Chapter XXII: Cave Implements (2)

With regard to this alteration in the colour and structure of the flint, it may be well here to make a few remarks. At first sight, it seems difficult to believe that in a material so hard, and under ordinary circumstances so extremely durable, as flint, so complete a change in colour and texture should have taken place, during any lapse of time, however great. We find, however, that under certain circumstances, even Neolithic implements, which still retain their original black or dark colour in the interior, have on their exterior become completely whitened, and in some cases softened so much that they can be scratched with a knife. The cause, as was first pointed out to me by the late M. Meillet,[2413] of Poitiers, appears to be inherent in the nature of most flints, the silica in which is of two kinds; the one crystallized silica or quartz, with a specific gravity of 2·6, and insoluble in water, the other colloid or glassy silica, known as opal, with a specific gravity of 2·2, which is much more transparent, horny, and soluble; though in their other properties both are chemically the same. It appears, then, that in these whitened flints, the soluble portion has been removed by the passage of infiltrating water through the body of the flint, while the insoluble portion has been left in a finely-divided state, consisting of particles susceptible of disaggregation by moderate force, and is consequently white. This alteration in structure is not confined to artificially-wrought flints, but may take place even in flint pebbles, under certain circumstances, in pervious soils; for I have found Lower Tertiary pebbles in the Woolwich and Reading beds, and also in the resulting conglomerates, which have become sufficiently disintegrated to be cut with a steel knife. When it is considered that these pebbles were originally the hardest part of chalk flints, or at all events those parts which were best able to withstand the rolling and wearing action of the Tertiary sea, the amount of alteration they have since undergone, by the slow dissolution of a portion of their |498| substance, is very striking. The decomposed flint pebbles in the cliff at Southbourne-on-Sea[2414] are well known, and belong to a still more recent geological period. There is some difficulty in ascertaining the exact loss of weight incurred during the process of alteration: but I find that a flake of this porous white flint, which, when dry, weighed one hundred and twenty-nine grains, gained, by immersion for half an hour in water, thirteen grains, so that, taking the specific gravity of flint at about 2·6, and assuming that the flake was originally perfectly non-absorbent, the loss would appear to have been about one-fifth of the original weight.

But to return from this digression to the subject of the instruments, of which several belonging to the same class as Fig. 390 have been found in Kent’s Cavern. Some of them are pointed at only one extremity, and that usually the point of the original flake, the bulb-end being left more or less obtuse.

* * * * *

A remarkably elegant instrument of this class (No. 3,869) is shown in Fig. 391. It has been made from a ridged or carinated flake, though having three facets at the butt-end, and a little secondary working on one side; and at the butt this external face has been left in its original condition. The inner face of the flake, however, which is shown in the figure, has been almost entirely removed by secondary working, extending from the edges to the middle of the blade, while the edges have again been re-touched, so as to make them even and sharp. At the butt-end it is chisel-like in form. It was found, on July 4th, 1868, at a depth of 2 feet in the cave-earth, beneath stalagmite 2 feet 8 inches thick. Several other instruments of the same kind have been found in the cavern. Some of them are even longer than those figured.

These instruments so closely resemble in character the long flakes of obsidian and other silicious stones in use, as javelin heads, among the Admiralty Islanders and other savage tribes until the present day, that one is tempted to assign to them a similar purpose.[2415] It is possible that they may have been merely knives, or they may have served for both purposes, like the arrow-heads of the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego. These English specimens may be compared with some of the lance-heads from the cave of Laugerie Haute, belonging to the Age of Solutré, but they are not quite so dexterously chipped. |499|

