Question

What event(s) helped make Americans especially receptive to evolution as part of the early 19th century zeitgeist? a. Many took cruises to South America and other places where they were exposed to species of apes very similar to human beings b. The tenet of natural selection became widely known and popular c. Displays of orangutans and chimpanzees became common in zoos, as well as increased interest in fossil collections and comparisons d. Helmholtz's and Fechner's research findings made such questioning inevitable e. None of the choices are correct

Answer 1

The correct answer is letter "C": Displays of orangutans and chimpanzees became common in zoos, as well as increased interest in fossil collections and comparisons.

Step-by-step explanation:

British naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) in his well-known book "On the Origin of Species" (1859) proposes that all life on Earth is connected and related to each other and the diversity of life is a result of modifications of populations by natural selection. Darwin also came up with the idea that species change over time and that all species have a common ancestor. This last idea was later used by Henry Huxley (1825-1895) in his book "Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature" (1863) where he concluded that apes and humans had a common ancestor.

Thanks to the display of apes in zoos and the increasing interest in finding fossils in America, its population on that day implicitly started to accept the new ideas on human evolution.