"
All the evidence points to the conclusion that civilized or
semi-civilized man has dwelt on the western continent from a vast
antiquity. Maize, tobacco, quinoa, and the mandico plants have been
cultivated so long that their wild originals have quite disappeared.
"The only species of palm cultivated by the South American Indians, that
known as the Gulielma speciosa, has lost through that culture its
original nut-like seed, and is dependent on the hands of its cultivators
for its life. Alluding to the above-named plants Dr. Brinton ("Myths of
the New World," p. 37) remarks, 'Several are sure to perish unless
fostered by human care. What numberless ages does this suggest? How many
centuries elapsed ere man thought of cultivating Indian corn? How many
more ere it had spread over nearly a hundred degrees of latitude and
lost all resemblance to its original form?' In the animal kingdom
certain animals were domesticated by the aborigines from so remote a
period that scarcely any of their species, as in the case of the lama of
Peru, were to be found in a state of unrestrained freedom at the advent
of the Spaniards." (Short's "North Americans of Antiquity," p.
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