seeking help with phrase: "auf die in ihr liegenden"

[edmont]

Having difficulty understanding "auf die in ihr" in the sentence below:

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Dabei ist auffallend, daß die Vergangenheit und Gegenwart auf die in ihr liegenden "Entwicklungskeime" für die Zukunft abgetastet werden.

Translation attempt:

Thus it is striking that the past and present are scanned for the in-them-lying-seeds of future development. (?)

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But ihr can't mean "them" as I translate it above, can it?

Does ihr in this context mean "their"?

The problem then is, it doesn't seem to make sense to say "for-the-in-their-lying-seeds".

Thank you for any assistance.

[Duckduck]

Having difficulty understanding "auf die in ihr" in the sentence below:

______________________________________________________

Dabei ist auffallend, daß die Vergangenheit und Gegenwart auf die in ihr liegenden "Entwicklungskeime" für die Zukunft abgetastet werden.

Translation attempt:

Thus it is striking that the past and present are scanned for the in-them-lying-seeds of future development. (?)

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But ihr can't mean "them" as I translate it above, can it? Oh, but it can and it must!!!

Does ihr in this context mean "their"? Nononono!

The problem then is, it doesn't seem to make sense to say "for-the-in-their-lying-seeds". Right you are!

Thank you for any assistance.

Well, edmont, my hero... what can I say?! 
You've discovered a grammatical mistake, no less. It should of course be:
..., daß die Vergangenheit und Gegenwart auf die in ihnen liegenden "Entwicklungskeime" für die Zukunft abgetastet werden.

Basically, "ihr" could refer either to "Vergangenheit" or to "Gegenwart". But why should the author mention both if he wants to talk about the significance of only one of them?

May I just say, edmont, that I enjoy your questions and oberservations so very much because they make me doubt my understanding of German again and again.   I read your sentences, think: Why it's all clear, really, isn't it... and then I reconsider and just don't know...

Cheers,
Duckduck 

[edmont]

I'm glad it's useful to you. It's so helpful to me. Thank you very much Duckduck!