A Manual of the Antiquity of Man

by J. P. MacLean

Near the town of Aurignac, France, a workman named Bonnemaison, in the year 1852, accidently discovered a cave containing the remains of seventeen human skeletons. These bones were taken by Dr. Amiel, the mayor of Aurignac, who was ignorant of their value, and consigned to the parish cemetery. The spot of their re-inhumation has been forgotten, and this treasure is now lost to science. In 1860, the cave was explored by Edward Lartet. After a long and patient examination, he came to the conclusion that the cave was a human burial place, cotemporary with the mammoth and other great animals of the quaternary epoch.

It was at the meeting of the British Association, in 1855, that Sir Charles Lyell declared his belief in the great antiquity of the human race. He had before opposed the idea, but was convinced of the truth by personal examination of human bones and flint hatchets, from the quarries of St. Acheul. He became enthusiastic in his investigations, and, in order to present the discussion clearly to the scientific public, he published his "Geological Evidences of the Antiquity of Man," in 1863. In the last edition of his "Principles of Geology," he bestows considerable space to the discussion of the subject. He was closely followed, in the same view, by other eminent geologists.

The remains of the ancient Lake Dwellings of Switzerland were discovered in the winter of 1853-1854. That winter was so dry and cold that the water of the lakes fell far below its ordinary level. On account of this, a large tract of ground of Lake Zurich was gained by the people throwing up embankments. In the process of the work, the piles on which stood the dwellings, fragments of pottery, bone and stone implements, and various other relics, were discovered.[5] Dr. Keller, of Zurich, examined the objects, and at once came to a right understanding as to their signification. He carefully examined the remains, and described these lake habitations in six memoirs presented to the Antiquarian Society of Zurich, in 1854, 1858, 1860, 1863, and 1866. In 1866 these memoirs were translated into English by J. E. Lee, together with articles from other antiquaries, under the title of "The Lake Dwellings of Switzerland, and other parts of Europe." This work contains ninety-seven plates, besides many wood-cuts.

Memoirs of the Dwellers of different lakes have, from time to time, been published, but they are included in the translated work of Dr. Keller.

The far-famed Neanderthal skull was discovered by Dr. Fuhlrott, in the year 1857, in a limestone cavern, near Düsseldorf, in a deep ravine known by the name of Neanderthal. This skull, with parts of the skeleton to which it belonged, was found under a layer of mud, about five feet in thickness. It is now in the cabinet of Dr. Fuhlrott, Elberfeld, Rhenish Prussia.

In 1858, a bone-cavern was found near Torquay, not far from Kent's Hole. This cave was examined by a scientific commission. At first it was undertaken by the Royal Society, but when its grants had failed, Miss Burdett-Coutts paid the expenses of completing the work. In this cave, under a layer of stalagmite, were found many flint knives, associated with the bones of extinct mammals.

M. A. Fontan found in the cave of Massat (Department of Ariége), in 1859, human teeth and utensils associated with the remains of the cave-bear, the fossil hyena, and the cave-lion (Felis spelœa).

In 1861, M. A. Milne Edwards found certain relics of human industry mingled with the fossil bones of animals, in the cave of Lourdes, France.

In 1862, Dr. Garrigou published the result of the researches which he, in conjunction with Rames and Filhol, had made in the caverns of Ariége. These explorers found the jaw-bones of the cave-bear and cave-lion, which had been wrought by the hands of man.

In the upper strata of the tertiary beds (pliocene) at St. Prest (Department of Eure), in the year 1863, M. Desnoyers found the bones of extinct animals which were cut or notched by flint instruments. In the same strata Abbé Bourgeois discovered implements of stone. He communicated his discoveries to the International Congress held at Paris in 1867.