326 FLINT IMPLEMENTS FOUND IN CAVES. 



the presence of dogs, partly because no remains of this species 

 have yet been discovered, partly because the bones which 

 remain have not been gnawed, but principally because dogs 

 eat only certain bones and parts of bones, as a general rule 

 selecting the spongy portions, and rejecting the solid shafts. 



Mr. Galton has pointed out that some of the savage tribes 

 of Africa, not content with the flesh of the animals which 

 they kill, pound up also the bones in mortars, and then suck 

 out the animal juices contained in them. So also, according 

 to Leems, the Danish Laplanders used to break up with a 

 mallet all the bones which contained any fat or marrow, and 

 then boil them until all the fat was extracted.* The Esqui- 

 maux also mash up the bones for the sake of the marrow con- 

 tained in them.-)- Some of the ancient stone hammers and 

 mortars were no doubt used for this purpose, and the propor- 

 tions of the different bones afford us, I think, indirect evidence 

 that a similar custom prevailed among the ancient inhabitants 

 of Southern France. 



Passing on now to the flint implements found in these 

 caves, we must first call attention to their marvellous abun- 

 dance. Without any exaggeration they may be said to be 

 innumerable. Of course this adds greatly to the value of 

 the conclusions ; nor need it surprise us, because flint is so 

 brittle, that implements made of it must have been easily 

 broken, and, in that case, the fragments would be thrown 

 away as useless ; especially in a chalk district where the 

 supply of flint would, of course, be practically inexhaustible. 

 Many implements, no doubt, would be left unfinished, having 

 been rendered useless, either by some misdirected blow, or 

 some flaw in the flint. Moreover, we should naturally expect 

 that, in a bone-breccia of this nature, the flint implements 



* Account of Danish Lapland, by Leems, Copenhagen, 1767. Trans- 

 lated in Pinkerton's Voyages, vol. i. p. 396. 



t Hall, Life with the Esquimaux, vol. ii. pp. 147, 176. 



