554 A. Jli'dlidka — Early Man in America. 



authors who are involved in this subject to say, that the 

 majority of the failures referred to were those of the prin- 

 cipal exponent of ancient man in Argentina, Florentino 

 Ameghino. And lest the above examples may seem partial 

 and unjust the interested reader is strongly urged to peruse the 

 detailed accounts of these matters. 



The conclusions which the members of the Smithsonian 

 Expedition inevitably reached and hold in regard to early man 

 in South America were as follows : 



An unbiased study of all the available facts has shown that 

 the whole structure erected in support of the theory of geolog- 

 ically ancient man on that continent rests on very imper- 

 fect and incorrectly interpreted data and in many instances 

 on false premises, and as a consequence of these weak- 

 nesses must completely collapse when subjected to search- 

 ing criticism. It fails to establish the claim that in South 

 America there have been brought forth thus far tangible traces 

 of either geologically ancient man himself or of any precursors 

 of the human race.* The position is maintained, and should be 

 maintained, it seems, by all students, that the final acceptance 

 of the evidence on this subject cannot be justified until there 

 shall have accumulated a mass of strictly scientific observations 

 adequate in kind and volume to establish a proposition of so 

 great importance. 



* In the opinion of the writer, based on the published data as well as a 

 personal examination of the specimens, the recent '"ancient "or "prehis- 

 toric" man found in Peru and reported on by Professor Bingham, offers noth- 

 ing which would necessitate a recasting of these conclusions. 



