22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN" ETHNOLOGY [bull. 60 



The student examining certain collections of primitive antiquities 

 discovers that a particular form of flint knife blade occurs in 

 America and also in the Old AVorld and explains the occurrence 

 by the oft-observed fact that Avith given states of culture, given needs, 

 and given materials, men of all races reach kindred results. When, 

 however, he observes that the blade of the knife in each case is spe- 

 cialized for hafting in identical ways, he wonders how such close 

 correspondence in two important characteristics could occur. Press- 

 ing his investigation further he discovers on the two continents other 

 knife blades of chipped flint with curved and keen points and identi- 

 cal specialization to facilitate hafting and a further identical elabora- 

 tion for purposes of embellishment, and he begins to inquire whether 

 the people concerned in making these two groups of artifacts are not 

 somewhat closely related or have not in some way come in close 

 contact. His interest is intensified when he observes that the groups 

 of closely identical blades occur in two transoceanic areas at points 

 of nearest approach, and also not in any case at more remote locali- 

 ties on the respective continents, and he is astonished to discover 

 further that the two areas involved are connected by oceanic cur- 

 rents and trade winds by means of which seagoing craft could make 

 the ocean voyage from continent to continent with comparative ease. 

 Later he finds that other objects of handicraft belonging to these 

 adjacent areas have similar correspondences, and his previous im- 

 pressions are decidedly strengthened. When, going more deeply into 

 the investigation, he learns that analogous phenomena involving 

 other classes of artifacts occur at other points, that in numerous 

 localities on the shores of the one continent the culture traces have 

 close similarities to those of the adjacent transoceanic areas, and 

 that there are no such resemblances elsewhere, the evidence is cumu- 

 lative to an overwhelming degree, and he concludes without hesita- 

 tion, and concludes safely, that contact or transfers of peoples and 

 transfers of cultures have taken place not only at one but at a num- 

 ber of points. 



Now, this is a purely suppositional case, but it is suggestive and 

 justifies further pursuit of the inquiry regarding 



Suggestive Anal- i . r^ => 



ogles the significance of culture resemblances. Attention 



may be drawn to certain noteworthy analogies 



which do occur between American and foreign archeological 



remains, due caution being exercised in their application. In 



New England and farther north is found a highly specialized form 



of the stone adz Icnown as the gouge (fig. 8), 



The stone Gouge which is abundant in the region mentioned, but 



which disappears gradually as we pass to the south 



and west, with rare outliers in the Carolinas, the Ohio Valley, and 



the Lakes region but not occurring elsewhere on the continent. It 



