37 6 The Smithsonian Institution 



researches concerning the prehistoric works of the country 

 were undertaken. 



Much effort has been devoted to investigation of the rela- 

 tions of the Indians among each other and to different peo- 

 ples, partly with the view of facilitating collateral researches. 

 Various methods and criteria of classification have been 

 tested in the different departments of ethnology, and new 

 methods and new criteria have been devised. These com- 

 parisons and studies have resulted in the adoption of a gen- 

 eral classific method in which the phenomena are grouped 

 first by origin or genetic relation, and second by conditions 

 of development. Always at the beginning and sometimes at 

 the end of an investigation important relations are unknown, 

 when it is necessary to adopt arbitrary classific systems based 

 on any convenient criteria; but it is the aim to replace 

 the arbitrary systems by natural arrangements whenever the 

 state of knowledge permits. On this basis the object-matter 

 (the Indians) and the subject-matter (the knowledge) of the 

 bureau's researches are classified. 



The first demand for a practical classification of the Indian 

 tribes was met by grouping the Indians north of Mexico and 

 a part of those occupying the territory of that republic in 

 fifty-nine linguistic stocks (or families), each usually compris- 

 ing a number of tribes. These stocks, with the approximate 

 number of tribes in each, are shown in the accompany- 

 ing table. This classification of the American Indians was 

 originally published in the seventh annual report of the bu- 

 reau, and has been generally adopted in encyclopedias, text- 

 books, and other standard works relating to the American 

 aborigines in this and other countries. 



