THE AGE OF THE LAST UI^RISE OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 189 



I do not know whether it is possible to establish that with regard to 

 the Stone, the Bronze, and the Iron Ages. In some countries the 

 different Ages, no doubt, are shown by the remains that are found ; 

 but I do not think we need suppose that those different periods 

 were contemporaneous throughout the whole world. Dealing with 

 our own times, certain tril^es in America are now using flint 

 implements, so that we have flint implements contemporaneous 

 with the highest civilization yet obtained by man. 



Another thing that interests me in this paper is the reference that 

 Professor Hull makes to the early period preceding these more 

 modern oscillations and elevations. There seems to have been a 

 break, if I understand it, in the history of man shown in this way. 

 In certain of the caves in different parts of the country, as for 

 instance even in the Brixham Giant's Cavern, you have deposits in 

 which what are known as " palaeolithic " implements are found. Then 

 over that you have a layer of stalagmite, and over that layer of 

 stalagmite you have a more recent deposit in which what are known 

 as " neolithic " implements are found, made of bones and so forth ; 

 practically indicating that there are two eras in the history of this 

 and other caves, and that the men who wrought the palaeolithic 

 implements had not attained to, or at any rate practised, the art of 

 smoothing and polishing them as the men of a later period had 

 done. Xow it may interest us to inquire whether anything is 

 known in the history of the human race that would at all agree 

 with these breaks in its history. Well, we have, I think, something 

 that may possibly correlate with this change. Take, for instance, 

 the change of temperature in the northern parts of Europe. I 

 believe the mammoth is not necessarily an Arctic animal, but it is 

 of the elephant species, and probably therefore preferred a temperate 

 or even a tropical climate to the Arctic conditions ; and, as we are 

 aware, for many years thousands of tons of mammoth ivory were 

 brought year by year into this country, indicating, apparently, as 

 Professor Hull has told us, that these many remarkable elevations of 

 the land were accompanied by (if not producing) a very low 

 temperature. Then there appears to have been a return of some- 

 thing like temperate conditions at all events, as these creatures have 

 been found in these regions. Then there was a gradual elevation 

 of the land when they were suddenly frozen, and they have been 

 found almost intact in our own time. Such changes as these, 



