ON PRIMITIVE MAN : I. HIS TIMES AND HIS COMPANIONS. 255 



pi'imitive man appeared in Europe shortly after the close of the 

 glacial age, and resided there for say 2,000 or 3,000 years, and if on 

 the other hand our view of historic peoples in the Mediterranean 

 region extends back say 5,000 years, then within a space of less 

 than 2,000 years there must have occurred continental depression 

 and elevation of the most stupendous magnitude, and which must 

 have affected in the most serious manner every foi^m of land life in 

 the Northern Hemisphere. All this may be held to be certainly 

 known as geological fact ; and it would be folly to overlook it in any 

 discussions as to primitive man, or in any comparisons of the 

 .evidence afforded by his remains with that of early human history 

 or tradition. 



I am glad to observe that Mr. Mello refers to the admirable 

 work of Dr. Prestwich in the Pleistocene and modern deposits of 

 the south of England. This veteran worker brought out with 

 great clearness the evidence of the recent date of the Glacial 

 Period to which American facts bear so strong testimony. He 

 also perhaps obtained some indications of that primitive state 

 of humanity in which the invention of lethal weapons was less a 

 necessity than in later times. He established for England, as for 

 other parts of the northern hemisphere, that great submergence 

 which separates the Palanthropic from the Neanthi^opic age, and 

 constitutes a dominant fact in the history of early Man.* 



The Chairman. — I am sure we are much indebted to Sir 

 William Dawson for his communication. (Applause.) 



I am happy to say that we have here this evening a number 

 of men of science, some of whom are very distinguished geoloo-ists 

 and therefore I look forward with great confidence to an interesting 

 discussion which will probably render any observations from 

 myself unnecessary. We have here Professor Seeley, Mr. A. S. 

 Woodward, Professor Blake, Mr. Allen Brown, but we by no 

 means wish to exclude others who may desire to take part in the 

 debate. 



Professor H. G. Seeley, F.Tl.S., etc.— It is with some diffidence 

 that I speak upon this subject, which has been treated from so 

 many points of view by the Rev. Mr. Mello. Mr. Mello's own 

 researches would have justified him in dwelling in detail upon 



* Eaised Beaches and " Head " of the South of England, Journal of 

 Geological Societij of London, 1892. Also a paper in Victoria Institute's 

 Journal, vol. xxvii, p. 263. 



