LXVt ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



plains with the buffalo constructs his shelter of skins; the sav- 

 age who lives on the shore of the reedy lake constructs his 

 shelter of tules; the savage who lives among the rocks builds 

 him a house of loose stones. These diverse means for accom- 

 plishing the same ends apply not only to the arts of man but 

 also to his institutions, his languages, and his opinions. It is 

 to these organic similarities in the activities of mankind that 

 attention is here drawn. Such similarities may exist with va- 

 rying degrees of resemblance. Knives may resemble each 

 other because they are made of stone; knives made of different 

 materials may have resemblance in form. And all such re- 

 semblances may be very close or may be even far-fetched. 



Similarities may be autogenous or syngenous; that is, the 

 similar phenomena may have been developed independently 

 or they may have a common origin. 



Autogenous similarities may be due to concausation, or they 

 may be entirely adventitious. Syngenous similarities may be 

 due to cognation or to acculturation. Some illustration of the 

 meaning of this statement may be necessary. 



Throughout the world many tribes still existing are known 

 to use or to have used stone implements, say, for example, stone 

 arrow-heads. With relation to this fact we may suppose that 

 various tribes developed the use of the stone arrow-head inde- 

 pendently, in which case the art would be autogenous from 

 many centers; that is, like conditions developed this art in its 

 several centers of origin. The hypothesis is that the origin of 

 the stone arrow-head art in many places throughout the earth 

 was due to concausation. But it is possible for us to suppose 

 that there was but one origin for the art, and that the people 

 who practice it were one, in some remote past time, and that 

 they have spread throughout the earth since that time, and that 

 they now practice the art because they are cognate peoples and 

 inherited it from common ancestors. The arts of these various 

 peoples would thereby be syngenous. Again, as the art is ex- 

 pressed in material form, it is possible to suppose that it spread 

 from people to people, that one tribe learned it of another until 

 it was distributed throughout the earth. In this case many 

 tribes would have the art by acculturation. Now, with regard 



