1899] THE PROPER STUDY OF MANKIND 219 



THE PROPER STUDY OF MANKIND. 



Man Past and Present. By A. H. Keane. Cambridge Geographical Series. 

 Pp. xii. + 584, with 12 plates. Cambridge University Press: C. J. 

 Clay & Sons. 1899. Price 12s. 



Linguistic and literary attainments are as essential to the specialist in 

 the field of Ethnology, as keen-edged tools are to the skilled artizan. A 

 perusal of " Man Past and Present," by Prof. Keane, amply proves that, in 

 addition to these accomplishments, the author is conversant with the vast 

 amount of anthropological literature which has come into existence since the 

 banner of Evolution was first raised by Darwin and Wallace some forty years 

 ago. The volume now before us is the second which has appeared within the 

 last few years from the pen of Mr. Keane on the same fascinating subject. The 

 first, under the title of "Ethnology" (1895), was upon the whole well received 

 by general anthropologists, although several critics pointed out its inadequacy 

 to supply the recognised want of a compendious handbook to Ethnology in the 

 English language. The subject-matter was treated in two divisions — (1) Funda- 

 mental ethnical problems, and (2) the primary ethnical groups — the first being 

 unnecessarily long, and the second irritatingly short, and altogether unsatis- 

 factory. The present volume furnishes, at least to some extent, the deficiencies 

 of the former. But unfortunately in avoiding Scylla the author has fallen into 

 Charybdis, by having to repeat in his new book much of what had already been 

 said. In " Ethnology " the ethnical groups (less than half the volume) are 

 discussed under Homo Aethiopicus, 11. Mongolicus, H. Americanus, and //. 

 Caucasicus. In "Man Past and Present" the subject is continued in several 

 chapters on "Negroes," "Mongols," "American Aborigines," and " Caucasic 

 Peoples." It is like an author who, having four tales to relate, and finding 

 that he could not do so in one volume, publishes the first half of each tale in 

 one book, and the concluding portions in a second book, both volumes being 

 actually under different names. We greatly regret this disposition of the 

 materials, as we are convinced that by a little re-arrangement of the anthropolo- 

 gical problems, together with a curtailment of lengthy disquisitions on secondary 

 details, so as to bring them more into harmony with the ethnological section, Mr. 

 Keane had the opportunity of producing one book which would, undoubtedly, 

 have been a great boon to students. 1 Moreover, both volumes are weakened by 

 a division of the illustrations. We have, however, pleasure in quoting the 

 following remarks from the preface which, while explanatory of the raison d'etre 

 of two separate books, gives an excellent resume of the contents of the volume, 

 as well as a specimen of the author's style : — ■ 



" In the preface to the ' Ethnology ' a promise was held out that it might 

 be followed by another dealing more systematically with the primary divisions 

 of mankind. The present volume appears in part fulfilment of that promise. 

 In the ' Ethnology ' were discussed those more fundamental questions which 

 concern the human family as a whole — its origin and evolution, its specific 

 unity, antiquity, and primitive cultural stages, together with the probable cradle 

 and area of dispersion of the four varietal divisions over the globe. Here these 

 divisions are treated more in detail, with the primary view of establishing their 

 independent specialisation in their several geographical zones, and at the same 

 time elucidating the difficult questions associated with the origins and inter- 

 relations of the chief sub-groups, and thus bridging over the breaks of continuity 

 between ' Man Past and Present.' 



" The work is consequently to a large extent occupied with that hazy period 

 vaguely called pre-historic, when most of the now living peoples had already 



1 Such an ideal work already exists in the French language in " Les Races Humaines," 

 by Dr. R. Verneau. 



