The Holbrook news., 1911-12-15

construction of mans history is artis- tically exhibited in the large paint ings in the lower portion of the TO- tunda, in which one sees archaic lands. scenes from Terre del Fuego and Pata- gonia. as well as of other portions of the republic, and restorations of abo- riginal and savage life.
 As regards man, you have every op- portunity to study him well and thor oughly, from his skeleton to his modes and habits of life. A section of the science of man is devoted to anatomi- cal anthropology. The museum began with collection of 1000 skulls and 50 skeletons, of which nine-tenths be- longed to South America. They repre- sent man from the glacial period down to the most recent Indian. It 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- thaL 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 Af-o. o-d frov,, Do@or,,,io tha+ ora 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 1t now is, and at RioJa fragments of pottery were discovered at a depth of more than sixty meters. When it comes to determining the an- tiquity of man. the scientific value of such discoveries may be left to ex- perts who, as a 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 a 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 It's 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 genuine republic.
 For the study of the pre-Inca civir- 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- tion. 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 Iv 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- fife treasures of South America. will become more accessible to scholars from all parts of the globe. to their great advantage and to the glory of Argentina