16 



History of Hingham. 



Formations. 



Recent Period. 



those of more ancient 

 or of more recent times. 

 In North America, 

 roaming over the sur- 

 face, were elephants, 

 mastodons, horses much 

 larger than the present, 

 bison, tapirs, beavers of 

 huge size, lions, bears, 

 and others. In South 

 America, massive sloth 

 forms, as the megatheri- 

 um, mylodon, and mega- 

 lonyx, were numerous, 

 as were many species of 

 other genera. In Eng- 

 land and other countries 

 of Europe, bears, lions, 

 hyenas, rhinoceroses, 

 hippopotamuses, deer, 

 were common. 

 Man undoubtedly existed 

 in this period, and proba- 

 bly in the early portion, 

 as his remains and the 

 implements of his hands 

 have been found with 

 the bones of the Cham- 

 plain animals, as the 

 mastodon and reindeer 

 There is evidence of 

 man having appeared at 

 a still earlier period, — 

 possibly in the Tertiary 

 Age. 



The animals of the Cham- 

 plain Period largely 

 passed away in the early 

 part of this, destroyed 

 undoubtedly by the 

 colder temperature, and 

 species of less size took 

 the places of the huge 

 forms that preceded 

 them. Although man, 

 as previously stated, 

 was in existence, it was 

 not until the modern 

 era of this period that 

 he attained the domin- 

 ion over all other races 

 since possessed by him. 



General Remarks. 



The deposits of this period are 

 alluvial beds along rivers, drift- 

 sands, deposits of rivers in the 

 ocean, or from the washing and 

 wearing away of the shores, 

 coral-reef formations, shell lime- 

 stone growth in the ocean or 

 inland waters, bog-iron ore in 

 marshes, stalactitic and stalag- 

 mitic formation in caves, deposits 

 from springs, lavas from volcanic 

 action, etc. 



There was an elevation of the land 

 in the high latitudes in the early 

 portion of this period, which re- 

 stored its height to about the de- 

 pression of the Champlain. The 

 temperature of the North, par- 

 ticularly over Asia and Europe, 

 became again extremely cold. 



The terraces so common around 

 lakes and along river-courses in 

 parts of New England owe their 

 origin to the rise of land after 

 the Champlain Period, and the 

 action of waters. 



