126 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



In the remarks on the " Origin of Man," the statement 

 was made that mankind was distributed throughout the 

 habitable earth in some geologic period anterior to the 

 present and anterior to the development of other than the 

 rudest arts. Here, again, we reach the conclusion that man 

 was distributed throughout the earth anterior to the devel- 

 opment of organized speech. 



In the presence of these two great facts the tracing of 

 genetic relationship among human races through arts, cus- 

 toms, institutions and traditions will appear, for all of 

 these must have been developed after the dispersion of man- 

 kind. Analogies and homologies in these phenomena must 

 be accounted for in some other way. Somatology proves 

 the unity of the human species ; that is the evidence upon 

 which this conclusion is reached is morphologic ; but in arts, 

 customs, institutions and traditions abundant corroborative 

 evidence is found. The individuals of the one species though 

 inhabiting diverse climes, speaking diverse languages and 

 organized into diverse communities, have progressed in a 

 broad way by the same stages, have had the same arts, cus- 

 toms, institutions and traditions in the same order, limited 

 only by the degree of progress to which the several tribes 

 have attained and modified only to a limited extent by 

 variations in environment. 



If any ethnic classification of mankind is to be estab- 

 lished more fundamental than that based upon language, 

 it must be upon physical characteristics, and such must 

 have been acquired by profound differentiation anterior to 

 the development* of languages, arts, customs, institutions, 

 and traditions. The classifications hitherto made on this 

 basis are unsatisfactory, and no one now receives wide ac- 

 ceptance. Perhaps farther research will clear up doubtful 

 matters and give an acceptable grouping: or it may be that 

 such research will result only in exhibiting the futility of 

 the effort. 



The history of man, from the lowest tribal condition to 

 the highest national organization, has been a history of con- 



