314 STUDY OF HIGH ANTIQUITY. 



while the maxima obtained may iu reality be underrated. Thus the maximum 

 ©f 110 centuries for the age of the entire cone is evidently rather below than 

 above the mark. Still it appears from the latter number that the modern 

 geological period to which the cone or delta of the Tiniere corresponds has 

 not been very long, and that, soon after its beginning, man inhabited Europe. 

 This is confirmed by the study of tlie peat-bogs i]i Denmark and in Switzer- 

 land. The rude flint hatchets found in England and in France in drift gravel, 

 associated with the bones of the elephant {dcphas j^fimigc/iius) and of other 

 extinct species, would seem to carry back the appearance of man in Europe 

 to an epoch even preceding what is usually considered as the modern geolo- 

 gical period.* 



Let us further notice, that if the stone-age bed really belongs to the begin- 

 ning of the bronze age, it follows that the latter has lasted from two to three 

 tliousand years, since the tweezers found in the bronze-age bed, at a depth of 

 ten feet, point, as we have seen, belonged to the end of the age. Hitherto we 

 had been left without the taintest notion as to the real length of the bronze age; 

 it Avas only evident, from the quantity and the quality of its remains, that it 

 must have been of long duration. 



We have thus attempted to substantiate for high antiquity the first data in 

 a system of absolute chronology, expressed by thousands of years. The 

 opportunity has been singularly favorable, it is true, but it has the defect of 

 being the first and only case of its kind. Let us hope that others will not be 

 long in presenting themselves, and that they will be turned to good account ; 

 for as long as a fact remains isolated, the inferences drawn from it cannot be 

 verified by comparison, and the mind cannot rest fully satisfied.t 



But what avail these researches into the past, when the present more than 

 suffices to engross our attention 1 The question is legitimate, and it is right that 

 we should close with some reference to the end and practical use of our 

 study. 



When the philosophers of ancient Greece exercised their ingenuity in investi- 

 gating the properties of the conic sections, they little thought they were laying 

 the foundation of the modern methods by which are calculated the astronomi- 

 cal tables that guide the mariner's course. No one asks at present what is the 

 use of mathematics. 



Less than a century ago geologists would have been rather puzzled to de- 

 monstrate the practical utility of their labors. Now, it is easy to furnish the 

 most satisfactory exemplifications of geology to industry. 



Every step in the acquisition of real knowledge, the least secret of nature 

 duly unravelled, has its intrinsic value, and will sooner or later contribute 

 towards the well-being of our race. But science requii'es time for clearing its 

 ground, for sowing its seeds, and for bringing in its harvests. Archa?ology is 

 even younger than its sister geology, and we must not be surprised if it has 

 not as yet matured its fruits. The following, however, may be accepted as a 

 word of apology in its behalf: 



Nature forms one harmonious whole, of which the compound elements have 



* T. Piestwich, on the occurrence of flint implements, &c.: Philosophical Transactions, 

 I'art 11. 18G0. 



1 This firwt attempt has already met with a singular corroboratiou through researches 

 oi Mr. Gillieron at Neuveville, on the lake of Bienne, Switzerland. This shrewd and careful 

 observer makes out for a pile-work or lake dwelling of the stoiie age at Pont-de-Thielle, iu 

 his neighborhood, an antiquity of 67-|^ centuries. See Actcs dc la societe juraslcnne d'6mur 

 lation. Ann6e, 1860. A calculation of the age of some pile-works in the peat at Les Uttins, 

 near Yvcrdou, Switzerland, has been proved to be a failure. See the paper by Mr. Tayet in 

 the Bulletin dc la societe vaudoise dcs sciences naturellcs. 16 Avril, 18G2. These chro- 

 nological researches in Switzerland are dwelt upon by Sir Charles Lyell iu his new work, 

 " The geological evidences of the antiquity of man. Loudon, 1863."' 



