590 report— 1878. 



5. 



On the Prehistoric Relations of the Babylonian, Egyptian, and Chinese 

 Characters and Culture. By Hyde Clarke, V.P.A.S., V.P.S.S. 



Referring to the relationship of these three groups of characters, the writer 

 gave illustrations of a community of meaning and form, and of a diversity of 

 sound. This indicated that the original words attached to the characters belonged 

 to some earlier language different from these, and in which the sounds having 

 identical meanings corresponded. Taking the cuneiform characters for Ka and Ba 

 they were in opposition (equivalent to 2K). Together they formed the word 

 Kaba, a well-known recognisable prehistoric negative used for Not, Death, 

 &c. In Chinese the roots 7 and 75 for No and Not indicate a com- 

 bination of the same characters (2K). In the ancient Shwo wen there are 

 three arms on each side, so that the original form may be indicative of two hands 

 in opposition. Further, while in later times Kappa is X, in square Hebrew Caph 

 is nearer to C, and Caph means the Hollow of the Hand and is female, and in oppo- 

 sition to its neighbouring letter Yod, which signifies the Hand or emblem of the 

 man or male. On the other side Akkad 42 of Lenormant, sounding Ka and ga 

 is a square character (originally converted from round O), and signifying Mouth, 

 Speak. The square Chinese character 30 signifies Mouth, Speak, and sounds 

 K'eu and ga(p). No. 156 Akkad square signifies Presence ( = Face) and enclosure 

 ( = Field). The Chinese character for Face 109, and for Garden 102, correspond to 

 Akkad. No. 204 Akkad signifies both House and Speak, conjunctions of meaning 

 for the same sound to be found in the African or prehistoric languages. No. 71 

 Akkad stands for Fish, Ship, equivalents for which are found in Africa. No. 

 459 Akkad (|| or =) stands for Son, Water, River, also combined as one word 

 in Africa. No. 354 Akkad signifies Tongue and Serpent, again combined in Africa. 

 In Chinese square characters, converted from round (D for O), are used for 

 equivalents prehistorically, and psychologically and philologically connected, 

 as Round, Circle, Eye, to See, Sun, Moon, Face, Head, Ear, Mouth, to Say, 

 Sound, Mother. The favourite sound in Chinese for this group is IMC, (as in 

 English Mouth, Moon, Mother). This series is continued in the alphabets, the 

 Phoenician, Sabean, Safa, and some of the features may be recognised in modern 

 Roman as 0. Indeed, in the alphabets many emblems of the ancient Nature- 

 worship, or emblems may be recognised as I, tf,C,U, O, V, e,S, T, A? M, *, K. 

 With regard to the comparative philology of Akkad, Mr. Clarke continued to 

 resist the Ugrian classification of M. Ujfalvy, and showed that the roots in Akkad 

 and in Ugrian can be identified with those of the languages of prehistoric character 

 of the Old and New World, but remarkably in Houssa, Mandingo, Pulo, Timbuktu, 

 Aku, of Africa. Thus they approach in their affinities the Kolarian group of 

 India as much as the Ugrian, and must precede the Dravidian or Tamil. This 

 afforded independent evidence, in contradiction of the Semitic theory of M. Halevy, 

 that the transliteration assigned to Akkad words by Lenormant is correct. At 

 the same time we must allow for an earlier epoch of culture in characters and in 

 mythology, antecedent to that of the Babylonians, Egyptians, and Chinese, and cor- 

 responding to that of the moundbuilders. With regard to the Egyptian mythology 

 Mr. Clarke gave illustrations of the prehistoric origin of Pasht (the moon) Seb 



[Shepi], (Siva), and Kaba. He again maintained with regard to and "/\ 



that in cuneiform, the vowel A, is male, and /\, the vowel U and O, is female. 



6. On the Spread of the Sclavs. By H. H. Howorth. 



