WHOLE VOL. SKELETAL REMAINS OF EARLY MAN — HRDLICKA 283 



site by the American School of Prehistoric Research. These excava- 

 tions uncovered and emptied a moderate sized cave in the rocks — one 

 of several in the cliffs — and moved a great deal of the earth in front 

 of it, but without material results. Since 1923 the excavations have 

 slowed down, other sites claiming Dr. Martin's attention. 



The excavations of La Quina have been visited by probably more 

 prehistorians than any other site of primitive man with the exception 

 of those in the Vezere valley. The " station " is easily accessible and 

 relatively easily worked, though all the work must be done in the open 

 and is made difficult by the great quantities of fallen rock and debris 

 from what were probably in olden times more or less overhanging 

 rock- shelters. 



The amount of archeological material and bones of animals re- 

 covered from La Quina is such that it has supplied many European 

 and even some of our American museums. The archeological material 

 is clearly Mousterian, and in general shows much differentiation as 

 well as improvement from below upwards, but a distinction of definite 

 strata, except in the case of the very lowest one, seems difficult. There 

 was evidently a very long continued occupation attended with local 

 developments. 



Of the more especially interesting cultural traces. Dr. Martin 

 mentions the find of a perforated canine tooth of a fox and also a 

 perforated phalanx of a reindeer, both of which evidently served for 

 pendants ; pieces of black oxide of manganese, showing deep rub- 

 bing and indicating the use of the black pigment for some purpose; 

 and on a series of the incisor teeth of horses, possible traces of a bit, 

 which would imply the beginnings of domestication. 



The fauna of the Mousterian layers of La Quina, as determined 

 by Dr. Martin, consists essentially of the following forms : 



Mammoth (scarce) Marmot 



Horse Cave Bear 



Bos primigenius Wolf 



Bison Hyena 



Reindeer A large feline (lion?) 



Deer (large) Blue fox 



Small rodents 



Birds (including a vulture) 



It is throughout a cold fauna ; there are no traces, even in and be- 

 neath the lowest cultural layer, of animals of a warm period. 



As to the skeletal remains found in the Mousterian deposits at La 

 Quina, it seems that more than one interpretation is possible. For Dr. 



