351

p Have you ever had occasion, sir, to see illustrations of the combs used, for example, by the Indians of Central Brazil or the Papuans of New Guinea? They consist simply of several sticks tied together. This, so to speak, is the first stage in the development of the comb. In a further stage of its evolution, it is made of an entire piece of board in which teeth are cut. Such combs are used, for example, by the Monbuttu Negroes and the Borotse Kaffirs. At this stage of its development, the comb is sometimes ornamented with great diligence. But the most characteristic part of the ornamentation is a design inscribed on the board consisting of intersecting rows of parallel lines. They are obviously intended to represent the thongs which originally bound together the sticks of which the comb was made. Here the ornamentation is a picture of what formerly served for a utilitarian purpose. The approach to the object from the standpoint of use was anterior to the approach to it from the standpoint of aesthetic pleasure.

p What we see in the case of the comb is also to be seen in very many other instances. You, of course, know, sir, that primitive man made his weapons and tools of stone.  You also probably know that originally the stone axe had no handle.  Prehistoric archaeology shows very convincingly that the handle was a rather complicated and difficult thing for primitive man to invent, and appeared at a comparatively late stage of the Quaternary Period.  [351•*  Originally, the handle was attached more or less securely to the axe-head with thongs. Later the thongs become superfluous, man having learned to affix the handle to the head quite firmly without them. They then fell into disuse, but in the place they had occupied there appeared a depiction of them, consisting of intersecting rows of parallel lines, serving as an ornament.  [351•**  The same 352 thing occurred with other tools the parts of which were originally tied together and were then joined by other means. They, too, were ornamented with depictions of the thongs that had once been necessary. Thus arose the “geometrical” designs which hold such a distinguished place in primitive ornamentation, and which may already be observed on implements of the Quaternary Period.  [352•*  Further development of the productive forces imparted a new impetus to the development of this type of ornamentation. In this, the art of pottery was particularly instrumental. We know that this art was preceded by basket-weaving or plaiting.  The Australians are unable to this day to make utensils of clay, and use plaited utensils instead. When clay articles appeared, they were given the shape and form of the plaited utensils formerly in general use, and on their outer surfaces were depicted rows of parallel lines similar to those to which I have already alluded in the case of the comb. This manner of ornamenting clay utensils, which came into being with the first beginnings of the art of pottery, is still very prevalent even among the most civilised peoples. It also borrowed many motifs from the art of textile-weaving.

p The fruits of certain plants—the pumpkin, for instance—were, and still are, used by primitive man as utensils. Thongs made of leather or fibre were tied around them for convenience of carrying. With the appearance of the art of pottery these thongs were also used as ornaments.

p When man learned the art of working metals, curved lines, sometimes of very intricate design, began to appear on the clay vessels side by side with straight lines. In a word, here the development of ornamentation was most closely and distinctly linked with the development of primitive technology or, in other words, with the development of the productive forces.

p Needless to say, ornamentation with geometrical or textile patterns is not confined to clay utensils; it is applied to wooden and even leather articles.  [352•**  Generally speaking, once such a design has arisen, it soon acquires very wide application.

p In his lecture before the Berlin Anthropological Society on the second expedition to the Xingu River, Ehrenreich says that in the ornaments of the natives "all designs which have the appearance of geometrical figures are actually abbreviated, sometimes even stylised representations of quite definite objects, mostly animals.  [352•***  Thus, a wavy line with dots on either side represents a snake, a rhomboidal figure with darkened angles, a fish, while an equiangular triangle is, so to speak, a depiction of the national costume of the Brazilian 353 Indian female, which, as we know, consists of nothing but a variant of the celebrated ’fig leaf’".  [353•*  The same is true of North America. Holmes has shown that the geometrical figures with which the Indians of those parts cover their utensils are representations of the coats of animals. A clay vessel from Senegambia preserved in the Maison des Missions in Paris is ornamented with the depiction of a snake, and it is easy to see from this depiction how drawings of the coats of animals may become transformed into geometrical figures.  [353•**  Lastly, should you ever have occasion to look through Hjalmar Stolpe’s Entwicklungserscheinungen in der Ornamentik der Naturvolker (Wien, 1892), examine very carefully pages 37-44, and you will see some remarkable illustrations of the gradual development of purely geometrical figures from figures representing human beings.  [353•*** 

p It may be said that the ornamental designs of the Australians have not been studied at all. But in view of what we know of those of other peoples, we have every reason to assume that the rows of lines which decorate their shields likewise represent the coats of animals.  [353•**** 

p In some cases, however, the lines with which the Australians adorn their weapons have another significance: they represent geographical charts.  [353•*****  This may seem strange and even incredi- 354 ble, but I would remind you that such charts are also drawn by the Yukagirs of Siberia.  [354•* 

