GEOGRAPHY AND ANTIQUITIES. 359 



opinion of MM. Lartet, Christy, IMilne-Edwards, and otliers, the 

 disappearance of the reindeer from the forests of Central Eui'ope 

 took 2)lace in prehistoric times. MM. Lartet and Christy say the 

 migration undoubtcdl}' took place before the introduction of do- 

 mestic animals and the employment of metals in Western Europe. 

 Thus, from the numerous horns and bones of the reindeer, the 

 probable age of the other remains in the caves may be inferred. 



Only one of the reindeer horns showed signs of the contempo- 

 raneous existence of man. On this one was cut a deep notch. 

 But abundant evidence of the presence of man was otherwise 

 given. In the same cave with the horns, together with flint 

 knives, there had been found a kind of flute made from the tibia 

 of a goat ; and in an adjoining cave a whistle, cut out of one of the 

 smaller bones of the reindeer: several of these whistles had pre- 

 viously been discovered in other caves. The most interesting 

 objects in this collection from the caves were a number of needles 

 made from pieces of reindeer horn. Great care had evidently 

 been bestowed on their workmanship, for they Avere well pointed, 

 and at the thick end pierced with a hole for the thread, which was 

 most likely made of fine strips of the tendons of the reindeer. 

 This animal was not the only one which had left its remains in 

 the caves, for, amongst the collection, bones of the bat, bear, 

 badger, stag, chamois, wild goat, beaver, and wild boar were 

 recognized. It is noticeable, however, that in all these bones 

 there are none belonging to any extinct animal. 



The existence of man was shown not merely by articles of his 

 workmanship, but also by his actual remains. Thus, there were 

 two human skulls, a large number of molar teeth, jaws, and vari- 

 ous other bones belonging to men, women, and' children, and 

 even to a foetus. One of the jawbones bore traces of a disease 

 which had eaten the Idouc away in different places. The two 

 skulls are brachj'cephalic ; one, however, was pronounced to be 

 prognatlious, and the other orthognathous. All the human bones 

 examined showed that the inhabitants of the caves were men of 

 small stature ; and this is also the general conclusion derived from 

 other ancient remains of man. The imaginary idea that the early 

 denizens of the earth were a race of giants, — a belief common 

 among many people, — must certainly be dismissed; for, so far, 

 we are sure that m:in has not in any way degenerated. 



A quantity of black pottery and of ornaments made from shells 

 showed the commencement of human industry at this period ; and 

 the existence of intercourse with remote peoples is evident from 

 the fact that the same species of shells are now found as fossils 

 in the tertiary strata of Paris. The bones when found in the dif- 

 ferent caves were mixed in utter confusion with earth and frag- 

 ments of stones, showing that some violent action had taken 

 place after the .deposition of the remains. The flint implements 

 consisted chiefly of knives and arrow-heads, generally of small 

 size, and were usually found immediately under the human bones, 

 or sometimes associated with them. 



From their examination of the ground, the instruments, and 

 the bones, the commission wei'e able to state that the individuals 



