THE EARLIEST MEN 175 



and since no signs of human remains had or have 

 been found of that geological date, de Mortillet, 

 who was convinced of the human character of the 

 implements, postulated a semi-human precursor 

 of man as their manufacturer, and named him 

 Homosimius bourgeoisii. It may be added that no 

 trace of this imaginary creature has ever been dis- 

 covered, and that the flints themselves are now 

 believed to have been of natural origin, i.e., not 

 shaped by the hands of man, but by natural causes, 

 such as water, earth-pressure, lightning perhaps, 

 and so on. A similar statement may be made as to 

 the Puy Courny flints described by J. B. Rames 

 in 1877, and found by him in Upper Miocene beds 

 in Auvergne. De Mortillet again postulated a 

 hypothetical Homosimius Ramesii (who has never 

 materialized) as their maker. 



Omitting other less important cases, we may 

 come to the question of the so-called " eoliths," 

 as to which so much controversy has been carried 

 on during the past twenty years or more. These 

 objects, which have been found in considerable 

 quantities in England and on the Continent, are 

 undoubtedly of great antiquity, though their 

 exact geological position is not certain. Up to a 

 comparatively recent period, there was a strong 

 body of opinion favourable to their artificial 

 nature, but the most recent observations have 

 rendered their character much more doubtful. 

 That such implements may be formed by cart 

 wheels from the flints newly laid upon a road, 

 proves but little, for after all that is a form of work 

 by man, though unintentional, and is not strictly 



