LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGQ LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA PRIMITIVE MAN. A Family of the Stone Age (Frontispiece). PRIMITIVE MAN. BY LOUIS FIGUIER. Jicbiscb Cranslatroit. ILLUSTRATED WITH THIRTY SCENES OF PRIMITIVE LIFE, AND TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREE FIGURES OF OBJECTS BELONGING TO PRE-HISTORIC AGES. "Arma antiqua manus, ungues, dentesque fuerunt, Et lapides, et item silvarum fragmina rami, Et flamma atque ignes, postquam sunt cognita primum. Posterity ferri vis est a-risque reperta ; Et prior a>ris erat quam ferri coguitus usus." Litcrctins, I)e Renim Nuiura, lih. V., v. l'28l-. r >. LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. 1870. PKEFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. THE EDITOR of the English translation of * L'Homme Primitif,' has not deemed it necessary to reproduce the original Preface, in which M. Figuier states his purpose in offeriDg a new work on pre-historic archaeology to the French public, already acquainted in translation with the works on the subject by Sir Charles Lyell and Sir John Lubbock. Now that the book has taken its position in France, it is only needful to point out its claims to the attention of English readers. The important art of placing scientific knowledge, and especially new discoveries and topics of present controversy, within easy reach of educated readers not versed in their strictly technical details, is one which has for years been carried to remarkable perfection in France, in no small measure through the labours and example of M. Figuier himself. The present volume, one of his series, takes up the subject of Pre-historic Man, beginning with the remotely ancient stages of human life belonging to the Drift-Beds, Bone-Caves, and Shell-Heaps, passing on through the higher levels of the Stone Age, through the succeeding Bronze Age, and into those lower ranges of the Iron Age in which civilisation, raised to a comparatively high development, passes from the hands of the antiquary into those of the historian. The Author's object has been to give within the limits of b vi PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. a volume, and dispensing with the fatiguing enumeration of details required in special memoirs, an outline sufficient to afford a reasonable working acquaintance with the facts and arguments of the science to such as cannot pursue it further, and to serve as a starting-ground for those who will follow it up in the more minute researches of Nilsson, Keller, Lartet, Christy, Lubbock, Mortillet, Desor, Troyon, Gastaldi, and others. The value of the work to English archaeologists, however, is not merely that of a clear popular manual ; prehistoric archaeology, worked as it has been in several countries, takes in each its proper local colour, and brings forward its proper local evidence. It is true that much of its material is used as common property by scientific men at large. But, for instance, where an English writer in describing the ancient cave-men would dwell especially on the relics from the caves of Devon and Somerset as worked by Falconer and Pengelly, a French writer would take his data more amply from the explorations of caves of the south of France by De Vibraye, Garrigou, and Filhol where the English teacher would select his specimens from the Christy or the Blackmore Museum, the French teacher would have recourse to the Musee de Saint-Germain. Thus far, the English student has in Figuier's ' Primitive Man ' not a work simply incorporated from familiar materials, but to a great extent bringing forward evidence not readily accessible, or quite new to him. Some corrections and alterations have been made in the English edition. The illustrations are those of the original work ; the fac- similes of pre-historic objects have been in great part drawn expressly for it, and contribute to its strictly scientific value ; the page illus- trations representing scenes of primitive life, which are by another hand, may seem somewhat fanciful, yet, setting aside the Eaffaelesque idealism of their style, it will be found on examination that they are in the main justified by that soundest evidence, the actual discovery of the objects of which they represent the use. The solid distinctness of this evidence from actual relics of pre- PEEFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION. vii historic life is one of the reasons which have contributed to the extraordinary interest which pre-historic archaeology has excited in an age averse to vague speculation, but singularly appreciative of arguments conducted by strict reasoning on facts. The study of this modern science has supplied a fundamental element to the general theory of civilisation, while, as has been the case with geology, its bearing on various points of theological criticism has at once conduced to its active investigation, and drawn to it the most eager popular attention. Thus, in bringing forward a new work on 'Primitive Man,' there is happily no need of insisting on the importance of its subject-matter, or of attempting to force unappreciated knowledge on an unwilling public. It is only necessary to attest its filling an open place in the literature of pre-historic archasology. E. B. T. I 2 CONTENTS. PACK INTRODUCTION ... 1 THE STONE AGE. i I. THE EPOCH OF EXTINCT SPECIES OF ANIMALS; OB, OF THE GREAT BEAR AND MAMMOTH. CHAPTER I. The earliest Men The Type of Man in the Epoch of Animals of extinct Species Origin of Man Refutation of the Theory which derives the Human Species from the Ape 25 CHAPTER II. Man in the Condition of Savage Life during the Quaternary Epoch The Glacial Period, and its Ravages on the Primitive Inhabitants of the Globe Man in Conflict with the Animals of the Quaternary Epoch The Discovery of Fire The Weapons of Primitive Man Varieties of Flint Hatchets Manufacture of the earliest Pottery Ornamental objects at the Epoch of the Great Bear and the Mammoth 39 CHAPTER IH. The Man of the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch lived in Caverns Bone Caverns in the Quaternary Rock during tlie Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch Mode of Formation of these Caverns Their Division into several Classes Implements of Flint, Bone, and Reindeer-horn, found in these Caverns The Burial Place at Aurignac Its probable Age Customs which it reveals Funeral Banquets during the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch . . .50 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. PAGE Other Caves of the Epoch of the Great Bear and Mammoth Type of the Human Kace duiing the Epochs of the Great Bear and the Keindeer The Skulls from the Caves of Engis and Neanderthal ....... 72 II. EPOCH OF THE V KEINDEER ; OB, OP MIGRATED ANIMALS. CHAPTER I. Mankind during the Epoch of the Reindeer Their Manners and Customs Food Garments Weapons, Utensils, and Implements Pottery Ornaments Primitive Arts The principal Caverns Type of the Human Race during the Epoch of the Reindeer 85 III. THE POLISHED-STONE EPOCH; OR, THE EPOCH OP TAMED ANIMALS. CHAPTER I. The European Deluge The Dwell ing-Place of Man during the Polished-stone Epoch The Caves and Rock-Shelters still used as Dwelling- Places Prin- cipal Caves belonging to the Polished-stone Epoch which have been explored up to the present time The Food of Man during this Period . . . 125 CHAPTER II. The Kjoekken-Moeddings or " Kitchen-middens " of Denmark Mode of Life of the Men living in Denmark during the Polished-stone Epoch The Domestica- tion of the Dog The Art of Fishing during the Polished-stone Epoch Fishing Nets Weapons and Instruments of War Type of the Human Race; the Borreby Skull 129 CHAPTER HI. Tombs and Mode of Interment during the Polished-stone Epoch Tumuli and other Sepulchral Monuments formerly called Celtic Labours of MM. Alex- ander Bertrand and Bonstetteu Funeral Customs . . 184 CONTENTS. xi THE AGE OF METALS. I. ' THE BBONZE EPOCH. CHAPTEE I. PAGE The Discovery of Metals Various Reasons suggested for explaining the origin of Bronze in the West The Invention of Bronze A Foundry during the Bronze Epoch Permanent and Itinerant Foundries existing during the Bronze Epoch Did the Knowledge of Metals take its Rise in Europe owing to the Progress of Civilisation, or was it a Foreign Importation ? . . . 205 CHAPTER II. The Sources of Information at our Disposal for reconstructing the History of the Bronze Epoch The Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland Enumeration and Classification of them Their Mode of Construction Workmanship and Posi- tion of the Piles Shape and Size of the Huts Population Instruments of Stone, Bone, and Stag's Horn Pottery Clothing Food Fauna Domestic Animals . . . . . 215 CHAPTER IH. Lacustrine Habitations of Upper Italy, Bavaria, Carinthia and Carniola, Pome- rauia, France, and England The Crannoges of Ireland .... 227 CHAPTER IV. Palustrine Habitations or Marsh- Villages Surveys made by MM. Strobel and Pigorini of the Terramares of Tuscany The Terramares of Brazil . . 232 CHAPTER V. Weapons, Instruments, and Utensils contained in the various Lacustrine Settle- ments in Europe, enabling us to become acquainted with the Manners and Customs of Man during the Bronze Epoch ...... 240 CHAPTER VI. Industrial Skill and Agriculture during the Bronze Epoch The Invention of Glass Invention of Weaving 258 xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. PAGE The Art of War during the Bronze Epoch Swords, Spears and Daggers The Bronze Epoch in Scandinavia, in the British Isles, France, Switzerland and Italy Did the Man of the Bronze Epoch entertain any religious or super- stitious Belief? 271 CHAPTEE Vni. Mode of Interment and Burial-places of the Bronze Epoch Characteristics of the Human Race during the same Period 284 II. THE IEON EPOCH. CHAPTER I. Essential Characteristics of the Iron Epoch Preparation of Iron in Pre-historic Times Discovery of Silver and Lead Earthenware made on the Potter's Wheel Invention of Coined Money ....... 297 CHAPTER II. Weapons Tools, Instruments, Utensils, and Pottery The Tombs of Hallstadt and the Plateau of La Somma The Lake-Settlements of Switzerland Human Sacrifices Type of Man during the Iron Epoch Commencement of the Historic Era . 312 PRIMITIVE MAN IN AMERICA 333 CONCLUSION .343 LIST OF PLATES. FIG. PAGE A Family of the Stone Age (Frontispiece). 1. Human Jaw-bone found at Moulin-Quignon, near Abbeville, in 1863 . 18 2. Skull of a Man belonging to the Stone Age (The Borreby Skutt) . . 27 3. Skull of the Gorilla 28 4. Skull of the Orang-Outang ib. 5. Skull of the Cynocephalns Ape ........ 29 6. Skull of the Macacus Baboon ........ ib. 1. The Production of Fire (whole page engraving). 8. Dendrites or Crystallisations found on the Surface of wrought Flints. . 46 9. Section of a Gravel Quarry at Saint-Acheul, which contained the wrought Flints found by Boucher de Perthes ....... 47 10. Hatchet of the Almond-shaped type from the Valley of the Somme . . 48 11. Flint Hatchet from Saint-Acheul of the so-called Almond-shaped type . 49 12. Wrought Flint (Moustier type) ib. 13. Flint Scraper 50 14. Flint Knife, found at Menchecourt, near Abbeville . . . . ib. 15. Flint Core or Nucleus .......... 51 16. Man in the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch (whole page engraving). 17. The First Potter (whole page engraving) . 18. Fossil Shells used as Ornaments, and found iii the Gravel at Amiens . 54 19. Theoretical Section of a Vein of Clay in the Carboniferous Limestone, before the hollowing out of Valleys by Diluvial Waters . . .56 20. Theoretical Section of the same Vein of Clay converted into a Cavern, after the hollowing out of Valleys by Diluvial Waters . . . . .57 21. The Cave of Galeinreuth, in Bavaria . . . . ' . . .59 22. Section of the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac 62 23. Flint Knife, found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac . . . .63 24. Implement made of Reindeer's or Stag's Horn, found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac .......... ib. 25. Series of Perforated Discs of the Cardium Shell, found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac ......... 04 2(5. Fragment of the Lower Jaw of a Cave-Bear found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac ........... Hi. dv LIST OF PLATES. FIG. 1'AGK 27. Upper Molar of a Bison found in the Ashes of the Fire-Hearth of the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac ........ 65 28. Arrow-head made of Reindeer's Horn, found in the Sepulchral Cave of Aurignac ........... 66 29. Bodkin made of Roebuck's Horn, found in the Sepulchral Cave of Aurignac ib. 30. Truncated Blade iu Reindeer's Horn bearing two Series of transversal Lines and Notches, probably used for numeration . . . .67 31. Funeral Feast during the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch (whole page engraving). 32. Carved and perforated Canine Tooth of a young Cave-Bear . . .69 33. Head of a Cave-Bear found in the Cave of Aurignac . . . .70 34. Head of the Rhinoceros tichorhinus, found in the Cave of Aurignac . . ib. 35. Head of a great Stag (Megaceros hibernicus], found in the Cave of Aurignac 71 36. Sketch of the Great Bear on a Stone, found in the Cave of Massat . . 75 37. Portion of the Skull of an Individual belonging to the Epoch of the Great Bear and the Mammoth, found in the Cave of Engis . . . .80 38. Portion of the so-called Neanderthal Skull ib. 39. Man of the Reindeer Epoch (whole page engraving). 40. Rock-Shelter at Bruniquel, a supposed Habitation of Man during the Reindeer Epoch (whole page engraving). 41. A Feast during the Reindeer Epoch { whole page engraving). 42. Flint Bodkin or Stiletto for sewing Reindeer Skins, found in the Cave of Les Eyzies (Perigord) ......... 92 43. Bone Needle for Sewing ......... ib. 44. The Canine Tooth of a Wolf, bored so as to be used as an Ornament . 93 45. Ornament made of the bony part of a Horse's Ear . . . . . ib. 46. Spear-head, found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Pe'rigord) . . .95 47. Worked Flint from Perigord (Knife) .96 48. Worked Flint from Perigord (Hatchet) ib. 49. Chipped Flint from Pe'rigord (Knife) 97 50. Chipped Flint from Pe'rigord (Scraper) ....... ib. 51. Small Flint Saw, found in the Rock-Shelter at Bruniquel . . .98 52. The Chase during the Reindeer Epoch (whole page engraving). 53. Barbed Arrow of Reindeer Horn ....... 99 54. Arrow of Reindeer Horn with Double Barbs . . . . . . ib. 55. Animal Bone, pierced by an Arrow of Reindeer Horn .... 100 56. Tool made of Reindeer Horn, found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Stiletto?) ib. 57. Tool made of Reindeer Horn, found hi the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Needle?) ib. 58. Spoon of Reindeer Horn ......... 101 59. Knuckle-bone of a Reindeer's Foot, bored with a hole and used as a Whistle 102 60. Staff of authority, in Reindeer's Horn, found in the Cave of Pe'rigord . ib. 61. Another Staff of authority in Reindeer's Horn . . . . ib. 62. A Geode, used as a Cooking Vessel (?), found in the Cave of La Madelaine (Pe'rigord) 103 63. Earthen Vase, found in the Cave of Furfooz (Belgium) .... 104 64. Sketch of a Mammoth graven on a Slab of Ivory . . . . .106 65. Hilt of a. Dagger carved in the Shape of a Reindeer .... 107 LIST OF PLATES. xv 66. Representation of a Stag drawn on a Stag's Horn 108 G7. Representation of some large Herbivorous Animal on a Fragment of Reindeer's Horn .......... ib. 68. Arts of Drawing and Sculpture during the Reindeer Epoch (whole page engraving). G9. Representation of an Animal sketched on a Fragment of Reindeer's Horn . 109 70. Fragment of a Slab of Schist bearing the representation of some Animal, and found in the Cave of Les Eyzies ....... ib. 71. A kind of Harpoon of Reindeer's Horn carved in the Shape of an Animal's Head 110 72. Staff of Authority, on which are graven Representations of a Man, two Horses, and a Fish .......... Ill 73. Skull, found at Furfooz by M. Edouard Dupont ..... 114 74. Skull of an Old Man, found in a Roclc-sJielter at Bruniquel . . . 115 75. A Funeral Ceremony during the Reindeer Epoch (whole page engraving). 76. Man of the Polished-stone Epoch (whole page engraving). 77. Bone Skewers used as Fish-hooks ........ 134 78. Fishing-net with wide Meshes 136 79. Stone Weight used for sinking the Fishing-nets . . . . . ib. 80. Fishing during the Polished-stone Epoch (whole page engraving). 81. Flint Knife from one of the Danish Beds . . . . .138 82. Nucleus off which Knives are flaked ....... ib. 83. Flint Hatchet from one of the Danish Beds ib. 84. Flint Scraper from one of the Danish Beds ...... ib. 85. Refuse from the Manufacture of wrought Flints ..... 139 8G. Weight to sink Fishing-nets ib. 87. Danish Axe of the Polished-stone Epoch ...... 140 88. Double-edged Axe ib. 89. Danish Axe-hammer drilled for handle 141 90. Ditto ib. 91. Spear-head from Denmark ......... 142 92. Ditto ib. 93. Toothed Spear-head of Flint 143 94. Flint Poniard from Denmark ........ ib. 95. Type of the Danish Arrow-head ........ ib. 96. Another Type of Arrow-head ........ ib. 97. Arrow-head 144 98. Arrow-head from Denmark . . . ib. 99. Flint Cliisel from Denmark & 100. Small Stone Saw from the Danish Deposits 145 101. Another Stone Saw from Denmark ib. 102. Bone Harpoon of the Stone Age, from Denmark . . . . . t&. 103. Bone Comb from Denmark ......... 146 104. Necklace and various Ornaments of Amber ...... ib. 105. Nucleus in the Museum of Saint-Germain, from the Workshop of Grand- Pressigny . 148 10G. Polisher from Grand-Pressigny, both faces being shown . . . .150 107. The earliest Manufacture and Polishing of Flints (whole page engraving). 108. Polisher found by M. Leguay ....... 154 LIST OF PLATES. FIG - PACK 109. Spear-head from Spienues ....... . 153 110. Polished Jade Hatchet in the Museum of Saint-Germain .... 159 111. Polished Flint Hatchet with a Sheath of Stag's Horn fitted for a Handle . 161 112. Flint Hatchet fitted into a Stag's-horn Sheath having an Oak Handle, from Boucher de Perthes' Illustration . . . . . . . 1G2 113. Hatchet Handle made of Oak ........ 163 114. Stag's-horn Sheath open at each end, so as to receive two Hatchets . . ib. 115. Polished Flint Hatchet, from Belgium, fitted into a Stag's-horn Sheath . ib. 116. Gardening Tool made of Stag's Horn (after Boucher de Perthes) . . 164 117. Ditto . . . . ib. 118. Ditto 165 119. Flint Tool in a Bone Handle 166 120. Flint Tool with Bone Handle ib. 121. Ornamented Bone Handle . . . . . . . . . ib. 122. Necklace made of Boars' Tusks longitudinally divided .... 167 123. Flint Knife from the Peat Bogs near Antwerp 168 124. Primitive Corn-mill 170 1 25. The Art of Bread Making in the Stone Age (whole page engraving). 126. The Earliest Navigators (whole page engraving). 127. The Earliest regular Conflicts between Men of the Stone Age ; or, The Entrenched Camp of Furfooz (whole page engraving). 128. Flint Arrow-head from Ci vita-Nova (Italy) 180 129. The Borreby Skull 182 130. Danish Dolmen 185 131. Dolmen at Assies (Department of Lot) ....... ib. 132. Dolmen at Conne're (Marne) . . . . . . . . .186 133. Vertical Section of the Dolmen of Lockmariaker, in Brittany. In the Museum of Saint-Germain .......... ib. 134. Tumulus-Dolmen at Gavr'inis (Morbihan) 187 135. A Portion of the Dolmen of Gavr'inis ....... ib. 136. General Form of a covered Passage-Tomb . . . . . .188 137. Passage-Tomb at Bagneux, near Saumur ...... ib. 138. Passage-Tomb at Plauharmel (Morbihan) 189 139. Passage-Tomb, tlie so-called Table de Ce'sar, at Lockmariaker (Morbihan) . ib. 140. A Danish Tumulus or chambered Sepulchre . . . . . .190 141. Usual Shape of a Menhir 191 142. The Rows of Menhirs at Carnnc ..... . ib. 143. Dolmen with a Circuit of Stones (Cromlech), in the Province of Constantino 192 144. Group of Danish Cromlechs ........ . ib. 145. Position of Skeletons in a Swedish Tomb of the Stone Age . . . 194 146. A Tumulus of the Polished Stone Epoch (whole page engraving). 147. A Founder's Workshop during the Bronze Epoch (whole page engraving). 148. Section of the Teneviere of Hauterive 220 149'. A Swiss Lake Village of the Bronze Epoch (whole page engraving). 150. Vertical Section of a Crannoge in the Ardakillin Lake .... 230 151. Vertical Section of the Marniera of Castione ...... 233 152. Floor of the Marniera of Castione 234 153. Plan of the Piles and Cross-beams in the Marniera of Castione . . . ib. 154. The Chase during the Bronze Epoch (whole page engraving). 155. Stone Hatchet from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . . . 241 LIST OP PLATES. xvii FIG. PAGE 156. Stone Chisel with Stag's-horn Handle, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland 241 157. Flint Hammer fitted with a Stag's-horn Handle 242 158. Stone Hatchet with Double Handle of Wood and Stag's Horn . . . tfe. 159. 160. Serpentine Hatchet-Hammers from the Lacustrine Habitations of Swit- zerland 243 161. Another Hatchet-hammer from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . ib. 162. Flint Saw fitted into a Piece of Stag's Horn 244 163. Flint Spear-head from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland . . ib. 164. Various Shapes of Flint Arrow-heads from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland . ib. 165. Arrow-head of Bone fixed on the Shaft by means of Bitumen . . . 245 166. Stone Arrow-head fixed on the Shaft by means of Bitumen . . . ib. 167. Arrow-head fixed on the Shaft by a Ligature of String . . . . ib. 168. Bone Bodkin, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . . . 246 169. Ditto ib. 170. Carpenter's Chisel, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . . ib. 171. Bone Needle ib- 172. Pick-axe of Stag's Horn 247 173. Harpoon made of Stag's Horn, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzer- land . . . . . . . . . . . ib. 174. Ditto ib. 175. Vessel made of Stag's Horn ......... ib. 176. Bronze Winged Hatchet, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . 249 177. Winged Hatchet (front and side view), from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland ........... ib. 178. Socketed Hatchet, from the Lacustrine Habitations . . . . . ib. 179. Knife Hutchet (front and side view) from the Lacustrine Habitations . ib. 180. Carpenter's Chisel, in Bronze ........ 250 181. Hexagonal Hammer .......... ib. 182. Knife with a Tang to fit into a Handle, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland ........... ib. 183. Socketed Knife, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland . . 251 184. Bronze Sickle, found by M. Desor at Chevroux . . . . . ib. 185. Bronze Fish-hook, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland . . 252 186. Double Fish-hook, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland . . ib. 187 Hair-pin, found by M. Desor in one of the Swiss Lakes .... 253 188. Ditto . 16. 189. Hair-pin with Cylindrical Head ib. 190. Hair-pin with Curled Head ib. 191. Bronze Bracelet, found in one of the Swiss Lakes 254 192. Another Bronze Bracelet 255 193. Bronze Ring ib. 194. Bronze Pendant, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . . 256 195. Another Bronze Pendant, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . ib. 196. Bronze King, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland . . . ib. 197. Another Ornamental King ......... jb. ] 98. Earthenware Vessel with Conical Bottom, from the Lacustrine Habitations of Switzerland 259 199. Earthen Vessel placed on its Support ib. xviii LIST OF PLATES. FIG. PACK 200. Fragment of an Earthen Vessel with a Handle ..... 259 201. Vessel of Baked Clay, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland . 260 202. Ditto ib. 203. Cloth of the Bronze Age, found in the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland 262 204. The First Weaver (whole page engraving). 205. Spindle-whorls, made of Baked Clay, found in the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland 263 206. Principal Designs for the Ornamentation of Pottery during the Bronze Epoch 264 207. The Cultivation of Gardens during the Bronze Epoch (whole page engraving). 208. A Feast during the Bronze Epoch (whole page engraving). 209. Bronze Sword in the Museum of Neuchatel ...... 272 210. Bronze Dagger, found in one of the Swiss Lakes . . . . . ib. 211. Bronze Spear-head, found in one of the Swiss Lakes .... 273 212. Bronze Arrow-head, found in a Lacustrine Settlement of Switzerland . ib. 213. Scandinavian Sword . . . . . ... . . . 274 214. Hilt of a Scandinavian Sword ........ ib. 215. Mode of fixing the Handle to a Scandinavian Hatchet .... ib. 216. Another Mode of fixing the Handle to a Scandinavian Hatchet . . ib. 217. Danish Bronze Knife of the Bronze Epoch ...... 275 218. Ditto ib. 219. Blade of a Danish Kazor of the Bronze Epoch . . . . . 276 220. Woollen Cloak of the Bronze Epoch, found in 1861, in a Tomb in Denmark . . . . .... . . . . 277 221. Woollen Shawl, found in the same Tomb . . . . . . ib. 222. Woollen Shirt, taken from the same Tomb 278 223. First Woollen Cap, found in the same Tomb ...... ib. 224. Second Woollen Cap, found in the same Tomb . . . . . ib. 225. Bronze Comb, found in the same Tomb ....... ib. 226. Warriors during the Bronze Epoch (whole page engraving). 227. Bronze Hatchet Mould, found in Ireland 279 228. Stone Crescent, found in one of the Swiss Lakes ..... 280 229. Skull found at Meilen, Front View 289 230. Skull found at Meilen, Profile View ib. 231. Primitive Furnace for Smelting Iron (whole page engraving). 232. Bronze Coin, from the Lake of Neuchatel 310 233. Sword, from the Tombs of Hallstadt (with a Bronze Hilt and Iron Blade) 313 234. Ditto ib. 235. Dagger, from the Tombs of Hallstadt (Bronze Handle and Iron Blade) . 314 236. Ditto ib. 237. Funeral Ceremonies during the Iron Epoch (whole page engraving). 238. A Skeleton, portions of which have been burnt, from the Tombs of Hallstadt 315 239. A Necklace with Pendants, from the Tombs of Hallstadt . . . .316 240. Bracelet, from the Tombs of Hallstadt 317 241. Ditto ib. 242. Bronze Vase, from the Tombs of Hallstadt ib. LIST OF PLATES. xix FIG. PAGE 243. Bronze Vase, from the Tombs of Hallstadt 317 244. Warriors of the Iron Epoch (whole page engraving). 245. 246. Fore-arm encircled with Bracelets, found in the Tombs of Belleville (Savoy) 319 247. Iron Sword, found in one of the Swiss Lakes ...... 321 248. Sword with Damascened Blade, found in one of the Swiss Lakes . . ib. 249. Sheath of a Sword, found in one of the Swiss Lakes .... 322 250. Lance-head, found in one of the Swiss Lakes ...... 323 251. Head of a Javelin, found in the Lacustrine Settlement of La Tene (Neuchatel) . 324 252. The Chase during the Iron Epocli (whole page engraving). 253. Square-socketed Iron Hatchet, found in one of the Lakes of Switzerland . 325 254. Sickle ib. 255. Scythe, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland .... 326 256. Iron Point of Boat-hook, used by the Swiss Boatmen during the Iron Epoch ............ ib. 257. Horse's Bit, found in the Lake of Neuchatel ib. 258. Fibula, or Iron Brooch, found in the Lake of Neuchatel .... 327 259. Iron Buckle for a Sword-belt, found in the Lake of Neuchatel . . 328 260. Iron Pincers, found in the Lake of Neuchatel ib. 261. Iron Spring-scissors, found in the Lake of Neuchatel . . . . ib. 262. Razor 329 263. Agriculture during the Iron Epoch (whole page engravingj. PRIMITIVE MAN. INTBODUCTION. FORTY years have scarcely elapsed since scientific men first began to attribute to the human race an antiquity more remote than that which is assigned to them by history and tradition. Down to a com- paratively recent time, the appearance of primitive man was not dated back beyond a period of 6000 to 7000 years. This historical chronology was a little unsettled by the researches made among various eastern nations the Chinese, the Egyptians, and the Indians. The savants who studied these ancient sj stems of civilisation found themselves unable to limit them to the 6000 years of the standard chronology, and extended back for some thousands of years the anti- quity of the eastern races. This idea, however, never made its way beyond the narrow circle of oriental scholars, and did nothing towards any alteration in the general opinion, which allowed only 6000 years since the creation of the human species. This opinion was confirmed, and, to some extent, rendered sacred by an erroneous interpretation of Holy Writ. It was thought that the Old Testament stated that man was created 6000 years ago. Now, the fact is, nothing of the kind can be found in the Book of Genesis. It is only the commentators and the compilers of chrono- logical systems who have put forward this date as that of the first appearance of the human race. M. Edouard Lartet, who was called, in 1869, to the chair of palaeontology in the Museum of Natural B 2 INTRODUCTION. History of Paris, reminds us, in the following passage taken from one of his elegant dissertations, that it is the chronologists alone who have propounded this idea, and that they have, in this respect, very wrongly interpreted the statements of the Bible : "In Genesis," says M. Lartet, "no date can he found which sets a limit to the time at which primitive mankind may have made its first appearance. Chronologists, however, for fifteen centuries have been endeavouring to make Biblical facts fall in with the preconcerted arrangements of their systems. Thus, we find that more than 140 opinions have been brought forward as to the date of the creation alone, and that, between the varying extremes, there is a difference of 3194 years a difference which only applies to the period between the commencement of the world and the birth of Jesus Christ. This disagreement turns chiefly on those portions of the interval which are in closest proximity to the creation. " From the moment when it becomes a recognised fact that the origin of mankind is a question independent of all subordination to dogma, this question will assume its proper position as a scientific thesis, and will be accessible to any kind of discussion, and capable, in every point of view, of receiving the solution which best harmonises with the known facts and experimental demonstrations."* Thus, we must not assume that the authority of Holy Writ is in any way questioned by those labours which aim at seeking the real epoch of man's first appearance on the earth. In corroboration of M. Lartet's statement, we must call to mind that the Catholic church, which has raised to the rank of dogma so many unimportant facts, has never desired to treat in this way the idea that man was created only 6000 years ago. There is, therefore, no need for surprise when we learn that certain members of the Catholic clergy have devoted themselves with energy to the study of pre-historic man. Mgr. Meignan, Bishop of Chalons-sur-Marne, is one of the best-informed men in France as respects this new science ; he cultivates it with the utmost zeal, and his personal researches have added much to the sum of our knowledge of this question. Under the title of ' Le Monde et 1'Homme Plimitif * ' Nouvelles Recherches sur la Coexistence de 1'Homme et des grands Mammiferes Fossiles reputes characteristiques de la derniere pe>iode Ge'ologique,' by Ed. Lartet, ' Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' 4th ser. vol. xv. p. 256. INTRODUCTION. 3 selon la Bible,'* the learned Bishop of Chalons-sur-Marne published, in 1869, a voluminous work, in which, taking up the subjects discussed by Marcel de Serres in his " Cosmogonie de Moi'se, comparee aux Faits Geologiques,"t and enlarging upon the facts which science has recently acquired as to the subject of primitive man, he seeks to establish the coincidence of all these data with the records of Eevelation. M. 1'Abbe Lambert has recently published a work on ' L'Homme Primitif et la Bible,'| in which he proves that the discoveries of modern science concerning the antiquity of man are in no way opposed to the records of Kevelation in the Book of Moses. Lastly, it is a member of the clerical body, M. 1'Abbe Bourgeois, who, more a royalist than the king that is, more advanced in his views than most contemporary geologists is in favour of tracing back to the tertiary epoch the earliest date of the existence of man. We shall have to impugn this somewhat exaggerated opinion, which, indeed, we only quote here for the sake of proving that the theological scruples which so long arrested the progress of inquiry with regard to primitive man, have now disappeared, in consequence of the perfect independence of this question in relation to catholic dogma being evidently shown. Thanks to the mutual support which has been afforded by the three sister-sciences geology, palaeontology, and archaeology, thanks to the happy combinations which these sciences have presented to the efforts of men animated with an ardent zeal for the investigation of the truth; and thanks, lastly, to the unbounded interest which attaches to this subject, the result has been that the limits which had been so long attributed to the existence of the human species have been extraordinarily extended, and the date of the first appearance of man has been carried back to the night of the darkest ages. The mind, it may well be said, recoils dismayed when it undertakes the computation of the thousands of years which have elapsed since the creation of man. But, it will naturally be asked, on what grounds do you base this assertion ? What evidence do you bring forward, and what are the elements of your proof ? * 1 vol. 8vo., Paris, 1869 ; V. Pulme. t 2 vols. 12mo., 3nl edit., Paris, 1859 ; Lagny freres. J Pamphlet, 8vo., Paris, 18G9 ; Savy. B 2 4 INTRODUCTION. In the following paragraphs we give some of the principal means of examination and study which have directed the efforts of savants in this class of investigation, and have enabled them to create a science of the antiquity of the human species. If man existed at any very remote epoch, he must have left traces of his presence in the spots which he inhabited and on the soil which he trod under his feet. However savage his state may be assumed tf to have been, primitive man must have possessed some implements of fishing and hunting some weapons wherewith to strike down any prey which was stronger or more agile than himself. All human beings have been in possession of some scrap of clothing ; and they have had at their command certain implements more or less rough in their character, be they only a shell in which to draw water or a tool for cleaving wood and constructing some place of shelter, a knife to cut their food, and a lump of stone to break the bones of the animals which served for their nutriment. Never has man existed who was not in possession of some kind of defensive weapon. These implements and these weapons have been patiently sought for, and they have also been found. They have been found in certain strata of the earth, the age of which is known by geologists ; some of these strata precede and others are subsequent to the cataclysm of the European deluge of the quaternary epoch. The fact has thus been proved that a race of men lived upon the earth at the epoch settled by the geological age of these strata that is, during the quaternary epoch. When this class of evidence of man's presence that is, the vestiges of his primitive industry fails us, a state of things, however, which comparatively seldom occurs, his existence is sometimes revealed by the presence of human bones buried in the earth and preserved through long ages by means of the deposits of calcareous salts which have petrified or rather fossilised them. Sometimes, in fact, the remains of human bones have been found in quaternary rocks, which are, consequently, considerably anterior to those of the present geolo- gical epoch. This means of proof is, however, more difficult to bring forward than the preceding class of evidence ; because human bones are very liable to decay when they are buried at shallow depths, and require for any length of preservation a concurrence of circumstances which INTRODUCTION. 5 is but rarely met with ; because also the tribes of primitive man often burnt their dead bodies; and, lastly, because the human race then formed but a very scanty population. Another excellent proof, which demonstrates the existence of man at a geological epoch anterior to the present era, is to be deduced from the intermixture of human bones with those of antediluvian animals. It is evident that if we meet with the bones of the mammoth, the cave-bear, the cave-tiger, &c., animals which lived only in the quaternary epoch and are now extinct in conjunction with the bones of man or the relics of his industry, such as weapons, implements, utensils, &c., we can assert with some degree of certainty that our species was contemporaneous with the above-named animals. Now this intermixture has often been met with under the ground in caves, or deeply buried in the earth. These form the various kinds of proof which have been made use of to establish the fact of man's presence upon the earth during the quaternary epoch. We will now give a brief recital of the principal investigations which have contributed to the knowledge on which is based the newly-formed science which treats of the practical starting- point of mankind. Palaeontology, as a science, does not count more than half a century of existence. We scarcely seem, indeed, to have raised more than one corner of the veil which covers the relics of an extinct world ; as yet, for instance, we know absolutely nothing of all that sleeps buried in the depths of the earth lying under the basin of the sea. It need not, therefore, afford any great ground for surprise that so long a time elapsed before human bones or the vestiges of the primitive industry of man were discovered in the quaternary rocks. This negative result, however, always constituted the chief objection against the very early origin of our species. The errors and deceptions which were at first encountered tended perhaps to cool down the zeal of the earlier naturalists, and thus retarded the solution of the problem. It is a well-known story about the fossil salamander of the CEningen quarries, which, on the testi- mony of Scheuchzer, was styled in 1726, the " human witness df the deluge" (homo diluvii testis). In 1787, Peter Camper recognised the fact that this pretended pre-Adamite was nothing but a reptile ; this discomfiture, which was a source of amusement to the whole of 6 INTRODUCTION. scientific Europe, was a real injury to the cause of antediluvian man. By the sovereign ascendancy of ridicule, his existence was henceforth relegated to the domain of fable. The first step in advance was, however, taken in 1774. Some human bones, mingled with remains of the great bear and other species then unknown, were discovered by J. F. Esper, in the celebrated cavern of Gailenreuth, in Bavaria. Even before this date, in the early part of the eighteenth century, Kemp, an Englishman, had found in London, by the side of elephants' teeth, a stone hatchet, similar to those which have been subsequently found in great numbers in various parts of the world. This hatchet was roughly sketched, and the design published in 1715. The ori- ginal still exists in the collection at the British Museum. In 1797, John Frere, an English archasologist, discovered at Hoxne, in Suffolk, under strata of quaternary rocks, some flint weapons, inter- mingled with bones of animals belonging to extinct species. Esper concluded that these weapons and the men who made them were anterior to the formation of the beds in which they were found. According to M. Lartet, the honour of having been the first to proclaim the high antiquity of the human species must be attributed to Aime Boue, a French geologist residing in Germany. In 1823, he found in the quaternary loam (loess) of the Valley of the Khihe some human bones which he presented to Cuvier and Brongniart as those of men who lived in the quaternary epoch. In 1823, Dr. Buckland, the English geologist, published his ' Reliquiae Diluvianae,' a work which was principally devoted to a description of the Kirkdale Cave, in which the author combined all the facts then known which tended in favour of the coexistence of man and the antediluvian animals. Cuvier, too, was not so indisposed as he is generally said to have been, to admit the existence of man in the quaternary epoch. In his work on ' Ossements Fossiles,' and his ' Discours sur les Revolutions du Globe,' the immortal naturalist discusses the pros and cons with regard to this question, and, notwithstanding the insufficiency of the data which were then forthcoming, he felt warranted in saying : " I am not inclined to conclude that man had no existence at all before the epoch of the great revolutions of the earth. . . . He might have inhabited certain districts of no great extent, whence, INTRODUCTION. 7 after these terrible events, he repeopled the world ; perhaps, also, the spots where he abode were swallowed up, and his bones lie buried under the beds of the present seas." The confident appeals which have been made to Cuvier's authority against the high antiquity of man are, therefore, not justified by the facts. A second and more decisive step in advance was taken by the dis- covery of shaped flints and other implements belonging to primitive man, existing in diluvial beds. In 1826, M. Tournal, of Narbonne, a French archaeologist and geologist, published an account of the discoveries which he had made in a cave in the department of Aude, in which he found bones of the bison and reindeer fashioned by the hand of man, accompanied by the remains of edible shell-fish, which must have been brought there by men who had made their residence in this cave. Three years afterwards, M. de Christol, of Montpellier, subsequently Professor in the University of Science of Grenoble, found human bones intimately mixed up with remains of the great bear, hyaena, rhinoceros, &c., in the caverns of Pondres and Souvignargues (Herault). In the last of these caverns fragments of pottery formed a part of the relics. All these striking facts were put together and discussed by Marcel de Serres, Professor in the University of Science at Montpellier, in his ' Essai sur les Cavernes.' The two bone-caverns of Engis and Enghihoul (Belgium) have furnished proofs of the same kind. In 1833, Schmerling, a learned Belgian geologist, discovered in these caverns two human skulls, mixed with the teeth of the rhinoceros, elephant, bear, hyaena, &c. The human bones were rubbed and worn away like those of the animals. The bones of the latter presented, besides, traces of human workmanship. Lastly, as if no evidence should be wanting, flints chipped to form knives and arrow-heads were found in the same spot. In connection with his laborious investigations, Schmerling pub- lished a work which is now much esteemed, and proves that the Belgian geologist well merited the title of being the founder of the science of the antiquity of man. In this work Schmerling describes and represents a vast quantity of objects which had been discovered 8 INTBODUCTION. in the caverns of Belgium, and introduced to notice the human skull which has since become so famous under the name of the Engis skull. But at that time scientific men of all countries were opposed to this class of ideas, and thus the discoveries of the Belgian geologist at- tracted no more attention than those of his French brethren who had brought forward facts of a similar nature. In 1835, M. Joly, at that time Professor at the Lyceum of Mont- pellier where I (the author) attended on his course of Natural History now Professor in the Faculty of Sciences at Toulouse, found in the cave of Nabrigas (Lozere) the skull of a cave-bear, on which an arrow had left its evident traces. Close by was a fragment of pottery bearing the imprints of the fingers of the man who moulded it. We may well be surprised that, in the face of all these previous discoveries, Boucher de Perthes, the ardent apostle in proclaiming the high antiquity of our speciesj should have met with so much opposi- tion and incredulity ; or that he should have had to strive against so much indifference, when, beginning with the year 1836, he began to maintain this idea in a series of communications addressed to the Societe d'Emulation of Abbeville. The horizontal strata of the quarternary beds, known under the name of diluvial, form banks of different shades and material, which place before our eyes in indelible characters the ancient history _ of our globe. The organic remains which are found in them are those of beings who were witnesses to the diluvial cataclysm, and perhaps pre- ceded it by many ages. " Therefore," says the prophet of Abbeville, " it is in these ruins of the old world, and in the deposits which have become his sole archives, that we must seek out the traditions of primitive man ; and in default of coins and inscriptions we must rely on the rough stones which, in all their imperfection, prove the existence of man no less surely than all the glory of a Louvre." Strong in this conviction, M. Boucher de Perthes devoted himself ardently to the search in the diluvial beds, either for the bony relics of man, or, at all events, for the material indications of his primitive industry. In the year 1838 he had the honour of submitting to the Societd d'Emulation, at Abbeville, his first specimens of the ante- diluvian hatchet. INTRODUCTION. 9 In the course of the year 1839, Boucher de Perthes took these hatchets to Paris and showed them to several members of the Institute. MM. Alexandre Brongniart, Flourens, Elie de Beaumont, Cordier, and Jomard, gave at first some encouragement to researches which promised to be so fruitful in results ; but this favourable feeling was not destined to last long. These rough specimens of wrought flint, in which Boucher de Perthes already recognised a kind of hatchet, presented very indistinct traces of chipping, and the angles were blunted ; their flattened shape, too, differed from that of the polished hatchets, the only kind that were then known. It was certainly necessary to see with the eyes of faith in order to discern the traces of man's work. " I," says the Abbeville archaeologist, " had these ' eyes of faith,' but no one shared them with me." He then made up his mind to seek for help in his labour, and trained workmen to dig in the diluvial beds. Before long he was able to collect, in the quarternary beds at Abbeville, twenty specimens of flint evidently wrought by the hand of man. In 1842, the Geological Society of London received a communication from Mr. Godwin Austen, who had found in Kent's Hole various wrought objects, accompanied by animal remains, which must have remained there since the deluge. In 1844, appeared Lund's observations on the caverns of Brazil. Lund explored as many as 800 caves. In one of them, situated not far from the lake of Semidouro, he found the bones of no less than thirty individuals of the human species, showing a similar state of decomposition to that of the bones of animals which were along with them. Among these animals were an ape, various carnivora, rodents, pachyderms, sloths, &c. From these facts, Lund inferred that man must have been contemporaneous with the megatherium, the mylodon, &c., animals which characterised the quarternary epoch. Nevertheless, M. Desnoyers, librarian of the Museum of Natural History at Paris, in a very learned article on ' Grottos and Caverns,' published in 1845 in the ' Dictionnaire Universel d'Histoire Natu- relle,' still energetically expressed himself in opposition to the hypo- thesis of the high antiquity of man. But the discoveries continued to go on; and, at the present time, M. Desnoyers himself figures 10 INTKODUCTION. among the partisans of the antediluvian man. He has even gone beyond their opinions, as he forms one among those who would carry back to the tertiary epoch the earliest date of the appearance of our species. In 1847, M'Enery found in Kent's Hole, a cavern in England, under a layer of stalagmite, the remains of men and antediluvian animals mingled together. The year 1847 was also marked by the appearance of the first volume of the ' Antiquites Celtiques et Antediluviennes,' by Boucher de Perthes ; this contained about 1600 plates of the objects which had been discovered in the excavations which the author had caused to be made since the year 1836. The strata at Abbeville, where Boucher de Perthes carried out his researches, belong to the quaternary epoch. Dr. Eigollot, who had been for ten years one of the most decided opponents of the opinions of Boucher de Perthes, actually himself discovered in 1854 some wrought flints in the quaternary deposits at Saint Acheul, near Amiens, and it was not long before he took his stand under the banner of the Abbeville archaeologist. The fauna of the Amiens deposits is similar to that of the Abbe- ville beds. The lower deposits of gravel, in which the wrought flints are met with, have been formed by fresh water, and have not under- gone either alteration or disturbance. The flints wrought by the hand of man which have been found in them, have in all probability lain there since the epoch of the formation of these deposits an epoch a little later than the diluvial period. The number of wrought flints which have been taken out of the Abbeville beds is really immense. At Menchecourt, in twenty years, about 100 well-characterised hatchets have been collected ; at Saint Gilles twenty very rough, and as many well-made ones; at Moulin-Quignon 150 to 200 well-formed hatchets. Similar relics of primitive industry have been found also in other localities. In 1853, M. Noulet discovered some in the Infernat Valley (Haute-Garonne) ; in 1858, the English geologists, Messrs. Prestwich, Falconer, Pengelly, &c., also found some in the lower strata of the Baumann cavern in the Hartz. To the English geologists whose names we have just mentioned must be attributed the merit of having been the first to bring before INTKODUCTION. 11 the scientific world the due value of the labours of Boucher de Perthes, who had as yet been unsuccessful in obtaining any acceptation of his ideas in France. Dr. Falconer, Vice-president of the Geological Society in London, visited the department of the Somme, in order to study the beds and the objects found in them. After him, Messrs. Prestwich and Evans came three times to Abbeville in the year 1859. They all brought back to England a full conviction of the antiquity and intact state of the beds explored, and also of the existence of man before the deluge of the quaternary epoch. In another journey, made in company with Messrs. Flower, Mylne, and Godwin Austen, Messrs. Prestwich, Falconer, and Evans were present at the digging out of human bones and flint hatchets from the quarries of St. Acheul. Lastly, Sir C. Lyell visited the spot, and the English geologist, who, up to that time, had opposed the idea of the existence of antediluvian man, was able to say, Veni, vidi, vidusfui ! At the meeting of the British Association, at Aberdeen, September the 15th, 1855, Sir C. Lyell declared himself to be in favour of the existence of quaternary man; and this declaration, made by the President of the Geological Society of London, added considerable weight to the new ideas. M. Hebert, Professor of Geology at the Sorbonne, next took his stand under the same banner. M. Albert Gaudry, another French geologist, made a statement to the Academy of Sciences, that he, too, had found flint hatchets, together with the teeth of horses and fossil oxen, in the beds of the Parisian diluvium. During the same year, M. Gosse, the younger, explored the sand- pits of Grenelle and the avenue of La Mothe-Piquet in Paris, and obtained from them various flint implements, mingled with the bones of the mammoth, fossil ox, &c. Facts of a similar character were established at Pre'cy-sur-Oise, and in the diluvial deposits at Givry. The Marquis de Vibraye, also, found in the cave of Arcy, various human bones, especially a piece of a jaw-bone, mixed with the bones of animals of extinct species. In 1859, M. A. Fontan found in the cave of Massat (Department of Ariege), not only utensils testifying to the former presence of man, but also human teeth mixed up with the remains of the great bear 12 INTBODUCTION. (Ursus spelseus), the fossil hyena (Hyena speltea), and the cave- lion (Felis spelsea). In 1861, M. A. Milne Edwards found in the cave of Lourdes (Tarn), certain relics of human industry by the side of the bones of fossil animals. The valleys of the Oise and the Seine have also added their con- tingent to the supply of antediluvian remains. In the sand-pits in the environs of Paris, at Grenelle, Levallois-Perret, and Neuilly, several naturalists, including MM. Grosse, Martin, and Reboux, found numerous flint implements, associated, in certain cases, with the bones of the elephant and hippopotamus. In the valley of the Oise, at Precy, near Creil, MM. Peigne Delacour and Robert likewise collected a few hatchets Lastly, a considerable number of French departments, especially those of the north and centre, have been successfully explored. We may mention the departments of Pas- de-Calais, Aisne, Loire-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Vienne, Allier, Yonne, Saone-et-Loire, Herault, Tarn- et-Garonne, &c. In England, too, discoveries were made of an equally valuable character. The movement which was commenced in France by Boucher de Perthes, spread in England with remarkable rapidity. In many directions excavations were made which produced excellent results. In the gravel beds which lie near Bedford, Mr. Wyatt met with flints resembling the principal types of those of Amiens and Abbeville ; they were found in company with the remains of the mammoth, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, ox, horse, and deer. Similar discoveries were made in Suffolk, Kent, Hertfordshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire, &c. Some time after his return from Abbeville, Mr. Evans, going round the museum of the Society of Antiquaries in London, found in their rooms some specimens exactly similar to those in the collection of Boucher de Perthes. On making inquiries as to their origin, he found that they had been obtained from the gravel at Hoxne by Mr. Frere, who had collected them there, together with the bones of extinct animals, all of which he had presented to the museum, after having given a description of them in the ' Archasologia ' of 1800, with this remark : . . . " Fabricated and used by a people who had not the use of metals . . . The situation in which these weapons were found may INTRODUCTION. 13 tempt us to refer them to a very remote period indeed, even beyond that of the present world." Thus, even at the commencement of the present century, they were in possession, in England, of proofs of the coexistence of man with the great extinct pachyderms ; hut, owing to neglect of the subject, scarcely any attention had been paid to them. We now come to the most remarkable and most characteristic dis- coveries of this class which have ever been made. We allude to the explorations made by M. Edouard Lartet, during the year 1860, in the curious pre-historic human burial-place at Aurignac (Haute- Garonne). Going down the hill on the road leading from Aurignac, after proceeding about a mile, we come to the point where, on the other side of the dale, the ridge of the hill called Fajoles rises, not more than 65 feet above' a rivulet. We then may notice, on the northern slope of this eminence, an escarpment of the rock, by the side of which there is a kind of niche about six feet deep, the arched opening of it facing towards the north-west. This little cave is situated forty-two feet above the rivulet. Below, the calcareous soil slopes down towards the stream. The discovery of this hollow, which is now cleared out, was made entirely by chance. It was hidden by a mass of debris of rock and vegetable- earth which had crumbled down ; it had, in fact, only been known as a rabbits' hole. In 1842, an excavating labourer, named Bonnemaison, took it into his head one day to thrust his arm into this hole, and out of it he drew forth a large bone. Being rather curious to search into the mystery, he made an excavation in the slope below the hole, and, after some hours' labour, came upon a slab of sandstone which closed up an arched opening. Behind the slab of stone, he discovered a' hollow in which a quantity of human bones were stored up. It was not long before the news of this discovery was spread far and wide. Crowds of curious visitors flocked to the spot, and many endeavoured to explain the origin of these human remains, the immense antiquity of which was attested by their excessive fragility. The old inhabitants of the locality took it into their heads to recal to recollec- tion a band of coiners and robbers who, half a century before, had infested the country. This decidedly popular inquest and decision 14 ' INTRODUCTION. was judged perfectly satisfactory, and everyone agreed in declaring that the cavern which had just been brought to light was nothing but the retreat of these malefactors, who concealed all the traces of their crimes by hiding the bodies of their victims in this cave, which was known to these criminals only. Doctor Amiel, Mayor of Aurignac, caused all these bones to be collected together, and they were buried in the parish cemetery. Nevertheless, before the re-inhumation was proceeded with, he recorded the fact that the skeletons were those of seventeen individuals of both sexes. In addition to these skeletons, there were also found in the cave a number of little discs, or flat rings, formed of the shell of a species of cockle (cardium). Flat rings altogether similar to these are not at all unfrequent in the necklaces and other ornnments of Assyrian antiquity found in Nineveh. Eighteen years after this event, that is in 1860, M. Edouard Lartet paid a visit to Aurignac. All the details of the above-named dis- covery were related to him. After the long interval which had elapsed, no one, not even the grave-digger himself, could recollect the precise spot where these human remains had been buried in the village cemetery. These precious relics were therefore lost to science. M. Lartet resolved, however, to set on foot some excavations in the cave from which they had been taken, and he soon found himself in possession of unhoped-for treasures. The floor of the cavern itself had remained intact, and was covered with a layer of " made ground " mixed with fragments of stone. Outside this same cave M. Lartet discovered a bed of ashes and charcoal, which, however, did not extend to the interior. This bed was covered with " made ground " of an ossiferous and vegetable character. Inside the cave, the ground con- tained bones of the bear, the fox, the reindeer, the bison, the horse, &c., all intermingled with numerous relics of human industry, such as implements made of stag or reindeer 's-horn, carefully pointed at one end and bevelled off at the other a pierced handle of reindeer's-horn flint knives and weapons of different kinds; lastly, a canine-tooth of a bear, roughly carved in the shape of a bird's head and pierced with a hole, &c. The excavations, having been carried to a lower level, brought to light the remains of the bear, the wild-cat, the cave-hyaena, the wolf, INTRODUCTION. 