whole vol. skeletal remains of early man hrdlicka ti 



Cultural Subdivisions of the Period of Early Man and Their 

 Approximate Correlation with Geologic Conditions 



The beginnings of the abiHty to shape stones and other objects 

 for his use constitutes one of the essential criteria by which man 

 is separable from his precursors, the others being a habitually upright 

 posture, a complete liberation of the hands, a reduction of the canines 

 and the jaws, a relatively large brain, an articulate language, a dawn 

 of self-consciousness, and progressive association. 



The worked stones have been preserved where most other objects 

 have perished, and thus human prehistory is represented principally 

 by stone artifacts. Of these, great numbers have been recovered to 

 date, reaching collectively into the millions, and large accessions are 

 added each year. This vast amount of material covers the entire 

 time of human existence, though naturally the earlier the period, 

 the scantier it becomes ; and while in general it progresses in multi- 

 plicity of forms and in quality of workmanship, it does not progress 

 evenly, but rather in steps or stages, which, once developed, have 

 usually a prolonged duration. And the principal ones of these stages 

 are utilized, together with such other data as are available, for the 

 subdivision or classification of the prehistoric human period. This 

 classification originated with the earlier prehistorians of France, such 

 as Boucher de Perthes, Gabriel de Mortillet, and many others; and 

 each subdivision received as a rule the name of the locality where 

 first discovered. As time goes on, the stages are seen to be more 

 complex, less regular, and less definitely separable than api^eared to 

 the older explorers ; nevertheless, the classification substantially holds 

 for western Europe and to some extent perhaps even elsewhere. It 

 is briefly as follows : 



CULTURE AND TIME 

 Paleolithic or Old Stone Age 



EoUthic (the "dawn" of stone work; involves much uncertainty) 



Pre-Chellean (indefinite both as to time and forms) 



Chcllean (named after village Chelles, near Paris) 



Acheulian (after St. Acheul, a suburb of Amiens) 



M ouster ian (or Neanderthal ; latter name applied especially to human skeletal 

 remains of this period, after Neanderthal, valley of the Neander, near Diissel- 

 dorf, Germany ; " Mousterian " after Le Moustier, a village on the Vezere, 

 Dordogne, France) 



Aurignacian (after village Aurignac, southern France) 



Solutrean (after a locality north of Lyon, France) 



Magdalenian (after " La Madeleine " cave, on the Vezere) 



