PREHISTORIC ART. 



383 



tbrougliout this chapter, of the natural desire of man in his original 

 state of savagery to enjoy and jiossess objects which to him were beauti- 

 ful, and that he was thus prompted to make them in his chosen style 

 of beauty. These specimens represent art for art's sake. In them sav- 

 age man was at play with art, and apparently for the sole purpose of 

 gratifying his natural taste for beauty — to satisfy his natural desire 

 for beautiful things. And the same is true of many other specimens. 

 There is no pretense of utility in these. They indicate the use by 

 aboriginal man of such materials as he had within reach to make objects 

 the beauty of which would give him pleasure. This was equally true 

 whether the objects, as harpoons, bone x)oints, spears, batons, were for 

 use or were, like the foregoing, only pictures to be hung on the wall. 



Fig. 26 represents an engraving on several fragments of the rib 

 of an ox or bison. These fragments were found in the Grotto of 

 Corgnac, Dordogne, and being joined together, were found to fit and 

 to represent a reindeer with a javelin or arrow in his right flank or 

 hip. It was collected 

 by E. Douliot and is 

 in the Musee St. Ger- 

 main. It has the same 

 pinched apj)earance of 

 the belly as noticed in 

 the Thayingen speci- 

 men. Although imper- 

 fect and incomplete, 

 it shows with a few 

 strokes and in no uncer- 

 tain manner the charac- 

 teristics of the animal. 



Fig. 27 is an engraving made upon a fragment of the metatarsal of a 

 reindeer, showing parts only of two animals. The principal one is in 

 view and has been taken for a reindeer. This has been decided by the 

 general outline, the form of the shoulder, and the tuft of hair charac- 

 teristic of the male reindeer, Avhich appears on the brisket. In front 

 of the ear is an indication of antlers, a slender horn without brow antler, 

 which would indicate a young animal. The hatchings or hair mark- 

 ings on different parts of the body indicate the projections of either 

 bone or muscle. There are imperfections to be noted about the head, 

 if a reindeer was intended to be represented. Though well set on, the 

 head is short, the angle of the lower lip, compared with the chin, is too 

 salient, the nose is dilated as it is not in the reindeer and the eyes are 

 immoderately large. 



The horse. — The bones of the horse have been found in some of these 

 caverns in great profusion, and it would appear that this animal spread 

 generally over western Europe in Paleolithic times. Fossil bones have 

 been found which belonged to other varieties of the horse, now extinct. 



Fig. 27. 



REINDEER ( .' ) ENGRAVED ON ONE OF THEIR OWN METATARSALS. 



La Madelaine. Lartet and Christy. 



British Museum. Cast, Cat. No. S144, 1'.S.N.M. Natural size. 