15 the mammoth, the horse, the stag, the reindeer, the ox, the rhinoceros, &c., &c. It was, in fact, a complete Noah's ark. These bones were all broken lengthwise, and some of them were carbonised. Striae and notches were found on them, which could only have been made by cutting instruments. M. Lartet, after long and patient investigations, came to the con- clusion that the cave of Aurignac was a human burial-place, contem- porary with the mammoth, the Rhinoeerus ticliorhinus, and other great mammals of the quarternary epoch. The mode in which the long bones were broken shows that they had been cracked with a view of extracting the marrow ; and the notches on them prove that the flesh had been cut off them with sharp instruments. The ashes point to the existence of a fire, in which some of these bones had been burnt. Men must have resorted to this cavern in order to fulfil certain funereal rites. The weapons and animals' bones must have been deposited there in virtue of some funereal dedication, of which numerous instances are found in Druidical or Celtic monuments and in Gallic tombs. Such are the valuable discoveries, and such the new facts which were the result of the investigations made by M. Edouard Lartet in the cave of Aurignac. In point of fact, they left no doubt whatever as to the coexistence of man with the great antediluvian animals. In 1862, Doctor Felix Garrigou, of Tarrascon, a distinguished geologist, published the results of the researches which he, in con- junction with MM. Kames and Filhol, had made in the caverns of Ariege. These explorers found the lower jaw-bones of the great bear, which, with their sharp and projecting canine-tooth, had been employed by man as an offensive weapon, almost in the same way as Samson used the jaw-bone of an ass in fighting with the Philistines. "It was principally," says M. Garrigou, "in the caves of Lombrives, Lherm, Bouicheta, and Maz-d'Azil that we found the jaw-bones of the great bear and the cave-lion, which were acknowledged to have been wrought by the hand of man, not only by us, but also by the numerous French and English savants who examined them and asked for some of them to place in their collections. The number of these jaw-bones now reaches to more than a hundred. Furnished, as they are, with an immense canine-tooth, and carved so as to give greater facility 16 INTRODUCTION. for grasping them, they must have formed, when in a fresh state, formidable weapons in the hands of primitive man .... " These animals helong to species which are now extinct, and if their bones while still in a fresh state (since they were gnawed by hyaenas) were used as weapons, man must have been contemporary with them." In the cave of Bruniquel (Tarn-et-Garonne), which was visited in 1862 by MM. Garrigou and Filhol, and other savants, there were found, under a very hard osseous breccia, an ancient fire-hearth with ashes and charcoal, the broken and calcined bones of ruminants of various extinct species, flint flakes used as knives, facetted nuclei, and both triangular and quadrangular arrow-heads of great distinctness, utensils in stags' horn and bone in short, everything which could prove the former presence of primitive man. About three-quarters of a mile below the cave there was sub- sequently found, at a depth of about twenty feet, an osseous breccia similar to the first, and likewise containing broken bones and a series of ancient fire-hearths filled with ashes and objects of ante- diluvian industry. Bones, teeth, and flints were to be collected in bushels. At the commencement of 1863, M. Garrigou presented to the Geological Society of France the objects which had been found in the caves of Lherm and Bouicheta, and the Abbe Bourgeois published some remarks on the wrought flints from the diluvium of Pont- levoy. This, therefore, was the position of the question in respect to fossil man, when in 1863, the scientific world were made acquainted with the fact of the discovery of a human jaw-bone in the diluvial beds of Moulin-Quignon, near Abbeville. We will relate the circumstances attending this memorable discovery. On the 23rd of March, 1863, an excavator who was working in the sand-quarries at Moulin-Quignon brought to Boucher de Perthes at Abbeville, a flint hatchet and a small fragment of bone which he had just picked up. Having cleaned off the earthy coat which covered it, Boucher de Perthes recognised this bone to be a human molar. He immediately visited the spot, and assured himself that the locality where these objects had been found was an argilo-ferruginous vein, impregnated with some colouring matter which appeared to INTRODUCTION. 17 contain organic remains. This layer formed a portion of a virgin bed, as it is called by geologists, that is, without any infiltration or secondary introduction. On the 28th of March another excavator brought to Boucher de Perthes a second human tooth, remarking at the same time, "that something resembling a bone was just then to be seen in the sand." Boucher de Perthes immediately repaired to the spot, and in the presence of MM. Dimpre the elder and younger, and several members of the Abbeville Societe d' Emulation, he personally extracted from the soil the half of a human lower jaw-bone, covered with an earthy crust. A few inches from this, a flint hatchet was discovered, covered with the same black patina as the jaw-bone. The level where it was found was about fifteen feet below the surface of the ground. After this event was duly announced, a considerable number of geologists flocked to Abbeville, about the middle of the month of April. The Abbe Bourgeois, MM. Brady-Buteux, Carpenter, Falconer, &c., came one after the other, to verify the locality from which the human jaw-bone had been extracted. All were fully con- vinced of the intact state of the bed and the high antiquity of the bone which had been found. Boucher de Perthes also discovered in the same bed of gravel two mammoth's teeth, and a certain number of wrought hatchets. Finally, he found among the bones which had been taken from the Menche- court quarries in the early part of April, a fragment of another jaw- bone and six separate teeth, which were recognised by Dr. Falconer to be also human. The jaw-bone found at Moulin-Quignon is very well preserved. It is rather small in size, and appears to have belonged to an aged individual of small stature. It does not possess that ferocious aspect which is noticed in the jaw-bones of certain of the existing human races. The obliquity of the molar-tooth may be explained by supposing some accident, for the molar which stood next had fallen out during the lifetime of the individual, leaving a gap which favoured the obliquity of the tooth which remained in the jaw. This peculiarity is found also in several of the human heads in the collection of the Museum of Natural History in Paris. The jaw-bone of the man of Moulin-Quignon, which is represented c 18 INTRODUCTION. here (fig. 1) in its natural size, and drawn from the object itself, which is preserved in the Anthropological Gallery of the Museum of Natural History of Paris, does not show any decided points of difference when compared with those of individuals of existing races. Fig. 1. Human Jaw-bone found at Moulin-Quignon, near Abbeville, in 1863. The same conclusion was arrived at as the result of the com- parative examination which was made of the jaw-bones found by MM. Lartet and De Vibraye in the caves of Aurignac and Arcy; the latter remains were studied by M. Quatrefages in conjunction with Pruner-Bey, formerly physician to the Viceroy of Egypt, and one of the most distinguished French anthropologists. On the 20th of April, 1863, M. de Quatrefages announced to the institute the discovery which had been made by Boucher de Perthes, and he presented to the above-named learned body the interesting object itself, which had been sent from Abbeville. When the news of this discovery arrived in England it produced no slight sensation. Some of the English savans who had more specially devoted their attention to the study of this question, such as Messrs. Christy, Falconer, Carpenter, and Busk, went over to France, and in con- junction with Boucher de Perthes and several members of the Acadismie cles Sciences of Paris, examined the exact locality in which INTRODUCTION. 19 the hatchets and the human jaw-bone had heen found ; they unani- mously agreed in recognising the correctness of the conclusions arrived at by the indefatigable geologist of Abbeville.* This discovery of the hatchets and the human jaw-bone in the quaternary beds of Moulin-Quignon completed the demonstration of an idea already supported by an important mass of evidence. Setting aside its own special value, this discovery, added to so many others, could not fail to carry conviction into most minds. From this time forth the doctrine of the high antiquity of the human race became an acknowledged idea in the scientific world. Before closing our historical sketch, we shall have to ask, what was the precise geological epoch to which we shall have to carry back the date of man's first appearance on this our earth. The beds which are anterior to the present period, the series of which forms the solid crust of our globe, have been divided, as is well known, into five groups, corresponding to the same number of periods of the physical development of the earth. These are in their order of age : the primitive rocks, the transition rocks, the secondary rocks, the tertiary and quaternary rocks. Each of these epochs must have embraced an immense lapse of time, since it has radically exhausted the generation both of animals and plants which was peculiar to it. Some idea maybe formed of the extreme slowness with which organic creatures modify their character, when we take into consideration that our contemporary fauna, that is to say, the collection of animals of every country which belong to the geological period in which we exist, has undergone little, if any, alteration during the thousands of years that it has been in being. Is it possible for us to date the appearance of the human race in those prodigiously-remote epochs which correspond with the primitive, the transition, or the secondary rocks ? Evidently no ! Is it possible, indeed, to fix this date in the epoch of the tertiary rocks ? Some geologists have fancied that they could find traces of the presence of man in these tertiary rocks (the miocene and pliocene). But this is an opinion in which we, at least, cannot make up our minds to agree. * It should rather have been said, that the ultimate and well-considered judgment of the English geologists was against Ilio authenticity of the Moulin-Quignon jaw. See Dr. Falconer's ' Palictmtological Memoirs,' vol. ii. p. (!10; and Sir C. Lyell's ' Antiquity of Man,' 3rd ed. p. 515. (Note to Eng. Trans.) c 2 20 INTEODOCTION. In 1863, M. Desnoyers found in the upper strata of the tertiary beds (pliocene) at Saint-Prest, in the department of Eure, certain bones belonging to various extinct animal species ; among others those of an elephant (Elephas meridionalis), an animal which did not form a part of the quaternary fauna. On most of these bones he ascertained the existence of cuts, or notches, which, in his opinion, must have been produced by flint implements. These indications, according to M. Desnoyers, are signs of the existence of man in the tertiary epoch. This opinion, however, Sir Charles Lyell hesitates to accept. More- over, we could hardly depend upon an accident so insignificant as that of a few cuts or notches made upon a bone, in order to establish a fact so important as that of the high antiquity of man. We must also state that it is a matter of question whether the beds which contained these notched bones really belong to the tertiary group. The beds which correspond to the quaternary epoch are, therefore, those in which we find unexceptionable evidence of the existence of man. Consequently, in the quaternary epoch which preceded the existing geological period, we must place the date of the first appearance of mankind upon the earth. If the purpose is entertained of discussing, with any degree of certainty, the history of the earliest days of the human race a subject which as yet is a difficult one it is requisite that the long interval should be divided into a certain number of periods. The science of primitive man is one so recently entered upon, that those authors who have written upon the point can hardly be said to have properly discussed and agreed upon a rational scheme of classification. We shall, in this work, adopt the classification proposed by M. Edouard Lartet, which, too, has been adopted in that portion of the museum of Saint-Germain which is devoted to pre-historic antiquities. Following this course, we shall divide the history of primitive mankind into two great periods : 1st. The Stone Age ; 2nd. The Metal Age. These two principal periods must also be subdivided in the follow- ing mode. The " Stone Age " will embrace three epochs : 1st. The epoch of extinct animals (or of the great cave-bear and the mammoth). INTRODUCTION. 21 2nd. The epoch of migrated existing animals (or the reindeer epoch). 3rd. The epoch of domesticated existing animals (or the polished- stone epoch). The " Metal Age " may also be divided into two periods : 1st. The Bronze Epoch ; 2nd. The Iron Epoch. The following synoptical table will perhaps bring more clearly before the eyes of our readers this mode of classification, which has, at least, the merit of enabling us to make a clear and simple statement of the very incongruous facts which make up the history of primitive man: I 1st. Epoch of extinct animals (or of the great bear and mammoth). 2nd. Epoch of migrated existing animals (or the reindeer epoch). 3rd. Epoch of domesticated existing animals (or the polished- stone epoch). ( 1st. The Bronze Epoch. THE METAL AGE, { , ,, T I 2nd. The Iron Epoch. THE STONE AGE. I. THE EPOCH OF EXTINCT SPECIES OP ANIMALS; OR, OP THE GREAT BEAR AND MAMMOTH. CHAPTER I. The earliest Men The type of Man hi the Epoch of Animals of extinct Species Origin of Man Kefutation of the Theory which derives the Human Species from the Ape. MAN must have lived during the time in which the last representatives of the ancient animal creation the mammoth, the great bear, the cave-hyaena, the Rhinoceros tichorinus, &c. were still in existence. It is this earliest period of man's history which we are now about to enter upon. We have no knowledge of a precise nature with regard to man at the period of his first appearance on the globe. How did he appear upon the earth, and in what spot can we mark out the earliest traces of him ? Did he first come into being in that part of the world which we now call Europe, or is it the fact that he made his way to this quarter of our hemisphere, having first seen the light on the great plateaux of Central Asia ? This latter opinion is the one generally accepted. In the work which will follow the present volume we shall see, when speaking of the various races of man, that the majority of naturalists admit nowadays one common centre of creation for all mankind. Man, no doubt, first came into being on the great plateaux of Central Asia, and thence was distributed over all the various habitable portions of our globe. The action of climate and the influences of the locality which he inhabited have, therefore, determined the formation of the different races white, black, yellow, and red which now exist with all their infinite subdivisions. But there is another question which arises, to which it is necessary to give an immediate answer, for it has been and is incessantly agi- tated with a degree of vehemence which may be explained by the 20 THE STONE AGE. nature of the discussion being of so profoundly personal a character as regards all of us : Was man created by God complete in all parts, and is the human type independent of the type of the animals which existed before him ? Or, on the contrary, are we compelled to admit that man, by insensible transformations, and gradual improvements and developments, is derived from some other animal species, and par- ticularly that of the ape ? This latter opinion was maintained at the commencement of the present century by the French naturalist, de Lamarck, who laid down his views very plainly in his work entitled ' Philosophie Zoologique.' The same theory has again been taken up in our own time, and has been developed, with no small supply of facts on which it might appear to be based, by a number of scientific men, among whom we may mention Professor Carl Vogt in Switzerland, and Professor Huxley in England. We strongly repudiate any doctrine of this kind. In endeavouring to establish the fact that man is nothing more than a developed and improved ape, an orang-outang or a gorilla, somewhat elevated in dignity, the arguments are confined to an appeal to anatomical con- siderations. The skull of the ape is compared with that of primitive man, and certain characteristics of analogy, more or less real, being found to exist between the two bony cases, the conclusion has been arrived at that there Las been a gradual blending between the type of the ape and that of man. We may observe, in the first place, that these analogies have been very much exaggerated, and that they fail to stand their ground in the face of a thorough examination of the facts. Only look at the skulls which have been found in the tombs belonging to the stone age, the so-called Borreby skull for instance examine the human jaw-bone from Moulin-Quignon, the Meilen skull, &c., and you will be surprised to see that they differ very little in appearance from the skulls of existing man. One would really imagine, from what is said by the partisans of Lamarck's theory, that primitive man possessed the projecting jaw of the ape, or at least that of the negro. We are astonished, therefore, when we ascertain that, on the contrary, the skull of the man of the stone age is almost entirely similar in appearance to those of the existing Caucasian species. Special study is, indeed, required in order to distinguish one from the other. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS 27 If we place side by side the skull of a man belonging to the Stone Age, and the skulls of the principal apes of large size, these dissimi- larities cannot fail to be obvious. No other elements of comparison, beyond merely looking at them, seem to be requisite to enable us to refute the doctrine of this debased origin of mankind. Fig. 2. Skull of a Man belonging to the Stone Age (the Borreby Skull). The figure annexed represents the skull of a man belonging to the stone age, found in Denmark ; to this skull, which is known by the name of the Borreby skull, we shall have to allude again in the course of the present work ; fig. 3 represents the skull of a gorilla ; fig. 4 that of an orang-outang; fig. 5 that of the Cynoceplialus ape ; fig. 6 that of the Macacus. Place the representation of the skull found in Denmark in juxtaposition with these ill-favoured animal masks, and then let the reader draw his own inference, without pre-occupyin^ his mind with the allegations of certain anatomists imbued with contrary ideas. Finding themselves beaten as regards the skulls, the advocates of transmutation next appeal to the bones. With this aim, they exhibit to us certain similarities of arrangement existing between the skeleton of the ape and that of primitive man. Such, for instance, is the 28 THE STONE AGE. longitudinal ridge which exists on the thigh-bone, which is as prominent in primitive man as in the ape. Such, also, is the fibula, Fig.|3.-Skull of the Gorilla. which is very stout in primitive man, just as in the ape, but is rather slender in the man of the present period. Fig. 4. Skull of the Orang-Outaug. When we are fully aware how the form of the skeleton is modified by the kind of life which is led, in men just as in animals, we cannot be astonished at finding that certain organs assume a much higher development in those individuals who put them to frequent and violent EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 29 use, than in others who leave these same organs in a state of com- parative repose. If it he a fact that the man of the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth had a more robust leg, and a more largely developed thigh- Fig. 5. Skull of the Cynocephalus Ape. bone than most of the races of existing man, the reason simply is, that his savage life, which was spent in the midst of the wild beasts of the forest, compelled him to make violent exertions, which increased the size of these portions of his body. Fig. 6. Skull of the Macacut Baboon. Thus it is found that great walkers have a bulky calf, and persons leading a sedentary life have slender legs. These variations in the structure of the skeleton are owing, therefore, to nothing but a differ- ence in the mode of life. Why is it, however, that the skeleton is the only point taken into consideration when analogies are sought for between man and any species of animal ? If equal investigation were given to other organs, we should arrive at a conclusion which would prove how un- reasonable comparisons of this kind are. In fact, if man possesses the osseous structure of the ape, he has also the anatomical structure 30 THE STONE AGE. of many other animals, as far as regards several organs. Are not the viscera of the digestive system the same, and are they not organised on the same plan in man as in the carnivorous animals ? As the result of this, would you say that man is derived from the tiger, that he is nothing but an improved and developed lion, a cat transmuted into a man ? We may, however, just as plausibly draw this inference, unless we content ourselves with devoting our attention to the skeleton alone, which seems, indeed, to be the only part of the individual in which we are to interest ourselves, for what reason we know not. But, in point of fact, this kind of anatomy is pitiable. Is there nothing in man but bones ? Do the skeleton and the viscera make up the entire sum of the human being ? What will you say, then, ye blind rhetoricians, about the faculty of intelligence as mani- fested in the gift of speech ? Intelligence and speech, these are really the attributes which constitute man; these are the qualities which make him the most complete being in creation, and the most privileged of God's creatures. Show me an ape who can speak, and then I will agree with you in recognising it as a fact that man is nothing but an improved ape ! Show me an ape who can make flint hatchets and arrowheads, who can light a fire and cook his food, who, in short, car- act like an intelligent creature then, and then only, I am ready to confess that I am nothing more than an orang-outang revised and corrected. It is not, however, our desire to speak of a question which has been the subject of so much controversy as that of the anatomical resemblance between the ape and the man without thoroughly entering into it ; we have, indeed, no wish to shun the discussion of the point. On the present occasion, we shall appeal to the opinion of a savant perfectly qualified in such matters ; we allude to M. de Quatrefages, Professor of Anthropology in the Museum of Natural History at Paris. M. de Quatrefages, in his work entitled ' Rapport sur le Progres de 1'Anthropologie,' published in 1868, has entered rather fully into the question whether man is descended from the ape or not. He has summed up the contents of a multitude of contemporary works on this subject, and has laid down his opinion the perfect impossibility, in an anatomical point of view, of this strange and repugnant genealogy. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 31 The following extract from his work will be sufficient to make our readers acquainted with the ideas of the learned Professor of Anthropology with regard to the question which we are now con- sidering : " Man and apes in general," says M. de Quatrefages, " present a most striking contrast- a contrast on which Vicq-d'Azyr, Lawrence, and M. Serres have dwelt in detail for some considerable time past. The former is a walking animal, who walks upon his hind legs ; all apes are climbing animals. The whole of the locomotive system in the two groups bears the stamp of these two very different intentions ; the two types, in fact, are perfectly distinct. "The very remarkable works of Duvernoy on the 'Gorilla,' and of MM. Gratiolet and Alix on the ' Chimpanzee,' have fully con- firmed this result as regards the anthropomorphous apes a result very important, from whatever point of view it is looked at, but of still greater value to any one who wishes to apply logically Darwin's idea. These recent investigations prove, in fact, that the ape type, however highly it may be developed, loses nothing of its funda- mental character, and remains always perfectly distinct from the type of man; the latter, therefore, cannot have taken its rise from the former. " Darwin's doctrine, when rationally adapted to the fact of the appearance of man, would lead us to the following results : " We are acquainted with a large number of terms in the Simian series. We see it branching out into secondary series all leading up to anthropomorphous apes, which are not members of one and the same family, but corresponding superior terms of three distinct families (Gratiolet). In spite of the secondary modifications involved by the developments of the same natural qualities, the orang, the gorilla, and the chimpanzee remain none the less fundamentally mere apes and climbers (Duvernoy, Gratiolet, and Alix). Man, conse- quently, in whom everything shows that he is a walker, cannot belong to any one of these series ; he can only be the higher term of a distinct series, the other representatives of which have dis- appeared, or, up to the present time, have evaded our search. Man and the anthropomorphous apes are the final terms of two series, \vhich commence to diverge at the very latest as soon as the lowest of the apes appear upon the earth. 32 THE STONE AGE. " This is really the way in which a true disciple of Darwin must reason, even if he solely took into account the external morphological characteristics and the anatomical characteristics which are the ex- pression of the former in the adult animal. " Will it be said that when the degree of organisation manifested in the anthropomorphous apes had been once arrived at, the organism underwent a new impulse and became adapted for walking? This would be, in fact, adding a fresh hypothesis, and its promoters would not be in a position to appeal to the organised gradation pre- sented by the quadrumanous order as a whole on which stress is laid as leading to the conclusion against which I am contending : they would be completely outside Darwiris theory, on which these opinions claim to be based. " Without going beyond these purely morphological considerations, we may place, side by side, for the sake of comparison, as was done by M. Pruner-Bey, the most striking general characteristics in man and in the anthropomorphous apes. As the result, we ascertain this general fact that there exists ' an inverse order of the final term of development in the sensitive and vegetative apparatus, in the systems of locomotion and reproduction' (Pruner-Bey). " In addition to this, this inverse order is equally exhibited in the series of phenomena of individual development. " M. Pruner-Bey has shown that this is the case with a portion of the permanent teeth. M. Welker, in his curious studies of the sphenoidal angle of Virchow, arrived at a similar result. He de- monstrated that the modifications of the base of the skull, that is, of a portion of the skeleton which stands in the most intimate relation to the brain, take place inversely in the man and ape. This angle diminishes from his birth in man, but, on the contrary, in the ape it becomes more and more obtuse, so as sometimes to become entirely extinct. " But there is also another fact which is of a still more important character: it is that this inverse course of development has been ascertained to exist even in the brain itself. This fact, which was pointed out by Gratiolet, and dwelt upon by him on various occasions, has never been contested either at the Societe d ' Antliropologie or elsewhere, and possesses an importance and significance which may be readily comprehended. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 33 " In man and the anthropomorphous ape, when in an aduU state, there exists in the mode of arrangement of the cerebral folds a certain similarity on which much stress has been laid; but this resemblance has been, to some extent, a source of error, for the result is attained by an inverse course of action. In the ape, the temporo-sphenoidal convolutions, which form the middle lobe, -make their appearance, and are completed, before the anterior convolutions which form the frontal lobe. In man, on the contrary, the frontal convolutions are the first to appear, and those of the middle lobe are subsequently developed. " It is evident that when two organised beings follow an inverse course in their growth, the more highly developed of the two cannot have descended from the other by means of evolution. " Embryology next adds its evidence to that of anatomy and morphology, to show how much in error they are who have fancied that Darwin's ideas would afford them the means of maintaining the simial origin of man. " In the face of all these facts, it may be easily understood that anthropologists, however little in harmony they may sometimes be on other points, are agreed on this, and have equally been led to the conclusion that there is nothing that permits us to look at the brain of the ape as the brain of man smitten with an arrest of development, or, on the other hand, the brain of man as a development of that of the ape (Gratiolet) ; that the study of animal organism in general, and that of the extremities in particular, reveals, in addition to a general plan, certain differences in shape and arrangement which specify two altogether special and distinct adaptations, and are incom- patible with the idea of any filiation (Gratiolet and Alix) ; that in their course of improvement and development, apes do not tend to become allied to man, and conversely the human type, when in a course of degradation, does not tend to become allied to the ape (Bert) ; finally, that no possible point of transition can exist between man and the ape, unless under the condition of inverting the laws of develop- ment (Pruner-Bey), &c., " What, we may ask, is brought forward by the partisans of the simial origin of man in opposition to these general facts, which here I must confine myself to merely pointing out, and to the multitude of details of which these are only the abstract ? D 34 THE STONE AGE. " I have done my best to seek out the proofs alleged, but I every- where meet with nothing but the same kind of argument exaggera- tions of morphological similarities which no one denies ; inferences drawn from a few exceptional facts which are then generalised upon, or from a few coincidences in which the relations of cause and effect are a. matter of supposition ; lastly, an appeal to possibilities from which conclusions of a more or less affirmative character are drawn. " We will quote a few instances of this mode of reasoning. "1st. The bony portion of the hand of man and of that of certain anthropomorphous apes present marked similarities. Would it not therefore have been possible for an almost imperceptible modification to have ultimately led to identity ? " MM. Gratiolet and Alix reply to this in the negative ; for the muscular system of the thumb establishes a profound difference, and testifies to an adaptation to very different uses. " 2nd. It is only in man and the anthropomorphous apes that the articulation of the shoulder is so arranged as to allow of rotatory movements. Have we not here an unmistakable resemblance ? " The above-named anatomists again reply in the negative ; for even if we only take the bones into account, we at once see that the move- ments could not be the same ; but when we come to the muscular system, we find decisive differences again testifying to certain special adaptations." 11 These rejoinders are correct, for when locomotion is the matter in question, it is evident that due consideration must be paid to the muscles, which are the active agents in that function at least as much as the bones, which only serve as points of attachment and are only passive. " 3rd. In some of the races of man, the arch of the skull, instead of presenting a uniform curve in the transverse direction, bends a little towards the top of the two sides, and rises towards the median line (New Caledonians, Australians, &c.). It is asked if this is not a preliminary step towards the bony crests which rise in this region in some of the anthropomorphous apes ? " Again we reply in the negative ; for, in the latter, the bony crests arise from the walls of the skull, and do not form any part of the arch. "4th. Is it not very remarkable that we find the orang to be EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 35 brachycephalous, just like the Malay, whose country it inhabits, and that the gorilla and chimpanzee are dolichocephalous like the negro ? Is not this fact a reason for our regarding the former animal as the ancestor of the Malays, and the latter of the African nations ? " Even if the facts brought forward were correct, the inference which is drawn from them would be far from satisfactory. But the coincidence which is appealed to does not exist. In point of fact, the orang, which is essentially a native of Borneo, lives among the Dyaks and not among the Malays ; now the Dyaks are rather dolichocephalous than brachycephalous. With respect to gorillas being dolicho- cephalous, they cannot at least be so generally ; as out of three female specimens of this ape which were examined, two were brachycephalous (Pruner-Bey). " 5th. The brains of macrocephalous individuals present a mixture of human and simial characteristics, and point to some intermediate conformation, which was normal at some anterior epoch, but at the present time is only realised by an arrest of development and a fact of atavism. " Gratiolet's investigations of the brain of the ape, normal man and small-brained individuals, have shown that the similarities pointed out are purely fallacious People have thought that they could detect them, simply because they have not examined closely enough. In the last named, the human brain is simplified ; but this causes no alteration in the initial plan, and this plan is not that which is ascer- tained to exist in the ape. Thus Gratiolet has expressed an opinion which no one has attempted to controvert : ' The human brain diifers the more from that of the ape the less the former is developed, and an arrest of development could only exaggerate this natural difference. . . . The brains of microcephalous individuals, although often less voluminous and less convoluted than those of the anthropomorphous apes, do not on this account become like the latter. . . . The idiot, however low he may be reduced, is not a beast ; he is nothing but a deteriorated man.' " The laws of the development of the brain in the two types, laws which I mentioned before, explain and justify this language ; and the laws of which it is the summary are a formal refutation of the com- parison which some have attempted to make between the contracted human brain, and the animal brain, hotvever developed. D 2 3G THE STONE AGE. "6th. The excavations which have been made in intact ancient beds have brought to light skulls of ancient races of man, and these skulls present characteristics which approximate them to the skull of the ape. Does not this pithecoid stamp, which is very striking on the Neanderthal skull in particular, argue a transition from one type to another, and consequently filiation ? " This argument is perhaps the only one which has been brought forward with any degree of precision, and it is often recurred to. Is it, on this account, more demonstrative ? Let the reader judge for himself. " We may, in the first place, remark that Sir C. Lyell does not venture to pronounce affirmatively as to the high antiquity of the human remains discovered by Dr. Fuhlrott, and that he looked upon them, at the most, as contemporary with the Engis skull, in which the Caucasian type of head was reproduced. " Let us, however, admit that the Neanderthal skull belongs to the remote antiquity to which it bas been assigned; what, then, is in reality the significance of this skull ? Is it actually a link between the head of the man and that of the ape ? And does it not find some analogy in comparatively modern race3 ? " Many writings have been published on these questions, and, as it appears to me, some light has gradually been thrown upon the sub- ject. There is no doubt that this skull is really remarkable for the enormous size of its superciliary ridges, the length and narrowness of the bony case, the slight elevation of the top of the skull. But these features are found to be much less exceptional than was at first sup- posed, in default of any means of instituting a just comparison ; very far, indeed, from justifying the approximation which some have endeavoured to make, this skull is, in all* its characteristics, essentially human. Mr. Busk, in England, has pointed out the great affinity which is established, by the prominence of the superciliary ridges and the depression of the upper region, between certain Danish skulls from Borreby and the Neanderthal skull. Dr. Barnard Davis has described the still greater similarities existing between this very fossil and a skull in his collection. Gratiolet forwarded to the Museum the skull of an idiot of the present time, which was almost identical with it in everything, although in slighter proportions, &c. " The following appears to me to be decisive : EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 37 " In spite of its curious characteristics, the Neanderthal skull none the less belonged to an individual, who, to judge by other bones which have been found, diverged but little from the average type of the present Germanic races, and by no means approximated to that of the ape. " Is it probable, proceeding even on the class of ideas which I am opposing, that in a being in a state of transition between man and the anthropomorphous apes, the body would have become entirely human in its character, whilst the head presented its sirnial peculiari- ties ? If a fact like this is admitted, does it not render the hypothesis absolutely worthless? " Notwithstanding all the discussion to which these curious remains have given rise, it appears to me impossible to look upon them in any other light than as the remains of an individuality, exceptional, no doubt, but clearly belonging to the human species, and, in addition to this, to the Celtic race, one of the branches of our Aryan stock. M. Pruner-Bey appears to me to have placed this fact beyond all question by the whole mass of investigations which he has published on this subject. The most convincing proofs are based on the very great similarity which may be noticed in a Celtic skull taken from a tumulus in Poitou to the skull which has become so we]l known and, indeed, so celebrated owing to the writings of Doctor Schaaffausen. This similarity is not merely external. An internal cast taken from one skull fits perfectly into the interior of the other. It was, there- fore, the brains and not merely the skulls which bore a resemblance to one another. The proof appears to me to be complete, and, with the learned author of this work, I feel no hesitation in concluding that the Neanderthal skull is one of Celtic origin. " After all, neither experience nor observation have as yet furnished us with the slightest data with regard to man at his earliest origin. Science, therefore, which pretends to solidity of character, must put this problem on one side till fresh information is obtained. We really approach nearer to the truth when we confess our ignorance than when we attempt to disguise it either to ourselves or others. " With regard to the simial origin of man, it is nothing but pure hypothesis, or rather nothing but a mere jeu d'esprit which every- thing proves utterly baseless, and in favour of which no solid fact has as yet been appealed to." 38 THE STONE AGE. In dealing with this question in a more general point of view, we must add that the most enlightened science declares to us in un- mistakable accents, that species is immutable, and that no animal species can be derived from another ; they may change, but all bear witness to an independent creation. This truth, which has been developed at length by M. de Quatrefages in his numerous works, is a definitive and scientific judgment which must decide this question as far as regards any unprejudiced minds. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 39 CHAPTER II. Man in the condition of Savage Life during the Quaternary Epoch The Glacial Period, and its Ravages on the Primitive Inhabitants of the Globe Man in Con- flict with the Animals of the Quaternary Epoch The Discovery of Fire The Weapons of Primitive Man Varieties of Flint-hatchets Manufacture of the earliest Pottery Ornamental objects at the Epoch of the Great Bear and the Mammoth. AFTER this dissertation, which was necessary to confute the theory which gives such a degrading explanation of our origin, we must contemplate man at the period when he was first placed upon the earth, weak and helpless, in the midst of the inclement and wild nature which surrounded him. However much our pride may suffer by the idea, we must confess that, at the earliest period of his existence, man could have been but little distinguished from the brute. Care for his natural wants must have absorbed his whole being ; all his efforts must have tended to one sole aim that of insuring his daily subsistence. At first, his only food must have been fruits and roots ; for he had not as yet invented any weapon wherewith to destroy wild animals. If he succeeded in killing any creatures of small size he devoured them in a raw state, and made a covering of their skins to shelter himself against the inclemency of the weather. His pillow was a stone, his roof was the shadow of a wide-spreading tree, or some dark cavern which also served as a refuge against wild beasts. For how many ages, did this miserable state last ? No one can tell. Man is an improvable being, and indefinite progress is the law of his existence. Improvement is his supreme attribute ; and this it is which gives him the pre-eminence over all the creatures which sur- round him. But how wavering must have been his first steps in advance, and how many efforts must have been given to the earliest 40 THE STONE AGE. creation of his mind and to the first work of his hands doubtless some shapeless attempt in which we nowadays, perhaps, should have some difficulty in recognising the work of any intelligent being ! Towards the commencement of the quaternary epoch, a great natural phenomenon took place in Europe. Under the influence of numerous and varied causes, which up to the present time have not been fully recognised, a great portion of Europe became covered with ice, on the one hand, making its way from the poles down to the most southern latitudes, and, on the other, descending into the plains from the summits of the highest mountain chains. Ice and ice-fields assumed a most considerable extension. As all the lower parts of the continent were covered by the sea, there were only a few plateaux which could afford a refuge to man and animals flying from this deadly cold. Such was the Glacial Period, which produced the anni- hilation of so many generations of animals, and must have equally affected man himself, so ill-defended against this universal and sudden winter. Man, however, was enabled to resist the attacks of revolted nature. "Without doubt, in this unhappy period, he must have made but little progress, even if his intellectual development were not completely stopped. At all events, the human species did not perish. The glacial period came to an end, the ice-fields shrank back to their original limits, and Nature reassumed its primitive aspect. "When the ice had gradually retired into the more northern latitudes, and had become confined to the higher summits, a new generation of animals another fauna, as naturalists call it made its appearance on the globe. This group of animals, which had newly come into being, differed much from those that had disappeared in the glacial cataclysm. Let us cast an inquiring glance on these strange and now extinct creatures. First we have the mammoth (Elephas primigenius), or the woolly- haired and maned elephant, carcases of which were found, entire and in good preservation, in the ice on the coasts of Siberia. Next comes the rhinoceros with a complete nasal septum (Rhinoceros tichorhinus), likewise clad in a warm and soft fur, the nose of which is surmounted with a remarkable pair of horns. Then follow several species of the EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 41 hippopotamus, which come as far north as the rivers of England and Russia ; a bear of great size inhabiting caverns ( Ursus spelfeus), and presenting a projecting forehead and a krge-sized skull; the cave lion or tiger (Felis spelsea), which much surpassed in strength the same animals of the existing species; various kinds of hyaenas (Hyeena speleea), much stronger than those of our epoch ; the bison or aurochs (Biso europteus), which still exists in Poland ; the great ox, the Urus of the ancients (Bos primigenius) ; the gigantic Irish elk (Megaceros hibernicus), the horns of which attained to surprising dimensions. Other animals made their appearance at the same epoch, but they are too numerous to mention ; among them were some of the Rodent family. Almost all these species are now extinct, but man certainly existed in the midst of them. The mammoth, elephant, rhinoceros, stag, and hippopotamus were then in the habit of roaming over Europe in immense herds, just as some of these animals still do in the interior of Africa. These animals must have had their favourite haunts spots where they assembled together in thousands; or else it would be difficult to account for the countless numbers of bones which are found accumu- lated at the same spot. Before these formidable bands, man could dream of nothing but flight. It was only with some isolated animal that he could dare to engage in a more or less unequal conflict. Farther on in our work, we shall see how he began to fabricate some rough weapons, with a view of attacking his mighty enemies. The first important step which man made in the path of progress was the acquisition of fire. In all probability, man came to the knowledge of it by accident, either by meeting with some substance which had been set on fire by lightning or volcanic heat, or by the friction of pieces of wood setting a light to some very inflammable matter. In order to obtain fire, man of the quaternary epoch may have employed the same means as those made use of by the American aborigines, at the time when Christopher Columbus first fell in with them on the shores of the New World means which savage nations existing at the present day still put in practice. He rubbed two pieces of dry wood one against the other, or turned round and round 42 THE STONE AGE. with great rapidity a stick sharpened to a point, having placed the end of it in a hole made in the trunk of a very dry tree (fig. 7). As among the savages of the present day we find certain elementary mechanisms adapted to facilitate the production of fire, it is not im- possible that these same means were practised at an early period of the human race. It would take a considerable time to set light to two pieces of dry wood by merely rubbing them against one another ; but if a bow be made use of, that is, the chord of an arc fixed firmly on a handle, so as to give a rapid revolution to a cylindrical rod of wood ending in a point which entered into a small hole made in a board, the board may be set on fire in a few minutes. Such a mode of obtaining fire may have been made use of by the men who lived in the same epoch with the mammoth and other animals, the species of which are now extinct. The first rudiments of combustion having been obtained, so as to serve, during the daytime, for the purposes of warmth and cooking food, and during the night, for giving light, how was the fire to be kept up ? Wood from the trees that grew in the district, or from those which were cast up by the currents of the rivers or sea; in- flammable mineral oils ; resin obtained from coniferous trees ; the fat and grease of wild animals ; oil extracted from the great cetaceans ; all these substances must have assisted in maintaining combustion, for the purposes both of warmth and light. The only fuel which the Esquimaux of the present day have either to warm their huts or light them during the long nights of their gloomy climate, is the oil of the whale and seal, which, burnt in a lamp with a short wick, serves both to cook their food and also to warm and illumine their huts. Even, nowadays, in the Black Forest (Duchy of Baden), instead of candles, long splinters of very dry beech are sometimes made use of, which are fixed in a horizontal position at one end and lighted at the other. This forms an economical lamp, which is really not to be despised. We have also heard of the very original method which is resorted to by the inhabitants of the Faroe Isles in the northern seas of Europe, in order to warm and light up their huts. This method consists in taking advantage of -the fat and greasy condition of the young Stormy Petrel (Mother Carey's Chicken), so as to convert its EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 43 body into a regular lamp. All that is necessary is to draw a wick through its body, projecting at the beak, which when lighted causes this really animal candle to throw out an excellent light until the last greasy morsel of the bird is consumed. This bird is also used by the natives of the Isles as a natural fuel to keep up their fires and cook other birds. Whatever may have been the means which were made use of by primitive man in order to procure fire, either the simple friction of two pieces of wood one against the other, continued for a long time, the bow, or merely a stick turning round rapidly by the action of the hand, without any kind of mechanism it is certain that the acquisi- tion of fire must be classed amongst the most beautiful and valuable discoveries which mankind has made. Fire must have put an end to the weariness of the long nights. In the presence of fire, the dark- ness of the holes and caverns in which man made his first retreat, must have vanished away. With the aid of fire, the most rigorous climates became habitable, and the damp which impregnated the body of man or his rough garments, made of the skin of the bear or some long-haired ruminant, could be evaporated. With fire near them, the danger arising from ferocious beasts must have much diminished ; for a general instinct leads wild animals to dread the light and the heat of a fire. Buried, as they were, in the midst of forests infested with wild beasts, primitive men might, by means of a fire kept alight during the night, sleep in peace without being dis- turbed by the attacks of the huge wild beasts which prowled about all round them. Fire, too, gave the first starting-point to man's industry. It afforded means to the earliest inhabitants of the earth for felling trees, for procuring charcoal, for hardening wood for the manufacture of their rudimentary implements, and for baking their primitive pottery. Thus, as soon as man had at his disposal the means for producing artificial heat, his position began to improve, and the kindly flame of the hearth became the first centre round which the family circle was constituted. Ere long man felt the need of strengthening his natural powers against the attacks of wild beasts. At the same time he desired to 44 THE STONE AGE. be able to make his prey some of the more peaceable animals, such as the stag, the smaller kinds of ruminants, and the horse. Then it was that he began to manufacture weapons. He had remarked, spread about the surface of the ground, certain flints, with sharp corners and cutting edges. These he gathered up, and by the means of other stones of a rather tougher nature, he broke off from them pieces, which he fashioned roughly in the shape of a hatchet or hammer. He fixed these splinters into split sticks, by way of a handle, and firmly bound them in their places with the tendons of an animal or the strong stalks of some dried plant. With this weapon, he could, if he pleased, strike his prey at a distance. When man had invented the bow and chipped out flint arrow- heads, he was enabled to arrest the progress of the swiftest animal in the midst of his flight. Since the time when the investigations with regard to primitive man have been set on foot in all countries, and have been energeti- cally prosecuted, enormous quantities have been found of these chipped flints, arrow-heads, and various stone implements, which archaeologists designate by the common denomination of hatchets, in default of being able, in some cases, to distinguish the special use for which they had been employed. Before going any further, it will be necessary to enter into some details with regard to these flint implements objects which are altogether characteristic of the earliest ages of civilisation. For a long time past chipped stones of a somewhat similar cha- racter have been met with here and there in several countries, some- times on the surface of, and sometimes buried deeply in, the ground ; but no one understood what their significance was. If the common people ever distinguished them from ordinary stones, they attached to them some superstitious belief. Sometimes they called them " thunder-stones," because they attributed to them the power of preserving from lightning those who were in possession of them. It was not until the middle of the present century that naturalists and archaeologists began to comprehend the full advantage which might be derived from the examination of these chipped stones, in recon- structing the lineaments of the earliest of the human race and in EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 45 penetrating, up to a certain point, into their manners, customs, and industry. These stone-hatchets and arrow-heads are, therefore, very plentiful in the present day in collections of antiquities and cahinets of natural history. Most of these objects which are found in Europe are made of flint, and this circumstance may he easily explained. Flint must have been preferred as a material, on account both of its hardness and its mode of cleavage, which may be so readily adapted to the will of the workman. One hard blow, skilfully applied, is sufficient to break off, by the mere shock, a sharp-edged flake of a blade-like shape. These sharp-edged blades of silex might serve as knives. Certainly they would not last long in use, for they are very easily notched; but primitive men must have been singularly skilful in making them. Although the shapes of these stone implements are very varied, they may all be classed under a certain number of prevailing types ; and these types are to be found in very different countries. The flint hatchets are at first very simple although irregular in their shape ; but they gradually manifest a much larger amount of talent exhi- bited in their manufacture, and a better judgment is shown in adapting them to the special uses for which they were intended. The progress of the human intellect is written in ineffaceable characters on these tablets of stone, which, defended as they were, by a thick layer of earth, bid defiance to the injuries of time. Let us not despise these first and feeble efforts of our primitive forefathers, for they mark the date of the starting-point of manu- factures and the arts. If the men of the stone age had not per- severed in their efforts, we, their descendants, should never have possessed either our palaces or our masterpieces of painting and sculpture. As Boucher de Perthes says, " The first man who struck one pebble against another to make some requisite alteration in its form, gave the first blow of the chisel which has resulted in producing the Minerva and all the sculpture of the Parthenon." Archaeologists who have devoted their energies to investigating the earliest monuments of human industry, have found it necessary to be on their guard against certain errors, or rather wilful deceptions, which might readily pervert their judgment and deprive their dis- coveries of all character of authenticity. There is, in fact, a certain 46 THE STONE AGE. class of persons engaged in a deceptive manufacture who nave taken a delight in misleading archaeologists by fabricating apocryphal flint and stone implements, in which they drive a rather lucrative trade. They assert, without the least scruple, the high antiquity of their productions, which they sell either to inexperienced amateurs, who are pleased to put them in their collections duly labelled and ticketed, or which is a more serious matter to workmen who are engaged in making excavations in fossiliferous beds. These workmen hide the fictitious specimens in the soil they are digging, using every requisite precaution so as to have the opportunity of subsequently extracting them and fingering a reward for them from some too trusting naturalist. These imitations are, moreover, so cleverly made, that it sometimes requires well-practised eyes to recognise them; but they may be recognised with some degree of facility by the following characteristics : The ancient flints present a glassy surface which singularly contrasts with the dull appearance of the fresh cleavages. They are also for the most part covered with a whitish coating or patina, which is nothing but a thin layer of carbonate of lime darkened in colour by the action of time. Lastly, many of these flints are orna- mented with branching crystallisations, called dendrites, which form on their surface very delicate designs of a dark brown ; these are owing to the combined action of the oxides of iron and manganese (fig. 8). Fig. g. Dendrites or Crystallisations found on the surface of wrought Flints. We must add that these flint implements often assume the colour of the soil in which they have been buried for so many centuries ; and as Mr. Prestwich, a learned English geologist, well remarks, this EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 47 agreement in colour indicates that they have remained a very con- siderable time in the stratum which contains them. Among the stone implements of primitive ages, some are found in a state of perfect preservation, which clearly bears witness to their almost unused state ; others, on the contrary, are worn, rounded, and blunted, sometimes because they have done good service in by-gone dayn, and sometimes because they have been many times rolled over and rubbed by diluvial waters, the action of which has produced this result. Some, too, are met with which are broken, and nothing of them remains but mere vestiges. In a general way, they are com- pletely covered with a very thick coating which it is necessary to break off before they can be laid open to view. They are especially found under the soil in grottos and caves, on which we shall remark further in some detail, and they are almost always mixed up with the bones of extinct mammalian species. Fig. 9. Section of a Gravel Qu.irry at Saint- Acheul, which contained the wrought Hints found by Boucher de Perthes. Certain districts which are entirely devoid of caves contain, however, considerable deposits of these stone implements. We may mention in this category the alluvial quarternary beds of the valley of the Somme, knowu under the name of drift beds, which were worked 48 THE STONE AGE. by Boucher de Perthes with an equal amount of perseverance and success. This alluvium was composed of a gravelly deposit, which geologists refer to the great inundations which, during the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth, gave to Europe, by hollowing out its valleys, its present vertical outline. The excavations in the sand and gravel near Amiens and Abbeville, which were directed with so much intelli- gence by Boucher de Perthes, have been the means of exhuming thousands of worked flints, affording unquestionable testimony of the existence of man during the quaternary epoch. All these worked flints may be classed under some of the principal types, from which their intended use may be approximately conjectured. One of the types which is most extensively distributed, especially in the drift beds of the valley of the Somme, where scarcely any other kind is found, is the almond-shaped type (fig. 10). Fig. 10. Hatchet of the Almon^skaped type, from the Valley of the Somme. The instruments of this kind are hatchets of an oval shape, more or less elongated, generally flattened on both sides, but sometimes only on one, carefully chipped all over their surface so as to present a cutting edge. The workmen of the Somme give them the graphic name of cats' tongues. They vary much in size, but are generally about six inches long by three wide, although some are met with which are much larger. The Pre-historic Gallery in the Universal Exposition of 1867, contained one found at Saint- Acheul, and exhibited by M. Kobert, which EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 49 measured eleven inches in length by five in width. This remarkable specimen is represented in fig. 1 1 . Fig. 11. Flint Hatchet from Saint-Achcul of the so-called Almond-shaped type. Another very characteristic form is that which is called the Mous- tier type (fig. 12), because they have been found in abundance in Fig. 12. Wrought Flint (Moustier type). 