50 
THE DATING OF EARLY HUMAN REMAINS. 
Cro-Magnon. It was unfortunate that the original types 
of the race, found by Lartet and Christy in the rock-shelter of 
Cro-Magnon in 1868 18 could not be reliably dated. The pro¬ 
longed attitude of scepticism was therefore fully justified. 
The human remains from Cro-Magnon were interments in 
the topmost layer of the palaeolithic deposit, and unlike the 
interments of La Chapelle, Le Moustier or Grimaldi, they were 
covered only with a sterile accumulation of talus fallen from 
the cliff above. This talus is not only unstratified, so that 
evidences of subsequent disturbance would not be obvious, 
but it is also in itself quite undatable. 
Duruthy. The comparative evidences obtained in the 
Duruthy rock-shelter, explored by MM. L. Lartet and Chaplain- 
Duparc in 1874, 19 are very interesting. On the floor of the 
shelter was a crushed human skull, undoubtedly Palaeolithic, 
and covered by a Palaeolithic relic bed. On the top of this there 
was a group of interments covered by a talus fallen from the 
cliff above, just as at Cro-Magnon. But in this case the upper 
interments were associated with pottery and implements of 
Neolithic types—thus showing their late date. 
It thus seems not improbable that,as held by Professor Boyd- 
Dawkins, the Cro-Magnon interments may be Neolithic, like 
those found in the Aurignac and many other caves. On the 
other hand—although it must be admitted that the race type 
of Cro-Magnon belongs to Modern Man and does not present 
such unmistakable characters as the Neanderthal type—yet 
the Cro-Magnon remains seem to show a certain combination 
of characters which are fairly distinctive, and these are repeated 
n a remarkable manner in the case of other interments whose 
Palaeolithic date can no longer be questioned. This is a line 
of evidence to which I think some weight should be given, al¬ 
though it may not amount to actual proof. 
Laugerie-Basse. This skeleton was found in 1872, and 
furnishes good evidence of the Late Palaeolithic date of the 
Cro-Magnon race. 20 It was found lying on the rock floor of 
the cave, with the back bone crushed by a block of limestone 
18 Reliquice Aquitanicce, p. 66, etc. 
19 Matcriaux pour I’Histoire, etc., de l’Homme, 1874, p. 101. W. Boyd-Dawkins, Early 
Man in Britain , 1880, p. 226. 
20 G. and A. de Mortillet Lc Prihistorique Origine ct Antiquite de VHomme, 3rd ed., 
1900, p. 315. Professor Sollas ( Ancient Hunters, 2nd ed., p. 509) considers that the remains 
were interred artificially in the contracted position. 
