THE ClNCBSATl QDAKTEKLY 



JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



Vol. II. JULY, 1875. No. 3. 



Atlantis: A Statement of the "Atlantic" Theory Respecting Aboriginal 

 Civilization. By L. M. HosEA. 



The age in which we live is preeminently one of experimental 

 investigation. Men are no longer content to accept theories unless 

 founded upon a basis of fact amounting almost to positive demonstra- 

 tion. But while modern methods of practical investigation have so 

 enlarged the boundaries of physical science, it is hardly probable that 

 human effort will ever be able to dispel entirely the obscurity which 

 enshrouds the primitive history of man. Yet the labors of the 

 archaeologist and geologist have not been altogether in vain. Much 

 has been done in 6ur own time to clear away the undergrowth of pre- 

 conceived error, and admit the sunlight of truth into the dark regions 

 of superstition and tradition. 



The same critical and experimental spirit which has effected so 

 marvelous a change in natural science within a comparatively brief 

 period, while it has upset many cherished beliefs and exploded many 

 phlogistic theories, has given us clearer conceptions of the condition 

 and development of man within the historic period, and proved his 

 existence long anterior to received dates. Indeed it would appear to 

 be satisfiictorily established, that man was co-tenant of the earth with 

 extinct mammals of geologic periods; and it seems not improbable 

 tliat his occupancy of the earth will be still further ante-elated. 



But while the prying curiosity of our age has shattered many false 

 theories, it is not without value, also, in rescuing truth from the 

 clutches of error and in establishing that as true which had long been 



