ol6 RHODESIA N RUINS. 



they are not so much due to higher skill as better materials to 

 work upon, and the builders seems to have preferred granite, 

 as the ruins are better in the granite areas. Mr. H. B. Maufe, 

 Director of the Geological Survey of Southern Rhodesia, in- 

 formed me that the impression he got from an examination of 

 Khami was that the blocks had been broken with iron hammers, 

 and I can confirm this from other ruins, as when they are exam- 

 ined with a fairly strong glass, they seem to be quite fresh ; too 

 fresh to be really ancient. The hammers employed to break up 

 the stone did not seem to have been very heavy, not heavier 

 than modern native axes. The stones are far less weathered 

 than one would expect. This feature of all the ruins that have 

 come under m}^ observation appeared to me to be a weak spot 

 in the prehistoric theory. 



In face of the internal evidence yielded by the buildings 

 themselves and the confirmatory native traditions, I do not see 

 how one can resist the conclusion that these ruins were built 

 by a race of negroes, and most likely by the ancestors of those 

 who still live in the country, and at no very distant date. I 

 cannot see what is to be gained by refusing to the forefathers 

 of the present Makaranga tribes, for the ruins are practically 

 conterminous with the former distribution of these tribes, the 

 ver\' moderate degree of skill and ])atience needed to erect them. 

 It is just as probable and equally scientific to assume that the 

 old natives could, and did. attain a sufficient degree of intelli- 

 gence and skill in building, than to postulate some unknown 

 foreign race, who came from where is not clear, nor for what 

 purpose, erected these structures, and then as mysteriously 

 vanished, leaving no other trace of their presence. Such a 

 method of explanation, however romantic or alluring, is only a 

 modern example of the old fallacy if/iiotiiiii per iguofiits. a re- 

 versal of the process of evolution in respect of human culture. 



Explanation of Plates. 



Plate 15 a. — The summit of the Acropolis, showing- small por- 

 tion of excavation. (Photo by Rev. A. M. Filmer.) 



Plate 1=; b. — '' Herringbone " at Zimbabwe. Photo by Rev. 

 Neville Tones.) 



Plate 16 a. — The excavations on the Acropolis. (Photo by 

 Rev. Neville Jones.) 



Plate 16 b. — Portion of valley ruins, with monolith in position 

 in doorway. (Photo by Mr. M. Murray.) 



Plate 17 a. — Makaranga girls near Zimbabwe. (Photo by 



Rev. Neville Jones.) 



Plate 17 b. — Terrace at Selukwe, about 12 feet high. 



Plate 18 a. — Conical tower. showing false courses of 

 masonry marked with a cross. (Photo by Rev. A. M. 

 Filmer.) 



Plate 18 b. — Passap^e between outer and inner wall of 

 " Temple," showing false courses of masonry marked 

 with a cross. (Photo by Rev. A. M. Filmer.) 



