H.— ANTHROPOLOGY. 147 



worth the trouble of cultivation. Time has, therefore, dealt more tenderly 

 with the monuments than would have been the case had they been exposed 

 to constant danger from the plough and the pickaxe. Often the only 

 damage they have suffered has been through natural decay. 



Thus much for their state of preservation. What about their number ? 

 To the uninitiated this must always seem surprising. It has been calcu- 

 lated that in Aberdeen and Kincardine alone there are some 200 stone 

 circles. These, of course, are of the Bronze Age. Equally worthy of 

 note is the abundance of remains belonging to the Early Iron Age. Thus 

 the Inventories of the Royal Commission actually register as many as 67 

 brochs in Sutherland and no fewer than 145 in Caithness. If the pottery 

 and chambered cairns of the Neolithic Period are less spectacular, they 

 are hardly less remarkable. In a word, it is not open to doubt that, in 

 the days before history began, the North of Scotland and the Western and 

 Northern Islands carried a population that was relatively very numerous. 

 The contrast with the scene of desolation which they now present is often 

 very striking. The stone circle of Callanish in Lewis, for instance — in 

 itself almost as impressive as Stonehenge — -is situated in a veritable valley 

 of vision. There are seven such circles within four miles of Callanish. 

 As the eye turns from these gaunt monuments, rising here and there from 

 the silence of the heather-clad hills, and rests for a moment on the 

 straggling hamlet by the shore, the words of Isaiah spring to the lips : 

 ' Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and 

 turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.' 



How can we account for the change ? The solitude of to-day is easy 

 enough to understand. It is the density of population in prehistoric times 

 that calls for explanation. Various theories have been put forward. 

 Only the other day, for example, I saw it seriously suggested that metal 

 may have been the lure which attracted prehistoric peoples to the Western 

 Isles. The theory has the glamour of romance, but I am afraid that it will 

 not do. The Western Isles are not metalliferous and, in any event, we 

 have got to reckon with a Neolithic population, who would certainly not 

 go in search of something of whose very existence they were unaware. 

 I am disposed to believe that the true solution of the problem is much 

 simpler and that, as usual in such matters, the key will be provided by 

 geography. That means distribution maps. As yet our supply of these 

 is far from adequate. Imperfect as it is, however, it may prove sufficient 

 for our present purpose, more especially as we can fortify ourselves by 

 an appeal to the sister-science of history. 



Nowadays the vast majority of those who invade the Highlands and 

 Islands approach them by way of Southern and Central Scotland. I 

 have already indicated that in prehistoric times that avenue was barred. 

 The Caledonian Forest, which spread far southwards into what we regard 

 as the Lowlands, must have been an impenetrable obstacle. The early 

 immigrants arrived by sea and reached the mainland via the Western 

 Islands. This implies that they came from Ireland, and that it is in 

 Ireland that the roots of Scottish prehistoric civilisation must be studied. 

 At the moment, however, we are concerned, not with studying the roots, 

 but merely with establishing a connexion between them and the full- 

 grown plant. In other words, all that is necessary is to satisfy ourselves 



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