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ALTHOUGH our knowledge of ancient times has of late years greatly increased, it is still very imperfect, and we cannot afford to neglect any possible source of information. It is evident that history cannot throw much light on the early condition of man, because the discovery—or, to speak more correctly, the use—of metal has in all cases preceded that of writing. Even as regards the Age of Bronze we derive little information from it, and although, as we have seen, the Age of Stone is vaguely alluded to in the earliest European writers, their statements have generally been looked upon as imaginative rather than historical; and are, indeed, confined to a mere mention of the fact that there was a time when metal was unknown.
Nor will tradition supply the place of history. At best it is untrustworthy and short-lived. Thus, in 1770 the New Zealanders had no recollection of Tasman's visit. Yet this took place in 1643, less than 130 years before, and must have been to them an event of the greatest possible importance and interest. In the same way the North American Indians soon lost all tradition of De Soto's expedition, although “by its striking incidents it was so well suited to impress the Indian mind.”
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