322 T. C. CHAM BERLIN 



of the flint chips from the two deposits; the similarity of the bone points 

 in both deposits ; and the greater number and variety of bone artifacts, includ- 

 ing ornaments in the third deposit. But for the similarity of the flint chips and 

 the bone points, the cultural evidence is very much as one might have been 

 led to expect, assuming of course that the stratigraphy is unmixed and that all 

 specimens have been found in situ. On the other hand, in the absence of 

 stratigraphy as a guide, of all the human and cultural remains reported from 

 stratum No. 2, none would seem out of place in stratum No. 3. 



.... The presence of plant stems, acorn cups, and pieces of wood in the 

 second stratum, although by no means so abundant as in the third stratum, 

 nevertheless give to it an aspect of comparative newness. Some of the leaves 

 in the muck at the base of the third stratum look as if they might have been 

 buried only a few years ago. 



From observations made on the spot and from a study of specimens sub- 

 mitted, the writer is of the opinion that for the most part the human skeletal 

 remains, flint chips, and artifacts probably found their way to this meeting- 

 place of waters through the same agencies as did the various animal and plant 

 remains, and that there has been more or less dove-tailing of the two deposits, 

 because of the peculiar location of the site at the junction of two streams coming 

 from opposite directions. If these premises be true, it would be hazardous to 

 attribute any great antiquity to even the oldest human and cultural remains 

 from Vero. It would be more logical to assume that some of the extinct forms 

 found in the second stratum are perhaps derived from an older deposit ; that 

 others lived on in that southern clime longer than has hitherto been supposed, 

 and that the presence of the Indian hunter had much to do with the final 

 ringing down of the curtain on the drama of their ultimate extinction.' 



It will be seen from . these summaries that no consensus of 

 opinion was reached or even approached by the several special 

 students who attacked the problem from their own special points 

 of view. The problem, however, was opened up broadly and the 

 lines of profitable future work fairly well indicated, though not 

 specifically stated. The most radical feature disclosed is the very 

 different degrees of confidence reposed in different criteria. As we 

 have already remarked, the really vital question raised by the Vero 

 case is the value of the various criteria that have been in use 

 and continue to be used. 



Whatever else may be said, the outcome offered no warrant 

 for the public propagation of any decision or consensus, pro or 

 con, respecting the Pleistocene age of the ancient Vero man. 



^Symposium i, Jour. Geol., XXV (1917), 60-62. 



