Ethnology, as thus defined, is a branch of Anthropology, the great
science which unravels the complexities of human structure; traces out
the relations of man to other animals; studies all that is especially
human in the mode in which man's complex functions are performed; and
searches after the conditions whicn have determined his presence IN
the world. And Anthropology is a section of Zoology, which again is the
animal half of Biology--the science of life and living things.
Such is the position of ethnology, such are the objects of the
ethnologist. The paths or methods, by following which he may hope to
reach his goal, are diverse. He may work at man from the point of view
of the pure zoologist, and investigate the anatomical and physiological
peculiarities of Negroes, Australians, or Mongolians, just as he would
inquire into those of pointers, terriers, and turnspits,--"persistent
modifications" of man's almost universal companion. Or he may seek aid
from researches into the most human manifestation of humanity-Language;
and assuming that what is true of speech is true of the speaker--a
hypothesis as questionable in science as it is in ordinary life--he
may apply to mankind themselves the conclusions drawn from a searching
analysis of their words and grammatical forms.
Or, the ethnologist may turn to the study of the practical life of men;
and relying upon the inherent conservatism and small inventiveness of
untutored mankind, he may hope to discover in manners and customs, or
in weapons, dwellings, and other handiwork, a clue to the origin of the
resemblances and differences of nations. Or, he may resort to that kind
of evidence which is yielded by History proper, and consists of the
beliefs of men concerning past events, embodied in traditional, or in
written, testimony. Or, when that thread breaks, Archaeology, which is
the interpretation of the unrecorded remains of man's works, belonging
to the epoch since the world has reached its present condition, may
still guide him. And, when even the dim light of archaeology fades,
there yet remains Palaeontology which, in these latter years, has
brought to daylight once more the exuvia of ancient populations, whose
world was not our world, who have been buried in river beds immemorially
dry, or carried by the rush of waters into caves, inaccessible to
inundation since the dawn of tradition.