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was approved by the Association, and grants amounting to 70%. were made to assist in defraying the cost of publication. The Council of the Anthropological Institute appointed a Committee of its members to undertake the revision of the different subjects, with Dr. J. G. Garson and Mr. C. H. Read as editors respectively of the two parts into which it is divided. The work was published at the end of the year 1892, and is invaluable to the traveller or investigator in pointing out the most important subjects of inquiry, and in directing the observations he may have the means of making into a methodical and systematic channel.

Besides those I have already mentioned, the Association has aided many other anthropological investigations by the appointment of Committees to carry them out, and in some cases by the more substantial method of giving grants from its funds, and by defraying the cost of publication of the results in its journal. Among these I may specially mention the series of very valuable Reports upon the Physical Characters, Languages, and Industrial and Social Condition of the NorthWestern Tribes of the Dominion of Canada, drawn up by Mr. Horatio Hale, Dr. F. Boas, and others, the importance of which has been recognised by the Canadian Government in the form of a grant in aid of the expenses.

Another very interesting investigation into the Habits, Customs, Physical Characteristics, and Religion of the Natives of Northern India, initiated by Mr. H. H. Risley, and carried on under his supervision by the Indian Government, though it has received little more than moral support from the Association, may be mentioned here on account of the illustration it affords of the value of exact anthropometric methods in distinguishing groups of men. Although a practised eye can frequently tell at a glance the tribe or caste of a man brought before it for the first time, the special characters upon which the opinion is based have only lately been reduced to any definite and easily comparable method of description. In Mr. Risley's examination, the nose, for instance (which I have always held to be one of the most important of features for classificatory purposes), instead of being vaguely described as broad or narrow, is accurately measured, and the proportion of the greatest width to the length (from above downwards), or the nasal index,' as it is termed (though it must not be confounded with the nasal index as defined by Broca upon the skull), gives a figure by which the main elements of the composition of this feature in any individual may be accurately described. The average or mean nasal indices of a large number of individuals of any race, tribe, or caste offer means of comparison which bring out most interesting results. By this character alone the Dravidian tribes of India are easily separated from the Aryan. 'Even more striking is the curiously close correspondence between the gradations of racial type indicated by the nasal index and certain of the social data ascertained by independent inquiry. If we take a series of castes in Bengal, Behar, or the NorthWestern Provinces, and arrange them in the order of the average nasal index, so that the caste with the finest nose shall be at the top, and that with the coarsest at the bottom of the list, it will be found that this order substantially corresponds with the accepted order of social precedence. The casteless tribes-Kols, Korwas, Mundas, and the like-who have not yet entered the Brahmanical system, occupy the lowest place in both series. Then come the vermin-eating Musuhars and the leather-dressing Chamárs. The fisher castes of Bauri, Bind, and Kewat are a trifle higher in the scale; the pastoral Goala, the cultivating Kurmi, and a group of cognate castes-from whose hands a Brahman may take water-follow in due order; and from them we pass to the trading Khatris, the landholding Bábhans, and the upper crust of Hindu society. Thus, it is scarcely a paradox to lay down as a law of the caste organisation in Eastern India that a man's social status varies in inverse ratio to the width of his nose.' The results already obtained by this method of observation have been so important and interesting that it is greatly to be hoped that the inquiry may be extended throughout the remainder of our Indian Empire.

But for want of time I might here refer to the valuable work done in relation to the natives of the Andaman Islands, a race in many respects of most exceptional interest, first by Mr. E. H. Man, and more recently by Mr. M. V. Portman, and for the same reason can scarcely glance at the great progress that is being

made in anthropological research in other countries than our own. The numerous workers on this subject in the United States of America are, with great assistance from the Government, very properly devoting themselves to exploring, collecting, and publishing, in a systematic and exhaustive manner, every fact that can still be discovered relating to the history, language, and characters of the aboriginal population of their own land. They have in this a clear duty set before them, and they are doing it in splendid style. I wish we could say that the same has been done with all the native populations in various parts of the world which have been, to use a current phrase, disestablished and disendowed' by our own countrymen. We are, however, now, as I have shown, not altogether unmindful of what is our duty to posterity in this respect; a duty, perhaps, more urgent than that of any other branch of scientific investigation, as it will not wait. It must be done, if ever, before the rapid spread of civilised man all over the world, one of the most remarkable characteristics of the age in which we live, has obliterated what still remains of the original customs, arts, and beliefs of primitive races; if, indeed, it has not succeeded-as it too often does-in obliterating the races themselves.

The following Reports and Papers were read:

1. The Report of the Anthropometric Laboratory Committee.
See Reports, p. 444.

2. The Report of the Ethnographical Survey Committee.
See Reports, p. 419.

3. The Report of the Committee on Anthropometry in Schools.
See Reports, p. 439.

4. On the Diffusion of Mythical Beliefs as Evidence in the History of Culture. By EDWARD B. TYLOR, D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S.

