Language and Culture.— The ethnic isola tion of the American race has already been noticed. The apparent independence of the cul ture-centres of North and South America is another interesting fact. With the exception of a few possible traces of the presence of tribes of Arawak lineage in ancient Florida and the spread of art-motifs of the Caribbean type over a portion of the adjacent Gulf region, no direct evidence of the influence of South Amer ica upon North American culture is forthcom ing. The independent origin of Mexican and Peruvian civilizations seems certain, and con vincing proofs of the community of origin of Peruvian and Chibchan and even of Mexican and Mayan are lacking. The possibility of inter-cultural relations having once existed is, however, not to be denied. The Pacific coast, from the Gulf of California to the Argentine and Chile, has been a nursery of culture just as the Mediterranean area was for the Eurafrican peoples. There has been a Mexico and a a Peru and a Peru," while the Mayas and the Chibchas have also had their extensive spheres of influence. To the Pueblo culture north of Mexico corre sponds the Calchaqui culture south of Peru. On the northern borders of Mexico still lie the savage Seri and Yagui, and the culture areas of Colombia and Peru have also their primitive frontages—and this was so in the time of the ancient Montezumas and the Incas. This juxtaposition of civilization and savagery is one of the characteristic facts of American ethnology, as it was once likewise of the history of the Mediterranean area in the Old World. In both areas we meet with a large number of peoples who rose above savagery, but, for some reason or other, failed to develop high stages of culture. That the more material evidences of civilization should be so confined to the Pacific coast is, to some writers, a significant fact sug gestive of Asiatic relations; but the intellectual power of such Atlantic peoples as the Iroquois and some of the Muskhogean tribes of North America, and the moderate but distinct progress made by a few of the Brazilian tribes of the Atlantic area relieve us from any such theory, environment and historical incident in America quite sufficing to account for the phenomena in volved. (See ETHNOLOGY). Certain other re semblances and contrasts in the various aspects of aboriginal culture in America merit attention here. At the extreme north of the continent, one stock, the Eskimo, with closely related forms of speech, kindred mythology and folk lore, similar customs and social institutions, etc., extends in a narrow line from east to west, even overflowing into Asia, while at the ex treme south (much less extensive) the Fue gians, numbering altogether less than 10,000, are divided into three distinct linguistic stocks (Yahgans, Onas, Alikulufs). Eastern and northern North America and the corresponding regions in South America are areas of wide distributions of single stock. The Pacific Coast of America, as compared with the Atlantic, is a place where, in diverse spots, languages seem to pullulate. This region (including the nar row limits of Mexico and Central America) contained probably more independent tongues than all the rest of the continent. Indeed, within the present bounds of the State of Cali fornia alone 22 such tongues are found, with several others in Nevada, and in Prof. Cyrus Thomas' list of the stocks of Mexico and Central America, made in 1902, nearly 30 are recognized.
The multiplicity of languages in primitive America has called forth explanatory theories of various sorts, among them Horatio Hale's suggestion of the origin of linguistic diversity through the spontaneous language activity of the child. As Gatschet has noted, the very ex istence of such a multitude of tongues all over America is proof that neither in ancient nor in later times has this continent been the scene, on a vast scale, of the suppression and exter mination of peoples one by the other, which have been characteristic features of Old World history. In spite of the common belief to the contrary, mutual destruction was probably never so rife as when the coming of the white man introduced new means of warfare, and, crowd ing the natives for subsistence, led them to attack each other more effectively. The recent studies of Dixon and Kroeber in California have strengthened the view of a certain par allelism of language and culture.
That some culture-elements, however, have spread from tribe to tribe is shown by the dis tribution of certain inventions discussed by Mason, the northward movement of such plants as maize, the uk of tobacco, the transmission of many themes and incidents of myths and legends (as demonstrated by Boas), the modes of occurrence of certain art-forms, etc. Inter minglings of culture of a more or less local, though often of an extensive, character, have taken place in the Bering Sea area, in the Co lumbia River region, in the habitat of the Pu eblo Indians of New Mexico and Arizona, in the southeastern part of the United States, in the Isthmian region of Central America, in Ecuador, in the Pampean country of the Ar gentine, etc.—larger and more significant inter mixtures have, perhaps, taken place in earlier times in Mexico, the Mayan country, Colombia and Peru. A number of the borrowed culture elements may be explained as the result of trade and commerce, by means of which useful or artistic objects, food, plants, etc., were easily conveyed long distances under primitive condi tions. The widespread custom of adoption would also account for not a few instances of alien culture-grafts. So, too, with the exogamic marriage, when the women are culture-bearers. Where language-mixture has taken place it is more or less easily detectable in most American Indian stocks and tongues. When families of the same stock possess, in the one case (Algon kian), dialects which differ as much as Micmac and Blackfoot, in the other (Iroquoian), as much as Cherokee and Mohawk, we are justi fied in looking for culture-differences as well in such widely separated peoples. Doubtless the results of careful somatological, sociological and other investigations of the various tribes of American aborigines will furnish us ultimately with diverse ways of classifying them. At pres ent, however, the most serviceable classifica tion is a linguistic one, the result of the labors of Major J. W. Powell and the Bureau of American Ethnology, supplemented by the work of Dr. D. G. Brinton.
Linguistic Stocks.— The Bureau of 'Ameri can Ethnology has issued the Powell map showing the extent of the 58 linguistic stocks north of the Mexican boundary line; that is, of families or forms of speech, so independent of one another as to be catalogued as distinct stocks; apparently no more closely related than the Aryan and the Semitic families of the Old World. For South America no such authori tative map is extant. The exact number of such linguistic stocks in America has not yet been determined with certainty, but the follow ing list probably represents the best view of the matter to-day: Of the stocks enumerated, 51 belong to South America and 56 to North America north of Mexico. The status of investigation is such that the number assigned to South America is approximate only, and may ultimately be con siderably increased or reduced. Some stocks, like the Adaizan, Beothukan (exterminated by whites), Chetimachan, and a few of the minor stocks in South America, are extinct or nearly so. A goodly number —including, for example, many of the stocks on the northwest Pacific Coast, the Texas-Louisiana country, parts of Central America and the Pacific region of South America—were or are of limited area; others, like the Eskimoan, Athapascan, Algonkian, Siouan, Shoshonean, Arawakan, Cariban, Tu pian, etc., are noteworthy by reason of the extent of their domain. Some, like the Kootenay, con sist of practically a single language, while others, like the Algonkian, Siouan, Athapascan, Salishan, Aztecan, Mayan, Arawakan, Tupian, Cariban, etc., have developed numerous dialects, sometimes only remotely resembling the mother tongue. Doubtless, with the perfection of lin guistic research, some changes will be made in the list of stocks or perhaps a method of groups may be devised in which stocks showing certain resemblances other than those of a lexical na ture may be classed together. The studies of Dixon and Kroeber indicate the possibility of this for the numerous Californian stocks, and a similar result may be predicted for certain other regions of the continent As said, all the American Indian stocks are far from being of the same significance, many of them having hardly any historical importance. A few words about some of the most typical and most im portant must suffice here.