ANTIQUITY OF MAN IN EUROPE—MACCURDY. 559 
the immediate neighborhood was first explored. Here there is only 
one archeological horizon—middle Magdalenian, corresponding to 
the lower culture level at La Mairie. It is rich, however, both in 
fauna and industrial remains. The latter is characterized by the 
harpoon with a single lateral row of barbs, the type that was abun- 
dant at Gourdan, Raymunden, and Bruniquel (Plantade). In 1908 
M. Bourrinet found at Mége a so-called baton de commandement of 
stag horn (pl. 11), covered with engraved animal and semi-human 
figures. ‘The piece is the large basal prong of Cervus elaphus, about 
one-third of a meter in length. Of the two perforations, one is 
nearly round and the other, which is near the point, is elliptic. Prac- 
tically the entire surface was scraped and engraved with figures, in- 
cluding the head of a doe, serpents, swans, semi-human forms, a horse, 
and a colt. The engraving of the horse is among the most pains- 
taking and complete paleolithic representations of that animal (fig. 
11). The elliptic hole in the baton cuts the left hip of the horse on 
one side and its right hind foot on the other, as indicated by the 
dotted lines. The short erect mane projecting forward beyond the 
ears is characteristic and the anatomy of the head, neck, and shoul- 
ders is faithfully rendered, even to the fossa above the eye. The 
heavy line back of and below the eye is the zygomatic arch; the two 
parallel lines below it, reaching nearly to the corner of the mouth, 
mark the position of subcutaneous organs and do not represent a 
bridle. According to both Cartailhac and Breuil, there is no evi- 
dence that the horse was domesticated in paleolithic times. Marcel 
Baudouin notes a striking similarity between paleolithic repre- 
sentations of the Quaternary horse and a race of small horses still 
living on the [le d’Yeu (Vendée). This race by reason of its isola- 
tion? has perpetuated its primitive type: Large pendent belly, short 
head and neck, and erect mane. 
The cavern de La Mairie has furnished some interesting bits of 
evidence bearing on the authenticity of parietal decorations. In 
the floor deposits are two Magdalenian horizons with a sterile layer 
between. Wall engravings were left by the first occupants. In the 
course of time, with the loosening of plaques of stalagmite, some of 
these engravings were removed. A small fragment of this sort bear- 
ing the tail and hip of a bison was found in the lower layer. Later 
a larger fragment with the rest of the bison was found in the sterile 
deposit that covers the lower archeological horizon (middle Magda- 
lenian). The two pieces united are seen in figure 12. Other blocks 
of stalagmite were found to enclose engravings and when properly 
split disclosed their negative imprints. The feet of a horse that are 
@The ile d’Yeu was a part of the mainland until near the close of the 
Quaternary. 
