. The Australian Museum magazine. Natural history. THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 99 things for the time being or permanent- ly. For example, a king of Polynesia must not touch the ground for fear of serious consequences to his people. The marking of gardens with tahii symbols was sulfioient to safeguard them. Tahn could also be utilised in the conservation of food over lean seasons, as when game or fish were scarce. Hereditary chieftainship was the form of government usually recognised, and the state religion was controlled by a priestly caste, who served numerous gods. THE MICRONESIANS. The
. The Australian Museum magazine. Natural history. THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 99 things for the time being or permanent- ly. For example, a king of Polynesia must not touch the ground for fear of serious consequences to his people. The marking of gardens with tahii symbols was sulfioient to safeguard them. Tahn could also be utilised in the conservation of food over lean seasons, as when game or fish were scarce. Hereditary chieftainship was the form of government usually recognised, and the state religion was controlled by a priestly caste, who served numerous gods. THE MICRONESIANS. The Pacific Ocean nortli of the ^Equatorial Line is studded with in- numerable islands, and, because of their limited size, the area is collectively known as Micronesia. The islands in- cluded under this name are the Gilbert, Marshall, Caroline, and Ladrone Archi- pelagos. The latter group are at pre- sent inhabited by a race derived from the Philippine Islands. This archipe- lago was discovered by Magellan in 152], and, because of his inability to trust the ihen inhabitants (Chamorros),. Warriors, Gilbert Group. Dark Micronesians, "wearing coir armour, fish-skin helmets and armed with shark-teeth weapons. owing to their habit of pilfering at every opportunity, he called the group the Ladrone (Thieves) Islands. This name was changed to Mariana Islands in 1(5(58. The inhabitants of the remaining ai'chi|K'lagos are of a very mixed type, the dominant elements being probably a com})ination of pre-Malay (Indonesian) and Polynesian. Some ethnologists con- sider the Micronesians to be a branch of the Polynesian race, but the slightly mongoloid caste of feature differentiates them from the true Polynesian. The Caroline Group, now named after Charles II., of Spain, was discovered by Portuguese navigators in 1527, and called Sequeira, but in 1686 they were annexed by the Spanish, who renamed them in honour of their own reigning king. The natives here exhibit a re- markable variety of c
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubjectnaturalhistory, booky
