1 2 2 PREHISTORIC E UROPE. 



alpine region in our continent. All these varied deposits and 

 accumulations are referred by geologists to the Pleistocene Period, 

 and it is clearly a matter of importance to discover, if we can, to 

 what particular stage of that period the ossiferous layers of our 

 caves belong. Must we relegate them to the beginning, the 

 middle, or the end of Pleistocene times? What relation do 

 they bear to the so-called Glacial Period or Ice Age ? The only 

 instance in which we find cave-deposits brought into actual 

 contact with accumulations which are undeniably of glacial 

 origin is that of the Victoria Cave, in Yorkshire. In that cave 

 we have evidence to show that a cold climate, characterised by 

 the presence of large glaciers in the north of England, super- 

 vened after the departure of hyaenas, elephants, and their con- 

 geners. Does it follow, then, that all similar cave-accumula- 

 tions in which the remains of these animals occur must belong 

 to the same age as those of the Victoria Cave, or may not some 

 be of earlier and others of later date ? 



It is clear that the caves themselves can give us no decisive 

 reply to all these questions ; they yield us no direct informa- 

 tion as to the climatic and geographical conditions that obtained 

 in Europe before the introduction and formation of their earths, 

 silts, breccias, and stalagmites. 1 We have seen, however, that 

 some caves certainly contain deposits of more recent Pleistocene 

 age than others, and that the closing stage of the Palaeolithic 

 Epoch was characterised by an extremely cold climate. But 

 we have still to learn what exact relation our cave-deposits 

 as a whole bear to the Pleistocene Period. In a word, we have 

 to ascertain whether the so-called Old Stone Age belongs to 

 Preglacial, Glacial, or Postglacial times. 



Fortunately for geologists, the links in the evidence which 

 the caves fail to supply have been discovered elsewhere. In 

 England and the Continent the fauna so characteristic of the 

 older cave-accumulations has left its remains in certain super- 



1 This is generally true, according to our present knowledge ; but there are 

 exceptional cases, such as the caves of Gibraltar, in which the relation of the 

 bone-bearing beds to deposits pertaining to the Glacial Period is clearly shown. 

 See Chapter XIII. 



