ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT XIII 



and the o]>portuiiity was seized to arrange for ol)tainiiig 

 through his cooperation snch photographs and other data 

 of ethnologic character as he might be able to discover in 

 connection with his other duties. The arrangement 

 yielded material of value. 



OFFICE RESEARCH 



Work in Esthetology 



In the course of a reconnaissance of the Greater Antilles, 

 the Director and Professor Holmes enjoyed moderate 

 opportunities for observing (chiefly in local collections) 

 artifacts of the class commonly regarded as displaying 

 traces of Caribbean influence; and Avhile neither time 

 nor opportunity permitted exhaustive study, a few inter- 

 esting generalizations were made. One of these relates to 

 the relative abundance of esthetic and industrial motives 

 among those artifacts displaying traces of a southern 

 influence. When the ol)jects and special features were 

 compared with those from Florida and other portions of 

 southern United States, it was noted that the presum- 

 ably imported or aceultural features are predominantly 

 esthetic, and only subordiuately of technical or industiial 

 character — that is, it would appear from the collections 

 that esthetic motives travel more freely, or are inter- 

 changed more readily, than purely utilitarian motives 

 among primitive peoples. The relation is of coui*se com- 

 plicated by the relative abundance of tiducial or other 

 sophic motives, which often l)lend with Ijoth esthetic and 

 industrial motives in ])uzzling fashion ; but even after 

 these motives are weighed or' eliminated, the general 

 relation remains unchanged. The generalization promises 

 to be of service as a guide in the study of that affiliation 

 of tribes, or integration of peoples, which complicates 

 every ethnologic problem. The Director's inquiries were 

 gi'eatly facilitated liy Professor Holmes' artistic training 

 and his extended familiaritj" with both the esthetic and 

 the industrial motives of aboriginal artifacts; nor could 



