New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-08-26

natl: The Robert Clarke Company
THE GODS OF OUR FATHERS : SIT Study o 9t
saxon n My t2II s III Harp 6Sr'9 Bfothers
SYRIA AND EGYPT From the P TEL el 5% e. ia
nl' vi vi, I Ba q Gha niS' scrlbners Sons
RELIGION AND coNscIEEcE II- IL ANGitc% ol
EGYPT Lectures py W zen Flinders Petrie. oc-
i iegs, b pp i7s Charles scri6ners sons
yocA OR TRANsFoRMATIoN, a comPPS adS,ays
Statement OF the Various KenglD,uS and Of
S Ibs Hndoo Taoist Egyptlan III, Heor spd
Greek Christian. Manome'qn' ri yape''o Octave,
p pp. vil' "' So J. T. Bouton,
Professor Thomas has grave doubts as 10 'he
,.a,uo 10 the evidence for mans existence III
A,,.r,ca during the ice age. at any hishlE i0
mote neriod Of time For that reason ne Desih9
hi. study with relics that are Of undouo'eo hu-
man origin. These he says, give no sieN VI "''
,,ou,tv comparable TO that which can oe as
s,pned with dated accuracy 10 certain remains
ON the Eastern Continent They are heaeie
,oo in comparison with the ruins OF the OiIe"''
world. But they are. nevertheless inileiseiy
suggestive. and they fill up gaps when canio'
10 allied in prehistoric study without 'hei'''
There is less Of an interval In tlme aPP"'e"''''
between the American troglodyte ana inc am
lean hut and temple builders thah 'he'e %
-, ,ha sar,e characters in Europe. Profess
49, ,rho,,os accents the conclusions of Mr.. Mer-
-. os 90 the inhabited caves of Yucatan ana the
.o.,o-, nart of the United States which limit
,bo earliest human occupation of these places u
. ,o,, centuries ago Most Of the artiiicial re-
xna,rs belong TO more recent times IMAM le
cave-dwellers. Compared with the runs VI
Southern Asia and Egypt, the mouhus III '"e
Mississippi Valley and the temples OF MeAIoo
are erections of yesterday. This 1ac' Si'"pi'"e'
the archaeological problem in America oS eN0i"u
,r, from serious consideration a vast number of
theories which have attracted attention III the
mast Hardly a shred of the speculation which
filled volumes from Coumbus's time down 10
few decades ago is now worth the paper II Is
nr,nted ON. OF course. the possibility of great
antiquity for man on the American Continent
has not been done away with. But this posi-
Nifty has nothing to do with the facts that are
xno1rn Nor is this the only limitation when
Professor Thomas puts upon conjecture. II we
may assign a separate origin at Will TO the
various bodies of men who have Inhabited one
mart or another Of North America, we can
easily raise a towering fabric Of theory. But
from the gathered traditions Of the tribes, the
comparison Of customs, the uniform PHYSIOLOGY
OF the old Americans, Professor Thomas argues
identity OF origin AS all the facts known can
be accounted for without presuming diversity OF
race this presumption becomes merely specuia-
tive The argument goes somewhat further than
the study of different Indian languages would
carry one because 1t makes OF the mound-build-
ers Indians pure and simple, and nothing Is
known Of the speech Of those people. with his
view OF the case. Professor Thomas leaves the
question open as to how men first came 10 TINS
continent Their traditions cast no light on the
point But they agree in pointing 10 the North
and generally in indicating river system such
as that of the basin of Hudsons Bay. From
that region they moved slowly southwark In
small groups age after age. OF course. the
Esquimau is not counted in this movement lie
is a difficult creature to classify. But it is note
worthy that culture this continent does not
begin at the uttermost primitivism. The Esqui-
mau and the Indian, far back as they can be
traced have both been neolithc. not paleohthic
men The differences among the various stocks
start from that point These differences are
most obvious and certain in language but they
are also TO be discerned in the remains scattered
over the country. Professor Thomas does not
NEEDLE with philology, except to give results Of
Investigation. The distinctions in the types Of
art enable him to make efficient classification
on geographical lines. one that can he easily
understood by beginner, while divisions based
on language. though more minute and accurate,
require special knowledge of an irksome kind.
The Esquimau is considered by himself in the
Arctic division: the Atlantic division includes
all the works east of the Rocky Mountains, ex-
cept those of the Athabascan region. while the
Pacific division takes in all the relics Of the
highest culture 10 which the Indian attained
On the vexed question of the Toltecs, Professor
Thomas maintains that such people as dis
tinct from the other nations Of the Central
American area. once existed. That is TO say.
there are peculiar antiquities which must be
specified as different from those around them.
and Toltec is as good a name as can be found al
present Probably the Toltecs were really q
branch of the Maya stock before the latter
reached its final home. He is inclined to credit
the highly artificial calendar in general use
among the old Mexicans and Central Americans
10 the Zapotecs. He emphasizes the point that
the investigation of American antiquities is only
fairly begun. and infers from the results already
attained the rich discoveries that await future
effort The book has special merit because OF
its moderation in statement and the clearness
with which 1t brings out important facts from
the confusion Of details shown in museums.
Mr. Stern makes heavy call on Saxon pstri-
otism when he points to the whole fabric Of
Morse mythology as the work Of Teutons in
general He will find everybody willing 10 &C
cept Wooden and Thor and Tyr and a goddess OF
two from his list along with the Valkyries
But when II comes TO Valhalla and the : hole
of that post Christian world drama which re-
longs to the Viking poets he will find not few
who follow vigfusson and science instead OF
trusting to Teutonic enthusiasm. If the Saxons
had a notion OF Vahala, they should have had
the corresponding word formed like the word
Welcyrige. But they do not appear TO have had
any such word and there are no Ideas that
would suggest the word where they would be
expected. for example In the poem OF Beowult
That poem belongs to the age Of Charem agne