40 STUDIES, SCIENTIFIC AND SOCIAL chap. 



the chip of stone and the polished instrument are side by side. 

 There is no forcing into line, no selection of material, in order to 

 illustrate a theory. Every object falls into its place with its own 

 associates, and tells its part of the story of the efforts of man and 

 the results which he has reached at different times and in different 

 places. By this method of arrangement nothing is forced, and 

 misconception is impossible. Separate the objects and classify them 

 by their kind, independently of their source, and the result is 

 simply a series of collections illustrating the development of the 

 arts of man ; and although such collections will find ajjpropriate 

 j^laces in a museum like this, they should be secondary to the main 

 collection, and be formed of duplicate material. Upon these 

 principles and methods the arrangement of the collections in the 

 present building has been carried on." 



The great collection in the National Museum at Wash- 

 ington, on the other hand, is arranged to illustrate 

 the development of prehistoric industry and arts. First 

 we have cases filled with the rudest chipped implements, 

 many quite as rude as the palaeolithic flints of Europe, 

 and closely resembling them in form. These are of 

 the most varied materials — calcite, chalcedony, obsidian, 

 quartzite, slate, sandstone, or trap. Many are scrapers, 

 rude knives, spears, &c., and come from every part of the 

 continent. In other cases we find leaf-shaped, arrow- 

 shaped, and spear-shaped stones ; passing on successively 

 to all the varied uses to which stone has been applied, 

 through a long gallery containing probably a hundred 

 large floor-cases. Besides this progressive series there are 

 some special cases containing the whole of the contents 

 of certain mounds or graves, or the weapons and 

 implements from some specially interesting locality or 

 island. This method of arrangement has the advantage 

 of enabling a visitor more easily to appreciate the endless 

 variety in the forms of each class of articles, and to 

 compare the development of the stone age in America 

 with that of Europe. As in the case of zoological 

 collections, a great national museum should combine both 

 methods of arrangement ; and it is therefore fortunate that 

 in the present progressive condition of the study the two 

 great museums of American prehistoric archaeology should 

 have adopted different systems. 



