HRDLICKA— THE PEOPLING OF ASIA. 545 



stock at a distant and yet not excessively distant period — not earlier 

 in all probability and rather later than the second half, the latter 

 Neanderthal part, of the Paleolithic period ; and passing deeper 

 into Africa they eventually became modified through environmental 

 influences into the smaller and the taller Negro. 



The cradle of humanity tJierefore, according to present indica- 

 tions, was essentially southwestern Europe, with later on the Med- 

 iterranean Basin, western Asia, and Africa. It is primarily from 

 Europe and secondarily from these regions that the earth was 

 peopled. And its peopling, so far as can now be determined, ap- 

 pears on the whole to be a matter of comparative recency. 



That earlier man was not able to people the globe before was in 

 all probability due to his insufificient efifectiveness. Up towards near 

 the end of the glacial times and his old stone culture, he had evidently 

 all he could do to preserve mere existence. Only after he advanced 

 mentally and in culture so far that he could control his environment 

 sufficiently to secure a steady surplus of births over deaths was he 

 able, and in fact became obliged, to extend over other parts of the 

 earth. 



The cause of man's peopling the world, it may well be assumed, 

 was not a mere wish to do so, but chiefly necessity arising from 

 growing numbers and correspondingly diminishing supply of food. 

 It was this in the main which led him to spread ; it was this which 

 eventually led him to agriculture. And his spread — for it was a 

 spread rather than " migrations " — followed the three great laws of 

 spread of all organized beings which are : ( i ) movement in the 

 direction of least resistance; (2) movement in the direction of the 

 greatest prospects; and (3) movement due to a force from behind, 

 to compulsion. 



The peopling of Asia is a key to the problem of the peopling of 

 all that part of the world lying east and southeast of that continent, 

 in particular of the Americas ; and even our imperfect knowledge 

 of the events shows how vain it would be to expect to find in this 

 latter part of the world traces of man of any great antiquity. 



PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC, VOL. LX., JJ. MARCH. 20, I922. 



