The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-04-25
The Mound Builders.
What Is Known and What is Guessed Of the Pro-
historic Americans

What Is Known and What is Guessed Of the Pre-
historic Americans
In his lecture before tho New York
Academy Of Sciences the other evening
ON the prehistoric races of the American
Continent, Professor John S, Newberry
furnished, perhaps, the finest and most
lucid summary that has yet been given
OF the present state Of our verified scien-
tific information rs TO the mound build
ers, the house builders, the Aztecs Of the
South, and the condition of the arts Of
civilization among these representatives
OF lost types. SO many ingenious scien-
tiiic romances have been elaborated by
speculative antiquarieS as TO the origin
OF these races, and their possible relation
TO the prehistoric types of the Old
World, that such resume as DR.. New
berry gave Of what is actually ascertain
ed or fairly nferable from the data OF
mounds, pottery, inscriptions, textile
fabrics, and other remains, is peculiarly
valuable 10 the general student, who, be-
wildered by speculative theories clever
ly interlaced with facts, and sadly puz-
zled by remote differences stated as veri-
fled information, finds himself without
q starting point for the formation Of an
opinion. While not sharing in the IA
matte enthusiasm that places these races
in advance of the contemporary civiliza-
tons of the prehistoric races Of Europe
and Asia and while taking no part in
the endeavor TO trace "a relation between
them, Dr. Newberry comedies their prog
ress in certain arts and the magnificent
scale upon which their public works
were constructed. He regards the
mound builders Of the Valley Of the
Mississippi, among whom the symbolic
al form appears to have been neglected
in the construction of their works OF
sepulturo, and the races further West
who built in the forms of birds and now
extinct animals, as belonging to the
same primitive stock, now probably rep.
resented by few tribes Of Western
Indians-Indians 50 called for want Of q
better name, but differing in ancestral
descent from the savage hordes 10 whom
that term has beenappropriated as wide,
| ly as the Arab differs from the Persian
| Unfortunately for science, and, perhaps
for DR.. Newberry's view Of the subject
the remains of textile fabrics that WERE
buried in the mounds have been destroy
ed by time and dampness, with the ex
ception of few shreds, which have
been preserved by the salts Of copper
generated by the utensils with which
they were originally inferred. These
shreds are not sufficient to establish AZ
| identity Of design between the textile
products OF the mound builders and til,
curious blankets manufactured by Ger
tain house building tribes extant at tn,
present day, Evidences derived from
physical structure are, however, by n,
means TO be disregarded in such cases
and here the testimony is strikngly il
favor Of the hypothesis that the descend
ants of the mound builders are, TO b.
sought in certain types of so-callod In
dams in the fur West DIR. Newberr
has made large and valuable collec
ton of the textile fabrics bearing upol
tho question, and it is u singular fac
that the distaif in use among these tribe
and the mode Of weaving are exact
Identical with those of the ancient race
Of the Old World. One must not b
mislcd by such condolences, which
though striking and curious, are, Xix
pathological analogies and resemblance
of root words TO say nothing Of design
in the decoration Of pottery, insuilicien
grounds for the assertion Of theory
IF, as prehistoric geographers content
the area now occupied by the India
Ocean was once the seat of a densel
populated continent, il is very possibl
that some historical relation may be 1
nally made out between the primitiv
races of the great continents on the SUI
face Of the globe, but at the preser
juncture, as DR.. Newbcry shows, thel
Is not even sufficient basis for the mo-
shadowy impression to that effect Ne
York Times,