VII. PROBLEMS OF CULTURE DEYELOPMEXT AXD 



MUTATION 



IN THE entire field of anthropological research there occurs no 

 such opportunity for the stud}^ of primitive life and the evolu- 

 tion from it of the higher forms of culture as that afforded by 

 aboriginal America, })re- and post-Columbian, This is due largely 

 to the facts (1) that the cultures are, in large part, living cultures, 



which have been the subject of observation more or 

 stildy'""' ^''"""^ ""^ 1^^'^ intelligent for 400 years ; (2 ) that the cultures of 



the Columbian and post-Columbian periods represent 

 practically the whole range of aboriginal advancement so far as it is 

 known, from the humblest stage of savagery to the very threshold 

 of civilization; (3) that the prehistoric phases of these cultures are 

 continuous with the historic and present and are thus readily inter- 

 preted in terms of the well known; (4) that the antiquities are 

 countless and have been left in large measure undisturbed by the 

 activities of succeeding occupants. Notwithstanding these favor- 

 able conditions the task before the historian of the race is not an 

 easy one. The very early stages of xVmerican history, being scantily 

 represented by art remains, must always remain obscure, and students 

 of the subject are thus free to adopt such views as may occur to them 

 regarding the probable course of events during the occupation and 



conquest of the continent. It is quite natural that 

 status °^ ^"'^''"^^ there should have arisen widely divergent views on 



tlie subject, views which, however, will doubtless tend 

 to disappear as research makes headway. The writer finds it most 

 advantageous for present purposes to follow up the general scheme 

 outlined in the section dealing with the culture transformations of 

 migrating peoples in their passage from tlie hypothetical cradle in 

 Asia to America. The conception is that of a people not advanced 

 beyond the simplest known stages of hyperborean culture entering 

 upon the heritage of a previously unclaimed continent and in course 

 of time, by continued migrations and multiplication of numbers, 

 occupying all habitable areas and gradually reaching the various 

 stages of advancement which characterized America at the period of 

 European conquest. 



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