12 NATURAL SCIENCE [July 
characterise this early attempt at representing the human form. 
The figure is interesting when brought into comparison with other 
early statuettes from Laugerie-Basse and Brassempouy. It is now 
in the Musée de Saint-Germain, near Paris. 
A paper by Cecil Torr aims at showing that the so-called ship- 
designs upon certain ancient Egyptian pottery vases, are in reality 
representations of ramparts with towers, etc. This certainly seems 
a more plausible explanation than the ship-theory, but there is, un- 
fortunately, no proof that even this interpretation is the right one. 
It is well enough faute de micun. 
Among the ‘ Miscellanea’ there is to be noted an account of 
Anthropological work done in Spain and Portugal in 1897. There 
is evidence of considerable activity in this science in its various 
branches. In fact it appears to have been the most progressive of 
all the sciences during the year. 
THE CALAVERAS SKULL 
In 1886 Mr Mattison, who was prospecting in Calaveras County, 
California, sunk a shaft through four beds of lava down to the 
auriferous gravels at a depth of 127 feet. History does not relate 
how much gold he found, but all the world was soon aware that he 
discovered at the bottom of his shaft a human skull along with small 
human bones and other objects. In the same gravels, beneath the 
lava beds, there have also been found a rude stone pestle and mortar, 
and a dish of steatite. The skull is generally considered to be of an 
ancient type of structure, but many authors have considered the 
worked objects to be of somewhat advanced character. We have 
repeated this story because the skull and other objects, which 
belonged to the late Prof. J. D. Whitney, have recently been 
presented by his sister, Miss Maria Whitney, to the Peabody 
Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology at Cambridge, 
Mass. At the time of its discovery the skull naturally caused 
great commotion in the scientific world, and the echoes of the 
discussion even reached literary men. At all events it is un- 
necessary for us to repeat the well-known Address of Bret Harte 
to the Pliocene Skull, in which the poet expressed his view by 
making the Skull reply: 
“ Which my name is Bowers, and my crust was busted 
Falling down a shaft in Calaveras County : 
But I'd take it kindly if youw’d send the pieces 
Home to old Missouri !” 
THE GEOLOGICAL CONTROVERSY IN AUSTRIA 
AUSTRIAN geologists have been for some time agitated by a dispute 
between Dr Alexander Bittner and Professor E. von Mojsisovies 