Another form of implement which is shown in Fig. 392 (No. 117) was found in 1865, in the second foot in depth, in the cave-earth of the great chamber. It appears best adapted for being held in the hand and used as a scraping tool, possibly in the preparation of skins for clothing; and has been formed from a triangular flake, the ridge of which is slightly curved, and runs obliquely along the instrument. It has been trimmed by blows administered on the flat face, into a pointed oval form with a bevelled edge all round, and this edge towards the middle of one side of the blade is rounded and worn away by use. It is well adapted for being held in the hand as a side-scraper, and it is precisely that part of the edge which would be most exposed to wear, if thus held, that is actually worn. This instrument is not unlike some of the boat-shaped implements of the Surface Period, but is broader and thinner in its proportions. Almost identical forms have occurred in the Brixham Cave, and in that of Aurignac, explored by M. Lartet. Some of the trimmed flakes from the cave of Le Moustier are of much the same character, but the edges are perhaps sharper, and the butt-end of the flake is left of a more rounded form. I have an instrument of much the same general character, from the gravel of the valley of the Lark, at Icklingham, Suffolk, but it is not so neatly or symmetrically finished, and the inner face of the flake is somewhat convex, instead of being concave.

Another instrument, of nearly the same nature, is shown in Fig. 393 (No. 3,918); one of its sides is, however, much straighter than the other. The edge of this also is somewhat abraded by use. It is formed of flint, which has become white, porcellanous, and light. It was found in the south-west chamber, as was also that shown in Fig. 394 (No. 1∕3912). This is a broad flat flake, the side edges of which appear to have been trimmed by secondary chipping, and subsequently to have been somewhat worn away by use, whether as a saw or a |500| scraping tool it is difficult to say. The material is black flint, now weathered grey, and is much heavier than the white flint, and apparently more cherty. Other examples of semilunar implements were also found.

Some of the large flakes found in the cavern appear to have been utilized with very little secondary trimming. That shown in Fig. 395 (No. 56) is of cherty flint, with a sharp edge along one side, while the other side is blunt for half its length from the butt-end, where it is half an inch thick and nearly square with the face, something like the back of the blade of a knife. The edge on the left side of the figure has been trimmed by secondary chipping, mainly on the outer face of the flake, except for about an inch near the butt, where the trimming has been on the inner face, the evident object having been to bring the edge into one plane. The tool is well adapted for being held in the hand, with the thick side resting against the forefinger, leaving the straight edge free for cutting or sawing along its entire length. Part of the right edge near the point seems to have been used for scraping some hard substance, such as bone. It was found in 1865, between one and two feet deep in the cave-earth in the entrance chamber. There is considerable analogy between these large boldly chipped flakes trimmed at the edge, and some of those found in the River-drifts and in the cave of Le Moustier.

A few of the round-ended instruments, to which the name of scraper has been given, were also found in the cave-earth. One of these (No. 2,183) is shown, full size, in Fig. 396. It has been formed from an external flake, struck off a flint from the chalk, the end and one of the sides of which have been re-chipped to a bevelled edge. This, however, at the side becomes nearly at right angles to the face. The butt-end has been also chipped almost to a point. The edge shows |501| symptoms of wear in several places. It was found in the fourth foot in depth, in the cave-earth; but the ground at the spot had been previously broken, so that its position cannot be regarded as certain.

Another instrument of the same class (No. 1,822) is shown, full size, in Fig. 397. It has been formed from a ridged flake, and exhibits marks of having been in use as a scraping tool, not only at one end but at the sides. The inner face is beautifully smooth and flat. Some of these scraper-like tools are more square at the end, and chipped and worn along both sides, having evidently seen much service. So far as form is concerned, there is little or nothing to distinguish them from the analogous instruments of the Neolithic Period. Such scrapers also occur in most of the caves which have furnished implements in France and Belgium, and usually in much greater proportional abundance than has been the case in Kent’s Cavern. In some caves, however, as for instance in that of Le Moustier, instruments of this character are extremely scarce. They appear to me to have served for other purposes besides that of dressing skins—one of the uses to which such instruments are applied by the Eskimos of the present day. There is great probability of some of them having been used for striking fire by means of pyrites, as the French and Belgian caves have yielded specimens of that mineral. In the Trou de Chaleux[2416] a block of pyrites was found deeply scored at one end, as if by constant scraping blows with flint; and another block from Les Eyzies, with the end worn, is in the Christy Collection.

