OF WESTERN EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN COASTS. 
937 
Felis leo (F. spelcea). 
Felis lynx. 
Equus cahallus (of large size). 
Canis lupus (remains very 
abundant). 
„ vulpes. 
Meles taxus. 
Ursus (intermediate between U. spelceus 
and U. ferox). 
Lepus timidus. 
Rhinoceros merckii. 
Sus scrofa. 
BovidcB (size of Bos taurus). 
Cervus elaphus (and var. Canadensis). 
The bones were in a very broken state. M. Gaudry observes that their accu¬ 
mulation could neither be attributed to man nor to animals, for the fractures in no 
way resemble those made by man for the j)urpose of extracting the marrow, and 
notwithstanding the abundance of Wolves, none of the hones show traces of having 
been gnawed by Carnivora. How then could this collection have been brought 
together ? As M. Gaudry justly remarks, “ Why should so many Wolves, Bears, 
Horses, and Oxen have ascended a hill isolated on all sides ? ” M. Gaudry further 
remarks that the deposit seems to have been formed by water precipitating the 
breccia and the bones into a fissure. But whence,” he says, “ have come the 
waters sufficiently abundant to bring together the bones ? ” The fissure is so near 
the top of the hill that there is little gathering ground above it, and had the bones 
and fragments of rock been carried in by a stream or torrential rains, they must 
have shown more or less wear, and have lost their sharp angles. It was suggested 
by some members that the event took place during the height of the glacial period, 
when the Alpine glaciers are known to have advanced as far as Lyons, and might 
there have formed a barrier which would have greatly modified the conditions of the 
country through which the Saone flowed, but it is difficult to suppose that the 
glacier at that distance from its base, retained a magnitude sufficient to dam back 
the land waters to a height that would cover the hill of Santenay, though it is said 
that the glaciers of Savoy have left traces on the hills around Lyons, at a height 
of about 1300 feet; but even this would not have sufficed to cover Santenay, and on 
the hill itself no traces of glacial action are recorded. 
To account for the presence of the bones it was pointed out that in winter snow 
would cover the ground and hide such fissures, which would thus serve as traps for the 
animals when pursued, or that on the melting of the snow the remains of those which 
had died v/ould be washed into them. But as I explained in a former paper, it is 
impossible to admit that the remains are those of animals that had fallen into the 
fissures, for in that case all the bones of the skeleton must inevitably have been pre¬ 
served, although they might have been scattered, whereas the presence of the entire 
skeleton,* or even of the bones of detached limbs in connection, is the rare exception. 
As a rule, the bones are without order and in no j) 0 ssible relative proportion.t 
* Not a single such case is recorded of the fissures in France. 
t That there are instances of open fissures in which animals are lost is not to be doubted. It is said 
MDCCCXCm.—A. 6 D 
