IX 
highly contributed to our knowledge of the prehistoric fauna ;whilst 
Steenstrup had f. inst. assigned 17 species of wild mammals 
and 13 species of birds to the stone age, Winge succeeded in 
raising the number to respectively 26 and v54 species. Through 
his investigations Winge proved that the contents of the kitchen- 
middens from the second part of the Neolithic period essentially 
consist of bones of domestic animals (Oxen, Sheep and Swine). 
He discusses the origin of these domestic animals, gives inform¬ 
ation as to their races, and points out that there is no reason for 
supposing that the taming of the wild primitive forms has taken 
place in this country; further that oxen and swine at once appear 
as races of large dimensions, decrease in size during the Bronze 
and the Iron Ages, and become quite dwarfish during the Medieval 
Age, whilst the dog, the sheep, and the horse (the latter however 
only known with certainty from the Bronze Age) developed in just 
the opposite direction. From the remains of the wild animals Winge 
also draws important conclusions as to the conditions of the coun¬ 
try: the spaces of open country have only been small as all the 
birds are sea-fowls and wood-birds, whilst field birds such as the 
partridge are missing, and field animals such as the hare have only 
been found scantily in a single kitchen-midden. Although the oak 
already was the predominating forest-tree, forests of pines must still 
have been present as the capercaillie and the black woodpecker, 
pronounced inhabitant of the fir forests, were living here. 
Winge’s ability at determining fossil bones, even apparently 
quite unrecognizable bits of bones, was perfectly disconcerting. 
It is true, he possessed more than any other Scandinavian natura¬ 
list of our days the qualifications chiefly needed for this work: an 
exceedingly comprehensive knowledge of the skeleton of mammals 
and birds and an innate keensightedness to shape and details, which 
had been trained from his earliest youth through examining and 
comparing thousands and thousands of bones and fragments of 
bones — from but a single kitchen-midden (Ertebølle) he examined 
and determined c. 20,000 bones and fragments of bones of c. 60 
different species of animals. Winge applied enormous efforts to his 
investigations of our prehistoric fauna and carried them out with 
minute precision, for he never put his name to any determination 
which he could not vouch for. 
