﻿PALEONTOLOGY 
  WELLER 
  319 
  

  

  social 
  groups 
  arising 
  from 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  obscure 
  sources. 
  May 
  not 
  the 
  

   underlying 
  causes 
  of 
  the 
  waning 
  of 
  both 
  these 
  sorts 
  of 
  societies 
  be 
  

   similar 
  ? 
  Too 
  great 
  prosperity, 
  perhaps, 
  and 
  the 
  expenditure 
  of 
  vital 
  

   forces 
  in 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  ornamental 
  characters 
  not 
  fundamen- 
  

   tally 
  of 
  service 
  to 
  the 
  race. 
  And 
  may 
  not 
  the 
  general 
  recognition 
  of 
  

   this 
  lesson 
  serve 
  to 
  guide, 
  in 
  some 
  measure, 
  the 
  future 
  destinies 
  of 
  

   humanity 
  ? 
  

  

  The 
  suggestions 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  made 
  by 
  no 
  means 
  exhaust 
  the 
  

   parallelisms 
  between 
  the 
  social 
  organization 
  of 
  the 
  extinct 
  creatures 
  

   of 
  the 
  earth 
  and 
  human 
  society. 
  Everyone 
  who 
  is 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  

   materials 
  of 
  paleontology 
  can 
  call 
  to 
  mind 
  other 
  comparable 
  relations 
  

   between 
  these 
  two 
  social 
  groups. 
  I 
  believe, 
  however, 
  that 
  enough 
  has 
  

   been 
  said 
  to 
  establish 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  dead, 
  fossil 
  organisms 
  of 
  the 
  

   past 
  can 
  be 
  shown 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  vital 
  interest 
  for 
  students 
  of 
  living 
  human 
  

   society, 
  and 
  that 
  these 
  objects, 
  long 
  buried 
  in 
  the 
  sediments 
  of 
  the 
  

   earth's 
  crust, 
  can 
  convey 
  lessons 
  to 
  the 
  present 
  generation 
  of 
  men 
  

   which 
  may 
  be 
  of 
  service 
  in 
  the 
  guidance 
  of 
  our 
  social 
  evolution. 
  

  

  