Page:Palæolithic Man and Terramara Settlements in Europe.djvu/385

 CHAPTER XII

archæologists are not particularly well acquainted with the terramara settlements of the Po Valley, which form the larger portion of the subject matter of the second moiety of the present course of lectures. It is not, however, specially for that reason that I have selected it, but rather for the fact that the long series of researches, which gradually led to the elimination of the terremare from the category of the unknown to that of the known, forms a valuable object-lesson, not only of the dangers and pitfalls incidental to archæological investigations, but of the triumphs that can be achieved by conducting operations on scientific methods. The early history of terramara research is a succession of lively discussions, preconceived theories, and hasty generalisations, applied to the elucidation of phenomena of a novel and obscure character, at a time when the chronological sequence of archæological materials had not yet been well understood. The art of correctly interpreting such waifs and strays of the culture and civilisation of past humanity which survive to our time is, under the most favourable conditions, surrounded by many inherent difficulties. Nor can it be truly said that its votaries are yet completely emancipated from the influences of the untutored tradition, superstition, and dilettantism which, some half a century ago, vitiated antiquarian pursuits.

Another reason for the choice thus made is that, since I described the terremare as a mere development of the lake-