178 GROWTH AND DECLINE OF CULTURE. 



the place wliere we become acquainted with them. In investi- 

 gating the difficult problem of Polynesian civilization, this state 

 of things often presents itself, not uniformly, but in a partial, 

 various way, that gives us a glimpse here and there of the 

 trains of events that must have taken place, in different times 

 and places, to produce the complex result we have before us. 

 It is clear that a Malayo-Polynesian culture, proved by the 

 combined evidence of language, mythology, arts, and cus- 

 toms, has spread itself over a great part of the Southern Is- 

 lands, from the Philippines down to New Zealand, and from 

 Easter Island to Madagascar, though the pure Malayo-Polyne- 

 sian race only forms a part of the population of the district in 

 which its language and civilization more or less predominate. 

 The original condition of the Malayo-Polynesian family, as 

 determined by the state of its lower members, presents us with 

 few arts not found at least in a rudimentary state in Australia, 

 though these arts were developed with immensely greater skiU 

 and industry. In most of the South Sea Islands there was no 

 knowledge of pottery, nor of the art of boiling food in vessels 

 over a fire. Great part of the race was strictly in the stone 

 age, knowing nothing of metals. The sugar-cane grew in 

 Tahiti, but the natives only chewed it, knowing nothing of the 

 art of sugar-making ;^ nor did they make any use of the cotton- 

 plant, though it grew there. ^ The art of weaving was un- 

 known in most of the islands away from Asia. Though the 

 cocoa-nut palm was common, they did not tap it for toddy ; 

 and Dr. Seemann taught the Fijians the art of extracting sago 

 from their native sago -palms .^ 



In other districts, however, a very different state of things 

 was found. In Sumatra and other islands near Asia, and in 

 Madagascar, iron was smelted and worked with much skill. 

 The simplest kind of loom had appeared in the Eastern Archi- 

 pelago, only, as the evidence seems to show, to be supplanted 



> Coot, Fii'st Voy. H., toI. ii. p. 186. In the Fiji Islands, Williams, vol. i. 

 pp. 63, 71, says that the sugar-cane is cultivated, and sugar made ; but he gives 

 no opinion as to the age of these arts. 



=" J. E. Forster, Observations (Cook's Second Voy.) ; London, 1778, p. 384. 



3 Seemann, pp. 291, 329. 



