408 GEOLOGY OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 



swarms of colossal oviparous quadrupeds of the 

 previous epochs. 



V. The Pre-historic Epoch. — From the most 

 recent tertiary deposits, to those in which occur 

 the remains of animals which seem to have 

 always been contemporary with the human race, 

 the transition is imperceptible. But elevatory 

 movements, and subsidences, more or less general, 

 appear to have continually taken place, by which 

 the relative position of the land and sea was 

 subjected to repeated oscillation. During this 

 peric 1, large pachyderms, as the Mammoth, Mas- 

 todon, Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, &c. — several 

 species of Horse — gigantic Elks and Deer — and 

 many Carnivora, as the Lion, Tiger, Bear, Hyena, 

 &c. — inhabited the European Continent and 

 Islands. While this fauna prevailed, a succession 

 of terrestrial disturbances occurred, by which the 

 physical configuration of the land was materially 

 changed. England and its Islands were separated 

 from the Continent ; and to this epoch is pro- 

 bably referable the formation of the lines of ele- 

 vation, that traverse the districts over which our 

 observations have extended. 



Lastly — Man took possession of the land, and 

 such of the large mammalia as had survived 

 the preceding geological revolutions, were either 





