22 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 94 



LATEST THEORIES 



About this same time there is another communication on Polynesian 

 and Melano-Australian elements in America by Rivet, and the evi- 

 dence begins now to be extended also to the philological and cultural 

 realms. The paper is published in 1924 and reprinted in 1925. In 

 the former we read as follows : 



A North American [Hoka] and a South American [Tson] linguistic group 

 can be attached, respectively, to the Melano-Polynesian and the Australian 

 families. 



In 1909, taking up again an idea advanced once by Ten Kate and de Quatrefages, 

 I have demonstrated that, by their osteological characters, the ancient inhabi- 

 tants of the southern part of Lower California and the South American race 

 called Lagoa Santa, presented very clear affinities with the hypsistenocephalic 

 race of Melanesia, and this thesis has recently been entirely confirmed by R. 



Verneau Graebner, E. Nordenskiold, and Father Schmidt pointed out the 



remarkable similarities which exist between the American and the Melano- 

 Polynesian civilizations. 



The date when the Australians and Melanesians arrived in America cannot, 

 naturally, be fixed with precision; but it is at all events possible to affirm that 



it was very ancient When the Europeans arrived in America the "uni- 



formization " in the aspect of the American tribes had already been realized under 

 the double influence of the environment and of mixture (the latter having been 

 surely the most efficacious) ; and it must have required many centuries for this 

 result to be attained.'* 



An especially definitive article on the problem under consideration, 

 by Rivet, appeared in 1925 in L' Anthropologic. The paper is a terse 



" " Un groupe linguistique nord-americain et un groupe sud-americain peuvent 

 etre rattaches respectivement a la famille melano-polynesienne et a la famille 

 autralienne." (P. 336.) 



" En 1909, reprenant une idee autrefois emise par ten Kate et par de Quatre- 

 fages, j'ai demontre que, par leurs caracteres osteologiques, les anciens habitants 

 de la partie meridionale de la peninsule californienne et la race sud-americaine, 

 dite race de Lagoa Santa, presentaient des affinites tres nettes avec la race hypsis- 

 tenocephale de Melanesie, et cette these a ete entierement confirmee recemment 

 par R. Verneau .... Graebner, E. Nordenskiold et le Pere Schmidt on signale 

 les similitudes remarquables qui existent entre les civilisations americaines et 

 melano-polynesiennes." (P. 339.) 



" La date a laquelle les Australiens et les Melanesiens sont arrives en Amerique 

 ne pent etre naturellement fixee avec precision. On pent affirmer toutefois qu' 



elle est tres ancienne Lorsque les Europeens sont arrives en Amerique, 



cette uniformisation d'aspect des tribus americaines etait deja realisee sous la 

 double influence du milieu et du metissage (cette derniere ayant ete certainement 

 la plus efficace) ; or, il a fallu, sans aucun doute, de nombreux siecles pour que ce 

 resultat soit atteint." (Pp. 340-341.) 



