necessarily large brain of the savage had been constructed on teleological principles for the sole purpose of philosophising. My opinion is that the greater portion of this so-called surplusage is the organic representative of the energy expended in the exercise of the enormous complexity of human actions, as displayed in the movements of his body and in the skilful manipulations necessary to the manufacture of implements, weapons, clothing, &c. All such actions have to be represented by a larger bulk of brain matter than is required for the most profound philosophical speculations. The kind of intelligence evinced by savages, however low their position in the scale of civilisation may be, is different from, and incomparably greater than, that manifested by the most advanced of the lower animals. To me it is much more rational to suppose that the development of the large brain of man corresponded, pari passu, with that of his characteristic physical attributes, more especially those consequent on the attainment of the upright position. That these attributes were acquired exclusively through the instrumentality of the cosmic forces was, as the following quotation will show, the opinion of Mr. Darwin: We must remember that nearly all the other and more important differences between man and quadrumana are manifestly adaptive in their nature, and relate chiefly to the erect position of man; such as the structure of his hand, foot, and pelvis, the curvature of his spine, and the position of his head.'1 Mr. Wallace, however, considers the feet and hands of man' as difficulties on the theory of natural selection.' 'How,' he exclaims, 'can we conceive that early man, as an animal, gained anything by purely erect locomotion? Again, the hand of man contains latent capacities and powers which are unused by savages, and must have been even less used by palæolithic man and his still ruder predecessors. It has all the appearance of an organ prepared for the use of civilised man, and one which was required to render civilisation possible.'* But here, again, this acute observer diverges into his favourite by-path, and introduces a higher intelligence' to bridge over his difficulties.

We have now reached a stage in this inquiry when a number of questions of a more or less speculative character fall to be considered. On the supposition that, at the start, the evolution of the hand of man was synchronous with the higher development of his reasoning faculties, it is but natural to ask where, when, and in what precise circumstances this remarkable coalition took place. I would not, however, be justified in taking up your time now in discussing these questions in detail; not because I think the materials for their solution are unattainable, but because, in the present state of our knowledge, they are too conjectural to be of scientific value. In the dim retrospective vista which veils these materials from our cognisance I can only see a few faint landmarks. All the osseous remains of man which have hitherto been collected and examined point to the fact that, during the larger portion of the Quaternary period, if not, indeed, from its very commencement, he had already acquired his human characteristics. This generalisation at once throws us back to the Tertiary period in our search for man's early appearance in Europe. Another fact-disclosed by an analysis of his present corporeal structure is that, during a certain phase of his previous existence, he passed through a stage when his limbs, like those of the present anthropoid apes, were adapted for an arboreal life. We have therefore to look for the causes which brought about the separation of man from his quadrumanous congeners, and entailed on him such a transformation in his form and habits, in the physical conditions that would supervene on a change from a warm to a cold climate. In the gradual lowering of the temperature of the subtropical climate which prevailed in Central Europe and the corresponding parts of Asia during the Miocene and Pliocene periods, and which culminated in the great Ice age, together with the concurrent changes in the distribution of land, seas, and mountains, we have the most probable explanation of these causes. Whether man forsook his arboreal habits and took to the plains from overcrowding of his own species in search of different kinds of food, before this cold period subjected him to its intensely adverse circumstances, it would be idle for me to offer an opinion. Equally conjectural

1 Descent of Man, p. 149.

2 Natural Selection, p. 198.

would it be to inquire into the exact circumstances which led him to depend exclusively on his posterior limbs for locomotion.

During this early and transitional period in man's career there was no room for ethics. Might was right, whether it emanated from the strength of the arm, the skill of the hand, or the cunning of the brain. Life and death combats would decide the fate of many competing races. The weak would succumb to the strong, and ultimately there would survive only such as could hold their own by flight, strength, agility, or skill, just as we find among the races of man at the present day.

