108 FIRTHKK NOTES ON HABITS OK TASMANIAN ABORIGINES. 



cut the palaeolithic as well as the neolithic stage. I have 

 very little knowledge of the Australian stone implements, 

 but it appears to me that in the Australian implements 

 there is no lower stage represented than the Solutreen, of 

 which probably the West Australians may be the type. 

 The confirmation of this view may, perhajjs, be of great 

 importance, but luckily it does not bear directly on the 

 present question. One fact, however, is absolutely certain, 

 the civilisation of the Australian aborigines represents a 

 much higher stage than that of the Ta?manian aborigines. 

 In other words, the Australians developed (7), while the 

 Tasmaiiians remained stagnant. At the first glance my 

 theory of the mental stagnation of the Tasmanian abori- 

 gines seems to confirm such a hypothesis, but on closer 

 examination it will be seen that such view is untenable. 

 If the mental qualities of the Australian race had the germ 

 of further development, why did only the Australian 

 branch reach a higher stage while the Tasmanian one re- 

 mained stationa,ry ? This question must first be conclu- 

 sively answered before Dr. Basedow's theory can be 

 accepted. 



It is impossible to assume that the struggle for exists 

 ence is responsible for this. Let us examine the physical 

 conditions under which ine so-called two branches lived. 

 The average temperature of the Australian continent is 

 decidedly higher than that of Tasmania ; the climate is. 

 therefore, considerably wai'mer in Australia than in Tas- 

 mania. On the oth^r hand except the northern tropical 

 portion, Australia is much drier than Tasmania- The 

 search for drinking water is certainly more arduous in (he 

 Australian continent than in Tasmania. Food was. if any- 

 thing, probably easier to find in Australia than in Tas- 

 mania. Neither in Australia nor Tasmania large carnivor- 

 ous animals existed as enemies of the human race. If any- 

 thing, Tasmania can boast of the most ferocious of the 

 two. the tiger and the devil. Hunnn enemies were the 

 same, both in Australia and Tasmania, and we have it on 

 record thnt the Tasmaninn tribes lived in constant interno 

 cine war. 



The absence of large animalic enemies, the constant 

 intertribal feuds, the plentifulnoss of food being the same 



(7» It mattors not the lenst whethnr tlip Auslrillnns Imd al^e.^dy 

 rpaflii d the hl.trh<»r ptnp^ whpti th^v nrrlvod 'n Australia, or cradnally 

 aonulrod It fIh'-p fhoir arrival. T ico^. howpvp'-. inrllned to IioUpvp they 

 r<'pr<'s<- tt'<I alrpady a hiirlu'r stace wlii-ii tliev invaiU-il the Aiistralinn rontinent, 

 tlian its original iiiliahitaiit«, viz , the Tasmanian race. 



