THE HISTORY OF ANTHROPOLOGY 481 



Conscious of the invigorating influence of our point of view and of 

 the grandeur of a single all-compassing science of man, enthusiastic 

 anthropologists may proclaim the mastery of anthropology over 

 older sciences that have achieved where we are still struggling with 

 methods, that have built up noble structures where chaos reigns 

 with us, the trend of development points in another direction, in 

 the continuance of each science by itself, assisted where may be by 

 anthropological methods. The practical demands of anthropology 

 also demand a definition and restriction of its field of work rather 

 than constant expansion. 



The historical development of the work of anthropologists seems 

 to single out clearly a domain of knowledge that heretofore has not 

 been treated by any other science. It is the biological history of 

 mankind in all its varieties; linguistics applied to people without 

 written languages; the ethnology of people without historic records, 

 and prehistoric archeology. It is true that these limits are con- 

 stantly being overstepped, but the unbiased observer will recognize 

 that, in all other fields, special knowledge is required which cannot 

 be supplied by general anthropology. The general problem of the 

 evolution of mankind is being taken up now by the investigator of 

 primitive tribes, now by the student of the history of civilization. 

 We may still recognize in it the ultimate aim of anthropology in 

 the wider sense of the term, but we must understand that it will be 

 reached by cooperation between all the mental sciences and the 

 efforts of the anthropologist. 



The field of research that has been left for anthropology in the 

 narrower sense of the term is, even as it is, almost too wide, and 

 there are indications of its breaking up. The biological, linguistic, 

 and ethnologic-arc heological methods are so distinct, that on the 

 whole the same man will not be equally proficient in all of them. 

 The time is rapidly drawing near when the biological branch of 

 anthropology will be finally separated from the rest, and become a 

 part of biology. This seems necessary, since all the problems relating 

 to the effect of geographical and social environment and those re- 

 lating to heredity are primarily of a biological character. Problems 

 may be set by the general anthropologist. They will be solved by 

 the biologist. Almost equally cogent are the reasons that urge on 

 to a separation of the purely linguistic work from the ethnological 

 work. I think the time is not far distant when anthropology pure 

 and simple will deal with the customs and beliefs of the less civil- 

 ized people only, and when linguistics and biology will continue 

 and develop the work that we are doing now because no one else 

 cares for it. Nevertheless, we must always demand that the anthropo- 

 logist who carries on field-research must be familiar with the prin- 

 ciples of these three methods, since all of them are needed for the 