50 THE STONE AGE. the beds in the locality of Moustier, which forms a portion of the department of Dordogue. This name is applied to the pointed flints which are only wrought on one side, the other face being completely plain. To the same deposit also belongs the flint scraper, the sharp edge of which forms the arc of a circle, the opposite side being of some considerable thickness so as to afford a grasp to the hand of the operator. Fig. 13. Flint Scraper. Some of these instruments (fig. 13) are finely toothed all along their sharp edge ; they were evidently used for the same purposes as our saws. The third type (fig. 14) is that of knives. They are thin and Fig. 14. Flint Knife, found at Menchecourt, near Abbeville. narrow tongue-shaped flakes, cleft off from the lump of flint at one blow. When one of the ends is chipped to a point, these knives EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 51 become scratchers. Sometimes these flints are found to be wrought so as to do service as augers. The question is often asked, how these primitive men were able to manufacture their weapons, implements, and utensils, on uniform models, without the help of metallic hammers. This idea has, indeed, been brought forward as an argument against those who contend for the existence of quaternary man. Mr. Evans, an English geologist, replied most successfully to this objection by a very simple experiment. He took a pebble and fixed it in a wooden handle ; having thus manufactured a stone hammer, he made use of it to chip a flint little by little, until he had succeeded in producing an oval hatchet similar to the ancient one which he had before him. The flint-workers who, up to the middle of the present century, prepared gun-flints for the army, were in the habit of splitting the stone into splinters. But they made use of steel hammers to cleave the flint, whilst primitive man had nothing better at his disposal than another and rather harder stone. Primitive man must have gone to work in somewhat the following way : They first selected flints, which they brought to the shape of those cores or nuclei which are found in many places in company with finished implements; then, by means of another and harder Fig. 15.- Flint Core or Nucleus. stone of elongated shape, they cleft flakes off the flint. These flakes were used for making knives, scratchers, spear or arrow-heads, E 2 52 THE STONE AGE. hatchets, tomahawks, scrapers, &c. Some amount of skill must have heen required to obtain the particular shape that was required ; but constant practice in this work exclusively must have rendered this task comparatively easy. How, in the next place, were these clipped flints fitted with handles, so as to make hatchets, poniards and knives ? Some of them were fixed at right angles between the two split ends of a stick : this kind of weapon must have somewhat resembled our present hatchets. Others, of an oval shape and circular edge, might have been fastened transversely into a handle, so as to imitate a car- penter's adze. In case of need, merely a forked branch or a piece of split wood might serve as sheath or handle to the flint blade. Flints might also have been fixed as double-edged blades by means of holes cut in pieces of wood, to which a handle was afterwards added. These flint flakes might, lastly, be fitted into a handle at one end. The wide-backed knives, which were only sharp on one side, afforded a grasp for the hand without further trouble, and might dispense with a handle. The small flints might also be darted as projectiles by the help of a branch of a tree forming a kind of spring, such as we may see used as a toy by children. The mere description of these stone hatchets, fitted on to pieces of wood, recall to our mind the natural weapons used by some of the American savages, and the tribes which still exist in a state of freedom in the Isles of Oceania. We allude to the tomahawk, a name which we so often meet with in the accounts of voyages round the world. Among those savage nations who have not as yet bent their necks beneath the yoke of civilisation, we might expect to find and, in fact, we do find the weapons and utensils which were peculiar to man in primitive ages. A knowledge of the manners and customs of the present Australian aborigines has much conduced to the success of the endeavours to reconstruct a similar system of manners and customs in respect to man of the quaternary age. It was with the weapons and implements that we have just described that man, at the epoch of the great bear and mammoth, was able to repulse the attacks of the ferocious animals which prowled round his retreat and often assailed him (fig. 16). But the whole life of primitive man was not summed up in defend- ing himself against ferocious beasts, and in attacking them in the EPQCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 53 chase. Beyond the needs which were imposed upon him by conflict and hunting, he felt, besides, the constant necessity of quenching his thirst. Water is a thing in constant use by man, whether he be civilised or savage. The fluid nature of water renders it difficult to convey it except by enclosing it in bladders, leathern bottles, hollowed- out stumps of trees, plaited bowls, &c. Eeceptacles of this kind were certain ultimately to become dirty and unfit for the preservation of water ; added to this they could not endure the action of fire. It was certainly possible to hollow out stone, so as to serve as a receptacle for water ; but any kind of stone which was soft enough to be scooped out, and would retain its tenacity after this operation, is very rarely met with. Shells, too, might be used to hold a liquid ; but then shells are not to be found in every place. It was, therefore, necessary to resolve the problem how far it might be possible ttf make vessels which would be strong, capable of holding water, and able to stand the heat of the fire without breaking or warping. What was required was, in fact, the manufacture of pottery. The potter's art may, perhaps, be traced back to the most remote epochs of man. We have already seen, in the introduction to this work, that, in 1835, M. Joly found in the cave of Nabrigas (Lozere), a skull of the great bear pierced with a stone arrow-head, and that by the side of this skull were also discovered fragments of pottery, on which might still be seen the imprint of the fingers which moulded it. Thus, the potter's art may have already been exercised in the earliest period which we can assign to the development of mankind. Other causes also might lead us to believe that man, at a very early period of his existence, succeeded in the manufacture of rough pottery. The clay which is used in making all kinds of pottery, from the very lowest kitchen utensil up to the most precious specimens of por- celain, may be said to exist almost everywhere. By softening it and kneading it with water, it may be moulded into vessels of all shapes. By mere exposure to the heat of the sun, these vessels will assume a certain amount of cohesion ; for, as tradition tells us, the towers and palaces of ancient Nineveh were built entirely with bricks which had been baked in the sun. Yet the idea of hardening any clayey paste by means of the action of fire is so very simple, that we are not of opinion that pottery which had merely been baked in the sun was ever made use of to any great 54 THE STONE AGE. extent, even among primitive man. Mere chance, or the most casual observation, might have taught our earliest forefathers that a morsel of clay placed near a fire-hearth became hardened and altogether impene- trable to water, that is, that it formed a perfect specimen of pottery. Yet the art, though ancient, has not been universally found among mankind. Ere long, experience must have taught men certain improvements in the manufacture of pottery. Sand was added to the clay, so as to render it less subject to " flying " on its first meeting the heat of the fire ; next, dried straw was mixed with the clay in order to give it more coherence. In this way those rough vessels were produced, which were, -of course, moulded with the hand, and still bear the imprints of the workman's fingers. They were only half-baked, on account of the slight intensity of heat in the furnace which they were then obliged to make use of, which was nothing more than a wood fire, burning in the open air, on a stone hearth. From these data we give a representation (fig. 17) of the workshop of the earliest potter. In the gravel pits in the neighbourhood of Amiens we meet with small globular bodies with a hole through the middle, which are, indeed, nothing but fossil shells found in the white chalk (fig. 18). jX_p,-o B; Fig. 18. Fossil Shells used as Ornaments, and found in the Gravel at Amiens. It is probable that these stony beads were used to adorn the men con- temporary with the diluvial period. The natural holes which existed in them enabled them to be threaded as bracelets or necklaces. This, at least, was the opinion of Dr. Eigollot ; and it was founded on the fact that he had often found small heaps of these delicate little balls collected together in the same spot, as if an inundation had drifted them into the bed of the river without breaking the bond which held them together. The necklaces, which men and women had already begun to wear during the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth, were the first EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 55 outbreak of the sentiment of adornment, a feeling so natural to the human species. The way in which these necklaces were put together is, however, exactly similar to that which we meet with during the present day among savage tribes a thread on which a few shells were strung, which was passed round the neck. It has been supposed, from another series of wrought flints, found at Saint^Acheul by Boucher de Perthes, that the men of the epoch of the great bear and mammoth may have executed certain rough sketches of art-workmanship, representing either figures or symbols. Boucher de Perthes has, in fact, found flints which he considered to show representations, with varying degrees of resemblance, of the human head, in profile, three-quarter view, and full face ; also of animals, such as the rhinoceros and the mammoth. There are many other flints, evidently wrought by the hand of man, which were found by Boucher de Perthes in the same quaternary deposits ; but it would be a difficult matter to decide their intention or significance. Some, perhaps, were religious symbols, emblems of authority, &c. The features which enable us to recognise the work of man in these works of antediluvian art, are the symmetry of shape and the repetition of successive strokes by which the projecting portions are removed, the cutting edges sharpened, or the holes bored out. The natural colour of all the wrought flints we have just been con- sidering, which bring under our notice the weapons and utensils of man in the earliest epoch of his existence, is a grey which assumes every tint, from the brightest to the darkest ; but, generally speaking, they are stained and coloured according to the nature of the soil from which they are dug out. Argillaceous soils colour them white ; ochreous gravels give them a yellowish brown hue. Some are white on one side and brown on the other, probably from having lain between two different beds. This patina> (to use the established term) is the proof of their long- continued repose in the beds, and is, so to speak, the stamp of their antiquity. 56 THE STONE AGE. CHAPTEE III. The Man of the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch lived in Caverns Bone Caverns in the Quaternary Eock during the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch Mode of Formation of these Caverns Their Division into several Classes Implements of Flint, Bone, and Eeindeer-horn found in these Caverns The Burial-place at Aurignac Its probable Age Customs which it reveals Funeral Banquets during the Great Bear and Mammoth Epoch. HAVING given a description of the weapons and working implements of the men belonging to the great bear and mammoth epoch, we must now proceed to speak of their habitations. Caverns hollowed out in the depth of the rocks formed the first dwellings of man. We must, therefore, devote some degree of atten- tion to the simple and wild retreats of our forefathers. As the objects which have been found in these caverns are both numerous and varied in their character, they not only throw a vivid light on the manners and customs of primitive man, but also decisively prove the fact of his Fig. 19. Theoretical Section of a Vein of Clay in the Carboniferous Limestone, before the hollowing out of Valleys by diluvial Waters. being contemporary with mammals of species now extinct, such as the mammoth, the great bear, and the Rhinoceros tichorhinus. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 57 But before proceeding any further, it is necessary to inquire in what way these caverns could have been formed, in which we find accumulated so many relics of the existence of primitive man. M. Desnoyers, Librarian of the Museum of Natural History at Paris, is of opinion that these caverns are crevices of the same class as metalliferous lodes, only instead of containing metallic ores they must have been originally filled by the deposits of certain thermal springs. Fig. 20. Theoretical section of the same Vein of Clay converted into a Cavern, after the hollowing out of Valleys by diluvial Waters. Fig. 19 represents, according to M. Desnoyers' treatise on caverns, one of these primordial veins in the carboniferous limestone. At the time of the diluvial inundation, these veins were opened by the im- petuous action of the water. When thus cleared out and brought to the light of day, they assumed the aspect of caves, as represented in fig. 20. The European diluvial inundation was, as we know, posterior to the glacial epoch. It is also likely that caverns were sometimes produced by the falling in of portions of some of the interior strata, or that they were formerly the natural and subterranean channels of certain water- courses ; many instances of this kind being now known in different countries. We must also add that it is not probable that all caverns originated in the same way ; but that one or other of the several causes just enumerated must have contributed to their formation. Under the general denomination of caverns, all kinds of subter- ranean cavities are comprehended ; but it will be as well to introduce 58 THE STONE AGE. several distinctions in this respect. There are, in the first place, simple clefts or crevices, which are only narrow pits deviating but slightly from the vertical. Next we have grottos (or baumes as they are called in the south of France), which generally have a widely opening inlet, and are but of small extent. Lastly, we must draw a distinction between these and the real bone caverns, which consist of a series of chambers, separated by extremely narrow passages, and are often of very considerable dimensions. Some of these caverns occupy an extent of several leagues underground, with variations of level which render their exploration very difficult. They are generally very inaccessible, and it is almost always necessary to ply the pickaxe in order to clear a way from one chamber to another. In most of these grottos and caverns the ground and sides are covered with calcareous deposits, known by the name of stalactite and stalagmite, which sometimes meet one another, forming columns and pillars which confer on some of these subterranean halls an elegance replete with a kind of mysterious charm. These deposits are caused by the infiltrated water charged with carbonate of lime, which, oozing drop by drop through the interstices of the rock, slowly discharge the carbonic acid which held the carbonate of lime in solution, and the salts gradually precipitating form the crys- talline or amorphous deposits which constitute these natural columns. The calcareous deposits which spread over the ground of the caverns are called stalagmite, and the name of stalactite is given to those which hang down from the roof, forming pendants, natural decorations, and ornaments as of alabaster or marble, producing some- tunes the most magnificent effects. Under the stalagmite the largest number of animal bones have been found. This crust, which has been to them a preservatory grave, is so thick and hard that a pickaxe is required in order to break it. Thanks to the protecting cover, the bones have been sheltered from all the various causes of decomposition and destruction. The limestone formed a kind of cement which, uniting clay, mud, sand, flints, bones of men and animals, weapons and utensils into a compact mass, has preserved them for the study and consideration of scientific men in our own days. The soil called lone-earth is, in fact, found under the crystalline bed which covers the ground of the caverns. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 59 Fig. 21, which represents a section of the cave of Galeinreuth, in Bavaria, will enable us clearly to understand the position occupied by the bones in most of these caverns. Fig. 21. -The Cave of Galeinreuth, in Bavaria. Bone-earth consists of a reddish or yellowish clay, often mixed with pebbles, which seem to have come from some distant beds, for they cannot be attributed to the adjacent rocks. This stratum varies con- siderably in depth ; in some spots it is very thin, in others it rises almost to the top of the cavern, to a height of forty or fifty feet. But in this case it is, in reality, composed of several strata belonging to different ages, and explorers ought to note with much attention the exact depth of any of the organic remains found in their mass. There are, however, in several bone-caverns certain peculiarities which demand a special explanation. Caves often contain large heaps of bones, situated at heights which it would have been absolutely in- accessible to the animals which lived in these places. How, then, was it possible that these bones could have found their way to such an elevated position ? It is also a very strange fact, that no cavern has THE STONE AGE. ever produced an entire skeleton or even a whole limb of the skeleton of a man, and scarcely of any animal whatever. The bones, in fact, not only lie in confusion and utter disorder, but, up to the present time, it has been impossible to find all the bones which in times past formed an individual. It must, therefore, be admitted, that the accumulation of bones and human remains in most of the caves are owing to other causes than the residence of man and wild animals in these dark retreats. It is supposed, therefore, that the bones in question were deposited in these hollows by the rushing in of the currents of diluvial water, which had drifted them along in their course. A fact which renders this hypothesis likely is that drift-pebbles are constantly found in close proximity to these bones. Now these pebbles come from localities at considerable distances from the cavern ; often, indeed, terrestrial and fluviatile shells accompany these bones. It may sometimes be remarked that the femurs and tibias of large mammals have their points rubbed off, and the smallest bones are reduced to rounded fragments. These are all evident indications that these bones had been carried along by rapid currents of water, which swept away every- thing in their course ; or, in other words, by the current of the waters of the deluge which signalised the quaternary epoch. During this period of the existence of primitive man, all these caverns were not applied to the same purpose. Some were the dens of wild beasts, others formed the habitations of man, and others again were used as burial-places. There is no difficulty in the idea that dens of wild beasts might very readily be occupied by man, after he had killed or driven out the fierce inhabitants ; no discovery, however, has as yet confirmed this supposition. It can hardly be doubted that primitive man seldom dared to take up his abode in dens which had been, for some time, the refuge of any of the formidable carnivora ; if he did, it was only after having assured himself that these retreats had been altogether abandoned by their terrible inhabitants. We shall now proceed to consider these three classes of caverns. Caves which, during the quaternary epoch, have served as dens for wild animals, are very numerous. Experienced savants are enabled to recognise them by various indications. The bones they contain are never fractured ; but it may be seen that they have been gnawed by EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 61 carnivorous animals, as they still bear the marks of their teeth. Into these retreats the cave-lion (Felis spelsea) and the hyaena (Hytena spelsea) were accustomed to drag their prey, in order there to tear it to pieces and devour it, or divide it into portions for their young ones. In fact, in these caverns, excrements of the hyaena mixed with small and undigested bones are often found. The cave bear retired into the same retreats, but he probably only came there to pass the period of his hibernal sleep. Lastly, the same dens no doubt offered a refuge to sick or dying animals, who resorted thither in order to expire in peace. We have a proof of this in the traces of wounds and caries on some of the bones of animals found by Schmerling in the caverns of the Meuse ; also in the skull of a hyaena, the median ridge of which had been bitten and appeared to be half healed. Those caverns which formed a shelter for primitive man are, like the preceding ones, to be recognised by a mere inspection of the bones contained in them. The long bones of the ox, horse, stag, rhinoceros, and other quadrupeds which formed the food of man during the quaternary epoch, are always split ; and they are all broken in the same way, that is, lengthwise. The only cause for their having been split in this manner must have been the desire of extracting the marrow for the purpose of eating. Such a mode of breaking them would never have been practised by any animal. This apparently trivial circumstance is, however, of the highest importance. In fact, it leads to the following conclusion : " That man, having eaten large mammals of species now extinct, must have been contemporary with these species." We shall now proceed to examine the caverns which were used as burial-places for man. To M. Edouard Lartet, the celebrated palaeontologist, the honour must be ascribed of having been the first to collect any important data bearing on the fact that caverns were used for burial-places by the primitive man of the great bear and mammoth epoch. We have thus been led to discover the traces of a funeral custom belonging to the man of these remote ages ; we allude to the funeral banquet. The source of this information was the discovery of a pre-historic burial-place at Aurignac (Haute-Garonne), of which we have given an account in the Introduction to this work, which, however, we must again here refer to. 62 THE STONE AGE. Near the town of Aurignac rises the hill of Fajoles, which the inhabitants of the country, in their patois, call " mountagno de las Hajoles " (beech-tree mountain), a circumstance showing that it was formerly covered with beech-trees. As we have already stated, in the Introduction to this work, it was on one of the slopes of this hill that, in the year 1842, an excavator, named Bonnemaison, discovered a great slab of limestone placed in a vertical position and closing up an arched opening. In the cave closed up by this slab the excavator discovered the remains of seventeen human skeletons ! We have already told how tbese skeletons were removed to the village cemetery, and thus, unfortunately, for ever lost to the researches of science. Eighteen years after, in 1860, M. Lartet, having heard of the event, repaired to the spot, accompanied by Bonnemaison ; he quite understood how it had happened that, during a long course of centuries, the cave had escaped the notice of the inhabitants of the country. The entrance to it was concealed by masses of earth which, having been brought down from the top of the hill by the action of the water, had accu- mulated in front of the entrance, hiding a flat terrace, on which many vestiges of pre-historic times were found. As no disturbance of the ground had taken place in this spot subsequent to the date of the burial, this talus had been sufficient to protect the traces of the men who were contemporary with the mammoth, and to shield their relics from all exterior injury. Fig. 22. Section of the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac. Fig. 22, taken from M. Lartet's article, represents a vertical section of the sepulchral cave at Aurignac. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 63 After a rapid inspection of the cave and its surroundings, M. Lartet resolved to make complete and methodical excavations, aided by in- telligent workmen labouring under his superintendence ; the following are the results he obtained. A bed of " made ground" two feet thick covered the ground of the cave. In this were found some human remains which had escaped the first investigations ; also bones of mammals in good preservation, and exhibiting no fractures or teeth-marks, wrought flints, mostly of the Fig. 23 Flint Knife found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac. Fig. 24. Implement made of Reindeer's or Stag's Horn, found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac. knife type (fig. 23), and carved rein-deer horns, among which there was an instrument carefully tapered off and rounded, but deprived of its point (fig. 24), the other end being bevelled off, probably to receive a handle. 64 THE STONE AGE. We must here add, that at the time of his discovery Bonnemaison collected, from the midst of the hones, eighteen small discs which were pierced in the centre, and doubtless intended to be strung Fig. 25. Series of perforated Discs of the Cardium Shell found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac. together in a necklace or bracelet. These discs, which were formed of a white compact substance were recognised as sea-shells of a Cardium species. The cavern of Aurignac was a burial-place of the quaternary epoch, for M. Lartet found in it a quantity of the bones of the cave- bear, the bison, the reindeer, the horse, &c. In fig. 26, we give a representation of a fragment of the lower jaw of a great bear as an example of the state of the bones found in this cavern. Pig. 26. Fragment of the Lower Jaw of a Cave-Bear, found in the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac. The perfect state of preservation of these bones shows that they were neither broken to furnish food for man nor torn by carnivorous animals, particularly by hyaenas, as is seen in a great many caverns. We must therefore conclude from this peculiarity, that the stone which closed the entrance to the cave was moved away for every interment and carefully put back into its place immediately afterwards. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 65 In order to explain the presence of so many foreign objects by the side of the human skeletons such as animals' bones implements of flint and reindeers' horn necklaces or bracelets we must admit as probable that a funeral custom existed among the men of the great bear and mammoth epoch, which has been preserved in subsequent ages. They used to place in the tomb, close to the body, the weapons, hunting trophies, and ornaments of all sorts, belonging to the defunct. This custom still exists among many tribes in a more or less savage state. In front of the cave, there was, as we have already said, a kind of flat spot which had afterwards become covered with earth which had fallen down from the top of the hill. When the earth which covered this flat spot was cleared away, they met with another deposit con- taining bones. This deposit was situated on a prolongation of the ground on which the skeletons were placed in the interior of the cavern. Under this deposit, was a bed of ashes and charcoal, 5 to 7 inches thick. This was, therefore, the site of an ancient fire- hearth. In other words, in front of the sepulchral cave there was a kind of terrace upon which, after the interment of the body in the cavern, a feast called the funeral banquet was held. Kig. 27.- Upper Molar of n Bison, found in the Ashes of the Fire-liearth of the Sepulchral Cave at Aurignac. In this bed, situated in front of the cavern an immense number of the most interesting relics were discovered n large number of the teeth and broken bones of herbivorous animals (fig. 27) ; a hun- 66 THE STONE AGE. dred flint knives; two chipped flints, which archaeologists believe to be sling projectiles; a rounded pebble with a depression in the middle, which, according to Mr. Steinhauer, keeper of the Ethnographical Museum at Copenhagen, was used to flake off flint-knives ; lastly, a large quantity of implements made of rein- deers' horn, which exhibit the most varied shapes. We may mention, for instance, the arrow-heads fashioned very simply, without wings or barbs (fig. 28) ; some of these heads appear to have been sub- jected to the action of fire, as if they had been left in the body of the animal during the process of cooking; a bodkin made of roe- buck's horn (fig. 29) very carefully pointed, and in such a good Fig. 28. Arrow-head made of Reindeer's Horn, found in the Sepulchral Cave of Auriguac. Kig. 29. Bodkin made of Roebuck's Horn, found in the Sepulchral Cave of Aurlgnac. state of preservation that it might still be used, says M. Lartet, to perforate the skins of animals before sewing them ; and this must, in fact, have been its use ; a second instrument, similar to the preceding, but less finely pointed, which M. Lartet is inclined to consider as an instrument for tatooing; some thin blades of various sizes, which, according to Steinhauer, much resemble the reindeer-horn polishers still used by the Laplanders to flatten down the seams of EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 67 their coarse skin-garments ; another blade, accidentally broken at both ends, one of the sides of which is perfectly polished and shows two series of transversal lines at equal distances apart ; the lateral edges of this blade are marked with deeper notches at almost regu- lar intervals (fig. 30). M. Lartet considers that these lines and notches are signs of numeration, and Mr. Steinhauer has propounded the idea that they are hunting-marks. Both hypotheses are possible, and the more so as they do not contradict each other. Fig. 30. Truncated Blade in Reindeer's Horn, bearing two Series of transversal Lint's and Notches, probably used fur numeration. Among the bones, some were partly carbonised, others, only scorched, but the greater number had not been subjected at all to the action of fire. All the bones having medullary hollows, and com- monly called marrow-bones, were broken lengthwise, a certain indica- tion that this operation had been effected to extract the marrow, and that these bones had been used at a feast carried on according to the manners and customs of that epoch, when the marrow out of animal bones was regarded as the most delicious viand many men of our own days being also of this opinion. A certain number of these bones exhibited shallow cuts, showing that a sharp instrument had been used to detach the flesh from them. Nearly all those which had not been subjected to the action of fire bore the mark of the teeth of some carnivorous animal. This animal, doubtless, came to gnaw them after man had taken his departure from the spot. This carnivorous animal could have been none other than the hyaena, as is shown by the excrements left in the place. F 2 68 THE STONE AGE. The ossiferous mound situated immediately above the fire-hearth contained, like the subjacent ashes, a large number of the bones of certain herbivorous animals. The discovery of the fire-hearth situated in front of the cave of Aurignac, and the various remains which were found intermingled underneath it, enable us to form some idea of the way in which funeral ceremonies took place among the men of the great bear epoch. The parents and friends of the defunct accompanied him to his last resting- place ; after which, they assembled together to partake of a feast in front of the tomb soon to be closed on his remains. Then everyone took his departure, leaving the scene of their banquet free to the hyaenas, which came to devour the remains of the meal. This custom of funeral-feasts is, doubtless, very natural, as it has been handed down to our days ; though it now chiefly exists among the poorer classes. v In accordance with the preceding data we here represent (fig. 31) & funeral feast during the great bear and mammoth epoch. On a flat space situated in front of the cave destined to receive the body of the defunct, some men covered merely with bears' skins with the hair on them are seated round a fire, taking their part in the funeral-feast. The flesh of the great bear and mammoth forms the menu of these primitive love-feasts. In the distance may be seen the colossal form of the mammoth, which forms the chief dish of the banquet. The manner of eating is that which distinguishes the men of that epoch ; they suck the marrow from the long bones which have previously been split lengthwise, and eat the flesh of the animals cooked on the hearth. The dead body is left at the entrance of the cavern ; the primitive grave-stone will soon close on it for ever. The relics found in the interior of the sepulchral cave of Aurignac have led to a very remarkable inference, which shows how interesting and fertile are the studies which have been made by naturalists on the subject of the antiquity of man. The weapons, the trophies, the orna- ments, and the joints of meat, placed by the side of the defunct does not all this seem to establish the fact that a belief in a future life existed at an extraordinarily remote epoch ? What could have been the use of these provisions for travelling, and these instruments of war, if the man who had disappeared from this world was not to live again in another? The great and supreme truth that the whole EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 69 being of man does not die with his material body is, therefore, innate in the human heart ; since it is met with in the most remote ages, and even existed in the mental consciousness of the man of the stone age. An instinct of art also appears to have manifested itself in the human race at this extremely ancient date. Thus, one of the articles picked up in the sepulchral cave of Aurignac consisted of a canine tooth of a young cave-bear, perforated so as to allow of its being suspended in some way or other. Now this tooth is so carved that no one can help recognising in it a rough outline of some animal shape, the precise nature of which is difficult to determine, although it may, perhaps, be the head of a bird. It was. doubtless, an amulet or jewel belonging to one of the men interred in the cave, and was buried with him because he probably attached a great value to it. This object, therefore, shows us that some instincts of art existed in the men who hunted the great bear and mammoth. Fig. 32. Carved and perforated Canine Tooth of a young Cave-Bear. We shall close this account of the valuable discoveries which were made in the sepulchral cave of Aurignac, by giving a list of the species of mammals the bones of which were found either in the interior or at the exterior of this cavern. The first six species are extinct ; the others are still living :< The great cave-bear (Ursus spelseus); the mammoth (Elephas primiaenius) 1 the rhinoceros (Rhinoceros tichorhinus) ; the great cave-lion (Felis spelwa) ; the cave-hyaena (Hyaena spelsea) ; the gigantic stag (Megaeeros liibernicus) ; the bison, the reindeer, the stag. 70 THE STOKE AGE. the horse, the ass, the roe, the wild boar, the fox, the wolf, the wild cat, the badger, and the polecat. We think it as well to place before the eyes of our readers the exact forms of the heads of the three great fossil animals found in the cave of Aurignac, which geologically characterise the great bear and mammoth epoch, and evidently prove that man was contemporary with these extinct species. Figs. 33, 34, and 35 represent the heads Fig. 33. Head of a Cave-Bear found in the Cave of Aurignac. of the cave-bear, the Rhinoceros tichorhinus, and the megaceros or gigantic stag ; they are taken from the casts which adorn the great hall of the Archaeological and Pre-historic Museum at Saint-Germain, and are among the most curious ornaments of this remarkable museum. Fig. 34. Head of the Rhinoceros Ticltorhinus found in the Cave of Aurignac. Of all these species, the fox has left behind him the largest number of remains. - This carnivorous animal was represented by about eighteen to twenty individual specimens. Neither the mammoth, great cave-lion, nor wild boar appear to have been conveyed into the cave in an entire state ; for two or three molar or incisive teeth are the only remains of their carcases which have been found. But still it is a certain fact that the men who fed on the Rhinoceros EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 71 fichorinus buried their dead in this cavern. In fact, M. Lartet asserts that the bones of the rhinoceros had been split by man in order to extract the marrow. They had also been gnawed by hyfenas, which would not have been the case if these bones had not been thrown away, and left on the ground in a fresh state. Fig. 35. Head of u great Stag (Megaeerus httternicus) found in ihe Cave of Aurigtiai-. The burial-place of Aurignac dates back to the earliest antiquity, that is to say, it was anterior to the European diluvial period. Thus, according to M. Lartet, the great cave-bear was the first of the extinct species to disappear; then the mammoth and Rhinoceros tichorhinus were lost sight of; still later, the reindeer first, and then the bison, migrated to the northern and eastern regions of Europe. Now, the diluvium, that is to say, the beds formed by drifted pebbles and originating in the great derangement caused by the inundation of the quaternary epoch, does not contain any traces of the bones of the cave-bear. It, therefore, belongs to an epoch of the stone age more recent than the cave of Aurignac.* All this goes to prove that this sepulchral cave, which has furnished the science of the antiquity of man with so much valuable information, belonged to the great bear and mammoth epoch, which preceded the diluvial cataclysm. * ' Nouvellfs liYrhrivlics Mir lu ( '< -xistmcc tie 1'Honime ct des grauda Maiumiferes t'ossilcs.' (' Annulcs dc Sciences miturellcH, Zoologie,' vol. xv.) 72 THE STONE AGE. CHAPTER IV. Other Caves of the Epoch of the Great Bear and Mammoth Type of the Human Kace during the Epochs of the Great Bear and the Reindeer The Skulls from the Caves of Engis and Neanderthal. WITH regard to the bone-caves, which have furnished us with such- valuable information as to the men who lived in the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth, we have laid down a necessary dis- tinction, dividing them into caves which served as dens for wild beasts, those which have afforded a refuge for man, and those which were used as his burial-places. In order to complete this subject and set forth the whole of the discoveries which have been made by science on this interesting point, we will say a few words as to the principal bone-caves belonging to the same epoch which have been studied in France, England and Belgium. We will, in the first place, call attention to the fact that these caverns, taken together, embrace a very long period of time, perhaps an enormous number of centuries, and that hence a considerable difference must result in the nature of the remains of human industry which they contain. Some certainly manifest a perceptible superiority over others in an industrial point of view; but the reason is that they belong to a period somewhat nearer our own, although still forming a -part of the epoch of the great bear and mammoth. We shall divide the caves in France into three groups those of the east, those of the west and centre, and those of the south. In the first group, we shall mention the Trou de la Fontaine and the Cave of Sainte-Reine, both situated in the environs of Toul (Meurthe). These two caves have furnished bones of bears, hyaenas, and the rhinoceros, along with the products of human industry. That of Saiiite-Keine has been explored by M. Gruerin, and espe- cially by M. Husson, who has searched it with much care. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 73 The second group includes the grottos des Fees, of Vergisson, Vallieres, and La Chaise. The Grotte des Fees, at Arcy (Yonne), has been searched and described by M. de Vibraye, who ascertained the existence of two distinct beds, the upper one belonging to the reindeer epoch, the lower one to the great bear epoch. These two beds were divided from each other by matter which had formed a part of the roof of the cave, and had fallen down on the earlier deposit. In the more ancient bed of the two, M. de Vibraye collected fractured bones of the bear and cave-hyaena, the mammoth, and the Rhinoceros tichor- hinus, all intermingled with flints wrought by the hand of man, amongst which were chips of hyaline quartz (rock-crystal.) His fellow-labourer, M. Franchet, extracted from it a human atlas (the upper part of the vertebral column). The cave of Vergisson (Saone-et-Loire), explored by M. de Ferry, furnished the same kind of bones as the preceding cave, and also bones of the bison, the reindeer, the horse, the wolf, and the fox, all intermixed with wrought flints and fragments of rough pottery. The presence of this pottery indicated that the cave of Vergisson belonged to the latter period of the great bear epoch. The cave of Vallieres (Loir-et-Cher), was worked, first by M. de Vibraye, and subsequently by the Abbe Bourgeois. There was nothing particular to be remarked. The cave of La Chaise, near Vouthon (Charente), explored by MM. Bourgeois and Delaunay. furnished bones of the cave-bear, the rhinoceros, and the reindeer, flint blades and scrapers, a bodkin and a kind of hook made of bone, an arrow-head in the shape of a willow- leaf likewise of bone, a bone perforated so as to hang on a string, and, what is more remarkable, two long rods of reindeer's horn, tapering at one end and bevelled off at the other, on which figures of animals were graven. These relics betray an artistic feeling of a decided character as existing in the men, the traces of whom are found in this cave. Among the caves in the south of France, we must specify those of Perigord, those of Bas Languedoc, and of the district of Foix (Depart- ment of Ariege). The caves of Pe'rigord have all been explored by MM, Lartet and Christy, who have also given learned descriptions of them. We will 74 THE STONE AGE. mention the caves of the Gorge d'Enfer and Moustier, in the valley of the Vezere, and that of Pey de I'Aze, all three situate in the depart- ment of Dordogne (arrondisseinent of Sarlat). The two caves of the Gorge d'Enfer were, unfortunately, cleared out in 1793, in order to utilise the deposits of saltpetre which they contained in the manufacture of gunpowder. They have, however, furnished flints chipped into the shapes of scrapers, daggers, &c., a small pebble of white quartz, hollowed out on one side, which had probably been used as a mortar, and instruments of bone or reindeer's horn, three of which showed numerous notches. Bones of the great bear clearly indicated the age of these settlements. The cave of Moustier, situated about 80 feet above the Vezere, is celebrated for the great number and characteristic shapes of its stone implements, which we have before spoken of. Hatchets of the almond-shaped type, like those of the diluvium of Abbeville and Saint-Acheul, were very plentiful. Bi-convex spear-heads were also found, of very careful workmanship, and instruments which might be held in the hand, some of them of considerable dimensions ; but no pieces of bone or of reindeer's horn were discovered which had been adapted to any purpose whatever. The bones were those of the great bear and cave-hyaena, accompanied by separate lamina of molars of the mammoth, the use of which it is impossible to explain. Similar fragments were met with in some of the other Perigord settlements, and M. Lartet also found some at Aurignac. Next to the cave of Pey de 1'Aze, on which we shall not dwell, come the caverns of Bas-Languedoc, which we shall only enumerate. They consist of the caves of Pondres and Souvignargues (He'rault), which were studied in 1829 by M. de Christol, who recognised, from the data he derived from them, the co-existence of man and the great extinct mammals ; also those of Pontil and La Roque, the first ex- plored by M. Paul Gervais, the second by M. Boutin. We shall now consider the caves of the department of Ariege, some of which furnish objects of very considerable interest. They consist of the caves of Massat, Lherm, and Bouiclieta. Two caves, very remarkable on account of their extent, have been explored by M. Fontan ; they are situate in the valley of Massat, which contains others of less importance. One is placed at the foot of a limestone mountain, about 60 feet above the bottom of the valley ; EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 75 the opening of the other is much higher up ; only the latter belongs to the great bear epoch. From the results of his explorations, M. Fontan is of opinion that the ground in them has been greatly altered by some violent inunda- tion which has intermingled the remains of various geological epochs. This savant found in the cave of Massat the bones of the bear, the hyaena and the great cave-lion, the fox, the badger, the wild boar, the roe, &c., two human teeth, and a bone arrow-head. Two beds of ashes and charcoal were also remarked at different depths. In the upper cave of Massat was found the curious stone on which is designed with tolerable correctness a sketch of the great cave- bear (fig. 36). This singular record marks out for us the earliest Fig. 36. Sketch of the Great Bear on a Stone found in the Cave of Massat. trace of the art of design, which we shall find developing itself in a more decisive way during the pre-historic period which follows the one we are now considering. The caves of Lherm and Bouicheta were inspected by 31 M. Gar- rigou and Filhol, who found in them bones of most of the great mammals belonging to extinct species, and particularly those of the great bear, many of which are broken, and still show the marks of the instruments which were used for cutting the flesh off them. Some have been gnawed by hyaenas, as proved by the deep grooves with which they are marked. Lower jaw-bones of the great bear, and of the great cave-lion, have been found fashioned, according to a uniform plan, in the shape of hoes. MM. Garrigou and Filhol were of opinion that these jaw-bones, when thus modified, might have been used as offensive weapons. 76 THE STONE AGE. The cave of Lherm contained also human bones ; namely, three teeth, a fragment of a scapula, a broken ulna and radius, and the last joint of the great toe ; all these remains presented exactly the same appearance and condition as those of the Ursus spelfeus, and must, therefore, have belonged to the same epoch. We have stated that numerous caves have been explored in Eng- land, Belgium, and several other countries. We shall not undertake to give with regard to each details which would only be a repro- duction of those which precede. We therefore confine ourselves to mentioning the most celebrated of the caverns belonging to the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth. In England we have the Kent's Hole and Brixham caverns, near Torquay in Devonshire, the latter of which is many hundred yards in extent ; the caves of the Gower peninsula, in Glamorganshire (South Wales), which have been carefully studied within the last few years by Messrs. Falconer and Wood ; in these were found flint instruments along with bones of the Elephas antiquus and the Rhinoceros hemi- ttechus, species which were still more ancient than the mammoth and the Rhinoceros tichorhinus ; those of Kirkdale, in Yorkshire, explored by Dr. Buckland, the geologist ; those near Wells in Somersetshire, Wokey Hole, Minchin Hole, &c. We must mention, in the north of Italy, the caves of Chiampo and Laglio, on the edge of the Lake of Como, in which, just as at Ver- gisson, fragments of rough pottery have been discovered, indicating some degree of progress in the manufacture ; also the caves in the neighbourhood of Palermo, and especially those of San Giro and Macagnone. In the last-mentioned cave, in the midst of an osseous breccia which rose to the roof, Dr. Falconer collected flint instruments, splinters of bone, pieces of baked clay and wood charcoal mixed up with large land-shells (Helix vermiculata), in a perfect state of preservation, horses' teeth, and the excrements of the hyaena, all cemented together in a deposit of carbonate of lime. In a lower bed were found the bones of various species of the hippopotamus, the Elephas antiquus, and other great mammals. Lastly, Spain, Algeria, Egypt, and Syria also present to our notice caves belonging to the Stone Age. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 77 In the New World various bone-caverns have been explored. We must especially mention Brazil, in which country Lund searched no less than eight hundred caves of different epochs, exhuming in them a great number of unknown animal species. In one of these caves, situated near the Lake of Sumidouro, Lund found some human bones which had formed a part of thirty individuals of different ages, and were " in a similar state of decomposition, and in similar circumstances to the bones of various extinct species of animals." Thus far we have designedly omitted to mention the Belgian caves. They have, in fact, furnished us with such remarkable relics of former ages that, in dealing with them, we could not confine ourselves to a mere notice. The caves in the neighbourhood of Liege, which were explored in 1833 by Schmerling, deserve to be described in some detail. Schmerling examined more than forty caves in the Valley of the Meuse and its tributaries. The access to some of these caves was so difficult that in order to reach them it was necessary for the explorer to let himself down by a cord, and then to crawl flat on his face through narrow galleries, so as to make his way into the great chambers ; there he was obliged to remain for hours, and sometimes whole days, standing up to his knees in mud, with water dripping from the walls upon his head, while overlooking the workmen break- ing up with their pickaxes the layer of stalagmite, so as to bring to light the bone earth the records on which are inscribed the palpable evidences of the high antiquity of man. Schmerling was compelled to accomplish a perilous expedition of this kind in his visit to the cave of Engis, which has become celebrated by the two human skulls found there by him. Nearly all the caves in the province of Liege contain scattered bones of the great bear, the cave-hyaena, the mammoth, and the rhinoceros, intermixed with those of species which are still living, such as the wolf, the wild boar, the 'roe, the beaver, the porcupine, &c. Several of them contained human bones, likewise much scattered and nibbed ; they were found in all positions, and at every elevation, sometimes above and sometimes below the above-mentioned animal remains ; from this it may be concluded that these caves had been filled with running water, which drifted in all kinds of debris. None of them, however, contained any gnawed bones, or the fossil excre- ment of any animal species, which puts an end 7. 120 THE STONE AGE. by M. Lartefc to have been a summer dwelling-place, the occupiers of which lived on raw flesh and snails, for no traces of a hearth are to be seen, although it must have been used for a considerable time as a shelter by primitive man ; the Cave of Lourdes, near Tarbes (Hautes- Pyrentes , in which M. Milne-Edwards met with a fragment of a human skull, belonging to an adult individual ; the Cave of Espalungue, also called the Grotto of Izeste (Basses-Pyrenees), where MM. Garrigou and Martin found a human bone, the fifth left metatarsal ; the Cave of Savigne (Yienne), situated on the banks of the Charente, and discovered by M. Joly-Leterme, an architect of Samur, who there found a fragment of a stag's bone, on which the bodies of two animals are graven with hatchings to indicate shadows ; the Grottos of La Balme and Betlienas, in Dauphine, explored by M. Chantre ; lastly, the settlement of Solutre, in the neighbourhood of Macon, from which MM. Ferry and Arcelin have exhumed two human skulls, together with some very fine flint instruments of the Laugerie-Haute type. These settlements do not all belong to the same epoch, although most of them correspond to the long period known as the reindeer epoch. It is not always possible to determine their comparative chronology. From the state of their debris it can, however, be ascer- tained, that the caves of Lourdes and Espalungue date back to the most ancient period of the reindeer epoch ; whilst the settlements of Perigord, of Tarn-et-Garonne, and of Maconnais are of a later date. The cave of Massat seems as if it ought to be dated at the beginning of the wrought stone epoch, for no bones have been found there, either of the reindeer or the horse ; the remains of the bison are the sole representatives of the extinct animal species. In concluding this list of the French bone caves which have served to throw a light upon the peculiar features of man's existence during the reindeer epoch, we must not omit to mention the Belgian caves, which have been so zealously explored by M. Edouard Dupont. From the preceding pages, we may perceive how especially important the latter have been in the elucidation of the characteristics of man's physical organisation during this epoch. France and Belgium are not the only countries which have furnished monuments relating to man's history during the reindeer epoch. We must not omit to mention that settlements of this epoch have been discovered both in Germany and also in Switzerland. EPOCH OF EXTINCT ANIMALS. 121 In 1866 a great quantity of bones and broken instruments were found at the bottom of an ancient glacier-moraine in the neighbour- hood of Kabensburg, not far from the lake of Constance. The bones of the reindeer formed about ninety-eight hundredths of these re- mains. The other debris were the bones of the horse, the wolf, the brown bear, the white fox, the glutton and the ox. In 1858, on a mountain near Geneva, a cave was discovered about 12 feet deep and 6 feet wide, which contained, under a layer of carbonate of lime, a great quantity of flints and bones. The bones of the reindeer formed the great majority of them, for eighteen skeletons of this animal were found. The residue of the remains were composed of four horses, six ibex, intermingled with the bones of the marmot, the chamois, and the hazel-hen ; in short, the bones of the whole animal population which, at the present time, has abandoned the valleys of Switzerland, and is now only to be met with on the high mountains of the Alps. III. THE POLISHED-STONE EPOCH ; OR, THE EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 125 CHAPTER I. The European Deluge The Dwelling-place of Man during the Polished-stone Epoch The Caves and Rock-shelters still used as Dwelling-places Principal Caves belonging to the Polished-stone Epoch which have been explored up to the present Time The Food of Man during this period. AIDED by records drawn from the bowels of the earth, we have now traversed the series of antediluvian ages since the era when man first made his appearance on the earth, and have been enabled, though but very imperfectly, to re-construct the history of our primitive fore- fathers. "We will now leave this epoch, through the dark night of which science seeks almost in vain to penetrate, and turn our atten- tion to a period the traces of which are more numerous and more easily grasped by our intelligence a period, therefore, which we are able to characterise with a much greater degree of precision. A great catastrophe, the tradition of which is preserved in the memory of all nations, marked in Europe the end of the quaternary epoch. It is not easy to assign the exact causes for this great event in the earth's history ; but whatever may be the explanation given, it is certain that a cataclysm, caused by the violent flowing of rushing water, took place during the quaternary geological epoch; for the traces of it are everywhere visible. These traces consist of a reddish clayey deposit, mixed with sand and pebbles. This deposit is called in some countries red diluvium, and in others grey diluvium. In the valley of the Rhone and the Rhine it is covered with a layer of loamy deposit, which is known to geologists by the name of loess or lehm, and as to the origin of which they are not all agreed. Sir Charles Lyell is of opinion that this mud was produced by the crushing of the rocks by early Alpine glnciers, and that it was afterwards carried down by the streams of water which descended from these mountains. This mud covers a great portion of Belgium, 126 THE STONE AGE. where it is from 10 to 30 feet in thickness, and supplies with material a large number of brickfields. This deposit, that is the diluvial beds, constitutes nearly the most recent of all those which form the earth's crust ; in many European countries, it is, in fact the ground trodden under the feet of the present population. The inundation to which the diluvium is referred closes the series of the quaternary ages. After this era, the present geological period commences, which is characterised by the almost entire permanency of the vertical outline of the earth, and by the formation of peat-bogs. The earliest documents afforded us by history are very far from going back to the starting-point of this period. The history of the ages which we call historical is very far from having attained to the beginning of the present geological epoch. In order to continue our account of the progressive development of primitive man, we must now turn our attention to the Polished- stone Epoch, or the Epoch of Tamed Animals, which precedes the Metal Age. As the facts which we shall have to review are very numerous, we will, in the first place, consider this epoch as it affects those parts of our continent which form the present France and Belgium; next, with reference to Denmark and Switzerland, in which countries we shall have to point out certain manners and customs of man of an altogether special character. We shall consider in turn : 1st. The habitation of man during the polished-stone epoch. 2nd. His system of food. 3rd. His arts and manufactures. 4th. The weapons manufactured by him, and their use in war. 5th. His attainments in agriculture, fishing, and navigation. 6th. His funeral ceremonies. 7th. Lastly, the characteristics of mankind during this epoch. Habitation. In that part of the European continent which now forms the country called France, man, during that period we desig- nate under the name of the polished-stone epoch, continued for a considerable time to inhabit rock-shelters and caves which afforded him the best retreat from the attacks of wild beasts. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 127 This fact has been specially proved to have been the case in the extreme south of the above-mentioned country. Among the investi- gations which have contributed towards its verification, we must give particular notice to those made by MM. Garrigou and Filhol in the caves of the Pyrenees (Ariege). These two savants have also ex- plored the caves of Pradieres, Bedeilhac, Labart, Niaux, Ussat, and Fontanel.