224: THE BOUNDARY-LINE BETWEEN GEOLOGY AND HISTORY. 



Eomau bistoiians, we iiutl uotbing but a few obscure traditious. It is 

 known, bowever, especially tbrougb tlie examination of ancient graves, 

 tbat tbese regions were iubabited by people wbo made tbeir weapons 

 and tools of bronze, a mixture of copper and tin. Tbe remnants left 

 by tbese people indicate peculiar taste for ornaments and great skill in 

 tbe working of tbese metals. Tbis great epocb of civilization is called 

 tbe age of Jjronze. 



Otber discoveries sbow tbat before tbe age of bronze tbere lived a 

 jjeople wbo were ignorant of tbe manner of working tbe metals. Tbey 

 made tbeir weapons and utensils only of stone, sbarp splinters of bones, 

 and of wood. Tbis more ancient epocb bas been called tbe age of stone. 

 To it belongs a great number of tbe graves found in Denmark and 

 Sweden. Our knowledge of tbe mode of life of some of tbese ancient 

 ])eoples bas been increased in an unexpected manner by tbe discoveries 

 of tbe Swiss arcb geologists. Tbe very low water-mark to wbicb tbe 

 Swiss lakes fell in 1854 laid bare extensive palafittes or pile-construc- 

 tions in tbe lakes of Geneva, Constance, and many otbers. In some of 

 tbese,. remnants of tbe age of bronze, and in otbers of tbe age of stone, 

 were found between tbe piles in tbe muddy bottom of tbe lakes. On 

 tbese piles were erected formerly tbe babitatious of tbe natives in sucb 

 a manner as to protect tbem against tbe attacks of tbeir enemies and of 

 wild beasts. It is known tbat sucb palafittes are still in use in ISTew 

 Guinea ; and Herodotus gives a detailed description of similar construc- 

 tions in Lake Prasias, wbere Megabazus, tbe general of Darius, found 

 tbem. 



Apparently tbe age of stone can be divided into an earlier one, in 

 wbicb men only knew bow to cleave stones in order to give tbem tbe 

 required sbape, and a more recent one, in wbicb tbey understood tbe 

 art of grinding and polisbing stone articles. Tbe traces of tbe oldest 

 time are tbe most interesting, because we can inquire bow far tbey corre- 

 spond witb tbe facts wbicb natural science reveals to us. Here, tbeu, 

 geology and pakieontology bave tbeir brigbtest pages, wbile bistory 

 sbows us tbe first traces of buman existence. For tbis reason our con- 

 sideration of tbe question is geological ratber tban arcbiieological. Our 

 metbod will be as follows : First, we sball consider tbe pbenomena ap- 

 parent in tbe inorganic creation of tbat epocb, and tbeu describe tbe 

 plants and animals w'bicb existed in tbese regions immediately before 

 tbe appearance of man. We sball also sbow under wbat circumstances 

 traces of tbe oldest age of stone bave been in various places discovered. 



Tbere are in tbese places large masses of loose rocks, wbicb evidently 

 came into tbeir present position at a time after tbe surrounding country 

 bad assumed its present condition. Tbe most remarkable of tbese are 

 tbose brougbt to tbeir j)resent places by tbe glaciers. Ice is not abso- 

 lutely solid, but possesses a certain degree of viscosity, wbicb causes 

 masses of it collected on tbe bigb mountains to flow slowly down into 

 tbe valleys in tbe form of great streams of ice. Tbese would soon fill 



