Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-07-13
PREHISTORIC MAN.
Mr.. Thomas Wilson's Interesting Archie
illogical Researches In This Country.

illogical Researches In This Country.
ASTHnoPoLoor AND ARcHRoIoGY N PARIS
COLLECTIONS HE WILL EXHIBIT AND PAPERS NE
WILL REAp-PALEoLIrHIc AGE DISCOVERIES
Mr.. Thomas Wilson, curator OF the depart
ment of prehistoric anthropology, has gone to
Paris to attend the international congress Of
| anthropology and archaeology. He and Prof.
Mason go as the representatives Of this country
| in the congress. Mr.. Wilson sailed on wednes-
day, and Prof. Mason will start next week.
Mr.. Wilson is enthusiastic researcher into
prehistoric anthropology, and has been actively
engaged in trying to awaken q wide interest in
the study in this country and to broaden
| the field Of research. The research
| OF our scientists as TO prehistoric man has been
| confined almost entirely to the Indians The
| Indian is, in fact, the prehistoric man to
| theaverage student of prehistoric anthropology
| in America. With the discovery of America
the modern civilization was suddenly brought
into contact with n prehistoric race. While
| in Europe civilization had filtered down
through the ages, each civilization losing sight
| OF that before 1t, in coming to this country the
| moderns were brought face to face with a pre-
historic race. So interesting and fruitful Of
discovery has the Indian been to the Ameri-
|
his mind; he has not attempted to discover
whether or not there was race of prehistoric
man antedating the Indian. in fact. whether
there were not distinct civilizations terrac ing
| down the ages into infinity. This is the in
| terestlng study of the European arch9ologist
Mr.. wilson Is interested in European and
American archaeology. and believes America to
| be broad field for research. Since he has
been associated with the Smithsonian institu-
ton he has done much TO increase public in
for in, w
and elsewhere he has identified objects in
stone as the work of man in the palsolithic
| age, and he has endeavored by the association
| OF the prehlstorics of this country with those
of Europe, to broaden the field of research
| and excite new interest.
THE STUDY OF PREHISTORIC MAN
| in Europe is quite different from what it is in
| this country. We look into the past Of dis
| tinct race from ourselves and contemporaneous
with US. The prehistoric man stands out in
bold relief before us. In tracing out European
Archaeology We double back upon our own paths
| to see what races have traversed them before.
We dig up our hearthstones to see what pre-
historic races have built their fires there. Re-
search in this direction dates back only to
about 1906. when little Denmark gave it start
Two scientists identified the polished stone
hatchets with which that country abounds as
the work of prehistoric man. The king was in
terested and a commission was appointed to
prepare description and history Of Denmark.
The many archaeological remains were studied
by these scientists from 1906 until 1886 before
any publication Of the results Of their labor
was made. They then announced the discovery
OF the existence OF man in the prehistoric ages
OF stone, bronze and iron. The chronological
order OF advancement was easily determined
by the appearance of the relics discovered of
the utensils and handwork of the prehistoric
races. On the iron were the Runic inscriptions
and on some of the bronze, but not on the
stone, showing that the bronze had Tapped
over into the iron age, but that the stone and
iron ages were remote. By these comparisons
and by various calculations it was concluded
that the age of polished stone in the first epoch
was from 1000 20 1000 years B. c.: second
epoch from 1000 to 1000 B. G. The age of
bronze was from 1000 to 100 B. C. The iron
age was divided into three grand epochs, from
100 B. G. to 1000 A. d.
FURTHER RESEARCHES.
Since then researches in different countries
have resulted in greatly enriching the science
OF prehistoric archaeology. The Scandinavians
did not find evidences of the existence of man
before the smooth stone age.
In the drift of the river Somme In France
was first discovered the rude Clipped hatehets
| OF the paleolithic age. From that time the ad-
vancement in prehistoric archaeology has been
! great. Many important discoveries tending to
| show the antiquity of the various races of man
The researches in England, Scotland SPAIN
Portugal, and especially Switzerland, where
the remains of the villages of the lake dwellers
| were found, have resulted in valuable dis
| coveries.
| THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ANTHRoPoIoGY
and archaeology was formed in the interest of
united effort and the results have been salts
factory. number Of meetings were held
every two years in various parts of Europe, the
| first being at Spazzia. Then there was a lapse
| OF six years, until this congress was called to
meet in Paris this year. Mr.. Wilson while sta
| toned at Client as consul for this country was
right among some of the most interesting of
the archaeological remains He became so in
| terested In the matter that he at once made
prehistoric man a study, and on his return to
| this country brought very fine collection of
prehistoric specimens, which he presented to
| the Smithsonian institution. 1t was deter
| mined this year to send him to take
| part in the congress. He has sent to Paris
| several boxes of prehistoric specimens of
! tremely interesting and valuable papers,
| which he will contribute to the congress-
One Of these will give a description, with
| abundant cuts, of the interesting features of
the prehistoric anthropological department Of
| the Smithsonian. Another will treat of paleo-
lithic man in America, giving an account of the
Trenton gravel.
In another he will discuss the prehistoric
Instruments in America of hard and semi
precious stones, as nephite and jadite.
THE PALEoLITHIo PERIOD IN AMERICA
In another paper he goes very fully into the
discussion of the paleolithic period in America,
| describing the paleolithic instruments found in
various parts of the country and comparing
| them with those found in Europe. In this he
refers to the articles belonging to that age that
have been found in the District Of Columbia
The prehistoric people of North America he
says, as they have been known, whether mound
builders or Indians, all belong to the neolithic
period OF the stone age, unless there is to be
an age Of copper, which does not seem likely.
THEIR IMPLEMENTS OF STONE
were polished or made smooth BY rub
bling on other stone. The cutting edges
were sharpened in this same way. This was
new invention, and constituted the distinctive
mark between the civilizations of the two pc
| riods. The people Of the neolithic period had
! much the higher civilization. They made pot
terry, had focks and herds, and knowledge Of
agriculture; were organized into tribes or
bands, buried their dead and the like. 80
rich has been this field Of research that but
little attention has been paid to the earlier Pc
| riod. His attention was attracted to this, and
| he made it q study to learn something of the
| earlier man. He grouped isolated facts, and
made researches that established to his salts
faction, he says, the existence Of the paleoithic
period on this continent. His acquaintance
with European prehistoric anthropology, es-
| pecially as to the paleolithic period, caused
him to take up the matter. He found that
L lak la av.~ k.1v .nk Al