ABSTRACT
Towards the end of the last century the discovery of evolution, as we have already noted, popularized the idea that the early years of the child’s life were a sort of recapitulation of the activities of primitive man. The period from 7 to 9 years, for example, was thought to be the age of immediate interests,—the need for food, clothing, warmth, self-protection,—the age of the nomadic, pastoral clan. From 10 to 12 years, on the other hand, was said to represent an echo of some more advanced period in human ancestry,—the age of the artisan, the maker.
