THE JOSEPH N. FIELD HALL 



PREFACE 



There are few places, if any, less affected by mod- 

 ern civilization than certain islands of the South Seas, 

 especially New Guinea. In the interior of this large 

 island the inhabitants are still living in the stone age 

 as truly as the ancient inhabitants of Europe did in 

 neolithic times. Civilization, however, is rapidly pene- 

 trating this region. On the coasts of New Guinea, 

 and in the neighboring islands, the old life is passing 

 away — in many places has already done so — and little 

 or nothing now remains to tell the tale, unless it be in 

 the memory of the older generation. 



In 1909 the Museum was enabled under the pa- 

 tronage of Mr. Joseph N. Field, to extend its work into 

 the South Pacific Islands. An expedition, known as 

 the Joseph N. Field South Pacific Expedition, under 

 the leadership of Dr. Albert B. Lewis, spent four years, 

 1909-13, in the South Pacific, chiefly in the following 

 Melanesian Islands: — Fiji, the New Hebrides, New 

 Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, New Britain, New Ire- 

 land, New Hanover, St. Matthias, the Admiralty 

 Islands, and New Guinea. The object of the expedi- 

 tion was to obtain whatever possible, both of collec- 

 tions and information, that would help to illustrate the 

 life, activities, and beliefs of the inhabitants of this 

 region, as they had been when uninfluenced by Euro- 

 pean culture. The most important result of the Joseph 

 N. Field Expedition is a collection of more than ten 

 thousand specimens. In addition to these the Museum 

 was also able through Mr. Field to acquire some fine 

 old collections supplementing those obtained in the 

 field. Representative exhibits from the different Mela- 



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