Januakt 25, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



135 



from the floor deposits of the shallow caves 

 and rock shelters, so well known through 

 the works of the earlier investigators. This 

 statement applies equally to all the caverns 

 thus far explored. 



The cavern of Bernifal was first ex- 

 plored in 1903. It was discovered by acci- 

 dent. The original entrance near the base 

 of an escarpment is completely obstructed 

 by earth and stones. The present artificial 

 entrance is at a point where the ceiling of 

 the cavern comes close to the surface of the 

 wooded, sloping upland. The descent into 

 the cavern is almost vertical, and made by 

 means of an iron ladder about three meters 

 long. There is a joint in the ladder, the 

 upper portion of which may be inclined 

 and locked so as to secure the interior 

 against vandalism.^" Within are three 

 large chambers united by rather narrow 

 corridors. The first is twenty-two meters 

 long, with high ceiling and a maximum 

 breadth of eight meters. The others are 

 not quite so large. The beautiful stalac- 

 tites overhead have been left undisturbed. 

 Most of the engravings are to be found in 

 the second chamber. They are cut rather 

 deeply into the calcareous walls, and gen- 

 erally coated over with a thin, hard layer 

 of stalactite. Twelve groups, numbering 

 in all twenty-six figures, have been recog- 

 nized. These include geometric, triangu- 

 lar signs, in addition to various animal 

 figures — reindeer, mammoth, horse, bison 

 and antelope. Some are simply engraved, 

 others are painted with red ochre and man- 

 ganese. Many are probably wholly hidden 

 beneath thick mural incrustations. Tecti- 

 form signs, the significance of which is un- 

 known, were also met with at Combarelles 

 and Font-de-Gaume. 



The Font-de-Gaume frescoes and en- 



™ Most of the prehistoric monuments of France 

 are now the property of the government and are 

 protected by the enactment and enforcement of 

 wise laws. 



gravings were discovered in 1901 by Capi- 

 tan and Breuil with the assistance of M. 

 Peyrony, the school principal of Lez Eyzies. 

 The entrance is some twenty meters above 

 the valley and near the top of the escarp- 

 ment. 



A passage about sixty-five meters long, 

 and much restricted in places, leads to an 

 ample gallery forty meters in length, two 

 to three in breadth and five to six in height. 

 A majority of the paintings, and Font-de- 

 Gaume is especially rich in paintings, occur 

 on the walls of this gallery and in a little 

 side chamber farther on. The latter con- 

 tains thirteen remarkable figures, in color, 

 of the bison and a group of reindeer. The 

 coloring matter was red ochre and man- 

 ganese, either mixed so as to give various 

 intermediate shades or used separately. 

 Both these materials are found on top of 

 the neighboring plateaus. The dimensions 

 of the figures vary from 2.70 m. down to 

 .20 m. Some are on regular surfaces, while 

 others include natural prominences in such 

 a way as to give the effect of relief. They 

 are veritable frescoes, the whole figure often 

 being covered with paint. Engraving and 

 fresco are usually associated in the same 

 figure. The coloring matter was, in some 

 cases, applied after the engraving; while 

 in others the process was reversed. Again 

 some figures are a piece-work of engraving 

 and fresco. Some are engraved only. In 

 certain eases the outlines of the animal are 

 simply traced by a single stroke of the 

 brush or pencil, usually in black. Where 

 the contours are filled in, various tints from 

 black to red are usually employed. The 

 outlines are seldom marred by blotches or 

 evidences of an uncertain stroke. 



Of the more than eighty figures described 

 already from Font-de-Gaume, forty-nine 

 represent the bison, four the reindeer, four 

 the horse, three the antelope, two the mam- 

 moth, one the stag, one Felis leo, one Bhi- 



