File:Ridpath's Universal history - an account of the origin, primitive condition and ethnic development of the great races of mankind, and of the principal events in the evolution and progress of the (14583985349).jpg

Identifier: ridpathsuniversa08ridp (find matches)
Title: Ridpath's Universal history : an account of the origin, primitive condition and ethnic development of the great races of mankind, and of the principal events in the evolution and progress of the civilized life among men and nations, from recent and authentic sources with a preliminary inquiry on the time, place and manner of the beginning
Year: 1897 (1890s)
Authors: Ridpath, John Clark, 1840-1900
Subjects: World history
Publisher: Cincinnati : Jones
Contributing Library: University of Pittsburgh Library System
Digitizing Sponsor: Lyrasis Members and Sloan Foundation

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rn ^Sscoast. The channel of Bass Land-strait is neither wide nor deep. King is-land on the one side and Flinders islandson the other constitute stepping stonesbetween Victoria and Tasmania. It 738 GREAT RACES OF MANKIND. would appear natural and easy for thenative races of Australia to descend in thiswise to the southern island and there toestablish themselves. Possibly the tribeswhich were found here when Van Die-mans Land was discovered came downout of the larger island in the way indi-cated, and were an offshoot of the Aus-tralian aboriginal stock. From what weknow of the Tasmanians, however (for jectured in answer that the Papuanswere older in this part of the world thanthe Australians; that the Affinities of theformer OCCUpicd the east- Tasmanians andc . i-i the Papuans. ern parts or Australia be-fore the present aborigines of thatcountry reached its northwestern shores.The Papuan stock might thus extendsouthward, and still further southward,until Tasmania should be reached. Sub-
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LAST OF THE TASMANIANS—TYPE AND WEAPONS. they have now disappeared from theisland under pressure of the Whites), itwould seem that they were in affinityrather with the Papuans than with thenatives of the island-continent. The fact that such affinity exists offersa problem in the ethnography of thisregion. The Papuan dispersion was, aswe have seen, more than twenty degreesaway to the north. How then shoulda branch of the race reach so remote alocalitv as Tasmania? It has been con- sequently, with the incoming of thepresent Australian aborigines, thePapuan race might disappear from theisland-continent, leaving only the Tas-manians in their protected situation inthe far south. At any rate the fact remains, muchdwelt upon by ethnographers, that theTasmanians are essentially Papuan intheir characteristics. Many of theirethnic traits the two races have in com-mon. It has been noted with astonish- TA SMA NIA NS. —A R TS. 739 ment that the primitive industrial artsof Papuans and Tasmanian

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