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38 who have written upon the subject of American archæology have proceeded upon certain assumptions which virtually closed the door against a free and unbiased investigation." Of these assumptions, the one most detrimental to the advance of the study of archæology is that which has affirmed that "mound-builders" and American Indians were two distinct races; thus all conclusions reached concerning the "mound-builders" which were founded upon the earliest knowledge we have of the American Indian were denied to archæology. But the evidence of latest explorations and investigations makes it positive that the "mound-builders" were not a race distinct and apart from the race we know as American Indians: "The links directly connecting the Indians and mound-builders are so numerous and well established that archæologists are justified in accepting the theory that they are one and the same people."

This fact having been placed beyond the realm of speculation, a great mass of