proceedings: anthropological society 307 



times long anterior to the formation of more complicated associations 

 or confederacies. 



A special meeting of the Anthropological Society of Washington was 

 held March 25, 1913 in the National Museum, the President, Mr. Stetson 

 in the chair. Professor George Graves MacCurdy read a paper on 

 Ancient man, his environment and his art. This paper dealt with the 

 environmental factor in human development. The newly discovered 

 human remains from Piltdown, Sussex, and their significance. Recent 

 finds in the terraces of the Somme Valley. The San Isidro Valley de- 

 posits near Madrid. Torralba, a large camp site in the Province of 

 Soria, Spain, where a rude stone industry associated with an ancient 

 fauna has been found. Caves of the Island of Jersey occupied by Mous- 

 terian man. Typical caves and rock shelters of southern France: La 

 Quina, La Ferrassia, Placard. The art of the cave man in Spain and 

 France: Altamira, Castillo, La Pasiega, Covalanas, Pindal, Font-de- 

 Gaume, Cap Blanc, Niaux, Gargas, Laussel, Alpera, Cogul. Represen- 

 tations of the human form. La Combe, a cave in the Dordogne excava- 

 ted last summer by Professor MacCurdy. Tuc d'Audoubert, a Pyre- 

 nean paleolithic cavern of great beauty discovered last July; its parietal 

 art and unique figures of the Bison modeled in clay. Paleolithic art 

 in its relation to magic ; some of the causes which led to its development 

 and eventually to its decay. 



The paper is based largely on first hand observations made during 

 the past summer. The lantern slides reproduce faithfully in color the 

 remarkable paleolithic cavern frescoes. The epochs covered by the 

 paper, beginning with the oldest, are: Eolithic or pre-Chellean, Chel- 

 lean, Acheulian, Mousterian, Aurignacian, Solutrean, Magdalenian, and 

 Azilian. These are all pre-Neolithic. 



A special meeting of the Anthropological Society of Washington was 

 held April 1, 1913, at the National Museum, the President, Mr. Stet- 

 son, in the chair. 



Dr. J. H. Gore, who returned recently from a visit to the King of 

 Siam, read a paper on Siamese life and industries illustrated by lantern 

 slides. He described the Siamese basketry, matting, textile fabrics of 

 silk and other material, also the bronze vessels, silver vessels, and ex- 

 cellent hammered silverware, the method of producing the latter being 

 to fill a silver vessel with sand and hammer in the surface from the 

 outside to form the ground, leaving the decorative human figures in 

 series (beside other ornaments) in high relief. Usually the figures rep- 

 resent some mythological story. Dr. Gore's lantern pictures included 

 farm-scenes, illustrations of games, festivities and elephant-capturing 

 and views of the city of Bangkok, the aquatic human life of its rivers 

 and canals, the palacC; imperial crematories, and temples, including 

 a beautiful rock cavern temple. 



The chief resources of the country are the teak-wood forests and 

 rice culture, most of the ships-decks of the world being supplied from the 



