The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1911-10-20
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lOngeQ TO South America. They repre-
sent man from the glacial period
down to the most recent Indian. 1t is
quite probable that man, at various
epochs, found himself driven by force
of circumstances to the extreme south,
and 1T thus happens that one finds in
Argentina the remains of the gigantic
Patagonian, such as excited the admi-
ration Of Magelhaens, as well as types
said to be similar to that of Neander-
thai. For Patagonian anthropology the
museum of La Plata cannot be sur
passed.
Another branch of anthropology OF
which the museum makes a speciality
is that of the history of civilization.
You will find here implements of the
stone age, from Uruguay, from the
provinces of Cordoba and Buenos
Aires, and from Patagonia, that are
quite unique, besides a section devoted
to the prehistoric man of Europe for
comparative study.
These remains of human industry
appear to carry one back to a very
remote antiquity. For instance, at ex-
cavations made for the port OF La
Plata bones Of extinct animals were
found that appeared to have been
carved by man, at an epoch when the
region must have been entirely differ
ent from what it now is, and at Rioja
fragments of pottery were discovered
at a depth of more than sixty meters.
When 1t comes to determining the an
tiQuity OF man, the scientific value OF
such discoveries may be left to ex-
perts who, as rule, are by no means
harmonious in their conclusions, but
further and more positive data must
be awaited.
Neither has the moment arrived
when certain conclusions as to the
prehistoric relations between the east
ern and western hemispheres can be
reached by comparative study either
of skulls or monuments. Yet muse.
ums like that at La Plata are accumu-
lating material that may pave the
way for such conclusions by its col
lection Of American antiquities with
resemblance to those of peoples across
the seas.
The museum is also rich in material
for the study of the prehistoric civil
ization of the Andes, which stretched
down along the eastern slopes of the
great chain into what is now the prov.
ince of Mendoza and Jujuy, in the Ar
gentine republic.
For the study of the pre-Inca civil.
zation of Peru, very large collection
of pottery from the dead city Of Gran
Chimu, near Trujillo, may serve to
cast some uncertain rays upon the
dark period that preceded the arrival
of the Incas, the period to which such
ruins as those of Chimu. Pachacamac
and Cajamarquilla belong.
Bringing the study of civilization
down to the colonial epoch, We find
at La Plata a very interesting collec-
ton, gathered from those Argentine
provinces, and from Paraguay, which
were the scenes of the famous Jesuit
missions that lasted to the end of the
eighteenth century.
The museum of La Plata is constant
ly increasing in Importance, promising
in course of time to become one of the
most important in the new world
Buenos Aires is now in direct com
munication with the principal ports
of Europe and with New York. and
as facilities of communication are aug
mented, as they are bound to be, the
museum of La Plata, with its scien
tific treasures of South America, will
become more accessible to scholars
from all parts of the globe. to theii
great advantage and to the glory OF
Argentina.