A Manual of the Antiquity of Man Part 7

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 14. THE FOSSIL MAN OF MENTONE.]

The fossil man of Mentone, found in a grotto of Mentone, a village near Nice, for some time past has produced much comment among scientists. The skeleton was discovered in undisturbed earth; at a depth of twenty-one feet. The cause of the discussion is that the skeleton is accompanied by a multiplicity of bone-tools, needles, chisels, a baton of command, a necklace, various species of the deer, indicating the reindeer epoch, but surrounded also by the remains of the cave-bear, cave-hyena, and woolly-haired rhinoceros. Dr. Garrigou arrives at the conclusion that this cave was first inhabited by men of the preceding epoch, or inter-glacial, and during the reindeer epoch was used as a place of burial.[64] The att.i.tude of the skeleton was that of repose (see Fig.

14). It was stained by oxide of iron. The tibiae, or s.h.i.+n-bones, present a noticeable feature by being more flattened than in the European of the present time.

In the same neighborhood there have more recently been discovered, in different caves, four other human skeletons. They were all stained with oxide of iron, and two of them surrounded with pierced sea-sh.e.l.ls, teeth of the stag, const.i.tuting the remains of necklaces and bracelets. With one skeleton, which belonged to a large individual, were discovered implements of stone and bone, tooth of a cave-bear, bones of other animals, and sh.e.l.ls of edible marine mollusks. The other two skeletons were those of children, and not accompanied by either implements or ornaments.

The other bone caves of France, which have afforded much valuable information, and belonging to this epoch, are: La Gorge d'Enfer, Liveyre, Pey de l'Aze, Combe-Gra.n.a.l, Le Moustier and Badegoule (Dordogne), cave of Bize (Aude), cave of La Vache (Ariege), cave of Savigne (Vienne), grottos of La Balme and Bethenas, in Dauphine, the settlement of Solutre, the cave of Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrenees), and the cave of Espalungue (Ba.s.ses-Pyrenees)--the last two date back to the most ancient period of the reindeer epoch.

The princ.i.p.al objects found in these caves, and the rock-shelters are worked flakes, sc.r.a.pers, cores, awls, lance-heads, cutters, hammers, and mortar-stones. These works, though unpolished, are but little ruder than those of the Esquimaux or the North American Indian.

_Belgian Caverns._--Under the auspices of the Belgian government M.

Edward Dupont examined more than twenty caves on the banks of the Lesse, in the province of Namur. Among these were four, in which occurred numerous traces of the reindeer-man, namely, Trou du Frontal, Trou Rosette, Trou des Nutons, and Trou de Chaleux.

The cavern Trou de Frontal was a place of burial, and similar to the cave of Aurignac. The mouth of the cave was closed by a slab of sandstone, and within were the remains of fourteen human beings belonging to persons of various ages, and some of them to infants scarcely a year old. In front of the cave was an esplanade, where were celebrated the funeral feasts, and which was marked by hearth-stone, traces of fire, flint-knives, bones of animals, sh.e.l.ls, etc. The human bones were intermixed with a considerable number of the bones of the reindeer and other animals, as well as the different kinds of implements. Among the remains were two perfect human skulls, in a good state of preservation. The bones were discovered in a state of great confusion, which M. Dupont thinks was caused by the disturbance of water. Sir John Lubbock regards the disturbance of the bones as due to foxes and badgers.[65]

Immediately above this cave is the Trou Rosette, in which the bones of three persons were found, mingled with those of the reindeer and beaver.

It also contained fragments of a blackish kind of pottery, which were hollowed out in rough grooves and hardened by fire. Dupont is of opinion that the three men were crushed to death by ma.s.ses of rock at the time of the inundation of the valley of the Lesse.

In the Trou des Nutons, situated one hundred and sixty-four feet above the Lesse, were found a great many bones of the reindeer, wild bull, and many other species. In the cave, indiscriminately mixed up with these bones, were one hundred and fifty worked reindeer horns, knuckle-bones of the goat, polished on both sides, a whistle made from the tibia of a goat, fragments of very coa.r.s.e pottery, and fire-hearths.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 15. EARTHEN VASE, FOUND IN THE CAVE OF FURFOOZ, BELGIUM.]

The cave of Chaleux was buried by a ma.s.s of rubbish caused by the falling in of the roof, consequently preserving all its implements.

There were found the split bones of mammals and the bones of birds and fishes. There was an immense number of objects, chiefly manufactured from reindeer horn, such as needles, arrow-heads, daggers, and hooks.

