100 evolution: the ages and tomorrow 



general features are somewhat Mongoloid, not Negroid. 

 They live in caves on the walls of which they often inscribe 

 a strange picture-language of extremely primitive character. 

 Their speech, which consists of guttural croakings, half- 

 suppressed vowels, and the clicks of the tongue against the 

 roof of the mouth (as now used in urging on a horse), is 

 considered a very early form of communication. It is a 

 language of extreme simplicity, yet difficult for the modern 

 observer to imitate due to the nature of the sound produc- 

 tion. Bushmen, it is said, cannot count beyond the number 

 three. Nonetheless, they have an extensive tradition of ta- 

 boos and a mythology which they pass on orally. Their 

 legends and fables are of transformation, and they worship 

 the moon, holding religious rites during the rainy season. 

 They play crude instruments and enjoy ceremonial dances. 



The food economy largely consists of ant eggs and roots. 

 They hunt and fish, using bows and arrows and long sticks. 

 Although not originally a semidesert people, they have 

 learned to store water in ostrich egg shells under the sand 

 and to drink it through long straws. Both sexes wear short 

 skin aprons and skin sandals. The clans are very loosely held 

 together without a chieftain, and there is little or no real 

 division of labor. Although they are flesh eaters, there is no 

 evidence that they have ever been cannibals. In fact, they 

 seem to be very well behaved, not mingling with other 

 peoples and asking only to be left alone. Hardly more than 

 10,000 to 15,000 Bushmen are said to be in existence. Once 

 they occupied fertile areas of Africa, and their unconscious 

 controls have operated to save them, at least for the time 

 being, after they were driven into the barren regions in 

 which they now live; that is, unconscious adaptation to new 

 sources of food, storage of water, and housing. Their chil- 

 dren are schooled prior to the tribal initiations in courage 

 and endurance. 



Hottentots are also South Africans. In certain respects 

 they seem intermediate between the Bushmen and Cauca- 



