88 THE HOUSES OF PREHISTORIC [CH. 



both sides with only slight intervals for 100 m. Many of the 

 designs are covered with a film of stalagmite. Sometimes 

 the incised lines are emphasised by thin bands of black 

 paint. The figures represent animals in various attitudes in 

 a style and manner of execution resembling those of La 

 Madelaine and other later Palaeolithic settlements. 109 

 animals have been distinctly made out, whilst 19 have not 

 been identified, and a human face is marked as doubtful. 

 There are 23 whole drawings, and many heads of Equidae. 

 In spite of their evident difficulty in identifying a considerable 

 number of the figures, the explorers hold that these are 

 accurate documents of great palaeontological value. They con- 

 sider that there are at least two species of horses distinguishable 

 among the forty figures already deciphered. 



" On peut nettement distinguer au moins deux especes tres 

 differentes. Les uns sont de gros chevaux, a criniere ordinaire- 

 ment droite, a queue tres fournie, a grosse tete et nez busque 

 avec levres tres fortes. D'autres sont beaucoup plus elances, 

 plus fins ; la tete est petite, la criniere, egalement droite 

 et courte, arrive jusqu'a sur la tete qui est notablement 

 plus petite, le nez parait bien plus droit, que chez les pre- 

 cedents, enfin la queue est implantee tantot plus bas, tantot 

 au contraire plus haut, comme celle des bovides ; elle est glabre, 

 souvent terminee par un touffe de poils." 



If we can rely on the faithfulness of the artists, we have 

 here evidence for the existence in Europe in Palaeolithic times 

 of a small, light-built horse, as well as a stout-built animal with 

 a bushy tail and a large head. But, as the artists of Com- 

 barelles delineated both the breeds alike with a short, erect 

 mane, and as the historical evidence shows that the large-headed 

 horses of the later period which may be held to represent the 

 large-headed animals of Solutre, had very thick, long manes, 

 we must hesitate before accepting as " precise documents for 

 palaeontology " the cave engravings. It is probable that the 

 Combarelles artists simply represented horses' manes in a con- 

 ventional fashion by a number of straight lines. 



Moreover, it must be borne carefully in mind, that, whilst 

 there is abundant evidence for the large-headed animal in the 