* In one of these caves, which we have already mentioned in the preceding chapter, but to which we must again call attention for they belong both to the polished stone, and also to the reindeer epoch MM. Garrigou and 'Filhol found the bones of a huge ox, the urus or Bos primigenius, a smaller kind of ox, the stag, the sheep, the goat, the antelope, the chamois, the wild boar, the wolf, the dog, the fox, the badger, the hare, and possibly those of the horse. Neither the bones of the reindeer nor the bison are included in this list of names ; on account of the mildness of the climate, these two species had already migrated towards the north and east in search of a colder atmosphere. The remains of hearths, bones split lengthwise, and broken skulls, indicate that the inhabitants of these caves lived on much the same food as their ancestors. It is probable that they also ate raw snails, 'for a large quantity of their shells were found in this cave, and also in the cavern of Massat,t the presence of which can only be accounted for in this way. These remains were found intermingled with piercers, spear-heads, and arrow-heads, all made of bone ; also hatchets, knives, and scratchers, made of flint, and also of various other substances, which were more plentiful than flint in that country, such as siliceous schist, quartzite, leptinite and serpentine stones. These instruments were carefully wrought, and a few had been polished at one end on a slab of flagstone. In the cave of Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrenees), which has been ex- plored by M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, two layers were observed; * ' L'Homme Fossile des Cavernes de Lombrive et de Lhenn." Toulouse, 18(52. Illustrated. ' L'Age de Pierre dnns lea Vallccs do Tarascon ' (Arie'ge). Tarascon, 1863. t 'Sur deux Cavernes decouvertes dans In Montagne de Kaer a Mnssnt' (Ariege). Quott'd by Lyoll, Appendix to 'The Antiquity of Man,' p. 247. 128 THE STONE AGE. one belonging to the reindeer epoch, and the other to the polished- stone epoch.* The cave of Pontil (Herault), which has been care- fully examined by Professor Gervais,t has furnished remains of every epoch including the bronze age ; we must, however, except the rein- deer epoch, which is not represented in this cave. Lastly, we will mention the cave of Saint-Jean-d'Alcas (Aveyron), which has been explored, at different times, by M. Cazalis de Fon- douce. This is a sepulchral cave, like that of Aurignac. When it was first explored,. about twenty years ago, five human skulls, in good preservation, were found in it a discovery, the importance of which was then unheeded, and the skulls were, ' in consequence, totally lost to science. Flint, jade, and serpentine instruments, carved bones, remains of rough pottery, stone amulets, and the shells of shellfish, which had formed necklaces and bracelets, were intermingled with human bones. At Saint- Jean-d'Alcas, M. Cazalis de Fondouce did not meet with any remains of funeral banquets such as were found at Aurignac and Furfooz; he only noticed two large flag-stones lying across one another at the mouth of the cave, so as to make the inlet consider- ably narrower. This cave, according to a recent publication of M. Cazalis, must be referred to a more recent epoch than was at first supposed, for some fragments of metallic substances were found in it. It must, therefore, have belonged to a late period of the polished-stone epoch. J Mans System of Feeding during the Polished- stone Epoch. In order to obtain full information on the subject of man's food in the north and centre of Europe during the polished-stone epoch, we must appeal to the interesting researches of which Denmark has been the scene during the last few years ; but these researches, on account of their importance, require a detailed account. * ' De I'Existence de 1'Homme pendant la Pe'riode quaternaire dans la grotte dc Lourdes' (Hautes-Pyre'nees). (' Annales des Sciences Naturelles,' 4th series, vol. xvii.) t 'Memoires de 1'Acade'mie de Montpellier' ('Section des Sciences',), 1857, vol. iii. p. 509. J '' Sur une Caverne de 1'Age de la Pierre, situee pres de Saint -Jean-d'Alcas (Aveyron), 1864. ' Derniers Temps de 1'Age de la Pierre Polie dans 1'Aveyron, Montpellier, 18G7. Illustrated. Fltf. 76. Mun of tlio PnlLslinl-stnnr K|K>C|I. (Pago 128.) EPOCH OP TAMED ANIMALS. 129 CHAPTER II. The Kjoekken-Moeddinga or "Kitchen- middens" of Denmark Mode of Life of the Men living in Denmark during the Polished- stone Epoch The Domestication of the Dog The Art of Fishing during the Polished-stone Epoch Fishing-nets Weapons and Instruments of War Type of the Human Kace ; the Borreby Skull. ALTHOUGH classed in the lowest rank on account of the small extent of its territory and the number of its inhabitants, the Danish nation is, nevertheless, one of the most important in Europe, in virtue of the eminence to which it has attained in science and arts. This valiant, although numerically speaking, inconsiderable people, can boast of a great number of distinguished men who are an honour to science. The unwearied researches of their archaeologists and anti- quarians have ransacked the dust of bygone ages, in order to call into new life the features of a vanished world. Their labours, guided by the observations of naturalists, have brought out into the clear light of day some of the earliest stages in man's existence and progress. There is no part of the world more adapted than Denmark to this kind of investigation. Antiquities may be met with at every step ; the real point in question is to know how to examine them properly, so as to obtain from them important revelations concerning the manners, customs, and manufactures of the pre-historic inhabitants. The Museum of Copenhagen, which contains antiquities from various Scandinavian states, is, in this respect, without a rival in the world. Among the objects arranged in this well-stocked Museum a great many specimens may be observed which have come from the so-called kitchen-middens. In the first place, what are these kjoeMcen-moeddings, or kitchen- middens, with their uncouth Scandinavian name ? 130 THE STONE AGE. Immense accumulations of shells have been observed on different points of the Danish coast, chiefly in the north, -where the sea enters those narrow deep creeks, known by the name of fiords. These deposits are not generally raised more than about 3 feet above the level of the sea ; but in some steep places their altitude is greater. They are about 3 to 10 feet in thickness, and from 100 to 200 feet in width ; their length is sometimes as much as 1000 feet, with a width of from 150 to 250 feet. On some of the more level shores they form perfect hills, on which, as at Havelse, windmills are some- times built. What do we meet with iri these heaps ? An immense quantity of sea- shells, especially those of the oyster, broken bones of mammiferous animals, remains of birds and fish ; and, lastly, some roughly- wrought flints. The first idea formed with regard to these kitchen-middens was that they were nothing but banks of fossil shells, beds which had formerly been submerged, and subsequently brought to light by an upheaval of the earth caused by some volcanic cause. But M. Steen- strup, a Danish savant, opposed this opinion, basing his contradiction on the fact that these shells belong to four different species which are never found together, and consequently they must have been brought together by man. M. Steenstrup also called attention to the fact that almost all these shells must have belonged to full-grown animals, and that there were hardly any young ones to be found amongst them. A peculiarity of this kind is an evident indication of the exercise of some rational purpose, in fact, of an act of the human will. When all the debris and relics which we have enumerated were discovered in these kitchen-middens, when the remains of hearths small spots which still retained traces of fire were found in them, the origin of these heaps were readily conjectured. Tribes once existed there who subsisted on the products of fishing and hunting, and threw out round their cabins the remains of their meals, consist- ing especially of the debris of shell-fish. These remains gradually accumulated, and constituted the considerable heaps which we are discussing ; hence the name of Jcjoekken-moedding, composed of two words kjoekken, kitchen; and moedding, heap of refuse. These " kitchen-middens," as they are called, are, therefore, the refuse from the meals of the primitive population of Denmark. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 131 If we consider the heaps of oyster-shells and other debris which accumulate in the neighbourhood of eating-houses in certain districts, we may readily understand, comparing great things with small, how these Danish kitchen-middens were produced. I myself well recollect having noticed in the environs of Montpellier small hillocks of a similar character, formed 'by the accumulation of oyster-shells, mussels, and clams. When the conviction was once arrived at that these kitchen-middens were the refuse of the meals of the primitive inhabitants, the careful excavation of all these heaps scattered along the Danish coast became an extremely interesting operation. It might be justly expected that some data would be collected as to the customs and manufactures of the ancient dwellers in these countries. A commission was, in con- sequence, appointed by the Danish Government to examine these deposits, and to publish the results of its labours.. This pmmission was composed of three savants, each of whom were eminent in their respective line Steenstrup, the naturalist, Forch- hammer, a geologist, and the archaeologist, Worsaae and performed its task with as much talent as zeal. The observations which were' made are recorded in three reports presented to the Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen. From these documents are borrowed most of the details which follow. Before proceeding to acquaint our readers with the facts brought to light by the Danish commission, it will be well to remark that Den- mark does not stand alone in possessing these kitchen-middens. They have been discovered in England in Cornwall and Devonshire in Scotland, and even in France, near Hyeres (Bouches-du-Rhone).* MM. Sauvage and Hamy have pointed out to M. de Mortillet the existence of deposits of this kind in the Pas-de-Calais. They may be noticed, say these naturalists, at La Salle (Commune of Outreau) at certain parts of the coast of Portel, and especially a very large heap at Cronquelets (Commune of Etaples.) They chiefly consist of the cardium edule, which appear to abound in the kitchen-middens of the Pas-de-Calais. Messrs. Evans, Prestwich, and Lubbock observed one of these * 'Note sur UH Araas do. Coquillcs melees a des Silex tallies, signale' sur les Cotes de Provence,' by M. A. Gory (' Revuo Arche'ologique '). Quoted in the ' Mntcriaux de 1'histoire positive de THornine," by M. do Mortillet, vol. i. p. r>:;.~. K 2 132 THE STONE AGE. deposits at Saint-Valery, near the mouth of the Somme. Added to this, they have been described by various travellers as existing in different parts of the world. Dampier studied them in Australia, and Darwin in Tierra del Fuego, where deposits of the same character are now in the course of formation. M. Pereira da Costa found one on the coast of Portugal ; Sir C. Lyell has testified to the existence of others on the coasts of Massachusetts and Georgia, in the United States ; M. Strobel, on the coasts of Brazil. But those in Denmark are the only deposits of this kind which have been the subject of in- vestigations of a deliberate and serious character. Almost all these kitchen-middens are found on the coast, along the fiords, where the action of the waves is not much felt. Some have, however, been found several miles inland ; but this must be owing to the fact that the sea once occupied these localities, from which it has subsequently retired. They are not to be met with on some of the Danish coasts, as those of the western side ; this, on the one hand, may be caused by their having been washed away by the sea, which has there encroached on the land, or, on the other hand, by the fact that the western coast was much less sheltered than the other parts of the Danish peninsula. They are not un frequently to be found in the adjacent islands. These kitchen-middens form, in a general way, undulating mounds, which sink in a gentle incline from the centre to the circumference. The spot where they are thickest indicates the site of the habitations of man. Sometimes, we may notice one principal hillock, surrounded by smaller mounds ; or else, in the middle of the heaps, there is a spot which must have been the site of the encampment. These refuse deposits are almost entirely made up of shells of various kinds of molluscs ; the principal species are the oyster, the cockle, the mussel, and the periwinkle. Others, such as whelks, helices (edible snails), nassa, and trigonella, are also found ; but they are comparatively few in number. Fishes' bones are discovered in great abundance in the kitchen- middens. They belong to the cod, herring, dab, and eel. From this we may infer that the primitive inhabitants of Denmark were not afraid of venturing out to brave the waves of the sea in their frail skiffs ; for the herring and the cod cannot, in fact, be caught except at some little distance from the shore. EPOCH OF TAMED ANBIALS. 133 Mammalian bones are also plentifully distributed in the Danish kitchen-middens. Those most commonly met with are the remains of the stag, the roe, and the boar, which, according to M. Steenstrup's statement, make up ninety-seven hundredths of the whole mass. Others are the relics of the Urus, the wolf, the dog, the fox, the wild cat, the lynx, the marten, the otter, the porpoise, the seal, the water-rat, the beaver and the hedgehog. The bison, the reindeer, the elk, the horse, and the domestic ox have not left behind them any trace which will permit us to assume that they existed in Denmark at the period when these deposits were formed. Amongst other animals, we have mentioned the dog. By various indications, we are led to the belief that this intelligent creature had been at this time reduced to a state of domesticity. It has been remarked that a large number of the bones dispersed in these kitchen- middens are incomplete ; exactly the same parts are almost always missing, and certain bones are entirely wanting. M. Steenstrup is of opinion that these deficiencies may be owing to the agency of dogs, which have made it their business to ransack the heaps of bones and other matters which were thrown aside by their masters. This hypothesis was confirmed, in his idea, when he became convinced, by experience, that the bones which were deficient in these deposits were precisely those which dogs are in the habit of devouring, and that the remaining portions of those which were found were not likely to have been subject to their attacks on account of their hardness and the small quantity of assimilable matter which was on or in them. Although primitive man may have elevated the dog to the dignity of being his companion and friend, he was, nevertheless, sometimes in the habit of eating him. No doubt he did not fall back upon this last resort except in cases when all other means of subsistence failed him. Bones of the dog, broken by the hand of man, and still bearing the marks of having been cut with a knife, are amongst the remains found, and place the fact beyond any question. We find, besides, the same taste existing here which we have seen manifested in other ages and different countries. All the long bones have been split in order to extract their marrow the dainty so highly appreciated by man during the epochs of the reindeer and the mammoth. 134 THE STONE AGE. Some remains of birds have been found in the kitchen -middens ; but most of the species are aquatic a fact which may be readily explained by the seaboard position of the men who formed these deposits. As the result of this review of the various substances which were made use of for food by the men of the polished-stone epoch, we may infer that they were both hunters and fishermen. Animals of rapid pace were hunted down by means of the dart or arrow, and any more formidable prey was struck down at close quarters by some sharp stone weapon. Fishing was practised, as at the present day, by means of the line and net. We have already seen that men, during the reindeer epoch, probably used hooks fastened at the end of lines. These hooks, as we have before remarked, were made with splinters of bone or reindeer horn. During the polished-stone epoch this fishing instrument was much improved, and they now possessed the real hook with a recurvate and pointed end. This kind of hook was found by Dr. Uhlmann in one of the most ancient lacustrine stations of Switzer- land. But a curved hook was both difficult to make and also not very durable ; instead of it was used another and more simple sort - the straight skewer fixed to serve as a hook. This is a simple fragment of bone, about an inch long, very slender and pointed at the Fig. 77. Bouu Skewers used as l''ish-hooks. two ends (fig. 77). Sometimes it is a little flattened in the middle, or bored with a hole, into which the line was fastened. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 135 This little splinter of bone, when hidden by the bait and fastened to a line, was swallowed by the fish and could not be disgorged, one of the pointed ends being certain to bury itself in the entrails of ihe creature. y - Some of our readers will perhaps be surprised to learn that men of the polished-stone epoch were in the habit of fishing with nets ; but it is a fact that cannot be called into question, for the very conclusive reason, that the remains of these nets have been found. How could it possibly come to pass that fishing-nets of the polished- stone epoch should have been preserved to so late a period as our times ? This is exactly the question we are about to answer. On the lakes of Switzerland and of other countries, there used to exist certain habitations of man. These are the so-called lacustrine dwellings which we shall have hereafter to consider in some con- siderable detail, when we come to the Bronze Age. The men who lived on these lakes were necessarily fishers ; and some traces of their fishing-nets have been discovered by a circumstance which chemistry finds no difficulty in explaining. Some of these lake-dwellings were destroyed by fire ; as, for instance, the lacustrine settlements of Kobenhausen and Wangen in Switzerland. The outsides of these cabins, which were, almost entirely constructed of wood, burnt, of course, very readily; but the objects inside, chiefly consisting of nets the sole wealth of these tribes could not burn freely for want of oxygen, but were only charred with the heat. They became covered with a slight coating of some empyreumatic or tarry matter an excellent medium for insuring the preservation of any organic substance. These nets having been scorched by the fire, fell into the water with the debris of the hut, and, in consequence of their precipitate fall, never having come in actual contact with the flame, have been preserved almost intact at the bottom of the lakes. When, after a long lapse of centuries, they have been again recovered, these debris have been the means of affording information as to the manufacture both of the fishing-nets, and also as to the basket-work, vegetable provisions, &c., of these remote ages. In one of Dr. Keller's papers on these lacustrine dwellings, of which we shall have more to say further on, we find a description and delineation of certain fishing-nets which were recovered from the lake of Kobenhausen. In the Museum of Saint-Germain we 136 THE STONE AGE. inspected with curiosity several specimens of these very nets, and we here give a representation of one of them. There were nets with wide meshes like that shown in fig. 78, and also some more Fig. 78. Fishing-net with wide Meshes. closely netted. The mesh is a square one, and appears to have been made on a frame by knotting the string at each point of intersec- tion. All these nets are made of flax, for hemp had not yet been cultivated. Fig. 79. Stone Weight used for sinking the Fishing-nets. These nets were held suspended in the water by means of floats, made, not of cork, but of the thick bark of the pine-tree, and were held down to the bottom of the water by stone weights. We give EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 137 a representation here (fig. 79), of one of these stone weights taken from a specimen exhibited in the Museum of Saint-Germain. These stone weights, large quantities of which are to be seen in museums, and especially in that of Saint-Germain, are, in almost every case, nothing but pebbles bored through the centre. Sometimes, however, they were round pieces of soft stone, having a hole made in the middle. Through this hole the cord was passed and fastened by a knot on the other side. By means of the floats and weights the nets were made to assume any position in the water which was wished. The large size of the meshes in the nets belonging to the polished- stone epoch proves, that in the lakes and rivers of this period the fish that were used for food were of considerable dimensions. Added to this, however, the monstrous hooks belonging to this epoch which have been found in the Seine tend to corroborate this hypothesis. Thus, then, the art of fishing had arrived in the polished-stone epoch to a very advanced stage of improvement. In plate 80 we give a representation of fishing as carried on during the polished-stone epoch. Eeturning to the subject of the ancient Danes, we must add, that these men, who lived on the sea-coasts, clad themselves in skins of beasts, rendered supple by the fat of the seal and marrow extracted from the bones of some of the large mammals. For dwelling- places they used tents likewise made of skins prepared in the same way. Arts and Manufactures. What degree of skill in this respect was attained by the men who lived during the polished-stone epoch ? To give an answer to this question, we must again ransack those same kitchen-middens which have been the means of furnishing us with such accurate information as to the system of food of the man of that period. We shall also have to turn our attention to the remains found in the principal caves of this epoch. An examination of the instruments found in the kitchen-middens shows us that the flints are in general of a very imperfect type, with the exception, however, of the long splinters or knives, the workman- ship of which indicates a considerable amount of skill. 138 THE STONE AGE. Fig. 81 represents a flint knife from one of the Danish deposits, delineated in the Museum of Saint-Germain ; and fig. 82 a nucleus, that is, a piece of flint from which splinters have been taken off, which were intended to be used as knives. Fig. 81. Flint Knife, from one of the Danish Beds. Fig. 82. ^Nucleus off which Knives arc flaked. We also give a representation of a hatchet (fig. 83) and a scraper (fig. 84), which came from the same source. Fig. 83. Flint Hatchet, from one of the Danish Beds. Fig. 84. Flint Scraper, from one of the Danish Beds. Besides these instruments, bodkins, spear-heads, and stones for EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 139 slings have also been found in the kitchen-middens, without taking into account a quantity of fragments of flint which do not appear to have been wrought with any special purpose in view, and were probably nothing but rough attempts, or the mere refuse of the manufacture. Fig. 85. Refuse from the Manufacture of wrought Flints. Fig. 86. Weight to sink Fishing-net*. In the same deposits there are also found a good many pebble?, which, according to the general opinion, must have been used as weights to sink the fishing-nets to the bottom of the water. Some are hollowed out with a groove all round them, like that depicted in fig. 86, which is designed from a specimen in the Museum of Saint-Germain. Others have a hole bored through the middle. This groove or hole was, doubtless, intended to hold the cord which fastened the stone weight to the net. Weapons and Tools. We shall now pass on to the weapons and tools which were in use among the people in the north of Europe during the period we are considering. During the latter period of the polished-stone epoch working in stone attained to a really surprising degree of perfection among the people of the North. It is, in fact, difficult to understand how, with- out making use of any metallic tools, men could possibly impart to flint, when fashioned into weapons and implements of all kinds, those regular and elegant shapes which the numeroiis excavations that have been set on foot are constantly bringing to light. The Danish flint may, it is true, be wrought with great facility ; but nevertheless, an extraordinary amount of skill would be none the less necessary in 140 THE STONE AGE. order to produce that rectitude of outline and richness of contour which are presented by the Danish specimens of this epoch specimens which will not be surpassed even in the Bronze Age. The hatchets found in the north of Europe, belonging to the polished-stone epoch, differ very considerably from the hatchets of France and Belgium. The latter are rounded and bulging at the edges ; but the hatchets made use of by the people of the North (Fig. 87) Fig. 87.-Danish Axe of the Polished-stone Epoch. Fig. 88. Double-edged Axe were flatter and cut squarely at the edge. They were nearly in the shape of a rectangle or elongated trapezium, with the four angles cut off. Their dimensions are sometimes considerable ; some have been found which measured nearly 16 inches in length. Independently of this type, which is the most plentiful, the northern tribes used also to manufacture the drilled hatchet, which is com- bined in various ways with the hammer. In these instruments, the best workmanship and the most pleasing shapes are to be noticed. The figs. 88, 89 and 90, designed in the Museum of Saint- Germain, from authentic specimens sent by the Museum of Copen- hagen, represent double-edged axes and axe-hammers. They are all pierced with a round hole in which the handle was fixed. The cutting EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 141 edge describes an arc of a circle, and the other end is wrought into sharp angular edges. Fig. 89. Danish Axe-hammer, drilled for handle. These hatchets are distinguished from those of the reindeer epoch by a characteristic which enables us to refer them without hesitation to their real date, even in cases in which they have not yet been Fig. 90. Danish-Axe-hauimer, drilled for handle. subject to the operation of polishing. The hatchets of the reindeer epoch have their cutting edge at the narrowest end, whilst those of the polished-stone epoch are sharp at their widest end. This observa- 142 THE STONE AGE. tion does not apply specially to the Danish hatchets ; it refers equally to those of other European countries. The spear-heads are masterpieces of good taste, patience, and skill. There are two sorts of them. The most beautiful (figs. 91, 92) m Fig. 91. Spear-head from Denmark. Fig, 92. Spear-bead from Denmark. assume the shape of a laurel-leaf; they are quite flat, and chipped all over with an infinite amount of art. Their length is as much as 15 inches. Others are shorter and thicker in shape, and terminate at the base in an almost cylindrical handle. Sometimes they are toothed at the edge (fig. 93). These spear-heads were evidently fixed at the end of a staff, like the halberds of the middle ages and the modern lance. The poniards (fig. 94) are no less admirable in their workman- ship than the spear-heads, from which they do not perceptibly differ, except in having a handle, which is flat, wide, solid, and made a little thicker at the end. This handle is always more or less orna- EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 143 meuted, and is sometimes covered with delicate carving. To chip Fig. 93. Toothed Spear-head of Flint. Fig. 94. Flint Poniard, from Denmark. a flint in this way must have required a skilful and well-practised hand. Fig. 95. Type of the I >ani.sh Arrow. IK!. Fig. 9(i. AnoUior Typp of Arrow-hoad. After these somewhat extraordinary instruments, we must mention 144 THE STONE AGE. the arrow-heads, the shapes of which are rather varied in their character. The arrow-heads most frequently found are formed in the shape of a triangular prism, terminating at the lower end in a stem intended to be inserted into a stick (fig. 95) ; others are deeply indented at the base and quite flat. Many are finely serrated on the edges, and occa- sionally even on the inside edge of the indentation. Figs. 95, 96, 97, and 98 represent the various types of Danish Fig. 97. Arrow-head. Fig. f)8. Arrow-head from Denmark. Fig. 99. Flint Chisel from Denmark. arrow-heads, all of which are in the Museum of Saint-Germain, and from which these designs were made. The chisels and gouges equally merit a special mention. The chisel (fig. 99) is a kind of quadrangular prism, chipped in a bevel down to the base. The gouges are hollowed out on one of their faces, so as to act as the tool the name of which has been applied to them. We next come to some curious instruments, of which we have given designs taken from the specimens in the Museum of Saint-Germain ; the purpose they were applied to is still problematical. They are EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 145 small flakes, or blades, in the shape of a crescent (figs. 100, 101). The inner edge, which was either straight or concave, is usually serrated like a saw ; the convex side must have heen fixed into a handle ; for the traces of the handle may still be detected upon many of them. These instruments were probably made use of as scrapers in the preparation of skins for garments ; perhaps, also, they were used as knives or as saws. Fig. 100. Small Stone Saw from the Danish Deposits. Fig. 101. Another Stone Saw from Denmark. Fig. 102. Bone Har- poon of the Stone Age from Denmark. We must now turn our attention to instruments made of bone or stag's horn. They are much less numerous than those of stone, and have nothing about them of a very remarkable character. The only implement that is worthy of notice is the harpoon (fig. 102). It is a carved bone, and furnished with teeth all along one side, the other edge being completely smooth. The harpoon of the reindeer epoch was decidedly superior to it. On account of its singularity, we must not omit to mention an object made of bone, composed of a wide flat plate, from which spring seven or eight teeth of considerable length, and placed very close 146 THE STONE AGE. together ; there is a kind of handle, much narrower, and terminating in a knob, like the top of a walking-stick. This is probably one of the first combs which ever unravelled the thickly-grown heads of hair of primitive man. Fig. 103. Bone Comb from Denmark. It is a well-known fact that amber is very plentiful on the coasts of the Baltic. Even in the Stone Age, it was already much appreciated by the northern tribes, who used to make necklaces of it, either by merely perforating the rough morsels of amber and stringing them in a row, or by cutting them into spherical or elliptical beads, as is the case nowadays. Fig. 104 represents a necklace and also various other ornaments Fig. 104. Necklace and various Ornaments of Amber. made of yellow amber, which have been drawn from specimens in the Museum of Saint-Germain. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 147 Although these northern tribes of the polished-stone epoch were such skilful workmen in flint, they were, nevertheless, but poor hands at pottery. The debris of vessels collected from the Danish kitchen- middens, and also from the peat-bogs and tombs, are in every way rough, and testify to a very imperfect knowledge of the art of moulding clay. They may be said to mark the first efforts of a manufacturing art which is just springing into existence, which is seeking for the right path, although not, as yet, able to find it. The art of pottery (if certain relics be relied on) was more advanced at a more ancient period, that is, during the reindeer epoch. We have already stated that during the reindeer epoch there existed certain manufactories of weapons and tools, the productions of which were distributed all round the adjacent districts, although over a somewhat restricted circle. In the epoch at which we have now arrived, certain workshops for really this is the proper name to give them acquired a remarkable importance, and their relations became of a much more extensive character. In several of the Belgian caves, flints have been found which must have come from the celebrated work- shop of Grand-Pressigny, situated in that part of the present France which forms the department of Indre-et-Loire, and, from their very peculiar character, are easily recognisable. Commerce and manufacture had then emerged from their merely rudimentary state, and were enter- ing into a period of activity implying a certain amount of civilisation. The great principle of division of labour had already been put into practice, for there were special workshops both for the shaping and polishing of flints. The most important of all the workshops which have been noticed in France is, unquestionably, that of Grand-Pressigny, which we have already mentioned. It was discovered by Dr. Leveille, the medical man of the place ; but, to tell the truth, it is not so much in itself a centre of manufacture as a series of workshops distributed in the whole neighbourhood round Pressigny. At the time of this discovery, that is in 1864, flints were found in thousands imbedded in the vegetable mould on the surface of the soil, over a superficies of 12 to 14 acres. The Abbe Chevalier, giving nn account of this curious discovery to the Academie des Sciences at Paris, wrote : " It is impossible to walk a single step without treading on some of these objects." L '2 148 THE STONE AGE. The workshops of Grand-Pressigny furnish us with a considerable variety of instruments. We find hatchets in all stages of manufacture, from the roughest attempt up to a perfectly polished weapon. We find, also, long flakes or flint-knives cleft off with a single blow with astonishing skill. All these objects, even the most beautiful among them, are never- theless defective in some respect or other ; hence it may be concluded that they were the refuse thrown aside in the process of manufacture. In this way may be explained the accumulation of so many of these objects in the Fame spot. There were likewise narrow and elongated points forming a kind of piercer, perfectly wrought ; also scrapers, and saws of a particular type which seem to have been made in a special workshop. They are short and wide, and have at each end a medial slot intended to receive a handle. But the objects which are the most numerous of all, and those which obviate any doubt that Pressigny was once an important centre of the manufacture of flint, are the nuclei (fig. 105), or the remnants Fig. 105. Nucleus in the Museum of SaintGermain, from the Workshop of Grand-Pressigny. of the lump of flint, from which the large blades known under the name of knives were cleft off. Some of these lumps which we have seen in the Museum of St. Germain were as much as 11 and 13 inches in length ; but the greater part did not exceed 7 inches. The labourers of Touraine, who often turn up these flints with their EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 119 plough-shares, call them pounds of butter, looking at the similarity of shape. At the present day these nuclei are plentiful in all the collec- tions of natural history and geology. A strange objection has been raised against the antiquity of tbe hatchets, knives, and weapons found at Pressigny. M. Eugene Kobert has asserted that these flints were nothing else but the refuee of the siliceous masses which, at the end of the last century and especially at the beginning of the present, were used in the manufacture of gun- flints ! The Abbe Bourgeois, M. Penguilly 1'Haridon, and Mr. John Evans did not find much difficulty in proving the slight foundation there was for this criticism. In the department of Loire-et-Cher, in which the gun-flint manufacture still exists, the residue from the process bears no resemblance whatever to the nuclei of Pressigny ; the fragments are much less in bulk, and do not present the same constantly-occurring and regular shapes. Added to this, they are never chipped at the edges, like a great number of the flakes coming from the workshops of Touraine. But another and altogether peremptory argument is that the flints of Pressigny-le-Grand are unfitted, on account of the texture, for the manufacture of gun-flints. Moreover, the records of the Artillery Depot, as remarked by M. Penguilly 1'Haridon, librarian of the Artillery Museum, do not make mention of the locality of Pressigny having ever been worked for this purpose. Lastly, the oldest inhabi- tants of the commune have testified that they never either saw or heard of any body of workmen coming into the district to work flints. M. Eugene Kobert's hypothesis, which MM. Decaisne and Elie de Beaumont thought right to patronise, is, therefore, as much opposed to facts as to probability. Very few polished flints are found in the workshops of Pressigny- le-Grand ; it is, therefore, imagined that their existence commenced before the polished-stone epoch. According to this idea, the nuclei would belong to a transitional epoch between the period of chipped stone, properly so called, and that of polished stone. The first was just coming to an end, but the second had not actually commenced. In other words, most of the Preesigny flints have the typical shapes and style of cutting peculiar to the polished-stone age, but the polishing is wanting. 150 THE STONE AGE. This operation was not practised in the workshops of Pressigny until some considerable period after they were founded, and were already in full operation. In the neighbourhood of this locality a number of polishers have been found of a very remarkable character. They are large blocks of sandstone (fig. 106), furrowed all over, or . Fig. 106. Polisher from Grand-Pressigny, both faces being shown. only on a portion of their surface, with grooves of various depths, in which objects might be polished by an energetic friction. Some polishers of the same kind, which have been found in various departments, are rather different from the one we have just named. Thus, one specimen which was found by M. Leguay in the environs of Paris, in the burial-places of Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, of which we give a representation further on, is provided not only with grooves but also hollows of a basin-like shape, and of some little depth. The polishing of the flints was carried into effect by rubbing them against the bottom of these hollows, which were moistened by water, and no doubt contained siliceous dust of a harder nature than the stone which had to be polished. We must here pause for a moment to remark that all these operations which were carried out by our ancestors in fashioning the flint could not fail to have presented certain difficulties, and must have required a remarkable development of intelligence and skill. Working flints into shape, which appears at first sight a very EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 151 simple matter, is, however, a rather complicated operation, on account of the properties of this mineral substance and the beds in which it lies. In its natural state the flint presents itself in the shape of nearly round lumps, which are brittle, but nevertheless very hard, and which, like glass, can be split in any direction by a blow, so as to furnish scales with sharp edges. In consequence of this circumstance, all that would be requisite in order to produce sharp objects is to cleave off flakes in the shape of a knife or poniard, by striking a flint, held in the left hand, with another and harder flint or hammer. Instead of holding in the left hand the flint which was to be wrought, it might also be placed on a rest and, being held fast with the left hand, suitable blows might be applied to the stone. We must not, however, omit to mention, that to enable the flint to be cut up into sharp splinters and to be broken in any desired direction, it is necessary for it to have been very recently extracted from the bosom of the earth ; it must possess the humidity which is peculiar to it, with which it is impregnated when in its natural bed. If pieces of flint are exposed to the open air they caunot afterwards be readily broken with any degree of regularity ; they then afford nothing but shapeless and irregular chips, of an entirely different character from that which would be required in fashioning them. This moisture was well known to the workmen who used to manufacture the gun-flints, and was called the quarry damp. The necessity that the flint should be wrought when newly ex- tracted from the earth, and that the stones should only be dug just in proportion as they were wanted, brought about as a proximate result the creation and working of mines and quarries, which are thus almost as ancient as humanity itself. Being unable to make use of flints which had been dried in the air, and consequently rendered unfit for being wrought, the workmen were compelled to make excavations, and to construct galleries, either covered or exposed to the open air, to employ wooden battening, shores, supports ; in short, to put in use the whole plant which is required for working a stone-quarry. As, in order not to endanger the lives of the labourers, it was found necessary to prevent any downfalls, they were induced to follow out a certain methodical system in their ex- cavations, by giving a sufficient thickness to the roofs of the galleries, 152 THE STONE AGE. by sinking shafts, by building breast-walls, and by adopting the best plan for getting out the useless detritus. When, as was often the case, water came in so as to hinder the miners, it was necessary to get rid of it in. order that the workmen should not be drowned. It was also sometimes requisite that the galleries and the whole system of underground ways should be supplied with air. Thus their labour in fashioning the flint must have led our ancestors to create the art of working quarries and mines. It has been made a subject of inquiry, how the tribes of the Stone Age could produce, without the aid of any iron tool, the holes which are found in the flints ; and how they could perforate these same flints so as to be able to fit in handles for the hatchets, poniards, and knives ; in fact, lapidaries of the present day cannot bore through gunflints without making use of diamond dust. We are of opinion that the low, which was employed by primitive man in producing fire by rubbing wood against wood, was also resorted to in the workshops for manufacturing stone implements and weapons for giving a rapid re- volving motion to a flint drill which was sufficient to perforate the stone. Certain experiments which have been made in our own day with very sharp arrow-heads which belonged to primitive man have proved that it is thus very possible to pierce fresh flints, if the action of the drill is assisted by the addition of some very hard dust which is capable of increasing the bite of the instrument. This dust or powder, consisting of corundum or zircon, might have been found without any great difficulty by the men of the Stone Age. These sub- stances are, in fact, to be met with on the banks of rivers, their presence being betrayed by the golden spangles which glitter in the sand. Thus the flint-drill, assisted by one of these powders, was quite adequate for perforating siliceous stones. When it is brought to our knowledge that the workmen of the Black Forest thus bore into Bohemian granite in less than a minute, we shall not feel inclined to call this explanation in question.* Fig. 107 attempts to give a representation of the workshop at * See J. Evans, ' On the Manufacture of Stone Implements in Pre-historic Times,' in Trans, of the International Congress of Pre-historic Archaeology (Norwich, 1868), p. 191 ; and C. Rau, ' Drilling in Stone without Metal,' in Report of Smithsonian Institution, 1868. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 153 Pressigny for shaping and polishing flints in other words, a manu- facturing workshop of the polished-stone epoch. In this sketch we have depicted the polisher found by M. Leguay, of which we give a representation in fig. 108. In this picture it was indispensable for us to show the operation of polishing, for the latter is a characteristic of the epoch of mankind which we are now describing, that is, the polished-stone period. It must, in fact, be remarked that during the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth, and the reindeer epoch, stone instruments were not polished, they were purely and simply flakes or fragments of stone. During the epoch at which we have now arrived, a great improvement took place in this kind of work, and stone instruments were polished. It is therefore essential to call attention to the latter operation. We think we ought to quote here the brief account M. Leguay has given of the polisher represented in our figure. In his ' Note sur une Pierre a polir les Silex trouvee en Septembre, 1860, a la Varenne- Saint-Hilaire (Seine),' M. Leguay thus writes : " Amongst the many monuments of the Stone Age which I have collected at Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, on the site of the ancient settle- ment which once existed there, there is one which has always struck me, not only by its good state of preservation, but also by the revela- tions which it affords us as to one of the principal manufactures of these tribes the fabrication of flint weapons and utensils. " This object is a stone for polishing and fashioning the finest kind of hatchets. I discovered it in September, 1860, at a spot called La Pierre au Pretre, along with several other monuments of primitive art which I intend before long to make public. This stone is a rough sandstone of cubical shape, showing no trace whatever of having been hewn. It is 13 inches in its greatest thickness, and measures 37 inches long by 21 wide, and, just as in many boulders, one of its faces is well adapted to the use for which it was employed. " This is the face which was used for many long years for rubbing and polishing the weapons made in the place, the remains of which are still found in small quantities in the neighbourhood, and abound in the burial-places, where they have been deposited as votive offerings. " Almost the whole of its surface is occupied. In the centre is a basin presenting an oval surface 25 inches the long way, and 154 THE STONE AGE. 12 inches the narrow way. The stone, which has heen consider- ably worn away in consequence of long use, has been rubbed off to a central depth of about 1 inch ; this portion must have been used for rubbing the larger objects after they had been roughly shaped by chipping. The length of the basin allowed a motion of considerable length to be given to the stone which was being worked, at the same time giving facilities to the workman for the exercise of all his strength. Added to this, this cavity enabled the almond-like shape to be given to the objects a form which they nearly all present. " Either in front or to the right, according to the position in which Fig. 108. Polisher found by M. Leguay. the observer stands, and almost touching the edge of this basin, there is a hole deeply hollowed in the stone, being 30 inches long; it extends along almost the whole length of the sandstone, with the maximum breadth of about 1 inch, and presents the shape of a very elongated spindle hollowed out to a depth of something less than half an inch in the centre, which tapers off to nothing at the two ends. "The wear of the stone and the shape of this groove point out its intention. It must have been used to reduce the edges or the sides of the hatchet, which after the chipping and flat polishing were left either too thick or too sharp for a handle to be easily fitted to them. Added EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 155 v to this, it smoothed down the roughnesses caused by chipping, which it replaced by a round form of no great thickness, which was again and again rubbed flatly on the stone to give it a square and sharp- edged level. This last operation took place in a basin, and it gave to the hatchet a curve in a lengthwise direction which is by no means uii graceful. " The thinning off of the edges of the groove was not an immaterial matter. It not only assisted in forming the above-named curve, but also prevented the cutting edge being distorted, and avoided the need of subsequent repolishing, which spoiled the object by rubbing it away too much. " It must not be for a moment imagined that the edge of the hatchet was made in this groove. Examination proves the contrary, and that it was done flatwise while polishing the rest of the object ; and if sometimes its thickness did not allow this, it was preliminarily done, and then finished in the general polishing. " But although this basin, and its accompanying groove, on account of their dimensions, acted very well for polishing the large hatchets, the case was different with the smaller ones. This is the reason why two other smaller basins, and also a small groove, were made on the flat part of the stone by the side of the others. " These two basins were placed at two corners of the face of the stone, but still parallel to the larger basin and also to the larger groove, so as to be convenient for the requirements of the work- man engaged in polishing without compelling him to shift his position; one is 10 inches, and the other 13 inches in length, with a mean breadth of about 2 inches. They are both in the shape of a rather narrow almond, and end almost in a point, which seems to show that they also were used in polishing somewhat narrow objects perhaps to set right the edges of hatchets, in which the rubbing in the larger basin had produced cavities prejudicial to the perfection of the faces. " The small groove, placed very near the larger one, is 9 inches long. It is the same shape as the other, but is not so deep, and scarcely half an inch wide. " Not far from the end of this latter groove, at the point where it approaches the larger one, there are traces of a groove scarcely com- menced. 156 THE STONE AGE. " Lastly, the flat portions of the stone which are not occupied by the hasins and grooves, were sometimes used for touching up the polish, or even for smoothing various ohjects. " Thus, as we see, this polishing-stone, which is one of the most complete in existence, has on it three basins of different sizes, two well-defined grooves, and one only just sketched out. It would serve for finishing off all the instruments that could be required ; but, never- theless, two other sandstones of moderate size were found near it ; one round, and the other of a spindle-like shape ; these, which were worn and rubbed all over their surfaces, must also have been used in polishing objects. " Finding these stones was, however, a thing of frequent occurrence in several spots of this locality, where I often met with them ; they were of all sizes and all shapes, and perfectly adapted for polishing small flints, needles, and the cutting edges of knives, deposited with them in the sepulchres. " This polishing-stone, which is thickly covered with dendrites or incrustations, must have been in use at the time it was abandoned. I found it about 2 feet below the surface of the soil, in which it was turned upside down ; that is, the basin lay next the earth. The few monuments that were with it one among which I looked upon as an idol roughly carved in a block of sandstone were all likewise turned upside down. There had been sepulchres in the neighbourhood, but they had been violated ; and the displaced stones, as well as the bones themselves, only served to point out the presence of the former burial- place." The polishing of stone instruments was effected by rubbing the object operated upon in a cavity hollowed out in the centre of the polisher, in which cavity a little water was poured, mixed with zircon or corundum powder, or, perhaps, merely with oxide of iron, which is used by jewellers in carrying out the same operation. It is really surprising to learn what an enormous quantity of flints could be prepared by a single workman, provided with the proper utensils. For information on this point, it is requisite to know what could be done by our former flint-workers in the departments of Indre and Loire-et-Cher, who are, in fact, the descendants of the workmen of the Stone Age. Dolomieu, a French naturalist, desired at the begin- ning of the century to acquaint himself with the quantity which EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 157 these workmen could produce, and at the same time to thoroughly understand the process which they employed in manufacturing gun- flints. By visiting the workshops of the flint-workers, M. Dolomieu as- certained that the first shape which the workmen gave to the flint was that of a many-sided prism. In the next place, five or six blows with the hammer, which were applied in a minute, were sufficient to cleave off from the mass certain fragments as exact in shape, with faces as smooth, outlines as straight, and angles as sharp, as if the stone had been wrought by a lapidary's wheel an operation which, in the latter case, would have required an hour's handiwork. All that was requisite, says Dolomieu, is that the stones should be fresh, and devoid of flaws or heterogeneous matter. When operating upon a good kind of flint, freshly extracted from the ground, a workman could prepare 1000 proper flakes of flint in a day, turning out 500 gun-flints, so that in three days he would perfectly finish 1000 ready for sale. Jn 1789, the Kussian army was furnished with gun- flints from Poland. The manufactory was established at Kisniew. At this period, according to Dolomieu, 90,000 of these gun-flints were made in two months. Besides those at Grand-Pressigny, some other pre-historic work- shops have been pointed out in France. We may mention those of Charente, discovered by M. de Eochebrune ; also those of Poitou, and lastly, the field of Diorieres, at Chauvigny (Loire-et-Cher), which appears to have been a special workshop for polishing flint instru- ments. There is, in fact, not far from Chauvigny, in the same de- partment, a rock on which twenty-five furrows, similar to those in the polishing-stones, are still visible; on which account the inhabitants of the district have given it the name of the " Scored Rock." It is probable that this rock was used for polishing the instruments which were sculptured at Diorieres. The same kind of open-air workshops for the working of flints have also been discovered in Belgium. The environs of Mons are specially remarkable in this respect. At Spiennes, particularly, there can be no doubt that an important manu- factory of wrought flints existed during the polished-stone epoch. A considerable number of hatchets and other implements have been found there ; all of them being either unfinished, defective, or scarcely 158 THE STONE AGE. commenced. We here give a representation (fig. 109) of a spear- head which came from this settlement. Sometimes these workshops were established in caverns, and not in the open air. We are told this hy M. J. Fournet, a naturalist of Lyons, in his work entitled, 'Influence du Mineur sur la Civili- sation.' Fig. 109. Spear-head from Spiennes. " For a very long time past," says M. Fournet, " the caves of Mentone had been known to the inhabitants of the district, on account of the accumulation of debris contained in them, a boxful of which were sent to Paris, before 1848, by the Prince of Monaco ; the con- tents of it, however, were never subjected to any proper explanation. Since this date, M. Grand, of Lyons, to whom I am indebted for a collection of specimens from these caves, carefully made several exca- vations, by which he was enabled to ascertain that the most remark- able objects are only to be met with at a certain depth in the clayey deposit with which the soil of these caves is covered. All the instru- ments are rough and rudimentary in their character, and must, consequently, be assigned to the first commencement of the art. Nevertheless, among the flints some agates were found, which, in my opinion, certainly came from the neighbourhood of Frejus ; and with them also some pieces of hyaline quartz in the shape of prisms EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 159 terminated by their two ordinary pyramids. We have a right to suppose that these crystals, which resembled the Meylan diamonds found near Grenoble, did not come there by chance, and that their sharp points, when fixed in a handle and acting as drills, were used for boring holes in stone." Flint was not, however, the only substance used during this epoch in the manufacture of stone-hatchets, instruments and tools. In the caves of France, Belgium and Denmark a considerable number of hatchets have been found, made of gneiss, diorite, ophite, fibrolite, jade, and various other very hard mineral substances, which were well adapted to the purpose required and the use to which they were put. Among the most remarkable we may mention several jade hatchets which were found in the department of Gers, and ornamented with small hooks on each side of the edge. One of these beautiful jade hatchets (fig. 110), the delineation of which is taken from the Fig. 110. Polished Jade Hatchet in the Museum of Saint-fJrrmain specimen in the Museum of Saint-Germain, was found in the depart- ment of Seine-et-Oise ; it has a sculptured ridge in the middle of each face. But neither flint, gneiss, nor diorite exist in every country. For these stones some less hard substance was then substituted. In Switzerland the instruments and tools were generally made of pebbles 160 THE STONE AGE. which had been drifted down by the streams. They were fashioned by breaking them with other stones, by rubbing them on sandstone, or by sawing them with toothed blades of flint according to their cohesive nature. In some localities also objects of large size were made of serpen- tine, basalts, lavas, jades, and other rocks chosen on account of their extreme cohesiveness. Manual skill had, however, attained such a pitch of perfection among the workmen of this period, in consequence of their being habituated to one exclusive kind of labour, that the nature of the stone became a matter of indifference to them. The hammer, with the proper use of which our workmen are almost unacquainted, was a marvellous instrument in the hands of our ancestors ; with it they executed prodigies of workmanship, which seem as if they ought to have been reserved for the file and grindstone of the lapidary of the present day. We shall not, perhaps, surprise our readers if we add that as certain volcanic lavas, especially obsidian, fracture with the same regularity and the same facility as the flint, obsidian was em- ployed by the natives of America as a material for making sharp instruments. The ancient quarries whence the Indians procured this rock for the manufacture of instruments and tools, were situate at the Cerro de Navajas that is, the Mountain of Knives in Mexico. M. H. de Saussure, the descendant of the great geologist, was fortunate enough to meet with, at this spot, pieces of mineral which had merely been begun upon, and allowed a series of double-edged blades to be subsequently cut off them ; these were always to be obtained by a simple blow skilfully applied. According to M. H. de Saussure, the first fashioning of these imple- ments was confined to producing a large six-sided prism, the vertical corners of which were regularly and successively hewn off, until the piece left, or nucleus, became too small for the operation to be further continued. Hernandez, the Spanish historian, states that he has seen 100 blades an hour manufactured in this way. Added to this, the ancient aborigines of Peru, and the Guanches of Teneriffe, likewise carved out of obsidian both darts and poniards. And, lastly, we must not omit to mention that M. Place, one of the explorers of Nineveh, found EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 161 on the site of this ancient city, knives of obsidian, supposed to be used for the purpose of circumcision. Having considered the flint instruments peculiar to the polished- stone epoch, we must now turn our attention to those made of stag's horn. The valley of the Somme, which has furnished such convincing proof of the co-existence of man with the great mammals of extinct species, is a no less precious repository for instruments of stag's horn belonging to the polished-stone epoch. The vast peat -bogs of this region are the localities where these relics have been chiefly found. Boucher de Perthes collected a considerable number of them in the neighbourhood of Abbeville. These peat- bogs are, as is well known, former marshes which have been gradually filled up by the growth of peat-moss (sphagnum), which, mixed with fallen leaves, wood, &c., and being slowly rotted by the surround- ing water, became converted after a certain time into that kind of combustible matter which is called peat. The bogs in the valley of the Somme in some places attain to the depth of 34 feet. In the lower beds of this peat are found the weapons, the tools, and the ornaments of the polished-stone epoch. Among these ancient relics we must men- tion one very interesting class ; it is that formed by the association of two distinct component parts, such as stone and stag's horn, or stone and bone. The hatchets of this type are particularly remarkable ; they consist of a piece of polished flint half buried in a kind of sheath of stag's horn, either polished or rough as the case may ng m.