18 
POPULAR SCIENCE NEWS. 
[February, 1890. 
piles, between 100 and 150 yards from shore. The 
boatman barely moves the water with his oars, as 
he directs our attention to the veptiges of the ancient 
city. Fortunately, the azure lake, this glorious 
April day, is clear as crystal, without a whisper 
from the "bise" to ruffle its serenity. We see the 
piles in irregular groups, some two to three yards 
below the surface. Those of the most ancient sta- 
tions are merely trunks of trees driven deep into 
the mud. They stand from one to three feet in 
height, in semi-circular form, with intervals that 
look like passages between the groups. As we 
move slowly over the lake, we pass a boat at 
anchor, in which are two scholarly looking men, 
— fishing.' Yes, fishing; though the quality of the 
fish they hook would scarcely satisfy the mundane 
appetite. These fishermen belong to the coterie of 
scientists whose researches have lifted the veil from 
the past of the Proto-Helvetes. " They work here," 
says my boatman, "every clear day and all day 
long." The difficulties which attend these labors 
may be realized by a glance at the piles beneath the 
dazzling, moving waters, between which are the 
objects sought, covered with the mud or gravel of 
at least three thousand years. The work has to be 
carried on by means of special apparatus. Today, 
a magnifving-glass a foot in diameter floats close to 
the boat. One of the professors bends over this 
instrument, as he makes use of his dredge ; the 
other is cautiously manipulating a long pole. 
Drifting here upon the breast of Leman, the 
majestic head of Mont Blanc confronting us with 
his crown of dazzling brilliancy, with the men of 
science to aid us in our effort, can we not re- 
construct upon these sunken piles the city of this 
ancient people ? 
Who were the Proto-IIelvetet.' Why did they 
build their dwellings in this laborious manner on 
the lake? A learned archieologist* tells us that the 
L,acustres were colonists from Asia, — not by any 
means savages, as we understand the term. Pro- 
fessor Virchow, who has made an exhaustive exam- 
ination of the skulls found among the palafittes, 
corroborates this statement. The conformation of 
the skulls shows the race to have been Aryan, and 
of a high degree of intelligence, capable of as much 
— if not more — development than ourselves. Fur- 
ther proof may be found, if needed, in the objects 
ranged in the museums, which demonstrate the 
evolution of the Proto-Helvete from the earliest 
Stone Age to that of the comparative civilization of 
the Bronze. It must not be forgotten that the 
forests extending to the shores of the lakes were 
then haunted by wild beast*. The stone weapons 
were insufficient protection against the ravages of 
these enemies, and we may suppose that the colo- 
nist was driven to erect hie dwelling on the lake, 
as a defensive measure. 
It was impossible to make any mental picture of 
these dwellings until about ten years ago, for all on 
the lakes of Switzerland had been destroyed by fire. 
M. Frank, however, inspector of the forests at 
Schussenried (Wurtemburg), was fortunate enough 
to find a palafitte of the Stone period in a marsh 
which he was surveying. It was in a perfect state 
of preservation, and by its means we can gain some 
idea of the dwellings of the Lacustres. It was built 
on piles, in the shape of a right angle, ten meters 
long, by seven in width. It was divided into two 
compartments, communicating by a passage made 
of three beams. There was only one door, which 
faced the south, and was one metre in width. The 
outer room, in which a pile of flat stones and debris 
of charred bones indicated a fire-place, was the 
kitchen, or living-room; perhaps, also, in the cold 
* The Proto- Helves, by Victor Gr»s<. 
season, a shelter by night for the domestic animals. 
The inner and more spacious compartment was 
probably the sleeping-room. The floors were 
formed of round poles lying close together; the 
partitions, of piles split in two; while the roof had 
the circular form of an old-fashioned bee-hive. 
Thus, taking this palafitte for our model, we can 
build our city of Merges with the mind's eye. We 
see in the Lacustres' an industrious people, busily 
at work, having their work-shops on the platforms 
surrounding their dwellings. Here they fashioned 
their weapons, their pottery, and their utensils of 
horn, bone, and wood. 
And now, having seen the vestiges of this race in 
one of the eastern lakes, let us pass to the western 
lakes of Switzerland, where the archieological work 
has been carried on with much greater success. 
The rectification of the courses of the rivers Aar 
and Thielle, with the construction of canals, neces- 
sary to dry the marshes of Seeland, lowered the 
level of Lakes Neuchatel, Bienne, and Morat. The 
stations of the Stone Age became dry, and those of 
the Bronze almost so. The researches could be 
carried on all the year round, and without the use 
of the cumbrous engines hitherto considered indis- 
pensable. In the eastern lakes, the scientists are 
confined to the months of winter, when the waters 
are at their lowest level. 
The Stone stationt laid bare revealed such dis- 
tinct characteristics, that Dr. Gross found it neces- 
sary to sub-divide the age into three periods, taking 
the objects found in the palafittes as exponents of 
his theory. 
