454 AURIFEROUS GRAVEL MAN IN CALIFORNIA. 



awaj' all talus and exposed the underlying compact, hard, auriferous 

 gravel beds, which were beyond all question in place. In examining 

 this exposure for fossils he observed a fractured end of what appeared 

 to be a cylindrical mass of stone. This mass he forced out of its place 

 with considerable difficulty on account of the hardness of the gravel 

 in which it was tightly wedged. It left behind a perfect cast of its 

 shape in the matrix and proved to be a part of a polished stone imple- 

 ment, no doubt a pestie. It seems to be made of tine-grained diaba.se. 

 * * * It is difficult to imagine more satisfactory evidence than this 

 of the occurrence of implements in the auriferous, preglacial, sub- 

 basaltic gravels." 



I sought the particular site from which the object was obtained, and 

 passed up and down over ever\' outcrop of rock on the slope, from the 

 lava cap to the pasture fields below, in the hope of finding some trace 

 of human handiwork, but beyond the usual Digger mealing stones scat- 

 tered over the surface, nothing was found. I tried to learn whether 

 it was possible that one of these objects could have become embedded 

 in the exposed tufa deposits in recent or comparatively recent times, 

 for such embedding sometimes results from a resetting or recementing 

 of loosened materials, but no definite result was reached. This 

 remarkable specimen is now in possession of the National Museum, 

 and is shown in PI. XIV, a, in connection with a typical pestle of the 

 California tril)es of modern times {]>). It has been symmetrically 

 shaped and the upper end is highh' polished from long use in the 

 hand. 



The unfortunate part about this very noteworthy feature of the 

 testimony is that Mr. King failed to publish it — that he failed to give 

 to the world what could well claim to be the most important observa- 

 tion ever jnade by a geologist bearing upon the history of the human 

 race, leaving it to come out through the agency of Dr. Becker, twenty- 

 five years later. 



THE CALAVERAS SKULL. 



Notwithstanding the fact that the finds of stone implements in inti- 

 mate relation with the auriferous gravels furnish the great bod}' of 

 testimony upon which a Tertiaiy man is predicated, they have attracted 

 but slight attention from the public as compared with the reputed 

 discover}' of human remains, and more especially the discovery of the 

 so-called Calaveras skull in a mine shaft at Altaville. The promi- 

 nence of the latter find is due largely to the fact that it is the only 

 specimen of its kind that has escaped oblivion. This relic has been 

 the subject of much disputation, but 1 shall not stop here to cite or 

 review the literature. It may be observed, however, that the general 

 trend of sentiment and even of scientific opinion has been adverse to 

 the specimen as proof of antiquity. At the same time there is a ver}' 

 important contingent of scientific men, especially those, grouped 

 about the original apostle of antiquity, Whitney, who cling tenaciously 



