Synthesized answer
The provided passages do not contain a central thesis for the book "Swan Lake, Op. 20." Instead, the passages are from works on Australian and Tasmanian aboriginal tribes, specifically "Native Tribes of South-East Australia" by Alfred William Howitt (1904) [3]. The text discusses the author's hypothesis on the origin and antiquity of Tasmanians and Australians [1], the classificatory system of relationships among these tribes [4], and the difficulty outsiders face in understanding this system [5].
The author's main argument is that his conclusions on the origin of these peoples are a "reasonably probable tentative hypothesis" based on known facts, which may be modified by further knowledge [1]. He emphasizes that the classificatory system of relationships is built upon the division of the community into two exogamous intermarrying classes [4], and that understanding it requires setting aside one's own cultural assumptions [5]. However, no passage relates to "Swan Lake, Op. 20," so the central thesis of that specific book cannot be determined from these excerpts.
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
eculiarities of feature which are occasionally observed, and which are evidently and certainly not negroid in character. I have said before, and desire to repeat, that the conclusions to which I have been led as to the origin of the Tasmanians and Australians necessarily demand a vast antiquity on the Australian continent for the former and a very long period of at least prehistoric time for the latter. In dealing with the origin of the aborigines of Tasmania and Australia I have attempted the solution of a most difficult problem. I have looked at the questions arising out of it from more…
petent authorities according as they stand the test of criticism, of time, and of the accumulation of further knowledge. The conclusions to which this inquiry has led me may be doubtless modified by increased knowledge of new facts; but I venture to think, with some confidence, that the antiquity of occupation which I have postulated for the aborigines of both Australia and Tasmania in this continent will not be lessened. ↑ Davis, R. H., "The Aborigines of Van Diemen's Land," Tasmanian Journal of Natural Science. Tasmania and London, 1846. ↑ Fitzroy, Captain Robert, Narrative of the Surveying…
← Native Tribes of South-East Australia ( 1904 ) by Alfred William Howitt → 1158659 Native Tribes of South-East Australia 1904 Alfred William Howitt THE Native Tribes OF South-East Australia BY A. W. HOWITT, D.Sc. HON. FELLOW ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND London MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1904 All rights reserved TO THE MEMORY OF MY WIFE WITHOUT WHOSE UNFAILING SYMPATHY THIS WORK MIGHT NEVER HAVE BEEN UNDERTAKEN PREFACE The materials for this work were collected during the past forty years, commencing during explorations in…
t the terms of relationship which he has been taught to use are, or ought to be, of universal application among mankind. When such a man is brought first into contact with a race of savages who use the classificatory system, he feels in most cases surprise, mingled with pity, and even with contempt, for those poor creatures who are so low in intellect as to think it possible for any one to have several fathers and mothers, and a vast number of brothers and sisters. In order to grasp the true nature and bearing of the classificatory system of relationships, it is necessary not only to free…
subject of much controversy, and the opinions formed as to the origin and real meaning of the system have been various. It may be safely said that there are few, even of those who have been brought into daily contact during the course of a lifetime with the Australian blackfellow, who have taken the trouble to master the details of the system; or, if they have done so, they have not been able to form any true conception of the true foundation on which the system rests, or the root from which it has sprung. How much more difficult, therefore, must the subject be for those who live in countries…