It was widely believed in the nineteenth century that the Tasmanians were a living link between modern humans and their primate ancestors. Given the presupposition of naturalistic evolution, the Tasmanian people were often seen as less than human and, consequently, many people felt it was not wrong or immoral to treat them like animals. Today it is concluded that htey were a distinct racial group similar to the Australian Aborigines that possessed a unique culture and were fully human. This event is only one of many examples of the numerous tragedies that evolutionary naturalism has produced in modern times.