June 5, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



849 



dififerences between their strlation and that of 

 vertebrates should have been explained. Burne 

 has recently shown that a supracesophageal 

 commissure exists in Hanleyia abyssorum and 

 probably in other chitons, as well as one (p. 129) 

 below the oesophagus. Cassidaria (p. 163) does 

 not belong to the Toxiglossa. The jaw, fre- 

 quently, and the radular teeth always are not, as 

 stated (p. 177), composed of conchioline, but of 

 a special sort of chitine. The basal membrane 

 of the radula (p. 181) is not ' rough ' and not 

 formed of conchioline. The transverse rows of 

 the teeth (p. 182) properly counted invariably 

 resemble one another; an alternation of dis- 

 crepant rows is unknown, except as a blunder 

 in defining the row. The accepted name of the 

 central teeth is rhachidiau, and not rhachial. 

 In certain Toxiglossa the basal membrane of 

 the radula is represented by two separated 

 very narrow strips. The sucker-like organ 

 on the proboscis of Natica is probably an 

 organ of prehension; there is no evidence that 

 It has anything to do with the boring by which 

 the animal penetrates bivalve shells. In the 

 naiades (p. 262) the young are not always de- 

 veloped in the outer gill, but also in the inner 

 or in both, in some cases. The marine PMlo- 

 brya also has a glochidium, while the whole 

 family of Mutelidne are without this commensal 



The above inaccuracies are due largely to the 

 habit of anatomists of generalizing too widely 

 on a too slender basis of observation. This 

 might once have been excusable, but fortunately 

 is rapidly becoming no longer so. 



W. H. Dall. 



Die Bronzezeit in Oberbayern. By Von De. 

 Julius Naue. 4°, pp. 292. - With album of 

 fifty plates. Piloty & Lohle, Munich. 

 Southwest of Munich, amid the lovely scenery 

 which surrounds the Ammer and Staffel Lakes, 

 a number of sepulchral tumuli were discovered 

 some years ago, which on investigation dated 

 back to the age of bronze, ranging in time 

 from its earlier to its later periods. Fortunately 

 for prehistoric science, they attracted the at- 

 tention of Dr. Julius Naue, of Munich, and he 

 set about their thorough and accurate examina- 

 tion. For fifteen years he has personally ex- 



plored them, spade in hand, surrounding his 

 digging with those numerous precautions which 

 the field archaeologist should always respect. 



Before his researches, practically nothing was 

 known of the conditions of the peoples of the 

 bronze age in the region indicated. By the 

 opening of more than three hundred burial 

 mounds and the sedulous study of their con- 

 tents, he is able in the handsome volume named 

 above to ofler an almost complete restoration 

 of the culture of that remote epoch. 



In the older graves there are abundant uten- 

 sils, weapons and ornaments of bronze ; bowls, 

 jars and plates in earthenware, frequently in 

 artistic forms and decorated externally in lines 

 and spirals ; and a quantity of amber. No 

 other metal was exhumed. Only in the later 

 graves very small objects in gold and pearls of 

 glass appear, but iron and silver continue un- 

 known. 



The text presents first the notes of each ex- 

 cavation. Then follow detailed descriptions of 

 the weapons exhumed, the tools and utensils, 

 articles of ornament and pottery. Special 

 studies are appended on the material and tech- 

 nique of the objects, their form, style and 

 ornamentation, and the inferences which they 

 enable the student to draw regarding the people 

 who left these memorials of their presence. 

 The conclusions on the last topic are unex- 

 pected. "We find ourselves in the presence of 

 an industrious and peaceable community, de- 

 pending on agriculture almost exclusively, cul- 

 tivating the soil diligently and raising herds of 

 cattle. They wore woolen clothing, with orna- 

 mented leather belts and decorated with bronze 

 plates. They were of good stature, the men 

 1.65-70, the women 1.60-65. They were firm 

 believers in a life after death, and surrounded 

 the corpse with such objects as it was supposed 

 to require in its wanderings in spirit land. 

 Women took a high rank in the community as 

 queens and priestesses. Some of the most 

 elaborate of the interments preserved their re- 

 mains only. 



The culture was a progressive one. It can 

 be traced from the neolithic time through the 

 whole of the bronze age down to the epoch 

 when the Roman forays destroyed it. Slowly 

 but steadily it had increased, and for centuries 