Besides these, there were ornaments made of sh.e.l.ls, pieces of slate with engraved figure, mathematical lines, remains of very coa.r.s.e pottery, hearth-stones, ashes, charcoal, and last but not least, thirty thousand worked flints mingled with the broken bones. In the hearth, placed in the centre of the cave, was discovered a stone, with certain but unintelligible signs engraved upon it. M. Dupont also found about twenty pounds of the bones of the water-rat, either scorched or roasted.

In a cave at Furfooz, Dupont found an urn, or specimen of rough pottery (Fig. 15) intermingled with human bones. It was partly broken; by the care of M. Hauzeur it has been put together again.

France and Belgium are not alone in their monuments of the reindeer epoch, for settlements of this epoch have been discovered in Germany, Switzerland, and Poland.

In the cave of Thayngen, near Schaffhausen, Switzerland, have been discovered a few remains of the mammoth, rhinoceros, and cave-lion; the remains of two hundred and fifty reindeer, four hundred and thirty Alpine hares; also the remains of the brown bear, stag, elk, auroch, glutton, wolf, and several kinds of fox. The large bones invariably appeared in fragments, and the pebbles used for breaking them were found in the refuse. Among birds, the bones of the swan, grouse, and duck predominate. The implements consisted chiefly of needles, piercers, and arrow-heads made of the antlers of the reindeer. The art of engraving and carving was carried to quite a degree of perfection. The most notable of these objects is the delineation of a reindeer in the act of browsing, drawn on a piece of the horn of that animal.

Not far from Cracow (Poland), a cavern has been recently discovered and examined by Count Zawisza. In the upper part of the floor (four feet in depth), consisting of vegetable earth, mould, and _debris_, occurred ashes, flint implements, and the split bones of the cave-bear, reindeer, horse, elk, and other animals. Beneath this layer appeared the broken bones of the mammoth, an ornament of ivory, and the perforated teeth of the cave-bear, stag, elk, wolf, and fox. Two thousand flint implements were obtained; and from the frequent occurrence of flint the cave was used by the troglodytes, or cave-men, as a dwelling; and by the remains of the fauna, it must have been occupied during the inter-glacial, and at the beginning of the reindeer epoch.

CHAPTER IX.

MAN OF THE REINDEER EPOCH.

The Reindeer Epoch, approaching nearer the present age than those already enumerated, presents man under a more favorable aspect, and affords a better view of his traits of character and manner of living.

Not only the st.u.r.dy climate spurs him to action, but a higher type is supplanting the original savages. The brachycephalic, or round-headed, has penetrated the recesses of that wild country and brought with him the art of making more perfect implements. This new type was of short stature, having small hands and feet. If Asia be the home of man, then from that country, advanced in civilization, came the vanguard who were destined to supplant their predecessors, tame the wild beasts, and conquer the forests. Representatives of this type are found in the Lapps and Fins. Between the two existing races--dolichocephalic and brachycephalic--there may have been a long and bitter strife. The former was large, stout, fearless, and cruel; the latter, small, hardy, and more intelligent. It was a conflict between brute force and intelligence. The more perfect weapons must have told fearfully against the rude axes and arrows of the dolichocephalic. It could not have been a war of extermination, for finally an intermixture took place, producing a medium, as may be judged from the exhumed skulls.

_Dwellings._--As in the past ages, man continued to dwell, for the most part, in caves. If the cave was small, he occupied every portion; but if large, only that part near the opening was used. In the centre of this dwelling he made a hearth, out of stones sunk in the floor, and with the fire placed upon it, he cooked his meals and warmed his body. This mode of life did not always satisfy him, for he ventured out, and under the projection of an overhanging rock he built him a booth, or rude hut, out of boughs, and the poles of fallen timber. These dwellings, whether in caves or under the rocks, were near some stream.

_Clothing._--The climate being cold, he probably ceased to use the inner bark of trees, and depended solely on the skins of animals. The skins were prepared by the flint sc.r.a.pers, and then rendered supple by rubbing into them the brains and the marrow extracted from the skulls and long bones of the reindeer. These garments may have been artistically shaped, for they understood the art of sewing. With the bodkin they pierced the skin, and with the needle, end was held to end and side to side, and the same made permanent by the sinew of some animal.

_Food._--These people were essentially hunters, and lived princ.i.p.ally upon the reindeer, which they attacked with their spears and arrows. The horse, elk, ox, ibex, and the chamois, formed a considerable part of their food. The meat was cooked on the rough hearths, and the skull and the long bones were split open in order to extract the brains and marrow, which formed a delicious dish. To this they also added fish and, occasionally, certain birds, such as the heath-c.o.c.k, swan, and owl. The chase did not always afford them sufficient food, and at times they were forced to subsist on the water-rat.

