The creationist polygenism of Samuel George Morton and Louis Agassiz, which presented human races as separately created species, was rejected by Charles Darwin, who argued for the monogenesis of the human species and the African origin of modern humans. Haeckel put forward a racist doctrine of evolutionary polygenism based on the ideas of the linguist August Schleicher, in which several different language groups had arisen separately from speechless prehuman Urmenschen (), which themselves had evolved from simian ancestors. These separate languages had completed the transition from animals to man, and under the influence of each main branch of languages, humans had evolved – in a kind of Lamarckian use-inheritance – as separate species, which could be subdivided into races. From this, Haeckel drew the implication that languages with the most potential yield the human races with the most potential, led by the Semitic and Indo-Germanic groups, with Berber, Jewish, Greco-Roman and Germanic varieties to the fore. As Haeckel stated:Natürliche Schöpfungsgeschichte (1868), p. 511; quoted after Robert J. Richards, "The linguistic creation of man: Charles Darwin, August Schleicher, Ernst Haeckel, and the Missing Link in Nineteenth-Century Evolutionary Theory".
the creationist polygenism of samuel george morton and louis agassiz which presented human races as separately created species was rejected by charles darwin who argued for the monogenesis of the human species and the african origin of modern humans haeckel put forward a racist doctrine of evolutionary polygenism based on the ideas of the linguist august schleicher in which several different language groups had arisen separately from speechless prehuman urmenschen () which themselves had evolved from simian ancestors these separate languages had completed the transition from animals to man and under the influence of each main branch of languages humans had evolved – in a kind of lamarckian use-inheritance – as separate species which could be subdivided into races from this haeckel drew the implication that languages with the most potential yield the human races with the most potential led by the semitic and indo-germanic groups with berber jewish greco-roman and germanic varieties to the fore as haeckel statednatürliche schöpfungsgeschichte (1868) p 511; quoted after robert j richards "the linguistic creation of man charles darwin august schleicher ernst haeckel and the missing link in nineteenth-century evolutionary theory"