54 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 60 



8. Geographical 



Data furnished by a study of the rehitions of hind and water, his- 

 toric and prehistoric, with respect to distribution of peoples and 

 faunas. 



9. Astronomical 



Data derived from changes in the rehitions of the earth and 

 heavenly bodies which affect humanity at determinable periods. 



The antiquity of man on the American Continent is a subject of 

 deep interest to the student of the aborigines as well as to the his- 

 torian of the human species as a whole, and the various problems 

 which arise with respect to chronology are claiming an ever-grow- 

 ing amount of scientific attention. The problems may be briefly 

 suggested in this place, and the evidence so far presented for their 

 solution may be reviewed. 



During the first centuries of European occupancy of the continent 



belief in the derivation of the native tribes from 

 cin-onoio'^y^™''''^ Old World pcoples in comparatively recent times 



was very general, and, indeed, the fallacy has not yet 

 been entirely eradicated, as pointed out in a previous section. 

 This view was based on the apparentl}' solid foundation of 

 the Usher chronology, and many works have been written in the 

 attempt to determine the particular peoples from which the Ameri- 

 can tribes sprang. The results of researches into the archeology of 



the Old World during the past century, however, 

 Old and New ImyQ served to clear away the strict biblical inter- 

 osies Distinct prctatioii of cvciits aiicl establish the fact of the great 



antiquity of man in the world, and to develop a 

 clear conception of the course of events from the close of the Tertiary 

 ei)och. Later on investigations in America were taken up, and 

 evidence was found and readily accepted, which seemed to warrant 

 the conclusion that the course of primitive history had been about 

 the same on both continents; but a critical examination of the testi- 

 mony has shown that this is probably not the case, and the necessity 

 of treating the evidence furnished by the two continents quite 

 separately is made apparent. 



The aborigines are usually spoken of as a distinct race, but are 



more properlv regarded as a subrace — an ancient 

 Diversity of Race ^fly^Qot ^f ^hc yellow-brown race of Asia. Xotwith- 



Characters •' 



standing this, it is observed that the racial characters 

 of the Americans are measurably distinctive and homogeneous, 

 differing more or less from those of the better-known typical 

 Asiatics, and some students have reached the conclusion that a 

 long period was required to bring about these results. Again, those 