-poiishedFiint Hatchet, be ffiff 11D with a Sheath of Stag's Horn fitted for a Handle. The middle of this sheath is generally perforated with a round or oval hole intended to receive a handle of oak, birch, or some other kind of wood adapted for such a use. M 162 THE STONE AGE. Fig. 112, taken from the illustration in Boucher de Perthes' work (' Antiquites Celtiques et Antediluviennes '), represents this hatchet fitted into a handle made of oak. Fig. 112. Flint Hatchet fitted into a Stag's-horn Sheath, having an Oak Handle, from Boucher de Perthes' illustration. It is difficult to understand how it was that a hatchet of this kind did not fall out of its sheath in consequence of any moderately violent blow; for it seems as if there was nothing to hold it in its place. This observation especially applies to hatchets, the whole length of which even the portion covered by the sheath was polished ; for the latter would certainly slide out of their casing with ease. The fact is, that complete specimens are seldom found, and, generally speaking, the flints are separated from their sheaths. With regard to the handles, the nature of the material they were made from was unfavourable to their preservation through a long course of centuries ; it is, therefore, only exceptionally that we meet with them, and even then they are always defaced. Fig. 113 is given by Boucher de Perthes, in his 'Antiquites Celtiques,' as the representation of an oaken handle found by him. A number of these sheaths have been found, which were provided at the end opposite to the stone hatchet with strong and pointed teeth. These are boar's tusks, firmly buried in the stag's horn. These EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 1G3 instruments therefore fulfilled a double purpose ; they cut or crushed with one end and pierced with the other. Sheaths are also found which are not only provided with the boar's tusks, but are hollowed out at each end so as to hold two flint hatchets at once. This is represented in fig. 114 from one of Boucher de Perthes' illustrations. , i Fig. 113.- Hatchet-handle made of Oak. Fig. IH.-Stag's-horn Sheath, open at each end so as to receive two Hatchets. Fig. 115. Polished Hint Hatchet from Belgium, fitted into a Stag's-horn Sheath. The hatchet fitted into a sheath of stag's horn which we here delineate (fig. 115), was picked up in the environs of Aerschot, and is M2 164 THE STONE AGE. an object well worthy of note ; it is now in the Museum of Antiquities at Brussels. Its workmanship is perfect, and superior to that of similar instruments found in the peat-bogs of the valley of the Somme. Stag's horn was often used alone as a material for the manufacture of tools which were not intended to endure any very hard work ; among these were instruments of husbandry and gardening. We here give representations (figs. 116, 117, 118) from Boucher Fig. 116. Gardening Tool made of Stag's Horn (after Boucher de Perthes). Fig. 117. Gardening Tool made of Stag's Horn (after Boucher de Perthes). de Perthes' illustrations, of certain implements made of stag's horn which appear to have had this purpose in view. It is remarked that they are not all perforated for holding a handle ; in some cases, a portion of the stag's antler formed the handle. In the course of his explorations in the peat-bogs of Abbeville, M. Boucher de Perthes found numerous flakes of flint of irregular shapes, the use of which he was unable to explain. But there have also been discovered in the same deposits some long bones belonging to mammals tibia, femur, radius, ulna all cut in a uniform way, EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 165 either in the middle or at the ends ; he was led to imagine that these bones might have been the handles intended to hold the flints. In order to assure himself that this idea was well founded, he took one of the bones and a stone which came out of the peat, and, having put them together, he found he had made a kind of chisel, well- Fig. 118. Gardening Tool made of Stag's Horn (after Boucher de Perthes). adapted for cutting, scooping-out, scratching and polishing horn or wood. He tried this experiment again several times, and always with full success. If the stone did not fit firmly into the bone, one or two wooden wedges were sufficient to steady it. After this, Boucher de Perthes entertained no doubt whatever that these bones had been formerly employed as handles for flint implements. The same handle would serve for several stones, owing to the ease with which the artisan could take one flint out and replace it with another, by the aid of nothing but these wooden wedges. This is the reason why, in the peat-bogs, flints of this sort are always much more plentiful than the bone handles. We must also state that it seems as if they took little or no trouble in repairing the flints when they were blunted, knowing how easy it would be to replace them. They were thrown away, without further care ; hence their profusion. These handles are made of extremely hard bone, from wliich we may conclude that they were applied to operations requiring solid tools. 166 THE STONE AGE. Most of them held the flint at one end only ; but some were open at both ends, and would serve as handles for two tools at once. Figs. 119 and 120 represent some of these flint tools in bone handles the plates are taken from those in Boucher de Perthes' work. Generally speaking, these handles gave but little trouble to those who made them. They were content with merely breaking the bone across, without even smoothing down the fracture, and then enlarging the medullary hollow which naturally existed; next they roughly n . ? Fig. 119 Flint Tool in a Bone Handle. Fig. 120. Flint Tool with Bone Handle. Fig. 121. Ornamented Bone Handle. squared or rounded the end which was intended to be grasped by the hand. In fig. 121, we delineate one of these bone handles which is much more carefully fashioned ; it has been cut off smooth at the open end, and the opposite extremity has been rounded off into a knob, which is ornamented with a design. During the polished-stone epoch, as during that which preceded it, the teeth of certain mammals were used in the way of ornament. But they were not content, as heretofore, with merely perforating them with holes and hanging them in a string round their necks ; EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 1G7 they were now wrought with considerable care. The teeth of the wild boar were those chiefly selected for this purpose. They were split lengthwise, so as to render them only half their original thick- ness, and were then polished and perforated with holes in order to string them. In the peat-mosses of the valley of the Somme a number of boars' tusks have been found thus fashioned. The most curious discovery of this kind which has been made, was that of the object of which we give a sketch in fig. 122. It was found in 1834, near Fig. 122 Necklace made of Boars' Tusks, longitudinally divided. Pecquigny (Somme), and is composed of nineteen boars' tusks split into two halves, as we before mentioned, perfectly polished, and per- forated at each end with a round hole. Through these holes was passed a string of some tendinous substance, the remains of which were, it is stated, actually to be seen at the time of the discovery. A 168 THE STONE AGE. necklace of this kind must have been of considerable value, as it would have necessitated a large amount of very tedious and delicate work. In the peat-bogs near Brussels polished flints have likewise been found, associated with animal bones, and two specimens of the human humerus, belonging to two individuals. The peat-bogs of Antwerp, in which were found a human frontal bone, characterised by its great thickness, and its small surface, have also furnished fine specimens of flint knives (fig. 123), which are in no way inferior to the best of those discovered at Grand-Pressigny. Fig. 123. Flint Knife, from the Peat-bogs near Antwerp. On none of the instruments of bone or horn, of which we have been speaking, arc to be found the designs which we have described as being the work of man during the reindeer epoch. The artistic instinct seems to have entirely vanished. Perhaps the diluvial catastrophe, which destroyed so many victims, had, as one of its results, the effect of effacing the feeling of art, by forcing men to concentrate their ideas on one sole point the care of providing for their subsistence and defence. A quantity of remains, gathered here and there, bear witness to the fact that in the polished-stone epoch the use of pottery was pretty widely spread. Most of the specimens are, as we have said, nothing EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 169 but attempts of a very rough character, but still they testify to a certain amount of progress. The ornamentation is more delicate and more complicated. We notice the appearance of open-work handles, and projections perforated for the purpose of suspension. In short, there is a perceptible, though but preliminary step made towards the real creations of art. In the caves of Ariege, MM. Garrigou and Filhol found some remains of ancient pottery of clay provided with handles, although of a shape altogether primitive. Among the fragments of pottery found by these savants, there was one which measured 11 inches in height, and must have formed a portion of a vase 20 inches high. This vessel, which was necessarily very heavy, had been hung to cords; this was proved by finding on another portion of the same specimen three holes which had been perforated in it. Agriculture. We have certain evidence that man, during the polished-stone epoch, was acquainted with husbandry, or, in other words, that he cultivated cereals. MM. Garrigou and Filhol found in the caves of Ariege more than twenty millstones, which could only have been used in grinding corn. These stones are from 8 to 24 inches in diameter. The tribes, therefore, which, during the polished-stone epoch, in- habited the district now called Arie'ge, were acquainted with the cultivation of corn. In 1869, Dr. Foulon-Menard published an article intended to describe a stone found at Penchasteau, near Nantes, in a tomb belonging to the Stone Age.* This stone is 24 inches wide, and hollowed out on its upper face. It was evidently used for crushing grain with the help of a stone roller, or merely a round pebble, which was rolled up and down in the cavity. The meal obtained by this pressure and friction made its way down the slope in the hollowing out of the stone, and was caught in a piece of matting, or something of the kind. To enable our readers to understand the fact that an excavation made in a circular stone formed the earliest corn-mill in these pri- mitive ages, we may mention that, even in our own time, this is the * ' Les Moulins Primitifs/ Nantes, 1869. Extract from the ' Bulletin do lit Socie'tc Archcologiquu de Nautos. 170 THE STONE AGE. mode of procedure practised among certain savage tribes in order to crush various seeds and corn. Fig. 124. Primitive Corn-mill. In the ' Voyage du Mississippi a 1'Ocean,' by M. Molhausen, we read: "The principal food of the Indians consisted of roasted cakes of maize and wheat, the grains of which had been pulverised between two stones"* In Livingstone's Expedition to the Zambesi (Central Africa), it is stated that " the corn-mills of the Mangajas, Makalolos, Landines and other tribes are composed of a block of granite or syenite, sometimes even of mica-schist, 15 to 18 inches square by 5 or 6 inches thick, and a piece of quartz, or some other rock of equal hardness about the size of a half-brick; one of the sides of this substitute for a millstone is convex, so as to fit into a hollow of a trough-like shape made in the large block, which remains motionless. When the woman wants to grind any corn, she kneels down, and, taking in both hands the convex stone, she rubs it up and down in the hollow of the lower stone with a motion similar to that of a baker pressing down his dough and rolling it in front of him. Whilst rubbing it to and fro, the housewife leans all her weight on the smaller stone, and every now and then places a little more corn in the trough. The latter is made sloping, so that the meal as soon as it is made falls down into a cloth fixed to catch it." Such, therefore, was the earliest corn-mill. We shall soon see it reappear in another form ; two millstones placed one over the other, one being set in motion above the other by means of a wooden handle. This is the corn-mill of the bronze epoch. This type * 'Tour du Moiule,' p. 374, i860. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 171 maintained its place down to historic times, as it constituted the earliest kind of mill employed by the Koinan agriculturist. In order to represent the existence of agriculture during the polished-stone epoch, we have annexed a delineation of a woman grinding corn into meal in the primitive mill (fig. 125). In the same figure may be noticed the way of preparing the meal coming from the mill for making a rough kind of cake. The children are heating in the fire some flat circular stones. When these stones are sufficiently heated, they rapidly withdraw them from the fire, using for the purpose two damp sticks ; they then place on the stones a little of the meal mixed with water. The heat of the stones sufficed to bake the meal and form a sort of cake or biscuit. We may here state, in order to show that we are not dealing with a mere hypothesis, that it is just in this way that, in the poor districts of Tuscany, the polenta is prepared even in the present day. The dough made of chestnut-ineal, moistened with water, is cooked between flat stones that are placed one over the other in small piles as por- trayed in the annexed plate. In the background of the same sketch we see animals, reduced to the state of domestic cattle, being driven towards the group at work. By this particular feature we have wished to point out that the polished-stone epoch was also that of the domestication of animals, and that even at this early period the sheep, the dog and the horse had been tamed by man, and served him either as auxiliaries or companions. The traces of agriculture which we have remarked on as existing in the caves of Ariege, are also found in other parts of France. Hound the hearths in the department of Puy-de-D6me, MM. Pommerol discovered carbonised wheat intermingled with pottery and flint instruments. The men of the period we are now considering no longer devoted themselves exclusively to the pursuits of hunting and fishing. They now began to exercise the noble profession of agriculture, which was destined to be subsequently the chief source of national wealth. Navigation. The first origin of the art of navigation must be ascribed to the polished-stone epoch. With regard to this subject, let us pay attention to what is said on the point by M. (J. ^ST,I'M -" .'v " i.>~ J yMM*^>**yrgg' Fig. 135. A portion of tlie Dolmen of Uavr'iuis. ancient Gaul, decides it in the affirmative ; whilst M. de Bonstetten, a Swiss archaeologist of great merit, is of the contrary opinion. The matter, however, is of no very great importance in itself. It is, at all events, an unquestionable fact that certain dolmens which are now uncovered were once buried ; for they are noticed to stand in the centre of slightly raised mounds in which the supports are deeply buried. As we before stated, the action of time has destroyed the covering which the pro-historic }*>oples placed over their sepulchres in 188 THE STONE AGE. order to defend them from the injuries of time and the profanation of man. Thus, all that we now see is the bare stones of the sepulchral chambers for so long a time supposed to be altars, and ascribed to the religious worship of the Gauls. In considering, therefore, the dolmens of Brittany, which have been so many times described by antiquarians and made to figure among the number of our historical monuments, we must renounce the idea Fig. 13G. Gem-ral Form of a covered Passage-Tomb. of looking upon them as symbols of the religion of our ancestors. They can now only be regarded as sepulchral chambers. Fig. 137. Paseage-Tonib ut bagneux, mar Saumur. Dolmens are very numerous in France; much more numerous, indeed, than is generally thought. It used to be the common idea that they existed only in Brittany, and those curious in such matters wondered at the supposed Druidical altars which were so plentifully distributed in this ancient province of France. But Brittany is far from possessing the exclusive privilege of these megalithic construc- tions. They are found in fifty-eight of the French departments, EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 189 belonging, for the most part, to the regions of the south and south- west. The department of Finisterre contains 500 of them ; Lot, 500 ; Morbihan, 250; Ardeche, 155; Aveyron, 125; Dordogne, 100; &c.* Fig. 138. Passage-Tomb at Plauhatmel (Morbihan). The authors who have written on the question we are now con- sidering, especially Sir J. Lubbock in his work on ' Pre-historic Times,' and Nilsson, the Swedish archaeologist, have given a much too com- plicated aspect to their descriptions of the tombs of pre-historic ages, owing to their having multiplied the distinctions in this kind of monu- ment. We should only perplex our readers by following these authors '--isssw. crasasiCr ^-^fesi:::-- Fig. 139. Passage-Tomb ; the go-called Tuble de Ceiar, at Locmariaker (Morbihan). into all their divisions. We must, however, give some few details about them. Sir J. Lubbock gives the name of passage grave, to that which the northern archaeologists call Ganggraben (tomb with passages) ; of these we have given four representations (figs. 136, 137, 138, 139), * Alcxnndiv J?rrt,mn,l's ' Lcs Monunu-ns Primitifs ill- la (i 190 THE STONE AGE. all selected from specimens in France. This name is applied to a passage leading to a more spacious chamber, round which the bodies are ranged. The gaUery, formed of enormous slabs of stone placed in succession one after the other, almost always points towards the same point of the compass ; in the Scandinavian states, it generally has its opening facing the south or east, never the north. The same author gives the name of chambered tumuli (fig. 140) to tombs which are composed either of a single chamber or of a collection of large chambers, the roofs and walls of which are con- structed with stones of immense size, which are again covered up by considerable masses of earth. This kind of tomb is found most frequently in the countries of the north. Fig. 140 represents, according to Sir J. Lubbock's work, a Danish chambered tumulus. Fig. 140. A L'auish Tumulus, or clambered Sepulchre. Before bringing to a close this description of megalithic monuments, we must ^ay a few words as to menhirs and cromlechs. Menhirs (fig. 141) are enormous blocks of rough stone which were set up in the ground in the vicinity of tombs. They were set up either separately, as represented in fig. 141, or in rows, that is, in a circle or in an avenue. There is in Brittany an extremely curious array of stones of this kind ; this is the range of menhirs of Carnac (fig. 142). The stones are here distributed in eleven parallel lines, over a distance of 1100 yards, and, running along the sea-shore of Brittany, present a very strange appearance. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 191 When menhirs are arranged in circles, either single or several together, they are called cromlechs. They are vast circuits of stones, Fig. 141. Usual shaps of a Menhir. generally arranged round a dolmen. The respect which was con- sidered due to the dead appears to have converted these enclosures J-'ig. 142. Tim rows ul Jknliirs nl Ciirnac. into places of pilgrimage, where, on certain days, public assemblies were held. These enclosures are sometimes circular, as in England. 1954 THE STONE AGE. sometimes rectangular, as in Germany, and embrace one or more ranks. Fig. 143 represents a dolmen -with a circuit of stones, that is, a V**A Fig. 143. Dnlmcn with a Circuit of Stones (Cromlecli), in the Province ofConstantine. cromlech, which has been discovered in the province of Constantine ; in fig. 144 we have a group of Danish cromlechs. 4-s *u ^^ -* %1 *-acr> -> ^^ rf - ^ /Tx ^! -t' ^Q, -j 3i 'O H ^^^ i JL ^^ X 41 -CJi Fig. 144. Group of Danish Cromleclts. Among all these various monuments the " passage-tdmbs " and the EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 193 tumuli are the only ones which will come within the scope of this work ; for these only have furnished us with any relics of pre-historic time*, and have given us any information with respect to the peoples who occupied a great part of Europe at a date far anterior to any traditionary record. These stone monuments, as we have already stated, are neither Celtic nor Druidical. The Celts a nation which occupied a portion of Gaul at a period long before the Christian era were altogether innocent of any megalithic construction. They found these monu- ments already in existence at the time of their immigration, and, doubtless, looked upon them with as much astonishment as is shown by observers of the present day. Whenever there appeared any ad- vantage in utilising them, the Celts did not fail to avail themselves of them. The priests of this ancient people, the Druids, who plucked from off the oak the sacred mistletoe, performed their religious cere- monies in the depths of some obscure forest. Now, no dolmen was ever built in the midst of a forest ; all the stone monuments which now exist stand in comparatively unwooded parts of the country. We must, therefore, renounce the ancient and poetical idea which recognised in these dolmens the sacrificial altars of the religion of our ancestors. Some tumuli attain proportions which are really colossal. Among these is Silbury Hill, the largest in Great Britain, which is nearly 200 feet high. The enormous amount of labour which would be involved in constructions of this kind has led to the idea that they were not raised except in honour of chiefs and other great per- sonages. On consulting those records of history which extend back to the most remote antiquity, we arrive at the fact that the custom of raising colossal tombs to the illustrious dead was one that was much in vogue in the ancient Eastern world. Traces of these monuments are found among the Hebrews, the Assyrians, the Greeks, the Egyptians, &c. Thus Semiramis, Queen of Nineveh, raised a mound over the tomb of Ninus, her husband. Stones were likewise piled up over the remains of Laius, father of (Edipus. In the ' Iliad,' Homer speaks of the mounds that were raised to the memory of Hector and Patroclus. That dedicated to Patroclus the pious work of Achilles was more than 100 feet in diameter. Homer speaks of the tiunuli existing o 194 THE STONE AGE. in Greece, which, even in his time, were considered very ancient, and calls them the tombs of the heroes. A tumulus was raised by Alexander the Great over the ashes of his friend Hephaestio, and so great were the dimensions of this monument that it is said to have cost 1200 talents, that is about 240,000 of our money. In Koman history, too, we find instances of the same kind. Lastly, the pyramids of Egypt, those costly and colossal funeral monuments, are the still visible representations of the highest expression of posthumous homage which was rendered by the generations of antiquity to their most illustrious and mighty men. This, however, could not have been in every case the prevailing idea in the men of the Stone Age, in causing the construction of these tumuli. The large number of bodies which have been found in some of these monuments completely does away with the notion that they Fig. 145. Position of Skeletons in a Swedish Tomb of the Stone Age. were raised in honour of a single personage, or even of a single family. They were often sepulchres or burial-places common to the use of all. Among this class we must rank the tumuli of Axevalla and of Luttra, situated not Xar from one another in Sweden. The first, which was opened in 1805, contained twenty tombs of an almost cubical form, each containing a skeleton in a crouching or contracted attitude. When the second was opened, the explorers found themselves in the presence of hundreds of skeletons placed in four rows one upon another, all in a contracted position like those at Axevalla ; along with these human remains various relics of the Stone Age were also discovered. Fig. 145 represents the position in which the skeletons were found. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 195 M. Nilsson has propounded the opinion that the " passage- graves " are nothing but former habitations, which had been converted into tombs after the death of those who had previously occupied them. When the master of the house had breathed his last especially in the case of some illustrious individual his surviving friends used to place near him various articles of food to provide for his long journey ; and also his weapons and other objects which were most precious to him when in life ; then the dwelling was closed up, and was only reopened for the purpose of bearing in the remains of his spouse and of his children. Sir J. Lubbock shares in this opinion, and brings forward facts in its favour. He recites the accounts of various travellers, according to which, the winter-dwellings of certain people in the extreme north bear a very marked resemblance to the " passage-tombs " of the Stone Age. Of this kind are the habitations of the Siberians and the Esquimaux, which are composed of an oval or circular chamber placed a, little under the surface of the ground, and completely covered with earth. Sir J. Lubbock thinks, therefore, that in many cases habi- tations of this kind may have been taken for tumuli a mistake, he adds, all the more likely to be made because some of these mounds, although containing ashes, remains of pottery, and various implements, have not furnished any relics of human bones. In his work on the ' Sepultures de 1'Age de la Pierre chez les Parisii,' M. Leguay, a learned architect and member of the Archaeo- logical Society, has called attention to the fact that the construction of these dolmens betrays, as existing in the men of this epoch, a somewhat advanced degree of knowledge of the elements of archi- tecture : " The interment of the dead," says M. Leguay, " took place, during the polished-stone epoch, in vaults, or a kind of tomb constructed on the spot, of stones of various thicknesses, generally flat in shape, and not elevated to any very great height, being laid without any kind of cement or mortar. These vaults, which were at first undivided, were subset juently separated into compartments by stones of a similar character, in which compartments bodies were placed in various posi- tions. They were covered with earth or with flat stones, and some- times we meet with a circular eminence raised over them, formed of a considerable heap of stones which had been subsequently brought o 2 196 THE STONE AGE. thither ; this fact was verified by M. Brouillet in 1862 at the Tom- belle de Brioux (Vienne). " This kind of interment bears evidence of some real progress Polished flint instruments are met with intermingled with worked stones which have been brought from a distance. Pottery of a very significant character approaches that of the epoch at which ornamen- tation commenced ; and the Tombelle de Brioux has furnished two vessels with projecting and perforated handles formed in the clay itself. I met with specimens similar to these both in shape and work- manship in the cremation-tombs at Villeneuve-Saint -Georges, which, as I have previously stated, appeared to me to be later in date than the simple interment situated below them. " The first element in the art of construction, that is, stability, is manifested in these latter monuments. They do not come up to the fine dolmens, or to the monuments which followed them, but the principle on which stones should be laid together is already arrived at. The slab forming the covering is the first attempt at the lintel, the primitive base of architectural science. By insensible degrees the dimensions of the monument increased, the nature of the materials were modified, and, from the small elementary monument to the grand sepulchral dolmen, but one step remained to be made a giant step, certainly, but not beyond the reach of human intelligence. " This step, however, was not accomplished suddenly and without transitional stages. We find a proof of this in the beautiful ossuary dis- covered in 1 863, at Chamant near Senlis (Oise), on the property of the Comte de Lavaulx. This monument does not yet come up to the most beautiful of the class ; but it possesses all the inspirations which suggested the form of its successors, of which, indeed, it is the type. " Almost flat slabs of stone, of a greater height than those forming the vaults, and of rather considerable dimensions, are placed on edge so as to form a square chamber. A partition, formed of stones of a similar character, leaving a space or passage between them, separates the chamber into two unequal portions. Some arrangement of this kind has been observed in most of the finest dolmens ; it is found at a spot not far from Chamant, in a covered way known under the name of the Pierres Turquoises, in the forest of Carnelle, near Beau- mont-sur-Oise (Seine- et-Oise). Kl'OCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 197 " At Chamaut, however, the chamber was not more than 3 to 4 feet in height under the roof, which was formed of large flat stones, and was large enough to allow of a considerable number of bodies to be deposited within it, either in a recumbent or contracted position. Near them there were placed delicately-wrought flints, and also some fine-polished hatchets, one of which was of serpentine ; another of large dimensions, sculptured after the fashion of the diluvial hatchets, appeared to me to have been prepared for polishing. " The researches which have been made have brought to light but slight traces of pottery, and the small fragments that I have examined do not point out any very remote age for this monument. Never- theless, the investigation of this sepulchre, in which I was guided by a somewhat different idea from that of merely studying the monument itself, was not carried out with the exact care that would be necessary for collecting all the indications which it might have furnished. " Between the sepulchre of Chamant and the finest dolmens, the distinction is nothing more than a question of dimensions rather than any chronological point. The latter are formed of colossal stones, and when one examines them and seeks to realise the process which must have been employed for raising them, the mind is utterly per- plexed, and the imagination finds a difficulty in conceiving how it was possible to move these immense masses, and, especially, to place them in the positions they now occupy; for at the present day, in order to arrive at similar results, it would be necessary to employ all the means which science has at command."* The megalithic constructions do. not all date back to the same epoch. Some were raised during the Stone Age, others during the Bronze Age. There is nothing in their mode of architecture which will enable us to recognise their degree of antiquity ; but the relics which they contain afford us complete information in this respect. Thus, in France, according to M. Alexandre Bertrand, the dolmens and the tumuli-dolmens contain, in a general way, nothing but stone and bone articles ; those of bronze and gold are very rare, and iron is never met with. In the true tumuli, on the contrary, bronze objects predominate, and iron is very abundant ; this is an evident proof that these monuments are of less ancient origin than the dolmens. Jn the same way we ascertain that the Danish dolmen* * ' DCS Sepultures U 1'Agc do la Pierre,' pp. 15, 16. 18(55. 198 THE STONE AGE. and the great sepulchral chambers of Scandinavia, all belong to the polished- stone epoch. When, therefore, we class the dolmens in this last-named epoch of man's history, we are deciding in full harmony with the great body of data which bear upon the point. In order to fix the period with still greater accuracy, we might add that the dolmens belong to the latter portion of the polished- stone epoch and the commencement of the bronze age. But, as we before said, we do not attach any importance to these distinctions, which would only uselessly embarrass the mind of the reader. An examination of the Danish dolmens has led the author of the ' Catalogue of Pre-historic Objects sent by Denmark to the Universal Exposition of 1867,' to sum up in the following words the details concerning these sepulchral monuments : " As regards the Danish dolmens, the number of skeletons con- tained in them varies much ; in the largest, there are as many as twenty, and in the smallest there are not more than five or six ; sometimes they are placed in stages one above the other. " The bones are never found in natural order ; the head lies close to the knees, and no limb is in its natural place. It follows from this, that in the course of interment the body was contracted into a crouching position. " The bottom of the sepulchral chamber of a dolmen is generally covered with a layer of flints which have been subjected to fire ; this is the floor on which the body was deposited; it was then covered with a thin coating of earth, and the tomb was closed. Yet, as we have just observed, it was but, very rarely that dolmens contained only one skeleton. They must, therefore, have been opened afresh in order to deposit other bodies. It must have been on these occasions, in order to contend with the miasma of putrefaction, that they lighted the fires, of which numerous and evident traces are seen inside the dolmens. This course of action continued, as it appears, until the time when the dolmen was entirely filled up : but even then, the tomb does not, in every case, seem to have been abandoned. Some- times the most ancient skeletons have been displaced to make room for fresh bodies. This had taken place in a dolmen near Copenhagen, which was opened and searched in the presence of the late King Frederick VII. "A dolmen situated near the village of Hammer, opened a few EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 199 years ago by M. Boye, presented some very curious peculiarities. In addition to flint instruments, human bones were discovered, which had also been subjected to the action of fire. We are, therefore, led to suppose, that a funeral banquet had taken place in the vicinity of the tomb, and that some joints of human flesh had formed an addition to the roasted stag. This is, however, the only discovery of the kind which has been made up to the present time, and we should by no means be justified in drawing the inference that the inhabitants of Denmark at this epoch were addicted to cannibalism. "The dead bodies were deposited along with their weapons and implements, and also with certain vessels which must have contained the food which perhaps some religious usage induced them to leave close to the body. For a long time it was supposed that it was the custom to place these weapons by the side of men only. But in a dolmen at Gieruen, a hatchet was found near a skeleton which was evidently that of a woman. " We now give the inventory of a ' find' made in a Danish dolmen, that of Hielm, in the Isle of Moen, which was opened in 1853. The sepulchral chamber was 16^ feet in length, 11^ feet in width, and 4^ feet in height. "In it were discovered twenty-two spear-heads, the largest of which was 11 inches in length, and the smallest 5^ inches; more than forty flint flakes or knives from 2 to 5 inches in length ; three flat hatchets, and one rather thicker ; three carpenter's chisels, the longest of which measured 8 inches ; a finely-made hammer 5 inches long; three flint nuclei exactly similar to those found in the kitchen-middens ; and lastly, in addition to all these flint articles, some amber beads and forty earthen vessels moulded by the hand."* What were the funeral customs in use among men during the polished-stone epoch? and what were the ceremonies which took place at that period when they buried their dead ? These are ques- tions which it will not be difficult to answer after a due investigation of the dolmens and tumuli. In a great number of tumuli, animal bones have been found either broken or notched by sharp instruments. This is an indication that the funeral rites were accompanied by feasts just as in the preceding epochs. * ' Le Danemork & I'Ezposilion Universelle de ih<;7. Paris, isiis. 200 THE STONE AGE. The body which was about to be enclosed in the tumulus was borne upon boughs of trees, as is the case among some savage tribes of the present day. The men and women attending wore their best attire ; necklaces of amber and shells adorned their necks. Men carrying torches walked in front of the procession, in order to guide the bearers into the dark recesses of the sepulchral chambers. From these data fig. 146 has been designed, which gives a repre- sentation of a funeral ceremony during the polished-stone epoch. If we may judge by the calcined human bones which are rather frequently met with in tombs, there is reason to believe that some- times victims were sacrificed over the body of the defunct, perhaps slaves, perhaps even his widow the custom of sacrificing the widow still being in practice in certain parts of India. Sir J. Lubbock is, besides, of opinion that when a woman died in giving birth to a child, or even whilst she was still suckling it, the child was interred alive with her. This hypothesis appears a natural one, when we take into account the great number of cases in which the skeletons of a woman and child have been found together. M. Leguay in his ' M6moire sur les Sepultures des Parisii,' which we quoted above, expresses the opinion that after each interment, in addition to the funeral banquet, a fire was lighted on the mound above the tumulus, and that each attendant threw certain precious objects into the flames. The objects which were most precious during the polished-stone epoch were flints wrought into hatchets, poniards, or knives. " On to this burning hearth," says M. Leguay, " as numerous instances prove, those who were present were in the habit of casting stones, or more generally wrought flints, utensils and instruments, all made either of some kind of stone or of bone; also fragments of pottery, and, doubtless, other objects which the fire has destroyed. " There are many of these objects which have not suffered any injury from the fire ; some of the flints, indeed, seem so freshly cut and are so little altered by the lapse of time, that it might be readily imagined that they had been but recently wrought ; these were not placed in the sepulchre, but are met with intermingled with the earth which covers or surrounds the hearth, and appear in many cases to have been cast in after the extinction of the fire as the earth was being filled in. EPOCH OF TAMED ANIMALS. 201 " Sometimes, indeed, when the archaeologist devotes especial care to his digging, he comes across a kind of layer of wrought flints which are, in fact, to be looked upon as refuse rather than wrought articles. Their position appears to indicate the surface of the soil during that epoch, a surface which has been covered up by the suc- cessive deposits of subsequent ages; and although some of these flakes may have been due to some of the objects which had been placed in the sepulchre having been chipped on the spot, there are many others which have not originated in this way, and have come from objects which have been deposited in other pkces. "All these stones, which are common to three kinds of burial- places, have fulfilled, in my opinion, a votive function ; that is to say, that they represent, as regards this epoch, the wreaths and coronals of immortelles, or the other objects which we in the present day place upon the tombs of our relations or friends^ thus following out a custom the origin of which is lost in the night of time. "And let not the reader treat with ridicule these ideas, which I hold to be not far from the truth. Men, as individuals, may pass away, and generations may disappear ; butfthey always hand down to their progeny and those that succeed them the customs of their epoch ; which customs will undergo little or no change until the causes which have produced them also disappear. Thus it is with all that concerns the ceremonies observed in bearing man to his last resting-place a duty which can never change, and always brings with it its train of sorrow and regret. Nowadays, a small sum of money is sufficient to give outward expression to our grief ; but at these remote epochs each individual fashioned his own offering, chipped his own flint, and bore it himself to the grave of his friend. " This idea will explain the diversity of shape in the flints placed round and in the sepulchres, and especially the uncouthness of many of the articles which, although all manufactured of the same material, betray a style of workmanship exercised by numerous hands more or less practised in the work. " It may, however, be readily conceived that during an epoch when stones were the chief material for all useful implements, every wrought flint represented a certain value. To deprive themselves of these objects of value in order to offer them to the manes of the dead was considered a laudable action, just as was the case subsequently as 202 THE STONE AGE. regards still more precious objects ; and this custom, which was observed during many long ages, although sometimes and perhaps often practised with the declining energy inherent in every religious custom, was the origin of a practice adopted by many of the nations of antiquity, that, namely, of casting a stone upon the tomb of the dead. Thus were formed those sepulchral heaps of stones called gal-gals, some of which still exist. " It is, without doubt, to this votive idea that we must attribute the fact that so many beautiful objects which ornament our museums have been found deposited in these sepulchres ; but we must remark that the large and roughly-hewn hatchets, and also the knives of the second epoch, are replaced, in the third epoch, by polished hatchets often even fitted with handles, and also by knives of much larger size and finer workmanship. "As an additional corroboration of my ideas, I will mention a curious fact which I ascertained to exist in two sepulchres of this kind which I searched ; the significance of this fact can only be ex- plained by a hypothesis which any one may readily develop. " Each of them contained one long polished hatchet, broken in two in the middle; the other portion of which was not found in the sepulchre. " One is now in the Museum at Cluny, where I deposited it ; the other is still in my own possession. It is beyond all dispute that they were thus broken at the time of the interment. " Numerous hatchets broken in a similar way have been found by M. A. Forgeais in the bed of the Seine at Paris, and also in various other spots ; all of them were broken in the middle, and I have always been of opinion that they proceeded from sepulchres of a like kind, which, having been placed on the edge of the river, had been washed away by the flow of water which during long ages had eaten away the banks." At a subsequent period, that is, during the bronze epoch, dead bodies were often, as we shall see, reduced to ashes either wholly or in part, and the ashes were enclosed in urns. THE AGE OF METALS. * ^ I. THE BRONZE EPOCH. THE BRONZE EPOCH. 205 CHAPTER I. The Discovery of Metals Various Reasons suggested for explaining the Origin of Bronze in the' West The Invention of Bronze A Foundry during the Bronze Epoch Permanent and Itinerant Foundries existing during the Bronze Epoch Did the knowledge of Metals take its rise in Europe owing to the Progress of Civilisation, or was it a Foreign Importation? THE acquisition and employment of metals is one of the greatest facts in our social history. Thenard, the chemist, has asserted that we may judge of the state of civilisation of any nation by the degree of perfection at which it has arrived in the workmanship of iron. Look- ing at the matter in a more general point of view, we may safely say that if man had never become acquainted with metals he would have remained for ever in his originally savage state. There can be no doubt that the free use of, or privation from, metals is a question of life and death for any nation. When we take into account the important part that is played by metals in all modern communities, we cannot fail to be convinced that, without metals j civilisation would have been impossible. That astonishing scientific and industrial movement which this nineteenth century presents to us in its most remarkable form the material comfort which existing generations are enjoying all our mechanical appliances, manufactures of such diverse kinds, books and arts not one of all these benefits for man, in the absence of metals, could ever have come into existence. Without the help of metal, man would have been condemned to live in great discomfort; but, aided by this irresistible lever, his powers have been increased a hundredfold, and man's empire has been gradually extended over the whole of nature. In all probability, gold, among all the metals, is the first with which man became acquainted. Gold, in a metallic state, is drifted down by the waters of many a river, and its glittering brightness 20G THE AGE OF METALS. would naturally point it out to primitive peoples. .Savages are like children ; they love everything that shines brightly. Gold, therefore, must, in very early days, have found its way into the possession of the primitive inhabitants of our globe. Gold is still often met with in the Ural mountains ; and thence, perhaps, it originally spread all over the north of Europe. The streams and the rivers of some of the central countries of Europe, such as Switzerland, France, and Germany, might also have furnished a small quantity. After gold, copper must have been the next metal which attracted the attention of men ; in the first place, because this metal is some- times found in a native state, and also because cupriferous ores, and especially copper pyrites, are very widely distributed. Nevertheless, the extraction of copper from the ores is an operation of such a delicate character, that it must have been beyond the reach of the metallurgic appliances at the disposal of men during the early pre- historic period. The knowledge of tin also dates lack to a very high antiquity. Still, although men might become acquainted with tin ores, a long interval must have elapsed before they could have succeeded in extracting the pure metal. Silver did not become known to men until a much later date ; for this metal is very seldom met with in the tumuli of the bronze epoch. The fact is, that silver is seldom found in a pure state, and scarcely ever except in combination with lead ores ; lead, however, was not known until after iron. Bronze, as every one knows, is an alloy of copper and tin (nine parts of copper and one of tin). Now it is precisely this alloy, namely bronze, which was the first metallic substance used in Europe ; indeed the sole substance used, to the exclusion of copper. We have, therefore, to explain the somewhat singular circumstance that an alloy and not a pure metal was the metallic substance that was earliest used in Europe ; and we must also inquire how it was that bronze could have been composed by the nations which succeeded those of the polished-stone epoch. At first sight, it might appear strange that an alloy like bronze should have been the first metallic substance used by man, thus setting aside iron, deposits of which are very plentiful in Europe. THE BRONZE EPOCH. 207 But it is to be remarked, in the first place, that iron ores do not attract the attention so much as those of tin and copper. Added to this, the extraction of iron from its ores is one of the most difficult operations of the kind. When dealing -with ferruginous ores, the first operation produces nothing more than rough cast iron a very impure substance, which is so short and brittle that it possesses scarcely any metallic qualities, and differs but little from stone as regards any use it could be applied to. It requires re-heating and hammering to bring it into the condition of malleable iron. On the other hand, by simply smelting together copper and tin ores and adding a little charcoal, bronze might be at once produced, without any necessity for previously extracting and obtaining pure copper and tin in a separate state. This will explain how it came to pass that the earliest metal- \\orkers produced bronze at one operation, without even being acquainted with the separate metals which enter into its composition. We are left entirely to hypothesis in endeavouring to realise t ourselves how men were led to mix together copper and tin ores, and thus to produce bronze a hard, durable and fusible alloy, and con- sequently well adapted, without much trouble, for the fabrication, by melting in moulds, of hatchets, poniards, and swords, as well as agri- cultural and mechanical instruments Bronze was endowed with all the most admirable qualities for aiding the nascent industrial skill of mankind. It is more fusible than copper and is also harder than this metal ; indeed, in the latter respect, it may compete with iron. It is a curious fact that bronze has the peculiarity of hardening when cooled gradually. If it is made red-hot in the fire and is then suddenly cooled by plunging it into water, the metal becomes more ductile and may be easily hammered ; but it regains its original hardness if it is again heated red-hot and then allowed to cool slowly. This, as we see, is just the contrary to the properties of steel. By taking advantage of this quality of bronze they were enabled to hammer it, and, after the necessary work with the hammer was finished, they could, by means of gradual cooling, restore the metal to its original hardness. At the present day, cymbals and tom-toms are made exactly in this way. All these considerations will perhaps sufficiently explain to the 208 THE AGE OF METALS. reader why the use of bronze preceded that of iron among all the European and Asiatic peoples. On this quasi-absence of manufactured copper in the pre-historic monuments of Europe, certain archaeologists have relied when pro- pounding the opinion that bronze was brought into' Europe by a people coming from the East, a more advanced and civilised people, who had already passed through their copper age, that is, had known and made use of pure copper. This people, it is said, violently invaded Europe, and in almost every district took the place of the primitive population; so that, in every country, bronze suddenly succeeded stone for the manufacture of instruments, weapons and implements. By the side of these savants, who represent to some extent, in ethnological questions, the partisans of the great geological cataclysms or revolutions of the globe, there are others who would refer the appearance of bronze in Europe to a great extension of commercial relations. They utterly reject the idea of any conquest, of any great invasion having brought with it a complete change in manners, customs, and processes of industrial skill. In their opinion, it was commerce which first brought bronze from the East and introduced it to the men of the West. This is the view of Sir Cornewall Lewis, the archaeologist and statesman, and also of Prof. Nilsson, who attributes to the Phoenicians the importation of bronze into Europe. Without attaining any great result, Nilsson has taken much trouble in supporting this idea by acceptable proofs. We are called upon to agree with the Danish archaeologist in admitting that the Phoenicians, that is, the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon went with their ships to procure tin from Great Britain, in order to make an alloy with it in their own country, which alloy they subsequently imported into Europe. This is nothing but historic fancy. To this romance of archaeology we shall oppose the simple explanation which chemistry suggests to us. Our belief is that the bronze was fabricated on the spot by the very people who made use of it. All that was requisite in order to obtain bronze, was to mix and smelt together the ores of oxidised copper or copper pyrites, and tin ore, adding a small quantity of charcoal. Now, copper ore abounds in Europe ; that of tin is certainly THE BRONZE EPOCH. '209 rare ; aud it is this rarity of tin ore which is appealed to in support of the conjecture against which we are contending. But, although tin ores are nowadays rare in Europe, except in England and Saxony, they are, nevertheless, to be met with in the centre and south of the Continent ; and, doubtless, in the early ages of mankind the quantities were quite sufficient to supply the slender requirements of the dawning efforts of industrial skill. We may, perhaps, be per- mitted to allege that the cause of the supplies of tin ores being so poor in the centre and south of Europe, may be the fact that they were exhausted by the workings of our ancestors. Thus, at least, many of the deposits of copper, silver, and lead, have been exhausted by the Romans, and we now find nothing more than the mere remains of mines which were once very productive. We may easily see that, in order to account for the presence of bronze in Europe during the primitive epochs of mankind, it was not necessary to build up such a framework of hypothesis as Prof. Nilsson has so elaborately raised. To sum up the whole matter, we may say that the use of bronze preceded that of iron in the primitive industry of Europe and Asia ; and that the people of our hemisphere were acquainted with bronze before they came to the knowledge of pure copper and tin ; this is all that we can safely assert on the point. It might of course have been the case that copper and tin were first used alone, and that the idea was subsequently entertained of combining the two metals so as to improve both. But the facts evidently show that, so far as regards Europe, things did not take place in this way, and that bronze was employed in the works of primitive industry before copper and tin were known as existing in a separate state.* We must, however, state that in the New World the matter was different. The Indians of North America, long before they knew anything about bronze, were in the habit of hammering the copper which was procured from the mines of Lake Superior, and of making of it weapons, ornaments and implements. * It must, however, be observed that the author's theory does not agree with the opinion of metallurgists, who do not consider the reduction of mixed copper and tin ore a practically effective process, and would favour the more usual view that the metals wore smelted separately, and afterwards fused together to form bronze. (Note to Eng, Tram.} r 210 THE AGE OF METALS. After considering these general and theoretical points, we shall now pass on to the history of the employment of bronze among men of pre-historic ages, and shall endeavour to give some description of their works for the manufacture of metals. Facts handed down by tradition evidently show that, among the peoples both of Europe and Asia, the use of bronze preceded that of iron. Homer tells us that the soldiers of the Greek and Trojan armies were provided with iron weapons, yet he reserves for the heroes weapons made of bronze. It seems that bronze being the most ancient, was therefore looked upon as the more noble metal ; hence, its use is reserved for chiefs or great warriors. Among all nations, that which is the most ancient is ever the most honourable and the most sacred. Thus, to mention one instance only, the Jews of our own times still perform the ceremony of circumcision with a knife made of stone. In this case, the stone-knife is an object consecrated by religion, because the antiquity of this instrument is actually lost in the night of time. Bronze (or brass) is often mentioned in the Book of Genesis. Tubal- cain, the first metal-worker of the Scriptures, who forged iron for all kinds of purposes, also wrought in bronze (or brass). This alloy was devoted to the production of objects of ornament. We read in the First Book of Kings (vii. 13, 14), "And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass : and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in Irass." The word brass must be here understood as being synonymous with bronze, and certainly the Hebrew term had this signification. As a specially remarkable object of bronze work, we may mention the " sea of brass " of the Hebrews, which contained 3000 measures of water. Herodotus* speaks of another colossal basin made of bronze, which was sixty times the size of that which Pausanias, son of Cleobrontos, presented to the temple of Jupiter Orios, a temple which had been built near the Euxine, on the borders of Scythia. Its capacity was six hundred amphorse, and it was six " fingers " in thickness. The Greeks used to employ these enormous basins in their religious cere- monies. * Book iv. p. 81. TIIK BRONZE KI'OCII. 211 In Sweden and Norway, large receptacles of a similar kind were in primitive ages employed in sacrificial ceremonies ; they used to receive the blood which flowed from the slaughtered animals. In order to produce objects of this magnitude it was of course necessary to have at disposal large foundries of bronze. These foundries, which 7wdsted during historic periods, were preceded by others of less importance used during the pre-historic epochs which we are considering, that is, during the bronze epoch. Vestiges of these ancient foundries have been discovered in Switzer- land, at Devaine, near Thonon, and at Walflinger, near Wintherthur ; especially also at Echallens, where objects have been found which evidently originated from the working of some pre-historic foundry. At Morges, in Switzerland, a stone mould has been discovered, intended for casting hatchets. By running bronze into this ancient mould, a hatchet has been made exactly similar to some of those in our collections. The casting was also effected in moulds of sand, which is the more usual and more easy plan. From these data, it is possible to imagine what sort of place a foundry must have been during the bronze epoch. In the production of bronze, they used to mix oxydated tin ore, in the proportions which experience had taught them, with oxydated copper ore or copper pyrites; to this mixture was added a small quantity of charcoal. The whole was placed in an earthen vessel in the midst of a burning furnace. The two oxides were reduced to a metallic state by means of the charcoal ; the copper and tin being set free, blended and formed bronze. When the alloy was obtained, all that was necessary was to dip it out and pour it into sand or stone moulds which had been previously arranged for the purpose. The art of casting in bronze must have played a very essential part among primitive peoples. There was no instrument that they used which could not be made by casting it in bronze. The sword-blades were thus made ; and, in order to harden the edge of the weapon, it was first heated and then cooled suddenly, being afterwards hammered with a stone hammer. In fig. 147, we represent the workshop of a caster in bronze during the epoch we are considering. The alloy, having been previously '212 THE AGE OF METALS. mixed, has been smelted in a furnace, and a workman is pouring it into a sand-mould. Another man is examining a sword-blade which has just been cast. Bronze being precious, it is probable that in these ancient com- munities bronze weapons and implements were reserved for rich and powerful personages, and that stone weapons remained the attribute of the common people. The use of bronze could only become general after the lapse of time. The high value of bronze would lead to its being economised as much as possible. The Pre-historic Museum at Copenhagen contains unquestionable proofs of this scarcity of the metal, and the means which were used for obviating it. Among the bronze hatchets in the Museum of Copenhagen, there are some which could only have served as ornaments, for they contained a nucleus of clay, and the metal of which they were composed was not thicker than a sheet of paper. We must also add that worn-out instruments of bronze and utensils which were out of use were carefully preserved in order to be re-cast ; the same material reappearing in various forms and shapes. We have just given a representation of the workshop of a founder of bronze; but we must also state that in addition to these fixed establishments there must have existed, at the epoch of which we are speaking, certain itinerant founders who travelled about, carrying all their necessary utensils on their backs, and offered their services wherever they were required. Every one is acquainted with the travelling-tinkers who, at the present day, make their way down from the mountains of Auvergne, the Black Forest, the Alps, or the Cevennes, and are called peirerous and estama-brazaires in the south of France, and epingliers in other districts. These men are in the habit of working at separate jobs in the villages and even in the public places of the towns. Of course they travel with no more of the utensils of their craft than strict necessity requires ; but, nevertheless, what they carry is sufficient for every purpose. A hollow made in the ground is the furnace in which they place the nozzle of their portable bellows, and they hammer the iron on a small anvil fixed in the earth. Aided by these merely rudimentary means tbey execute pieces of metal-work, the dimensions of which are really surprising. They make nails and tacks, and even worm screws, repair locks, clean clocks, make THE BKONZE EPOCH. 