OSBORX. REVIEW OF THE PLEISTOCENE 3H 



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

 M. Maraghanus) . 104 



TRANSITION" TO THE EUROPEAN FOREST STAGE 



This transition is believed to have 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. 105 As the glacial caps 

 retreated they left barren stretches behind them and the valleys and 

 plateaus now free from ice became tundras 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 Nehring 106 held that the Steppe period of central 

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

 Woldrich (1896), 107 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 "Newer Loess" in Postglacial times (Koken, 



104 Scharff, R. F. : The History of the European Fauna, p. 44. London, 1899. 



105 Studee, T. : "Die Tierreste aus den pleistocsenen Ablagerungen des Schweizers- 

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

 xxxv, pp. 1-38. 1896. 



io6 Nehring, A. : tiber Tundren und Steppen der Jetzt- und Vorzeit, mit besonderer 

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



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

 Mitteleuropas." Sitzber. kgl. bohm. Ges., math, naturwiss. Class., 1896. Ref. Matiegka 

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



