’ ANTIQUITY OF MAN IN EUROPE—MACCURDY. 545 
As early as 1861 Riitimeyer announced the presence of bones of 
Ursus speleus and Capra (ibexw and rupicapra) in the floor deposits 
of Wildkirchli. Before that date the hermits used to pick up bones 
of the cave bear and sell them to the pilgrims. Bichler began his re- 
searches which led to the discovery of a pure Mousterian industry 
during the winter of 1903-4, and continued them during the two fol- 
lowing winters. Winter is the best time to work, as the caverns are 
then dry, relatively warm, and free from visitors. 
The deposits are about 5 meters thick and cover an area of 
several hundred square meters, so that the amount still to be exca- 
vated is much greater than that already done. About 99 per cent 
of the bones found are of the cave bear, the number of individuals 
represented by the finds to date being approximately 200. These 
remains have been found practically at all levels save in the layer 
at the top, which has a thickness of one-half meter. Mousterian 
implements are found in the same horizons as the faunal remains. 
They are made of quartzite and flint; also of cave-bear bone. The 
quartzites were picked up in the Weissbach Valley several hundred 
meters below and carried to the caverns, there to be worked into 
tools. Some of the better-formed implements are made of a green- 
ish flint that must have been brought a long distance by paleolithic 
man. Both stone and bone implements are of crude workmanship. 
In company with Herr Bichler I spent some hours studying the 
sections and searching for animal remains and artifacts. We were 
successful in finding two bone implements and one chipped quartzite. 
Teeth and fragments of bones were counted by the dozen. These 
were chiefly of the cave bear. Remains of the cave lion, the cave 
panther, badger, marten (d/ustela martes), ibex, chamois, stag, 
marmot, otter, and hermit crow have been noted. 
The deposits are not indurated and may be worked with as much 
rapidity as is consistent with careful observation. They consist 
of materials that have fallen from the ceilings. They can not be 
called stratified, and yet more or less definite horizons may be dis- 
tinguished on account of the relative fineness of the deposits and the 
variations in color. 
What is the age of the industry-bearing deposits of Wildkirchli? 
In order to arrive at a just estimate one must have a knowledge not 
only of prehistoric times, but also of the ice age. According to 
Penck*? there were four glacial epochs (with alternating interglacial 
epochs). These have been named after four streams of southern 
Germany in the foothills of the Alps—Giinz, Mindel, Riss, and 
Wiirm glacial epochs, respectively, beginning with the oldest. Penck 
4 See table of relative chronology (pl. 1). 
