Thavers. — On Food Plant* in different Ayes. 88 



evidence being supported by the fact that an extraordinary im- 

 provement had taken place in the climatal, and, indeed, in the 

 physical conditions generally of the district in question, as indi- 

 cated by the almost universal presence within it of an abundant 

 and varied vegetation, and of a fauna analogous to that which 

 now exists. 



Our chief positive knowledge of the vegetable food resources 

 of the Neolithic people of Western Europe has resulted from the 

 discovery, made about thirty years ago, of the remains of the 

 Swiss lake-dwellings, which led to those interesting investi- 

 gations which have been recorded in the great work of Dr. 

 Ferdinand Keller, President of the Antiquarian Society of Zurich. 



This discovery was first brought under the notice of the So- 

 ciety at Zurich by Dr. Aeppli, of Ober Meilen, who reported that 

 remains of human industry, likely to throw unexpected light on 

 the primaeval history of the earlier inhabitants of the country, 

 had been brought to light, owing to the occurrence in the early 

 part of that year of an unexampled drought, accompanied with 

 such severe cold that the rivers were practically dried up. The 

 result of this drought was to lower the water of the lake to such 

 an extent, at a place where some reclamation works were going 

 on, as to enable the workmen to excavate the land upon the 

 shore immediately in front of their retaining wall, to a consider- 

 able depth below the ordinary water level. In making these 

 excavations they found the heads of old piles in situ, and great 

 numbers of stags' bones, mixed with implements and other relics 

 of human occupation. This led to further investigations on the 

 spot, and to similar investigations in other places, which were 

 followed by the discovery of a large number of the settlements 

 now known as lake-dwellings, and to the general results so 

 elaborately detailed in Dr. Keller's great work. Great interest 

 was at once excited amongst scientific inquirers throughout 

 Europe, more especially as the very first settlement which was 

 examined, namely, that of Meilen, was found to belong almost 

 exclusively to the Neolithic age, for, with the exception of two 

 metal objects, all the antiquities obtained there consisted of 

 bone, iron, wood, stone or earthenware. In order that you may 

 understand the conditions under which these antiquities have 

 been so long preserved, I will endeavour to give you, as shortly 

 as I can, an idea of the general structure of the lake-dwellings. 



The settlement of which any assemblage of dwellings was 

 composed was usually formed in a shallow part of the lake on the 

 borders of which it was established. At a short distance from 

 the shore a rectangular space was enclosed by a row of strong 

 piles, which were often covered on the outside with wattling or 

 hurdle work, intended either to lessen the splash of the water or 

 to prevent injury to the piles by the impact of floating wood or 

 of the canoes of the people. Within the inclosure thus formed, 



