ART AND ETHNOLOGY. 



By EDWIN SWIFT BALCH. 



(Read April 23, 1908.) 



Man has been studied in many ways and from many directions : 

 history, language, archeology, anatomy, natural history, geography 

 and other sciences have been called upon in the elucidation of the 

 problems of his history, descent, evolution and origin. The evidence 

 which has been gathered from these many different sources about 

 man and his history may be divided into two classes : that which 

 can be obtained from his own personality or his own remains, a class 

 I do not need to mention again in this paper ; and that which can be 

 obtained from what man has produced, and this class of evidence 

 may be subdivided into three sub-classes, namely, written records, 

 implements and art. 



The most primarily available evidence in tracing the story of the 

 human race is, of course, written records, and whenever we find 

 written records which we can interpret we speak of history ; but 

 when, as in the case of savages, there are no written records, or 

 when, as in the case of Old Mexico, we cannot read the records, the 

 subject changes from history into ethnology and pre-history. 



When there are no written records, another class of evidence, 

 that obtained from implements, is largely resorted to by ethnologists. 

 The term " implements," as used in this paper, should perhaps be 

 defined as an abbreviated name for the products of the mechanical 

 arts, without some of which at least no man can live. All modern 

 implements have evolved from primitive beginnings, as, for instance, 

 the twelve-inch shell, which is really the most modern form of the 

 flint arrowhead. Much light has been shed already and more will 

 be shed on the story of man by a comparison of the various imple- 

 ments used in different places and at different times. 



The other great class of evidence is art, under which term must 

 be understood the fine arts of sculpture, drawing and painting. 



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