Abstract
MR. MACKENZIE deals here with four symbols or groups of symbols—the swastika, the spiral, ear symbols and tree symbols—and the religious beliefs associated with them. As a devoted adherent of the ‘diffusionist’ school, he sees in each the manifestation of an idea or complex of ideas, which, notwithstanding certain local variations in detail, on the whole is universal and derivative from a common origin. The swastika represents the sun, the four cardinal points, the deities of these points, givers of life associated with the deities, such as gold, and so forth.
The Migration of Symbols: and their Relations to Beliefs and Customs.
By Donald A. Mackenzie. (The History of Civilization Series.) Pp. xvi + 219 + 16 plates. (London: Kegan Paul and Co., Ltd.; New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926.) 12s. 6d. net.
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The Migration of Symbols: and their Relations to Beliefs and Customs . Nature 118, 476–477 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/118476c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/118476c0
