Phoenician--that was civilized, that worked in metals, that carried on a
commerce with all parts of Europe? Does history or tradition make
mention of any such?

We find a great resemblance between the pottery of the Bronze Age in
Europe and the pottery of the ancient inhabitants of America. The two
figures on page 260 represent vases from one of the mounds of the
Mississippi Valley. Compare them with the following from the lake
dwellings of Switzerland:

VASES FROM SWITZERLAND.

It will be seen that these vases could scarcely stand upright
unsupported; and we find that the ancient inhabitants of Switzerland had
circles or rings of baked earth in which they placed them when in use,
as in the annexed figure. The Mound Builders used the same contrivance.

The illustrations of discoidal stones on page 263 are from the "North
Americans of Antiquity," p. 77. The objects represented were taken from
an ancient mound in Illinois. It would be indeed surprising if two
distinct peoples, living in two different continents, thousands of miles
apart, should, without any intercourse with each other, not only form
their vases in the same inconvenient form, but should hit upon the same
expedient as a remedy.

We observe, in the American spear-head and the Swiss hatchets, on the
opposite page, the same overlapping of the metal around the staff, or
handle--a very peculiar mode of uniting them together, which has now
passed out of use.