1218 REPORT—1885. 
2. The historic period. Rock-cut tombs on Karpathos ; the commercial town of 
Bourgounta and its favourable situation for commerce; the various descriptions of 
rock-cut tombs to be found there, and the class of things found in them. 
2. A New Cave Man of Mentone. By Tuomas WItson. 
In February 1884 there was discovered in one of the famous caverns at Men- 
tone in the Alpes Maritimes, France, a skeleton of one of the ancient and original 
inhabitants, believed to have belonged to the paleolithic age. It is the purpose of 
this paper to give some of the details of the discovery, and offer some suggestions 
concerning the epoch to which the man belonged. 
The caverns at Mentone are nine in number. They are nearly alike in their 
form, general character, and appearance. They are all in the same rock, with the 
same exposure or outlook, at the same level, belong to the same age, and were 
doubtless occupied at the same time. They form together a sort of prehistoric 
village, and their characteristics and evidence are not to be taken separately and 
isolated, but together and as a whole, making an aggregate testimony which gains 
momentum with each discovery. 
The New Cave Man of Mentone.—Monsieur Riviére’s discovery, and the name, 
‘Vhomme de Menton,’ by which it has been known, induces me to give this name 
to this discovery. 
The excavations were made during the winter of 1883-4 by Monsieur Louis 
Julien, of Marseilles, and at his expense, aided by the advice of Monsieur Bonfils, 
Curator of the Museum at Mentone. 
He employed four or five men continuously during the entire winter. 
This cavern is marked on Monsieur Riviére’s chart as No. 5, but is known in 
the neighbourhood as No. 4—‘la quatriéme grotte. 
It had been searched many times before, and about 9 or 10 feet in depth had 
been removed from the original surface, which, however, was plainly marked by a 
large piece of bréche which still adhered to the perpendicular side wall. 
The formation of the floor of the cavern and the process of its filling up 
presented all the usual evidences of human occupation and industry: charcoal, 
urnt earth and ashes, hearthstones, split and broken bones of animals (estimated 
to the number of 15,000 pieces), flint instruments, chips, nuclei, &c., &c., were 
found in sufficient number, quantity, and distribution, to indicate an indefinitely 
long occupation. 
No morsel of pottery was found, nor were any of the stone implements polished. 
At the depth (from the original surface) of 8 métres 40 centimétres was found 
the skeleton of this ‘new cave man of Mentone.’ He was laid on his back with his 
limbs extended, and had for funeral equipments three large chips of flint (éclats de 
silex) 6 or 7 inches long and 23 inches broad, in the form of the largest scrapers, 
placed one on each shouider, like epaulettes, and one on the brow. Jt appeared to be 
an interment. 
This became more evident when it was found that the body was placed in a sort 
of natural vault or tomb, formed on one side by the wall of the cavern, and on the 
other by an immense block of stone with an overhanging edge, which reached to a 
line perpendicularly over the centre of the skeleton. This placing of the body 
required an excavation between these rocks of 3 or 4 feet in depth. 
The skull was broken into sixty fragments by the pick of the workman ; it 
was carefully taken up and put together by Monsieur Bonfils, and is now exposed 
in the Museum at Mentone. This was a fortunate accident, for while the rest of the 
skeleton was being exhumed a quarrel broke out as to the ownership, which ended 
in the theft and utter destruction of all that remained. 
Observations—Differences in the reports of the depth at which Monsieur 
Riviére’s skeleton was found may be reconciled by suggesting the misapplication 
or misunderstanding of métres and feet. He has reported the depth at 6 métres 
and a fraction, It has been reported in English 6 feet and a fraction. Its 
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