1907.] Doerflinger, Recent Archeological Discoveries. 
135 
one side and a yellow patine on the other; and an Acheuleen 
flaked flint, finely chipped on both surfaces. 
In the lozver Quaternary were found a superb Chelleen brown 
flint fist-ax, of almond shape, with large flakings on both sides, 
and over six inches long, taken from a wide cistern formed by 
currents in the Tertiary formation underlying the Quaternary; 
two other flint implements from the same bed ; and four more 
that were not taken out of the undisturbed matrix. No prehistoric 
bones were found. A local peasants' adage explains it thus : 
"Le sable maigre mange les os ; la terre gros les conserve." *'The 
meagre (siHceous) sand eats the bones; the fat earth (argilocal- 
careous) preserves them." 
The discovery of such tools in situ 12 feet under the lowest 
quaternary stratum would mean great glory for Daleau, but he 
candidly states that the quaternary waters probably drilled out 
the pothole and deposited in it the implements. Nevertheless, 
the discovery was the first in Southern France, where Alon- 
stereen and Acheuleen (middle Quaternary) flint tools of human 
make were superimposed in their proper order over the Chelleen 
type of the inferior Quaternary, and where the latter were in con- 
tact with the Tertiary, thus corroborating the chronology of the 
Mortillets (father and son) who established the following 
schedule, now generally approved, although the localities Acheul 
and Chelles are nearly one hundred miles apart. 
TABLE SHOWING THE SUCCESSION OF THE FBENCH 
QUATEENAEY FORMATIONS. 
Upper Quaternary 
Neolithic 
Lacustrine 
Madaluneenne 
Solutreenne 
Middle Quaternary 
PalcPolithic 
JSIonsterienne 
Acheulleenne 
Lower Quternary 
Chelleenne 
