Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London/Volume 32/On the Mammalia and Traces of Man found in the Robin-Hood Cave
Contents.
2. Occupation of cave by Hyænas interrupted by floods.
3. Occupation of cave by Hyænas during deposition of cave-earth interrupted by Man.
4. Occupation by Man during the period of the Breccia.
5. Dog not present.
6. Fauna of the Breccia different from that of underlying strata.
7. Remains from surface-soil.
8. Distribution of Species in the cave.
9. Notes on Species.
10. Traces of Man in the cave.
11. Implements of antler and mammoth-tooth.
12. Implements of quartzite and ironstone.
13. Implements of flint.
14. Distribution of implements in cave.
15. The ruder implements the older.
16. North-western range of Palæolithic hunters.
The discovery of the fossil remains in the Robin-Hood Cave, brought before the Geological Society by the Rev. J. Magens Mello in the preceding paper, is of no common interest. It proves not only that the caves of Derbyshire were the lairs of Hyænas in ancient times, but that they were inhabited by the same kind of Palæolithic men as those of the caves of the south of England, of France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The remains have been handed over to me for description by Mr. Mello and his coadjutor Mr. Heath, and are the subject of the following remarks.
1. Cave occupied by Hyænas during deposition of Lower and Middle strata.
A comparison of the bones and teeth from the lower red sand and clay, and from the cave-earth, with those from Wookey Hole, Kent's Hole, Kirkdale, and other hyæna-dens, renders it impossible to doubt that the great majority of the animals in the cave were killed and eaten by the Hyænas. With few exceptions the solid bones are alone perfect, the long bones containing marrow and the vertebræ being represented merely by gnawed fragments. All the lower jaws have lost their angles and coronoid process; and the number of teeth stands in a greater ratio to the quantity of bones, than would have been the case had not their possessors fallen a prey to a bone-destroying animal. The only long bones and vertebræ which were found without marks of the teeth of Hyæna were met with in the lowest ossiferous stratum, and belong to the Bison and Reindeer. Their presence may be explained by the supposition that they were introduced by the stream flowing past the entrance.
2. Occupation of cave by Hyænas interrupted by Floods.
The red sand and clay of the lower ossiferous stratum are the results of an occasional flooding; and the smoothed and rounded surfaces of many of the bones and teeth are due to the friction of the sand set in motion by the currents of water in the cave. It seems, therefore, tolerably clear that the occupation of the cave by the Hyæna, during the time of the deposition of the lower ossiferous stratum, was occasionally interrupted by floods.
3. Occupation of cave by Hyænas during deposition of cave-earth interrupted by Man.
The middle deposit of red loam, of the kind so abundant in caves in the south of England, has probably been introduced during heavy rains, and is to some extent the result of the decomposition of the limestone. During its accumulation Hyænas inhabited the cave; but their occupation was disturbed by the visits of Palæolithic hunters, who left behind them the implements to be presently described.
4. Occupation by Man daring the period of the Breccia.
The remains from the breccia above the cave-earth seem to me to indicate that the cave at that time was inhabited by Man, and that it was not so frequently visited by the Hyænas as before. The pieces of breccia, which I have carefully broken up in search after bone needles, contain for the most part the split and broken bones and a few vertebræ of the Hare. Had the Hyænas then frequented the cave, the vertebræ would have been eaten, and some of the bones would have been gnawed.
5. Dog not present.
The presence of the vertebræ also implies that the Dog was not used by the hunters who then lived in the cave. It will be remembered that a similar conclusion was drawn by MM. Lartet and Christy from the vertebræ of Reindeer in the caves of Perigord with regard to the Palæolithic hunters in the south of France. It seems, to me, indeed, after a careful examination of all the evidence, that the Dog was not the servant of Man in the Palæolithic age in Europe, and that the reputed occurrence of its remains in deposits of Pleistocene age is the result of mistaken identity, or of mistaken gisement.