213 knives, mend skimmers, and restore umbrella-frames. They make bronze rings out of republican decimes, and sell these popular trinkets to the village beauties. Incomparable in their line of business, these men are unequalled in patching or re-tinning vessels made of tin and wrought or sheet- iron. The mending of crockeryware also forms one of their numerous vocations ; and the repairing of a broken plate by means of an iron rivet is mere play-work for their dexterous fingers. But melting down and re-casting these are the real triumphs of their art. The village housewife brings to them her worn-out pewter vessel, and soon sees it re-appear as a new, brilliant, and polished utensil. Lamps, cans, covers, and tin-plates and dishes are thus made to reappear in all their primi- tive brightness. The fusion and casting of bronze does not perplex them any more than working in tin. They are in the habit of casting various utensils in brass or bronze, such as candlesticks, bells, brackets, &c. The crucible which they use in melting brass is nothing but a hole dug in the earth and filled up with burning charcoal, the fire being kept up with the help of their bellows, the nozzle of which is lengthened so as to open into the middle of the charcoal. On this furnace they place their portable crucible, which is a kind of earthen ladle provided with a handle. Their system of casting is simple in the extreme. The pressed sand, which serves them for a mould, is procured from the ditch at the side of the road. Into this mould they pour the alloy out of the very crucible in which it has been melted. These itinerant metallurgists, these estama-brazatres, who may be noticed working in the villages of Lower Languedoc, whose ways we have just depicted (not without some degree of pleasant reminis- cence), are nothing but the descendants of the travelling metal-workers of the pre-historic bronze epoch. In addition to the permanent establishment of this kind the foundries, the remains of which have been found in Switzerland, the French Jura, Germany and Denmark, there certainly existed at that time certain workmen who travelled about singly, from place to place, exercising their trade. Their stock of tools, like the objects which they had to make or repair, was of a very simple character ; the sand from the wayside formed their moulds, and their fuel was the dry wood of the forest. 214 THE AGE OF METALS. The existence, at this remote epoch in the history of mankind, of the itinerant workers in metal is proved by the fact, that practitioners of this kind were known in the earliest historic periods who had already to some extent become proficients in the art. Moses, the Hebrew lawgiver, was able in the wilderness to make a brazen serpent, the sight of which healed the Israelites who had been bitten by venomous snakes ; and, during the retirement of the prophet to Mount Sinai, Aaron seemed to find no difficulty in casting the golden calf, which was required of him by the murmurs of the people. Itinerant founders must therefore have accompanied the Jewish army. We have been compelled to dwell to some extent on the general considerations which bear upon the introduction of bronze among the ancient inhabitants of Europe who succeeded the men of the Stone Age. In the chapters which follow we intend as far as possible to trace out the picture of that period of man's history, which is called the Bronze Epoch, and constitutes the first division of the Age of Metals. THE BRONZE EPOCH. 'J15 CHAPTER II. The Sources of Information at our Disposal for reconstructing the History of the Bronze Epoch The Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland Enumeration and Classification of them Their Mode of Construction Workmanship and Position of the Piles Shape and Size of the Huts Population Instruments of Stone, Bone, and Stag's Horn Pottery Clothing Food Fauna Domestic Animals. IN endeavouring to trace out the early history of the human race we naturally turn our attention to all the means of investigation which either study or chance have placed at our disposal. Grottos and caves, the rock-shelters, the ancient camps, the centres of flint- working, the Scandinavian kitchen-middens, the dolmens, and the tumuli all have lent their aid in affording those elements for the representation of the earliest epoch of the history of primitive man which we have already considered. The data which we shall resort to for delineating the hronze epoch will he of a different kind. Among all the sources of authentic information as to the manners and customs of man in his earliest existence, none, certainly, are more curious than those ancient remains which have lately been brought to light and explored, and have received the name of lacustrine dwellings. The question may be asked, what are these lacustrine dwellings, and in what way do they serve to elucidate the history of the bronze epoch ? These are just the points which we are about to explain. The most important discoveries have often depended on very slight causes. This assertion, although it has been made common by frequent repetition, is none the less perfectly correct. To what do we owe the knowledge of a multitude of curious details as to pre- historic peoples? To an accidental and unusual depression of the temperature in Switzerland. But we will explain. The winter of 1853-1854 was, in Switzerland, so dry and cold 216 THE AGE OF METALS. that the waters of the lakes fell far below their ordinary level. The inhabitants of Meilen, a place situated on the banks of the Lake of Zurich, took advantage of this circumstance, and gained from the lake a tract of ground, which they set to work to raise and surround with banks. In carrying out these works they found in the mud at the bottom of the lake a number of piles, some thrown down and others still upright, fragments of rough pottery, bone and stone instruments, and various other relics similar to those found in the Danish peat- bogs. This extraordinary accumulation of objects of all kinds on the dried bed of the lake appeared altogether inexplicable, and every one was at fault in their remarks ; but Dr. Keller of Zurich, having examined the objects, at once came to a right understanding as to their signifi- cation. It was evident to him that they belonged to pre-historic times. By an association of ideas which no one had previously dreamt of, he perceived that a relation existed between the piles and the other relics discovered in the vicinity, and saw clearly that both dated back to the same epoch. He thus came to the conclusion, that the ancient inhabitants of the Lake of Zurich were in the habit of constructing dwellings over the water, and that the same custom must have existed as regards the other Swiss lakes. This idea was developed by Dr. Keller in five very remarkable memoirs, which were published in Grerman.* This discovery was the spark which lighted up a torch destined to dissipate the darkness which hung over a long-protracted and little- known period of man's history. Previous to the discovery made on the dried-up bed of the Lake of Zurich, various instruments and singular utensils had been obtained from the mud of some of the lakes of Switzerland, and piles had often been noticed standing up in the depth of the water ; but no one had been able to investigate these vestiges of another age, or had had any idea of ascribing to them anything like the remote antiquity which has since been recognised as belonging to them. To Dr. Keller the honour is due of having interpreted these facts in their real bearing, at a time when every one else looked upon them as nothing but objects of curiosity. It is, therefore, only just to pronounce the * ' Pfahlbauten,' Zurich, 1854-1856. THE BKONZE EPOCH. 217 physician of Zurich to have been the first originator of pre-historic archaeological science hi Switzerland. In 1854, after the publication of Dr. Keller's first article, the Swiss lakes were explored with much energy, and it was not long before numerous traces of human settlements were discovered. At the present day more than 200 are known, and every year fresh ones are being found.* Thanks to the activity which has been shown by a great number of observers, magnificent collections have been formed of these archaeo- logical treasures. The fishermen of the lakes have been acquainted, for many years back, with the sites of some of these settlements, in consequence of having, on many occasions, torn their nets on the piles sticking up in the mud. Numerous questions were asked them, and they were taken as guides to the different spots, and ere long a whole system of civilisation, heretofore unknown, emerged from the beds of the Swiss lakes. Among the lakes which have furnished the largest quantity of relics of pre-historic ages, we may mention that of Neuchatel, in which, in 1867, no less than forty-six settlements were counted; in Lake Constance (thirty-two settlements) ; in the Lake of Geneva (twenty- four settlements) ; in the Lake of Bienne, canton of Berne (twenty settlements) ; in the Lake of Morat, canton of Fribourg (eight settle- ments). Next come several other lakes of less importance. The Lake of Zurich (three settlements) ; the Lake of Pfaeffikon, canton of Zurich (four settlements) ; the Lake of Sempach, canton of Lucerne (four settlements) ; the Lake of Moosseedorf, canton of Berne (two settle- ments) ; the Lake of Inkwyl, near Soleure (one settlement) ; the Lake of Nussbaumen, canton of Thurgau (one settlement) ; the Lake of Zug, &c. Pile-work has also been discovered in former lakes now transformed * Various distinguished savants have taken upon themselves the task of making known to the public the results of these unceasing investigations, and of bringing before the eyes of the present generation the ancient civilisation of the Swiss valleys. Among the works which have best attained this end, we must mention Troyon's ' Habitations Lacustres des Temps anciens et modernes,' Morlot's ' Etudes Geologico- archeologiques en Danemark et en Suisse,' and M. Desor's ' Palafittes, ou Con- structions Lacustres du Lac de Neuchatel.' These works, which have been trans- lated into various languages, contain a statement of all the archaeological discoveries which have been made in Switzerland. 218 THE AGE OF METALS. into peat-bogs. We must place in this class the peat-bog of Wauwyl, canton of Lucerne (five settlements). We will mention, in the last place, the settlement at the bridge of Thiele, on the water-course which unites the lakes of Bienne and Neuchatel. This settlement must once have formed a portion of the Lake of Bienne, at the time when the latter extended as far as the bridge of Thiele. The lacustrine villages of Switzerland do not all belong to the same period. The nature of the remains that they contain indubitably prove that some are far more ancient than others. The vestiges have been discovered of three successive epochs the polished-stone epoch and the epochs of bronze and of iron. The lacustrine settlements of Switzerland, when considered under the heads of the various pre-historical epochs to which they belong, may be divided in the following way : The Stone Age : The Lake of Constance (about thirty settlements) ; the Lake of Neuchatel (twelve settlements) ; the Lake of Geneva (two settlements) ; the Lake of Morat (one settlement) ; the lakes of Bienne, Zurich, Pfseffikon, Inkwyl, Moosseedorf, Nussbaumen, Wanger, &c. ; the settlements of Saint-Aubin and Concise, the peat-bog of Wauwyl, and the settlement at the Bridge of Thiele. The Bronze Epoch : The Lake of Geneva (twenty settlements) ; the Lake of Neuchatel (twenty-five settlements) ; the Lake of Bienne (ten settlements) ; also the lakes of Morat and Sempach. The Iron Epoch : The lakes of Neuchatel and Bienne. It may appear strange that the primitive inhabitants of Switzerland should have preferred aquatic dwellings to habitations built on terra firma, which could certainly have been constructed much more easily. Further on in our work we shall have something to say as to the advantages which men might derive from such a peculiar arrangement of their dwellings ; but we may now remark that this cus- tom was somewhat prevalent among the earliest inhabitants of Europe. Ancient history furnishes us with several instances of it. Herodotus, speaking of the Pseonians, of the Lake Prasias, in Thrace, says : " Their habitations are built in the following way. On long piles, sunk into the bottom of the lake, planks are placed, forming a floor ; a narrow bridge is the means of access to them. These piles used to be fixed by the inhabitants at their joint expense ; but after- THE BRONZE EPOCH. 219 wards it was settled that each man should bring three from Mount Orhelus for every woman whom he married. Plurality of wives, be it observed, was permitted in this country. On these planks each has his hut with a trap-door down into the lake ; and lest any of their children should fall through this opening they took care to attach a cord to their feet. They used to feed their horses and beasts of burden on fish. In this lake fish was so abundant that if a basket was let down through the trap-door it might be drawn up a short time afterwards filled with fish." Sir J. Lubbock, repeating the statement of one of his friends who resides at Salonica, asserts that the fishermen of the Lake Prasias still inhabit wooden huts built over the water, as in the time of Herodotus. There is nothing improbable in this, since the town of Tcherkask in Russia is constructed in a similar way over the River Don, and Venice itself is nothing but a lacustrine city built during historic times over a lagune of the Adriatic sea. We may add that even in modern times this custom of building villages on piles still exists in some parts of the world. According to the evidence of Dampier and Dumont d'Urville, habitations built on piles are to be met with in New Guinea, Celebes, Ceram, Mindanao, the Caroline Islands, &c. The city of Borneo is, indeed, entirely built on this plan. In some of the isles of the Pacific Ocean there are several tribes of savages who likewise make their dwellings over water. The Indians of Venezuela have adopted this custom with the sole intention of sheltering themselves from the mosquitoes. It is quite permissible to suppose that the need for security was the motive which induced the ancient inhabitants of Switzerland, and other countries, thus to make settlements and live upon the lakes. Surrounded as they were by vast marshes and impenetrable forests, they lived m' dread of the attacks of numerous wild beasts. They therefore taxed their ingenuity to insure their safety as far as they possibly could, and no means appeared more efficacious than that of surrounding themselves with water. At a subsequent period, when men commenced to make war against one another, these aquatic habita- tions became still more valuable. They then constituted something in the nature of camps or fortification in which, being well-protected Irotn all danger of sudden surprise, the people of the country could defy the efforts of their enemies. 220 THE AGE OF METALS. We must, however, add, that in more recent times these buildings on piles were - according to M". Desor used only as storehouses for utensils and provisions ; the actual dwellings for men being built on terra firma. These lacustrine dwellings are designated under various names by different authors. Dr. Keller, who was the first to describe them, gave them in German the name of pfahlbauten (buildings on piles) which the Italians have translated by the word palafitta. This latter appellation, when gallicized by M. Desor, becomes palafitte. Lastly, the name tenevieres or Steinbergs (mountains of stone) is given to constructions of a peculiar character in which the piles are kept up by masses of stone which have been brought to the spot. By Dr. Keller, this latter kind are called packwerltbauten. When we examine as a whole the character of the lacustrine settle- ments which have hitherto been discovered, it may, in fact, be per- ceived that those who built them proceeded on two different systems of construction ; either, they buried the piles very deeply in the bed of the lake, and on these piles placed the platform which was to support their huts ; or, they artificially raised the bed of the lake by means of heaps of stones, fixing in these heaps somewhat large stakes, not so much for the purpose of supporting the habitations themselves as with a view of making the heaps of stones a firm and compact body. This latter mode of construction is represented in fig. 148, taken Fig. 148. Section of the Teneviere of Hauterive. from a design given by M. Desor in his remarkable work ' Les Palafittes.'* One or the other of these modes of construction was employed according to the nature of the bed of the lake. In lakes with a muddy bottom, the first plan could be easily employed ; but when the * ' Les Palafittes, ou Constructions Lacustres du Lac de Neuchatcl.' Paris, 1865. THE BRONZE EPOCH. _M bed was rocky, it was necessary to have recourse to the second. This is the reason why on the northern shore of the Lake of Neuchatel, where the banks of limestone come very close to the surface, a com- paratively large number of tenevieres may be observed. These are the facts as generally noticed, especially in wide and deep lakes ; the edifice, however, was not always constructed in this mode. In marshes and small lakes, which have now become peat-bogs, another system was frequently applied, a remarkable instance of which is furnished by the peat moss at Wauwyl. In this locality were found several quadrangular spaces very distinctly enclosed by piles, between which were raised as many as five platforms one above the other. These piles are naturally very long, and some are buried as much as seven feet in the solid ground an operation which must have required an enormous amount of labour. The intervals between the platforms are filled up with boughs of trees and clay, and the floors themselves are made in nearly the same way as those we have before mentioned. The lowest rested directly on the bed of the lake, and on the upper one the huts were placed. It is sometimes the case that these heaps of stones rise above the water ; they then form perfect artificial islands, and the habitations which covered them are no longer, properly speaking, dwellings on piles. Of this kind is the station on the Lake of Inkwyl in Switzer- land ; of this kind, also, .are the crannoges of Ireland, of which we shall subsequently make special mention. Some of these artificial isknds have braved the destructive action of ages, and are still in- habited at the present time. M. Desor mentions the Isle of Eoses in the Lake of Starnberg (Bavaria) which has never been known to have been unfrequented by man ; it now contains a royal residence. Let us revert to the mode of construction of the aquatic dwellings of Switzerland. In all prolability the stones used were conveyed to the required spot by means of canoes made of hollowed-out trunks of trees. Several of these canoes may still be seen nt the bottom of Lake Bienne, and one, indeed, is still laden with pebbles, which leads us to think that it must have foundered with its cargo. But it is very difficult to raise these canoes from the bottom, and it is, besides, probable that when exposed to the open air they would fall to dust. Nevertheless, one of them is exhibited in the Museum at Neuchatel. 222 THE AGE OF METALS. In the Museum at Saint-Germain there is a canoe very similar to that of Neuchatel. It is made out of the trunk of a hollow tree. A second canoe, very like the first, but with the bark still on it, and in a bad state of preservation, lies in the entry of the same Museum of Saint-Germain. It was taken out of the Seine, as we stated when speaking in a previous chapter of the first discovery of the art of navigation during the Stone Age. It may very easily be explained how the constructors went to work in felling the trees and converting them into piles. M. Desor has remarked that the pieces of wood composing the piles are cut cleanly through round their circumference only; the central part shows inequalities just like those which are noticed when a stick is broken in two by the hand after having been cut into all round the outside. The builders of the lacustrine villages, therefore, when they wanted to fell a tree must have acted much as follows : having cut all round it to a depth of 3 or 4 inches, they fixed a cord to the top, and broke the tree down by forcibly pulling at the upper part. They then cut it through in the same way with stone or bronze hatchets, giving it the requisite length, hewing it into a point at one end so that it should more easily penetrate the mud. Sometimes a fire applied to the base of the tree prepared for, and facilitated, the effect of the sharp instruments used. A great number of the piles that have been found still bear the marks of the fire and the cuts, made by stone hatchets. In constructing the tenevieres, the labour of pointing the piles was needless, as the latter were thoroughly wedged in by the accumulation of stones of which we gave a representation in fig. 148. When the piles were prepared, they had to be floated to the spot fixed upon for the village, and to be fixed in the bed of the lake. If we consider that, in many cases, the length of these piles reached to as much as 16 or 20 feet, some idea may be formed of the difficulty of an undertaking of this kind. In the construction of the tenevieres much thicker piles were used, and the labour was much less difficult. For instance, in the more ancient tenevieres of the Lake of Neuchatel piles are found made of whole trunks of trees which measure 10 to 12 inches in diameter. The mind is almost confused when it endeavours to sum up the amount of energy and strong will which the primitive population of Switzerland must have bestowed on constructing, unaided as they THE BRONZE EPOCH. 223 were by metal implements, the earliest lacustrine settlements, some of which are of very considerable extent. The settlement of Morges, one of the largest in the Lake of Geneva, is not less than 71,000 square yards in area. That of Chabrey, in the Lake of Neuchatel, measures about 60,000 square yards; another, in the same lake, 48,000 yards; and, lastly, a third, that of La Tene, 36,000 yards. There are many others which are smaller, although of respectable dimensions. The number of piles which must have been used in some of these constructions is really surprising. M. Lohle has calculated that in the single lacustrine village of Wangen, in the Lake of Constance, at least 40,000 piles have been fixed, and that several generations must have been necessary to terminate the work. The more reason- able interpretation to give to a fact of this kind is that Wangen, which was very thinly populated at first, increased in size gradually as the numbers of inhabitants augmented. The same remark may be doubtless applied to all the important stations. This was the plan employed in building a single habitation. When a whole village had to be built in the open water, a methodical course of action was adopted. They began by placing a certain number of piles parallel to the shore, and these they at once threw across the bridge which was intended to connect the village with the land, thus rendering the carriage of the materials much less difficult. When the bridge was finished, and before fixing all the piles, the platform was commenced immediately; this constituted a base of operations, by the help of which the pile work could more easily be finished. This platform was raised 3 or 4 feet above the surface of the water, so as to obviate any danger arising from the waves during a tempest. It was generally composed of branches and trunks of trees not squared, and bound horizontally to each other, the whole cemented together with clay ; sometimes, also, they used thick rough slabs, which were obtained by splitting trunks of trees with wedges. The platform was fixed firmly on the pile-work, and in some cases wooden pegs were used to fasten together the largest pieces of timber, so that the cohesion and incorporation of the floor were rendered more complete. As soon as the esplanade was finished, they then proceeded to the construction of the huts. 224 THE AGE OF METALS. The huts must have opened on to the platform by doors. Did they possess windows ? Nothing is known as to this point. But in all probability there was an opening at the top of the roof, through which the smoke of the fire made its way. To avoid any fear of conflagration, a stone fire-place was placed in the middle of each dwelling. The daylight must have come in through the hole in the roof in a quantity almost sufficient to cause the absence of windows to be not much felt. In each habitation, there was, no doubt, a trap-door in direct com- munication with the lake, such as those which existed in the dwellings of the Paeonians described by Herodotus. Under this trap-door there was a reservoir made of osiers, intended for the preservation of fish. As the inhabitants of the lacustrine villages only lived upon the water with a view of increasing their security, it would be absurd to suppose that they would construct a large number of bridges between their aquatic settlement and the banks of the lake. There must have been, in general, but one bridge for each of these lake villages. How were the huts constructed, and what were their shape and dimensions ? These questions certainly seem difficult to answer, for, as may be well imagined, no specimen of these ancient dwellings has been preserved to our days. Nevertheless, a few relics, insignificant in appearance, enable us to reply to these inquiries in a way more or less satisfactory. Everything seems to indicate that the huts were formed of trunks of trees placed upright, one by the side of the other, and bound to- gether horizontally by interwoven branches. A coating of earth covered this wattling. It has been fancied, from the imprint left by gome of the branches which were used in building these huts, that it might be inferred that they were circular, like those which historians attribute to the ancient Gauls. This was Troyon's opinion, and at first Dr. Keller's also. This author has even sketched a circular hut in a plate representing a restored lacustrine habitation, which accompanies one of his memoirs. Sir C. Lyell, also, has reproduced this same plate in the frontispiece of his work on the 'Antiquity of Man.' But Dr. Keller has subsequently abandoned this idea, and in another of his memoirs he has supplied a fresh design showing nothing but huts with flat or sloping roofs. THE BRONZE EPOCH. 225 From this latter plate, taken from Dr. Keller's work, we here give a representation of a Swiss lacustrine village (fig. 149). The suggestions for this reconstructive sketch were furnished to Dr. Keller not only by various scientific indications, but also and especially by a drawing made by Dumont d'Urville among the Papuans of New Guinea. According to Dr. Keller, during the last century there still existed on the river Limmat, near Zurich, some fishermen's huts built in a similar way to those of the lacustrine villages. What might have been the population of one of these settlements ? This estimate M. Troyon endeavoured to make an undertaking of a very interesting nature. He adopted as the base of his calculations the lacustrine village of Merges (Lake of Geneva), which, as we have already stated, had an area of 71,000 square yards. Allowing that only one-half of this area was occupied by huts, the other half being reserved for gangways between the dwellings, and assuming an average diameter of 16 feet for each hut, M. Troyon reckoned the number of dwellings in the pre-historic village of Morges at 311. Next, supposing that four individuals lived in each hut, the total amount of population he arrived at was 1244 inhabitants. We might very justly be surprised if men of the bronze epoch, who were provided with metallic weapons, and were consequently in a much better position for resisting any violent attack, had continued to dwell exclusively in the midst of the water, and should not, to some extent, have dispersed over terra firma, which is man's natural standing-ground* It was, therefore, nothing more than might have been expected, when the discovery was made of the relics of dwellings upon land, containing remains of the bronze epoch. This discovery, in fact, took place, and those investigating the subject came to the conclusion that the valleys of Switzerland, as well as the lakes, were occupied during this period by an industrious and agricultural people. At Ebersberg, canton of Zurich, there was discovered which is a very curious fact the remains of an ancient settlement situated on terra firma, and containing utensils similar to those found in the lacustrine settlements. In 1864, Dr. Clement searched several mounds composed of pebbles bearing the traces of fire ; these mounds were situated in the neighbourhood of Gorgier (canton of Neu- chatel). One of these mounds has furnished various objects of Q 226 THE AGE OF METALS. bronze intermingled with fragments of charcoal, especially a bracelet and some sickles characterised by a projection or set-off at the spring of the blade. On the plateau of Granges (canton of Soleure), Dr. Schild studied a certain spot which he considers to be the site of an ancient bronze foundry ; for, besides finding there pebbles and calcined earth, he also discovered a number of reaping-hooks made with a shoulder, and also a fragment of a sword and four finely-made knives. A hatchet-knife was likewise found in the gorge of the Seyon, near Neuchatel; and a bracelet in the vicinity of Morges (canton of Geneva). Some other bracelets, accompanied by calcined human bones, were discovered near Sion, in the Valais. Lastly, M. Thioly obtained from a cave of Mont Saleve, near Geneva, numerous fragments of pottery of the bronze epoch ; and in a grotto on the banks of the Reuse, in the canton of Neuchatel, M. Otz found relics of pottery of very fine clay, along with a quantity of bones. Thus the people of this epoch did not dwell exclusively in settle- ments made over the water. They also were in the habit of building habitations on terra firma, and of furnishing them with everything which was necessary for existence. All the facts which have been observed in Switzerland may, doubt- less, be applied generally ; and it may be said that during the bronze epoch the nature of man's habitation became decidedly fixed. The caves of the great bear and mammoth period, and the rock-shelters of the reindeer and polished-stone periods were now succeeded by dwelling-places which differ but little from those of the more civilised peoples who commence the era of historic times. TIIK BRONZE EPOCH. 227 CHAPTER III. Lacustrine Habitations of Upper Italy, Bavaria, Carinthiu and C.miiola, Pouieranin, France, and England The Crannoges of Ireland. IT was difficult to believe that Switzerland alone possessed the mono- poly of these pilework-constructions. It was certainly to be supposed that the southern slopes of the Alps, which were all dotted over with large and beautiful lakes, must likewise contain constructions of a similar character ; this, at least, was M. Desor's opinion. After the numerous pre-historic discoveries which had been made in Switzerland, the Zurich professor proceeded in 1860 to explore the lakes of Lom- bardy, being well convinced that there too he should find remains of lacustrine habitations. The hopes he had formed were not deceived. Ere long, in fact, M. Desor obtained from the peat-bogs round Lake Maggiore piles and other objects similar to those found in the Swiss lakes. These re- searches were continued by MM. Gastaldi and Moro, who discovered in the peat-bogs round this lake several ancient villages built upon piles. In the Lake of Varese, also in Lombardy, which was examined in 1863 by MM. Desor, G. de Mortillet, and the Abbe Stoppani, were discovered five settlements, some of which were of the Stone Age. Subsequently, the Abbe Ranchet pointed out four others, which raise to the number of nine the pile works found in this lake. In order to render due honour to MM. Keller and Desor, who have contributed so much to the investigation and popularity of lacustrine antiquities, the Abbe Stoppani gave the name of these savants to two of the settlements. One of these isles is very curious, as it is inhabited up to the present day. It is called Isoletta (" small island "), and the Litta family possess a chateau upon it. In the peat-mosses of Brianza, a portion of Lombardy situated to the north of Milan, the remains of lacustrine constructions have been Q 2 228 THE AGE OF METALS. discovered, together with bones, fragments of pottery, pieces of char- coal, and carbonised stone ; also weapons, both of bronze and flint. The Lake of Garda has been searched over by various explorers, who have discovered in it the sites of several lacustrine habitations. The authors of these discoveries are Dr. Alberti, of Verona, and MM. Kosterlitz and Silber, two Austrian officers, who presented all the objects which they collected to the antiquarian museums of Vienna and Zurich. The traces of pileworks were first perceived when the works were in progress which were excavated by the Austrians in 1855 round the fortress of Peschiera; which proves, at least, that fortresses may occasionally serve some useful purpose. A settlement of the Stone Age, which was examined by M. Paolo Lioy, is situated in a small lake in Venetia, the length of which does not exceed half a mile, and the depth 30 feet; we allude to the Lake of Fimon, near Vicenza. M. Lioy discovered oaken piles par- tially charred, which proves that the village had at one time been burnt down ; also slabs of timber roughly squared, a canoe hollowed out of a trunk of oak, cakes of clay which had come from the sides of huts, and still bore the imprint of the reed-stalks, and no doubt formed a kind of coating inside the huts ; various instruments made of bone, flint, sandstone, granite, and stag's horn ; rings or spindle- weights made of burnt earth, numerous fragments of rough pottery, merely dried in the sun, and, among all these remains, a dozen entire vessels. There were also found stores of acorns, nuts, and water-chestnuts, the fruit of the sorb-tree, some sloe-stones, &c. A large quantity of animal bones certified to the existence of the bison, the stag, the wild boar, the fox, and several other doubtful species. All the long bones were broken, as is usually the case, for the extraction of the marrow, but not with the ordinary regularity ; they had merely been cracked by blows with stones. The investigation of lacustrine antiquities which had been inaugu- rated in Switzerland could hardly stop short in its path of progress. Attempts were made to discover palafittes in other countries, and these attempts met with success. Thanks to the initiative action taken by M. Desor, and the liberality of the Bavarian Government, pile-works of ancient date have been discovered in six of the Bavarian lakes. Most of them go back to the THE BRONZE EPOCH. 229 Stone Age, but some belong to the bronze epoch. Among the latter we may mention the Isle of Roses, in the Lake of Starnberg, which is, in fact, an artificial island, like the Isoletta in the Lake of Varese. We have previously stated that this island has never ceased to be inhabited, and that a chateau now exists on it. The movement spread from one place to another. Austria made it a point of honour not to remain in the rear of Bavaria, and Professor Hochstetter was commissioned by the Academy of Sciences at Vienna to undertake a search for palafittes in the lakes of Carinthia and Carniola. These explorations were not without result. In four lakes of Carinthia, Dr. Hochstetter discovered piles, remains of pottery, bones, nuts, &c. In the Lake of Reutschach, which was the most closely investigated, he discovered shallows formed by stones, similar to the Steinbergs of Switzerland. The marshes of Laybach have also fur- nished instruments of stag's horn, a perforated stone, and a canoe. Next to Austria, Prussia took the matter up. Specimens of pile- work were discovered in several provinces of this kingdom ; among these were Brandenburg and Pomerania, a district rich in marshes. In the environs of Lubtow the lacustrine constructions have the same characteristics as those of Eobenhausen, on the Lake of Pfaeffikon (Switzerland). Two distinct archaeological strata may be distinguished ; in the lower are found, all mingled together, bronze and stone instru- ments, fragments of pottery, wheat, barley, and charred peas ; the upper stratum belongs to the iron age. We have not as yet said anything about France ; lacustrine dwel- lings have, however, been discovered in some of the departments which border on Switzerland. The Lakes of Bourget and Annecy, in Savoy, contain several of them. The former of these lakes was thoroughly explored by M. Laurent Rabut, author of an article on the ' Habitations Lacustres de la Savoie,' which obtained a silver medal at the competition of the learned societies in 1863. In the Lake of Bourget, M. Rabut ascer- tained the existence of five or six settlements of the bronze epoch, three of which, those of Tresserve, Gresine and Chatillon, have been distinguished as furnishing numerous ancient relics. The Lake of Paladru (Isere) which has been searched by M. Gustave Vallier, has afforded similar results. Pile-works are thought to exist in some other small lakes in the same district those of Sainte-Helene, 230 THE AGE OF METALS. on the left bank of the Isere, Saint-Martin-de-Belville, and Saint- Marcel, near Moutiers. Pile-works have also been discovered on the site of an ancient lake on the banks of the Saone ; and in a totally different district, at the foot of the Pyrenees, as many as five have been pointed out. Everything therefore leads us to believe that if we searched with care the peat-mosses and pools which are very common in a good many of the French departments, we should discover the vestiges of various pre-historic epochs. In order to complete the enumeration of the lacustrine constructions of Europe, we may state that they have been found in Denmark in the Lake of Maribo, and in England in the county of Norfolk. With these constructions we must also connect the crannoges or artificial islands of Ireland, the first of which was discovered in 1836 by Sir W. K. Wilde, a member of the Eoyal Academy of Dublin. Since this date various investigations have been made of these objects, and, at the present time, no less than fifty crannoges have been discovered, distributed among the various counties of Ireland. Most of these islets were composed of heaps of stones held together by piles, nearly in the same way as in the tenevieres in Switzerland ; but the crannoges differ from the latter in being raised above the water. Some of them, however, are formed by a collection of vertical piles and horizontal joists, constituting an external inclosure, and even internal compartments, inside which all kinds of remains were Fig. 150. -Vertical Section of a Crannoge in the Ardakillin Lake. collected. This kind are called stockaded islands. They are gene- rally of an oval or circular shape, and their dimensions are always kept within rather narrow limits. In his work on ' Pre-historic Times,' Sir John Lubbock gives the above sketch of a crannoge in the Ardakillin Lake. THE BRONZE EPOCH. 231 Captain Mudge, of the Koyal British Navy, has described a hut which he found at a depth of 16 feet, in the Drumkellin marsh. Its area was about 5 feet square, and its height 10 feet ; it included two stories, each about 4 feet high. The roof was flat, and the hut was surrounded by a fence of piles, doubtless intended to separate it from other adjacent huts, the remains of which are still to be perceived. The whole construction had been executed by means of stone instru- ments, a fact that was proved by the nature of the cuts that were still visible on some of the pieces of wood. Added to this, a hatchet, a chisel, and an arrow-head, all made of flint, were found on the floor of the cabin, and left no doubt whatever on this point. This, therefore, was in fact a habitation belonging to the Stone Age. Some nuts and a large quantity of broken shells were scattered over the ground. A large flat stone, perforated with a little hole in the middle, was found on the spot ; it was probably used to break the nuts by means of round pebbles picked up outside. From some of these settlements considerable masses of bones have been obtained, which have, alas, been utilised as manure. Sir John Lubbock tells us that the crannoge of Dunshauglin alone has furnished more than 150 cartloads of bones. These bones belong to the following species : the ox, the pig, the goat, the sheep, the horse, the ass, the dog, the fox, the roe, the fallow-deer, and the great Irish stag, now extinct. If all other proof were wanting, the presence of the remains of this latter animal would be sufficient to indicate that certain crannoges date back to the Stone Age ; but as in this case we evidently have to do with the polished-stone epoch, it is also proved that the gigantic antlered stag existed in Ireland at a much later date than on the continent. Various historical records testify to the fact, that the crannoges were inhabited up to the end of the sixteenth century. They then con- stituted a kind of fortress, in which petty chiefs braved for a long time the royal power. After the definitive pacification of the country they were completely abandoned. 232 THE AGE OF METALS. CHAPTER IV. Palustrine Habitations or Marsh-Villages Surveys made by MM. Strobel and Pigorini of the Terramares of Tuscany The Terramares of Brazil. HAVING described the lacustrine habitations which have been dis- covered in various parts of Europe, we must now mention the so-called palustrine habitations, as peculiar to the bronze epoch. This name has been given to that kind of village, the remains of which have been discovered round marshes and pools. Upper Italy is the locality in which these settlements have been pointed out. The name of palustrine settlements, or marnieras, has been given to the sites of ancient villages established by means of piles on marshes or pools of no great size, which in the course of time have been filled up by mould of a peaty character, containing a quantity of organic and other detritus. The discovery of those palustrine settlements is due to MM. Strobel and Pigorini, who have designated them by the name of terramares. This term is applied by these savants to the accumulation of ashes, charcoal, animal bones, and remains of all kinds which have been thrown away by man all round his dwellings, and have accumulated there during the lapse of centuries. The name which has been given them was derived from the fact that they furnish a kind of earthy ammoniacal manure, known in the district by the name of terra mare. These accumulations are the representatives of the Danish kitchen- middens ; but with this difference, that instead of dating back to the Stone Age, the former belong to the bronze epoch. Terramares are numerous in the districts of Parma and Modena ; they are, however, almost entirely confined to the plain which extends between the Po, the Apennines, the Adda, and the Keno, forming an THE BKONZE EPOCH. 233 area of about GO miles long, and 30 miles wide. In a general way, they form small mounds which rise from G to 12 feet above the level of the plain ; as they go down some depth in the ground, their total thickness is in some places as much as 20 feet. Very few are seen having an area exceeding 9 acres. Excavations which have been made in several spots enable a tolerably exact account to be given of the mode of construction adopted in these palustrine settlements. The marniera of Castione, in particular, has furnished us with valuable information on this point ; and we shall describe this settlement as a type of the rest. Piles from 6 to 10 feet in length, and 4 to 6 inches in diameter (fig. 151), formed Fig. 151 . Veitical Section of the Marniera of Castione. of trunks of trees, either whole or split, and pointed at the ends by some rough tool, were sunk to the depth of some inches in the bed of the hollow. Some of them still show on their tops the marks of the blows that they received when they were driven in. They were placed at intervals of from 18 inches to 6 feet; and connecting-beams from G to 10 feet in length, placed horizontally, and crossing one another, bound the piles together, and insured the solidity of the whole con- struction. On these cross-beams rested a floor (fig. 1 52) formed of joists 1 to 3 inches thick, 6 to 12 inches wide, and 5 to 7 feet long. Fig. 153 gives the plan of the tie-beams and piles of the marniera of Castione, taken from the author's work.* These slabs or joists * ' Les Terramnres et le Pilotages du Parmesan ;' Milan, 1864. (Kxtract from the ' Atti della Societa Italians di Scienze natural!.') 234 THE AGE OF METALS. were not fixed in any way ; at least, no trace now exists of any fasten- ing. They seemed to have been provided by splitting trunks of trees by means of wooden wedges, a number of these wedges having been found in the peaty earth. Neither the saw nor the gimlet appear to have been employed ; but the square holes have been cut out by Fig. 152. Floor of the Marniera of Castione. means of the chisel. The timber that was used was principally ash and oak. The floor was covered with beaten earth to a thickness of 10 to 12 ---> G Fig. 153. Plan of the Piles and Cross-beams in the Marniera of Castione. inches. Fragments of this kind of paving were found scattered about in two sandy heaps, almost entirely devoid of other debris, whilst the THE BRONZE EPOCH. 235 adjacent earth, of a blackish colour, contained a large quantity of relics of all kinds. It is probable that "the huts of the inhabitants of the marniera were situated upon these sandy heaps, and that the dark- coloured earth is the final result of the accumulation of refuse and various kinds of detritus on the same spot. It is not known whether the layer of beaten earth extended over the whole surface of the floor, or was confined to the interior of the habitations. In the former case, it is probable that it was rammed down with less care on the outside than on the inside of the huts, as is shown by the discovery of a storehouse for corn, the floor of which is formed by nothing but a layer of sandy earth placed upon the planks. This storehouse, which, from the use to which it was put, could not have been used as a dwelling by any one, measured 13 feet in length, and 10 feet in width. It contained carbonised beans and wheat, spread in a layer of about 4 inches thick. MM. Strobel and Pigorini found no remains of huts in the marniera of Castione : probably because, having been built entirely of wood, they were completely destroyed by fire, numerous traces of which may still be detected. In addition to the carbonised corn and fruit already mentioned, many other objects bearing the evident marks of fire were, in fact, collected at Castione. The floor-slabs, the tie-beams, and the tops of the piles were often found to be half consumed. But although at Castione there is no evidence forthcoming in respect to huts, information which bears upon this point has been obtained at other spots. MM. Strobel and Pigorini have ascertained that the palustrine dwellings bore a great similarity to those on the Swiss lakes. The sides were lined w : th boughs, and the interior was daubed with clay. In Italy, just as in Switzerland, certain fragments of the clayey coating which have been hardened and preserved by fire have enabled us to draw these inferences. At Castione several beds of ashes and charcoal containing remains of meals, pointed out the sites of the domestic hearths, round which they, doubtless, assembled to eat their food. Another bed of charcoal, mixed with straw, wheat, and pieces of burnt pottery, was found in a peculiar situation it was embedded in a bank of calcareous pebbles vitrified on the surface ; this bank was about 5 feet wide, and about 8 inches in thickness. The explorers thought that it was, perhaps, a place which had been devoted to the fusion of metals. 236 THE AGE OF METALS. On the edge of the basin of the marsh, a kind of rampart or de- fensive work was discovered, composed of slabs as much as 16 feet in length, laid horizontally one over the other. These slabs were tied down by stakes driven in obliquely, and likewise placed one above the other, their ends being inserted between the slabs. This last discovery, added to other indications, led MM. Strobel and Pigorini to the supposition that the pile- work of Castione, and doubtless also those in all the marnieras, were in the first place constructed as places of defence, and were subsequently converted into fixed and permanent residences. The basin of the marsh having been gradually filled up by the accumulations of debris resulting from the presence of man, the habitations were built on a solid foundation, and a great portion of the former floor was done away with, which would account for so little of it now remaining. The objects discovered in the terramares and marnieras do not essen- tially differ from those found in the pile-works of Switzerland. They are almost all worn or broken, just as might be expected from finding them in rubbish heaps. There are a great quantity of fragments of pottery of a greyish or dark-coloured clay mixed with grains of quartz, imperfectly baked, and made without the aid of a potter's wheel. The ornamentation is, in general, of a very simple character, but the shapes of the ears, or handles, are very varied. Some of the vessels are fur- nished with a spout or holes for the liquid to flow out. The terramares also contain supports for vessels with round or pointed bottoms. In the marniera of San Ambrogio a slab of pottery was found, elliptical in shape, and about half an inch in thickness, concave on one side and convex on the other, and pierced with seventeen circular holes about a quarter of an inch in diameter. The idea was enter- tained that this object was used as a kind of fire-grating, for it bore traces of the long-continued action of fire. The other objects most commonly found were weights made of baked earth, and perhaps used for the weaving-loom, much worn in the place where the cord passed through on which they were hung ; fusaiolas, or spindle -whorls, very varied both in shape and size, like- wise made of baked earth ; large mill-stones with a polished surface. Next, we have poniards or spear-heads, hatchets, and hair-pins', all made of bronze. The marniera of San Ambrogio has furnished a mould indicating that bronze was melted and cast in this district. THE BKONZE EPOCIf. -JH7 An attentive study of the bones of animals contained in the terra- mares has led to the following information being obtained as to the fauna of Upper Italy during the bronze epoch. With respect to the mammals which lived in a wild state, the exist- ence has been ascertained of a species of stag of much greater size than the present variety, and about equal to that of the lacustrine settlements of Switzerland (fig. 154) ; also of a wild-boar, much more powerful than that of Sardinia or even of Algeria, the roe, the bear, the rat, and the porcupine. In different spots have been found stags' horns and bones, and also sloe-stones which have retained the impression of the teeth of some small rodent. The bear, the wild- boar, the stag and the roe, have, at the present day, disappeared from the country. The porcupine, too, has migrated into regions further south, which leads to the supposition that the temperature of the pro- vinces of Parma and Modena is a little lowered since the date of the bronze epoch. It is to be remarked that in these settlements, contrary to what has been noticed in Switzerland, in the lacustrine habitations belonging to the Stone Age, the remains of wild animals are met with much more rarely than those of domestic animals ; this must be consequent on a superior and more advanced stage of civilisation having existed in Italy. Among the domestic species found we may mention the dog, two breeds of which, of different sizes, must have existed ; the pig of the peat-bogs, the same variety as that of which the bones were dis- covered in Switzerland ; the horse, the remains of which, although rare, testify to the existence of two breeds, one large and bulky, the other of slighter and more elegant prc/^rtions ; the ass, of which there are but few bones, could not, therefore, have been very common ; the ox, the remains of which are on the contrary very abundant, like the dog and the horse, is represented by two distinct breeds, the more powerful of which appears to have descended from the Bos primigenius or Urus ; lastly, the sheep and the goat, the remains of which can scarcely be clearly distinguished on account of their great anatomical resemblance. When we compare the present fauna with that of which we have just given the details, we may perceive federal important modifications. Thus the pig of the peat-bogs, one breed of oxen, and a breed of sheep (the smallest) have become entirely extinct ; and the common sheep, 238 THE AGE OF METALS. the goat, the horse, and the ass have assumed much more important dimensions. With regard to the wild species of mammals, we have already said that some have become less in size, and others have dis- appeared. Hence results one proof of a fact which is beyond dispute, although often called in question, namely, that the intelligent action of man working by means of domestication on wild natures, will ulti- mately succeed in ameliorating, reclaiming, and perfecting them. The skulls and the long bones found in the terramares are almost always broken for the purpose of extracting the brain and the marrow, a very ancient usage which had endured to this comparatively late epoch. But instead of being split longitudinally, as was the case in preceding epochs, they are generally broken across at one end. The terramares and the kitchen-middens have this peculiarity in common that all the dogs' skulls found in them have been intentionally broken ; a fact which proves that in Italy, as in Denmark, this faithful guest or servant of man was occasionally, in default of some better food, and doubtless with much regret, used as an article of subsistence. No remains of fish have been found in these marnieras ; from this, MM. Strobel and Pigorini have justly concluded that the inhabitants of these pile-works were not fishermen, and that, at all events, the water which surrounded them was shallow and of limited extent. The species of birds, molluscs and insects, the remains of which have been found in the terramares, are likewise determined. The existence of the domestic fowl and the duck, no doubt, living in com- plete liberty, has been duly recognised ; but it is thought that the appearance of these species must not be dated further back than the end of the bronze epoch, and perhaps even the beginning of that of iron. The examination of the insect remains has enabled us to ascertain that the refuse food and rubbish must have lain for some little time in front of the doors of the habitations before it was pushed into the water ; for in it, flies, and other insects of the kind, found time to be born, to mature, and to undergo their whole series of metamorphoses ; a fact which is proved by the perforated and empty envelopes of their chrysalides. We mention this last facj; as one of the most curious instances of the results which science and inference may, in combination, arrive at when devoted to the novel and interesting study of some of the earlier THE BRONZE EPOCH. 239 stages in man's existence. But, on the other hand, it gives us but a poor idea of the cleanliness of the Italian race during the bronze epoch. It would seem to us that a feeling of the dignity inherent in the body of man, and the cares that it so imperiously claims, would have been now more strongly developed than at a period when men dwelt con- fined in caves. This, however, is not the case. But have we, in the present day, any right to be astonished when we see, even now, the prevalence, in some of the great cities of America, of certain practices so disgusting in character and so opposed to the public health ? Osculati, an Italian traveller, relates that at all the street corners in the city of Guayaquil, in the republic of Ecuador, heaps of filth are to be seen which exhale an insupportable odour. Similar heaps exist at the very gates of Mexico, where, at the present time, they form small hills. These facts ought to render us indulgent towards the neglect of cleanliness by our ancestors during the bronze epoch. Such were the animal remains collected in the terramares. The vegetable remains consisted of grains of carbonised corn, broken nuts, acorns, halves of burnt apples, stones of the dog-berry, plums and grapes. In concluding our consideration of the palustrine settlements, we may add, that some have recently been discovered in Moravia and Mecklenburg. At Olmutz, a city of Moravia, M. Jeitteler, a learned Viennese, has found piles sunk into the peat, along with various bronze and stone objects, ornamented pottery, charcoal, ch'irred wheat, numerous animal bones, and a human skeleton of a brachycephalous race. All the facts lead to the beljef that this will not be the last discovery of the kind. We must also state that the terramares, or deposits of the remains of habitations on the edge of marshes, are not peculiar to Europe exclusively. On the coast of Africa (at San Vicente) M. Strobel found remains of an exactly similar nature ; and Dr. Henrique Naegeli, a distinguished naturalist of Bio Janeiro, has testified to the existence on the coast of Brazil of like deposits, which he proposes to subject to a thorough examination.* * ' Materiaux pour 1'histoire positive ct philosophiqw och. (J'uge ZTs.) THE BRONZE EPOCH. 