348 



THE HUMAN SPECIES 



minerals, corals, ammonites, shark's teeth, and numerous other 

 glittering objects, which the wandering hunter took to decorate 

 himself withal. 



In the neolithic period necklaces were made of beautifully 

 polished shells, often brought from distant 

 lakes, and armlets of large polished mussel 

 shells. All these ornaments were buried with 

 the dead in their graves. Even as early as in 

 the transitional period, between palaeolithic and 

 neolithic times (Mas d'Azil, Mentone), skele- 

 tons coloured red have been unearthed ; it is, 

 however, uncertain whether the corpse was 

 strewn with the coloured powder, or whether 

 the bones were tinted after the flesh had been 

 removed. 



Personal ornaments became much more 

 varied when man learnt to employ the metals. 

 Bronze especially allowed of great variety of 

 working, and satisfied all artistic requirements ; 

 indeed, the perfect finish of the bronze orna- 

 ments excites our admiration even now (Fig. 



175). 



Should we be right, it may be asked, in 

 constructing a picture of the prehistoric in- 

 habitants of Europe from our knowledge of 

 how modern savage races adorn their persons ? 

 I think this question may be answered by 

 an unqualified affirmative. To-day savages 

 decorate themselves with ornamental feathers, 

 necklaces, armlets and carvings, and paint 



themselves in the most diverse manner. 

 FIG. 174. Orna- , T7 , . , . , . , .. 



ments made of Were the nations who paint their bodies, 



said Humboldt, " observed with the same care 

 as those that wear clothes, the same diversity 

 of design, and the same unending variety of 

 fashion would be found in the manner of painting which has 

 been observed in the composition of clothes." We may there- 

 fore also suppose that with regard to the dressing of the hair 

 (and also perhaps of the beard), the same infinite variety 



teeth and shells 

 from La Ma- 

 deleine. (Hor- 

 nes.) 



