]>JATURE'S TRIUMPH. 465 



and above on the hill are pineapples and other relics of his 

 former presence. 



On the savannas of the far interior we can also find a few- 

 traces of the red man of the past. Here there are no trees, but only 

 a low, scrubby vegetation. Slight elevations here and there are 

 still dotted by the circular dwellings of Macusis, Wapisianos, and 

 Arecunas ; but many a mound that was once the site of a village 

 is now deserted, and not a trace of the dwellings remains. Yet, 

 from a distance, dependent on light and shade, indistinct foot- 

 paths can be traced, while on the top the want of even a few scat- 

 tered plants is an indication to the educated eye that a village once 

 stood there. Then, again, there are little creeks near by, in which 

 stepping-stones have been placed, and on one mound have been 

 seen a number of stones arranged as an oval, which could only 

 have been placed there by man. 



Although these faint traces may be discovered when carefully 

 looked for, the general result is a virtual obliteration of man's 

 handiwork. No important buildings of stone have ever been 

 erected in British Guiana, but two brick forts show what would 

 happen if even great buildings were abandoned. One of these 

 was deserted about the year 1740, and the other since 1813. Both 

 have been long since hidden among the trees, and even their 

 ruined walls are overgrown, so that it would only be possible to 

 see them at a great expense of time and labor. Burying-grounds 

 in different parts of the colony are in the same condition, and one 

 in Georgetown, abandoned as late as 1840, and nominally cared 

 for, is covered with vegetation, and its tombs almost hidden. 

 When brought to light, as they are sometimes in the dry season 

 by the withering of the tall grasses and weeds, what a picture of 

 Nature's handiwork is there ! Every tomb has been taken over 

 by one or more wild figs, and their aerial roots have insinuated 

 themselves between each brick and slab until the sides are 

 cracked and bulged, and the tops lifted off, broken to pieces, and 

 removed. Man's battle was continuous as long as he lived ; after 

 his death Nature triumphed. 



In a paper read to tlie Anthropological Section of the American Association, 

 Dr. Brinton called attention to a number of peculiarities in the human skeleton 

 which had attracted the notice of anatomists, and which had frequently been 

 interpreted as signs of reversion to an apelike ancestry. Most of these, however, 

 can be explained by mechanical function, or excess or deficiency of nutrition; 

 and when they can be so explained, this is the only interpretation they should 

 receive. They can no longer be offered as evidence of the theory of evolution, 

 nor considered as criteria or marks of the human races. The doctor gave a long 

 list of such peculiarities and showed the evidence that they are the results of 

 functional working and pathological causes. 



VOL. XLVI. 34 



