Identifier: ridpathshistoryo01ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's history of the world; being an account of the ethnic origin, primitive estate, early migrations, social conditions and present promise of the principal families of men ..
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history Ethnology
Publisher: New York, Merrill & Baker
Contributing Library: Mugar Memorial Library, Boston University
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston University

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bythe character of the implements andutensils which are fabricated by primi-tive peoples in the different stages oftheir progress. It had been found that 278 GREAT RACES OF MANKIND. this progress is uniform in all parts ofthe world, and that when barbarians arediscovered in a given stage of growthtin- next stage may always be inferredby the general law which governs theevolution. This movement forwardproceeds from a grade of life but littleabove mere animality, and ends withthe emergence of the tribe into full his-torical activity. The various materials which the races certain varieties of rock formation, andby simple modifications, or even, at thefirst, by no modification at all, convertsthem into implements. The materials first chosen are gener-ally flint and obsidian, and the primitivestage of workmanship consists in merelybreaking the substance into shape. Itis this fact of breakage into form, as dis-tinguished from other methods of fabri-cation, that marks the very first stage of
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IDEAL LANDSCAPE OF THE PLEISTOCENE PERIOD (AGE OF MAN).—Drawn by Riou. of men have employed in the fabricationof tools and utensils are principally stone, Materials em- Wood, bone, horn, COpper, SXESE. br°nze> and iron-in the ing implements. ,,rder named. Among civ-ilized peoples the latter metal is refinedinto different forms of wrought iron, eastiron, and finally the various grades ofsteel. The primitive man, however,begins with stone. He takes from theground, by a sort of natural selection, mans development as a tool-makinganimal. Perhaps in no quarter of theworld has a savage tribe emerged frombarbarism without employing this veryobvious method of producing imple-ments. It is claimed by the most em-inent naturalists that man, even inthe most rudimentary stages of his ev-olution, has been a tool-making andtool-using animal, and that he is dis-criminated by this fact—strongly dis-

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