well as of the fruits named (amongst many others), and whole ears of barley, have been discovered in greater or less quantities amongst these interesting remains of a pre-historic civilisation. Whether or not, then, these primitive races had discovered, or were still ignorant of the existence of intoxicating beverages, surrounded as they were by so many natural products liable to alcoholic fermentation, we must leave the reader to judge for himself, and quitting now the region of surmise and speculation, we must ask him to accompany us whilst we set foot upon the firm ground of fact, as revealed in history and in popularly accepted tradition.[21] CHAPTER II. THE THREE SUBDIVISIONS OF THE HUMAN FAMILY—THE TURANIAN BRANCH—ANCIENT CHINA—BUDDHIST LAWS CONCERNING DRINK—MODERN CHINA. Nothing can be more interesting and instructive than to study the drinking propensities of the earliest races of mankind, for it is impossible to consider those without at the same time becoming acquainted with their social customs, their family life, the tone of their religious thought, and much that is important in regard to their national history. In order to attain this object, we will adopt, generally speaking, the most recent classification of the great human family into the Aryan, the Semitic, and the Turanian groups, and will select one or more typical nations to represent each, for special consideration. From the Turanian branch, with which we shall first deal, we propose in this chapter to single out the great Chinese empire for consideration, taking no account of the savage tribes of Asia and Polynesia, nor of the Lapps and Finns, who, roughly speaking, complete that subdivision of mankind. Next we shall deal with the main branches of the Aryan family, the ancient inhabitants of India, Persia, and Central Asia; and in a later portion of the work, their descendants in the empires of ancient Greece and Rome, and subsequently those of modern Europe and America, will demand and receive our attention. Lastly, we shall investigate the drinking habits of the Semitic family, the ancient Hebrews, the ancient Egyptians, and the followers of Mahomet.