6. Fauna of the Breccia different from that of underlying strata.
The group of remains from the breccia differs, as may be seen from the following Table, considerably from those of the underlying strata. The carnivores of the latter, with the exception of the Hyænas and Wolf, are conspicuous by their absence; while all the herbivores are represented, with the exception of the Bison. The Hare, on the other hand, so rare in the latter, is abundant in the breccia, This difference in the mammal faunas is accompanied, as will be seen, by corresponding differences in the implements. The numerous flint flakes and fragments of charcoal in the breccia prove that then Man was the normal inhabitant of the cave, while the broken bones prove that he fed for the most part on hares.
7. Remains from Surface-soil.
The remains from the surface-soil belong to domestic animals, such as the Short-horned Ox (Bos longifrons), Goat, Hog, and Dog, or to Hares and Rabbits. A fragment of Samian ware and pieces of rude black pottery prove that the cave was visited after the Roman conquest, and sherds of a glazed jar that it was also visited in the middle ages.
8. Distribution of Species in the Cave.
The accompanying list of species shows the vertical distribution of the animals in the cave, and enables us to form a rough idea of the mammalian fauna of the district. It will be seen that during the accumulation of the lower and middle strata the Horse was more often the prey of the Hyæna than any of the other animals, and next to it the woolly Rhinoceros, just as in the Hyæna-den of Wookey Hole, while the Bison, so enormously abundant in the deposit at Windy Knoll (Derbyshire), is comparatively rare. It was, however, more abundant in the lower stratum in the cave than in the cave-earth, the numbers of specimens in each being as thirty to six.
| Lower red sand and clay. |
Middle cave- earth. |
Upper Breccia. |
Surface-soil. | ||||||||||
| Jaws, Teeth | Bones. | Tools. | Jaws, Teeth | Bones. | Tools. | Jaws, Teeth | Bones. | Tools. | |||||
|
… | … | … | … | … | * | … | … | * | * | |||
|
1 | … | … | 3 | |||||||||
|
22 | 3 | … | 69 | 2 | … | 6 | ||||||
|
… | … | … | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
|
3 | … | … | 6 | … | … | … | 1 | |||||
|
11 | 1 | … | 2 | 1 | ||||||||
|
1 | ||||||||||||
|
… | … | … | 2 | … | … | 1 | 1 | |||||
|
6 | 17 | … | 6 | 22 | … | 1 | ||||||
|
2 | 26 | … | … | 6 | ||||||||
|
91 | 3 | … | 113 | 9 | … | 3 | ||||||
|
23 | 7 | … | 41 | 42 | … | 2 | ||||||
|
7 | 1 | 1 | … | 1 | ||||||||
|
… | … | … | … | … | … | 1 | ||||||
|
… | 1 | … | … | … | … | * | * | … | * | |||
|
… | … | … | * | … | … | * | ||||||
|
… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | * | |||
|
… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | * | |||
|
… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | * | |||
|
… | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | |||
9. Notes on Species.
Order CARNIYORA.
Lion.—The Lion is represented by three canines, two worn down to the stump and one belonging to a young adult, and by m1. These teeth belong to four individuals, and are rather smaller than the average of those from the British caves described in the Monograph on Felis spelæa by Mr. Ayshford Sanford and myself (Pal. Soc. 1866 et seq.)
Spotted Hyæna.—The cave variety of the Spotted Hyæna is proved to have inhabited the cave through many generations by the numerous jaws and teeth of all ages, ranging from whelphood to the extreme of old age. All the jaws are gnawed to the patterns figured in Buckland's 'Reliquiæ Diluvianæ,' pls. 3, 4, 5, and in 'Cave-hunting,' fig. 92.
Fox (Canis vulpes).—A femur, two lower jaws, and a few separate teeth fall within the limits of size offered by the corresponding parts of the common Fox; and I therefore regarded them as belonging to that rather than to the arctic species, which has been determined by Prof. Busk, F.R.S., from a neighbouring cave (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. 1875, p. 686).
Wolf.—The jaws, teeth, and phalanges of Wolf cannot be distinguished from those of the Canis lupus of Europe and Asia. They belonged to adult animals.
