ABSTRACT
From the accounts of anthropologists, for example, we infer that primitive man is normally deeply attached to the landscape he lives in; he distinguishes and names its minor parts. Observers refer to the multitude of place names, even in uninhabited country, and to the extraordinary interest in geography. The environment is an integral part of primitive cultures; the people work, create, and play in harmony with their landscape. Most often, they feel completely identified with it, are loath to leave it; it stands for continuity and stability in an uncertain world (Best, 1924; Jackson, 1956-57; Porteus, 1931; Reichard, 1950). The people of Tikopia (Santa Cruz Islands) say, "The land stands, but man dies; he weakens and is buried down below. We dwell for but a little while, but the lands stands in its abiding-place" (Firth, 1936). These environments are not only highly meaningful, but their image is a vivid one.
