86 
HAROLD’S DISCUSSIONS. 
that was at first supposed to belong to a being whose 
structure was between man and the apes, but it proved 
to be human. Later two more skeletons were un¬ 
earthed having skulls like that found bj Neanderthal. 
These men had bent knees. The Mentone skeleton 
found near Nice was tall and well-formed, and near 
his head lay twenty stag-teeth in a circle, each having 
a hole through it as if he had used them for a necklace. 
Kude implements were also found embedded with him 
in the stalagmitic deposits. Similar remains have been 
discovered in India, South America, Minnesota, Ohio, 
and New Jersey. From all these it has been argued 
that man first appeared about the middle of the Qua¬ 
ternary age, but there is much doubt as to the exact 
time. 
It is quite probable, it would seem, that man came 
on the stage of action not until the ice sheet had re¬ 
treated. How many years ago was that ? Some 
geologists have computed from the erosion in gorges 
and at waterfalls that about ten thousand years have 
elapsed since that time; others make the time only 
seven thousand years. 
Remains of human skeletons have been sought 
for very diligently, but few dating back much be¬ 
fore early traditionary times have been found. At 
whatever time man appeared, the oldest relics are 
tools, which are crudely chopped. They would more 
easily be preserved than his bones. The period to 
which these rough implements belong is called the 
ancient or Rough Stone age. These tools consisted 
chiefly of weapons for defense, such as spear-heads 