Bear.—The teeth of Bear (consisting of canines, premolars, and molars) indicate the existence of two closely allied forms. One of the canines is identical with that of U. arctos, while the rest, and the molars and premolars, are undistinguishable from those of the U. ferox or Grisly Bear as defined by Prof. Busk. None of them belong to cubs.
With regard to the further question as to whether the two Bears are closely related species, or well-marked varieties of one species, speech may be silvern, but silence is golden. The examination of a vast number of the remains of fossil Bears in this country and on the continent has forced on my mind the extreme difficulty of defining the one from the other from the study of the hard parts. Both forms, however, are quite distinct from the largest of the cave-haunting Bears (Ursus spelæus).
Order ARTIODACTYLA.
Suborder Ruminantia.
Irish Elk and Reindeer.—The alveolar portion of trie lower jaw, a fragment of a metacarpal, and two molars belong to the Irish Elk, while numerous antlers, some shed, and others torn from the head, teeth, and gnawed bones may be referred to the Reindeer. It is worthy of remark that all these remains are those of adults.
Bison.—Of the Bison it need only be remarked that the remains fall within the limits of measurement of those from Windy Knoll (Q. J. G. S. vol. xxxi. 1875, p. 247). Some of the long bones belong to young animals.
Suborder Non-Ruminantia.
Wild Boar.—A small fragment of jaw containing the first three premolars proves that the Wild Boar also lived in the district during the time of the accumulation of the breccia.
Order PERISSODACTYLA.
The Horse and Woolly Rhinoceros.—The teeth and the bones of Horses prove that the adults were here with their foals: and this may also be observed of the Woolly Rhinoceroses, the milk-teeth of which amounted to 19, or very nearly one third of the total number of teeth of that animal in the cave. All the long bones are gnawed to the usual patterns (see 'Cave-hunting,' p. 314 et seq.). The humeri have been docked of their proximal, the ulnæ of their distal ends, while the radii, femora, and tibiæ are represented merely by the stout middle portion of the shaft; and in all, the nutriment stored in the cancellous portion of the interior of the bones has been scooped out by the jaws and tongues of the Hyænas.
Order PROBOSCIDEA.
Mammoth.—Five out of the six molars of Mammoth belong to the milk-series, and three of them are dm 2. The true molar is a stump worn down to the fangs. There are also fragments of tusks and of bones.
Order RODENTIA.
The Hare.—The split and broken bones of the Hare were very abundant in the breccia; and that animal had formed the principal food of the inhabitants during the time of its accumulation. All the long bones had been split for the sake of their contents. There are also numerous jaws and teeth of Arvicola.
10. Traces of Man in the Cave.
The traces of Man found in the cave in association with the extinct mammalia, consist of fragments of charcoal, and implements of antler and mammoth-tooth, of quartzite, ironstone, greenstone, and of flint.
11. Implements of Antler and Mammoth-tooth.
An awl, pin, or possibly a lance-head, has been fashioned out of Fig. 1.
Point made of antler. Full size. Cave-earth.
a tyne, which has been ground down to a sharp point (fig. 1), similar to many of those found in the caves of the Dordogne, and figured in the 'Reliquiæ Aquitanicæ.' It may have formed part of a pin such as that figured by Mr. John Evans from Kent's Hole (Ancient Stone Implements, fig. 406). Another pointed tyne may also have been used for the same purpose as fig. 1; but the marks of Man's handiwork are not so decided. A fragment of the base of a Reindeer-antler from the cave-earth may perhaps have been cut and perforated by the hand of Man. Another is a triangular sharp-pointed arrow-head or piercer (?), formed of one of the plates of an Elephant's molar, probably of a milk-molar. Its surface is highly polished, and it has been formed by the loss of the enamel and the grinding of the surface of the dentine until it assumed its present form[1]. A loose plate of the milk-molar of a Mammoth was also found in the cave.
