136 CRITIQUES AND ADDRESSES. [vn. 



exuvia of ancient populations, whose world was not our 

 world, who have been buried in river beds immemorially 

 dry, or carried by the rush of waters into caves, inac- 

 cessible to inundation since the dawn of tradition. 



Along each, or all, of these paths the ethnologist may 

 press towards his goal ; but they are not equally straight, 

 or sure, or easy to tread. The way of palaeontology has 

 but just been laid open to us. Archaeological and histo- 

 rical investigations are of great value for all those peoples 

 whose ancient state has differed widely from their pre- 

 sent condition, and who have the good or evil fortune 

 to possess a history. But on taking a broad survey of 

 the world, it is astonishing how few nations present 

 either condition. Respecting, five-sixths of the persistent 

 modifications of mankind, history and archaeology are 

 absolutely silent. For half the rest, they might as well be 

 silent for anything that is to be made of their testimony. 

 And, finally,, when the question arises as to what was the 

 condition of mankind more than a paltry two or three 

 thousand years ago; history and archaeology are, for the 

 most part, mere dumb dogs. What light does either of 

 these branches of knowledge throw on the past of the 

 man of the New World, if we except the Central Ameri- 

 cans and the Peruvians on that of the Africans, save 

 those of the valley of the Nile and a fringe of the Medi- 

 terranean ; on that of .all the Polynesian. Australian, 

 and central Asiatic peoples, the former of whom probably, 

 and the last certainly, were, at the dawn of history, 

 substantially what they are now ? While thankfully 

 accepting what history has to give him, therefore, the 

 ethnologist must not look for too much from her. 



Is more to be expected from inquiries into the customs 

 and handicrafts of meri ? It is to be feared not. In 

 reasoning from identity of custom to identity of stock 

 the difficulty always obtrudes itself, that the minds of 



