TRACES OF A RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF PRIMEVAL MAN. 141 



It represents a man perfectly naked, with his right arm raised 

 in the act of striking. By his side stands a horse, evidently 

 domesticated, receiving the blow. Another horse stands close 

 by. Behind the man is the sea, which is indicated by curved 

 lines representing waves. Partly in the water and partly on 

 the land is a gigantic serpent, which is clearly landing to make 

 an attack upon the man, who stands helpless with his back to 

 the monster. MM. Christy and Lartet declare that they are 

 unable to interpret this picture. Professor Boyd Dawkins 

 supposes* that it represents a hunter attacking a herd of wild 

 horses, and that the serpent is really a gigantic eel ! This idea, 

 however, is refuted by the horses standing quietly by the side of 

 the man, with their faces turned towards him, while it entirely 

 ignores the threatening attitude of the serpent, which is three 

 times the size of the man. Moreover, as the eel is harmless, 

 and it would not be drawn landing from the sea and attacking 

 the man. Sir William Dawson thinks t that the picture 

 portrays a man migrating with his horses from the coast to an 

 inland district. This view cannot be accepted, for the horses 

 stand close to the man and are approaching him, and have no 

 burdens on their backs. Moreover, the serpent, which is the 

 most important part of the picture, and which is attacking 

 the man, is by this theory unexplained. The best explanation 

 of this Palaeolithic drawing is surely the following : It 

 represents a man Scacrificing horses to appease the wrath of 

 the mighty Serpent-God, which has its abode in the sea. 

 This explains the anger of the serpent, and the man raising 

 his hand to kill the horses to propitiate its wrath. On this 

 explanation every portion of the drawing is completely 

 harmonised. 



Another carving in the same cave of La Madelaine further 

 supports this view. This represented a great serpent, which 

 was carved on a fragment of bone. The serpent's mouth was 

 open, and its eye and powerful teeth and its scales were 

 strikingly depicted.]: Around the serpent were the waves of 

 the sea, exactly as in the former carving. 



Another striking proof of serpent worship in Palaeolithic 

 times is found in the baton of Montgaudier. This is a fragment 

 of a reindeer horn, which probably belonged to a priest, or to a 



* Early Man in Britain, p. 214. 

 t Fossil Man, pp. 266, 268. 



t Reliquice Acquitanice, B, Plate XXIV, Fig. 4, p. 159. 



