Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 55.djvu/30

20 abroad. On the other hand, its affinity in many details with the cultures both of Italy and Greece proved that it had made heavy drafts upon each of these, profiting greatly thereby. The best opinion to-day is, that it constitutes a link in the chain of culture between eastern and western Europe. As such it is



of primary importance in any study of European origins.

The primitive stage of European civilization, to which the term Hallstatt is specifically applied by archaeologists, is characterized by a knowledge both of bronze and iron, although the latter is relatively insignificant. Its rarity indicates that we have to do with the very