318 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



A Lepinodendron truuk 3 feet wide and 30 feet long (Lacoe collection). 

 A series of 6 cycad trnnks from the Lower Cretaceous of South Dakota. 

 Bones representing a nearly complete Zeuglodon cetoides from the Eocene of Ala- 

 bama, and of which a life-sized restoration is exhibited. 



Skulls and limb bones of the huge Cretaceous dinosaur, Triceratops, from Wyoming. 

 An excellent skeleton of the Irish elk, Megaceros Mhernicus Owen. 



The collections of the Department of Prehistoric Anthropology are 

 thus described by the curator, Dr. Thomas Wilson : 



There are three great stages of culture, or civilization, represented in this depart- 

 ment, which are separated and installed according to locality. 



The first, and probably the earliest, is that of western Europe, of which the 

 Museum possesses an extensive collection, the largest in the United States, showing 

 the culture of prehistoric man, from the earliest times down to the Bronze Age and 

 the Etruscans, where it joins history. 



The second great division represents the territory of the United States and British 

 Columbia. This constitutes the bulk of tlie collection, and comprises the hatchets, 

 axes, implements, and other objects of stone. The mounds of the Ohio and Missis- 

 sippi valleys have yielded large representations of pottery. 



The third stage of culture is that belonging to Mexico and Central America, 

 variously called Aztec and similar local names. While it comprises many stone 

 implements, it extends further and wider than either of the foregoing, having jade, 

 obsidian, and gold objects and ornaments. Its pottery is fine and beautifully made 

 and decorated, while some of the ruder pieces, representing gods, especially from 

 Mexico, are made with a wealth of detail that has increased the difficulty of manu- 

 facture almost beyond the belief of possibility in savage life. 



The display from South America is important, resembling the culture of Central 

 America more than that of North America. 



The department has one of the richest displays of prehistoric objects in the United 

 States. It contains more than 250,000 objects, which it is impossible to name. They, 

 however, are divided both technologically and geographically, and by comparison 

 in these two regards the endeavor is made to determine the stage of culture and 

 obtain some insight into the history of prehistoric man. 



Regarding the Department of Ethnology, the curator, Prof. Otis T. 

 Mason, writes: 



The ethnological collection of the Museum relates chiefly to the North American 

 Indians, but it includes also valuable series of objects from Polynesia, obtained by 

 the United States Exploring Expedition, such as the old Tapa cloths and weapons, 

 which are no longer obtainable. 



The Eskimo collection is unrivaled. The collections of the Bureau of Ethnology 

 and other Government surveys on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean in North 

 America and in the Pueblo region of the southwestern United States are the most 

 extensive and valuable ever assembled. Among single objects of high value and 

 rarity may be mentioned a large jade knife from Alaska, obtained by E. W. Nelson; 

 a fine series of boats and totem ijosts from the west Pacific Coast of America, by J. 

 G. Swan. In the Powell collection there are rare old pieces of pottery from the 

 ruined pueblos. A Hawaiian feather cloak, of large size and well preserved, also 

 deserves mention. 



I present the following list of the most conspicuous and useful collections in 

 alphabetical order, Ity collectors: 



A collection of great value from eastern Africa, Kashmir, and southeastern Asia, 

 by Dr. William L. Abbott, of Philadelphia; a collection illustrative of the ethnog- 

 raphy of Korea, by Lieut. J. B. Bernadou, U. S. N. ; a collection from the department 

 of education in Japan to illustrate the practical industries of this country, in com- 



