510 
known in ancient America, of which twenty- 
six specimens have been found in widely 
separated localities from Tapec, Mexico, to 
Copan, Honduras; he expressed the opin- 
ion that the specimens were originally 
made about Alta Very Paz, Guatemala. 
Dr. Peet then discussed ‘The Serpent Sym- 
bol in Nicaraugua,’ noting the great con- 
trast with the corresponding symbol found 
in the eastern part of the continent, and 
pointing out that in the East the serpent 
was generally regarded as evil or inimical 
to mankind, while in Nicaraugua it was 
considered a beneficent deity. The reasons 
for this diversity in belief were examined 
at length, and reference was made to the 
serpent symbol and its meaning in other 
parts of the world. The author expressed 
the conviction that, while the theory of 
parallel development (i. e., the doctrine of 
activital coincidence, which has recently 
grown prominent, especially among Amer- 
ican anthropologists) was strongly sug- 
gested by the facts, it could hardly be ac- 
cepted as a full explanation of the similar- 
ities and dissimilarities noted. The paper 
was discussed by several members, notably 
Dr. Munro, who expressed some skepticism 
concerning the prevalence of serpent wor- 
ship and mentioned instances of manifest 
error in the interpretation of artificial and 
even natural objects as serpent symbols. 
Mr. Stansbury Hagar contributed remarks 
concerning the Micmac and other Indians. 
The afternoon was devoted to a sympo- 
sium on the question of early man in Dela- 
ware valley. The Section of Geology (under 
Professor E. W. Claypole as Vice-Presi- 
dent) participated. Brief papers by Messrs. 
H. B. Kimmel and G. G. Knapp were first 
presented, in the absence of the authors, by 
Professor R. D. Salisbury. Professor Put- 
nam then gave a detailed account (illus- 
trated by numerous diagrams, photographs 
and specimens) of the work of his assistant, 
Mr. Ernest Volk, in searching for human 
SCIENCE. 
[N. 8S. Vou. VI. No. 144. 
relics in the deposits about Trenton, New 
Jersey. It was shown that there is here a 
relic-bearing deposit of sand containing 
ferruginous bands, ranging from two feet or 
less to three or four feet in thickness; and 
photographs and other records were ex- 
hibited, showing the occurrence of artificial 
chips, spalls, flakes, and more or less per- 
fect implements of argillite, quartz, etc., in 
this deposit to the depth of nearly or quite 
three feet, the abundance diminishing 
downward. Professor Putnam especially 
pointed out that, so far as his observations. 
had gone, the artifacts of argillite predomi- 
nate below, those of other materials above ; 
he also held that these argillite objects. 
were of the type known in Hurope as paleo- 
lithic, while he regarded the more superfi- 
cial artifacts as neolithic. He was followed. 
by Professor G. F. Wright, who argued (1) 
that the ferruginous bands in the sand are: 
marks of stratification, hence (2) that the 
deposit is water-laid, and (3) that its age 
corresponds with that of the later glacial 
deposits further northward in Delaware 
valley, 7. e., that it is Pleistocene. 
Professor Holmes then exhibited a series. 
of diagrams and other illustrations repre- ° 
senting the geographic and geologic condi- 
tions of the relic-bearing deposits about: 
Trenton. He first described the extensive 
deposit or series of deposits, reaching forty 
feet or more in thickness and consisting of 
gravel with some loam, which were un- 
doubtedly formed during the glacial period. 
He pointed out that these were the deposits. 
from which human relics were first re- 
ported at Trenton, and dwelt on the ex- 
tended researches of over a dozen skilled. 
archzologists and geologists who had been 
unable to find artifacts in undisturbed por- 
tions of these deposits, though they were 
found in the talus which unskilled observ- 
ers sometimes mistook for the undisturbed 
deposits ; and on this body of negative, yet 
abundant and cumulative, evidence he ex- 