p People who live by hunting and lead a nomadic existence experience a far greater necessity for such charts than did our peasant tillers of the good old days, who often enough passed their whole life without once travelling beyond the boundaries of their rural district. And necessity is the best teacher. It taught the primitive hunter to make charts, and it also taught him other arts which are entirely unknown to our peasant tiller: painting and sculpture. In fact, the primitive hunter is nearly always, in his own way, a skilful and sometimes passionate painter and sculptor. Von den Steinen says that it was a favourite evening pastime with the natives who accompanied him on his travels to trace in the sand the figures of animals and scenes from the chase.  [354•**  The Australians are not inferior to the Brazilian Indians in this respect. They eagerly trace drawings with the knife on the kangaroo hides which serve them as protection against the cold, or on the bark of trees. Philipp saw near Port Jackson drawings of weapons, shields, men, birds, fish, lizards, etc. These drawings were cut in the face of rocks, and some of them testified to a fairly high artistic skill on the part of the primitive artists.  [354•***  On the northwest coast of Australia, Grey came across designs carved on rocks and trees representing human arms, legs, etc. These designs were poorly executed. But in the upper reaches of the Glenelg he discovered several caves whose walls were covered with far more competent drawings.  [354•****  Some investigators think that these drawings were not made by Australians, but by one of the Malayans who sometimes come to these parts to trade. But, firstly, it is impossible to adduce any positive proof in support of this opinion.  [354•*****  And, secondly, it is not important for us here to know who did decorate the Glenelg caves. It is sufficient for us to be certain that the Australians are fond of making similar—if perhaps cruder—drawings. And on this point there can be no doubt whatever.

p The same thing is to be observed with the Bushmen. They have long been celebrated for their drawings and bas-reliefs. Fritsch saw many thousands of figures of animals traced on some rocks near Hopetown. Hutchinson found many drawings on the walls of caves inhabited by Bushmen. Hiibner saw in the Transvaal hundreds of figures which had been carved by Bushmen in 355 soft shale.  [355•*  Sometimes the Bushmen’s drawings depict separate animals, sometimes whole scenes, such as a hippopotamus or elephant hunt, shooting with bow and arrow, clashes with enemies.  [355•**  Particularly, and deservedly, celebrated is the wall painting (“fresco”) found in a cave near Hermon, depicting Bushmen raiding the cattle of Matabele Kaffirs.  [355•***  As far as I am aware, nobody has expressed any doubt concerning the origin of this fresco; everybody admits that it was made by Bushmen. It would indeed be difficult to doubt this, as all the Bushmen’s dark-skinned neighbours are very poor artists. But the unquestionable and generally recognised artistic ability of the Bushmen is fresh proof that the drawings found by Grey in the caves on the Glenelg are the work of Australian artists: for in respect to culture, the Australians and the Bushmen are practically on the same level.

p The hunters and fishers of the Arctic regions likewise display a great inclination for the plastic arts. The Eskimos and Chukchi adorn their weapons and implements with figures of birds and beasts which are distinguished by close fidelity to nature. But not content with this, they sometimes depict whole scenes, exclusively borrowed, of course, from the only mode of life with which they are familiar, that of hunters and fishers.  [355•****  The carvings of the Eskimos are truly remarkable.  [355•*****  In this they have no equal among existing tribes. Only the tribes that inhabited Western Europe towards the close of the Quaternary Period might be named as worthy competitors.

p These tribes, who knew neither cattle-breeding nor agriculture, have left numerous relics of their art in the shape of engraved or carved objects. Like the hunting tribes of today, they borrowed the motifs for their artistic work almost exclusively from the animal world. Mortillet knows only two instances where plants are represented. Of the animals, they chiefly depicted mammals, and of the mammals, mostly the northern reindeer (which was then to be met with all over Western Europe) and the horse, which was still untamed; then follow the bison, wild goat, saiga, deer, antelope, mammoth, boar, fox, wolf, bear, lynx, marten, rabbit, etc.—in brief, as Mortillet says, all the mammalian fauna of the time ... the question naturally arises, in which of the subsequent phases of its development, in what historical circumstances, and for what reasons, did art first become idealistic? This question is still very inadequately elucidated by science. I shall revert to it in one of my next letters.

356

p I have said that it was necessity that taught the primitive hunter the arts of painting and sculpture. Let us see what pedagogical methods it used.

