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THE ZooLocist—OctToBER, 1875. 4651 
it is evident—judging from their situation in such a distinct and 
well-defined position above the bed containing moa bones—that 
the extinction of our gigantic birds, reasoning from this fact alone, 
is thrown back for a considerable space of time. Of course it is 
impossible to calculate this time by even hundreds of years, but as 
polished stone implements have been found in New Zealand, buried 
in littoral beds fifteen feet below the surface in undisturbed ground, 
over which extensive forests are growing, containing trees of 
enormous size, there is no doubt that the use of polished stone 
implements dates far back in pre-historic times—I mean to say, to 
a period to which even the most obscure traditions of the aborigines 
do not reach. 
Moreover, it has been proved by philological researches that the 
Polynesian race, to which the Maoris belong, is of high antiquity, 
and that since their location in the Pacific Ocean great physical 
changes must have taken place in this part of the earth’s surface. 
The similarity of the language spoken on numerous small islands 
situated at such considerable distances from each other, is no 
argument against such a hypothesis, because, under certain con- 
ditions, even without accidental or intended migrations, languages 
may remain nearly unchanged for a considerable space of time— 
I may even venture to say for thousands of years. In support of 
this view, I wish only to refer here to the great resemblance of the 
Coptic with the language of the old Egyptians, as revealed to us 
by the translation of the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the oldest 
monuments of that wonderful race, still standing proudly on the 
banks of the Nile. 
If we consider for a moment the shell beds in the cave, we are 
led to the conclusion principally, judging from the absence of 
cooking-places amongst them, and the numerous thin beds of 
ashes—withont doubt the result of camp-fires—forming distinct 
lines of demarcation, that the cave was only occasionally inhabited, 
and that for their formation alone a long period of time has also to 
be claimed. The upper portion of these shell-beds immediately 
below the surface deposits of European origin, might be assigned 
to the forefathers of the Maori tribe inhabiting at present the neigh- 
bourhood, as, according to their communications to the Rey. J. W. 
Stack, the cave had been used as shelter for their fishing parties iu 
former times. And thus another step towards the elucidation of 
the question when the moa became extinct has been made, and 
