2l8 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



reindeer, Irish elk, horse and hyaena. 

 Flint implements, flakes, and cores 

 were also discovered. The excava- 

 tion revealed three distinct layers of 

 earth. The lowest contained bones and 

 teeth of the hyaena, and of animals 

 which formed its prey. Next came re- 

 mains of the lion, bear and sabre-toothed 

 tiger ; the uppermost layer contained flint 

 flakes, implements, and charcoal. Some 

 of the bones discovered exhibit tooth 

 marks — those of the hyaena. The hyaena, 

 it may be noted, hunted at night in packs, 

 driving the animals on which it preyed 

 over precipices by howling behind them. 



The writer of this article, with his 

 brother, lately discovered another small 

 "den," in which were found many bones 

 and teeth of the before-mentioned animals, 

 especially those of the rhinoceros. It is 

 supposed that the latter was larger than 

 the present living species, and that its 

 body was covered with wool. The horse 

 was much smaller than at present ; on the 

 other hand, the bear, lion and sabre- 

 toothed tiger appear to have been larger 

 than their modern representatives. 



The human inhabitants of these caves 

 are believed to have been Iberians : short, 

 bullet-headed, with dark hair and eyes. 

 Their food consisted of fish and the flesh 

 of the deer and other animals. They 

 clothed themselves with the skins of the animals 

 they killed. Their implements were flint spears 

 and arrow-heads fixed to wooden shafts, and saws, 

 knives and scrapers, also of flint. The scrapers 



The Disappearing River. 



were employed for removing the hair from the 

 skins which constituted their clothing ; needles of 

 bone have also been discovered. The Iberians' 

 method of writing was by means of a flint on a bone 



with a flat sur- 

 face,such as a rib- 

 bone, on which 

 they scratched 

 a rude picture, 

 which easily con- 

 veyed their mean- 

 ing to the person 

 for whom it was 

 intended. A con- 

 siderable number 

 of these inte- 

 resting picture- 

 writings have 

 been found, many 

 of which are at 

 present in the 

 British Museum, 

 in France, and 

 in private col- 

 lections. — Rose- 

 court,Thcale, Wes- 

 ton-super-Mare. 



Part of the Cave. 