12. Implements of Quartzite and Ironstone.
The implements of quartzite and ironstone, eighty-six in number (irrespective of splinters), belong to well-known types in other regions, which are generally fashioned out of flint. They have all been made
Fig. 2. |
Fig. 3. |
 |
 |
| Quartzite flake, ✕ 12. Cave-earth. a. Section. | Quartzite hache, ✕ 12. Cave-earth, a. Section. |
A triangular implement (fig. 2), tapering from the unworked base to an obtuse point, and carefully worked at the sides and point, was obviously intended to be used in the hand like those of the Pleistocene river-gravels. The side which is not figured is flat, and has been produced by one blow which has split the pebble; it measures 4⋅4 inches.
A second rudely chipped stone has also probably been intended for use in the hand; its point, however, has been broken away, so that its exact original form cannot be ascertained.
A third, with curved hatchet-edge, is notched by use; and its rounded shape bears a resemblance to some of the "choppers" of Le Moustier, La Madelaine, and of the British river-gravels figured by Mr. Evans (fig. 443). It consists of a pebble broken so that the blunt end may be easily grasped in the fingers.
Figure 3 represents a rude flake which has the bulb of percussion and the surface of the chipping-block as well marked as in most flint implements of the same kind. One of its surfaces is composed of the water-worn surface of the pebble; and both its edges have been chipped by wear.
Another form may be described as a flake of the rude kind found in the valley-gravels and in the cave of Moustier. Its edges are considerably worn by use. It is the only quartzite implement found in the breccia, the two others being splinters.
Fig. 4. |
Fig. 5. |
 |
 |
| Oval quartzite implement, ✕ 12. Cave-earth. a. Section. | Oval implement of ironstone, ✕ 12. Cave-earth, a. Section. |
The implements, fig. 4, of quartzite, and, fig. 5, of ironstone,have been chipped all round, and are of the oval shape common at St. Acheul and at Moustier. The first corresponds in form with that which I have figured from Wookey Hole in the Journal of the Society, and the second with one which I have in my possession from the same cavern, although the former is thicker than the latter. They measure respectively 3 x 2⋅2 and 2⋅4 x 1⋅6 inches.
Five quartzite hammer-stones bruised and broken by use were also found, and many quartzite pebbles.
It may be remarked that palæolithic implements of quartzite have been met with in India in the Lateritic strata and in a river-deposit in the valley of the Narbadá ('Cave Hunting,' p. 426). In the Museum at Toulouse they are also to be seen from the valley-gravels of that neighbourhood.
Among the specimens sent to me by the Rev. J. M. Mello is a ground and polished fragment of Silurian or Cambrian flagstone (measuring 4 x 3 x 0⋅5 inches). It has formed part of a slab which has been broken up.
13. The Flint Implements.
The flints which bear the trace of man's handiwork in the cave amount to upwards of 267. Among them the most striking are the flakes which have been wrought into finely pointed lanceolate forms. One of these, fig. 6 (measuring 3⋅35 x 0⋅95 inches), is carefully worked on the flat side (a), while the opposite surfaces are worked at the extremities. It is carefully chipped at both ends.
A second and smaller specimen presents the same general form. This type is identical with that figured by Mr. Evans from Kent's Hole, fig. 300, except that in the specimens from Robin-Hood Cave the greater part of the working is to be seen on the flat side.
Fig. 6. |
Fig. 7. |
 |
 |
| Lanceolate flint flake, ✕ 12. Breccia. | Lance-head of flint, ✕ 12. Breccia. |
The double-pointed lanceolate flake (fig. 7), which tapers from the wide central portion to the ends, from which apparently the points have been broken, is also carefully worked on the upper half of the flat surface; and the chipping has been continued to the end of the left lower side of the implement (a). On the other side (b) the opposite edge is worked on the opposite surface, with the practical result of producing a twist in the edges analogous to that which has been observed in neolithic arrow-heads, intended to make the arrow revolve in its flight. It measures 3⋅8 by 1⋅42 inches. A fragment of a second specimen was also found corresponding with the upper part of fig. 7, and as nearly as possible of the same size and form as a specimen in the Oxford Museum from Wookey Hole. In all these implements the salient midrib of the flake has been left intact.
