342 MAN AS THE COTEMPORARY OF THE MAMMOTH 



roads near Aurignac, in the department of the Upper Garonne, observed that 

 rabbits wlien pursued took refuge in a hole on the slope of a hill in the vicinity. 

 Into this hole he thrust his arm, and, to his siu-prise, drew forth, not a rabbit, but 

 one of the long bones of a human skeleton. Proceeding to dig into the hill, he 

 encountered a large flat stone standing erect and closing a cavity iiito which the 

 rabbits had wrought an entrance. When Bonuemaison had removed the stone, 

 he saw before him a natural cavern wherein lay not less than 17 human skele- 

 tons. The discovery naturally caused a sensation in the neighborhood, and unfor- 

 tunately the mayor of Aurignac, Dr. Amiel, felt himself ])ound in duty to have 

 these human remains transfeiTcd to the chm'chyard and again buried. Not the 

 slightest misgiving seems for a moment to have been entertained by this conscien- 

 ti<nis functionary that he was ^Testing ffom science an invaluable treasure. When 

 Lartet visited Aurignac, eight years later, and heard of this interesting discovery, 

 no one, not even the grave-digger, could point out the spot where the skeletons 

 had been interred. Tims this rich harvest of ethnological knowledge seems for- 

 ever lost to the antiquary and geologist. 



Lartet nevertheless failed not to visit the caveni, and to institute further 

 researches. The rubbish which for hundreds or thousands of years had been 

 descending from the summit of the hill had buried the stone by which the mouth 

 of the grotto was closed, and had also covered a small ten-ace which existed in 

 front of it. These accumulations being removed, the original surface was again 

 exposed to view, and upon this were found a number of calcareous stones, the 

 remains of an ancient hearth, as well as the l)ones of many different animal sand 

 objects of human industry. In the bed of earth which covered the floor of the 

 grotto were found bones of the cave bear, the aurochs, the horse, the reindeer, 

 &c., which had been neither broken nor gnawed, and, besides these, instruments 

 of flint-stone, a weapon constructed of the antlers of the reindeer which had l)eeu 

 siiarpcned at one end, together with 18 small disks formed of a white shelly sub- 

 stance and perforated through the middle. Tlicse last were recognized as being- 

 derived from shells of a cockle (Canlhnn) which is an inhabitant of the ocean. 



The bones found on the terrace before the grotto had all been fractured, as if 

 to lay bare the enclosed marrow. Still distinctly to be traced were the notches 

 made b}^ the stone hatchets or knives which had been used to detach the flesh, 

 as well as marks of the teeth of the hyenas which had resorted hither during the 

 .night to feast on what remained of the spoils. Even the excrements of these 

 wild animals were still distinguishable. Some of the bones bore traces also of 

 having been submitted to the action of fire. The list of the animals to which 

 the bones pertained was by no means a brief one. Among extinct species Avere 

 recognized the mammoth, the rhinoceros, the gigantic deer, the great bear and 

 tiger and hyena of the caves; among those still existing, the aurochs, the horse, 

 the ass, the stag, the reindeer, the roe, the wild boar, the wolf, the fox, the badger, 

 and the polecat. 



The objects of human art and industry found in front of the grotto were very 

 numerous. Sharpened instruments of flint, mostly knives, were discovered to the 

 amount of not fewer than a hundred, and, mingled with them what appeared 

 to be missiles intended for the sling. The circumstance that these oiyects 

 were accompanied l)y cores or nuclei of flint, the material from which they were 

 made, would seem to indicate that some of them had l)een manufactm'cd at this 

 spot. Other objects also were found in considerable number, wrought of bone, 

 and especially of the antlers of the reindeer, such as points lor arrows without 

 barbs, a shape with which we become familiar at a later age ; a bodkin formed 

 of the more compact bone of the roedeer and sharply pointed, so as to be well 

 suited for piercing the hides of animals in sewing them together ; and still another 

 of smaller size, provided with a very sharp point, which had probably been 

 employed for tattooing. Many flat pieces of reindeer's horn, polished on both 

 sides, closely resemble, according to Steinhauer, of the museum of antiquities at 