p In order to communicate or exchange their thoughts, the North American Indians often and readily resort to what Schoolcraft calls picture-writing.  The thoughts expressed in this manner usually relate to hunting, war and various other relations of life. Hence, their picture-writing primarily serves practical, utilitarian purposes. Such, too, are the purposes served by the similar form of writing of the Australians. "Austin found on the rocks around a spring in the interior of the Australian continent pictures of kangaroo legs and human arms, made with the obvious purpose of indicating that men and animals came to drink at this spring."  [356•*  The above-mentioned figures which Grey saw on the northwest coast of Australia, depicting various parts of the human body (arms, legs, etc.), were also probably drawn with the utilitarian purpose of communicating information to absent comrades. Von den Steinen relates that he once saw on the bank of a Brazilian river a picture which the natives had drawn in the sand, representing one of the local breeds of fish. He ordered the Indians who accompanied him to cast a net, and they pulled out several fish of the breed depicted in the sand.  [356•**  Obviously, the drawing was made by the natives in order to inform their comrades that suchand-such fish were to be found at the given spot. But this, of course, was not the only case in which the natives felt the need for picture-writing. There was often such a need, and the natives must have resorted to picture-writing constantly, and it therefore must have been one of the earliest products of their hunting mode of life. "It seems to me,” V. I. Jochelson rightly remarks, "that the elements (of written and oral expression of thoughts and sentiments may have arisen simultaneously. We see the germs of writing even in the animal world. The trail leads the wolf to the deer. The latter by its hoofprints intimates to the former that it has passed and in which direction it has passed. What the animals wrote with their hoofs was of the greatest importance in the life of the primitive hunter, and the trail may have been the prototype of writing. With such a hunting tribe as the Yukagirs, the significance of the ’trail’ is reflected in their language. In Yukagiri, every verb has three conjugations. One of them, which I call the evidential, expresses an action the performance of which is inferred from its traces; for example, if you have learned from tracks in the forest that such-and-such a person had been there, 357 and on returning home want to impart the fact to your household, you would say: it is evident from the tracks that so and so was in the forest. But in Yukagiri you would say this in one word, which is distinguished from the ordinary verbal form ’was’ only by the addition of the suffix jäl, so we see that even language forms are dependent on the ’trail’. Thus the trail may have served as the model for the conscious use of signs by people when communicating with one another at a distance. But originally these signs were a simple depiction of the object or) concept they expressed, and the exactness of the depiction was closely associated with art."  [357•*  Consequently, in primitive hunting society writing and painting were one and the same, and the hunting mode of life must naturally and necessarily have excited, developed and encouraged the instincts and talents of the primitive artists.  [357•**  Such in fact was the case ... this talent was of course used not only in the direct struggle for existence. The Yukagirs resort to writing even in courtship.  [357•***  This is a luxury which is still inaccessible to the majority of our peasants, but it is a simple and natural consequence of the hunting mode of life. Just as simple and natural a consequence of this mode of life is the fact that primitive man adorns with the figures of animals his weapons and tools and even his own body.  [357•****  As these pictures become stylised, they grow more and more remote from their original form, and often they rejoice the idealist investigator by their completely abstract character, as it were. That a close causal connection exists between primitive ornamental designs and the conditions of the hunting mode of life was elucidated only very recently, but these designs must now be ranked among the most convincing evidences in favour of the materialist view of history.

358

As von den Steinen very aptly observes, the word zeichnen in the German language reveals a clear connection with the origin of the art of drawing in primitive society. It obviously derives from the word Zeichen—a sign. Von den Steinen thinks that the making of signs as a means of communication is older than drawing. I fully agree with him, because—as you already know—I am generally convinced that the approachUo objects (and, of course, to actions) from the standpoint of utility was anterior to the approach to them from the standpoint of aesthetic pleasure. Von den Steinen adds: "The pleasure afforded by imitative representation, which determined the whole subsequent development of graphic art, was to some degree an operating cause from the very beginning."  [358•*  We shall see in one of our next letters whether it is true that the “whole” subsequent development of painting was determined by the pleasure afforded by imitative representation. But it is self-evident that if imitation afforded no pleasure, painting would never have emerged from the stage of the making of signs for the purpose of communicating information. Pleasure was unquestionably an indispensable element. The whole question is, why was the pleasure afforded by imitative representation felt so strongly by the European hunters of the Quaternary Period, by the Australians and Bushmen, by the Eskimos and Yukagirs, and developed in them a powerful urge for painting, and why is it so little in evidence, for example, among those African Negroes with whom agriculture is a long-standing pursuit? And this question can be answered satisfactorily only by pointing to the different productive pursuits of the hunting peoples on the one hand, and the agricultural peoples on the other. We have already seen how greatly important picture-writing is in the life of the primitive hunters. It arose as a condition of success in their struggle for existence. But once it had arisen, it must necessarily have guided in a definite direction the tendency to imitation which is rooted in human nature, but which develops in one way or another depending on the conditions by which man is surrounded. As long as primitive man remains a hunter, his tendency to imitation makes him, among other things, a painter and sculptor. The reason is evident. What does he need as a painter"? Power of observation and deftness of hand. These are precisely the qualities which he also needs as a hunter. His artistic activity is therefore a manifestation of the very qualities which are evolved in him by the struggle for existence. When, with the transition to cattle-herding and agriculture, the conditions of his struggle for existence change, primitive man in large degree loses the tendency and ability for painting which distinguished him in the hunting period. "Although,” Grosse says, "the tillers 359 and cattle-herders are at a much higher cultural level than the hunter, they are far inferior to him in the graphic arts, from which, incidentally, it may be seen that the relation between art and culture is not as simple as some philosophers think.” And Grosse himself explains the reason for this artistic backwardness—which, at a first glance, seems so strange—of the pastoral and agricultural peoples. "Neither the tillers, nor the herders,” he says "need power of observation and deftness of hand in such a developed degree; with them, therefore, these faculties recede into the background, and so also does the talent of faithfully depicting nature."  [359•*  Nothing could be truer. It should only be remembered that the transition to cattle-herding and agriculture....