REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 23 



have ])ccn rebuilt and are arranged in alcoves, six on the east and six 

 on the west side. On the east side exhibits are presented in contin- 

 uous order, ilhistrating- the technology of the engraver's art; on the 

 west arc illustrations of the pictorial product, beginning at the south 

 with early prints and closing at the north with the color printing of 

 to-day. In the aisle which extends from north to south are exhibits 

 illustrating the history of painting. 



Dimsimi of Religions.— Th^ Division of Religions, Dr. Cyrus Adler, 

 custodian, and I. M. Casanowicz, aid, has been assigned to the South 

 Gallery of the West Hall, where a handsome alcoved wall case has 

 been built. The series of exhibits begin at the east with illustrations 

 of the Jewish religion, and these are followed by Greek, Roman, Mo- 

 hammedan, and Buddhistic groups. Collections of the Division of 

 Historic Archaeology, also in charge of Doctor Adler, are placed in 

 the east end of West Hall and remain about as installed the previous 

 year. 



Division of Prehistoric Archoeology. — The exhibits of this division, 

 which are in charge of Dr. Thomas Wilson, assisted by Mr. E. P. 

 Upham, have not undergone any radical change during the year, 

 although the work of installing new material and perfecting the 

 arrangement of the old has gone steadil}^ forward. 



RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS. 



The usual activity has been shown l)y the anthropological staff in 

 Conducting researches germane to the work of the department. Pro- 

 fessor Mason, curator of the Division of Ethnology, has prepared and 

 completed a paper on the curved steel knife among the Eskimo and 

 Canadian tribes, in which an attempt is made to show that carving and 

 etching and fine netting for snowshoes are contemporaneous with this 

 knife. Before the steel knife the Eskimo did little creditable carving. 

 Also a paper on a peculiar heddle frame for belt weaving was traced 

 from the Pueblo country to its source in Europe. 



The Indians of the Kootenai use a bark canoe, pointed at the water 

 line like a modern ram. It is unique in the Western Hemisphere, but 

 photographs and descriptions have been gathered by Professor Mason 

 to show its nearest congeners on the Amur. 



For some time Professor Mason has been gathering material for the 

 study of zootechny among the American aborigines. This has enabled 

 him to divide the continent into certain marked zootechnic areas, in 

 which even the language, social institutions, and beliefs of the peoples 

 are modified. Following up this idea of areas of characterization, he 

 has pursued the subject of geographic distribution of hunting devices 

 associated with the capture of certain species. 



It happened during the year that the Spanish- American war sud- 

 denly brought into conspicuous attention the ancient history of Porto 



