Material Culture

In the islands visited, old artifacts were scarce or entirely lacking. Rich collections, however, are to be found in museums and a survey of the material in the world's museums is necessary to supplement the information gathered in the field. An analysis of their techniques would help to decide what techniques now in use are really ancient and what have been developed later for trade purposes. A large number of valuable papers are scattered through the pages of various journals, many of which have a limited circulation. Additional study is required in technology, a subject which has been neglected in earlier works, partly because of a lack of appreciation of its importance and partly because of the labor involved in recording and illustrating exact technical processes. It would be of great value to assemble the information indicated above for the regions yet undone. Intensive studies on material culture are open for the Society Islands and New Zealand.