based on the extensive primate populations there. However, during the 19th and early 20th centuries paleoanthropologists focused their researches in Europe and Asia rather than Africa. This focus only very gradually changed after Raymond Dart discovered Australopithecus africanus in 1924.