42 



jVA TURE 



[November 9, 189^ 



\ 



their evolution, varied types of locomotion, familiar to every 

 one, of which the chrono-photographic analysis is very in- 

 teresting. The tadpole of the toad, for example, exhibits 

 progression in the first stage by the undulation of the fin, when 

 the feet appear there is a mixed type of locomotion ; the tail 

 undulates, and on both sides the posterior members execute the 

 movements of swimming which is usual to them. 'Ihese 

 movements of the posterior limbs alone remain some time after 

 the tail has disappeared. Of these movements, which resemble 

 so niuch those of human swimi-ing, one is especially notice- 



Did they belong to the same age as those of the Reindeer 

 Period of the Dordogne ? Or should-they, on the other hand, be 

 referred to some still living race of men already settled on that 

 Ligurian coast in the "Polished Stone Period"? Other in- 

 quirers, again, have sought a third alternative, and referred them 

 to an intermediate period, to which the name " Miolithic," or,, 

 better, " Mesolithic," has been speculatively given. 



In view of these differences of opinion, the discovery in Feb- 

 ruary of last year of fresh human remains in one of these 

 grottoes associated with relics that throw a clearer light on the 



Fig. I. — Movements of the Scorpion. 



able ; in this the anterior limbs do not take any part, and the 

 posterior, after having formed a right angle with the axis of the 

 body, approach each other till they become parallel, then bend 

 and stretch themselves again to begin anew. The movements 

 of the lizard's limbs escape direct observation on account of 

 their rapidity, but on the chrono-photographic images, taken at 

 ihe rate of forty to fifty a second, one can easily follow the suc- 

 cessive movements of the limbs in front and behind. With the 

 ^rey lizard, as well as the Gecko, the normal pace is that of a 

 trot, that is to say, the limbs move diagonally. The great 



Fig. 2. — Movements of the Gecko. 



amplitude of the movements of the limbs, combined with the 

 undulation of the axis of the body, causes the limbs to approach 

 one another very much on one side, and the next instant to 

 separate. The Gecko carries its hind foot nearly under the arm- 

 pit on the side where the body becomes concave ; the instant 

 afterwards, this side becomes convex, the anterior limb advances 

 very much, and the two limbs (the body presenting on this 

 :-idea convex arc) will be wide apart. \ 



Many other very interesting observations can be made 

 relating to the movements of insects and arachnids. 



THE MAN OF MEN TONE} 



17 EW groups of prehistoric finds have provoked a more per- 

 sistent controversy as to their date and character than those 

 of the Mentone Caves. Were they Palceolithic or Neolithic? 



' " On the Prehistoric Interments of the Balzi Rossi Caves near Mentone, 

 .ind their Relation to the Neolithic Cave-Burials of the Finalese." Liy 

 Arthur J. Evans. A rcsimu' of a paper communicated to the Anthropo- 

 logical Institute. (The cuts are kindly lent by the Institute.) 



culture and surroundings of those deposited with them than any 

 hitherto discovered there, has naturally created considerable 

 interest. 



Thecavesin which thesediscoverieshave been made are formetf 

 in the sea-face of the promontory of lower cretaceous limestone 

 that rises just across the Italian frontier on the Ventimiglia side 

 of Mentone, and which, from its red bastions, is locally known 

 as Baousse Rousje, or, in its Tuscan shape, Balzi Rossi. As- 

 early as 1S58 the Swiss geologist, M. Forel, had obtained from 

 a superficial layer of one of these caves various animal bones- 

 associated with implements. Subsequently Mr. ]\Ioggridgedug 

 a section in the grotto known as the Barma dou Cavillou, re- 

 vealing five floors "formed in the eartli by long-continued 

 trampling," with traces of a hearth in the centre of each, andi 

 around flmt flakes, axes, hammer-stones, and bones of animals. 

 The animal bones were, however, of existing species, and this- 

 evidence clearly pointed to Neolithic habitation. But later, M. 

 Riviere, whose patient exploration of these caverns deserves our 

 warm recognition, whatever may be thought of the conclusions- 

 drawn by him, unearthed in the same cave, only a foot or two- 

 from the point where Mr. Moggridge's excavations had ceased, 

 the perfect skeleton of a man. The skeleton lay on its left side in 

 the attitude of sleep. A stone lay beneath its head and another 

 behind the loins. An ornament composed of bored shells — 

 which may recall the trochus-studded nets still worn by \'enetiaii 

 peasants — was found adhering to the skull, their adherence 

 being due to a ferruginous substance, fragments of which lay 

 near, and which gave a ruddy colour to the whole. Evidently 

 this ochreous substance had been used by the departed in his- 

 life-time to paint his face and body, and the whole character of' 

 the deposit clearly points to careful interment. From the dis- 

 covery of bones of extinct animals mixed with the ashes in the 

 overlying stratum, M. Riviere concluded nevertheless that the 

 skeleton was palaeolithic. 



The fact that the skeleton of the Barma dou Cavillou was- 

 undoubtedly embedded amongst Quaternary remains lent some 

 weight to M. Riviere's opinion, and his view of the matter found' 

 acceptance from such competent judges as Mr. Pengelly and 

 others. But the presence of the Neolithic hearths, noted by Mr. 

 Moggridge, in an adjacent part of the cave, combined with other 

 circumstances, led M. De Moitillet and Prof. Boyd Dawkins 

 from the first to take a different view. They saw only the 

 evidence of a Neolithic interment in a Palaeolithic stratum. 



The annexed diagram (Fig. i) will give an idea of the general 

 conformation of the cave or cleft known as the Barma Grande, 



NO. 1254, VOL. 49] 



