804 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 386. 



THE FOUNDATION OF A NATIONAL ANTHRO- 

 POLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



During the last twenty-five years anthro- 

 pology has made great advances in our 

 country. Before the year 1877 attempts 

 had been made here and there to collect 

 information in regard to our native tribes. 

 The report of 1822 on the Indians, by 

 Jedidiah Morse, the monumental work by 

 Schoolcraft, and the many important in- 

 vestigations connected with the geograph- 

 ical and geological surveys of the Western 

 States, are witnesses of an early interest in 

 the history of our native tribes and of their 

 remains. The first attempt to organize 

 ethnological work was the establishment of 

 the Bureau of American Ethnology through 

 the activity of Major Powell. It took a 

 long time, even after the organization of 

 the Bureau, before the necessity for careful 

 training of anthropologists became clearly 

 understood; and it was only in 1888 that, 

 through the appointment of F. W. Putnam 

 as professor, anthropology was introduced 

 in Harvard University as a subject of in- 

 struction. Since that time great strides 

 have been made, and the list of anthro- 

 pological courses given in colleges and uni- 

 versities, which was recently published by 

 Mr. MacCurdy,* is an encouraging sign of 

 the growth of interest in our science. 



The increasing interest in anthropology 

 also led to the foi-mation of a number of 

 societies specially .devoted to this subject. 

 The first anthropological society founded 

 in America was the American Ethnology 

 ical Society of New York, established in 

 1842 by Albert Gallatin. This society, in 

 course of time, became dormant. Mean- 

 while, in 1882, the American Association 

 for the Advancement of Science recognized 

 the claims of anthropology by founding an 

 anthropological section. In 1879 an An- 

 thropological Society was established in 

 Washington. In 1895 the New York 

 * Science, February 7, 1902. 



Academy of Sciences established a section 

 of anthropology and psychology; and in 

 1899 the American Ethnological Society in 

 New York was resuscitated. It seems but 

 right to mention in connection \\dth these 

 societies the American Folk-Lore Society, 

 which was established in 1888, and which 

 has done much valuable anthropological 

 work. Besides this, a number of smaller 

 informal societies might be mentioned, such 

 as the Anthropological Club at Harvard 

 University. 



At the present time we find, therefore, 

 three important societies devoting them- 

 selves to the advancement of anthropology. 

 These are the Anthropological Section (H) 

 of the American Association for the Ad- 

 vancement of Science, the Anthropological 

 Society of Washington, and the American 

 Ethnological Society. The first of these is 

 national in its character; the other two are 

 essentially local societies, although both 

 have a number of members scattered all 

 over the country. 



The rapid advances of anthropological 

 work in America make it desirable to con- 

 sider whether the development of anthro- 

 pological societies cannot be so directed as 

 to lead to a thorough organization that will 

 be beneficial to the further development 

 of anthropology. 



The objects of scientific societies may 

 perhaps be briefly defined as follows : First, 

 to give opportunity for the discussion of 

 scientific problems among students, and 

 thus to further the advancement of science ; 

 secondly, to disseminate knowledge through 

 the publication of the results of investiga- 

 tions; thirdly, to create new interests by 

 bringing the progress of scientific research 

 to the attention of the lay public. This 

 last point, while not immediately contrib- 

 uting to the advancement of science, must 

 be considered as of fundamental impor- 

 tance, particularly in our country, because 

 no science can flourish that has not the 



