In the rubbish heap, or reindeer station, at the source of the Schusse, there were discovered more than six hundred split flints, with a quantity of partly worked antlers and bones of the reindeer. The bones were so numerous that Mr. Oscar Fraas was enabled to put together a complete skeleton of the reindeer which is now preserved in the museum of Stuttgart. Most of the bones were split open for the purpose of extracting the marrow. There were numerous remains of fishes, and a fish-hook manufactured from reindeer horn. There were also the bones of other animals, such as the glutton, arctic fox, and other animals now living in high northern latitudes.
Speaking of this station, Dr. Buchner says, "Not only the careful investigations of the geognostic conditions of the place, but also the flora of the time (for remains of mosses were found which now live only in the extreme north), leave no doubt that the reindeer station on the Schusse belongs to the glacial epoch, or that it probably belongs exactly to the interval between the two glacial epochs which in all probability Switzerland has experienced. Mr. E. Desor declared this deposit to be the terminal moraine of the Rhine-glacier, which was formerly very large. Moreover, according to him, this discovery is particularly remarkable, because it is the first example of a station of the reindeer-men in a free and open deposit, their remains having hitherto been found only in caves."[62]
From the remarks of Dr. Buchner, the great number of bones of the reindeer, and some show of advancement in the arts, it may be safe to conclude that this station belongs to the close of the inter-glacial.
CHAPTER VII.
CONDITION OF MAN IN THE INTER-GLACIAL.
The Inter-Glacial period continued a great length of time, covering many thousands of years.
Man is an improvable being, and some advancement may be expected in his condition. His mode of life, and continued conflicts with the fierce wild beasts, would tax his every device. Necessity compelled him to be inventive. The limited, bestial mind which he possessed, could not grapple with the higher problems of existence. United efforts and fortified places were beyond his thoughts. Those old axes of flint were great objects to his mind, and one step beyond them was a great stride in progress. That they developed but little cannot be wondered at, not only from their low type, but also from the knowledge that even in the era of history there are nations whose civilization has become fixed and stereotyped for ages; others, who, instead of advancing, have been retrograding.
The impulse given by the rigors of glacial times acted beneficially throughout this period. The rude axes and flints were retained, but improvements were made in utilizing the bones and horns of animals. Out of these, bodkins, fish-hooks, and arrow-heads were made. The teeth of wild animals were perforated, and, along with corals and shells, were used for ornaments. The caverns, used as dwelling-places, being destitute of water, this necessary of life was supplied and carried thither in rude vessels made of clay and dried in the sun. The arrows, flint knives, and axes were used for killing and skinning the animals, splitting the bones containing the marrow, shaping the bone implements, felling trees, and stripping the bark, which was used at times for clothing, after having been softened by beating. He commenced the art of engraving, as is witnessed by a sketch of the great cave-bear wrought on a curious stone found in the cave of Massat (Ariége), the bird's head formed from the bone of a cave-bear, at Aurignac, and other examples. The lower jaw-bones of the cave-bear and cave-lion, in the shape of hoes, used for digging roots, were found in the caves of Lherm and in Bouicheta. He made hearth-stones, and on them cooked his food. That he paid honors to the dead, and sheltered them from the ravages of beasts of prey, at present, must remain an open question. If he did, it might seem to imply that he had a religious nature. But when it is considered that he was very low in the scale of existence, it may be inferred that this was done, if done at all, to propitiate an evil genius. Or it may be a faint idea of a ghost state and that these feasts were made to dissuade the ghost from molesting him. That they had a conception of a Supreme Ruler, or a number of gods who ruled for the good of man, would be too preposterous to believe.