Several examples of another form of tool, manufactured from simple triangular or polygonal flakes, have occurred in Kent’s Cavern. In |502| these, one end of the flake has been worked to an oblique straight scraping edge, forming an obtuse angle with one side of the flake, and an acute angle with the other; the point being sometimes on the right, and sometimes on the left side of the flake. Specimens of each variety, Nos. 1∕1963 and 2∕1963, which were found together, are engraved as Figs. 398 and 399. The long side of the flake is usually but little worn, but the short side and the oblique end are always minutely chipped, and sometimes have the edge quite rounded by wear. This is particularly the case in Fig. 398, of which the long side also has been used for scraping. This flake is considerably curved longitudinally, and its point has much the appearance of having been used as a sort of drill. It seems probable that the obliquity of the edge at the end of the tool is connected with the manner in which it was held in the hand.

The perfectly sharp condition of one edge of the flake, while the other is chipped away and worn, is probably due to its having been protected by some sort of wooden handle. We have already seen how in the Swiss Lake-dwellings flakes of flint were mounted; and though probably for these small flakes, such highly-finished handles were not prepared, yet the insertion of one edge of a flake of flint into a piece of split stick involves no great trouble, while it would shield the fingers from being cut, and would tend to strengthen the flint. In several of the French caves, extremely slender flakes have been found, with one edge quite worn away and the other untouched, a condition for which it is difficult to account on any other hypothesis than that of their having been inserted longitudinally into some sort of back or handle, probably of wood.

At least two specimens of another form have occurred in which both ends, instead of only one, have been slanted off. One of these (No. 2,253) is shown in Fig. 400. The other is of precisely the same size and shape. In both, the two sloping ends and the short side are |503| worn by use, while the long side is unscathed except by accidental breakage. In the instrument not figured, the scraping edge, both at the side and ends, has been on the flat face of the flake. In the other, this has been the case at the ends only, while at the side the scraping edge has been on one of the facets. I am not aware of this form of instrument having as yet been elsewhere noticed, nor indeed, to my knowledge, has observation been called to those like Fig. 399, found in the French caves. One or two specimens, of much the same character as Fig. 399, were, however, found at La Madelaine, and are in the Christy Collection. These bevel-ended flakes also occur in Neolithic times.[2417]

As might be expected, the bulk of the worked flints found in Kent’s Cavern are flakes and spalls, more or less perfect, and a very large proportion of them show, on some part of their edges, traces of use. It seems needless to engrave any of these simple forms, as they present no characteristics different from those of the flakes and splinters of any other age. Many of them have been made from rolled pebbles, no doubt derived from the adjacent beach. Some of the cores from which they have been struck have occurred in the cave, of which one (No. 1,970) is represented, on the scale of one-half, in Fig. 401.

Curiously enough, among the animal remains is a portion of a large canine tooth of a bear, with the edges chipped away, so as much to resemble a worked flake.

Of the stone implements not consisting of flint or chert, perhaps the most remarkable is the hammer-stone (No. 597), shown on the scale of one-half, in Fig. 402. It is formed from a pebble of coarse, hard, red sandstone, the outer surface of which is still retained on the two flatter faces of the stone; but all round, with the exception of a small patch, the edge of the original pebble has been battered away by hammering, until the whole has been brought into an almost cheese-like form. It was found in 1865, between one and two feet deep in the red cave-earth, over which lay an enormous block of limestone, but no stalagmite. MacEnery mentions, among the objects which he discovered, a ball of granite, which was probably of the same class as this. Many such hammer-stones have been found in the French caves. I have one, formed from a micaceous quartzose pebble, which I found in the cave of La Madelaine, explored by Messrs. Lartet and Christy, which almost matches this from Kent’s Cavern in size and shape. It seems possible that their use was for pounding some substances, either animal or vegetable, for food. It is, however, hardly probable that any cereals were cultivated by those who handled them. They may have |504| been used in breaking open the bones for the marrow, which seems, from the fractured condition of all bones that contained it, to have been a favourite food among the French cave-dwellers. Wexovius, quoted by Scheffer,[2418] says: “The marrow of raindeer is of a delicious taste, which they value in Lapland, just as we do oisters or some other outlandish dainties.”