If this latter form (fig. 7) be compared with those figured in the 'Reliquiæ Aquitanicæ' from Périgord, it will be seen that it bears a strong family resemblance to some of those from Laugerie Haute (a, pl. iv. figs. 7, 8, 9). They are also of the same type as those from the Pleistocene portion of the deposits at Solutré figured by MM. Ducrost and Lortet (Archives du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Lyon, ii. pl. v.), and considered by M. de Mortillet to be characteristic of a stage in the Palæolithic culture.
Two other fragments of trimmed flakes were found, both with the salient ribs worked carefully off and the flat inferior surface intact.
In fig. 8 an implement is represented formed of a flake with the cutting-edge carefully and minutely chipped. The inferior surface is, for the most part, flat and unworked, while the superior is occupied by the natural surface of the flint-pebble. It is probably a scraper, analogous to that from Kent's Hole, fig. 392 of 'Ancient Stone Implements.'
Eleven flakes, with one of their extremities trimmed to a rounded edge, were met with. They are of the usual type so common in the caves of Périgord. One fragment is of the same form as the upper half of fig. 396 of 'Ancient Stone Implements,' and is composed of a flake struck from the outer side of a flint-pebble.
Fig. 8. |
Fig. 9. |
Fig. 10. |
 |
 |
 |
| Flint scraper, ✕ 12. Cave-earth. a. Section. | Flint implement. Full size. Breccia. | Flint implement. Full size. Breccia. |
Figs. 9 and 10 represent two very singularly worn flakes like those which have been figured by Mr. Evans (figs. 398, 399, 400) from Kent's Hole. The first consists of a flake with "an oblique straight scraping edge, forming an obtuse angle with one side of the flake, and an acute angle with the other." The angle made by this edge with the major axis of the flake is 38° in two specimens, and 31° in a third. In the second (fig. 10) both ends have been slanted off, and the
Fig. 11.
Flint borer. Full size. Breccia.
curved edge of the flake has been worn, while the straight one is sharp. The unworn edge has probably been inserted into a handle of some sort or another. Three of the first kind were met with, and one of the second.
A drill, or piercer, is represented in fig. 11, formed out of a small flint flake. It is of similar shape to those figured from the caves of Périgord in the 'Reliquiæ Aquitanicæ.' The manufacture of implements is proved to have gone on in the cave by the presence of large numbers of flakes and a few chipping- blocks.
The general facies of the whole collection of implements, and their association with the extinct mammalia in the cave-earth and breccia, prove them to be of Palæolithic age.
Table of distribution of traces of Man in the Robin-Hood Cave.
| Lower Red Sand and Clay. |
Cave-earth. | Breccia. | Surface-soil. | Number. | |||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | |||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | 91 | 3 | . . . . . . | 94 | ||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | 2 | ||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | ||||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | 5 | ||
|
. . . . . . | 8 | 259 | . . . . . . | 267 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 2 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 2 | ||
|
. . . . . . | * | |||||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 11 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 2 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 2 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 1 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 1 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | . . . . . . | 2 | ||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | |||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | * | |||
|
. . . . . . | . . . . . . | . . . . . . | * |
14. Distribution of Implements in the Cave.
The distribution of implements in the cave represents, as may be seen from the preceding Table, three distinct stages. During the time of the deposit of the lower stratum Man is not represented among the fauna of the district. While the cave-earth was being accumulated, his presence is marked principally by the quartzite implements formed out of an intractable material, and far ruder than those which are generally formed out of the more easily fashioned flint.
Of ninety-four worked quartzite pebbles, only three were found in the breccia, while eight only of the 267 worked flints were met with in the cave-earth (including fig. 8). The hunter, therefore, of the cave-earth period used quartzite for most of his implements, while that of the age of the breccia used flint, the overlapping of the two materials in this cave being comparatively slight.
