Origin of the Ainos. 15 



he tells us that, "the chief objection to a northern origin 

 for the Aino is, that they persist in cherishing the tradition 

 that their ancestors came from the west ; that is from some 

 place in the direction of the Asiatic continent." 



Here and there, along the northern borders of Siberia, are 

 also to be found remnants of a language which show the 

 undoubted presence at some former period of the Aino 

 people, and we may thus retrace their course until, as all 

 the evidence now at our disposal permits, we locate them 

 in the region of the Southern Caucasus, as the centre from 

 which they were dispersed. This view is, as we have seen, 

 consistent also with tradition ; and, if we also add the evi- 

 dence of physical characteristics, then we must grant the 

 probable correctness of this view. 



Dr. Scheube, after elaborate studies of this people, dis- 

 tinctly states that there is " no Mongolic type in the Aino," 

 and he further speaks of them as most nearly comparable 

 to the Russian peasantry. Topinard l expresses the same 

 view, and speaks of them as comparable to the people of 

 the Moscow district. 



The appearance of the Aino is so distinct from that of the 

 Japanese as to determine a wide separation of the two peo- 

 ple, even upon the most casual inspection. What these 

 distinctions are, will appear on another occasion; but I may 

 observe in passing, that an unprejudiced observer at once 

 notes the very close resemblance, even in color of skin, 

 which the Ainos bear to Europeans, and all the best 

 accounts of this people speak of this. 



After reaching the eastern confines of Siberia, it is a com- 

 paratively easy task to trace the Ainos in their subsequent 

 wanderings. They appear first to have spread along the 

 coast from Kamschatka southward, probably as far as Mon- 

 golia. Finding the Island of Karafuto — Saghalien — easily 

 reached by boats, and, at certain times when the tides were 

 favorable, even on foot, they were naturally led in time to 

 occupy a territory which afforded, in its streams, an abun- 

 dance of food in the form of fish. Eventually, the narrow 



1 Anthropology, p. 476. See also Nature, xxvi. 524, etc. 