The products of the first period are very primi- 
tive. The hatchets are small, unpolished, roughly 
shaped, and the tools of horn and bone equally 
unfinished. The mineral used for the stone imple- 
ments is always that of the country, the softest, 
most easily worked, being most frequently used, — 
such as the molasses rock. The pottery is made of 
coarse clay, without the aid of a turning-wheel, and 
shows by its clumsiness the very infancy of the pot- 
ter's art. No trace of ornamentation is found on 
arms, tools, or pottery. The large number of sta- 
tions which produce this rude handiwork gives 
convincing proof to the archaeologist that many 
centuries must have passed ere the Lacustre arrived 
at the perfection which the palafittes of the second 
period display. 
This second period is one of continuous progress. 
The museums show hatchets and hammers which 
would do credit to our own skilled workmen. The 
weapons and utensils of horn, bone, and wood are 
beautifully finished, and the pottery takes graceful 
forms, even showing crude traces of ornamentation. 
A very interesting featurfe of this period is the pres- 
ence of foreign minerals, not merely in arms and 
implements, but in beads and small ornaments. 
Hatchets in nephrite, jadeite, and chloromelanite 
are found in the proportion of five to eight of 
indigenous material. It is impossible to solve the 
problem as to how the Lacustres obtained these 
Asiatic minerals. The theory that the first colo- 
nists brought them to the country is contradicted bv 
the fact that only indigenous mineral is found in the 
earliest stations of the Stone Age. Dr. Gross 
thinks it probable that the Proto-Helvetes of this 
second period held commercial relations with other 
nations, thus obtaining the harder stone they 
required for their weapons and implements. This 
would seem to be the more probable explanation, 
since directly copper was introduced the foreign 
mineral disappears. Metal quickly supplanted even 
these beautiful minerals, which are capable of such 
great polish. Arrow-heads of stone, flint, and bone 
are found in all three periods of the Stone Age. 
That these objects served another purpose has lately 
been proved by M. de Fellenberg. who found a 
curious instrument of wood, at the station of Fenil, 
in which these heads, fastened with resin, form a 
strong saw. Two indentations are made in the 
handle for the fingers of the workman. The pala- 
fittes furnish sufficient proof of the intelligence and 
industry of the Lacustres. This second period ot 
Stone finds them feeling their way towards a stage 
of civilization which requires more of life than 
merely food and shelter. The innumerable objects 
in horn, bone, and wood display skilled workman- 
ship. Among these may be cited : arms, tools, 
fish-hooks, harpoons, small goblets, beads, brace- 
lets, cleverly carved pendants, large buttons, needles, 
combs, hair-pins (perforated, sometimes, so that 
they might be fastened by a thread to the hair), and 
well-shaped spoons. Bone, being a material less 
easily worked, was reserved for articles requiring 
greater strength, such as poignards, arrow-heads, 
and combs for carding flax. The debris of wooden 
objects has brought to light an unequivocal sign of 
progress among the Lacustres of this period — noth- 
ing less than a yoke for oxen. It is interesting, 
also, to note among the fragments of cups, plates, 
and dishes, a variety of small boats, shovels, etc., 
— evidently playthings for children. Bows, the 
complements of the arrow-heads, are rarely found. 
Communication with the shore was made by means 
of bridges and boats. The piles give evidence of 
the existence of the former, while remains of the 
latter abound — mere trunks of trees hollowed by fire. 
A boat was lately dug out of the mud at Vingrave 
(Lake Bienne), which is well preserved and of a 
diflferent shape. The stern is square instead of 
round, the bows are pointed, notches are cut in the 
sides for the oars, while there is a place in the bot- 
tom for a false keel to keep the water out. This 
boat, carefully preserved by means of frequent 
applications of linseed oil, is now in the museum of 
Neuve-ville. The palafittes were also supplied with 
ladders long enough to reach from the bottom of 
the lake to the platform on which the Lacustre 
performed his daily work. Dr. Gross has one in his 
collection. Teeth of animals (wolf, bear, and dog) 
were perforated and worn as armulets. 
The second period was followed by what is termed 
by archaeologists the epoch of copper, which means, 
in fact, the transition stage of the age of Stone to 
that of Bronze. This transition period is recognized 
as a separate epoch in the evolution of other races 
besides that of the Lacustre. In Hungary, for 
instance, (according to certain authors), objects of 
pure copper are as numerous as those of bronze. 
North America furnishes more than a hundred 
instruments in copper from one State (that of Wis- 
consin), all of which appear to have been fashioned 
with a hammer. Copper, in its native state, lends 
itself perfectly to the fabrication of tools and arms, 
as it can be shaped into poignards and arrow-heads 
by means of a pebble. The operation of smelting 
ore demands a certain amount of technical skill 
seldom possessed by a primitive race. Still, the 
palafittes deliver up objects evidently moulded, 
proving that the Lacustre was not without elemen- 
tary ideas of the art. The epoch of copper is largely 
represented in the western lakes. But, until the 
discovery of the station of Fenil (Finily), the con- 
clusions drawn with regard to this transition period 
were much restricted by the small number of 
objects found. This station of Fenil, situated on a 
little gulf of Lake Bienne, exposed to the north 
wind, was entirely buried in sand and mud, thus 
escaping the notice of the savants, until the peas- 
ants — in making a ditch — came upon this rich 
archa;ological bed. more than a meter below the ^ 
surface of the soil. Though but a third of this . 
station has, as yet, been examined, the rich yield of 
