10 BUKEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. GO 



dent must select with proper discrimination his historical data ; 

 (7) the considerable body of current and traditional information 

 variously accjuired and conserved in the minds of the current genera- 

 tion, whose knowledge is not necessarily included in books bnt which 

 may be often drawn upon to advantage; and (8) the diversified 

 environments of the tribes and the nations which have served to mold 

 both people and art and which must be understood as an essential 

 foundation for the study of the evolution of culture. 



Auxiliary agencies which may be called upon to contribute mate- 

 rially to the researches of the student in the great 

 Auxiliary Agencies ^^^^^^^ ^j^^^^ Suggested are numerous and highlv 



of Research _ . . 



important. Inspired by the hope of learning some- 

 thing tangible of the origin and mutations of the race, the 

 genetic relations of man with other living forms past and present, 

 the story of his development, and his possible destiny, the somatolo- 

 gist weighs and measures him, the anatomist dissects his body, 

 the microscopist exposes the structure of his tissues, the X ray 

 discovers secrets of his anatomy heretofore nnrevealed. the sociolo- 

 gist studies him as a social being, and the psychologist seeks to 

 comprehend his mental make-up. Still other branches of research 

 may contribute to the result. The geologist is called on to identify 

 the formations in which his remains occur and determine questions 

 of age; the paleontologist digs ii}) the fossil forms associated with 

 the various strata, thus determining the confreres of man in the 

 successive periods of his biotic career; the geographer stands ready 

 to record upon the map the distribution of the diverging groups 

 over the various land areas of the globe at all stages of his history; 

 and even the astronomer determines the mutations of mundane and 

 celestial forces by means of which the destinies of man as w^ell as of 

 all living things have been and must be determined. The science of 

 Archeology seeks to utilize properly all of these varied sources of 

 information and agencies in the task of restoring the past, and in 

 proportion as its devotees are masters of the entire field will they be 

 able to spread before the world the story of the origin, the early 

 struggles, the comings and goings, the nps and downs of the hordes, 

 the tribes, and the nations, and to interpret the laws responsible for 

 the diversified results, racially and culturally. 



While the resources enumerated are or may be drawn upon with 



gratifying results, the sources of misinformation 



Sources of Misin- .^^^.^^ no less a subjcct of arclieological concern. These 



formation _ ■; _ ° 



comprise, referring especially to America, the mis- 

 interpretations and errors embodied in four centuries of literature, 

 among which are the imperfect ol)servations and erroneous deduc- 

 tions of a host of amateur explorei's and would-be historians. Espe- 

 cially to be deprecated is the utilization of this class of observations 



