open to the German Ocean than it is now, we can easily understand that the fluctuations of level may have been greater, and we can thus explain how the waves may have risen over the Kjökkenmödding at Bilidt (which is after all not much more than 10 feet above the water), without resorting to the hypothesis of a subsidence and subsequent elevation of the coast.
In the Lake-habitations of the Stone age in Switzerland, grains of wheat and barley and even pieces of bread, or rather biscuit, have been found.[1] It does not however appear that the men of the Kjökkenmöddings had any knowledge of agriculture, no traces of grain of any sort having been hitherto discovered. The only vegetable remains found in them have been burnt pieces of wood and some charred substance referred by M. Forchhammer to the Zostera marina, a sea plant which was perhaps used in the production of salt.
The four species of shells which constitute the greater portion of these deposits are in the order of their abundance,—
The oyster, Ostrea edulis, L.
The cockle, Cardium edule, L.
The mussel, Mytilus edulis, L. and
The periwinkle, Littorina littorea, L.
all four of which are still used as food for man. Four other species occur more rarely, namely,—
Nassa reticulata, L.
Buccinum undatum, L. (the whelk)
Venus pullastra, Mont, and
Helix nemoralis (the snail).
It is remarkable that the specimens of these species are very well developed, and decidedly larger than any now found in the neighbourhood. This is especially the case with the Cardium edule and Littorina littorea, while the oyster has entirely disappeared, and even in the Cattegat itself occurs only in a few places, a result which may perhaps be partly accounted for by the quantities caught. Some oysters were, however, still living in the Isefjord at the beginning of the century, and their disappearance cannot be altogether ascribed to the fishermen, as great numbers of dead shells are still present; but in this case it is attributed to the abundance of starfishes, which are very destructive to oysters. On the whole, however, their disappearance, especially when taken in connexion with the dwarf size of the other species, is evidently attributable in a great measure to the smaller proportion of salt in the water.
Of Crustacea only a few fragments of crabs have hitherto been found. Fish bones, on the contrary, are frequent, the commonest being—
Clupea harengus, L. (the herring)
Gadus callarias, L. (the dorse)
Pleuronectes limanda, L. (the dab) and
Murena anguilla, L. (the eel).