The purpose of this communication was to illustrate and systematise the use of correspondence in culture as means of tracing lines of connection and intercourse between ancient and remote peoples. Mythical beliefs are especially referred to as furnishing good evidence of this class, notwithstanding their want of objective value. The conception of weighing in a spiritual balance in the judgment of the dead, which makes its earliest appearance in the Egyptian religion, was traced thence into a series of variants, serving to draw lines of intercourse through the Vedic and Zoroastrian religions, extending from Eastern Buddhism to Western Christendom. The associated doctrine of the Bridge of the Dead, which separates the good, who pass over, from the wicked, who fall into the abyss, appears first in ancient Persian religion, reaching in like manner to the extremities of Asia and Europe. By these mythical beliefs historical ties are practically constituted, connecting the great religions of the world, and serving as lines along which their interdependence is to be followed out. Evidence of the same kind was brought forward in support of the theory, not sufficiently recognised by writers on culture history, of the Asiatic influences under which the præ-Columbian culture of America took shape. In the religion of old Mexico four great scenes in the journey of the soul in the land of the dead are mentioned by early Spanish writers after the conquest, and are depicted in a group in the Aztec picture-writing known as the Vatican Codex. The four scenes are, first, the crossing of the river; second, the fearful passage of the soul between the two mountains which clash together; third, the soul's climbing up the mountain set with sharp obsidian knives; fourth,

the dangers of the wind carrying such knives on its blast. The Mexican pictures of these four scenes were compared with more or less closely corresponding pictures representing scenes from the Buddhist hells or purgatories as depicted on Japanese temple scrolls. Here, first, the river of death is shown, where the souls wade across; second, the souls have to pass between two huge iron mountains, which are pushed together by two demons; third, the guilty souls climb the mountain of knives, whose blades cut their hands and feet; fourth, fierce blasts of wind drive against their lacerated forms, the blades of knives flying through the air. It was argued that the appearance of analogues so close and complex of Buddhist ideas in Mexico constituted a correspondence of so high an order as to preclude any explanation except direct transmission from one religion to another. The writer, referring also to Humboldt's argument from the calendars and mythic catastrophes in Mexico and Asia, and to the correspondence in Bronze Age work and in games in both regions, expressed the opinion that on these cumulative proofs anthropologists might well feel justified in treating the nations of America as having reached their level of culture under Asiatic influence.

5. On Complexional Differences between Natives of Ireland with Indigenous and Exotic Surnames respectively. By JOHN BEddoe, M.D., LL.D., F.R.S.

Taking his data chiefly from the military reports, the author shows that while the former class of Irishmen are largely characterised by the prevalence of light eyes and dark hair, in the latter dark hair is much less frequent. He suggests that a simple mixture of Englishmen, Scotchmen, &c., with the natives should have also decidedly increased the proportion of dark eyes, which has not been the case to any considerable extent; and that the influence of climate, which, if operative at all, should tell in favour of the blonde complexion, may have had some effect upon an unstable cross-breed.

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 10.

The following Reports and Papers were read:

1. The Report of the Committee on Prehistoric and Ancient Remains in Glamorganshire.-See Reports, p. 418.

2. The Report of the Committee on the Exploration of Elbolton Cave. See Reports, p. 270.

3. The Report of the Committee on the Explorations at Oldbury Hill.

4. On the Evolution of Stone Implements. By H. STOPES.

The author defined an 'Implement' to be any stone used to facilitate man's actions, not necessarily made, but used; use being determined by wear. By 'Evolution' he meant a series of improvements in flint implements, the result of mental processes and widening experience, though points are reached in all developments, beyond which advance on the same lines stops.

The earliest tools were any chance natural stones used for breaking, bruising, or hammering. Traces of use are not perceived on these unless they were frequently used, when they became worn or polished. The next step was the selection of stones suitable for given purposes, and convenient to be held in the hand. The only signs these show of being implements are also marks of wear. The author showed many such specimens, and referred to the collection of Mr. Harrison, of Ightham. Natural stones were next gradually trimmed for use by a few strokes. These also were illustrated by a series of what the author termed 'transitional' forms, as they are intermediate between the selected and used, and the worked and used, or Palæolithic implements. The transitional stones are frequently large and rough, generally left-handed, and with thick patination. The terms Paleolithic and Neolithic have become indefinite. Many of the Palæoliths are evidently meant for handles, and some of them are of finer work than the Neoliths. Specimens were shown from many localities, but chiefly from the upper-level gravels of Kent, from 80 feet to 300 feet above the O.D., including anvils, hammers, anchors, net-weights, single- and double-pointed drills or borers, gyrators, axes, spokeshaves, fabricators and arrow-heads; and their parallels were shown from each period. These are the types of many of the steel tools of to-day. A set of sharp-pointed axes having a spiral twist were shown to be developed into the peculiar gyrators of the rock-shelter men, found also amongst the gravels of Swanscomb. Specially instructive are the natural but used stones. Fully half of these show no bulb of percussion. These invaluable records are fast disappearing from free use for concrete and road metal. The importance of preserving worked stones for the use of future students, and the value to the critic of being able to compare a large series together, in order to form just conclusions, were pointed out.