In summing up these somewhat discursive observations, let me just emphasise the main points of the argument. With the attainment of the erect position, and the consequent specialisation of his limbs into hands and feet, man entered on a new phase of existence. With the advantage of manipulative organs and a progressive brain he became Homo sapiens, and gradually developed a capacity to understand and utilise the forces of nature. As a handicraftsman he fashioned tools and weapons, with the skilful use of which he got the mastery over all other animals. With a knowledge of the uses of fire, the art of cooking his food, and the power of fabricating materials for clothing his body, he accommodated himself to the vicissitudes of climate, and so greatly extended his habitable area on the globe. As ages rolled on he accumulated more and more of the secrets of nature, and every such addition widened the basis for further discoveries. Thus commenced the grandest revolution the organic world has ever undergone a revolution which culminated in the transformation of a brute into civilised man. During this long transitional period mankind encountered many difficulties, perhaps the most formidable being due to the internecine struggles of inimical members of their own species. In these circumstances the cosmic processes, formerly allpowerful so long as they acted only through the constitution of the individual, were of less potency than the acquired ingenuity and aptitude of man himself. Hence local combinations for the protection of common interests became necessary, and with the rise of social organisations the safety of the individual became merged in that of the community. The recognition of the principle of the division of labour laid the foundations of subsequent nationalities, arts, and sciences. Coincident with the rise of such institutions sprang up the germs of order, law, and ethics. The progress of humanity on these novel lines was slow, but in the main steadily upwards. No doubt the advanced centres of the various civilisations would oscillate, as they still do, from one region to another, according as some new discovery gave a preponderance of skill to one race over its opponents. Thus the civilised world of modern times came to be fashioned, the outcome of which has been the creation of a special code of social and moral laws for the protection and guidance of humanity. Obedience to its behests is virtue, and this, to use the recent words of a profound thinker, involves a course of conduct which, in all respects, is opposed to that which leads to success in the cosmic struggle for existence. In place of ruthless self-assertion it demands self-restraint; in place of thrusting aside or treading down all competitors, it requires that the individual shall not merely respect but shall help his fellows; its influence is directed, not so much to the survival of the fittest, as to the fitting of as many as possible to survive. It repudiates the gladiatorial theory of existence. It demands that each man who enters into the enjoyment of the advantages of a polity shall be mindful of his debt to those who have laboriously constructed it; and shall take heed that no act of his weakens the fabric in which he has been permitted to live. Laws and moral precepts are directed to the end of curbing the cosmic process and reminding the individual of his duty to the community, to the protection and influence of which he owes, if not existence itself, at least the life of something better than a brutal savage.'1

These humble remarks will convey to your minds some idea of the scientific interest and profound human sympathies evoked by the far-reaching problems which fall to be discussed in this Section. Contrasting the present state of anthropological science with its position some thirty or forty years ago, we can only marvel

Huxley, on Evolution and Ethics, p. 33.

at the thoroughness of the change that has taken place in favour of its doctrines. Now man's immense antiquity is accepted by a vast majority of the most thoughtful men, and his place in nature, as a derivative animal at the head of the great chain of life, appeals for elucidation to all sciences and to all legitimate methods of research. But among the joyful peans of this triumphal march we still hear some discordant notes-notes, however, which seem to me to die with their echoes, and to have as little effect on scientific progress as the whistling of an idle wind. For my own part I cannot believe that a science which seeks in the spirit of truth to trace the mysteries of human life and civilisation to their primary rootlets, a science which aims at purging our beliefs of superstitious figments generated in days when scientific methods were too feeble to expose the errors on which they were founded, a science which reminds us in a thousand ways that success in life depends on a correct knowledge of the cosmic forces around us, can be opposed to the highest and most durable interests of humanity.

The following Papers and Reports were read:-
:-

1. On the Ethnographic Aspect of Dancing.

By Mrs. LILLY GROVE, F.R.G.S.

The value of a

Dancing corresponds to a universal primitive instinct in man. scientific study of dancing as illustrating some aspects of ethnology is very great. At all periods there were three kinds of dances:-1. The imaginative or poetic. 2. The descriptive. 3. The religious. This last is most important, and may be called the fountain of the other kinds. Dancing is connected with every ancient myth. Among the savages the idea of magic always accompanies it. Religious dances can be divided in (a) dances directly in honour of the Deity; (b) dances on various occasions intended to propitiate the Deity. A strange feature is the fact that so many dances are performed in a circle. Sun-dances are numerous. Wardances are of two orders, either as a preparation for war or as a rejoicing after triumph. The Corrobberree illustrates the former aspect. Excellence in dancing among savages is obtained by very simple means; anyone who makes a mistake in the dance is killed.

Women take a larger share in the dance than men. This is accounted for by Herbert Spencer.

Marriage-dances are found in every tribe. So are devil-dances, used as exorcisms or as a medicine cure. The dance of the Veddahs of Ceylon, the Baile de Pifano of Chili, the skeleton-dance of Australia, belong to this class. Dancing in the cathedrals of Spain and Mexico is traced back to a Hebrew custom, and to King David's act of adoration. Dancing may be the outcome of pain and sorrow as well as the expression of joy. Funeral dances are common in Nubia and Central America, and were much in favour with the ancient Egyptians. In conclusion, the universality and the naturalness of dancing make it an important factor in the history of man.

2. Report on the Anthropometric Laboratory.-See Reports, p. 654.

3. Report on the Physical Deviations from the Normal among Children in Elementary and other Schools.-See Reports, p. 614.

