The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration: With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric TimesWilson, Thomas
Religion
The Swastika, the Earliest Known Symbol, and Its Migration: With Observations on the Migration of Certain Industries in Prehistoric Times
Wilson, Thomas
Industries, Primitive; Swastikas; Symbolism
The theory (in opposition to the foregoing) is growing in the United
States that any similarity of culture between the two hemispheres is held
to be proof of migration of peoples. It appears to the author that these
schools both run to excess in propagating their respective theories, and
that the true condition of affairs lies midway between them. That is to
say, there was certain communication between the two hemispheres, as
indicated by the similarities in culture and industry, the objects of
which could scarcely have been the result of independent invention; while
there are too many dissimilar arts, habits, customs, and modes of life
belonging to one hemisphere only, not common to both, to permit us to say
there was continuous communication between them. These dissimilarities
were inventions of each hemisphere independent of the other.
An illustration of the migration to America is the culture of Greece. We
know that Greek art and architecture enter into and form an important part
of the culture of Americans of the present day; yet the people of America
are not Greek, nor do they possess any considerable share of Greek culture
or civilization. They have none of the blood of the Greeks, nor their
physical traits, nor their manners, habits, customs, dress, religion, nor,
indeed, anything except their sculpture and architecture. Now, there was
undoubtedly communication between the two countries in so far as pertains
to art and architecture; but it is equally true that there has been no
migration of the other elements of civilization mentioned.
The same thing may be true with regard to the migrations of prehistoric
civilization. There may have been communication between the countries by
which such objects as the polished stone hatchet, the bow and arrow, the
leaf-shaped implement, chipped arrow- and spear-heads, scrapers,
spindle-whorls, the arts of pottery making, of weaving, of drilling and
sawing stone, etc., passed from one to the other, and the same of the
Swastika; yet these may all have been brought over in sporadic and
isolated cases, importing simply the germ of their knowledge, leaving the
industry to be independently worked out on this side. Certain
manifestations of culture, dissimilar to those of the Old World, are found
in America; we have the rude notched ax, the grooved ax, stemmed scraper,
perforator, mortar and pestle, pipes, tubes, the ceremonial objects which
are found here in such infinite varieties of shape and form, the metate,
the painted pottery, etc., all of which belong to the American Indian
civilization, but have no prototype in the prehistoric Old World. These
things were never brought over by migration or otherwise. They are
indigenous to America.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account