164 PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURAL RACES 



find any correlation between economic stages and the factors 

 bearing upon fertility and elimination. What we do find is 

 a certain correlation between these factors and large geographical 

 areas, and in what follows the races of the second group will be 

 considered according to the geographical areas in which they are 

 situated, and not according to the stage of economic progress 

 which they have reached. The areas selected are as follows. 

 There is, in the first place, America ; secondly, there is Africa, 

 and thirdly Oceania. The first two areas are, on the whole, fairly 

 homogeneous ; though the third area is not so homogeneous, the 

 level of agricultural skill is fairly uniform— nearly all these races 

 falling into Hobhouse's second grade. Lastly, there are the 

 Asiatic peoples among whom Eur- Asiatic culture has not pene- 

 trated ; many of them are inhabitants of the northern fringe of 

 the continent. It will be noticed that the pastoral races chiefly 

 fall within the last group. The so-called pastoral races of America 

 — the NavahoSjfor instance — have only acquired domestic animals 

 since coming into contact with Europeans. The pastoral races 

 of Africa are with difficulty distinguished from their neighbours, 

 who also raise cattle but practise some agriculture at the same 

 time. It will thus be observed that this mode of classification 

 is, as a matter of fact, roughly in correspondence with the mode 

 of classification based upon the stage of economic progress 

 reached. 



America 

 2. We have now to examine in turn the races of these four 

 regions. The procedure will be that followed when dealing with 

 hunting and fishing races. As before we begin with examples 

 of intercourse before maturity. This may take the form of 

 marriage before puberty or of less regular connexions. As Mr. 

 Hartland says, ' it would appear that sexual intercourse before 

 puberty is either recognized by a formal marriage or tolerated as 

 the gratification of a natural instinct among a great variety of 

 peoples in all quarters of the globe '.^ It will be sufficient here to 

 note a few instances of this practice. Of the tribes of Guatemala, 

 Bancroft says that ' marriages take place at an early age, often 

 before puberty \^ and the same would seem to be the case among 

 the Navahos.^ Accounts of the great laxity of manners and of 



» Hartland, Primitive Paternity, vol. i, p. 272. « Bancroft, loc. cit., 



vol. i, p. 702. 3 Stephen, Am. Anth., vol. vi, p. 356. 



