(3.) The time required for the succession of forest growths since the appearance of man.
Geologists find in Denmark, earliest, a growth of Scotch fir; next, of oak; last, coming down to the present, of the beech. The age of civilization known as the Stone age synchronizes nearly with the fir; the Bronze age with the oak;the historic period with iron implements answers to the beech.[17] Now the problem is—How much time is required for one species of forest growths to run its course and become supplanted by another?——Obviously this problem must depend not on time alone, but on climatic changes. Moreover, one kind of trees may require less time than another to exhaust the soil of the elements specially congenial to its health, vigor and stability. I do not see that any reliable measure of time can be found for estimating the life-period of different species of forest growths.
(4.) Attempts have been made to estimate the antiquity of man from the animal races with which his remains have been found associated. The animals brought into this estimate have been chiefly the mammals, quadrupeds, most nearly related, by anatomical structure, to man. Great account has been made of the fact that the remains of man (his bones or his tools) have been found in connection with the remains of land animals now extinct. The uncertain element in all such calculations is the date at which the said animalspecies became extinct. This is perhaps fully as doubtful as the age at which man began to live on the earth. So far as is known, some species have disappeared within the present century; e. g. the Great Auk, or Northern Penguin (alca impennis), last seen alive in 1844. Several species, once quite prominent for their hugeness or other qualities, are supposed to have disappeared within the historic period of man; e. g. the mammoth, the mastodon, the woolly rhinoceros, the cave-bear, etc. But precisely when they severally became extinct, no existing data suffice to show. Of course it avails little to prove that man was coeval with a few animal races now extinct.
(5.) Far more important in my view is the light thrown upon the antiquity of the Bronze and Iron ages of civilization in Northern and Western Europe by the traces of commercial relations between those respective peoples and the civilized nations of the known historic ages. In this case, the elements of uncertainty common to the preceding estimates are mostly if not wholly eliminated. When among the relics of the Bronze age, say in Switzerland or in Denmark, we find art-specimens, valuable for use or beauty, which manifestly came from Phenicia, Etruria, or Egypt, bearing unmistakably the stamp of their civilization, and specifically, of their art, we need no further proof that the old Bronze age lay in time along-side of the reign of Etrurian or Egyptian art and civilization. On this subject the British Quarterly (Oct., 1872) on “The present Phase of Pre-historic Archeology” discusses the question whether the Bronze civilization in Central and Northern Europe was introduced by an invading people from the East, or by peaceful commerce with the peoples contiguous to the Mediterranean, viz. the Phenicians of Palestine, the Etrurians of Italy, and the Egyptians. The argument is strongly in favor of the latter alternative. “The beautiful bronze swords, spear-heads, axes, knives, razors, etc., which lie scattered over Northern and Central Europe are remarkable for the singular beauty of their form and ornamentation”—all bearing so much unity of design as to prove a common origin from the same source. “The double spirals, and dotted circles and spirals and zigzag ornaments which are so common on the bronze articles of France, Germany,Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia are identical with the designs which are found in Etruscan tombs. Some of the bronze swords and spear-heads are also identical; and the peculiar spuds and bronze axes, used by the Etruscans, are similar to those which are found in Northern Europe.” (pp. 247, 248).——The limits of my plan forbid a full presentation of this argument. Suffice it to say briefly that very great progress has been made within the last fifty years toward disentombing the pre-historical ages of Central and Northern Europe, and bringing out their relation to the early historic civilization of Egypt, Phenicia, and Etruria. The results thus far seem to identify the oldest race of man as known by his remains (i. e. they of the earlier Stone age) with the Esquimaux of Lapland; the men of the later Stone age, with the Iberian or Basque people of Spain; after whom were the Celts and the Belgæ who were on the field at the period where Roman history touches Britain and Gaul.——How far back in time those Esquimau tribes lie, it seems yet impossible to determine; but the next wave of population—they of the later Stone age—falls far within the period of scripture chronology—not necessarily older than the Phenicians, Assyrians, and Egyptians. Inasmuch as Phenician art and commerce were in their glory during the reigns of David and Solomon, we may at least provide a considerable interval of time for the Esquimau tribes of the older Stone age before we encounter the deluge of Noah, and much more still, before we come up to Adam. It is a fact of no trifling importance that the oldest race detected by the explorers of the earth’s crust can be so clearly identified with the Esquimaux now occupying the highest northern latitudes inhabited by man.
More abundant still are the proofs which bring the Bronze and Iron ages of Northern Europe within what were the historic times of the nations on the borders of the Mediterranean.——The estimates made by some geologists and antiquarians which carry the later Stone, the Bronze, and the Iron peoples back into the mighty Past anywhere from 10,000 to 100,000 years seem to me extremely fanciful and unscientific. Thorough investigation into all the facts bearing on the case coupled with sober estimates of the time which they indicate,will at no distant day bring this problem of the antiquity of man to a satisfactory solution. It does not become us to fear any revelations which come legitimately from well ascertained facts.
Another argument for the high antiquity of man has been drawn from the traditions of the most ancient nations—China and India; also from the great population, the early civilization, and the art-monuments of Egypt.
On the point of the traditions and chronologies of the ancient nations of the East, the first problem is to ascertain what they are and what they claim.If they run up their figures (as sometimes said) to 20,000 years, the extravagance of the claim vitiates its credibility.[18] We put it to the account of fancy and fiction, or of national pride, and rule it out from the realm of historic science. But if as estimated by Bailly (Kitto; Chronology, p. 434) the years from the Christian era back to the creation are put in Chinese chronology at 6157; in the Babylonian, at 6158; and in the Indian (by Gentil) at 6174, we give these chronologies our respectful attention. The fact that the extreme difference in these three is but seventeen years is certainly striking, and indicates either a common origin of authority or an approximation toward the truth; perhaps both. We shall soon have occasion to compare these figures with the latest and most approved results of Biblical chronology.
As to the age of Egyptian art, civilization, and political power, the time allowed for its development in harmony with Usher’s chronology (the one usually indicated in editions of the English Bible) must be admitted to be short—almost incredibly short. Here I submit that the primary question should be—the correctness of Usher. Let the Bible system of chronology be rigidly scanned—not for the purpose of making it tally with Egyptian claims, or with any other system of chronology not sacred; but for the purpose of arriving at the truth as ascertainable from the Bible itself.