624 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 827 



and construction of the buildings, showing 

 their home life and religious practises; the 

 aomestic utensils and tools, indicating their 

 industrial development; decoration, showing 

 the origin and progress of their ideas of de- 

 sign and ornament, hearing upon the evolu- 

 tion of beliefs and habits of thought. 



All these lines of research lead up to the 

 most important phase of the inquiry, viz., 



4. Psychology. — For it is the human mind 

 that we are studying, and the ultimate aim 

 of these correlated investigations is to find 

 out how the mind of man has been influenced 

 by his environment; how his beliefs and life 

 have been created, modified, continued, or de- 

 stroyed by his physical surroundings. 



The methods adopted for carrying out the 

 foregoing scheme, and which were successfully 

 practised during the recent summer session, 

 may be summarized as follows: 



1. Excavations of the designated ruins, 

 systematically made under proper supervision ; 

 insuring the adequate scientific record of all 

 facts disclosed, care of the objects discovered, 

 and preservation of the structures for the use 

 of future students. 



2. Special investigations upon the collateral 

 subjects above indicated, made by persons 

 thoroughly qualified, within the definite re- 

 gion under consideration. These embraced 

 the survey and mapping of the area; and the 

 geology, botany and zoology, studied in direct 

 connection with the linguistics of the existing 

 Indians derived largely from the same stock 

 as the ancient dwellers. This was accom- 

 plished by taking a number of intelligent In- 

 dians into the field, and learning from them 

 at first hand the original names of all the ob- 

 jects studied, their uses, and the beliefs and 

 traditions concerning them. 



3. Daily class excursions under instruction, 

 bringing the students from time to time into 

 direct contact with the researches mentioned 

 in the last two paragraphs, thus affording op- 

 portunity for study where the things are, and 

 for discussion in their presence. 



4. Facilities for direct comparison of per- 

 tinent literature, by means of a library on the 

 spot. 



5. Intelligent presentation of the results of 

 the work, and of related questions, by means 

 of daily lectures, with opportunity for inquiry 

 and discussion following them. 



The foregoing program of field study will 

 be followed by work at the museum during 

 the year, where the material obtained in the 

 field will be digested, and the results prepared 

 for publication. This will include, among the 

 special features, phonographic and kymo- 

 graphic studies of languages now rapidly dis- 

 appearing, thus securing mechanically accu- 

 rate records for future use. 



Frank Springer 



SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS 



Announcement is made that the Nobel 

 Prize in medicine for 1910 has been awarded 

 to Dr. Albrecht Kossel, professor of physiology 

 at Heidelberg. 



At its last meeting the Eumford Committee 

 of the American Academy made the following 

 grants : to Mr. P. W. Bridgman, of the Jeffer- 

 son Physical Laboratory, Harvard University, 

 $400 additional, in aid of his research on the 

 thermal and optical properties of bodies under 

 pressure ; to Professor Charles L. Norton, of 

 the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 

 $400, in aid of his research On thermal in- 

 sulation. 



The Eoyal Scottish Geographical Society 

 will award its medal to Professor James 

 Geikie, F.E.S., for his contributions to geo- 

 graphical research and his services to the 

 society; and the Livingstone gold medal to 

 Sir John Murray, K.C.B., F.K.S., in recogni- 

 tion of his oceanographical work. 



At Cambridge University the Gedge prize 

 has been awarded to G. E. Mines, of Sidney 

 Sussex College, for his essay entitled " Ee- 

 searches on the Physiological Action of In- 

 organic Salts chiefly in Eolation to the Car- 

 diac and Skeletal Muscles of the Frog." 



M. Lacroix, professor of mineralogy at 

 Paris, has been elected a corresponding mem- 

 ber of the Vienna Academy of Sciences. 



Mr. John Eandall, of Maidley, England, 

 who has made various contributions to geology 



