THE CATTEDOWN BONE CAVE. 
23 
of imagination to believe the bulk of its human remains to be 
those of occupants also, since they indicate just such differences of 
age and sex as would be likely to exist in an ancient troglodytal 
family. 
The last point, however, is purely a speculation, which neither 
adds to, nor takes from, the value of the discovery. What we 
have to congratulate ourselves upon is, the additional light thrown 
upon the human members of the cave fauna of Devon. 
Before I proceed with a more detailed description of the 
components of the find, it may be desirable to meet some possible 
objections to my inferences of the antiquity of the remains, at 
least of the human. I have hitherto rather assumed this 
antiquity, than advanced categorical proof, though no step has 
been taken in the presentation of the case without evidence being 
given. I may be asked, " What evidence have you, after all, that 
the human remains are of equal age with those of the rhinoceros, 
the lion, and the hysena — the three locally pre-historic members 
of the cavern fauna 1 ? May not the two sets of remains — the 
human and the earlier infra -human — have been associated 
subsequently to the original deposition of the latter J May there 
not be some fault in the method of investigation i Have not the 
investigators been deceived?" 
These queries, I think, cover the whole ground of possible 
objection. 
It has been said that the only way of obtaining absolutely 
satisfactory evidence from the exploration of a cavern deposit 
is to keep it under lock and key, and I frankly admit that in the 
present case nothing of the kind was done. Short of building a 
house over the fissure, the thing was impossible. But the cave 
was on enclosed premises, not accessible readily to the general 
public. Moreover, it was sealed by nature far more effectually 
than it could have been by any human lock. 
Let us for a moment recapitulate the facts. We have a deposit of 
stalagmitic-breccia, containing not merely detached bones, but the 
remains of complete skeletons of various animals — deer, wolf, 
hyaena, and man, the principal. The association of these bones is 
such as to make it perfectly clear that they were deposited where 
found while still covered with the integuments; that is, soon 
