PALEOLITHIC RACES 39 



remains as are preserved in our museums were, until recently, 

 surprisingly few ; many more, no doubt, have been encountered 

 by explorers of caves, but unfortunately many of these persons 

 were more intent on enriching their collections with " curiosities " 

 than on scientific investigation, and we have to deplore, in 

 consequence, the loss of much precious material, which has been 

 ruthlessly destroyed because it was not fitted to adorn a cabinet. 

 Of late years, however, the systematic excavation of the caves at 

 Mentone under the generous patronage of the Prince of Monaco 

 has put us in possession of several well-preserved skeletons, so 

 that our knowledge of one part of the Magdalenian population 

 of Europe has now been placed on a secure basis. 



The material at our disposal indicates the contemporaneous 

 existence of two distinct races, one represented by the giants 

 of Mentone, the Cro Magnon race ; and the other by a man 

 of comparatively low stature, whose skeleton was found at 

 Chancelade. 



The Cro Magnon race was recognised as Mongoloid by 

 Pruner Bey, 1 but it presents several very remarkable characters 

 which do not find any close analogy among any existing people. 

 Skeletons belonging to it were first discovered in 1868, in 

 making a cutting for a railway line from Limoges to Agen at 

 Cro Magnon (whence the name), near Les Eyzies, in the valley 

 of the Vezere ; additional discoveries have since been made from 

 time to time, the most recent being afforded by the grottes de 

 Grimaldi, which have yielded six additional skeletons. 2 These 

 were found under circumstances which show that the Cro 

 Magnon people buried their dead ; some were interred over a 

 hearth, others in a grave, or in a rudimentary tomb, made by 

 placing stones on edge for the walls, and roofing over with slabs. 

 The corpse was buried, possibly dressed in the clothes, and 

 certainly adorned with the ornaments, which had been worn 

 during life ; these include perforated shells of Nassa ncritea, 

 perforated teeth of deer, vertebrae of fish such as salmon, and 

 carved pendants, representing together the remains of a neck- 

 lace or collar. The perforated shells are sometimes found on 

 the skull, and seem to have been sewn on to a cap. Flint 

 implements of Magdalenian type are also found in the burial 

 place. 



1 Pruner Bey in Lartet & Christy, Reliquia Aquitanica, 1868, p. 88. 



2 Verneau, Les Grottes de Grimaldi, 1906. 



