6 GUIDE TO THE FOSSIL MAMMALS AND BIRDS. 



Wall-ease mammoth occurs chiefly in the hyaena-dens, where it is 

 p. lw represented only by the teeth of young individuals which 

 ' would be a much more ready prey than the full-grown beasts. 

 The hyaena-dens are easily recognised, not merely by the 

 abundance of the remains of the hyaenas themselves, but 

 also by their " coprolites " (or fossilised excrement) and the 

 gnawed bones of their prey. The tooth-marks of these 

 animals are often quite distinct ; and the long bones of their 

 prey are usually represented only by the middle of the shaft, 

 the ends having been gnawed away until the hyaenas could 

 scoop out the whole of the marrow with their tongue. Very 

 good examples are exhibited from the Brixham, Doward's 

 "Wood, Wookey, and Creswell Caves. 



The old river-deposits in the valley of the Thames, which 

 are contemporaneous with the lower cavern deposits, have 

 yielded remains of the same mammals as the latter, with the 

 addition of the elk (Aloes machlis), the musk-ox (Ovibos 

 moschatus), and the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica). These 

 will be referred to again when treating of the systematic 

 collection. 



Man Associated with Pleistocene Mammals. 



Table-ease During the whole of the Pleistocene period, while the 

 1- mammals .just enumerated lived in western Europe, man was 



undoubtedly present as a wandering hunter. Very few of 

 his bones occur ; but his implements of stone and bone, with 

 occasional traces of his fires, are found in intimate association 

 with the remains of the wild beasts. A few examples of the 

 primitive implements are arranged in Table-case 1 and in the 

 drawers of an adjoining cabinet, which contains the greater 

 part of the late Sir Joseph Prestwich's collection. 



All the stone implements found in the Pleistocene 

 deposits are of the " Palaeolithic " or ancient-stone-age type, 

 i.e., they are roughly chipped (not polished), and their 

 broadest end would be grasped or fixed, while their narrowest 

 or pointed end would be used for chopping, cutting, or 

 scraping. In the valley of the Thames, as in many other 

 places, these implements were of flint ; and some of the spots 

 on the river-bank where the Palaeolithic hunter actually 

 made his equipment have been discovered. One such 

 " floor," explored by Mr. Flaxman C. J. Spurrell at Crayford 

 in Kent, is illustrated by a selection from his collection 

 in Table-case 1. Here are the flakes which were struck 



