xvii SCOPE AND EXTENT OF THE SUBJECT 251 



rest of the universe. It invokes the aid of the sciences of 

 zoology, comparative anatomy, and physiology, in its attempts 

 to estimate the distinctions and resemblances between man 

 and his nearest allies, and in fixing his place in the scale of 

 living beings. In endeavouring to investigate the origin and 

 antiquity of man, geology must lend its assistance to determine 

 the comparative ages of the strata in which the evidences of 

 his existence are found, and researches into his early history 

 soon trench upon totally different branches of knowledge. In 

 tracing the progress of the race from its most primitive 

 condition, the characteristics of its physical structure and 

 relations with the lower animals are soon left behind, and it 

 is upon evidence of a kind peculiar to the human species, and 

 by which man is so pre-eminently distinguished from all other 

 living beings, that our conclusions mainly rest. The study of 

 the works of our earliest known forefathers " prehistoric 

 archeology " as it is commonly called is now almost a 

 science by itself. It investigates the origin of all human 

 culture, endeavours to trace to their common beginning the 

 sources of our arts, customs, and history. The difficulty is, 

 what to include and where to stop ; as, though the term 

 prehistoric may roughly indicate an artificial line between 

 the province of the anthropologist and that which more 

 legitimately belongs to the archaeologist, the antiquary, and 

 the historian, it is perfectly evident that the studies of the 

 one pass insensibly into those of the others. Knowledge of 

 the origin and development of particular existing customs 

 throws immense light upon their real nature and importance ; 

 and conversely, it is often only from a profound acquaintance 

 with the present or comparatively modern manifestations of 

 culture that we are able to interpret the slight indications 

 afforded us by the scanty remains of primitive civilisation. 



It is considerations such as these that have caused the 

 gradual introduction of the term Anthropology as a substitute 

 for Ethnology, which I have traced in the history of this 

 Association, and which is seen in other organisations for the 

 cultivation of our science. 



The first general association for the study of man in this 

 country was founded in 1843, under the name of the " Ethno- 



