ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT XXXI 



(4) c( >ordiuatif »ii of experience of self aud others, and (5) inven- 

 tion. It would be difficult to evaluate these several factors 

 fairly; but when they are so gTouped as to oppose the individ- 

 ual aud the collective, or more properly («) the independent 

 and (h) the imitative, it is not difficult to judge their rela- 

 tive importance; for, especially in that lower culture in which 

 invention is subordinate, the imitative element is so largely 

 predominant that the independent element is commonly rele- 

 gated to the limbo of paradox — as when curiosity-seekers puz- 

 zle over activital coincidences or interjjret them as evidences of 

 former contact between unrelated peoples. In general terms, 

 it would seem that, while the industrial activities tend to 

 increase and multiply through individual initiative (though in 

 nmch less degree than the esthetic activities), they are extended 

 and ])erpetuated partly through heritag-e but chiefly through 

 imitative interchange; so that the essential trend of industrial 

 development is toward integration and coordination. 



3. The institutional activities of the American Indians have 

 been found peculiarly instructive. The relationships which 

 arise from the physical conditions of reproduction of children 

 from parents is seized upon as an obvious method for organiz- 

 ing the groups of society in a hierarchy. The tribes that live 

 in the lowest stage of culture (which we call savagery) recog- 

 nize parents and children, but they practically give to the 

 mother superior authority over the children. The next higher 

 gronp is the clan; this is organized so as to include a peculiar set 

 of persons. The mother and her brothers and sisters together 

 with the grandmother with her brothers and sisters constitute the 

 group, which may also include the great-gi'andmother and her 

 brothers and sisters. The gi'oup is thus projected into antiquity, 

 so that all persons who recognize kinship by an unbroken 

 descent through mothers are included therein, and future gen- 

 erations have their clan organization fixed thereby. The chief 

 or ruler of the group is always the elder man of the group ; the 

 chieftaincy is therefore avuncular. 



In the family, authority is in the elder, and if two or more 

 generations constitute the same household, the authority is still 

 in the elder, but the mother has authority over the father. In 



