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426 TROPICAL NATUREing three miles in length, and containing not less than threemillion cubic feet of earth. This area incloses numeroussacrificial mounds and symmetrical earthworks, in whichmany interesting relics and works of art hav^e been found.The second class the sacred inclosures may be comparedfor extent and arrangement with Avebury or Karnak, butare in some respects even more remarkable. One of theseat Newark, Ohio, covers an area of several miles, with itsconnected groups of circles, octagons, squares, ellipses, andavenues on a grand scale, and formed by embankments fromtwenty to thirty feet in height. Other similar works occurin different parts of Ohio and ; by accurate survey it is found,not only that the circles are true, though some of them areone-third of a mile in diameter, but that other figures aretruly square, each side being over 1000 feet long; and, whatis still more important, the dimensions of some of thesegeometrical figures, in different parts of the country andseventy miles apart, are identical. Now this proves the use,by the builders of these works, of some standard measures oflength ;while the accuracy of the squares, circles, and, in aless degree, of the octagonal figures, shows a considerableknowledge of rudimentary geometry and some means ofmeasuring angles. The difficulty of drawing such figures ona large scale is much greater than any one would imaginewho has not tried it ;and the accuracy of these is far beyondwhat is necessary to satisfy the eye. We must, therefore,impute to the builders the wish to make these figures asaccurate as possible, and this wish is a greater proof ofhabitual skill and intellectual advancement than even theability to draw such figures. If, then, we take into accountthis ability and this love of geometric truth, and furtherconsider the dense population and civil organisation impliedby the construction of such extensive systematic works, wemust allow that these ancient people had reached the earlierstages of a civilisation of which no traces existed among thesavage tribes who alone occupied the country when firstvisited by Europeans.The animal mounds are of comparatively less importancefor our present purpose, as they imply a somewhat lowergrade of advancement; but the sepulchral and sacrificial

vii THE ANTIQUITY AND ORIGIN OF MAN 427mounds exist in vast numbers, and their partial explorationhas yielded a quantity of articles and works of art whichthrow some further light on the peculiarities of this mysteriouspeople. Most of these mounds contain a large concavehearth or basin of burnt clay, of perfectly symmetrical form,on which are found deposited more or less abundant relics,all bearing traces of the action of We fire. are therefore onlyacquainted with such articles as are practically fire-proof, orhave accidentally escaped combustion. These consist of boneand copper implements and ornaments, disks and tubes ;pearl, shell, and silver beads, more or less injured by the fire ;ornaments cut in mica; ornamental pottery; and numbersof elaborate carvings in stone, mostly forming pipes forsmoking. l The metallic articles are all formed by hammering,but the execution is very good; plates of mica arefound cut into scrolls and circles ;the pottery, of whichvery few remains have been found, is far superior to thatof any of the Indian tribes, since Dr. Wilson is of opinionthat it must have been formed on a wheel, as it is often ofuniform thickness throughout (sometimes not more than onesixthof an inch), polished, and ornamented with scrolls andfigures of birds and flowers in delicate relief. But the mostinstructive objects are the sculptured stone pipes, representingnot only various easily recognisable animals, but also humanheads, so well executed that they appear to be portraits.Among the animals, not only are such native forms as thepanther, bear, otter, wolf, beaver, raccoon, heron, crow, turtle,frog, rattlesnake, and many others well represented, but alsothe manatee, which perhaps then ascended the Mississippi asit now does the Amazon, and the toucan, which could hardlyhave been obtained nearer than Mexico. The sculpturedheads are especially remarkable, because^they present to usthe features of an intellectual and civilised people. The nosein some is perfectly straight, and neither prominent nordilated ;the mouth is small, and the lips thin ;the chin andupper lip are short, contrasting with the ponderous jaw ofthe modern Indian, while the cheek-bones present no marked1Woven cloth, apparently of flax or hemp, as well as gauges supposed tohave been used to regulate the thickness of the thread, have also been foundin several of the mounds of Ohio (Foster's Prehistoric Races of the UnitedStates, 1873, pp. 225-229).

426 TROPICAL NATUREing three miles in length, and containing not less than threemillion cubic feet of earth. This area incloses numeroussacrificial mounds and symmetrical earthworks, in whichmany interesting relics and works of art hav^e been found.The second class the sacred inclosures may be comparedfor extent and arrangement with Avebury or Karnak, butare in some respects even more remarkable. One of theseat Newark, Ohio, covers an area of several miles, with itsconnected groups of circles, octagons, squares, ellipses, andavenues on a grand scale, and formed by embankments fromtwenty to thirty feet in height. Other similar works occurin different parts of Ohio and ; by accurate survey it is found,not only that the circles are true, though some of them areone-third of a mile in diameter, but that other figures aretruly square, each side being over 1000 feet long; and, whatis still more important, the dimensions of some of thesegeometrical figures, in different parts of the country andseventy miles apart, are identical. Now this proves the use,by the builders of these works, of some standard measures oflength ;while the accuracy of the squares, circles, and, in aless degree, of the octagonal figures, shows a considerableknowledge of rudimentary geometry and some means ofmeasuring angles. The difficulty of drawing such figures ona large scale is much greater than any one would imaginewho has not tried it ;and the accuracy of these is far beyondwhat is necessary to satisfy the eye. We must, therefore,impute to the builders the wish to make these figures asaccurate as possible, and this wish is a greater proof ofhabitual skill and intellectual advancement than even theability to draw such figures. If, then, we take into accountthis ability and this love of geometric truth, and furtherconsider the dense population and civil organisation impliedby the construction of such extensive systematic works, wemust allow that these ancient people had reached the earlierstages of a civilisation of which no traces existed among thesavage tribes who alone occupied the country when firstvisited by Europeans.The animal mounds are of comparatively less importancefor our present purpose, as they imply a somewhat lowergrade of advancement; but the sepulchral and sacrificial

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