FOSSIL REMAINS OF MAN. 407 



Spallanzani describes a hill of fossil human bones in the 

 island of Cerigo ; but this also is an error, as has Been 

 satisfactorily shewn by Blumenbach. Lately, however, 

 a fossil human skeleton has been imported into this coun- 

 try from Guadaloupe, by Sir Alexander Cochrane. It 

 is imbedded in a block of calcareous stone, composed of 

 particles of limestone and coral, and which, like the ag- 

 gregations of shells found on the limestone coasts in some 

 parts of this country, has acquired a great degree of 

 hardness. It is therefore an instance of a fossil human 

 petrifaction in an alluvial formation. The engraving 

 here given is copied from the Philosophical Transactions 

 of the Royal Society of London ; and the following de- 

 scription of the fossil remains it exhibits is that of Mr 

 Konig, which has been drawn up with great care. 



" The situation of the skeleton in the block was so 

 superficial, that its presence in the rock on the coast had 

 probably been indicated by the projection of some of the 

 more elevated parts of the left fore-arm. 



" The operation of laying the bones open to view, and 

 of reducing the superfluous length of the block at its 

 extremities, being performed with all the care which its 

 excessive hardness, and the relative softness of the bones, 

 required, the skeleton exhibited itself in the manner re- 

 presented in the annexed drawing (PI. I.) with which 

 my friend Mr Alexander has been so good as to illus- 

 trate this description. 



" The skull is wanting ; a circumstance which is the 

 more to be regretted, as this characteristic part might 

 possibly have thrown some light on the subject under 

 consideration, or would, at least, have settled the ques- 

 tion, whether the skeleton is that of a Carib, who used 



