OSBORX. REVIEW OF THE PLEISTOCENE 311 



extinct Lower Pliocene species are found in Maragha, Persia (M. polaki, 

 ]\f. Maraghanus) .^°* 



•1 



TRANSITION TO THE EUEOPEAN FOREST STAGE 



This transition is believed to liave begun late in Postglacial times, 

 toward the end of the Magdalenian culture period. Evidence that the 

 mammoth fauna lingered late both in the Dordogne region of central 

 France and to the north is found in the abundant representation of the 

 mammoths in the very latest paintings and engravings by the Magda- 

 lenian artists. 



MIGRATION OF THE TUNDRA FAUNA 



The backward or northward migration of the Tundra fauna is be- 

 lieved to have occurred in the following manner.^"^ As the glacial caps 

 retreated they left barren stretches behind them and the valleys and 

 plateaus now free from ice became tiuidras where swamps alternated 

 with patches of polar willows and stunted fir trees, while other areas 

 were covered merely with low, scrubby birches or reindeer moss and 

 lichens. As these climatic conditions shifted northward before the re- 

 treat of the great Scandinavian glaciers the Tundra fauna followed. It 

 was a slow change that drove the Tundra mammals toward the dry re- 

 gions of the east to make room for the forests and their faunas advancing 

 from the south. It is clear that the north and east were the only direc- 

 tions of retreat for the damp climate and the spread of the woodlands. 



RETREAT OF THE STEPPE FAUNA 



As long ago as 1890 ISTehring^**® held that the Steppe period of central 

 Europe was partly in Postglacial times. This opinion was supported by 

 Woldrich (1896),^°' and has been abundantly confirmed by Harle's ob- 

 servations in southern France and by the recent researches of Koken and 

 Schmidt. Steppe conditions of climate appear probable from the exten- 

 sive depositions of the ^^Xewer Loess" in Postglacial times (Koken, 



1*^ ScHARFF, R. F. : The History of the European Fauna, p. 44. London, 1899. 



105 Studer, T. : "Die Tierreste aus den pleistocjenen Ablagerungen des Schweizers- 

 bildes hei Schaffhausen." Neue Denkschr. allg. schweiz. Ges. Gesam. Naturwiss.. Vol, 

 XXXV, pp. 1-38. 1896. 



106 Nehring, A. : tjber Tundren und Steppen der Jetzt- und Vorzeit, mit besonderer 

 Beriicksichtigung ihrer Fauna, pp. 81-166. Berlin. 1890. 



^^^ Woldrich, J. N. : "Ueber die Gliederung der anthropologischen Formationsgruppe 

 Mitteleuropas." Sitzber. kgl. b(3hm. Ges.. math, naturwiss. Class., 1896. Ref. Matiegka 

 in Centralblatt Anthrop.. pp. 142-143. 1896. 



