14 
stance.”* An ivory rod was found with the “ red la y in 
Paviland’s cave by Dr. Buckland, and “acylindnca piece o 
ivory about f inch in diameter was found in a cavern in le 
south of Prance, and is now in the Christy Collection, t in 
former days a rod was an emblem of authority an power ; 
therefore, we are led to inter, without much effort o tie lina^i 
nation, that the ivory rod of Brixham might have been e 
sceptre of a Palaeolithic prince, or the “ baton of comman 
of an ancient chieftain ; and as no doubt can be cas on le 
human origin of such a relic, it must, if veiitied, e ie roos 
important piece of evidence produced from the cavern. e 
are, however, left in complete ignorance of all the vital points 
of the case; we are not told by whom it was found, or when, or 
where. Mr. Prestwich mentions it in the report to the Royal 
Society, and dismisses it with one sentence : " the position ot this 
is not certain.” J Mr. Pengelly says : “ I have no recollection 
of this specimen. ... Iam inclined to suspect that it does 
not belong to the cavern series of specimens. It may, 1 believe, 
be safely stated that every object forwarded to the Committee 
was numbered bv myself, and that its position was du y recorded 
in the register.” § It is not placed amongst the relics in the 
Christy Museum ; and Mr. Philp, the proprietor of the cavern, 
writes tome: “As to the ivory rod you ask me about , L am 
sure I never saw it, neither do I know anything about it. In 
this matter, Mr. Evans has probably been imposed on, but he 
should either confirm or withdraw this mythic wand. 
A Cut Bone. — We are informed in the Report to the Royal 
Society, that “ Dr. Falconer alludes to part ot a reindeer s 
horn which has an apparently artificial incision ”;|| but we are 
told in a foot-note “ that Mr. Busk sees reason to question this 
conclusion (see page 537).” On referring to that part ot the 
Report prepared by Mr. Busk, we find that this scratch was 
not on the horn of a reindeer, but on the rib of a bear ; and 
is thus described : “ On one of the ribs is a small notch, which 
Dr. Falconer observes might have been made by means ot a 
flint or stone implement. Of course this may be so ; but upon 
close inspection I am inclined to think that it is not an incision 
or scratch at all, but a mere indentation by some blunt edge, 
which has simply depressed the soft texture of the bone without 
breaking the surface. The bottom and sides, therefore, ot this 
very trifling mark appear rounded, smooth, and under a magni- 
* Ancient Stone Implements, p. 471. __ f Ibid. 
t Transactions of the Royal Society, vol. clxiii. p. 564. 
^ Transactions of the Devon Association, vol. vi. p. (>3(5. || 
Report, p. 5G4. 
