vol. 60.] [mplemextiferocts sections at wolvercote. 13' 



Discussion. 



Prof. Soll.vs congratulated the Aut hor on the successful conclusion 

 to which he had brought his arduous and protracted labours. With 

 regard to the evidence of ice-action afforded by the Wolvercotc pit. 

 he could not regard it, taken by itself, as conclusive. When the 

 Author had first shown him the curious disturbances in the Oxford 

 Clay, he had been much impressed by them, particularly when he 

 found in them the singular tea-leaf structure which was sometimes 

 associated with imperfectly-foliated Glacial clay; but, while sug- 

 gestive, the evidence was not demonstrative, for other agencies, such 

 as subterranean erosion, might conceivably have produced similar 

 results. The Author had also shown him flint-implements bearing- 

 tine striae, but observations on implements from Amiens revealed 

 the presence of similar stme on them, and it remained possible that 

 river-ice or internal movements of the gravels might be responsible 

 for these markings. In any case, the evidence had not been sufficient 

 to produce conviction either in himself or others. Later observations, 

 with which the Author had been made acquainted, on Shotover and 

 Cumnor Hills, had, however, thrown an entirely-new light on this 

 matter, and there could now be little doubt that the disturbances 

 in the Oxford Clay at Wolvercote were of the same nature as 

 those exhibited elsewhere in the district on a grander scale, which 

 were to be explained by ice. 



The speaker thought that some attempt might be made at a closer 

 analysis of the problem than was implied by the use of the term 

 ' Palaeolithic' Prof, Moritz Hcernes, from a review of the whole body 

 of evidence furnished by observations in Europe, had been led to 

 subdivide the Palaeolithic Period into three stages, characterized bv 

 their fauna, geological horizon, and state of culture : these are the 

 Ohelleen-Mousterien, the Solutreen, and the Magdalenien. An 

 examination of the implements exhibited by the Author showed that 

 they were plainly Chelleen : there were no pointes afeuille de 

 laurier, nopointes a cran, nothing to remind one of Laugerie 

 Haute or Cro-Magnon, still less of La Madeleine. Therefore the 

 evidence from culture-stages would assign this find to the lowest 

 subdivision of Hcernes. Turning to the fauna, it was especially cha- 

 racterized by horse and mammoth, and thus should be referred to the 

 second stage. Finally, the terrace to which the gravels belonged was 

 the lowest in the Thames Valley, and must be referred by hypothesis 

 to the last inter-Glacial stage, or third subdivision of Hcernes. They 

 were thus presented with a very remarkable problem — the three 

 characters on which Hcernes depended spoke each with a different 

 voice — the implements pointed to Chelleen, the fauna to Solutreen, 

 and the geological horizon to Magdalenien. 



Mr. Clement Reid said that he had spoken of the flowering-plants 

 as of ' doubtful age/ because they came from a deposit overlying the 

 implement-bearing gravel, and not from the same deposit as the 

 implements. Also, these plants were all species of wide climatic 

 and geographic distribution, and were still living near Oxford. The 



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