40
THE DATING OF EARLY HUMAN REMAINS.
By S. HAZZLEDINE WARREN, F.G.S
[Being the Presidential Address delivered at the Annual Meeting,
27th March 1915]
THE evolution of opinion in affairs scientific—no less
than in affairs political, or artistic, or in any other sphere
of human activity—is subject to the influence of the "swing
of the pendulum." This is not merely a question of change
of theory or hypothesis, but of the influence of a periodically
changing undercurrent of intellectual motive force which, as
it were, polarizes our outlook upon scientific theory.
Warring elements of human nature are at work. On the
one hand, we have the critical attitude, which takes a clear-
sighted and well-balanced view of the evidences. On the other
hand, we have the attitude of the enthusiast, well-meaning
but ill-balanced, who visualizes the evidences through the
uncorrected lens of his own native fancy. The revolt against
undisciplined enthusiasm is apt to lead us into the cynical
attitude, which embraces alike, in the same supercilious rebuff,
not only the false scintillation of the charlatan, but also the
painstaking work of the earnest investigator.
At the present time, in the subject of Prehistoric Archaeology,
we are all more or less influenced by an attitude of mind which
I can best describe as that of inverted caution. I do not know
whether what I mean by this will be quite understood. In
order to make it clear, I hope that I shall not be thought to be
indulging in unseemly cynicism myself if I refer to a comic
song which I remember hearing as a boy! It referred to a
particularly careful man who wore his overcoat in summer in
case the weather should turn cold, and who took his overcoat
off in winter in case the weather should turn warm!
In our heart of hearts we are all a little more afraid of giving
a negative opinion against an alleged discovery than we are
of giving a positive opinion in its favour. We all are a little
inclined to make the best case for the more improbable inter-
pretation, in case we should be mistaken in what appears to be
the more probable and obvious. That is to say, in our previous
simile, we feel hot, but we also feel that this may be deceptive,
and so in order to be on the "safe side" we put on our overcoat.