vii.] METHODS AND RESULTS OF ETHNOLOGY. 135 



and searches after the conditions which have determined 

 his presence in the world. And anthropology is a section 

 of ZOOLOGY, which again is the animal half of BIOLOGY 

 the science of life and living things. 



Such is the position of ethnology, such are the objects 

 of the ethnologist. The paths or methods, by following 

 which he may hope to reach his goal, are diverse. He may 

 work at man from the point of view of the pure zoologist, 

 and investigate the anatomical and physiological pecu- 

 liarities of Negroes, Australians, or Mongolians, just as 

 he would inquire into those of pointers, terriers, and 

 turnspits, " persistent modifications " of man's almost 

 universal companion. Or he may seek aid from researches 

 into the most human manifestation of humanity 

 Language ; and assuming that what is true of speech is 

 true of the speaker a hypothesis as questionable in 

 science as it is in ordinary life he may apply to man- 

 kind themselves the conclusions drawn from a searching 

 analysis of their words and grammatical forms. 



Or, the ethnologist may turn to the study of the 

 practical life of men ; and relying upon the inherent 

 conservatism and small inventiveness of untutored man- 

 kind, he may hope to discover in manners and customs, 

 or in weapons, dwellings, and other handiwork, a clue to 

 the origin of the resemblances and differences of nations. 

 Or, he may resort to that kind of evidence which is 

 yielded by History proper, and consists of the beliefs of 

 men concerning past events, embodied in traditional, or 

 in written, testimony. Or, when that thread breaks, 

 Archaeology, which is the interpretation of the unrecorded 

 remains of man's works, belonging to the epoch since the 

 world has reached its present condition, may still guide 

 him. And, when even the dim light of archaeology 

 fades, there yet remains Palaeontology, which, in these 

 latter years, has brought to daylight once more the 