Enough evidence has been produced to show that these people were cannibals. Human finger-joints were discovered among the remains of cooking at Solutre in Maconnais. M. Issel found, at a point on the road from Genoa to Nice, some human bones which had been calcined, and were of a whitish color, light, and friable. The incrustations on their surface still contained small fragments of carbon, and some of them showed notches made by some sharp instrument. In one of the grottos of Northern Italy M. Costa de Beauregard found the small s.h.i.+n-bone of a child, which had been carefully emptied and cleansed. Professor Owen thinks he can recognize the trace of human teeth on some human skulls and children's bones found in Scotland, and promiscuously mixed with sculptured flints and the remains of pottery.

_The Arts._--Man had not yet discovered the value of metal, but formed his instruments out of flint, bone, and the horn of the reindeer. The hatchet was but little used, and the princ.i.p.al weapons were the flint-knife, arrow-heads, and occasionally the lower jaw-bone of the cave-bear, with its pointed canine tooth. The articles of domestic use were rough pottery, knives, sc.r.a.pers, saws, bodkins, needles, and other wrought implements. He had articles for ornamenting his person and pleasing his fancy, such as sh.e.l.ls for beads, and the whistle for delighting his ear. The art of engraving was practised to a great extent, and so admirably did he execute his designs that, after the lapse of thousands of years, the figures are easily recognized.

The staff of authority would imply that there were certain individuals who were recognized as chiefs or leaders. Some system must have prevailed, for without it the manufactories at Laugerie-Ba.s.se and Laugerie-Haute could not have been carried on. In the first of these workshops the fabrications were almost wholly spear-heads, and in the second reindeer horn was used for the weapons and implements.

_Traffic._--Commerce was begun. The inhabitants of Belgium sought their flints in that part of France now called Champagne. From the same locality they also brought back fossil sh.e.l.ls, which were strung together and used for necklaces. There can be no doubt of this, as already fifty-four of these sh.e.l.ls have been found at Chaleux, and they are not found naturally anywhere else than in Champagne.

_Burial._--As in the previous epoch, the dead were consigned to the same kind of caves as were used for habitations, and the entombment was celebrated by the funeral-feast. These banquets afford no evidence of wors.h.i.+p. Some have thought they not only saw signs of wors.h.i.+p in the banquets, but also in some of the carvings. No idols have been found.

That they should have no notion of a future state is not surprising, for Sir J. Lubbock has shown that there are tribes at the present time without this belief.[66]

M. Edward Dupont, in his report to the Belgian minister of the Interior, on the excavations carried on in the caves, has concisely but eloquently given a synopsis of man of the reindeer epoch, in the following language:

"The data obtained from the fossils of Chaleux, together with those which have been met with in the caves of Furfooz, present us with a striking picture of the primitive ages of mankind in Belgium. These ancient tribes, and all their customs, after having been buried in oblivion for thousands and thousands of years, are again vividly brought before our eyes; and, ... antiquity lives again in the relics of its former existence.

"We may almost fancy that we can see them in their dark and subterranean retreats, crouching round their hearths, and skilfully and patiently chipping out their flint instruments and shaping their reindeer-horn tools, in the midst of all the pestilential emanations arising from the various animal remains which their carelessness has allowed to remain in their dwellings. Skins of wild beasts are stripped of their hair, and, by the aid of flint needles, are converted into garments. In our mind's eye, we may see them engaged in the chase, and hunting wild animals--their only weapons being darts and spears, the fatal points of which are formed of nothing but a splinter of flint. Again, we are present at their feasts, in which, during the period when their hunting has been fortunate, a horse, a bear, or a reindeer, becomes the more n.o.ble subst.i.tute for the tainted flesh of the rat, their sole resource in the time of famine.

"Now, we see them trafficking with the tribes inhabiting the region now called France, and procuring the jet and fossil sh.e.l.ls with which they love to adorn themselves, and the flint which is to them so precious a material. On one side they are picking up the fluor spar, the color of which is pleasing to their eyes; on the other, they are digging out the great slabs of sandstone which are to be placed as hearth-stones round their fire.

"But, alas! inauspicious days arrive." The roof of their princ.i.p.al cave falls in, burying their weapons and utensils, and forcing them "to fly and take up their abode in another spot. The ravages of death break in upon them.... They bear the corpse into its cavernous sepulchre; some weapons, an amulet, and perhaps an urn, form the whole of the funeral furniture. A slab of stone prevents the inroad of wild beasts. Then begins the funeral banquet, celebrated close by the abode of the dead; a fire is lighted, great animals are cut up, and portions of their smoking flesh are distributed to each. How strange the ceremonies that must then have taken place! ceremonies like those told us of the savages of the Indian and African solitudes. Imagination may easily depict the songs, the dances, and the invocations, but science is powerless to call them into life....