4. On Anthropometric Work in Large Schools.
By BERTRAM C. A. WINDLE, D.Sc., M.D., M.A.

This paper gives the results obtained in answer to a circular sent to the head masters of one hundred of the largest schools in England, Scotland, and Ireland inquiring whether any, and if so what, anthropometric investigations were carried on in their institutions, and the methods adopted in taking the various measure

ments. The replies show that some form of measurement is, or has been, carried on in twenty-five schools, details of which will be found in the table below (Table 1). They also show that the methods adopted differ considerably (Table 2), a fact which somewhat detracts from the value of the observations for comparative purposes.

The advantages of systematic measurements of boys from the scholastic and the scientific points of view are alluded to, and it is suggested that an endeavour should be made to encourage and systematise such work in large schools.

TABLE 1.-Measurements Taken (Number of Schools, 25).

5. Notes on Anthropometric Weighing.

By W. WILBERFORCE SMITH, M.D., M.R.C.P.

Some 25,000 separate weighings, made by the author in the course of years, afford some results interesting to the Section, notwithstanding that others, forming the greater part of his observations, are outside its scope. Thus, in June 1892, twelve men of the Horse Guards were tested. Apart from the bodyweight, together with height, breathing capacity, &c., of these fine fellows, it is suggestive to notice the immense weight of the accoutrements which they wear as ordinarily seen in public. The charts shown also illustrated the following points, viz., the relation of weight to chest-girth, the regular growth of girls, and the remarkable increase which occurs at the time of emergence into womanhood, rapid loss of nutrition associated with departure from home routine, weight in corpulency, and the effect of alcohol and of its cessation.

1. Report on the Ethnographical Survey of the United Kingdom.
See Reports, p. 621.

2. On Anglo-Saxon Remains and Cocral Relics from Scandinavia.
By Professor HANS HILDEBRAND.

3. On the Origin and Development of Early Christian Art in Great Britain and Ireland. By J. ROMILLY ALLEN, F.S.A.Scot.

The object of this paper is to trace the various decorative elements found in early Christian art in Great Britain to their source, and to show in what way the native styles of art existing in this country at the time of the introduction of

Christianity (circa A.D. 450) were influenced, first by the Italo-Byzantine art, which came in with the importation of the illuminated MSS. used in the service of the Church, and subsequently by the coming in contact of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian conquering races with the Celtic and other populations already inhabiting the British Isles. Early Christian art in this country is essentially decorative, and to a lesser extent symbolic. The conventional grouping and general treatment of the figure-subjects show that they are obviously barbarous copies of Byzantine originals. If any definite conclusions are to be arrived at with regard to the evolution of early Christian art in Great Britain, it must be by a careful examination and comparison of the minute details of the ornament. The ornament consists of the following elements:

The possible sources whence each of these different patterns was derived are next to be considered. These are divided into the native or imported styles of decorative art existing in Great Britain previous to the introduction of Christianitynamely, the art of the ages of stone, bronze, and iron, and Romano-British art; and the external sources, made accessible after A.D. 450-namely, the Italo-Byzantine, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian styles. The spirals are to be traced to a 'late Celtic' source in the late iron age, the interlaced work and phyllomorphic designs to an Italo-Byzantine source, the step patterns possibly to a Saxon source, the zoomorphic designs perhaps to a Scandinavian source, and the key patterns to the classical fret adapted to suit the diagonal setting-out lines usually employed in drawing early Christian ornament in Great Britain.

4. On an Implement of Hafted Bone, with a Hippopotamus Tooth inserted, from Calf Hole, near Grassington. By Rev. E. JONES.

6. The Prehistoric Evolution of Theories of Punishment, Revenge, and Atonement. By Rev. G. HARTWELL JONES.

Even the brilliant civilisation of Kulturvölker retains traces of a primitive barbarism. While the investigations of Waitz, Tylor, Lubbock, &c., into the life of Naturvölker are instructive in showing the growth of thought, the origin of institutions must be looked for among 'Aryans.' Wherever they come from, or, more correctly speaking, whenever the phase of civilisation associated with the name Aryan came into existence, their high capacity for development was evoked or stimulated by contact with Semitic or Hamitic races.

A further attempt is made here, by the aid of (i.) philology, (ii.) archeology in its widest sense, to bridge the gulf between the rude notions of the Urvolk and distinct developments in Southern Europe.

The features considered here are found, not only among Kulturvölker, but also among unprogressive races from the Antipodes to Archangel. Yet, not only are there differences between 'Aryan' and Semitic conceptions, but even deviations among branches of the same family of races.

Though it has been maintained, on the high authority of Ottfried Müller and Philippi, that the Greek legal systems originated independently, Leist, no doubt rightly, traces them to a common inheritance.

The richness of the sources varies with the mental endowments, the intellectual activity, and the literary monuments of the several races.

The question of punishment, &c., had its (1) religious, (2) secular aspect. As among many rude races in modern times there is no system of publie 1893.

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