PROBLEMS OF THE PACIFIC.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1852, 11 September 1913, Page 8

PROBLEMS OF THE PACIFIC.

A LOST EMPIRE. PROF. MACMILLAN BROWN'S THEORY. A VENICE OF THE PAST.

Professor Macniillan Brown, who has been spending the last three months in miero-nesia—the extensive ocean area in which aro dotted tho Marianne, Marshall, Caroline, and Gilbert Islands—returned to Wellington yesterday morning by the Willochra from Sydney. In completion of his programme of the Jasi eight or mno years for investigating the problems of tlie Pacific, tho I'rofessor, on tins occasion, uevoted special attention to theso isianas, as they contained the secret of one of tho most ciiihcult ethnological proOlems of tlie l'acmc. in investigating this problem, Professor lirowu visitod tho megolitlue ruins at Ponape, ana advances in that connection tiio lirst reasonable and feasible theory in explanation of their existence.

"JJecauso of tho special attractions in ethnology,' 1' concentrated on this visit on tho Caroline Islands," said the Professor, when interviewed yesterday morning. "The languages there are so uilferent from ihe otiior Polynesian languages, and the people themselves aro so aillerent that there is at oncp leveaied a strange commixture of blood, hi every little villago 1 could trace tho mixture of the three great divisions of mankind—the negroid, tho-Mongoloid, and the Caucasian divisions. I'nr example, in the little island of LTeai, in the centre of the Carolino Group, there were (300 people gathered to receive the Governor. , There I could see faces agreeing with'tho most exacting i'.uiopean ideals of .beauty—Grecian nose, Apollo bow-shaped thin lips, oval face, line eyes, and wavy hair—side by side with heads showing fuzzy hair, kiead nostrils, thick lips, and outstanding, lower jaw, along with the smaller stature of the negrito. Here and thero could also be seen the Japanese eye, with tho fold over tho tear-duct, which is so characteristic of all Mongol peoples. This typo also had long, black, lank hair." Tho Great Admixture, "The admixture of these threo typos is quite manifest in the stature, thj hair, and tho features of tho people all through micro-nesia, that island-sported area of 2000 miles by 1500 miles, which lies between tho Polynesian and Malasian scries of islands —between New Guinea and the Philippines—and also between Japan in the north and New Guinea ill the south," said tho Professor. "And I have come to the conclusion," ho added, "not merely from iny own observations, but from other considerations and the observations of others, that these islands have been subsiding during all human time. The only exceptions aro the, islands of Ponape, link, and Yap, which aro volcanic islands. And from the immense ruins • of the niegolithic city on the south-east side of Ponape. 1 have concluded that a large part of this subsidence has occurred during the last 5000 or 0000 years. This ancient city could have been no other than tho capita! of an insular empire at least ten ,times as large as tho islands that- exist round about'to-day. With high islands stretching west and east and north and south, it was much easier in old times for immigrants to reach these islands than it is now." Tlio primeval population ho took to he negrito. because they had constituted the primeval population of the Philippines, tho Malay Archipelago, New- Guinea, _ Melanesia, 'and Australia. Over them in comparatively recent times—perhaps -several. thousand years ago—had come a Caucasian or 'European population, aJid moro recently still thero had been on infusion of Mongol blood, which had not gone as far as Melanesia or New Guinea. P.roofs of Commingling. The proofs of the commingling of tho three races are found in the language and hppcarance of the different islanders. In every collection of natives thero could be seen the small or pigmy roundheaded man (the negroid) and the, tall medium-headed man (the Caucasian). In tlie west in Yap and Pellew the Professor believed, from the language and appearance of the people, that the Mongoloid infusion came from Malay, but to the east and north—in tho Caroline, Marianne and Marshall' Islands; —tho Mongoloid infusion came from Japan. Tho Japanese eye could be .wen ill almost every island of these three groups, .and the Japanese stature as well, though this mav have belonged to the aboriginal native. Tho vocabularies and grammars of the islanders will also afford further proof of the origin of the. people, but tho Professor has not as yet finished his analysis of these, nor had lie his Japaneso dictionary with him to verify the Japanese element in the languages. It is asserted by Christian, in his book' on tho Caroline Islands, that there is a large' proportion of Japaneso words in the vocabulary of the people of Ivusaie, in the easterly part of the Caroline Islands. This statement will be carefully investigated by the Professor. Tho region, he believed, had in historic times been the refugo and resort of all tl'.e peoples round i'.lwut. This hypothesis was the only one that seemed to fully explain the facts in tlie language and physique of the people of this region. That Ruined City. A' further proof of the Caucasian ole. merit that has influenced the islands is found bv the Professor in tho ruins of tho great megolithic city on the southeast coast of Ponape. A fascinating description of this ancient ruin is given by him. "It is an ancient Venice," •ho said. "There you have the water streets and the main canals. I canoed along those for four or five hours and on cither side- of me wore immense breast-works of stones some of them 24 feet long arid rising ten feet above tho reef on which the city is built. Theso breast-works are„ miles in length and make artificial islands which are filled in with coral debris. On these islands are immense buildings, some with walls still 30 feet high. From the huge stones scattered about 1 conjectured that theso walls must havo been almost twico as high at one time, for they were from ten to fifteen feet thick.

''This city 011 the sea "shows that the rulers of this empire had. como over the ocean and used the ocean because Uioy needed their water streets for their vessels and merchandise.' Other ruined cities of Kusaic still further show that these oceanic conquerors camo from the East. In the front of one great templo at Ponape there were great stones with holes ill the top oil which it was traditionally said tlio priests made lcava to offer to the gods. Another proof that these conquerors came from Polynesia lies in the fact tiiat though is transmitted in Ponape by mother right. yet the five chiefs of the island receive their positions by father right. Mow, in Polynesia, 'father right' rules, while in Melanesia and New O'ltinea 'mother right' obtains." Thcorias of Origin. From'these facts the Professor deduces that Polynesia was the chief source of the tall Caucasian clement in this region. The age of these ruins is placcd by I'rol'essor Brown at 3000 years at least. He bases this conclusion upon a. certain Japanese element in the architecture of tho ruins and the absenco of all bronze or other metal remains in

tho excavations that were made in tho tombs. What were found wore usually beads and stone emblems. The. Professor concluded therefore that if Japanese architects were engaged in the buildings then they were completed lielore the Japanese bronze era, which was just about 30/10 years %o. | This theory, advanced by Professor I Macniillan Brown, is tho first attempt to make an historical explanation of the origin of theso ruins. In the latter part of last century Kubany was a German officer oil tho Hersin'e who examined the ruins carefully and advanced the suggestion that they were built by black races. He based this 011 tho finding of four skulls which, being long, ho claimed to be negroid. As a matter of fact, two were medium-sized and rould belong to a section of short people in mieio-nesia. Five or six years ago a German expedition, under Doctor Hombruck, made investigations, but beyond correcting the measurements of Kubany, it advanced 110 theories of origin and mado 110 attempt to solve the mystery at all.