30 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



the Mexican war, etc. Continuing on the west side are collections 

 illustrating the period of the civil war and notable personages and 

 episodes pertaining to it and to succeeding periods. 



The Division of Eeligions occupies the West Hall Gallery (south side), 

 where interesting exhibits are assembled in groups illustrating the 

 Jewish, Mohammedan, Buddhistic, and other religions. The large col- 

 lection of musical instruments occupies the wall cases of the North Hall ; 

 various collections of ceramic products, glass, metal work, etc., grouped 

 by peoples or manufacturing establishments, are placed in the gallery 

 of the Northeast Court, and exhibits illustrating the composition of 

 the human body and the analysis of foods and drinks occupy part of the 

 East Hall Gallery (north side). 



ANTHROPOLOGrCAL EXHIBIT OF THE U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM AT 

 THE TRANS-MISSISSIPPI AND INTERNATIONAL EXPOSITION. 



The frequency with which the National Museum has been called upon 

 to prepare exposition exhibits has made it somewhat difficult to secure 

 fresh and interesting material for display. To obviate this difficulty in 

 the Department of Anthropology it was decided to assemble the limited 

 group of exhibits required on a plan differing essentially from that 

 adopted for previous expositions. 



Heretofore the materials have been brought together in a somewhat 

 disconnected way, to illustrate particular peoples, or especial arts or 

 industries as represented by their i)roducts. On the present occasion 

 the activities of man are treated from the point of view of their devel- 

 opment. The various lines of progress are represented by a series of 

 objects, each typifying a step in the industrial and intellectual evolution 

 of the race. 



As the exhibits required had to be drawn from all divisions of the 

 dej)artment, a single series of objects in many cases being made up 

 from the collections of two or more divisions or sections, members of 

 the anthropological staff' were called upon to act as committees in assem- 

 bling the exhibits in which they were personally concerned. The full 

 resources of the Museum were thus drawn upon, yet the objects taken 

 were so few in number as not to interfere seriously with the present 

 Museum installation. 



Each series of exhibits epitomizes a single branch of art or industry 

 and occupies a single case-front or fraction thereof, and may thus be 

 conveniently seen at one view. The scheme of treatment or presenta- 

 tion is just such as the systematic student would adopt in writing the 

 history of the subject, beginning with the inceptive stages and moving 

 forward step by step to the highest development. The following subjects 

 are presented, beginning at the left in the cases and progressing toward 

 the right: 



The use of Jire.— The story begins with the fire of volcanoes and light- 

 ning and the carrying of firebrands from the sources for rekindling, 



