DEVELOPMENT OF PRIMAL SHAPING ARTS. 511 



alroiidy oxplained why the process in its simpU\st form may ))e consid- 

 ered primal, as havino- its origin in the pre-human stag'e of man's 

 history. 



Its use in shaping- must have l)een siigg-ested to man at a very early 

 stag'e of art deveh)pment, and the lines of the diagram are allowed to 

 expand gradually throughout the savage stages of progress. Observ- 

 ing- the obscurity of the effects of the bruising act, the long series of 

 operations necessary in producing the simplest art form known, and 

 the comparative rarity of pecked implements that would fitly charac- 

 terize the lieginning stages of culture, the column has been made to 

 expand very slowly at tirst, widening rapidly in barbarian times, dur- 

 ing which pecked stone seems to have taken the lead among many 

 peoples as a shaping process. The process in its purity appears to 

 have fallen somewhat into disuse in civilized and enlightened times, 

 the acquirement of hard metal tools having given incisive methods a 

 very decided advantage. The fact is. however, that the shaping of 

 hard stone by means of metal chisels partakes of the nature of a com- 

 promise between the cutting and bruising processes. 



The germ of the incising arts must have come up Avith man from the 

 state of nature as distinguished from the state of art as expressed in 

 the third column; but the development would be slow, on account, 

 tirst, of the absence of hard cutting tools, and. second, the absence 

 of stone that could be cut with ease into useful forms. An expanding 

 is indicated in late savage times, during which it is assumed that peoples 

 began to use soft stones for vessels, ornaments, and ceremonial articles. 

 The fact that the soft stones had, as a rule, to be quarried, probably 

 retarded the development of this process. Again, when hard metals 

 came into common use in late barbarian times and in earh' civilization 

 stone cutting took a prominent place in the arts, and has never since 

 yielded its ground. 



The history of the abrading processes is a verA' interesting one, but 

 as indicated in the diagram there have been few viscisitudes in their 

 progress. Beginning near the threshold of art, they advanced but 

 slowly, serving mainly as an auxiliary to the other processes, being 

 devoted especially to finish and beautitication. 



INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT. 



In discussing a scheme of evolution for the shaping arts, 1 have 

 assumed what 1 conceive to be average conditions of environment; 

 that is to say. an environment where all ordinary materials are present 

 and available in like proportions. It is apparent, however, that deter- 

 minations based on such an assumption, even if correctly made out, 

 may not agree with the actual order in the earliest development of art. 

 The environment of the first group of men may have contained all the 

 ordinarv elements of stone art, or it mav have been without one or 



