ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 173 



FROM SAVAGERY TO BARBARISM. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT, 



J. W. Powell, 



Delivered February J, iS8j. 



It is a long way from savagery to civilization. In the attempt to 

 delineate the progress of mankind through this long way, it would 

 be a convenience if it could be divided into clearly defined stages. 

 The course of culture, which may be defined as the development of 

 mankind from savagery to civilization, is the evolution of the 

 humanities — the five great classes of activities denominated arts, 

 institutions, languages, opinions, and intellections. Now if this 

 course of culture is to be divided into stages, the several stages 

 should be represented in every one of the classes of activities. If 

 there are three stages of culture there sho'iild be three stages of arts, 

 three stages of institutions, three stages of language, three stages of 

 opinions, and three stages of intellections. 



Three such culture stages have been recognized by anthropologists, 

 denominated Savagery, Barbarism, and Civilization. But they 

 have been vaguely characterized and demarcated. Savagery has 

 been considered a low stage of culture, barbarism a middle stage of 

 culture, and civilization a high stage of culture In a brief address 

 it is not practicable to set forth the essential characteristics of the 

 whole course of culture ; and it is intended on this occasion simply 

 to characterize Savagery and Barbarism, and to define the epoch of 

 transition. To this end it will be necessary to set forth the charac- 

 teristics of savage art as distinct from barbaric art, and the nature 

 of the change; to explain savage institutions and barbaric institu- 

 tions, and how the lower class developed into the higher ; to set 

 forth briefly the characteristics of savage language and barbaric 

 language, and the origin of the change; to show the nature of the 

 opinions held by savages and the opinions held by barbarians, and 

 to explain the reason of the change from one to the other ; and 

 finally to explain savage and barbaric intellections, and to show 