Another object which has to be mentioned is a sort of whetstone of purplish-grey grit. It is a nearly square prism, 4 3∕4 inches long, and with the sides rather less than 1 inch wide. It was found in a recess beneath a projecting bed of limestone, _in situ_, but sealed in beneath a thick mass of stalagmitic breccia. A fragment of another, of finer grained greenish grit, has also been found beneath stalagmite, 26 inches thick. This latter, according to Sir Wollaston Franks, closely resembles some stones found in the Bruniquel caves, both in form and material.

It will naturally be inquired, for what purpose were these whetstones required, and what is the meaning of all these marks of wear on the edges of the flint tools, as if they had been used for scraping some hard substance? Fortunately the answer is not far to seek. The latter were used not only as weapons of the chase, and in cutting and preparing food, but also in the manufacture of various implements of bone, and possibly of ivory, such as harpoon-heads, pins, and even needles, as well as other instruments of unknown use. The wearing away of the edges of many of the flint-flakes is precisely of that character which I find by experiment to result from scraping bone; while it seems probable that the use of the whetstones was for putting the final polish on the bone instruments, and sharpening their points, for either of which purposes, mere scraping-tools like those of flint would be but inefficient.

It is not, of course, to be expected, that these instruments and weapons of bone should occur in anything approaching to the same numbers as the simple instruments of flint. The latter were readily made, and therefore of little value. They were also soon worn out and thrown aside; but the former required considerable time and skill in their preparation, and would not be discarded unless broken; and if accidentally lost, would be worth the trouble of being sought for. In some of the French caves, however, in which the deposits, unlike those in Kent’s Cavern, are strictly of a refuse character, like the shell-mounds of Denmark, a larger proportion of them has occurred than here.

The principal objects of the kind, discovered below the stalagmite in Kent’s Cavern, are portions of harpoon-heads, a pin, awl, and a needle, which it will be well to describe, as they afford links of connection between the relics of this and other caves.

The harpoon-heads are of two kinds, some being barbed on both sides, others on one only. Of the former kind, but one example (No. 2,282) has been found, which is shown in Fig. 403. It lay in the second foot in depth, in the red cave-earth in the vestibule. Above this was the black band 3 inches thick, containing flint-flakes and remains of extinct mammals; and above this again, the stalagmite |505| floor 18 inches in thickness. It is as usual imperfect, but the 2 1∕4 inches which remain, show the tapering-point and four barbs on either side, which are opposite to each other and not alternate. It is precisely of the same character as some of the harpoon-heads from the cave of La Madelaine, which are usually formed of reindeer horn. The material in this instance is I believe the same. The striated marks of the tool by which it was scraped into form are still distinctly visible in places. Such harpoon-heads have been regarded as characteristic of the latest division in the sequence of this class of caverns, and have been found in numerous localities on the Continent. A doubly-barbed harpoon-head of bone, belonging to a much more recent period, was found in the Victoria Cave,[2419] at Settle.

Of the other kind, which have the barbs along one side only of the blade, two examples have been found. One of these (No. 2,206), though in two pieces, is otherwise nearly perfect, and is shown in Fig. 404. It also has its analogues among the harpoon-heads found in the cave of La Madelaine and elsewhere, especially at Bruniquel. Its stem shows the projection for retaining the loop of cord by which it was connected with the shaft, though it was probably still susceptible of being detached from immediate contact with it. In this respect, as indeed in general character, these early weapons seem closely to resemble those of the Eskimos of the present day. A good series of modern and ancient instruments of this class is engraved in the “Reliquiæ Aquitanicæ.”[2420] An article on the distribution of harpoons in the caverns of the Pyrenees, from the pen of M. Ed. Piette,[2421] may be consulted with advantage. The other instrument of this kind (No. 1,970), shown in Fig. 405, is the terminal portion of a similar point, but with the barbs all broken off at the base. It is about 3 3∕4 inches long, and was found in the black band. |506|

