344 MAN AS THE COTEMPORARY OF THE MAMMOTH 



and wooUj- ihiuoceros — wo have at last succeeded in tracing back the sacred rites of burial, 

 and, more interesting still, a belief in a future state, to times long anterior to those of history 

 and tradition. 



It may perhaps seem strange that this depository of the dead at Aurignac 

 shouhl have been preserved for ns so many thousands of years, and not have 

 been swept away by the diUxvial catactysms. But when it is considered that, 

 excepting at certain points where the upheaval of the soil has been distinctly 

 ascertained, the height of these inundations over the regions in (piestion has not 

 exceeded 600 to 750 feet, it is clear that the grotto of Anrignac, which has an 

 elevation of 1,290 feet, was beyond their reach. There are various other cav- 

 erns, moreover, in which proof exists of the cotemporaneous existence of man and 

 extinct animals of tlie quaternary period. In a general point of view, these 

 caverns may be divided into three groups, those which liave been inhabited by 

 men, those which have served as burial places, and those which have formed the 

 lair of the greater carnivorous animals. These last contain numerous bones, the 

 remains of the prey dragged thither })y such wild beasts as the tiger, the hyena, 

 and the bear. The bones are gnawed, never split lengthwise, nor do any traces 

 occur wliicli would point to the presence of the human race. The caverns, on 

 the other hand, which have formed the habitations of man are readily to be dis- 

 tinguished, even in the absence of human remains, by the existing bones being 

 cleft lengthwise in the manner which was unifomily emploj-ed to get at the mar- 

 row. In certain caverns are found one or more overlying strata containing 

 remains and corresi)onding to different epochs. The grottoes which have served 

 as burial places are usually small, and entered by a narrow passage, so as to be 

 readily closed by a flat stone in order to protect the dead bodies from the rapacity 

 of h^'enas and other carnivorous animals. 



It is easily conceived that many caverns exist which do not fall witliin either 

 of these three classes. Some of them, which have two entrances, may have Ijeen 

 emptied of their contents by floods, or been completely filled up with mud and 

 rubbish. Others have been inhabited b}^ man, after having been previously 

 occupied as dens by wild beasts. Others still have been hollowed out by men, 

 in order to be used for different purposes. In the latter, as in those exposed to 

 the action of water, much circumspection is requisite to determine the age of the 

 remains w'hich are found therein. 



The principal caverns pertaining to the age of the great cave bears are the 

 following : (1.) The grotto of Vallieres, in the department of the Loire and 

 Cher. It contains bones of the rhinoceros, the hyena, the gigantic deer, the 

 bear, the aurochs, a horse, (Equus adaniiticus,) mingled Avith stone hatchets, of 

 the kind found in the valley of the Somme. (2.) The grotto of Arcy-sur-Yonne. 

 Under a more recent deposit it presents two strata of the (piaternary period. 

 Here were found bones of the elephant, the rhinoceros, the bear, and the hyena, 

 intermingled with stone implements ; also the two branches of a human under 

 jaw, with teeth well preserved. (3.) The cave of Fontaine, in the environs of 

 Toul, containing bones of the bear, the hyena, and the rhinoceros, as well as 

 objects of human industry, including a needle of bone, provided with an eye. 

 (4.) The cave of Pontil, in the department of Herault. It contains a lower bed 

 bearing the remains of the large extinct animals, and an upper one with human 

 remains, charcoal, and implements of stone, bone, and buckhorn, mingled with 

 the bones of horses and bisons. On the surface have been collected the bones of 

 the polecat, together with smooth stone hatchets, and objects which point to the 

 age of bronze. (5.) The grotto of Moustier, in the district of Pcyzac, (Perigord.) 

 Here were presented the remains of the cave hyena, the great bear, and scales 

 of the molar teeth of the ele})hant, such as were found at Aurignac and other 

 places which had been inhabited by men. With the animal remains were min- 

 gled stone implements bearing a resemblance to those found at Abbeville. (G.) 

 The upper grotto of Massat, in the department of Ariege. Here, besides many 

 animal bones, have been recovered two human teeth and an arrow-head of bono. 