15. The Ruder Implements the Older.
The workmanship of the later of these two periods of human occupation is of a higher order than the former. If, for example, we compare figs. 6, 9, 10, 11 with figs. 2, 3, 4, 5, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that the hunter of the breccia-age was better equipped than his predecessor of the era of the cave-earth.
If these groups of implements be compared with those found in other palæolithic deposits, it will be seen that the older quartzite division corresponds in its general form with that series which is assigned by M. de Mortillet ('Matériaux,' Mars 1869, "Essai d'une Classification") to "the age of Moustier and St. Acheul," and which is represented in this country by the rude implements of the lower breccia in Kent's Hole. The newer or flint division, on the other hand, contains among its forms more highly finished implements, such as figs. 6 and 7, which correspond with those which are considered by M. de Mortillet to belong to "the age of Solutré," and which are found in this country in the cave-earth of Kent's Hole and Wookey Hole. In this cave, therefore, we have a direct relation, in point of time, established between the rude types of implements below and the more finished ones above, which is a fact of no small importance in the classification of Palæolithic implements. In all future cave-explorations it will be necessary to keep a keen look-out for broken pebbles and roughly-edged stones, with scarcely any marks of design, which may have served the ends of savages of a far lower culture than those whose history has been revealed to us in the caves of Périgord and of Belgium.
16. North-western Range of Palæolithic Hunters.
This discovery of implements in Derbyshire extends considerably the known range of the Palæolithic hunter to the north and to the west. Hitherto the Vale of Clwyd has been the district furthest to the north in this country in which his implements have been discovered. The fragment of human fibula in the Victoria cave has proved his presence in the Pleistocene age in Yorkshire; the caves of the south of England prove that he wandered over the plains now submerged beneath the waters of the Channel; those of Somerset, Pembroke, and Herefordshire, that he inhabited the valleys of the British Channel, the Severn, and the Wye. He is proved by M. Dupont to have hunted the reindeer and mammoth in Belgium, on the eastern side of the great valley which, during the latest stage of the Pleistocene, extended across where now exists the German ocean, and joined the eastern counties to Belgium. That savage tribes living on the chase should be found on one side only of a great valley, while the animals which they hunted were equally abundant on both, was in the highest degree improbable. We now have proof that their hunting-grounds extended as far to the west as the hills of Derbyshire—hills which in those times abounded with Bisons, Rein- deer, Horses and Woolly Rhinoceroses, and in which (as I have shown in my "Essay on the Animals found at Windy Knoll") there was a continual swinging to and fro of migratory animals as in North America. And further, we now have proof of the presence of the Palæolithic hunters close to the glaciated region to the north-west, which was probably covered with glaciers in the late Pleistocene age. We have, however, no evidence as to the relation of the contents of the Creswell Caves to the Boulder Clays.
Discussion.
Mr. Evans considered the cave to be of a most interesting character. Implements of worked flints were here found in one bed lying on another in which implements of quartzite occurred, the latter being the ruder. That the implements from the lower bed were less finished than those of the upper was doubtless to a great extent due to the nature of the material of which they wore formed. Some of them resemble in character forms from the upper valley-gravels of the Somme. Almost identical specimens had been obtained, from what were apparently valley-gravels, near Toulouse. On the other hand, the implements in the upper layer resembled those of Solutré, Aurignac, and Kent's Cavern, and possibly represented a period earlier than that of La Madelaine. Amongst the specimens were some of great interest. One flake was worked off at the end in a diagonal direction, like specimens from Kent's Cavern. There was also a borer like those from La Madelaine. Some of the scrapers, however, might be taken to represent any period in the French caves subsequent to that of Le Moustier, while one "side- scraper," or "chopper," was much like those from Le Moustier. The paper was one of the greatest interest; and he hoped that it would be supplemented by further reports as the work progressed.
