The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Prehistoric World, by E. A. Allen

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Title: The Prehistoric World
Vanished Races

Author: E. A. Allen

Posting Date: December 29, 2008 [EBook #2873]
Release Date: October, 2001

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PREHISTORIC WORLD ***

Produced by Derek R. Thompson

THE PREHISTORIC WORLD

or, VANISHED RACES.

By E. A. Allen

Author of "The Golden Gems of Life."

Nashville: Central Publishing House, 1885.

Copyright By Ferguson, Allen, And Rader, 1885.

Each of the following well-known Scholars reviewed one or more Chapters,
and made valuable suggestions:

C. C. ABBOTT, M.D., Author of "Primitive Industry."

Prof. F. W. PUTNAM, Curator of Peabody Museum of Archaeology and
Ethnology, Harvard University.

A. F. BANDELIER, Explorer for Archaeological Institute of America,
author of "Archaeological Tour in Mexico."

Prof. CHARLES RAU, Curator of Archaeological Department of Smithsonian
Institution.

ALEXANDER WINCHELL, LL.D., Professor of Geology and Paleontology,
University of Michigan.

CYRUS THOMAS, PH.D., Of the Bureau of Ethnology.

G. F. WRIGHT, Of the United States Geological Survey, Professor in
Theological Seminary, Oberlin, Ohio.

PREFACE

In this volume the author has sought to lay before the reader a
description of life and times lying beyond the light of history. This is
indeed an extensive subject, and calls for some explanation, both as to
the general design of the work and what steps have been taken to secure
correct information.

History is a word of varied import. In general, when we talk about
history, we mean those accounts of past events, times, and circumstances
of which we have written records. Not necessarily meaning alphabetical
writing, because hieroglyphic records have furnished much true history.
Hieroglyphic writing, which long preceded alphabetical writing, is
itself a comparatively recent art. In no country do we find any records
carrying us further back than a few thousand years before the Christian
era. We have every reason to believe that the historical part of man's
life on the glo