Abstract
LONDON.
Royal Anthropological Institute, November 28.— Prof. A. Keith, president, in the chair.-Prof. G. Elliot Smith: The common objections to the reality of the migrations of early culture. After citing a series of instances which proved the reality of the cultural migrations, and exposing the lack of cogency in the arguments commonly brought forward in opposition to the admission of the only possible explanation of the facts, the fashionable speculation pf the present generation of ethnologists was then examined, that, “ in order to meet similar needs” and “ in similar circumstances.” two peoples “in a similar stage of culture” may independently develop essentially identical customs, arts, and beliefs. Attention was directed to the fact that such cultural identities” frequently occur among peoples whose “needs,” “circumstances,” and “states of culture “ are as dissimilar as it was possible for them to be. Moreover, of kindred peoples-even members of the same race-living side by side for many centuries, in similar circumstances and with identical needs, one of them may possess the whole of the complex outfit of the megalithic culture, whereas the other may be totally free from any trace of it. As W. J. Perry has shown, the coincidence of the presence of ancient mines or pearl-beds reveals the fact that the stone-using culture-complex was introduced by immigrants who came to exploit these sources of wealth.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Societies and Academies . Nature 98, 342–344 (1916). https://doi.org/10.1038/098342b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/098342b0