Prof. Prestwich remarked that the superposition of the bed containing the more perfectly formed implements over that in which those less highly finished were found, was better marked in this cave than in any other in this country. The absence of the coprolites of the Hyæna in this as in the Brixham Cave was probably due to their being acted on by water, during floods, and washed away. It was not to be assumed, from the absence of any traces of man in the lowermost deposit, that he did not exist in that spot at this period, as he would hardly be likely to occupy dens along with the Hyæna. Some of the flint implements found in the valley-gravels were of extreme rudeness as compared with those of the high-level gravels, though the latter were the older. Fineness of finish does not necessarily prove more modern date, as is exemplified by the Shrub-Hill implements; but much would depend on the material, and he had not yet seen Mr. Mello's specimens.
Mr. Etheridge inquired whether the absence of coprolites from these dens might not be accounted for by the cleanly habits of the animals. The Carnivora, as a rule, were exceedingly cleanly in this respect.
Prof. Hughes suggested that the difference of material might be explained on the supposition that the people who left the quartzite implements had lived in that or some other district where quartzite was the only or most common material; while the flint was brought by a tribe who came from a district where flint was abundant. The rougher material did not of itself prove greater antiquity. Quartz and quartzite had been used at all periods from that of the laterite of India to that of the neolithic graves of Britain, and even later elsewhere. So also he had found grey felstone implements in Wales of neolithic as well as of palæolithic type; while polished weapons of the same material were occasionally found in the fenlands near Cambridge.
Mr. Howarth stated that the African Hyæna does not resort to caves, and he could not understand why the extinct Hyæna should have done so. The remains of Hyænas had been found in caves on the banks of the Lena and Obi in Siberia; and this led him to think that possibly the Hyæna of that period, owing to the intensity of cold, was in the habit of hibernating, as the bears of cold climates do at the present day. The African Hyænas only prey on sickly members of the antelope tribe; and it therefore seemed to him doubtful that those found in caves would have preyed on such large animals as the Rhinoceros.
The President inquired at what distance from the cave flint was obtainable, and also where quartzite pebbles could be found.
Dr. Meryon considered that the development of man was more clearly proved by the progressive improvements in the manufacture of his implements than by the physical formation of his skull.
Mr. Binney stated that quartzite pebbles could be obtained within seven or eight miles of the spot, whilst flints were abundant at not more than about forty miles distant.
Mr. Mello, in reply, said that quartzite pebbles occurred abundantly in some sands near the caverns. They were probably derived originally from the Bunter. The flints might have been obtained at no great distance, possibly from the valley of the Trent; for some specimens were weathered, and evidently derived from gravel; others, however, were probably obtained directly from the Chalk. He could not account, however, for the implement fashioned out of ironstone, which is not found in the vicinity of these caves. He had been under the impression that coprolites were of frequent occurrence in the Hyæna-dens. The filling-in of the cavern had doubtless been accelerated by the water overflowing into it from the stream now flowing at the base of the Crags, but which at that period ran at a higher level. There were slight traces of a rearrangement of the bones such as would be effected by water.
Prof. Boyd Dawkins, in reply, stated that he had no intention of generalizing from this single example; but it was worthy of note that here, as in M. Mortillet's classification, the ruder implements were older than the more highly wrought flint flakes. The Hyæna, like other animals, takes refuge in whatever place will best suit him, and round the mouth of his den bones and coprolites accumulate. The absence of coprolites in this cave was probably due to moisture dripping from the roof, which would dissolve and wash them away; the caves in which coprolites are found were probably dry. The evidence of the cave-Hyænas having preyed on large game, such as the Rhinoceros, rests on the fact that the bones of those animals found in the caves show marks indicating that they have been gnawed. A sick or wounded animal, even though of large size, would easily fall a prey to their numbers. The occurrence of the remains of Hyænas as far north in Siberia as the banks of the Lena and Obi was an important fact and new to him. It indicated a difference of climatal conditions in that country of a marked character.
- ↑ This singular specimen is considered by Mr. Evans to be non-artificial. After a further examination of it in the British Museum, Mr. Davies and myself cannot look upon it otherwise than as expressed in the text.