The pin (No. 1,929), already mentioned, is shown in Fig. 406, and was found in the fourth foot in depth, in the cave-earth below the stalagmite in the vestibule, which there attained a thickness of 20 inches. It lay with an unworn molar of _Rhinoceros tichorhinus_. In the black band above the cave-earth, but below the stalagmite, were remains of the hyæna and other cave-mammals. The pin is 3 1∕4 inches long, nearly circular in section, expanding into a head much like that of a common screw, and tapering off to a sharp point. It bears a high polish as if from constant use, and was probably employed as a fastener of the dress, itself most likely made of skin.

A kind of awl made of bone (No. 1,835), about 3 3∕4 inches long, and sharply pointed at one end, was also found beneath stalagmite 16 inches thick. It is shown full size in Fig. 407. The marks of the tool by which it was scraped into form may be distinctly seen upon it.

A lance-shaped bone tool (No. 3,428) 2·7 inches long, flat on one face and convex on the other, was also found in the cave-earth.

But perhaps the most interesting of all the objects discovered in the cavern, is the small bone needle found in 1866 in the black band below the stalagmite, but not recognized until 1868, in consequence of its having been enveloped in a stalagmitic covering, which then fell off, and displayed the true character of the object it contained. The needle has unfortunately lost its point, but what remains is nearly 7∕8 of an inch long, as will be seen from Fig. 408. It tapers slightly, and is somewhat elliptical in section, the greatest diameter at the larger end being barely 8∕100 of an inch, and at the smaller end 3∕100. It has a neatly-drilled circular eye capable of receiving a thread about 3∕80 of an inch in diameter, or about the thickness of fine twine. The surface of the shaft shows numerous fine longitudinal _striæ_, as if it had been scraped into shape.

Such needles have been found in considerable numbers in the caves of the age of La Madelaine, such as Les Eyzies, Laugerie Basse, Bruniquel, and the lower cave of Massat, always associated with |507| harpoons of the barbed type. They vary in length from 3 1∕4 inches to 1 inch, and some have been found which show that, after they had been accidentally broken through the eye, a fresh eye was drilled. That this could readily be effected by means of a pointed flint was proved, as before observed, by the late Mons. E. Lartet, who both made bone needles and bored eyes in them by means of flint tools alone. An excellent and exhaustive essay on the employment of sewing-needles in ancient times, more especially in connection with those from the French caves, has been communicated by M. E. Lartet to the “Reliquiæ Aquitanicæ,”[2422] to which the reader is referred for further particulars. As with the Lapps, it seems probable that the thread in use with these needles was made from reindeer sinews; that animal, at all events in the Dordogne, having formed a principal article of food at the period of the occupation of the caves.

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Such are the principal works of human art which have been discovered in this most interesting cavern, in the researches conducted under the superintendence of the late Mr. Pengelly, and mainly through grants made by the British Association for the Advancement of Science. A series of them is exhibited in the British Museum.

Before attempting to account for their presence in the cave-deposits, or to ascertain what that betokens, it will be well to take a cursory glance at the animal remains with which they were found associated. For this purpose I take the list prepared by Prof. Boyd Dawkins and Mr. W. A. Sanford, and published in the Report of the British Association for 1869. It embodies, however, the result of an examination of less than one-tenth part of the whole number of specimens obtained, though that tenth exceeded 4,000 in number. The following list comprises nearly all the mammals, bones of which undoubtedly belong to the cave-earth, and omits all species the determination of which is at all uncertain, as well as birds and fishes:—

