54 ANTHROPOLOGY IN W^ESTERN HEMISPHERE AND PACIFIC ISLANDS. 



in the field, valuable conclusions could be arrived at in the interpretation of 

 data already at hand in hbraries and museums. Work that would bring 

 important results could be begun in almost any part of this large problem. 



AN AMERICAN CHRONOLOGY. 



The field of American anthropology has neither geological nor cultural 

 measure of time, except the Columbian. A definite chronology is one of the 

 great needs of the science. 



In Europe prehistoric culture-history is measured by the eolithic, 

 palaeolithic, and neolithic stone ages, each of the last two being subdivided 

 into several definite epochs; and, later, by the age of the malleable metals. 

 The fossil bones of man are sometimes found in positively identified geologi- 

 cal strata. It has been possible to coordinate these cultural and geological 

 chronologies so that there is at hand a sufficiently exact measure of the time 

 element in the evolution of man in Europe. 



It is greatly hoped, and may be confidently expected, that work on the 

 four large problems just presented would reveal such facts that a chronology 

 of the evolution of man in America would be the result. 



MODERN PROBLEMS. 



It must not be supposed that the anthropologist is limited in his interest 

 and his field of work to man's evolution of the past. He knows man is still 

 in the making. He studies man's present-day evolution in its individual and 

 ethnic aspects. He makes his studies of both the past and the present, with 

 an eye to the future, in order that those things which vitiated or benefited 

 the evolutionary process in the past, and which vitiate or benefit it to-day, 

 may serve as guides for future generations. 



The field of anthropological study of modern people is new and unoccu- 

 pied, only the barest beginnings having been made. The horizon of this 

 coming field for research among present and future man and ethnic groups 

 is seen to extend indefinitely into the future. It would be difficult to over- 

 estimate the practical value of these continued studies. Their utility would 

 be world-wide. 



First and most urgent among these modern studies, to quote Hrdlicka, 

 "is the gradual completion * * * ^f ^j^g study of the normal white man 

 living under average conditions, and the complete range of his variations— 

 these facts to form a solid and sufficient basis for all comparisons." This 

 study should cover thousands of cases and should be as continuous as pos- 

 sible from birth to death. 



The other so-called races of man should be studied. 



All typical variations of man should receive careful investigation. 



All different typical environmental groups should be studied thoroughly. 



Blending or hybridizing groups also should pass under the eye of the 

 trained investigator. 



