412 SUMMARY OF WORK. 



shells which were regarded by some palaeontologists as 

 indicating the base of the London Clay. Prestwich, 

 however, assigned them to a much more recent period. 

 He shared the opinion of Searles Wood, who regarded 

 them as probably of the age of the Lower Crag. More 

 recent observations by Mr Clement Reid of the Geolog- 

 ical Survey, and the discovery of other and better 

 preserved fossils, have left no doubt that Prestwich 

 was entirely justified in looking upon these remnants 

 of a once extensive deposit as Pliocene. 



Outside the ranks of geologists Prestwich was prob- 

 ably best known for his connection with the establish- 

 ment of the Antiquity of Man, and for his share in 

 bringing home to the English public the enormous 

 importance of geological knowledge in dealing with 

 water - supply and other questions of every - day 

 occurrence. 



When in the spring of 1859, at the suggestion of 

 Dr Hugh Falconer, he undertook to investigate the 

 alleged proofs of the occurrence of flint - implements 

 together with the remains of extinct mammalia in 

 some of the old valley - gravels of the north of 

 France, he entered on the inquiry with no very 

 sanguine hope of finding that there was any good 

 ground for the contention of M. Boucher de Perthes, 

 who some ten years before had proclaimed his belief 

 in the remote antiquity of the human race. But 

 the evidence proved so strong as entirely to satisfy 

 him that the French observer, who had met with 

 but scant sympathy or support, was nevertheless 

 right in his main conclusion. It was important to 

 establish the fundamental fact that man was a con- 

 temporary of the long extinct mammals whose bones 

 were found lying beside his flint weapons in beds 



