N.4 TURE 



[May 



1905 



I'Ag^e g^Iyptique " (tome xvi., 1905, p. i), M. Piette 

 claims to have discovered " inscnptions composed of 

 characters forming a primitive writing," all of which 

 are from the layer of sculptures in low relief, and 

 consequently from the earlier glyptic epoch. The first 

 specimen figured by the author is that reproduced here 

 as Fig. 2. First of all one must point out that only 

 one side of this rod of bone is figured, but before the 

 design can be understood it will be necessary to know 

 whal the whole design looks like. The author says, 

 " The circle with central prominence appears to be a 

 simplification of the circle with radiating centre which 

 evidently signifies the sun or solar god. The rays 

 have been suppressed in order to write the sign more 

 quickly"; he then briefly gives the distribution of 



circles are figured by the author in juxtaposition, and 

 the evidence seems to point to the conclusion that 

 here, as in so many other instances from various 

 parts of the world, the concentric circle or oval is a 

 simplification of the spiral; if this be so, the theory 

 that the concentric circles are degenerate rayed circles, 

 i.e. suns, falls to the ground. The bold decoration 

 on these bone objects in all probability had a meaning. 

 Some of the designs may have been symbols; but, 

 surely, it is somewhat far-fetched to describe them as 

 hieroglyphs, and we cannot follow the author when 

 he states (as he does in a letter to the editor), " Accord- 

 ing to me this inscription (Fig. 2) is the glorification 

 of light." 



M. Piette also directs attention to certain linear 

 markings on bones from various 

 sites of the reindeer age. These 

 he boldly claims to be true linear 

 scripts, and suggests that the 

 writings of la Madeleine and 

 Rochebertier were continued into 

 the linear script of Abydos with- 

 out undergoing much change. 



Archaeologists are deeplv in- 

 debted to M. Piette for the 

 thoroughness with which he has 

 carried out his investigations, 

 and we must not unfairly criti- 

 cise him if that enthusiasm 

 which has carried him through 

 his labours sometimes runs away 

 with his more dispassionate 

 judgment. He is probablv quite 

 correct in believing that the 

 decoration on the bone objects he 

 has discovered has a meaning, 

 but judging from our experience 

 of the decorative art of existing 

 primitive peoples it is extremely 

 improbable that we shall ever be 

 able to decipher its meaning or 

 unravel its symbolism. More 

 evidence is needed before we can 

 pass judgment upon the sup)- 

 posed linear script. A. C. H. 



similar markings in prehistoric Europe and in Egypt. 

 The lozenge is stated to be "certainly a symbol," 

 and other signs are similarly believed to be symbols 

 or hieroglyphs. "The spiral," for example, "has 

 held a large place in primitive symbolism." This is 

 possibly true, but spirals may mean many things in 

 the art of existing backward peoples, and may be 

 conventional svmbols or more or less realistic repre- 

 sentations ; but it is extremely hazardous to make 

 guesses as to what any given spiral may be intended 

 to represent ; the probability is that all such guesses 

 will be incorrect, and the same remark applies to other 

 elementary designs. Several spirals and concentric 



NO. 1856, VOL. 72] 



THE NEW DIPLODOCUS 

 SKELETON. 



ON Friday, May 12, in the 

 presence of a large and re- 

 presentative company, Lord Ave- 

 bury, on behalf of his fellow 

 trustees, received from Mr. 

 .\ndrew Carnegie the gift of the 

 full-sized model of the skeleton 

 ot the gigantic American dino- 

 saur known as Diplodociis ear- 

 ns gii, which has been mounted in 

 out harpoons. the reptile gallery of the Natural 



History Branch of the British 

 Museum under the superintendence of Dr. Holland, of 

 Pittsburg, who has charge of the original specimens 

 on which the complete restoration is based. Although 

 the gigantic four-footed dinosaurs constituting the 

 group Sauropoda were first made known to the world 

 on the evidence of detached bones and teeth described 

 bv Mantell (Peloro^aurus) and Owen (Cardiodon and 

 Ceteosaurus), it has been reserved for American palae- 

 ontologists, working in the rich Upper Jurassic beds 

 of Wyoming and Colorado, to give to the world an 

 adequate conception of the huge proportions and ex- 

 traordinary form of these strange reptiles. Strangest 

 of all is perhaps Diplodocus (so named on account of 