/X _Lepus timidus_ (var. _diluvianus_?), Hare . . . Rare. _Lagomys pusillus_, Tail-less hare . . . Very rare. _Felis leo_, var. _spelæa_, Cave-Lion . . . Abundant. _Hyæna crocuta_, var. _spelæa_, Cave-Hyæna . . . Very abundant. _Gulo luscus_, Glutton . . . Very rare. _Ursus spelæus_, Cave-Bear . . . Abundant. _Ursus priscus_ = _ferox_, Grizzly Bear . . . Abundant. _Ursus arctos_, Brown Bear . . . Scarce. _Canis lupus_, Wolf . . . Rare. _Canis vulpes_, var. _spelæus_, large Fox . . . Rare. _Elephas primigenius_, Mammoth . . . Not very common. _Rhinoceros tichorhinus_, Woolly Rhinoceros . . . Abundant. _Equus caballus_, Horse . . . Very abundant. |508| _Bos primigenius_, Urus . . . Scarce. _Bison priscus_, Bison . . . Abundant. _Cervus megaceros_, Irish Elk . . . Not uncommon. _Cervus elaphus_ (_Strongyloceros spelæus_, Owen), Stag . . . Abundant. _Cervus tarandus_, Reindeer . . . Abundant. _Arvicola amphibius_, Water-vole . . . Rare. _A. agrestis_, Field-vole . . . Rare. _A. pratensis_, Bank-vole . . . Very rare. _Castor fiber_, Beaver . . . Scarce. X/

In the breccia the hyæna appears to be absent, while remains of bear occur in great abundance.

The list published by Prof. Boyd Dawkins in his “Cave-hunting”[2423] adds a few mammals of minor importance, but also the _Machairodus latidens_, of which an incisor was found in the cave-earth in 1872.[2424] Of this “sabre-toothed tiger” five canine teeth and one if not two incisors were found in the cavern by MacEnery, but doubts had been thrown upon his accuracy. The discovery of 1872 justified the Committee in reporting that _Machairodus latidens_ and Man had been contemporaries in Britain.

In the black mould above the stalagmite, where polished stone and bronze instruments have occurred, a different fauna is present. We there meet with the dog, short-horn ox (_Bos longifrons_), roe-deer, sheep, goat, pig, and rabbit, of which no remains are found in the cave-earth. In that deposit, on the contrary, by far the greater number of the remains are of mammals now either entirely extinct, or no longer to be found in Britain.

The mineral condition of the bones in the cave-earth, it is but right to say, varies considerably; so much so, as to lead to the conclusion that some of the bones, especially of bear, are derived from an earlier deposit of the same character. These more ancient remains are, according to Prof. Boyd Dawkins, much more crystalline, much heavier, and of a darker colour than the ordinary teeth and bones. Still, nearly the whole of the bones in the cave-earth beneath the stalagmite appear beyond doubt to belong to one and the same period, though that period may have been of long duration, and the breccia which contained implements of River-drift types is of still earlier date. These bones have for the most part been broken into fragments, sometimes split longitudinally, and vast numbers of them have been gnawed, apparently by hyænas. In what manner are we to account for the presence of the works of man among them, and are they of the same age as the animal remains with which they are associated? |509|

In considering this question, I do not take into account those portions of the cave in which there are variations from what may be regarded as the typical section, these being mainly due to accidental and local causes, such as the breaking up of beds of stalagmite of earlier date than those above the cave-earth, but restrict myself to the main features of the case.

There can be little doubt that, as has been pointed out by Mr. Pengelly, the accumulation of the cave-earth containing these remains took place slowly and gradually; large blocks of limestone and films of stalagmite encrusting stones and bones, or cementing them into a firm concrete, running at all levels and in all parts of the principal chamber. So that, without entering into any discussion as to the manner in which the red earth and pebbles of the deposit were introduced into the cavern, which would be here somewhat out of place, we may safely assume that the bones and teeth, whatever may have been their antiquity at the time of their introduction into the cave-earth, were deposited in the positions in which they are now found, at the same time as the implements with which they are associated. We can, however, readily conceive circumstances under which old deposits, containing relics of extinct animals, might be disturbed from their position in a cave, and re-deposited with objects of human workmanship belonging to a far more recent period. In fact, among the bones themselves there are some which, as has already been pointed out, have belonged to an earlier deposit than that in which they are now found. Let us, therefore, examine into the possibility of these instruments of flint and bone belonging to a different period from that of the animals with the remains of which they now occur. One thing, of course, is evident, that whether there has been a mixture in the cave-earth of objects belonging to various ages or no, such a mixture could only have taken place before the thick coating of stalagmite which now overlies them had even begun to accumulate. The amount of time represented by such a coating, it is, of course, impossible to calculate; but, even under the most favourable circumstances, it must have been the work of hundreds, or more probably thousands of years; and yet its deposit had been completed before the introduction of the overlying black mould, which has proved to contain objects to which an antiquity of at least two thousand years may safely be assigned.

