IlEHEniTY. EXVIEONMEXT. AM) CI V I LI ZMION 



353 



cause we I'md all t\ [ics of l»clia\ ioi' hutli 

 aiUDiii:" The slow-pulsed ludiaus and 

 auiouii' tlie rapid-]»ulsed Caucasiaus. 



W'lirii we cduie 1(1 the second I'aetor 

 liy wliieli we iniii'ht tlKM'irotieally ex- 

 plain eullui'e — the faciei' o{ physical 

 cu\ ii'diiiiieiil or i;'eo_<iraphy — our knowl- 

 edge is not very much greater. ^ ou 

 have probably all come across the type 

 of Greek history which begins liy giv- 

 ing a picture of the country — the dot- 

 ted islands, blue skies, rocky headlands, 

 and so forth — and in which the author 

 then goes on to say something about 

 how tlu'se gifts of nature molded Greek 

 civilization — liow Greek art is a reflec- 

 tion of the clear and serene atmosphere, 

 Greek speculation the result of segre- 

 gations and clashes enforced by the 

 rugged nature of the land, and the like. 

 Usually. I suppose, this is done because 

 the authors feel it necessary not to start 

 too bluntly on the thread of their story. 

 But it is certainly a mere literary and 

 thoroughly unscientific procedure. This 

 is clear from the fact that each author 

 wends his own sweet wav^ with his ex- 

 planations — letting his fancy roam 

 through the meadow picking pretty 

 flowers at will, as it were; and however 

 pleasing his speculations, the next 

 writer in that field does the same sort 

 of thing all over again. 



It is the same with the theorists who 

 derive the culture of the Central Amer- 

 ican Maya, the civilization of China 

 and India, the origin of Mohammedan- 

 ism, from alternating cycles of arid 

 and humid climate. Such phantasies 

 are best met by the recognition that 

 whoever wishes to take the trouble can 

 easily devise any number of conflicting 

 but equally plausible theories. 



It is of course obvious that a primi- 

 tive tribe under the equator would 

 never invent the ice box, and that the 

 Eskimo will not keep their food and 

 water in buckets of bamboo, although 

 we can feel sure that if the Eskimo had 

 had bamboo carried to him by the 

 ocean currents, he would have been 



hoih g|;i(l and aMe to use it. Certain 

 nialei'ials and oppoi'tunities are pro- 

 \i(led liy nature and are made use of by 

 evt-ry ])eople. Otiiei- materials are not 

 pi-ovided, and eertain partictilar cus- 

 toms therefore cannot be developed as 

 tlii'y niiglit otherwise be. But all this 

 is only negative. Two nations have ice 

 and one invents and the othei- does not 

 invent the ice chest; two of them have 

 both band)oo and clay, and one draws 

 watei- ill bamboo joints and the other in 

 ])ots. Obviously, natural environment 

 does iin])ose certain limiting conditions 

 on human life; but equally obviously, 

 it does not cause inventions or institu- 

 tions or progress of civilization. 



We know a great many nations that 

 have wood and sinew and flint and 

 could make bows and arrows, but do not 

 use them. They employ something 

 else instead. Either their civilization 

 has not advanced to the point where 

 they know enough to manufacture the 

 bow ; or it has advanced so far that the 

 bow is no longer of real utility, as 

 among ourselves. 



The determining factor then is not 

 2iature which gives or withholds the 

 materials, but the general state of 

 knowledge and technology and advance- 

 ment of the group ; in short, historical 

 or cultural causes and not environ- 

 mental causes. 



The greater part of the Southwest is 

 arid. Fish are distinctly scarce. The 

 result is that most of the tribes get 

 little opportunity to fish. Now we also 

 find that most of these Southwestern 

 Indians will not eat fish; in fact, think 

 them poisonous. So one might say: 

 Xature does not furnish fish in abun- 

 dance : therefore the Indians got out 

 of the habit of eating them ; and finally 

 came to believe them poisonous. At 

 first blush this may seem a plausible 

 reason. But in other parts of the world 

 fish are prized as a delicacy just be- 

 cause they are scarce, and people feel 

 about them very much as we do about 

 oysters. 