"But the end of this primitive age is at last come. Torrents of water break in upon the country. Its inhabitants, driven from their abodes, in vain take refuge on the lofty mountain summits. Death at last overtakes them, and a dark cavern is the tomb of the wretched beings, who, at Furfooz, were witnesses of this immense catastrophe."[67]

CHAPTER X.

NEOLITHIC EPOCH.

The Neolithic, or Epoch of Tamed Animals, is characterized by stone implements, polished or made smooth by a process of grinding and cutting, the greater development attained in the art of pottery, and by the presence of the bones of the domesticated animals. This age, in which no remains of the reindeer occur, immediately follows the reindeer epoch, and to it are referred in general all discoveries made in the so called _alluvial_ soil, the most ancient remains of the so called Celts, the sh.e.l.l-heaps of Denmark, the tumuli or grave-mounds, the dolmens, the earlier Swiss pile-buildings, the Irish lake-dwellings, and some of the caves of France.

_Caverns._--The caves belonging to this period, and explored by MM.

Garrigou and Filhol, are those of the Pyrenees and the caves of Pradiers, Bedeilhac, Labart, Niaux, Ussat, and Fontanel. Some of these caverns have been used in earlier ages, as is shown by the remains of extinct mammals. The upper crust of the floors of the caves belong to this period, and in them are found the bones of the ox, stag, sheep, goat, antelope, chamois, wild boar, wolf, dog, fox, badger, hare, and horse, intermingled with the remains of hearths, also piercers, spear-heads, and arrow-heads, made of bone; hatchets, knives, sc.r.a.pers made of flints, and various other substances, such as silicious schist, quartzite, leptinite, and serpentine stone. These implements were carefully wrought, and mostly polished.

The cave of Saint Jean d'Alcas (Aveyron), explored at different times by M. Cazalis de Fondace, was used as a place of sepulture. It was first examined about twenty-five years ago, and at that time five human skulls, in a good state of preservation, were found, but have been lost, as their importance was not then known. Intermingled with these bones were flint, jade, and serpentine implements, carved bones, remains of rough pottery, stone amulets, and the sh.e.l.ls of sh.e.l.l-fish, but no remains of funeral banquets. At the mouth of the cave were two large flag-stones lying across one another. The most recent discoveries in the cave have furnished metallic substances, which would place it, as a habitation, to the last of the neolithic.

_Danish Kjokken-Moddings, or Sh.e.l.l-Mounds, or kitchen-refuse heaps._--The refuse heaps of Denmark were carefully examined by Professors Steenstrup, the naturalist, Forchammer, a geologist, and Worsaae, the archaeologist, commissioned by the Danish government, their reports being presented to the Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen.

They are found chiefly on the north coast of Denmark, and consist of the sh.e.l.ls of edible mollusks, such as the oyster, c.o.c.kle, mussel, and periwinkle. These deposits are from three to ten feet in thickness, from one hundred to two hundred and fifty feet in width, and sometimes as much as one thousand feet in length. In them are found weapons and other instruments of stone, horn, and bone; fragments of rough pottery, stone-wedges, knives, etc., in great abundance, accompanied with charcoal and ashes; no traces of coin, bronze, or iron, or domestic animals, except the dog. The bones of animals are very numerous, but no human bones have ever been discovered. Professor Steenstrup estimates that ninety-seven per cent. of the bones belong to the stag, the roe-deer, and the wild boar. The other remains are those of the urus (_Bos primigenius_), dog, fox, wolf, marten, wild-cat, hedgehog, bear (_Ursus arctos_), and the mouse, and the bones of birds and fishes. The auroch, musk ox, domestic ox, elk, hare, sheep, and domestic hog are absent.

The mollusca of these sh.e.l.l-mounds are of a size which are never obtained by the representatives of the same species now living on the Baltic. They are not more than one-half or even one-third the size. At the time of the formation of these mounds, the Baltic was a true sea, or an arm of the ocean, and these mollusks were taken from it. Now the Baltic has not the character of a true sea, but is merely brackish, and the oyster does not occur in the Baltic except at its entrance into the ocean.

These deposits have been found several miles inland, which would indicate that the sea had once covered the intervening s.p.a.ce. On the western coast they have not been found, in consequence of their having possibly been swept away by the encroachments of the sea. They are also found on the adjacent islands.

These mounds are not peculiar alone to Denmark; for they are found in England, Scotland, France, and America.