2i6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



This, however, has been attempted. From calculations of th6 

 time required to form a bed of peat, some have attempted to compute 

 the duration of certain periods of the age of stone, of the age of 

 bronze, and of the age of iron. 



But the results have been so discordant as to throw doubt upon 

 the method. Then the accumulations of debris thrown up by torrents 

 of the Alps have been studied, and, in particular, an accumulation 

 of this kind known under the name of the cone of Tinniere. A rail- 

 road has cut through these materials, which have probably been accu- 

 mulating ever since the commencement of the present epoch, and in 

 the cut there have been found debris reaching back in one case to the 

 Gallo-Pvoman epoch, in others to the Roman epoch these to the epoch 

 of iron, those to that of bronze, and, finally, to the epoch of stone. 



As we know the duration of some of these periods, it has been 

 thought possible by a simple proportion, taking account of the thick- 

 ness of the beds, to go back to the epoch of the first formation of the 

 cone. But here again, I repeat, the results are so uncertain that we 

 cannot give them any serious confidence. 



We cannot, then, give precise figures. Yet, from all these research- 

 es, and from archeeologic facts not less demonstrated, it results that it 

 is necessary to go back much farther than we have been accustomed 

 to, to look for the advent of man upon the earth. Let me cite you just 

 one of these proofs. 



You were at the Universal Exposition probably you entered the 

 Egyptian Temple. At the bottom of the hall, facing the entrance, you 

 saw a statue that of King Cephren. This statue goes back some- 

 thing like four thousand years before our era. Consequently, it was 

 sculptured about six thousand years ago. Now, you may know that 

 the work was very difficult, for the stone of which it is made is very 

 hard. The statue is remarkably perfect. From this, as well as from 

 other data, we learn that in Egypt, six thousand years ago, civilization 

 was already much advanced. We must, therefore, date back the ori- 

 gii of the Egyptians more than six thousand years. But we shall 

 presently see that Egypt was not the first inhabited country. Man 

 must have come there from his original home. Consequently, his first 

 appearance on the globe will be found much more remote in time. 



So we are now certain of the existence of Quaternary man ; we 

 already suspect the existence of Tertiary man, and it is precisely in 

 our country that the discoveries which led to these conclusions were 

 made. 



