534 PRIMITIVE INDUSTRY. 



implements were not found in Europe, and their value as evidence of 

 Prehistoric Man in the United States has been disputed. 



You will ask what is my conclusion with regard to this matter. I 

 conclude that this similarity of such vast numbers of these imj)le- 

 ments from two continents and representing widely separated peoples 

 is, as M. Boule has said, " an argument in favor of their antiquity which 

 will greatly impress prehistoric archa-ologists of experience." It is 

 to be taken as serious evidence in favor of Palaeolithic M an in Amer- 

 ica, as it has proved him to have existed in Euroi)e. But it is only 

 a single step in the ladder of prehistoric science; and is to be treated 

 more as a working hy]iothesis calculated to direct attention and stim- 

 ulate investigation. My conclusion is not announced dogmatically, nor 

 will it be defended at jill hazards. It is expressed under all reserve, 

 and subject to future discoveries. It will have served a good purpose 

 if it shall promote the search of the river valleys for these implements, 

 cause them to be gathered and savrd as of A'alue to science, to note 

 well their associations with other subjects to be noted, and to discover 

 their material and if possible the original deposit and the place of 

 their ftibrication. By these means we may hope to arrive at the truth 

 concerning these implements and their relation to Pre-historic Man, 



