00 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



SEVENTH REPORT ON THE KENT'S CAVERN EXPLORATION. 



In the seventh report on the Kent's* Cavern Explorations, 

 made by Mr. Pengelly to the British Association, it is stated 

 that the usual section of the floor in a descending order con- 

 sisted of, 1. Black mould, containing many objects of recent 

 date, and some of Romano-British times; also remains of an- 

 imals still living, or which lived in historic times. 2. Granu- 

 lar stalagmite, containing remains of extinct animals, and 

 also a human jaw. 3. Cave earth, yielding a harvest of ex- 

 tinct remains ; also flint implements. 4. Crystalline stalag- 

 mitic floor, and Breccia formed of rocks from distant hills ; 

 bears only have been obtained from these. 



Mr. Pengelly describes the work done during the past 

 twelve months, showing what new passages had been opened, 

 and the number of species which had been obtained. They 

 included hyena, horse, rhinoceros, Irish elk, ox, deer, badger, 

 elephant, bear, fox, lion, reindeer, rabbit, bat, wolf, dog, etc. 

 Many of the bones were gnawed by hyena ; others were 

 marked by rootlets encircling them. Altogether about 2200 

 teeth and bones, and 366 flint implements and flakes, had 

 been obtained since the last year's report was read. 12 A, 

 August 24, 332. 



CLASSIFICATION OF THE PALAEOLITHIC AGE BY MEANS OF 



THE MAMMALIA. 



Mr. Boyd Dawkins, in his paper on " The Classification of 

 the Palaeolithic Age by means of the Mammalia," stated that 

 the method of classification of this age by reference to the 

 mammals associated with man was not of any value. M. 

 Lartet divided the palaeolithic age into four stages that of 

 the great bear, that of the mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, 

 that of the reindeer, and that of the aurochs. The essential 

 basis of this classification lay in the d priori consideration 

 that the animals of the palaeolithic age came into Europe one 

 by one. It was, however, found by observation that they 

 were fairly distributed in the caves and river deposits of Eu- 

 rope, and very generally together as, for instance, in Kent's 

 Hole. The same negative conclusion applied to the caves of 

 France and Bel'gium, and in the latter country, indeed, the 

 reindeer was probably living in the neolithic, bronze, and 



