590 



NA TURE 



[October io, 1907 



WHEK THE REINDEER LIVED AT MENTONE.' 



OF all Quaternary sites associated with the 

 remain^ of man' none is more important than 

 that constituted by the ffrottoes of Grimaldi. The 

 deposits are of great depth, and rich in archaeological 

 and anthropological remains. They exhibit, more- 

 over, a perfect continuity, and enable us to review m 

 definite order the event's of a remote and extended 

 period. It is fortunate that the explorations were 

 undertaken bv such savants as Villeneuve, Boule, and 

 Verneau, and that the results of their labour have 

 been enshrined in so noble a work as that under 

 notice. The book is in three folios; the first fur- 

 nishes us with a full topographical description and 

 historical account of the locality, which takes its 

 name from Charles Grimaldi, Prince of Monaco, in 



Prince and two other caves of minor importance. The- 

 caves all open by high, narrow ogee mouths towards- 

 the Mediterranean (Fig. i). They are filled with 

 deposit to the height, in some cases, of 40 metres. 

 In this deposit foyers can be recognised; a foyer is 

 defined as a surface which, from the presence of 

 cinders or products of industry, may be regarded as 

 affording evidence of man's presence. 



So far back as the middle of last century the caves 

 were known to contain deposits of scientific value. 

 "Some lime before 184S " Prince Florcstan I. of 

 Monaco had dispatched a box of earth from one of 

 the caves to Paris for examination. From that time 

 onward numerous workers directed their attention 

 to thf- caves, particularly Prof. Forel in 1858, and 

 M. Rivit-re from 1871-1895. In 1882 Prince 



the fourteenth century. The rocks which contain 

 the caves are of superior Jurassic formation, and 

 from their rose-red colour have been denominated the 

 Baouss^ Rouss(?, or Balzi Rossi. They originally 

 projected as a V-shaped mass into the Mediterranean, 

 the apex of the V being the Baouss6 de Torre, at the 

 foot of which are two caves, the Barma Grande and 

 the Barma della Cippia di Ponte. On the western 

 side of the projection, passing from the Baouss^ de 

 Torre, we meet in order La Grotte du Cavillon, La 

 Grotte de Florestan, L'.Vbri Lorenzi, and La Grotte des 

 Enfants. On the eastern side are La Grotte du 



' "Lfi Grotles de Grini.-ildi (Baoussc-Rouss^). Tome i. Fasc. i, His- 

 torique et Description. 15y M. L. de Villeneuve. Pp. 70. Tome i. 

 Fasc. 2, Geologic et Pale'ontologie. By Prof. Marcellin Boule. Pp. 7t- 

 156+plates. 'lomeii. Fasc I. Anthropologic. By Dr. Reni Verne.'>u. Pp. 

 212+plales. (Iniprimerie de Monaco, 1906.) 



.\lbert of Monaco carried on investigations, and 

 issued explicit instructions as to the methods lo^ be 

 employed, instructions which left nothing to be desired 

 on the score of precision. During these excavations 

 human skeletons were found, the first on March 26, 

 1872, by M. Riviere, in La Grotte du Cavillon, 

 at a depth of 6'55 metres below a layer of stalagmite. 

 The year following three skeletons were found in the 

 Barma della Cippia di Ponte; in 1874 and 1875 two 

 young skeletons were found in La Grotte des Enfants, 

 and no less than seven were obtained from La Barma 

 Grande. 



Meanwhile, much discussion had arisen as to the 

 age of the deposits. M. Riviere attributed them 

 to the Ouaternarv period. M. Mortillct, on the other 

 hand, regarded them as Neolithic, largely, however, 



NO. 1980, VOL. 76] 



