424 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [VoL. XXXIII. 
The population of Sahara never attained the density, or the height 
of culture, of the Egyptians; nevertheless, no line of demarcation 
between the two peoples is apparent during the neolithic period. 
Discoveries similar to those in Sahara were made in Algiers and 
in Tunis. Oran was particularly rich in specimens. In Tunis the 
silex stations and shops are quite numerous. In the oasis Métouia, 
north of Gabes, Mr. Belucci, in 1875, found over 1700 arms and 
implements of stone. He also found nearly 3000 specimens at Gabes 
itself. Since then a number of other important finds have been made 
in these regions. The characters of the implements are very nearly 
like those from the Sahara, and similar characters are observed on 
stone implements from Egypt. Axes and polished articles are rare. 
The modes of burial are much alike throughout northern Africa. 
We meet with several distinct methods. The most ancient burials 
were like those of many American peoples, the body being buried 
with its head bent down and the lower limbs folded towards the body 
— in the shape of the fcetus in utero, This mode of burial occurs 
from Egypt to the extreme limit of western Africa (Cape Spartel); 
it is still preserved by the Guanches. 
Somewhat later, bodies were buried in cysts or ionses: made from 
beaten clay or from sun-dried bricks. Still another form of burial 
consisted in enclosing the body in one or two large earthen jars — 
a method which was practiced in some parts of Central America. 
These kinds of burial were also found to be common to various parts 
of northern Africa. The jar burials are particularly prominent in 
Tunis and Algiers, where they seem to have been practiced for a 
longer period of time than in Egypt. At Carthage, jar sepulchres 
date from as late as the early Punic epoch. This form of burial is 
also found in parts of Spain, in Corsica, and Balearic Islands. The 
period of such graves is throughout anterior to the use of iron, 
though embracing in places the periods of copper and bronze. 
Still another class of works which supports the theory of close 
connection of the prehistoric populations of the whole of northern 
Africa are the petroglyphs. These are found from Morocco to the 
Libyan desert. The engravings in the rock are often of large size, 
and represent the figures of plumed hunters or warriors, and of many 
animals, some of which have been for a long time extinct in these 
localities. There are no representations of horses, asses, camels, or 
sheep, from which it may be concluded that the petroglyphs antedate 
the introduction of these animals and are very ancient. They are 
closely allied to the grafiti of the higher Egypt and of a part of 
