AuGust 20, 1897.] 
like outlets in its north-facing escarpment, 
and then traverse a sloping plain that de- 
scends to a barren sandy strip before reach- 
ing the sea. They form the natural paths 
of travel by which the hill tribesmen al- 
ways go to and from the coast. 
W. M. Davis. 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY. 
CURRENT NOTES ON ANTHROPOLOGY. 
STUDIES IN MAYAN HIEROGLYPHS. 
Ir is as agreeable as it is rare to find a 
sane student of the Mayan hieroglyphs. 
For that reason among others it is pleasur- 
able to mention several articles which have 
appeared lately from the pen of Mr. Lewis 
W. Gunckel, of Dayton, Ohio. 
Two of these are in the American Anti- 
quarian for the present year. They are 
entitled, ‘The numeral signs in the Pa- 
lenque tablets,’ and ‘An Analysis of the 
day-signs in the Palenquen inscriptions.’ <A 
third is in the American Anthropologist for 
May on, ‘The direction in which Mayan 
inscriptions should be read.’ All of these 
indicate thorough investigation and calm 
judgment, as well as a good acquaintance 
with what his predecessors in the field have 
accomplished. The method pursued is 
scientific and the presentation of the re- 
sults temperate. 
Of course, some of such results may have 
to be modified by future research, and they 
may not be good in all cases, that is, in 
other parts of the field ; but the plan which 
Mr. Gunckel has adopted of approaching 
these intricate problems is one sure to be 
productive of additions to our positive 
knowledge concerning them. 
PRIMITIVE DECORATIVE ART. 
For the analysis of primitive art-motives 
no. paper has appeared for a long while 
more instructive than that by Dr. Franz 
Boas in the Bulletin of the American 
Museum of Natural History, Vol. IX., en- 
SCIENCE. 
287 
titled ‘The decorative art of the Indians of 
the North Pacific Coast.’ The tribes whom 
he has in view are celebrated for the 
abundance of their painting and sculpture, 
their totem poles, colored dishes and carved 
pipes, and all are somewhat familiar with 
their strange and perplexing designs. These 
are analyzed in the article referred to with 
masterly skill, and the text is furnished 
with ample and accurate illustrations, 
which enable the reader to follow the dem- 
onstration step by step. 
Certain general principles furnish the 
key to these primitive art-motives. It was 
the aim of the artist to bring into promi- 
nence the most specific feature of the animal 
he drew, and yet to show as much of the 
whole of it as he could. As he knew noth- 
ing of perspective, he resorted to the most 
curious devices to accomplish his aim. He 
represented his subject in sections and dis- 
tortions, and sometimes by its specific 
feature reduced to a mere symbol, as a 
beaver by its incisor teeth only. Many of 
these devices belong to primitive art gen- 
erally, and hence this paper will efficiently 
aid the student in other fields than the 
Northwest Coast. 
D. G. Brinton. 
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS. 
WE publish elsewhere a full report, by the 
General Secretary, of the Detroit meeting of the 
American Association for the Advancement of 
Science. Although the attendance was small, 
the scientific programs were in many sections 
unusually strong and promise well for the 
future of the Association. A notable meeting 
on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of 
the Association next year at Boston, with Pro- 
fessor Putnam as President and Mr. Howard 
as Permanent Secretary, is assured. 
WE are glad to be able to publish in this 
issue the address of the President. of the British 
Association, given on Wednesday of this week. 
The addresses of the Presidents of the Sections 
