Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 4.djvu/92

 76 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

mislead instead of instruct. This is particularly true of anthro- pological data, since customs and institutions may disappear as the result of conquest or imitation of other forms. Visualiza- tion has a value, however, in spite of the possibilities oi error, and such value is relied upon in the construction here presented.

Objections are usually made to the drawing of distinct dividing lines between the periods of development, but such lines must be understood as indicating general transitions only. Development has not been uniform, and while certain activities, modes of life and materials may have predominated in one period, these either persisted with diminished emphasis into the next, or they were gradually transformed into related ones, con- tinuing in connection with the new forms upon which the emphasis is placed.

A similar criticism is likely to be made on the division of labor on the basis of sex. This division holds in general for the prehistoric period, though there were many lines in which both sexes shared, the predominance being, however, on the one side or the other. Thus, while man was the main food producer, woman shared in this to some degree, her activities being espe- cially connected with the vegetable kingdom. Since man's activities along this line were connected mainly with the animal kingdom, the particular habitat, as predominantly animal or veg- etable, determined largely the male or female preponderance in procuring the food supply. So, too, man shared in the feminine activities of preparing food and providing shelter, and in the education of the boys when the proper age was reached. It is worthy of note that the feminine activities passed over into the hands of men as they became organized, in the later stages of development. The arts, language, and religion, on the other hand, had a social, not a sex origin.

In addition to the points mentioned it must be kept in mind that race development has not been uniform and homogeneous, and that progress from cultural infancy to the maturity of civili- zation cannot be traced in any one people. Many peoples are still in their earliest or savage state ; others have progressed into some phase of barbarism, while relatively few have attained cul-