260 



The Scottish Naturalist. 



Human Body, (£20 ; Sec, Mr. Bloxam), appears to be 

 a line of work in which the Members of Local Societies 

 might give very real assistance, by making careful observa- 

 tions of the effects of the various occupations pursued in 

 their own vicinity. Information as to the best methods of 

 carrying on such observations will be obtained from the 

 Secretary on application to him by those willing to assist. 

 2. Ascertaining and recording the localities in the 

 British Islands in which evidences of the Exist- 

 ence of Prehistoric Inhabitants of the country- 

 are found, (Sec, Mr. J. VV. Davis). This Committee 

 has now reported thrice to the annual meetings, in 1887, 

 (pp. 168-172), in 1888, (pp. 289-316), and in 1889 (not yet 

 published). Necessarily, the Committee is concerned with 

 very much the same objects as the Antiquarian Societies ; 

 and much information relating to prehistoric remains is 

 already published in the Journals and Transactions of 

 these bodies. But the British Association, both in itself 

 and through the Corresponding Societies, appeals to so 

 much wider an audience that there is full scope for such a 

 Committee. 



A reference to the admirable list of the remains of Prehistoric 

 Man in Derbyshire, compiled by the Rev. J. Magens Mello, and 

 published in the Report for 1888, (pp. 290-316), will show, more 

 clearly than any mere statement can do, the value of such a care- 

 ful catalogue. It is much to be desired that similar lists should 

 be taken in hand by the various Local Societies, to save from 

 oblivion much that must in course of time be lost if not soon put 

 on record. 



In the Report for 1887, (p. 168), the Committee suggest that 

 the various remains may best be tabulated under certain groups ; 

 viz. — 1. Caves and Caverns ; 2. Camps and Earthworks ; 3. Lake- 

 Dwellings and other Crannoges ; 4. Menhirs and Dolmens ; 

 5. Barrows, Tumuli, and other Burial-places. In the Report for 

 1888, (pp. 289-90), the recommendation is added that in mapping 

 the position of the various remains certain conventional signs, 

 (shown in the Report, /. c), be used, as adopted by the Interna- 

 tional Congress of Anthropologists and Archaeologists held at 

 Stockholm in 1874. The ages of localised groups of objects, 

 whether found in association with the larger monuments, or 



