Academy of Science. 13 



tioned, and we see also faint rays streaming down to us from pre-glacial times, as 

 slight indications are sighted of his pre-glacial existence. 



M. Broca, in his presidential address before the French Association in 1877, 

 gave the liistoiy of these advances in these words: " Some of the nations of anti- 

 quity boasted of great ages for their past history, * * but no actual date can be 

 assigned for the romraencement of the historic period, beyond six or seven thou- 

 sand j'ears. From history we might suppose that man is quite recent in his 

 appearance on the globe, and much hiter than those geological phenomena which 

 have modified the conditions of life, and, by the change of climates, also changed 

 the floras and faunas. This hypothesis was accepted everywhere by geologists 

 when Cuvier created the paleontological system, * * and who, though devoted 

 to the idea of sudden cataclysms, understood the immense lapse of lime represent- 

 ed by a geological period, and the comparative shortness of the historic period, 

 and thus naturally believed that man had not appeared until long after the fossil 

 animuls. * * This idea became classical, and on all hands it was pronounced 

 that the existence of fossil man was impossible. Many facts opposed to this opin- 

 ion appeared, but they were met only with doubts and scorn. It was in vain that 

 either in the floors of caverns or paleontological deposits, human bones mingled 

 with those of animals of the quaternary age were discovered — systematic objec- 

 tions were always presented. * * Tiius were cast aside the discoveries made in 

 1828 l)y Fournal of Narbonne, in the cavern of Bize ; in 1829 by Christoe of Mont- 

 pelier, in the caverns of the Gard — afterwards by Emilien Dunou and Dr. Pitore, 

 in the caverns of the Gard and of the Herault ; and by M. Auri Boul of Vienna, 

 in the quaternary of lower Austria ; the vast researches of Schenerling in the cav- 

 erns of Liege, 1822, notably the Gluth of Elgin ; the remarkable cranium of Mont 

 Denise, found in 1844, by M. Ayward, and others. Facts of this nature in those 

 days made no impression, however decisive they may appear to us. To overcome 

 this opposition an overwhelming mass of evidence was required. It was necessary 

 to prove the presence of man not only in the quaternary caverns and ossiferous 

 periods, etc., but also in the s il of the great valleys in horizontal and undisturbed 

 state still in situ. The extensive beds of sand and gravel deposited in the bottoms 

 of existing valleys by the powerful streams of the quaternary age most often con- 

 tain these conditions, and thus Boucher De Perthes, seeking the proofs for the 

 existence of ancient man, discovered lying mingled with the bones of the rhinoce- 

 ros and mammoth, the flint weapon used by man in his strnggles with these mon- 

 sters of another age, and the innumerable implements furnished by his hands to 

 supply his wants. For a long time the assertions of Boucher De Perthes were not 

 believed, his illusions were smiled at, and the dreamer was pitied. But from 1840 

 to 1858 he struggled against indifterence and disbelief, only asking for the examina- 

 tion which was denied him, until in the latter year, when Falconer from England 

 went to Abbeville to see and examine the sites explored and the rich collection 

 of worked flints and fossil bones there found. Other English savants — Prestwich, 

 Evans, Gilmore and Lyell — followed, and themselves made successful searches at 

 ditterent points in the valley of the Somme for implements. French savants in their 

 turn arrived, and M. M. Gaudry, Pouchet and others, obtained with their own 

 hands axes of worked flint from the quaternary deposits of the Somme. Perthes' 

 facts were thus fully confirmed. Discussion was given them at the Society of 

 Anthropology of Paris, the question was examined in all its aspects, and all hesita- 

 tion removed. Fossil man had henceforth an established place in positive science. 

 * * To the names already mentioned, history will add those of El)erhardt of 

 Wurtemburg, of Esper, of John Frere, who in the eighteenth century, before the 



