H.— ANTHROPOLOGY. 189 



term is the antithesis of ' diffusionist ' is not clear, since both are ill-defined, 

 and at times it would appear that the relationship is one of antipathy 

 rather than antithesis. On the other hand, it is sometimes hopefully 

 said that we are all difEusionists nowadays ; but there are differences, and 

 many wish to put at least the New World out of bounds. 



Even though it seems unlikely that anything that is really new can 

 be brought iMo this discussion, it is only by enquiring into detail that a 

 better understanding is attainable. Whilst I am myself convinced, rightly 

 or wrongly, that the part played by independent evolution in human 

 material culture has been negligible, it is in no way my aim to prove that 

 it has not occurred. Indeed, I see many reasons why in certain simple 

 types of cases it may have occurred, though proof is difl&cult or even 

 unattainable. My object is rather to enquire whether an analysis of 

 discovery and invention, as manifested in human material affairs, will 

 enable us to fortify our faith by more and better reasons. For, as 

 Nordenskiold has lately pointed out, faith plays a large part in the con- 

 troversy over independent evolution, even though one side or the other 

 claims to have more reason in its faith — itself a mixture of reason and 

 credulity. 



Avoiding controversial topics for the moment, we may begin by 

 touching on some simple points in relation to man's material culture, and 

 so pave the way to more debatable conclusions. 



By the aid of methods, often dependent upon extraneous means, man 

 employs materials for the achievement of results, many but by no means 

 all of which persist as artefacts or other products. These objective cate- 

 gories call for further definition, and for some sub-division, since it is 

 obvious on inspection that they are not homogeneous. 



As regards materials, food stands alone, since it is the only material 

 substance that man has always had to seek, and since the need of it 

 persists as the ultimate incitement to all his drudgeries, as well as to some 

 of his enjoyments. From the beginning, and earlier still, he has known 

 how to forage for a living, and the discoveries he has made of new kinds 

 of food stand upon a difierent footing from those concerning substances 

 he does not eat. If one natural food was not available others must be 

 found at all costs, and the lower the grade of culture the less fastidious 

 the food-collector. It was a question of finding, rather than of finding 

 out, and true discovery only came into play when methods were adopted 

 of facilitating, stimulating, and controlling the natural processes of growth 

 and reproduction of food-yielding organisms. In man's use of inorganic 

 raw materials, on the other hand, he had from the beginning to discover 

 not only the properties of the materials, but also the uses he could make 

 of them, as well as the methods and means by which they could be made 

 more serviceable. He tested and discovered foods by stress of need, and 

 he knew what he could do with them, but this guiding pressure failed him 

 when it came to sticks and stones, whose virtues lay at first outside his 

 interests. He did not bring his mind to bear upon them, being under no 

 compulsion, and it was only the obtrusive that attracted him. Some 

 materials he could obtain ready for use, when he had discovered what 

 their uses were, but others were of no value, or were in effect non-existent, 

 until they had been separated, extracted or prepared. To get out of the 



