Early Civilization 



365 



Throughout Dr. Goldenweiser is very 

 zealous in his effects to correct erron- 

 eous but prevalent ideas, such as those 

 regarding the sense equipment of the 

 primitive, his capacity for sustained 

 labor, his resistance to pain. The 

 author's arguments for belief in the 

 importance of diffusion, the indej^en- 

 dent origin of geometric and realistic 

 patterns in primitive art, are tenable 

 as v^^ell as his disbelief in the compara- 

 bility of children's art and primitive 

 art. ^ 



The author is not without the fault 

 of traveling the by-paths instead of the 

 highway to reach his destination. Dr. 

 Goldenweiser's attack on the doctrine 

 of "inheritance by magic" is justified, 

 but his acquaintance with breeders, 

 that is. scientific breeders, needs to be 

 cultivated. Citing examples of latter- 

 day supernaturalism he states, "We 



hear of children born during the 

 French Revolution with the revolution- 

 ary emblem on their chests ; or again, 

 a mother, frightened by a frog, gives 

 l)irth to a child with a birthmark re- 

 sembling a frog. . . No more than 

 Jacob could resist the temptation of 

 inter]:)reting by a mechanism such as 

 the above the peculiar and varied color- 

 ation of his sheep, can the modern 

 fencier (fancier?) overcome the sug- 

 gestive influence of the many instances 

 in his experience where an interpreta- 

 tion through pre-natal influence may 

 be made, and he makes it forthwith." 

 On the whole, however, the book 

 does not abound in infelicities of mat- 

 ter or expression. It fulfils its func- 

 tion as an introduction to anthropology. 

 As such it is worth reading and reada- 

 ble, a book for both initiate and novice. 



F. L. 



The Status of Evolution 



Allegemeine Abstammungslehre, 

 by Dr. Bern hard Duerken, Pro- 

 fessor at the University of Breslau. 

 Pp. 205. With 38 text figures. 

 $1.00. Berlin, Verlag von Gebrueder 

 Borntraeger, 1923. 



Professor Duerken's book is written 

 for the much-exploited "general read- 

 er," and attempts to give a picture of 

 the real status of the theory of evolu- 

 tion. He discusses the evidence in 

 favor of evolution, taking up the 

 conventional kinds — paleontology, em- 

 bryology, comparative anatomy, etc. — 

 and reaches the safe conclusion that 

 there can be no real question as to the 

 fact of evolution. 



He then goes on to discuss current 

 hypotheses regarding the method in 

 which evolution has taken place. He 



groups these under the two heads 

 of Darwinism and Lamarckism, and 

 after an acute destructive criticism^ 

 on the grovmd of both logic and fact^ 

 concludes that neither of them is 

 tenable. As to explanation of the 

 mechanism of evolution, he remains 

 what might be called an agnostic. 



Every critical reader will find 

 abundant matter for controversy in 

 such a presentation. Nevertheless, the 

 simply and clearly written book, with 

 its insistence on clear thinking, might 

 be read with profit by every student. 

 It ought to serve an important pur- 

 pose in the era which the author sees 

 immediately ahead, when new develop- 

 ments in biology will finally bring the 

 indisputable causes of evolution to- 

 light. P. P. 



