STUDY OF HIGH ANTIQUITY. 307 



early prc-historical iron a<^o is also bof^iniiintr to bo, rocognized and to bo distin- 

 guished from a later iron age, belonging to th(! Iiistoriciil era. It was necessary to 

 begin by establishing a small number of distinctly characterized periods, as 

 had been done also in geology. 15ut it is becoming evident, in antiquity as in 

 geology, that there have been gradual transitions from one period to th(; next. 

 Thus, thougb the presence of cutting implements of bronze generally excludes 

 the simultaneous presence of iron, there are tombs, like those at llallstatt, in 

 the Austrian alps, which contain the bronze sword, together Avith the knife or 

 the axe of iron. ])Ut in this case an attentive study will teach us that the 

 burials belong to a time of transition from bronze to iron. At Hallstatt the 

 transition has evidently taken place slowly and gradually. In other instances 

 it seems almost to have been brought about violently, perhaps by foreign 

 invasion, or by internal revolution, presenting a certain analogy with the 

 geological convulsions which have so often established a break between imme- 

 diately overlying sti-ata. 



We have seen how the foundations of our science have been laid. Some 

 of its chief principles have been disclosed by the historical sketch, but we 

 must consider them more closely and dwell with greater detail on our method 

 of research. 



If we seek to understand the past of our species, we must evidently begin 

 by ascertaining its present state; we must study man, not only in civilized 

 countries, but wherever he has settled. Hence we see that E'rii.\'OLO(iV is to 

 be taken for our starting point, and that it contributed largely in guiding the 

 northern antiquaries into the right path has already been already shown. 

 Ethnology is for us what physical geography is for the geologist. We can 

 only understand the former state of our globe by studying its present condition 

 and by following the changes which take place on its surface, as Lyell, the 

 rcfoimer of geology, has so well taught. 



Every nation has always had some special mode of manufacturing and of 

 ornamenting its productions, and, moreover, its peculiar habits and customs, 

 impressing a distinctive stamp upon its art and industry. This constitutes 

 what is called style. In J]urope, north of the Alps, the; style was generally 

 pretty uniform during a given era, but it varied continually from one age to 

 another, just as the fossil species have changed their types from one geological 

 period to the next. The appearance of an object will thus often suffice to 

 determine its age and the relative date of its interment, as we can determine 

 the relative age of a geological stratum by a singles fossil, when this is charac- 

 teristic. In the north of Europe bronze bracelets were worn during the entire 

 bronze age and during the early iron age ; but their style is very different, the 

 fashion having changed, l^hanks to this circumstance, one is rarely embar- 

 rassed in determining the age of a bronze bracel(!t, or of a mere fragment of 

 such a bracelet. 



It is not enough that when making field researches we accumulate antiqui- 

 ties m(!rely for the purpose of forming a collection of them. It is of the 

 greatest interest to observe the association of the objects, in order to decide 

 which are of the same date, just as it is important to assort together the fossils 

 found in the same stratum. Taken separately, the fossils, like isolated words, 

 would not in themselves be of so much importance, whilst their concourse, 

 like a logical phrase, may throw a vivid light on a whole era of the geological 

 past. In this respect, tombs are of great value, for the series of objects which 

 may be contained in one and the same grave; harmonize, and are necessarily of 

 the same date. Tsor must we forget that the very mode of burial has varied 

 from one age to another — a circumstance which gives still greater value to the 

 examination of this species of monument. We have already seen how much 

 the study of the tombs contributed to guide the northern antiquaries into the 

 right path. 



