Fig. 90. The grotto of Krapina, overlooking the valley of the Krapinica River, near Krapina, Croatia, in Austria-Hungary. After Kraemer.
The mammals found in the cavern certainly belong to the very late Acheulean period and include Merck's rhinoceros, the cave-bear, the urus, a species of horse, the giant deer (Megaceros), the beaver, and the marmot (Arctomys marmotta).
The cavern was originally washed out by the river, but now it is 82 feet above the present water-level. When found it was completely filled with sand and gravel deposits, weathered fragments from the roof and walls, and loose stones and boulders.[(42)] Enclosed in this mass, in separate strata which are perfectly distinguishable, there lay, variously distributed through the different layers, thousands of animal bones, mingled with hundreds of human bones, and hundreds of stone implements and chips.
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Fig. 91. Cross-section of the valley traversed by the Krapinica River showing the location of the grotto known as the Krapina recess on the bank to the left. Drawn by C. A. Reeds.
During the years 1899-1905 Gorjanovič-Kramberger made a thorough exploration of the contents of this cavern, and published a complete account of his researches in 1906.[(43)] There were about three hundred pieces of human bones, among them many small fragments, also many sizable pieces of skull and several entire limb bones perfectly preserved. The bones are of a strongly characterized type, and the lower jaws, face bones, bones of the thigh and arm, the teeth, and the bones of many children establish the Krapina race as belonging unquestionably in the same group with that of Neanderthal and of Spy.