LUBEOCK's PKEHISTOEIC TIMES. 523 



.hitherto collected concerning the primitive peoples of Europe, Sir 

 John Lubbock now turns to the barbarous nations still existing in 

 foreign countries in order to see how far their manners and customs 

 will enable us to understand the habits and usages of the former 

 inhabitants of this part of the world. Drawing a comparison be- 

 tween the labours of the ArchsDologist and Palaeontologist our author 

 remarks that the bone- and stone-implements are in some respects to 

 the one what the remains of extinct animals are to the other. " Our 

 fossil Pachyderms," he observes, " would be almost unintelligible, 

 but for the living species of this group which inhabit Asia and 

 Africa — and the extinct marsupials of the secondary formations are 

 illustrated by reference to their living representatives in Australia 

 and South America. In the same manner if we wish clearly to 

 understand the antiquities of Europe, we must compare them with 

 the rude implements and weapons still, or until lately, used by savage 

 races in other parts of the world." This is rather a wide subject to 

 enter upon, and Sir John Lubbock accordingly limits himself nearly 

 entirely to describing what may be called the " non-metallic savages," 

 amongst whom many weapons and other implements are still in use 

 which curiously resemble those of the ancient inhabitants of Europe. 



We will not follow our author into his discussion of the habits and 

 customs of the Hottentots, Yeddahs, Mincopies, Maories, Euegians, 

 and other primitive tribes. But the deductions drawn in the conclud- 

 ing chapter must not be passed over so hastily. As there is no evi» 

 dence of " degradation," — that is, of mankind giving up an improved 

 practice and going back to a clumsier method, it is evident, assuming 

 the common origin of the human race, that the lowest races of 

 savages must be at least as far advanced as were our ancestors when 

 they spread over the earth's surface. " "What then," asks our 

 author, "must have been their condition?'' 



" They were ignorant of pottery ; for the Esquimaux, the Poly- 

 nesians, the Australians, some North and South American tribes, 

 a?id many other savage races, have nolle even now, or, at least, had 

 none until quite lately. They had no bows and arrows, for these 

 weapons were unknown to the Australians and New Zealanders \ 

 their boats, for the same reason, must have been of the rudest pos- 

 sible character ; they were n^ed, and ignorant of the art of spin- 

 ning ; they had no knowle^fe of agriculture, and probably no 

 domestic animal but the dog, though here the argument is weaker, 

 inasmuch as experience is more portable than property. It is, how- 



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