279 belonged to that period. These were a sword, a knife, a bodkin, an awl, a pair of tweezers, a double button, and a small bronze bracelet ; also a double tin button, a ball of amber and a flint spear-head. The shape of the swords and knives shows that this burial-place in Jutland must be referred to the latter part of the bronze epoch to a time, perhaps, when iron was first used. Following out the data afforded by these records, and all the dis- coveries which have been made in other tombs, we have given in fig. 226, a representation of warriors of ilie bronze epoch. The accoutrements of the horseman of pre-historic ages are com- posed of a bronze sword, like those found in the tombs in Denmark, and a bronze hatchet and sword-belt. His horse is decked with round bronze discs, which, in after times, formed among the Komans the chief ornament of this faithful and intrepid auxiliary of man in all his combats. The horseman's head is bare; for no helmet or metallic head-covering has ever, at least, to our knowledge, been discovered in the tombs of the bronze epoch. The spear and bronze hatchet are the weapons of the foot-soldiers. Next to the Scandinavian regions, Great Britain and Ireland occupy an important place in the history of the civilisation of the bronze epoch. The same type of implements are found in these countries as in Denmark and Switzerland. Hatchet-moulds (fig. 227) are also found there- a circumstance Fig. 227. Bronz* Halchet-mould found in Ireland. which proves that the founder's art was known and practised in these countries. The Dublin Museum contains a beautiful collection of various objects belonging to the bronze epoch. '280 THE AGE OF METALS. Some of the departments of France have also furnished objects belonging to the same period ; but there is nothing peculiar among them which deserves mention. Did any kind of religious worship exist among the men of the bronze epoch ? Nothing would be more interesting than any discovery bearing on this point ; but up to the present time no vestiges of any- thing in the shape of an idol have been found, nor anything whatever which authorizes us unhesitatingly to answer this question in the affirmative. The only thing which might prove the existence of any religious feeling, is the discovery, in various lacustrine settlements, of a certain number of crescent-shaped objects, most of them made of very coarse baked earth and some of stone. The dimensions of these crescents vary considerably ; there are some which measure as much as 16 inches from one point to the other. They are ornamented with perfectly primitive designs, as shown in fig. 228, drawn at the Museum of Saint-Germain from one of the numerous specimens of this class of objects. Fig. 228. Stone Crescent found in one of the Swiss Lakes. Several archaeologists consider these crescents to have been religious emblems or talismans which were suspended either outside or inside the habitations. Dr. Keller is of opinion that they bear some rela- tion to the worship of the moon an hypothesis which is not at all an impossible one ; for all nations who have not attained to a certain degree of moral and intellectual culture adore the heavenly bodies as the sources of light and heat. M. Carl Yogt, in considering the crescents which have been dis- covered in such large quantities in the lacustrine habitations, cannot THE BEONZE EPOCH. 281 admit that they indicate that any religious belief existed among these ancient nations. He attributes to these objects a very different kind of use, and, as we shall presently show, rather an odd one. In the lectures on pre-historie man which were delivered by Prof. Carl Vogt at Antwerp, in 1868, and have been reported by the Belgian journals,* when speaking on the subject of the crescents belonging to the bronze epoch, he expresses himself as follows : " My opinion is that these crescents were used as resting-places for the head during the night. Among many savage tribes we find the attention paid to the dressing of the hair carried to a high pitch, especially among the men ; it was not until a later period that woman also devoted her cares to the culture of her coiffure. Now this care is, by many nations, carried out to a really curious extent. They inflict the most severe tortures on themselves in order to satisfy their vanity. Everyone has seen, in the ' Magasin Pittoresque ' and other illustrated journals, the strange head-dresses of the Abyssinian soldiers. They really seem to form a kind of fleece, and it may be noticed that each soldier carries in this hairy construction a large pin. " Well, all this tends to explain the use of these crescents. In Abyssinia, as scon as a young girl is married it becomes her duty to devote herself to her husband's head of hair. This head of hair is made to assume a certain shape, which it has to retain during his whole lifetime. The labour which this process necessitates lasts for three years. Each hair is twisted round a stem of straw, and remains so until the straw perishes. The man's head is thus covered with a whole system of spirals, the top of which is a foot from the surface of his head. During the whole remainder of his life this coiffure must never be again disturbed. When asleep, the Abyssinian rests the nape of his neck on a triangle which he carries about everywhere with him. He has also a long pin, as it would be impossible for him to reach the skin of his head with the end of his finger. "The same custom exists among the New Zealanders, who also have an apparatus upon which they rest their necks, in order, when asleep, to save their coiffures. They wear an enormous chignon, two feet high and ornamented with ribbons, of which they are very proud. The only difference between this chignon and certain others which I need not mention is, that the former cannot be removed at will. * Jndffpendancc Beige, November and December, 1868. 282 THE AGE OF METALS. This object, thus adorned, rests, during the sleep of its owner, on a sort of framework. " The Chinese and Japanese sleep, in the same way, on a bedstead bevelled oif at the head ; and in the Egyptian hieroglyphical drawings we find instruments evidently meant for the same use. " It is very probable that during the bronze epoch great attention was devoted to the hair, and this is the more probable as in every tomb belonging to this period we find pins from 2 feet to 2^ feet in length, furnished with large knobs, and of the same shape as the pins used by the Abyssinian soldiers ; and also, because during the Stone Age, as well as the Bronze Age, a kind of comb is found which is similar to that which is now used by the New Zealanders to scratch, rather than to comb, their heads. The heads of the pins are often very richly ornamented; they are of the most varied shapes, and are extremely common both in the tombs and also in the lacustrine dwellings. " We have the less right to be astonished at our ancestors sleeping with their heads resting on such a machine as we have just described, knowing, as we do, that the hussars of Frederick the Great used to spend the whole night in arranging their coiffures !" Thus, while Dr. Keller and many other archaeologists ascribe the crescents found in the Swiss lakes to some kind of religious worship, M. Vogt, whose idea is of a much more prosaic character, does not attribute them to any other worship but that of self as represented by the hair ! The reader can take his choice between these two explana- tions. We shall only remark, in corroboration of Dr. Keller's opinion, that certain Gallic tribes used for a religious symbol this very crescent which M. Vogt would make out to be a pillow a stone pillow which, as it seems to us, must have been very hard, even for primitive man. Various objects found in the dwellings of man belonging to the bronze epoch appear to have been religious symbols. Such, for instance, are the designs so often met with on swords, vases, &c. These drawings never represent objects in nature ; they seem rather to be cabalistic signs or talismans. Most of them bear some relation to a circle; sometimes they are single circles, and sometimes com- binations of circles. Many authors have had the idea of attributing them to the worship of the sun. THE BRONZE EPOCH. 23 Another sign was still more often used, and it was known even as early as the Stone Age we speak of the cross. It is one of the most ancient symbols that ever existed. M. G. de Mortillet, in a work entitled ' La Croix avant le Christianisnie,' has endeavoured to esta- blish the fact, that the cross has always been the symbol of a sect which contended against fetishism. This much is at least certain, that it is one of the most ancient symbolical signs ; for it is found depicted on objects belonging to the Stone Age, and on some of the earliest relics of the Bronze Age. At the time of the Etruscans the cross was generally prevalent as a sign. But at a later period Christianity exclusively monopolized this religious symbol. A third figure is sometimes found on various objects belonging to the bronze epoch ; this figure is the triangle. It is, on the whole, very probable that all these signs which are not connected with any known object, bear some relation to certain religious or superstitious ideas entertained by the men of the bronze epoch ; and, as a consequence of this, that their hearts must have been inspired with some degree of religious feeling. 281 THE AGE OF METALS. CHAPTER VIII. Mode of Interment and Burial-places of the Bronze Epoch Characteristics of the Human Eace during the same Period. THE question naturally arises what was the mode of interment, and what was the nature of the burial-places employed by man during the bronze epoch ? In the early part of this period the dead were still buried in those sepulchral chambers which are now called by the name of dolmens ; Nilsson and Lubbock have drawn somewhat confused and arbitrary distinctions in discussing these burial-places ; but it may be positively asserted that towards the conclusion of this period the practice of burning dead bodies was commenced. In a work, published in 1869, and entitled ' Le Danemark a 1'Ex- position Universelle,' being a sort of catalogue of the objects which were exhibited in the galleries devoted to the History of Labour, in the Exhibition in the Champ de Mars, in 1867, we find several pages which we shall quote, as they seem to recapitulate pretty clearly the ideas which are now current among scientific men concerning the burial-places and funeral customs of the bronze epoch : " The study which, during the last few years, has been devoted by M. Worsaae to the tombs belonging to the bronze epoch, has thrown much light," says M. Valdemar Schmidt, " on the commencement of the bronze age in Denmark. It appears that at the first beginning of the bronze epoch the dead were buried in a manner similar to that practised during the stone age, that is to say, the bodies of the defunct were deposited in sepulchral chambers made of stone, and covered by tumuli ; the only difference is, these chambers are rather small, and generally contain but one skeleton. But to make up for this, several of these small sepulchral chambers, or rather stone coffins, are sometimes found in the same tumulus. THE BEONZE EPOCH. 285 " These chambers present, however, in some respects, great similari- ties with those of the Stone Age ; thus, beds of flint which have been subjected to the action of fire are often found spread over the ground, and on these beds skeletons are met with which appear to have been placed in a contracted position before they were buried, exactly following the practice of the Stone Age. " After this class of tombs, we have another, in which the sepulchral chamber, though always made of stone, is not covered with a stone slab but with a wooden roof. Elsewhere, skeletons have been found along with bronze weapons deposited in a sort of wooden framework, which has in many cases entirely perished except a few minute fragments. These cases were covered with small stones, which now seem to lie immediately upon the skeleton. " Lastly, in all the Danish provinces large oak coffins are found, formed of hollowed-out trunks of trees; these also contain human bodies, which seem to have been buried in woollen garments. " With regard to the funeral rites observed, these tombs do not appear to have differed much. The bodies were deposited in them with their implements, weapons, and utensils, either of bronze or stone ; but, in addition, at the bottom of the tomb, animal skins, generally those of oxen, were often spread. " Next, a new period succeeded, when the bodies were burned, and the remains collected together. All the ancient customs were not, however, at once given up. Thus, as the dead were formerly buried in woollen garments, the debris of the bones were now wrapped in pieces of cloaks made of the same material. Subsequently, however, this custom also disappeared, and the ashes and remains of bones were simply collected together in urns. This custom was observed until the bronze epoch, and characterises, so to speak, its second and last period which was, however, the longest of that age. " There were, then, in short, two distinct epochs in the bronze age ; firstly, that in which the dead were quite simply interred, either in small sepulchral chambers or wooden coffins, and, secondly, that in which the bodies of the dead were incinerated. " One of the most remarkable ' finds,' as regards the first period of the bronze epoch, was made in 1861, in the two mounds known by the names of Treenhoi and Kengehoi, and situated near Kongeaa, in Jutland. In each of these tumuli two people had l)een buried, both 280 THE AGE OF METALS. having a double coffin, made of magnificent trunks of oak-trees. The skeletons had been almost entirely destroyed by the damp which, on the contrary, had preserved the garments. These individuals seem to have been dressed almost like the Scotch ; at least they must have worn a sort of woollen petticoat, and bands by way of trousers, very like those worn by the warriors depicted in the Carlo vingian minia- tures, and, in addition, a cloak, a cap, and also perhaps a shawl. With these garments were found some bronze swords in wooden sheaths; also some bronze knives, a comb, some boxes, cups, small wooden coffers, a tin ball, and, lastly, in one of the coffins, a small flint arrow-head. A fragment of the cloak was to be seen in the Palace of the Champ de Mars (No. 596). " Another ' find ' made a few miles from this tumulus, at Hoimp, in North Schleswig, .has also brought to light skeletons in oak coffins together with bronze implements. " Discoveries of no less interest have been made in Zealand. Thus, in 1845, in a tumulus at Hoidegaard, near Copenhagen, a tomb belonging to the first period of the bronze epoch was found ; it was searched in the presence of some of the principal Danish archaeo- logists. The tomb was placed at a distance of more than 10 feet below the .summit of the tumulus, and was built of stones; it was more than 6 feet in length, and its width on the eastern side was about 2 feet, and on the western side 19 inches. The bottom was lined with a layer of small flint stones, on which was found, in the first place, a skin, doubtless that of an ox, and above it, besides a piece of tissue containing remains of human bones, a bronze sword with a wooden sheath, covered with leather, and in a perfect state of preservation ; lastly, a box containing the following articles : 1st, a fragment of an amber bead ; 2nd, a piece of reddish stone ; 3rd, a small shell, which can be none other than the Conus mediterraneus ; it is perforated so as to be worn as a pendant for the neck ; 4th, a frag- ment of a flint point, doubtless an amulet ; 5th, the tail of a serpent (Coluber Isevis] ; 6th, a small cube of pine or fir-wood, and 7th, a bronze knife with a convex blade and ornamented handle. " According to the investigations of various savants, these bones belong to a man, who, to judge from the objects placed by his side in his tomb, must have been some distinguished personage, and perhaps combined the functions of a warrior and a sorcerer. The cube of THE BKONZE EPOCH. '287 pine-wood leads us to conjecture that that tree had not then com- pletely disappeared, and from this fact we may infer that the period at which the sorcerer in question lived was very remote. It is, however, possible that this piece of pine-wood, as well as the shell, were introduced from some other country. The existence of the Conus mediterraneus seems to establish the fact that Denmark had already formed some kind of connection with the Mediterranean. " The second period of the bronze epoch is characterised by the custom of the cremation of the dead, which generally took place in the following way : the body of the defunct was usually placed, together with his weapons and ornaments, on the funeral pile, which was built on the exact spot which was destined to form the centre of the tumulus ; the fire was then lighted, and, after the body was consumed, the remains of the bones were collected together in an urn. The rubbish that resulted was left on the spot, surrounded with stones, and covered with earth till the tumulus was complete. The urn which contained the ashes was then placed in another part of the tumulus. This course of procedure was not the only one employed ; in some cases the weapons and other articles of adornment were not placed upon the funeral-pile, but were afterwards brought and placed round the urn. " The number of tombs of the bronze epoch which have been dis- covered in Denmark is very considerable. There are thousands of tumuli, and many of them contain a large number of funeral urns. A great many of these tumuli have been searched at various times and have produced a number of different bronze articles. The Museum of Copenhagen possesses no less than 600 swords dating back to the bronze epoch."* Twenty years ago, however, a very curious discovery was made at Lubeck (Pomerania), for it exhibited, so to speak, in the same tomb, the three modes of interment belonging to the pre-historic epochs of the stone, bronze, and iron ages. At Waldhausen, near Lubeck, a tumulus was found, which was 13 feet 9 inches in height. This tumulus was pulled down in hori- zontal layers, and the following details were successively brought to light. * ' Le Danemark a 1'Ezposition Universelle de 18G7. by Valdemar Schmidt,' vol. i. pp, 60-64. Pari.s, 1868. 288 THE AGE OF METALS. At the top was a very ancient burial-place, evidently belonging to the iron age ; for the skeleton it contained was accompanied by an object made of rusty iron and several earthenware articles. It was buried in loose earth. Underneath this, and half way down the tumulus, there were some small enclosures composed of uhcemented walls, each one containing a sepulchral urn filled with calcined bones, as well as necklaces, hair- pins, and a bronze knife. Lastly, at the base of the tumulus, there was a tomb belonging to the Stone Age. It was formed of large rough blocks of stone, and contained, in addition to the bones, some coarse specimens of pottery, with flint hatchets. It is evident that the first inhabitants of the country began by building a tomb on the bare ground, according to the customs of the age, and then covered it up with earth. During the bronze epoch another burial-place was made on this foundation, and a fresh heap of earth doubled the height of the mound. Lastly, during the iron age, a dead body was buried in a grave hollowed out on the top of the same mound. Here, then, we have a clear delineation of the three different modes of interment belonging to the three pre-historic periods. In short, during the bronze epoch, the dead were generally buried in sepulchral chambers, and sometimes, exceptionally, they were burned. The custom of funeral feasts still remained in full force. The pious practice of placing by the side of the dead body the instru- ments or weapons which the individual had been fond of during his lifetime, was likewise still kept up ; and it is, moreover, owing to this circumstance that archaeological science is now enabled to collect numerous vestiges of the ancient customs of these remote ages. But we must call attention to the fact that, at the end of and after this epoch, the hatchets and instruments which were placed in the tombs were often of much smaller dimensions than those employed for every- day use. They were small and delicately-made hatchets, intended as votive offerings. Some might, perhaps, conclude from this that the heirs, animated by a feeling of economy, had contented themselves with depositing very diminutive offerings in the tombs of the dead. The human race was already becoming degenerate, since it curtailed its homage and its offerings to the dead ! In order to bring to a conclusion all the details which concern the THE URONZE ErOCH. bronze epoch, the question will naturally arise, what was the human type at this epoch, and did it differ from that of the preceding age? Unfortunately, the positive information which is required for the eluci-/ dation of this question is entirely wanting ; this deficiency is owing to the extreme rarity of human bones, both in the lacustrine settle- ments of Switzerland, and also in the tombs belonging to that epoch which have been searched in different European countries. The whole of the lacustrine settlements of Switzerland have furnished no more than some seven skeletons, one of which was found at Meilen, two at Nidau, one at Sutz, one in the settlement of Bienne, and two at Auvernier. The first, that is the skeleton found at Meilen, near lake Zurich, is the only one which belongs to the Stone Age ; the six others are all of the. Bronze or Iron Ages. The skeleton found at Meilen is that of a child ; the skull, which is in a tolerable state of preservation, although incomplete, occupies, according to the observations of MM. His and Kutimeyer, a middle place between the long and short heads. Figs. 229 and 230, representing this skull, are taken from M. Fig. 229. Skull found at Meilen, front view. Fig. 230. Skull found nt Meilen, profile view. Desor's work, entitled ' Memoire sur les Palafittes.' From the mere fact that it is a child's skull, it is almost impossible to make any use of it in ascertaining the characteristic features of the race to which it belongs ; for these features are not sufficiently marked at such an early age. The skull is of a very elongated shape, that is to say, it belongs to the dolichoceplidlous type. The upper part of the skull is flattened, 290 THE AGE OF METALS. and it has an enormous occipital development ; but, on the other hand, there is scarcely any forehead. If these special features might be generally applied, they would not prove much in favour of the in- tellectual capacity of the Helvetic nation, or of its superiority over the races of anterior ages ; it represents, in fact, a very low type of con- formation, which, however, harmonises perfectly with the rough manners and cruel practices of the Gallic tribes. At the time of the discovery, this skull was accompanied by various bones belonging to the body and limbs, which show by their extra- ordinary bulk that their owners were men of very large size. We have already remarked upon the large size of the men existing in the Stone Age, that is to say, at the time of the first appearance of man- kind. Thus, the human type had changed but little since its first appearance on the globe. The settlement of Auvernier, in the lake of Neuchatel has, as we have before said, contributed two skulls. One belonged to a child about eight years of age, and the other to an adult. The child's skull differs very slightly from the one found at Meilen. It is small, elon- gated, and has a low and narrow forehead. That of the adult presents the same characteristics, and, in addition, an extraordinary develop- ment of the occiput, a feature which is not observable in the former, probably, on account of the youth of the subject. These two skulls seem, therefore, to show that the population of the lacustrine settlements had not at all changed at the beginning of the bronze epoch. A discovery made in the neighbourhood of Sion has confirmed these first ideas. At this spot, in tombs of rough stone, there were found some bodies bent into a contracted position, and accompanied by certain bronze objects. According to MM. His and Carl Vogt, the skulls found at Sion agree tolerably well with those discovered at Meilen and Auvernier ; and, in addition to this, the same shape is perpetuated down to our own days in German Switzerland, where it strongly pre- dominates, and constitutes what is called the Helvetic type. The data which have been collected up to the present time are not sufficient to enable us to make any positive assertion respecting the development of the intelligence of man during the bronze epoch. The few skulls which have been recovered are always in an incomplete state, and do not justify us in forming any exact opinion on tin's matter. THE BRONZE EPOCH. '291 But when we are considering the degree of intelligence possessed by our ancestors at this period of man's development, there are things which will enlighten us far better than any fragments of bones or any remains of skeletons ; these are the works which have been executed by their hands. The fine arts had already begun to throw out promising germs, industrial skill had become an established fact, agriculture was in full practice, and bronze was made to adapt itself to all the caprices and all the boldest ideas of the imagination. What more can be necessary to prove that man, at this epoch, was already com- paratively far advanced in intellectual culture ? In concluding our account of the bronze epoch, the question naturally arises whether it is possible to form any estimate of the exact space of time embraced by this period of man's history. We shall endeavour here to give, not the solution of the problem, but merely an idea of the way in which scientific men have entered on the question. Morlot, the Swiss archaeologist and naturalist, who has written a great deal upon the subject of the lacustrine settlements, was the first to endeavour to estimate the duration of the Stone Age, as well as that of the Bronze Epoch, and the following is the way in which he set about it. In the neighbourhood of Villeneuve there is a cone or hillock formed of gravel and alluvium, slowly deposited there by the stream of the Tiniere which falls at this spot into the lake of Geneva. This cone was cut in two, to lay down the railway which runs along the side of the lake. Its interior structure was thus laid bare, and appeared to be perfectly regular, a proof that it had been gradually formed during a long course of ages. There were three layers of vegetable earth placed at different depths between the deposits of alluvium, each of which double layers had in its turn formed the outer surface of the cone. The first layer was found at a depth of 3 feet 6 inches from the top, and was 4 to 6 inches thick. In it were found some relics of the Roman epoch. The second, situated 5 feet 3 inches lower, measured inchas in depth, and was recognised as belonging to the bronze age ; it con- tained a pair of bronze pincers and some fragments of nnglazed earthenware. The lower bed lay at a depth of 18 feet from the top, and varied u 2 292 THE AGE OF METALS. in thickness from 6 to 7 inches. It contained some rough earthen- ware, charcoal, and animal bones, all pointing to the Stone Age, but to the latest times of that period. After having carefully examined these different beds and ascer- tained the regular structure of the cone, Morlot fancied that he could calculate approximately the age of each of them. He took for his base of operations two historical dates; that of the entrance of the Eomans into Helvetia, fifty-eight years before Christ, and that of their decisive expulsion towards the end of the fifth century of the Christian era. By comparing these two dates, he came to the conclusion that the Koman layer was at the most eighteen and at the least thirteen centuries old. Then remarking that since that epoch the cone had increased 3 feet 6 inches, and always going upon the hypothesis that the increase was the same as in subsequent ages, he came to the conclusion that the bed corresponding with the bronze epoch was at least 2900 and at the most 4200 years old; and that the layer belonging to the Stone Age, forming the entire remainder of the cone, was from 4700 to 10,000 years old. Another calculation, the conclusions of which agree tolerably well with these, was made by M. Gillieron, professor at the college of Neuveville. We have already said that the remains of a] pile- work belonging to the Stone Age was discovered near the bridge of Thiele, between the lakes of Bienne and Neuchatel. It is evident that the valley, the narrowest part of which was occupied by the lacustrine settlement, was formerly almost entirely under water, for below this point it suddenly widens out and retains these proportions as far as the lake of Bienne. The lake must, therefore, have retired slowly and regularly, as may be ascertained from an examination of the mud deposited by it. If, therefore, we know its annual coefficient of retreat, that is to say, how much it retired every year, we should be able to estimate with a sufficient degree of approximation the age of the settlement of the bridge of Thiele. Now there is, not far from the lake, at about 1230 feet from the present shore, an old abbey, that of Saint-Jean, which is known to have been built about the year 1100. A document of that time mentions that the cloister had the right of fishing in a certain part of the lake ; and there is some likelihood that it was built on the edge of the lake ; a supposition which naturally presents itself to the THE BRONZE EPOCH. v '293 mind. The lake, then, must have retired 1230 feet in 750 years. This granted, M. Gillieron easily calculated the time which would be taken for a retreat of 11,072 feet, this number representing the distance from the present shore to the entrance of the defile which contains the settlement of the bridge of Thiele. He found by this means that the settlement is at least 6750 years old, a figure which confirms those of Morlot. The preceding calculations assign to the Stone Age in Switzerland an antiquity of 6000 to 7000 years before the Christian era, and to the bronze epoch an antiquity of 4000 years before the same era. There is still much uncertainty in the figures thus given to satisfy public curiosity ; but there is at least one fact which is altogether unquestionable that these calculations have dealt a fatal blow to recognised chronology. II. THE IRON' EPOCH. TIIK IRON EPOCH. 297 CHAPTER I. Essential Characteristics of the Iron Epoch Preparation of Iron in Pro-historic Times Discovery of Silver and Lead Earthenware made oil the Potter's Wheel Invention of Coined Money. WITHOUT metals, as we have said in one of the preceding chapters, man must have remained for ever in a state of harbarism. To this we must add, that the civilisation of man has made progress just in proportion to the degree of perfection he has arrived at in the working of the metals and alloys which he has had at his disposal. The knowledge and use of hronze communicated a strong impulse to nascent civilisation, and was the means of founding the first human communities. But bronze is far from possessing all the qualities which ought to belong to metals when applied to various industrial purposes. This alloy is neither hard nor elastic enough to make good tools ; and, in addition to this, it is composed of metals which in a natural state are very scarce. Man requires a metal which is cheap, hard, easy to work, and adapted to all the requirements which are exacted by industrial skill, which is so manifold in its works and wants. A metal of this sort was at length discovered, and a new era opened for the future of men. They learned how to extract from its ore iron the true king of metals, as it may well be called on account of its inestimable qualities. From the day when iron was first placed at man's disposal civilisation began to make its longest strides, and as the working of this metal improved, so the dominion of man his faculties and his intellectual activity likewise enlarged in the same proportion. It is, therefore, with good reason that the name of Iron Epoch has been given to the latest period of the development of primitive man, 298 THE AGE OF METALS. and it is not surprising that the last portion of the iron epoch formed the commencement of historical times. After this period, in fact, man ceased to live in that half-savage state, the most. striking features of which we have endeavoured to pourtray. As the use of iron essentially characterises this epoch in the history of mankind, we ought to give an account of the processes of manu- facture employed by the primitive metallurgists, that is to say, we should inquire how they proceeded at this epoch to extract iron from its native ore. The art of metallurgy had made great progress during the bronze epoch. There were at that time considerable workshops for the pre- paration of bronze, and small foundries for melting and casting this alloy. When once formed into weapons, instruments, and tools, bronze objects were fashioned by artisans of various professions. The moulder's art had already attained to a high degree of perfection, a fact which is proved by the gigantic bronze objects which we have already men- tioned, as well as the castings, so many of which have been repre- sented in thfi preceding pages. The phenomenon of tempering was well known, that is the principal modifications which are experienced by bronze in its cooling, whether slow or sudden. It was well known how to vary the proportions of the tin and copper so as to obtain bronze of different degrees of hardness. All the means of soldering were also familiarly known. Damascening was introduced in order to diversify the appearance of wrought metallic objects. The cutting qualities of instruments were increased by forging them and con- solidating them by hammering. They had even gone so far as to discover the utility of the addition of certain mineral salts in the founder's crucible in order to facilitate the fusion of the bronze. Thus at the end of the bronze epoch the knowledge of metals had attained to a comparatively considerable development. Hence we may conclude that the substitution of iron for bronze took place without any great difficulty. Owing to the natural progress and successive improvements made in metallurgic art, the blacksmith made his appearance on the scene and took the place of the bronze- moulder. What, however, was the process which enabled our earliest metal- lurgists to extract iron from its native ore ? Native iron, that is metallic iron in a natural state, is eminently THE IRON EPOCH. 299 rare; except in aerolites it is scarcely ever found. According to Pallas, the Russian naturalist, certain Siberian tribes have succeeded, with a great amount of labour, in obtaining from the aerolites which have been met with in their country small quantities of iron, which they have made into knives. The same practice existed among the Laplanders. Lastly, we are told by Amerigo Vespucci that in the fifteenth century the Indians at the mouth of the La Plata river were in the habit of making arrow-heads and other instruments with iron extracted from aerolites.* But, as we hardly need observe, stones of this kind do not often drop down from the skies, and their employment is of too accidental a character ever to have suggested to men the right mode of the extraction of iron. It is, therefore, almost certain that the first iron used was extracted from its ore just like copper and tin, that is, by the reduction of its oxide under the influence of heat and charcoal. In opposition to this explanation, some bring forward as an objection the prodigiously high temperature which is required for the fusion of iron, or, in fact, the almost impossibility of melting iron in the primitive furnaces. But the fusion of iron was in no way necessary for the extraction of this metal; and if it had been requisite to procure liquid iron, primitive industrial skill would never have succeeded in doing it. All that was necessary was so to reduce the oxide of iron as to obtain the metal in a spongy state without any fusion. The hammering of this spongy mass when in a red-hot state soon converted it into a real bar of iron. If we cast a glance on the metallurgic industry of some of the semi- barbarous nations of ancient times, we shall find, as regards the extrac- tion of iron, a process in use among them which will fully justify the idea we have formed of the way in which iron must have been obtained in primitive times. Gmelin, the naturalist, during his travels in Tartary, was a witness of the elementary process which was employed by these northern tribes in procuring iron. There, every one prepares his own iron just as every household might make its own bread. The furnace for the extraction of iron is placed in the kitchen, and is nothing but a mere cavity, 9 inches cube, which is filled up with iron- * Details as to the relation of the Stone Age to the Bronze and Iron Ages may bo found in 'Researches into the Early History of Mankind,' by Kdwurd I). Tylor. (.'Imp. VIII., ' Fro-Historic Times,' by Sir J. Lubbock, Chaps. I. and II. 300 THE AGE OF METALS. ore ; the furnace is surmounted by an earthen chimney, and there is a door in front of the furnace for introducing the ore, this door being kept closed during the smelting process. In an orifice at the side the nozzle of a pair of bellows is inserted, which are blown by one man whilst another introduces the ore and charcoal in successive layers. The furnace never holds more than 3 Ibs. of ore for each opera- tion. When this quantity has been placed in the furnace, in small pieces one after the other, all that is done is keeping up the action of the bellows for some minutes. Lastly, the door of the furnace is opened, and the ashes and other products of combustion having been drawn out, a small mass of spongy iron is found, which proceeds from the reduction of the oxide of iron by means of the charcoal, without the metal being in a state of fusion, properly so called. This small lump of iron was cleaned with a piece of wood, and was put on one side to be subsequently welded to others, and hammered several times when in a red-hot state ; and by means of several forgings the whole mass was converted into a single bar. This same process for the extraction of iron from its natural oxide, without fusion, is practised by the negroes of Fouta-Djallon, in Senegal. After having become acquainted with the elementary process which is practised by the semi-barbarous tribes of the present day, we shall find but little difficulty in understanding all that Morlot, the Swiss naturalist, has said as to the iron-furnaces of pre-historic man, and shall probably agree in his opinions on the subject. Morlot, in his ' Memoires sur 1'Archeologie de la Suisse,' has described the vestiges of the pre-historic furnaces intended for the preparation of iron, which were found by him in Carinthia (Austria). According to M. Morlot, the plan adopted for extracting iron from its oxide in pre-historic times was as follows : On the side of a slope exposed to the wind, a hole was hollowed out. The bottom of this hole was filled up with a heap of wood, on which was placed a layer of ore. This layer of ore was covered by a second heap of wood ; then, taking advantage of a strong breeze rising, which had to perform the functions of the bellows, the lowest pile of wood was kindled at its base. The wood by its combustion was converted into charcoal, and this charcoal, under the influence of heat, soon reduced the iron oxide to a metallic state. When the combustion had come to an end, a few pieces of iron were found among the ashes. THE IEON EPOCH. 301 By increasing the size of the apparatus used, far more considerable results were |of course obtained. In Dalecarlia (Sweden), M. Morlot found smelting-houses, so to speak, in which the original hole, of which we have just been speaking, is surrounded with stones so as to form a sort of circular receptacle. In this rough stone crucible layers of charcoal and iron-ore were placed in succession. After having burnt for some hours, the heap was searched over and the spongy iron was found mixed with the ashes at the bottom of the furnace. The slowness of the operation and the inconsiderable metallic result induced them to increase the size of the stone receptacle. They first gave to it a depth of 7 feet and then of 13 feet, and, at the same time, coated the walls of it with clay. They thus had at their disposal a kind of vast circular crucible, in which they placed successive layers of iron-ore and wood or charcoal. In this altogether elementary arrangement no use was made, as it seems, of the bellows. This amounts to stating that the primitive method of smelting iron was not, as is commonly thought, an adaptation of the Catalan furnace. This latter process, which, even in the present time, is made use of in the Pyrenean smelting works, does not date back further than the times of the Koman empire. It is based on the continual action of the bellows ; whilst in the pre-historic furnaces this instrument, we will again repeat, was never employed. These primitive furnaces applied to the reduction of iron-ore, traces of which had been recognised by Morlot, the naturalist, in Austria and Sweden, have lately been discovered in considerable numbers in the canton of Berne by M. Quiquerez, a scientific mining engineer. They consist of cylindrical excavations, of no great depth, dug out on the side of a hill and surmounted by a clay funnel of conical form. Wood-charcoal was the fuel employed for charging the furnace^, for stores of this combustible are always found lying round the ancient smelting works. In an extremely curious memoir, which was published in 1866 by the Jura Society of Emulation, under the title of ' Eecherches sur les anciennes Forges du Jura Bernois,' M. Quiquerez summed up the results of his protracted and minute investigations. A few extracts from this valuable work will bring to our knowledge the real construction of the furnaces used by pre-historic man ; 400 of these furnaces having been discovered by M. Quiquerez in the district of the Bernese Jura. 302 THE AGE OF METALS. We will, however, previously mention that M. Quiquerez had repre- sented, or materialised, as it were, the results of his interesting labours, by constructing a model in miniature of a siderurgical establishment belonging to the earliest iron epoch. This curious specimen of work- manship showed the clay-furnace placed against the side of a hill, the heaps of charcoal, the scoriae, the hut used as a dwelling by the workmen, the furnace-implements in short, all the details which formed the result of the patient researches of the learned Swiss engineer. M. Quiquerez had prepared this interesting model of the ancient industrial pursuits of man with a view of exhibiting it in the Exposition TJniverselle of 1867, together with the very substances, productions, and implements which he had found in his explorations in the Jura. But the commission appointed for selecting objects for admission refused to grant him the modest square yard of area which he required for placing his model. How ridiculous it seems ! In the immense Champ de Mars in which so many useless and absurd objects perfectly swarmed, one square yard of space was refused for one of the most curious productions which was ever turned out by the skilful hands of any savant ! The result of this unintelligent refusal was that M. Quiquerez' model did not make its appearance in the Exposition Universelle in the Champ de Mars, and that it was missing from the curious Gallery of the History of Labour, which called forth so much of the attention of the public. For our readers, however, it will not be altogether lost. M. Quiquerez has been good enough to forward to us from Bellerive, where he resides (near Delemont, canton of Basle, Switzer- land) a photograph of his curious model of a pre-historic workshop for the preparation of iron. From this photograph we have designed the annexed plate, representing a primitive furnace for the extraction of iron. This composition reproduces with tolerable accuracy the model in relief constructed by the author. The furnace is shown ; it is nothing but a simple cavity surmounted by a conical chimney-funnel, and placed against the side of a hill. Steps made of rough stone, placed on each side of the mound, enable the workmen to mount to the summit. The height of the funnel is about 9 feet. At the side of the furnace stands the hut for the labourers, constructed of a number of round THE IKON EPOCH. 303 poles placed side by side ; for centuries past huts of this kind have been erected in almost every country. On the right, in the foreground, we may notice a heap of charcoal intended to be placed in the furnace in order to reduce the ore ; on the left, there is the store of ore called in the ironworks the ore-pen. The provision of iron-ore is enclosed between four wooden slabs, forming a quadrangular space. In the centre are the scorise which result from the operations carried on. A workman is extracting the cake of spongy iron from the ashes of the furnace ; another is ham- mering on the anvil a piece of iron drawn from the furnace in order to forge it into a bar. Bound the furnace various implements are scattered about, such as the anvil, the pincers, the hammer, &c. All the instruments are designed from various specimens found by the author. After these explanations, we may now give some extracts from M. Quiquerez' work, and we trust our readers will find no difficulty in comprehending the details given by the learned engineer, describing the primitive furnaces for the extraction of iron which he discovered in the Bernese Jura. M. Quiquerez has remarked two kinds of primitive furnaces for the fabrication of iron, or, rather, two stages of improvement in their con- struction. The first sort, that which the author considers as dating back to the most remote antiquity, is not so numerous as the others J the second kind form the largest number of those which he has explored. "Furnaces of the first kind," says M. Quiquerez, "consisted of nothing but a small cylindrical excavation of no great regularity in shape, with a cup-shaped bottom, hollowed out in the side of a hill so as to give more natural height on one side ; the front of the furnace was closecj, up by fire-proof clay, supported with stones. This cavity was plastered over with 4 to 6 inches of clay, generally of a whitish colour, which became red after coming in contact with the fire. These smelting-furnaces were not more than 12 to 18 inches in depth, as seemed to be shown by the upper edges being rounded and more or less scoriated. The front, which was always more or less broken, had an opening at its base to admit a current of air, and to allow the workmen to deal with the melted material ; but this opening seems to show that the piece of metal which had been formed during the operation must have been extracted by breaking in the front. 304 THE AGE OF METALS. " The second kind of furnace, which is by far the most numerously found and widely distributed, is, in fact, nothing but an improvement of that which preceded it, the edges of the furnace or crucible being considerably raised in height. They vary in depth from 7| to 8 feet, with a diameter of most irregular dimensions, from 18 inches upwards, and a thickness of 12 inches to 7 feet. They are likewise formed of fire-proof clay, and their average capacity is about 25 gallons. " The constructor, having dug out in the side of the hill an opening circular, or rather semi-circular, at the base, with a diameter nearly three times as wide as the future furnace, arranged in the centre of this hole a kind of furnace-bed made of plastic clay at bottom, and covered with a layer of fire-proof clay on the top of it. The bed of the furnace, which lies on the natural and hardly levelled earth, is, generally speaking, not so thick as the side walls, which are formed of sandy or siliceous clay, always fire-proof on the inside, but sometimes of a more plastic nature on the exterior ; the empty space left between the walls of the furnace and the solid ground round it was filled up with earth and other material. In front the furnace was enclosed by a rough wall, sometimes straight and sometimes curving, built, without mortar, of rough limestone, and dressed with earth to fill up the gaps. In front of the furnace an opening was made in this wall, taking its rise a few inches above the bottom of the furnace, and increasing in size in an outward direction, so as to enable the workmen to see into, and work in, the furnace. " The work thus commenced was carried up to the requisite height ; and when the excavation in the side of the hill was not lofty enough, the dome of the furnace was raised by placing buttresses against the fire-clay, so as to prevent the earth falling in. When these furnaces were established on almost level ground, as is sometimes the case, they form a truncated cone, with a base varying in size according to the height of the apparatus. " The furnace was not always built upright ; it often deviated from the perpendicular, leaning to one side or the other to an extent as considerable as its own diameter, but no constant rule as to this can be recognised. The internal shape was just as irregular, changing from circular to oval, without any apparent motive beyond want of care in the workman. The crucibles or furnaces are sometimes larger THE IRON EPOCH. 305 at the top than at the bottom, and sometimes these proportions are reversed, but always with extreme irregularity. We have noticed some which at a point 10 or 12 inches above the crucible were per- ceptibly contracted on three sides, thus representing the first rudi- ments of the appearance of our modern furnaces. But this, perhaps, was nothing but a caprice on the part of the builder. "The furnace thus being established, the wood was withdrawn which had formed the cone, if, indeed, any had been used, and at the hole made at the base of the crucible a clod of fire-clay some inches in height was placed, so as to form a dam, and to confine in the crucible the molten or soft metal ; the scoriae, being of a lighter nature and floating at the top, made their escape over the top of the dam. As the latter were not very liquid, their issue was promoted by means of pokers or wooden poles, perhaps damped, with which also the metal was stirred in the crucible. " In neither of these two kinds of furnaces do we find any trace of bellows, and a more or less strong draught must have been procured through the opening made for the escape of the scoriae, according to the elevation of the dome of the furnace. The limestones which have been found in certain furnaces were probably employed with a view of increasing the draught; they doubtless belonged to the upper part of the furnace, where they had been fixed so as to add height to the orifice. This rudimentary plan must have been likewise used in the earliest crucibles. The mode of obtaining a draught which we have just pointed out is indicated most plainly by the scorification of the walls of the furnace on the side opposite to the air- passage ; this side has evidently experienced a more intense heat, whilst on the other the walls are much less affected by the fire, and in some cases pieces of the mineral still remain in a pasty or semi-molten state, just as they were when the work of the furnace ceased. . . . " The absence of any machine in the shape of bellows in the ancient metal works of the Jura appears all the more remarkable as these implements were known both to the Greeks and Romans ; hence we may at least infer, not only that these nations did not introduce the art of iron-working into the Jura, but that it must have existed at a much earlier period. It must also be remarked that the openings in the furnaces are not placed in the direction of the winds prevailing in the country a plan which might have increased the draught but x 300 THE AGE OF METALS. are made quite at hazard, just as the nature of the spot rendered the construction of the furnace more easy. " .... In respect to fuel it must be remarked that in all the siderurgical establishments which we have discovered, certain features indicate that wood carbonised in a stack was exclusively used as fuel. The furnaces are too small for the employment of rough wood ; added to this, charcoal stores are placed near the furnaces ; and charcoal burnt in a stack is constantly met with all round the sites, in the scoriae, and all the debris. We must, besides, mention the discovery, at Bellelay, of a charcoal store 8 feet in diameter, situated under a compact bed of peat 20 feet in thickness. It was established on the solid earth, anterior to the formation of the peat. Now from this very peat a parcel of coins belonging to the fifteenth century was recovered, over which only 2 feet of peat had grown in a period of 400 years. There, too, at a depth of 9 feet, were found the scattered bones of a horse, with the foot still shod with those undulating edged shoes with elongated and strongly punched holes, in which were fitted the ends of nails of the shape of a T, the heads of which were conical. This kind of shoe is found in the Celtic settlements, the villages, habitations, and ironworks, also in the pasturages and forests of the country, but rarely in the Roman camps ; in the latter they are always in less number than the wider metallic shoes, which are larger, and furnished with a groove indicating the line in which the nail- holes were punched. The calculations which have been made from the discovery of the coins of the fifteenth century (A.D. 1478) would give an antiquity of at least twenty to twenty-four centuries to the horse-shoe we have just mentioned, for the animal must have died and been devoured on the then existing surface of the ground, and could not have been buried in the peat, as the bones, instead of lying grouped together, were dispersed in every direction. These same calculations would carry back the date of the charcoal-store to an era 4000 years ago. " Owing to the imperfection of the furnaces, the quantity of charcoal used must have been quadruple the present consumption for the same results. The metal, as it was extracted from the ore, fell down into the bottom of the crucible. In proportion as the mass of metal in- creased, a workman, with a poker made of damp green wood, brought out the scoriae which floated on the top, and stirred the metal so as to THE IKON EPOCH. 307 fine it. It is proved that these wooden pokers or poles were made use of in all the furnace- works. A quantity of morsels of scoriae is found which, having been in a soft state when extracted, have retained the imprint of the piece of wood, the end of which was evidently charred. M. Morlot, in his article on the Roman ironworks at Wocheim, in Upper Carniola, has also noticed the existence, in the scoriae, of fre- quent traces of pokers, sometimes round and sometimes three-cornered in shape, but all of them must have been made of iron, whilst through- out the whole of the Jura we have never recognised the traces of any but wooden implements of this kind. " Owing to the imperfection of the furnaces, and especially the de- ficiency in the draught caused by the want of bellows, the metal con- tained in the ore could be but very imperfectly extracted ; the scoriae are therefore still so very rich in iron that, about twenty years ago, the manager of the ironworks at Untervelier tried to use them over again as ore. Accumulations of this dross, measuring from 100 to 200 yards square, may be seen near certain furnaces a fact which would infer a somewhat considerable production of iron. The exami- nation of these scoriae proves that iron was then made by one single operation, and not liquid pigs fit for casting, or to be converted into iron by a second series of operations. " The iron produced was introduced into commerce in large blocks, shaped like two quadrangular pyramids joined at the base, weighing from 12 to 16 Ibs. One of these pieces was found near a furnace which had been demolished in order to establish a charcoal furnace, in the commune of Untervelier, and another in one of the furnaces of Boecourt. "All round the furnaces there have been found numerous remains of rough pottery ; it is badly baked, and made without the help of the wheel, from clay which is mingled with grains of quartz the pottery, in fact, which is called Celtic. Pieces of stag's horn have also been discovered, which must have been used for the handles of tools ; also iron hatchets. One of them has a socket at the end made in a line with the length of the implement ; it is an instrument belonging to the most remote period of the iron age. The others have transversal sockets like our present hatchets. One of the latter was made of steel so hard that it could not be touched with the file. With regard to coins, both Gallic and Roman were found, and some of the latter were x 2 308 THE AGE OF METALS. of as late a date as that of the Constantines. The persistence in practising the routine of all the most ancient processes may be ex- plained by the monopoly of the iron- working trade being retained in the same families. We have the less need to be surprised at this, because we may notice that the wood-cutters and charcoal-burners of our own days, when they have to take up their abode in a locality for any length of time, and to carry on their trade there, always make certain arrangements which have doubtless been handed down from the most primitive times. In order to protect their beds from the damp, they make a kind of shelf of fir-poles which is used as a bed- stead. Some of them have two stories ; the under-one intended for the children, and the one above for the parents. Moss, ferns, and dried grass form the mattress. Coverlets impossible to describe were made good use of, and some were even made of branches of fir-trees. These bedsteads take the place both of benches and chairs. A stone fireplace, roughly arranged in the centre of the hut, fills the double function of warming in winter and cooking the food all the year round. We may also add, that the fire, which is almost always kept lighted, and the ashes spread over the floor all round, preserve the hut from certain troublesome insects, which lose their lives by jumping impru- dently into this unknown trap. The smoke finds no other issue but through a hole made in the roof."* Such is the description given by M. Quiquerez of the iron furnaces of a really pre-historic character, those, namely, which are cha- racterised by the absence of bellows. We think, however, that there must have been holes below the hearth which afforded access to currents of air, and, by being alternately open or closed, served either to increase or diminish the intensity of the draught. But bellows, properly so called, intended to promote the combustion and chemical reaction between the oxide of iron and the charcoal did not then exist. The addition of the bellows to iron-furnaces brought an essential improvement to the art of the manufacture of iron. Another improvement consisted in making, at the bottom of the stone receptacle where the fuel and the ore were burnt together, a door composed of several bricks which could be readily moved. At * ' De 1'Age du Fer, Recherches eur les ancieunes Foi-ges du Jura Bernois,' by A. Quiquerez, Engineer of the Jura Mines. Porrentruy, 1866; pp. 35-39, 77-80. Also, Materiaux pour 1'Histoire positif de 1'Homme,' by (r. de Mortillet, vol. ii. pp. 505-510. THE IRON EPOCH. 