An introduction to the study of social evolution; the prehistoric period . rea killed off its humaninhabitants by thousands. Those whose constitutionswere plastic enough to withstand the change and makethe necessary adaptations survived; others perished ormigrated to more favorable territory. In the course ofmigrations, these early peoples not possessing our knowl-edge of means of transportation and communication,were subordinated to the natural barriers or means oftravel such as mountain masses and valleys. The sur-face of the earth has determined the movements of popu-lations and the migrati
An introduction to the study of social evolution; the prehistoric period . rea killed off its humaninhabitants by thousands. Those whose constitutionswere plastic enough to withstand the change and makethe necessary adaptations survived; others perished ormigrated to more favorable territory. In the course ofmigrations, these early peoples not possessing our knowl-edge of means of transportation and communication,were subordinated to the natural barriers or means oftravel such as mountain masses and valleys. The sur-face of the earth has determined the movements of popu-lations and the migrations of races from those areaswhich climatic changes have made uninhabitable. Valleys offer channels for the easy movement of hu-manity. They are grooves which have time and againdetermined the destination of aimless, unplanned mi-grations. The passing of peoples follows these nature-made highways. The maritime plain of Palestine hasbeen an established route of commerce and war from thetime of Sennacherib to Napoleon. Up the Danube valley S2 Boas, op. cit., p. 160. M (». INFLUENCES OF ENVIEONMENT 149 have pressed long series of barbarian invaders from At-tila the Hun to the Turkish besiegers of Vienna in river is a great natural highway to which everyneighboring state desires access. In America, the Mo-hawk depression through the northern Appalachiansdiverts a significant amount of Canadas trade from theGreat Lakes to the Hndson.^^ Formerly it enabled theDutch traders at New Amsterdam to tap the fur tradeof Canadas forests, and later after the construction ofthe Erie canal, enabled New York to defy the competi-tion of Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore, in provid-ing tne easiest outlet for the commerce of the rich Ohiovalley. The Cumberland Gap was the natural avenueto the West from Virginia and the Carolinas. Butfalo,Indian and pioneer have successively followed thisroute.^* Natural conditions have fixed channels in whichthe stream of humanity most easily moves.^^ The
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectsociolo, bookyear1913