5. A Joint Discussion with Section C on the Plateau Flint Implements of North Kent was held, for which see p. 651.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 11.

The following Reports and Papers were read:

1. The Report of the Committee on the Mental and Physical Condition of Children. See Reports, p. 434.

2. On a New System of Hieroglyphics and a Pre-Phoenician Script from Crete and the Peloponnese. By ARTHUR J. EVANS, M.A.

The author said that the Mycenaean civilisation was in many respects the equal contemporary of those of Egypt and Babylonia, and they might well ask themselves, Was this civilisation wholly dumb? Homer, at least, contained a hint that some form of written symbols was in use.

During a journey to Greece in the preceding year Mr. Evans had obtained a clue to the existence of a peculiar kind of seal-stones-the chief find-spot of which seemed to be Crete-presenting symbols of a hieroglyphic nature. This spring he had been able to follow up his inquiries by the exploration of the ancient sites of Central and Eastern Crete, and the result of his researches had been to bring to

light a series of stones presenting pictographic symbols of the same nature, so that he was now able to put together over seventy symbols belonging to an independent hieroglyphic system. More than this, he had discovered, partly on stones of similar form, partly engraved on prehistoric vases and other materials, a series of linear characters, a certain proportion of which seemed to grow out of the pictorial forms. Both these systems of writing were represented as the diagrams exhibited. It would be seen that, as in the case of the Egyptian and Hittite symbols, the Cretan hieroglyphs fell into certain distinct classes, such as parts of the human body, arms and implements, animal and vegetable forms, objects relating to maritime life, astronomical and geometrical symbols. Some of them, such as the two crossed arms with expanded palms, belonged to that interesting class of pictographs which is rooted in primitive gesture language. The symbols occurred in groups, and there were traces of a boustrophedon arrangement in the several lines. The comparisons instituted showed some interesting affinities to Hittite forms. Among the tools represented, Mr. Evans was able to recognise the 'template' or 'templet' of a decorative artist, and, with the assistance of a model of this symbol taken in connection with a design supplied by a Mycenaean gem found in Crete, he was able to reconstruct a Mycenaean painted ceiling analogous to those of Orchomenos and the eighteenth-dynasty Egyptian tombs of Thebes (circa 1600 B.C.).

The linear and more alphabetic series of symbols was shown to fit on to certain signs engraved on the walls of what was apparently a Mycenæan palace at Knôsos, and again to two groups of signs on vase-handles from Mycenae. It was thus possible to reconstruct a Mycenaean script of some twenty-four characters, each probably having a syllabic value. It further appeared that a large proportion of these were practically identical with the syllabic signs that survived among the Greeks of Cyprus to a comparatively late date. The Cypriote system threw a light on the phonetic value of the Mycenaean.

Resuming the results arrived at, Mr. Evans said that they had now before them two systems of primitive script-one pictographic, the other linear-both, as was shown by the collateral archæological evidence, belonging to the second millennium before our era, and to the days before the Phoenician alphabet had been introduced among the Greeks. Some pictorial forms, however, of the one series clearly appeared in a linear form in the other; the double axe, for instance, being seen in two stages of linearisation-the simpler form identical with the Cypriote character. On the whole, the pictographic or hieroglyphic series seemed more peculiarly indigenous to Crete, and the linear forms to be Mycenaean in the widest sense. The Eteocretans, or indigenous stock of the island, who preserved their language and nationality in the east of the island to the borders of the historic period, certainly used these hieroglyphs. Mr. Evans gave reasons, based on his recent archæological discoveries in Eastern Crete, for believing what had long been suspected on historic and linguistic grounds-that the Philistines who, according to unanimous Hebrew traditions, came from the Mediterranean islands, and who are often actually called Krethi in the Bible, represented in fact this old indigenous Cretan stock; and that they had here the relics and the writing of the Philistines at home.' On Egyptian monuments a people, who came from 'the islands of the sea,' are seen bearing tributary vases of forms, some of which recur on a whole series of engraved gems seen or collected by Mr. Evans in Eastern and Central Crete. Their dress, their peaked shoes, their long hair falling under their arms, all recurred on Cretan designs, representing the inhabitants of the island in Mycenaean times.

3. Exhibition of Prehistoric Objects collected during a Journey and Explorations in Central and Eastern Crete. By ARTHUR J. EVANS, M.A.

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