309 the completion of each operation they drew out, through this door, the cake of iron, which could not be so conveniently extracted at the upper part of the furnace, on account of its height. The hammering, assisted by several heatings, finally cleared the iron, in the usual way, from all extraneous matter, consolidated it, and converted it into the state of bar-iron fit for the blacksmith's use, and for the fabrication of utensils and tools. These improved primitive furnaces are well-known to German miners under the name of Stuclcofen (" fragment-furnaces "). They are modified in different ways in different countries ; and according to the arrangement of the furnace, and especially according to the nature of the ferruginous ores, certain methods or manipulations of the iron have been introduced, which are nowadays known under the names of the Swedish, German, Styrian, Carinthian, Corsican, and Catalan methods. The ancient furnaces for the extraction of iron may be combined under the name of smeltiny-foryes or Noomeries. The invention of siliceous fluxes as applied to the extraction of iron, and facilitating the production of a liquid scoria which could flow out in the form of a stream of fire, put the finishing stroke to the pre- paration of iron. The constructors' next considerably increased the height of the stone crucible in which the fuel and the ore, now mingled with a siliceous flux, were placed, and the blast furnace, that is, the present system of the preparation of iron, soon came into existence. But, there may be reason to think, neither of these two kinds of furnaces belongs to the primitive ages of mankind which are the object of this work. In the iron epoch that we are considering the furnace without bellows was possibly the only one known ; the iron was prepared in very small quantities at a time, and the meagre metallic cake, the result from each operation, had to be picked out from among the ashes drawn from the stone receptacle. Gold, as we have already said, was known to the men of the bronze epoch. Silver, on the contrary, did not come into use until the iron epoch. Another characteristic of the epoch we are now studying is the appearance of pottery made on the potter's wheel, and baked in an improved kind of furnace. Up to that time, pottery had been moulded 310 THE AGE OF METALS. by the hand, and merely burnt in the open air. In the iron epoch, the potter's wheel came into use, and articles of earthenware were manufactured on this wheel, and baked in an unexceptionable way in an oven especially constructed for the purpose. There is another fact which likewise characterises the iron epoch ; this was the appearance of coined money. The earliest known coins belong to this period ; they are made of bronze, and bear a figure or effigy not stamped, but obtained by melting and casting. The most ancient coins that are known are Greek, and date back to the eighth century before Christ. These are the coins of ^iEgina, Athens, and Cyzicum, such as were found many years ago in the duchy of Posen. In the lacustrine settlement of Neuchatel, coins of a remote antiquity have also been found. We here represent in its natural size (fig. 232), taken from M. Desor's work, a bronze coin Fig. 232. Bronze Coin, from the Lake of Neuchatel. found in the settlement of La Tene in the lake of Neuchatel. But these coins are not more ancient than the Greek specimens that we have before named. They are shown to be Gallic by the horned horse, which is a Gallic emblem. At Tiefenau, near Berne, coins have been found of a nearly similar 'character associated with others having on them the effigy of Apollo, and bearing an imprint of Massilia (Marseilles). As the foundation of this Phocaean colony dates back to the sixth century before Christ, these coins may be said to be among the most ancient which exist. Glass became known, as we have before stated, in the bronze epoch. In short, the essential features which distinguish the iron epoch are, iron instruments, and implements combining with those of bronze to replace stone in all the uses for which it was anciently employed the knowledge of silver and lead, the improvement of pottery, and the introduction of coined money. With regard to its chronological date we should adopt that of about 2000 years before the Christian THE IRON EPOCH. 311 era, thus agreeing with the generality of authors the date of the bronze epoch being fixed about 4000 years before Christ. After these general considerations, we shall pass on to give some account of the manners and customs of man during the iron epoch, or, at least, during the earlier portion of this period, which ere long became blended with historic ages. When we have completed our study of man in the earlier period of the iron epoch, we shall have terminated the rapid sketch which we have intended to trace out of primitive man and his labours. This period commenced, as we have just stated, about 2000 years before Christ, and ultimately merged into the earliest glimmer of historical records. Oar task now is to describe all we know about man at this date of nascent civilisation. Afterwards, the earliest historians and among them, Herodotus, the father of history are the authorities whom we must consult for an account of the actions and exploits of the human race in Europe. 312 THE AGE OF METALS. CHAPTEK II. Weapons Tools, Instruments, Utensils, and Pottery The Tombs of Hallstaclt and the Plateau of La Somma The Lake-Settlements of Switzerland Human Sacrifices Type of Man during the Iron Epoch Commencement of the Historic Era. THE most valuable traces of the manners and customs of man during the earlier period of the iron epoch have heen furnished by the vast burial-ground discovered recently at Hallstadt, near Salz- burg in Austria. M. Eamsauer, Director of the salt-mines of Salz- burg, has explored more than 1000 tombs in this locality, and has described them in a work full of interest, a manuscript copy of which we have consulted in the Archaeological Museum of Saint-Germain. As the tombs at Hallstadt belong to the earlier period of the iron epoch, they represent to us the natural transition from the epoch of bronze to that of iron. In fact, in a great number of objects con- tained in these tombs such as daggers, swords and various orna- ments bronze and iron are combined. One sword, for instance, is formed of a bronze hilt and an iron blade. This is represented in figures 233, 234, 235 and 236, drawn from the sketches in M. Kamsauer's manuscript work entitled ' Les Tombes de Hallstadt,' in which this combiDation of the two metals is remarked upon; the sword-hilts being formed of one metal and the blades of another. By taking a rapid survey of the objects found in the tombs of Hallstadt, we can form a somewhat Accurate idea of the first outset of the iron age. The first point which strikes us in this period, is the utter change which had taken place in the interment of the dead. During the Stone Age, the dead were placed in small subterranean crypts, that is in dolmens or tumuli. During the Bronze Age it THE IRON EPOCH. 313 became to a great extent customary for men to burn the dead bodies of their friends. This custom was destined to become more and more prevalent century after century, and during historic times it became universal among a great many nations. Fig. 233. Sword, from the Tomhsof Hallstadt (with a Bronze Hilt and Iron Blade). Fig. 234. Sword, from the Tombs of Hallstadt (with a Bronze Hilt and Iron Blade). In fact, in the tombs of Hallstadt, several little earthen vessels containing ashes may be seen. Sometimes only part of the body was burnt, so that a portion of a skeleton was found in these tombs, and near it the ashes of the parts which the fire had consumed. 314 THE AGE OF METALS. The remains found in the tombs of Hallstadt are almost equally divided between these two modes of inhumation. About half of the tombs contain nothing but ashes ; in the other half,, corpses are laid extended, according to the custom which was most prevalent in Fig. 235. Dagger, from the Tombs of Hallstadt (Bronze Handle and Iron Blade). Fig. 236. Dagger, from the Tombs of Hallstadt (Bronze Handle and Iron Blade) the iron age. Lastly, as we have just stated, some of them contained skeletons which were partially burnt. Sometimes it was the head, sometimes the whole bust, or sometimes the lower limbs which were consumed, the ashes being deposited by the side of the intact portions of the skeleton. Fig. 238, which is designed from one of the illus- trations in M. Kamsauer's manuscript work ' Les Tombes de Hallstadt,' in the Museum of Saint-Germain, represents a skeleton, part of which (the chest) has been consumed. The ashes are contained in small earthen vessels which are seen near the corpse. From the data which we have acquired as to this custom of burning Fig. 237. Funeral Ceremonies during the Iron Kpocli. (Page 314.) THE IRON EPOCH. 315 dead bodies during the iron epoch, we have been able to represent the funeral ceremonies of the iron epoch in the preceding figure. Fig. 238 A Skeleton, portions of which have been burnt, from the Tombs of Hallstadt. The corpse is pkced on a funeral pile, and the stone door of the tumulus is raised in order to deposit in it the cinerary urn. The relations of the deceased accompany the procession clothed in their handsomest garments and adorned with the bronze and iron orna- ments which were then in vogue. One of those present may be seen throwing some precious objects into the flames of the funeral pile in honour of the deceased. The tombs of Hallstadt are the locality in which the largest number 816 THE AGE OF METALS. of objects, such as weapons, instruments and implements, have been met with, which have tended to throw a light upon the history of the transition from the bronze to the iron epoch. All these objects are either of bronze or iron ; but in the weapons the latter predominates. Swords, spear-heads, daggers, knives, socketed hatchets and winged hatchets form the catalogue of the sharp instruments. In the preceding pages (figs. 233, 234, 235 and 236) we have given representations of swords and daggers designed from the specimens in the Museum of Saint- Germain. In all these weapons the handle is made of bronze and the blade of iron. Warriors' sword-belts are frequently formed of plates of bronze, and are embellished with a repousse ornamentation executed by the hammer. Fig. 239. A Necklace with Pendants, from the Tombs of Hallstadt. In fig. 239 we give a representation of a necklace with pendants which is most remarkable in its workmanship. It may be readily seen that art had now attained some degree of maturity. This neck- lace was a prelude to the marvellous works of art which were about to be brought to light under the skies of Greece. The bracelets which have been met with by hundreds, hair pins THE IRON EPOCH. 317 and bronze fibulae are all wrought with taste, and are often adorned with very elegant pendants. In figs. 240 and 241 we show two bracelets, the sketches for which were taken from the designs in the manuscript of the ' Tombes de Hallstadt.' Fig. 240. Bracelet, from the Tombs of Hallstadt. Fig. 241. Bracelet, from the Tombs of Hallstadt. We may add a few amber necklace-beads and some of enamel, and we have then concluded the series of personal ornaments. In the tombs of Hallstadt, nearly 200 bronze vessels have been discovered, some of winch are as much as 36 inches in height. These Fig. 242. Bronze Vase, from the Tombs of Hallstadt. Fig. 243. Bronze Vase, from the Tombs of Hallstadt bronze vessels were composed of several pieces skilfully riveted but not soldered. Plates 242 and 243 are reproduced from the same beautiful manuscript. In the tombs of Hallstadt some small glass vessels have also been discovered. Eemains of pottery are very plentiful, and a decided improvement is 318 THE AGE OF METALS. shown in their workmanship. Some gold trinkets were also met with in these tombs. The gold was, doubtless, obtained from the mines of Transylvania. African ivory abounds in these graves a fact which indicates com- mercial intercourse with very distant countries. This product, as well as the glass, was introduced into Europe by the Phoenicians. The inhabitants of central Europe obtained ivory from Tyre and Sidon by means of barter. The ivory objects which were found at Hallstadt consisted of the heads of hair-pins and the pommels of swords. There were no traces whatever of money, the use of it not being then established in that part of Europe. The population which lived in the vicinity of the Salzburg mines were in reality rich ; for the salt-mines were a source of great wealth to them at a period when the deposits of rock-salt in Poland, being still buried in the depths of the earth, were as yet unknown or inaccessible. In this way, we may account for the general opulence of these commercial nations, and for the elegance and taste displayed in the objects which have been found in the tombs of Hallstadt. Guided by these various remains, it is not difficult to reproduce an ideal picture of the warriors of the iron epoch, a representation of which we have endeavoured to give in fig. 244. The different pieces of the ornaments observed on the horseman, on the foot-soldier, and also on the horse, are drawn from specimens exhibited in the Museum of Saint-Germain which were modelled at Hallstadt. The helmet is in perfect preservation and resembles those which, shortly after, were worn by the Gallic soldiers. The bosses, also, on the horse's harness, ere long came into use both among the Gauls and also the Koreans. Next to the tombs of Hallstadt, we must mention the tombs dis- covered on the plateau of La Somma, in Lombardy, which have contributed a valuable addition to the history of the earliest period of the iron epoch. On this plateau there were discovered certain tombs, composed of rough stones of a rectangular form. In the interior there were some vases of a shape suited to the purpose, containing ashes. The material of which they were made was fine clay ; they had been wrought by means of the potter's wheel, were ornamented with various designs, and also provided with encircling projections. On some of them, of the Iron Kpoch. (Page 318.) THE IRON EPOCH. 319 representations of animals may be seen which indicate a considerable progress in the province of art. The historic date of these urns is pointed out by fibulse (clasps for cloaks), iron rings and bracelets, sword-belts partly bronze and partly iron, and small bronze chains. The tombs of La Somma belong, therefore, to a period of transition between the bronze and iron epochs. According to M. Mortillet, they date back to the seventh century before Christ. Under the same head we will class the tombs of Saint- Jean de Belleville, in Savoy. At this spot several tombs belonging to the commencement of the iron epoch have been explored by MM. Borel and Costa de Beauregard. The latter, in a splendid work published in Savoy, has given a detailed description of these tombs.* Some of the skeletons are extended on their backs, others have been consumed, but only partially, like those which we have already men- tioned in the tombs of Hallstadt. Various objects, consisting chiefly Figs. 245, 216. Fore-arm, encircled with Bracelets, found in the Tombs of Belleville (Savoy). of trinkets and ornaments, have been met with in these tombs. We will mention in particular the fibulas, bracelets and necklaces made of amber, enamelled glass, &c. In figs. 245 and 246 we give a representation of two skeleton arms, * *Les Sepultures de Saint-Jean dc Belleville,' with lithographed pint 320 THE AGE OF METALS. which are encircled with several bracelets just as they were found in these tombs. The lacustrine settlements of Switzerland have contributed a valuable element towards the historic reconstruction of the iron epoch. In different parts of the lakes of Bienne and Neuchatel there are pile-works which contain iron objects intermingled with the remains of preceding ages. But there is only one lacustrine settlement in Switzerland which belongs exclusively to the earliest period of the Iron Age that of La Tene on the Lake of Neuchatel. Most of the objects which have been met with in this lacustrine settlement have been recovered from the mud in which they had been so remarkably preserved, being sheltered from any contact with the outer air. There are, however, many spots in which piles may be seen, where objects of this kind have not been found ; but if subse- quent researches are attended with any lesults, we shall be forced to attribute to the settlement of La Tene a considerable degree of im- portance, for the piles there extend over an area of 37 acres. The remains of all kinds which have been found in this settlement are evidently of Gallic origin. It is an easy matter to prove this by comparing the weapons found in this settlement with those which were discovered in the trenches of Alise-Sainte-Reine, the ancient Alesia, where, in its last contest against Caesar, the independence of ancient Gaul came to an end. M. de Eougemont has called attention to the fact that these weapons correspond very exactly to the description given by Diodorus Siculus of the Gallic weapons. Switzerland thus seems to have been inhabited in the earliest iron epoch by Gallic tribes, that is to say, by a different race from that which occupied it during the stone and bronze epochs ; and it was this race which introduced into Switzerland the use of iron. Among the objects collected in the lake settlement of La Tene, weapons are the most numerous ; they consist of swords and the heads of spears and javelins. Most of them have been kept from oxidation by the peaty mud which entirely covered them, and they are, con- sequently, in a state of perfect preservation. The swords are all straight, of no very great thickness, and perfectly flat. The blade is from 31 to 35 inches in length, and is teiminated by a handle about 6 inches long. They have neither guards nor cross- pieces. Several of them were still in their sheaths, from which many THE IRON EPOCH. 321 of them have been drawn out in a state of perfect preservation, and even tolerably sharp. Fig. 247 represents one of the iron swords from the Swiss lakes, which are depicted in M. Desor's memoir. KIR. 247. Iron Sword, found in one of the Swiss Lakes. Fig. 248. Sword with Damascened Blade, found in one of ihe Swiss Lakes. On another sword, of which we also give a representation (fig. 248), a sort of damascening work extends over almost the whole surface, leaving the edges alone entirely smooth. M. de Reflye, the archaeologist, accounts for this fact in the following 322 THE AGE OF METALS. way : He is of opinion that the body of the blade is made of very hard unyielding iron, whilst the edges are made of small strips of mellower iron which have been subsequently welded and wrought by the hammer. This mode of manufacture enabled the soldier, when his sword was notched, to repair it by means of hammering. This was a most valuable resource during an epoch in which armies did not convey stores along with them, and \\ hen the soldier's baggage was reduced to very little more than he could personally carry. Several of these damascened blades have been found in the trenches of Alise. The sheaths, the existence of which now for the first time comes under our notice, are of great importance on account of the designs with which they are ornamented. Most of these designs are engraved with a tool, others are executed in repousse work. All of them show great originality and peculiar characteristics, which prevent them from being confounded with works of Koman art. One of these sheaths (fig. 249), which belongs to M. Desor's collection and is depicted in Fig 249. Sheath of a Sword, found in one of the Swiss Lakes. his memoir, represents the " horned horse," the emblem of Gaul, which is sufficient proof of the Gallic origin of the weapons found in the Lake of La Tene. Below this emblem, there is a kind of granulated surface which bears some resemblance to shagreen. This sheath is composed of two very thin plates of wrought iron laid one upon the other, except at the base, where they are united by means of a cleverly-wrought band of iron. At its upper extremity THE IKON EPOCH. H'23 there is a plate, on one side of which may be seen the designs which we have already described, and on the other a ring, intended to suspend the weapon to the belt. The lance-heads are very remarkable on account of their extra- ordinary shape and large size. They measure as much as 1(5 inches long, by 2 to 4 inches wide, and are double-edged and twisted into very diversified shapes. Some are winged, and others are irregularly indented. Some have perforations in the shape of a half-moon (fig. 250). The halberd of the middle ages was, very probably, Fig. 250. Lance-head, found in one of the Swiss Iikes. nothing but an improvement on, or a deviation from, these singular blades. Fragments of wooden staves have been met with which had been fitted into these spear-heads ; they are slender, and shod with iron at one end. The care with which these instruments are wrought proves that they are lance-heads, and not mere darts or javelins intended to lie thrown to a distance and consequently lost. They certainly would not have taken so much pains with the manufacture of a weapon which would be used only once. v 'I 324 THE AGE OF METALS. It is altogether a different matter with respect to the javelins, a tolerably large number of which have been found in the lacustrine settlements of La Tene. They are simple socketed heads (fig. 251), terminating in a laurel-leaf shape, about 4 to 5 inches in length. Kig. 251. Head of a Javelin, found in the Lacustrine Settlement of La Tene (Neuchfttel). It appears from experiments ordered by the Emperor of the French, that these javelins could only have been used as missile weapons, and that they were thrown, not by the hand merely grasping the shaft (which would be impossible to do effectually on account of their light weight), but by means of a cord or thong, which was designated among the Komans by the name of amentum. These experiments have shown that a dart which could be thrown only 65 feet with the hand, might be cast four times that distance by the aid of the amentum. There probably existed among the Gauls certain military corps who practised the use of the amentum, that is to say, the management of thonged javelins, and threw this javelin in the same way as other warriors threw stones by means of a sling. This conclusion, which has been drawn by M. Desor, seems to us a very just one. Javelins of the preceding type are very common in the trenches of Alise. In this neighbourhood a large number of iron arrows have THE IKON EPOCH. 325 also been found which have never been met with in the lacustrine settlement of La Tene. War was not the only purpose for which these javelins were used by the men of the iron epoch. Hunting, too, was carried on by means of these missile weapons. The bow and the thonged javelin consti- tuted the hunting weapons of this epoch. We have depicted this in the accompanying plate, which represents the chase during the iron epoch. Next to the weapons come the implements. We will, in the first place, mention the hatchets (fig. 253). They are larger, more solid, Fig. 253. Square-socketed Iron Hatchet, found in one of the Lakes of Switzerland. Fig. 254. Sickle. and have a wider cutting edge than those used in the bronze epoch ; wings were no longer in use, only a square-shaped socket into which was fitted a wooden handle, probably made with an elbow. The sickles (fig. 254) are likewise larger and also more simple than those of the bronze epoch ; there are neither designs nor ornaments of any kind on them. With the pruning-bills or sickles we must class the regular scythes 326 THE AGE OF METALS. (fig. 255) with stems for handling, two specimens of which have heen discovered in the lake settlement of the Tene. Their length is about 14 inches, that is, about one-third as large as the scythes used Fig. 255. Scythe, from the Lacustrine Settlements of Switzerland. Fig. 256. Iron Point of Boat-book, used by the Swiss Boatmen during the Iron Epoch. by the Swiss harvest-men of the present day. One important in- ference is drawn from the existence of these scythes ; it is, that at the commencement of the iron epoch men were in the habit of storing up a provision of hay, and must consequently have reared cattle. The iron fittings at the ends of the boat-hooks used by the boat- men on the lake are frequently found at La Tene ; they terminate in a quadrangular pyramid or in a cone (fig. 256). Some still contain the end of the wooden pole, which was attached to it by means of a nail. Fig. 257. Horse's Bit, found in the Lake of Neuchatel. Next in order to these objects, we must mention the horses' bits and shoes ; the first being very simply constructed so as to last for a THE IKON EPOCH. 327 very long period of time. They were composed of a short piece of iron chain (fig. 257), which was placed in the horse's mouth, and terminated at each end in a ring to which the reins were attached. The fibulas (fig. 258), or clasps for cloaks, are especially calculated to attract attention in the class of ornamental objects ; they are very elegant and diversified in their shapes, their dimensions varying from 2^ to 5 inches. They are all formed of a pin in communication with a twisted spring bent in various ways. They are provided with a sheath to hold the end of the brooch pin, so as to avoid any danger of pricking. A large number of them are in an excellent state of preservation, and might well be used at the present day. Fig. 258. Fibula,, or Iron Brooch, found in the Lake of Neuchatel. These brooches, which we have already called attention to when speaking, of the tombs of Hallstadt, were also used by the Etrus- cans and the Romans; their existence in the pre-historic tombs tends to prove that, like the above-named nations, the Swiss and Germans wore the toga or mantle. These fibulse have a peculiar character, and it is impossible to confuse them with the Roman fibulas. They are, however, similar in every way to those which have been found at Alise. There have also been found in the Swiss lakes, along with the , a number of rings, the use of which is still problematical. 328 THE AGE OF METALS. Some are flat and others chiselled in various ways. It is thought that some of them must have been used as buckles for soldiers' sword- belts (fig. 259); but there are others which do not afford any countenance to this explanation. Neither can they be looked on Fig. 259. Iron Buckle for a Sword-belt, found in the Lake of Neuchatel. as bracelets ; for most of them are too small for any such purpose. Some show numerous cuts at regular intervals all round their circum- ference ; this fact has given rise to the supposition that they might perhaps have served as a kind of money. Fig. 260. Iron 'Pincers, found in the Fig. 261. Iron Spring- Scissors, found in the Lake of Neuchatel. Lake of Neuchatel. In the lake-settlement of La Tene (Lake of Neuchatel), iron pincers have also been found (fig. 260), which were doubtless used for pulling THE IRON EPOCH. 329 out hair, and are of very perfect workmanship ; also scissors with a spring (fig. 261), the two legs being made in one piece, and some very thin blades (fig. 262), which must have been razors. Fig. 262. Razor. The specimens of pottery belonging to this date do not testify to any real progress having been made beyond the workmanship of the bronze epoch ; the clay is still badly baked, and of a darkish colour. It certainly is the case, that along with these remains a quantity of fragments of vessels have been picked up, and even entire vessels, which have been made by the help of the potter's wheel and baked in an oven, and consequently present the red colour usual in modern earthenware. But archaeologists are of opinion that this class of pottery does not date back beyond the Koman epoch ; and this opinion would seem to be confirmed by the existence, in the midst of the piles at the settlement of La Tene, of a mass of tiles, evidently of Koman origin. The conclusion to be drawn from these facts is, that many of the pile-works in the Swiss lakes continued to be occupied when the country was under the Koman rule. One of the characteristics of the iron epoch is, as we have before stated, the appearance of coin or money. In 1864, M. Desor re- covered from the Lake of La Tene five coins of unquestionable Gallic origin. They are of bronze, and bear on one side the figure of the horned horse, and on the other a human profile. In fig. 232, we gave a representation of these curious specimens of coin found by M. Desor in the lacustrine settlements of the Lake of Neuchatel. The marks of the mould still existing on each side show that these coins were cast in a series, and that after the casting the coins were separated from one another by means of the file. Coins of a similar character have been discovered, as we before observed, at Tiefenau, near Berne, with others bearing the effigy of Diana and Apollo, and the imprint of Massilia. The latter date 330 THE AGE OF METALS. from the foundation of Marseilles, and could not, therefore, be anterior to the sixth century before the Christian era ; it is probable that those discovered along with them must be referred to nearly the same epoch. Such are the relics of instruments, tools, weapons, &c., made of iron and recovered from the lacustrine settlement of La Tene, that is, from the Lake of Neuchatel. We must add that, near Berne, at a spot which is designated by the name of the " Battle-field of Tiefenau," because it appears to have been the theatre of a great conflict between the Helvetians and the Gauls, a hundred swords and spear-heads have been picked up, similar to those found at La Tene ; also fragments of coats of mail, rings, fibulas, the tires of chariot- wheels, horses' bits, and lastly, Gallic and Marseillaise coins in gold, silver, and bronze. This field of battle appears, therefore, to have been contemporary with the settlement at La Tene. In addition to these valuable sources of information La Tene and Tiefenau Switzerland also possesses tumuli and simple tombs, both constituting records useful to consult in respect to the iron epoch. But on this point, it must be remarked that it is often difficult, with any degree of security, to connect them with the two preceding sites ; and that considerable reserve is recommended in attempting any kind of identification. Upon the whole,, the Iron Age, looking even only to its earliest period, is the date of the beginning of real civilisation among European nations. Their industrial skill, exercised on the earliest-used materials, such as iron and textile products, furnished all that was required by the usages of life. Commerce was already in a flourishing state, for it was no longer carried on by the process of barter only. Money, in the shape of coin, the conventional symbol of wealth, came into use during this epoch, and must have singularly facilitated the operations of trade. Agriculture, too, had advanced as much as it could at this earliest dawn of civilisation. The remains of cereals found in the lake-settlements of Switzerland, added to the iron instru- ments intended to secure the products of the cultivation of the ground, such as the scythes and sickles which we have previously depicted (figs. 254 and 255), are sufficient to show us that agriculture constituted at that time the chief wealth of nations. The horse, the ass, the dog, the ox, and the pig, had for long time back been devoted to the service THE IRON EPOCH. 331 of man, either as auxiliaries in his field-labours, or as additions to his resources in the article of food. Fruit-trees, too, were cultivated in great numbers. As a matter of fact, we have no acquaintance with any of the iron and bronze instruments which were used by men of the iron epoch in cultivation of the ground. Scythes and sickles are the only agricul- tural implements which have been discovered. But even these instruments, added to a quantity of remains of the bones of cattle which have been found in the lacustrine and palustrine settlements, are sufficient to prove that the art of cultivating the earth and of extract- ing produce from its bosom, rendered fertile by practices sanctioned by experience, existed in full vigour among the men who lived during the period immediately preceding historic times. The plate which accompanies this page is intended to represent in a material form the state of agriculture during the iron epoch. We may notice the corn-harvest being carried on by means of sickles, like those found in the lacustrine settlements of Switzerland. A man is engaged in beating out, with a mere stick, the wheatsheaves in order to thrash out the grain. The grain is then ground in a circular mill, worked by a horizontal handle. This mill is composed of two stones revolving one above the other, and was the substitute for the rough primitive cornmill; it subsequently became the mill used by the Romans the pistrinum at which the slaves were condemned to work. Indications of an unequivocal character have enabled us to recognise as a fact, that human sacrifices took place among the Helvetians during this period. It is, however, well known, from the accounts of ancient historians, that this barbarous custom existed among the Gauls and various nations in the north of Europe. In a tumulus situated near Lausanne, which contained four cinerary urns, there were also found the skeletons of four young females. Their broken bones testified but too surely to the tortures which had terminated their existence. The remains of their ornaments lay scattered about in every direction, and everything was calculated to lead to the belief that they had been crushed under the mass of stones which formed the tumulus unhappy victims of a cruel superstition. Not far from this spot, another tumulus contained twelve skeletons lying in all kinds of unusual postures. It is but too probable that these were the remains of 332 THE AGE OF METALS. individuals who had all been immolated together on the altar of some supposed implacable divinity. What was the character of the type of the. human race during the iron epoch ? It must evidently have been that of the present era. Both the skulls and the bodies of the skeletons found in the tombs of this epoch point to a race of men entirely identical with that of our own days. We shall not carry on our study of pre-historic mankind to any later date. We have now arrived at an epoch upon which sufficient light has been thrown by oral tradition combined with historical records. The task of the historian begins at the point where the naturalist's investigations come to an end. PRIMITIVE MAN IN AMERICA. 335 PEIM1TIVE MAN IN AMERICA. THE development of mankind has, doubtless, been of much the same character in all parts of the world, so that, in whatever quarter of the world man may come under our consideration, he must have passed through the same phases of progress ere he arrived at his present state. Everywhere, man must have had his Stone Age, his Bronze Epoch, and his Iron Epoch, succeeding one another in the same order which we have ascertained to have existed in Europe. In the sketch which we have drawn of primitive man we have devoted our attention almost entirely to Europe ; but the cause simply is, that this part of the world has, up to the present day, been the principal subject of special and attentive studies in this respect. Asia, Africa, and America can scarcely be said to have been explored in reference to the antiquity of our species ; but it is probable that the facts which have been brought to light in Europe, would be almost identically reproduced in other parts of the world. This is a fact which, as regards dolmens, has been already verified. The sepulchral monuments of the Stone Age, which were at first believed to be peculiar to France, and, indeed, to one province of France, namely Brittany, have since been met with in almost every part of the world. Not only have they been discovered all over Europe, but even the coasts of Africa bring to our notice numerous relics of them ; also, through the whole extent of Asia, and even in the interior of India, this same form of sepulchre, bearing witness to a well determined epoch in man's history, have been pointed out and de- scribed by recent travellers. Thus, the information which we possess on these points as regards Europe, may well be generalised and applied to the other quarters of the world to Asia, Africa, America, and Oceania. 336 PEIMITIVE MAN. America, however, has been the scene of certain investigations con- cerning primitive man which have not been without fertile results ; we shall, therefore, devote the last few pages of our work to a con- sideration of the pre-historic remains of America, and to giving an account of the probable conditions of man's existence there, as they have been revealed to us by these relics. The information which has been made public on these points con- cerns North America only. It would be useless to dwell on the stone and bone instruments of the New World ; in their shape they differ but little from those of Europe. They were applied to the same uses, and the only per- ceptible difference in them is in the substance of which they were made. We find there hatchets, knives, arrow-heads, &c., but these instruments are not so almost universally made from flint, which is to a considerable extent replaced by obsidian and other hard stones. In the history of primitive man in North America, we shall have to invent another age of a special character ; this is the Age of Copper. In America, the use of copper seems to have preceded the use of bronze; native metallic copper having been largely in use among certain races. On the shores of Lake Superior there are some very important mines of native copper, which must have been worked by the Indians at a very early date; in fact, the traces of the ancient workings have been distinctly recognised by various travellers. Mr. Knapp, the agent of the Minnesota Mining Company, was the first to point out these pre-historic mines. In 1847, his researches having led him into a cavern much frequented by porcupines, he discovered, under an accumuktion of heaped-up earth, a vein of native copper, containing a great number of stone hammers. A short time afterwards, some other excavations 25 to 35 feet in depth, and stretching over an extent of several miles, came under his notice. The earth dug out had been thrown on each side of the excavations ; and mighty forest-trees had taken root and grown there. In the trunk of a hemlock-tree growing in this " made ground," Mr. Knapp counted 395 rings of growth, and this tree had probably been pre- ceded by other forest-giants no less venerable. In the trenches themselves, which had been gradually filled up by vegetable debris, IN AMERICA. 337 trees had formerly grown which, after having lived for hundreds of years, had succumbed and decayed; being then replaced by other generations of vegetation, the duration of which had been quite as long. When, therefore, we consider these workings of the native copper-mines of Lake Superior, we are compelled to ascribe the above- named excavations to a considerable antiquity. In many of these ancient diggings stone hammers have been found, sometimes in large quantities. One of the diggings contained some great diorite hatchets which were worked by the aid of a handle, and also large cylindrical masses- of the same substance hollowed out to receive a handle. These sledges, which are too heavy to be lifted by one man alone, were doubtless used for breaking off lumps of copper, and then reducing them to fragments of a size which could easily be carried away. If we may put faith in Professor Blather, who explored these ancient mines, some of the rocks still bore the mark of the blow they had received from these granite rollers. The work employed in adapting the native copper was of the most simple character. The Indians hammered it cold, and, taking into account its malleable character, they were enabled with tolerable facility to give it any shape that they wished. In America, just as in Europe, a great number of specimens of pre-historic pottery have been collected. They are, it must be con- fessed, superior to most of those found in the ancient world. The material of which they were made is very fine, excepting in the case of the vessels of every-day use, in which the clay is mixed with quartz reduced to powder ; the shapes of the vessels are of the purest character, and the utmost care has been devoted to the workmanship. They do not appear to have been constructed by the aid of the potter's wheel; but Messrs. Squier and Davis, very competent American archaeologists, are of opinion that the Indians, in doing this kind of work, made use of a stick held in the middle. The workman turned this stick round and round inside the mass of clay, which an assistant kept on adding to all round the circumference. In regard to pottery, the most interesting specimens are the pipes, which we should, indeed, expect to meet with in the native country of the tobacco plant and the classic calumet. Many of these pipes are carved in the shape of animals, which are very faithfully repre- 338 PRIMITIVE MAN sented. These figures are very various in character, including quad- rupeds and birds of all kinds. Indeed, in the state of Ohio seven pipes were found on each of which the manatee was so plainly depicted that it is impossible to mistake the sculptor's intention. This dis- covery is a curious one, from the fact that at the present day the manatee is not met with except in localities 300 or 400 leagues distant, as in Florida. The pre-historic ornaments and trinkets found in North America consist of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, &c. The bracelets are copper rings bent by hammering, so that the two ends meet. The necklaces are composed of shell beads (of which considerable quantities have been collected) shells, animals' teeth, and small flakes of mica, all perforated by a hole so as to be strung on a thread. The earrings also are made of the same material. All these objects weapons, implements, pottery, and ornaments have been derived from certain gigantic works which exhibit some similarity, and occasionally even a striking resemblance, to the great earthwork constructions of the Old World. American archaeologists have arranged these works in various classes according to the probable purpose for which they were intended ; we shall now dwell for a short time on these divisions. In the first place, we have the sepulchral mounds or tumuli, the numbers of which may be reckoned by tens of thousands. They vary in height from 6 feet to 80 feet, and are generally of a circular form ; being found either separately or in groups. Most frequently only one skeleton is found in them, either reduced almost to ashes, or which is more rare in its ordinary condition, and in a crouching posture. By the side of the corpse are deposited trinkets, and, in a few cases, weapons. A practice the very contrary to this now obtains in America ; and from this we may conclude that a profound modifica- tion of their ideas has taken place among the Indians since the pre- historic epochs. It is now almost a certain fact that some of the small tumuli are nothing but the remains of mud-huts, especially as they do not contain either ashes or bones. Others, on the contrary, and some of the largest, contain a quantity of bones; the latter must be allied with the ossuaries or bone-pits, some of which contain the remains of several thousand individuals. IN AMEEICA. 339 It would be difficult to explain the existence of accumulations of this kind if we did not know from the accounts of ancient authors that the Indians were in the habit of assembling every eight or ten years in some appointed spot to inter all together in one mass the bones of their dead friends, which had been previously exhumed. This singular ceremony was called " the feast of the dead." We shall not say much here as to thje sacrificial mounds, because no very precise agreement has yet been arrived at as to their exact signification. Their chief characteristics are, that, in the first place, they are nearly always found within certain sacred enclosures of which we shall have more to say further on, and also that they cover a sort of altar placed on the surface of the ground, and made of stone or baked clay. In the opinion of certain archaeologists, this supposed altar is nothing but the site of a former fire-hearth, and the mound itself a habitation converted into a tomb after the death of its pro- prietor. It will therefore be best to reserve our judgment as to the existence of the human sacrifices of which these places might have been the scene, until we obtain some more complete knowledge of the matter. The Temple-Mounds are hillocks in the shape of a truncated pyramid, with paths or steps leading to the summit, and sometimes with terraces at different heights. They invariably terminate in a platform of varying extent, but sometimes reaching very considerable dimensions. That of Cahokia, in Illinois, is about 100 feet in height, and at the base is 700 feet long and 500 feet wide. There is no doubt that these mounds were not exclusively used as temples, and, adopting as our authority several instances taken from Indian history, we may be permitted to think that on this upper terrace they were in the habit of building the dwelling of their chief. ^ The most curious of these earthworks are, beyond question, those which the American archaeologists have designated by the name of animal-mounds. They consist of gigantic bas-reliefs formed on the surface of the ground, and representing men, mammals, birds, reptiles, and even inanimate objects, such as crosses, pipes, &c. They exist in thousands in Wisconsin, being chiefly found between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan, and aloog the war-path of the Indians. Their height is never very considerable, and it is but seldom that they reach so much as 6 feet ; but their length and breadth is sometimes enor- 340 PEIMITIVE MAN mously developed. Many of these figures are copied very exactly from Nature ; but there are, on the other hand, some the meaning of which it is very difficult to discover, because they have been injured by the influence of atmospheric action during a long course of ages. In Dale county there is an interesting group composed of a man with extended arms, six quadrupeds, a simple tumulus, and seven mounds without any artistic pretensions. The man measured 125 feet long, and nearly 140 feet from the end of one arm to the other. The quadrupeds are from 100 to 120 feet long. The representation of lizards and tortoises are frequently recog- nised in these monstrous figures. A group of mounds, situate near the village of Pewaukee, included when it was discovered two lizards and seven tortoises. One of these tortoises measured 470 feet. At Waukesha there was found a monstrous " turtle " admirably executed, the tail of which stretched over an extent of 250 feet. On a high hill near Granville, in the state of Ohio, a representation is sculptured of the reptile which is now known under the name of alligator. Its paws are 40 feet long, and its total length exceeds 250 feet. In the same state there exists the figure of a vast serpent, the most remarkable work of its kind ; its head occupies the summit of a hill, round which the body extends for about 800 feet, forming graceful coils and undulations ; the mouth is opened wide, as if the monster was swallowing its prey. The prey is represented by an oval-shaped mass of earth, part of which lies in the creature's jaws. This mass of earth is about 160 feet long and 80 feet wide, and its height is about 4 feet. In some localities excavations are substituted for these raised figures ; that is to say, that the delineations of the animals are sunk instead of being in relief a strange variety in these strange works. The jnind may readily be perplexed when endeavouring to trace out the origin and purpose of works of this kind. They do not, in a general way, contain any human remains, and consequently could not have been intended to be used as sepulchres. Up to the present time, therefore, the circumstances which have accompanied the construction of these eminently remarkable pre-historic monuments are veiled in the darkest mystery. We now have to speak of those enclosures which are divided by American archaeologists into the classes of defensive and sacred. This distinction is, however, based on very uncertain data, and it is probable IN AMEEICA. 341 that a large portion of the so-called sacred enclosures were in the first place constructed for a simply defensive purpose. They were, in general, composed of a wall made of stones, and an internal or ex- ternal ditch. They often assumed the form of a parallelogram, and even of a perfect square or circle, from which it has heen inferred that the ancient Indians must have possessed an unit of measurement, and some means of determining angles. These walls sometimes em- braced a considerable area, and not unfrequently inside the principal enclosure there were other smaller enclosures, flanked with defensive mounds performing the service of bastions. In some cases enclosures of different shapes are grouped side by side, either joined by avenues or entirely independent of one another. The most important of these groups is that at Newark, in the Valley of Scioto ; it covers an area of 4 square miles, and is composed of an octagon, a square, and two large circles. The external wall of one of these circles is even at the present day 50 feet in width at the base, and 13 feet high ; there are several doorways in it, near which the height of the wall is increased about 3 feet. Inside there is a ditch 6 feet in depth, and 13 feet in the vicinity of the doors, its width being about 40 feet. The whole enclosure is now covered by gigantic trees, perhaps 500 or 600 years old a fact which points to a considerable antiquity for the date of its construction. When we reflect on the almost countless multitude, and the mag- nificent proportions of the monuments we have just described, we are compelled to recognise the fact that the American valleys must at some early date have been much more densely populated than at the time when Europeans first made their way thither. These peoples must have formed considerable communities, and have attained to a somewhat high state of civilisation at all events a state very superior to that which is at present the attribute of the Indian tribes. Tribes which were compelled to seek in hunting their means of everyday existence, could never have succeeded in raising constructions of this kind. They must therefore necessarily have found other resources in agricultural pursuits. This inference is moreover confirmed by facts. In several localities in the United States the ground is covered with small elevations known under the name of Indian corn-hills; they take their rise from the fact that the maize, having been planted every year in the same 342 PEIMITIVE MAN IN AMEEICA. spot, has ultimately, after a long course of time, formed rising grounds. The traces of ancient corn-patches have also been discovered symmetrically arranged in regular beds and parallel rows. Can any date be assigned to this period of semi-civilisation which, instead of improving more and more like civilisation in Europe, became suddenly eclipsed, owing to causes which are unknown to us ? This question must be answered in the negative, if we are called upon to fix any settled and definite date. Nevertheless, the conclusion to which American archaeologists have arrived is, that the history of the New World must be divided into four definite periods. The first period includes the rise of agriculture and industrial skill; the second, the construction of mounds and inclosures; the third, the formation of the " garden beds." In the last period, the American nation again relapsed into savage life and to the free occupation of the spots which had been devoted to agriculture. In his work on ' Pre-historic Times ' Sir John Lubbock, who has furnished us with most of these details, estimates that this course of events would not necessarily have required a duration of time of more than 3000 years, although he confesses that this figure might be much more considerable. But Dr. Douler, another savant, regards this subject in a very different way. Near New Orleans he dis- covered a human skeleton and the remains of a fire, to which, basing his calculations on more or less admissible data, he attributes an antiquity of 500 centuries ! Young America would thus be very ancient indeed ! By this instance we may see how much uncertainty surrounds the history of primitive man in America ; and it may be readily under- stood why we have thought it necessary to adhere closely to scientific ideas and to limit ourselves to those facts which are peculiar to Europe. To apply to the whole world the results which have been verified in Europe is a much surer course of procedure than describing local and imperfectly studied phenomena, which, in their interpreta- tion, lead to differences in the estimate of time, such as that between 3000 and 50,000 years ! 843 , CONCLUSION. BEFORE bringing our work to a close we may be permitted to retrace the path we have trod, and to embrace in one rapid glance the immense space we have traversed. We have now arrived at a point of time very far removed from that of the dweller in caves, the man who was contemporary with the great bear and the mammoth ! Scarcely, perhaps, have we preserved a reminiscence of those mighty quadrupeds whose broad shadows seem to flit indistinctly across the dim light of the quaternary epoch. Face to face with these gigantic creatures, which have definitively disappeared from the surface of our globe, there were, as we have seen, beings of a human aspect who, dwelling in caves and hollows of the earth, clothed themselves in the skins of beasts and cleft flakes of stone in order to form their weapons and implements. We can hardly have failed to feel a certain interest in and sympathy with them, when tracing out the dim vestiges of their progress ; for, in spite of their rude appearance, in spite of their coarse customs and their rough mode of life, they were our brethren, our ancestors, and the far-distant precursors of modern civilisation. We have given due commendation to their efforts and to their progress. After a protracted use of weapons and implements simply chipped out of the rough flint, we have seen them adopt weapons and instruments of polished stone, that is, objects which had undergone that material preparation which is the germ of the industrial skill of primitive nations. Aided by these polished-stone instruments, added to those of bone and reindeer's or stag's horn, they did not fear to enter into a conflict which every day became more and more successful with all the external forces which menaced them. As we have seen, they brought under the yoke of servitude various kinds of animals; they made 344 CONCLUSION. the dog and the horse the companion and the auxiliary of their labour. The sheep, the ox, and other ruminants were converted into domesticated cattle, capable of insuring a constant supply of food. After the lapse of ages metals made their appearance ! metals, the most precious acquisition of all, the pledge of the advent of a new era, replete with power and activity, to primitive man. Instruments made of stone, bone, reindeer or stag's horn, were replaced by those composed of metal. In all the communities of man civilisation and metals seem to be constant companions. Though bronze may have served for the forging of swords and spears, it also provides the material for implements of peaceful labour. Owing to the efforts of continuous toil, owing also to the development of intelligence which is its natural consequence, the empire of man over the world of nature is still increasing, and man's moral improvement follows the same law of progression. But who shall enumerate the ages which have elapsed whilst these achievements have been realised ? But thy task is not yet terminated ! Onward, and still onward, brave pioneer of progress ! The path is a long one and the goal is not yet attained ! Once thou wert contented with bronze, now thou hast iron iron, that terrible power, whose function is to mangle and to kill the cause of so much blood and so many bitter tears ; but also the beneficent metal which fertilises and gives life, affording nutriment to the body as well as to the mind. The Eomans applied the name of ferrum to the blade of their swords ; but in after times ferrum was also the term for the peaceful ploughshare. The metal which had brought with it terror, devastation, and death, erelong introduced among nations peace, wealth and happiness. And now, man, thy work is nearly done ! The mighty conflicts against nature are consummated, and thy universal empire is for ever sure ! Animals are subject to thy will and even to thy fancies. At thy command, the obedient earth opens its bosom and unfolds the riches it contains. Thou hast turned the course of rivers, cleared the mountain sides of the forests which covered them, and cultivated the plains and valleys; by thy culture the earth has become a verdant and fruitful garden. Thou hast changed the whole aspect of the globe, and mayst well call thyself the lord of creation ! Doubtless the expanding circle of thy peaceful conquests will not stop here, and who can tell how far thy sway may extend ? Onward CONCLUSION. Mir, then ! still onward ! proud and unfettered in thy vigilant and active course towards new and unknown destinies ! But look to it, lest thy pride lead thee to forget thy origin. However great may be thy moral grandeur, and however complete thy empire over a docile nature, confess and acknowledge every hour the Almighty Power of the great Creator. Submit thyself before thy Lord and Master, the God of goodness and of love, the Author of thy existence, who has reserved for thee still higher destinies in another life. Learn to show thyself worthy of the supreme blessing the happy immortality which awaits thee in a world above, if thou hast merited it by a worship conceived in spirit and in truth, and by the fulfilment of thy duty both towards God and towards thy neighbour ! [INDEX 2 A ( 347 ) ALPHABETICAL INDEX AUTHORS' NAMES CITED IN THIS VOLUME. Albert!, 228 Arcelin, 120 Austen (Godwin), 9 Baudot, 178 Bertrand, 187, 197 Bocchi, 82 Bonstetten, 187 Borel, 319 Boucher de Perthes, 8. 9, 16, 17, 18, 45, 82, 161, 162, 1G3, 164, 165, 166 Boue (Aim6), 6 Bourgeois (Abbe'), 3, 16, 17, 73, 149 Boutin, 74 Broca, 114, 181 Brun (V.), 88, 98, 106, 115, 119 Bucklund, 6 Busk, 36, 81, 182 Camper, 5 Cazalis de Fondouce, 128 Chantre, 120 Chevalier (Abbe), 147 Christol (de), 7, 74 Christy, 73, 86, 90, 95, 106, 108, 109, 110, 111, 118 Clement, 225 Cochet (Abbe'), 177 Costa de Beauregard, 91, 319 Cuvier, 6, 7 Dampier, 132, 219 Darwin, 132 Davis (Dr. Barnard), 36, 81, 337 Delaunay, 73 Desnoyers, 9, 20, 57 Desor, 175, 217 note, 220, 221, 227, 212, 244, 251, 252, 257, 2uO, 271, 289, 310, 321, 324, 329 Dolomieu, 156, 157 Dumont d Urville, 219, 225 Dupont (fidouard), 82, 94, 95, 104, 112, 113, 114.116, 120 Edwards (Milne), 12, 120, 127 Esper, 6 Evans, 11, 12, 51, 131, 149 Falconer. 10, 11, 76 Faudel, 82 Ferry (de), 73, 91, 120 Filhol, 15, 75, 127, 169, 181 Flower, 11 Fontan, 11, 74, 119 Forchhammer, 131 Forel, 176 Foresi (Kaffaello), 181 Forgeais, 178, 202 Foulon-Menard, 169 Fournet, 158 Fraas, 104 Franchet, 73 Frere, 6, 12 Fuhlrott, 80 Garrigou, 15,16,75,110, 119, 127, 169, 181 Gastaldi and Moro, 227 Gaudry (Albert), 11 Gervais (Paul), 74, 128 Gillie'ron, 267, 292, 293 Gmelin, 299 Gosse, 11, 12 Gratiolet and Alix, 31, 33, 34 Guerin, 72 Hannour and Himelettr, 17!) Hauzeur, 104 He'bert, 11 Heer, 265 Hernandez, 160 His, 290 Hochstetter, 229 Husson, 72 Huxley, 26, 80 Issel, 91 ( 348 ) Jeitteler, 239 Joly, 8 Joly-Leterme, 120 Keller, 135, 175, 216, 220, 225, 227, 280, 282 Kemp, 6 Knapp, 336 Kosterlitz, 228 Lambert (1'Abbe), 3 Lartet, 1, 2, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 61, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 71, 101, 102, 106, 108, 109, 110,111, 118,120, 180 Lawrence, 31 Leguay, 150, 153, 195, 200 Le'veille', 147 Lewis (Cornewall) 208 Lioy (Paolo), 228 Lohle, 223 Lubbook (Sir John), 97, 131, 189, 190, 195, 200, 219, 230, 275, 342 Lund, 9, 77 Lyell (Sir Charles), 11, 20, 36, 132, 224 Marcel de Serres, 3, 7 Martin, 12 Morlot, 94, 217 note, 249, 291, 300, 301 Mortillet, de, 89, 131 note, 172, 227, 245, 283, 308 note Mudge, 231 Mylne, 11 Naegeli, 239 Nilsson, 116, 189, 195, 208, 209 Noulet, 10 Osculati, 239 Otz, 226 Owen, 91, 119 Peccadeau de 1'Isle, 90, 106, 107, 119 Peigne Delacour, 12 Penguelly, 10 Penguilly 1'Haridon, 149 Pereira de Costa, 132 Pigorini, 232, 235, 236, 238 Place, 160 Pommerol, 171 Prestwich, 11, 46, 131 Pruner-Bey, 18, 32, 33, 35, 37, 81, 113, 114, 181 Quatrefages, de, 18, 30, 31, 38 Quiquerez, 301, 302, 303, 308 Eabut, 229 Eames, 15 Ramsauer, 312, 314 Ranchet, 227 Reboux, 12 Reffye, 321 Rigollot, 10, 54 Robert (Eugene), 12, 149 Rochebrune, 157 Rougemont (de), 320 Rutimeyer, 265, 268 Saussure, de, 160 Sauvage and Hamy, 131 Schaaffhausen, 37, 81 Soheuchzer, 5 Schild, 226 Schmerling, 7, 77 Schmidt, 284, 287 note Schwab, 248, 250 Silber, 228 Squier, 837 Steenstrup, 130, 131, 133 Steinhauer, 66 Stopani (1'Abbe), 227 Strobel, 132, 232, 235, 236, 238, 239 Thioly, 226 Tournal, 7 ' Troyon, 175, 217 note, 225, 253 Uhlmann, 134 Vallier, 229 VanBeneden, 112, 118 Vibraye (Marquis de), 1 1, 73, 94, 98 Vicq-d'Azyr, 31 Vogt. 26, 80, 181, 280, 281, 282 Welker, 32 Wilde (Sir W. R.), 230 Wood, 76 Worsaae, 131, 175, 276 Wyatt, 12 N: PRINTED BY WILMAM CLOWES AND soxs, STAMFORD STRKET AND CHARFXG CROSS. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. nri 1 3 1999 OCT 1 6 ZOQT HAY 02 2007 MERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 676 968 I