638 EDITORIAL 
origin, or that it was contemporaneous with any part of the ice 
age was presented. The anthropological discussion centered 
upon the question whether any civilization different from that of 
the early Algonkian Indians was shown by the relics. The for- 
mer contention that the base of the deposit only carries argillite 
artifacts, while the upper carries quartz and jasper flakes also, 
was weakened by the reporting of a few jasper and quartz chips 
from the lower part. The hypothesis that the artifacts are 
paleolithic was weakened by the discovery of a small arrowhead 
in the heart of the deposit. On the whole the discussion seemed 
to leave the general impression that the evidence of any very 
ancient or very primitive form of civilization at this locality is of 
a quite slender and doubtful nature. The hypothesis of a glacial 
man was scarcely in serious discussion although incidentally 
alluded to, there being no proof that the beds are of glacial age. 
No new evidence of relics in the undoubted glacio-fluvial beds 
below was presented. 
* 
Avr the Toronto meeting a similar joint session was held at 
which the broader subject of ancient man in America was dis- 
cussed. The added point of interest there was the attitude of the 
British geologists and archeologists who are familiar with the 
character of the evidence in Europe where the antiquity of man 
is not seriously questioned. Their general disposition toward 
the evidence presented was that of marked conservatism. The 
foreign anthropologists and geologists seemed keenly alive to the 
inherent incongruities and self-destructive aspects of much of the 
supposed evidence for the great antiquity of man in America. 
The influence of the two discussions will be very wholesome 
both within and without scientific circles. 
The geological papers presented at the meeting of the Brit- 
ish Association at Toronto were notable for the wide range of 
their themes and their high order of excellence. la, Ce 
* 
Papers offered at the Detroit meeting of the Geological 
Society of America, August 10, 1897: 