But what do the presence and condition of these instruments |510| denote? The flint flakes occur in great numbers, and have mostly been used; the blocks from which they were struck are present; there are traces of fire on some of the bones; there are hammer-stones, whetstones, weapons of the chase, and the needle of the housewife; all prove that during the accumulation of the cave-earth, the cavern was, at all events from time to time, the habitation of man. How far this human occupancy may have alternated with that of predaceous animals may be a matter of question; but of man’s sojourn in Kent’s Cavern for a lengthened period in all, before the deposition of the upper stalagmite, there can be no doubt. But in all cases of human occupancy of caves we find, and it could not well be otherwise, the refuse of man’s food, in the shape of the bones of the animals whose flesh he consumed, or the shells of the edible molluscs with which his meals were varied. We have seen that in the black mould above the stalagmite, the implements of bronze and stone are associated with a fauna essentially the same as that of the present day. But the bulk of the mammals which are found above the stalagmite do not occur below it; and assuming, as we must do, that the earlier occupants of the cave subsisted on animal food, and were unable to eat the whole of the bones as well as the flesh, some portion of the bones below the stalagmite must be the refuse from their meals. Without insisting on the perfect contemporaneity of all the animal remains found together in the cave-earth, we may therefore safely affirm that we have here relics of man associated with a fauna from which the ordinary forms of ox, sheep, goat, pig, and dog are entirely absent, and of which the majority of forms are now either totally or locally extinct.

That the fauna represented in the cave-earth is, however, to be regarded as all belonging to one and the same period—unless possibly the _Machairodus_ is to be excepted—is shown, as will subsequently be seen, by the occurrence of the remains of, at all events, all the larger mammals, associated together in the old River-drifts.

Comparing this result with that obtained from an examination of the French caves, the rock-shelters in which almost the whole accumulation is a kind of refuse heap, we find it fully confirmed, so far as the animals best adapted for human food are concerned. The rarity of the remains of the other animals in these rock-shelters is probably to be accounted for by the fact that the sole occupants were human; and that either their tenancy was |511| continuous, or that during their absence these rock-shelters were not the haunts of predaceous animals, for which indeed they are far less well adapted than the sinuous caves.

In attempting to correlate the works of man from Kent’s Cavern with those from the French caves, we find in the first place that implements of the types usually characteristic of the River-gravels have been found in about a dozen French caves, of which a list has been given by M. E. D’Acy,[2425] and, secondly, that the harpoons and needle belong to the age of La Madelaine, though bones engraved with pictorial designs—which are also characteristic of that period—are wanting. Some of the flint implements, however, approximate more closely in character with those of the age of Le Moustier; while the age of Solutré is not so decidedly represented by any of its peculiar forms. If any value attaches to these analogies, there would seem to be reason, on these grounds also, for supposing that the infilling of the cave with the red earth, to say nothing of the breccia at a lower level, was the work of an immensely long lapse of time. The black band, which in part of the cave lay beneath the stalagmite, and contained numerous pieces of charcoal, seems to indicate some more continuous occupancy of the cave by man, than at the time when the red earth was accumulating. Then comes the stalagmite, in which but few remains whether human or otherwise have been found, and these for the most part may have fallen in from higher levels. It seems to indicate a vast period of time, during which the cavern was entirely unfrequented by man or beast, and during which the fauna of the country was undergoing those changes—by the extinction or migration of some forms of mammalian life, and the incoming of others—which is so strongly marked by the difference in the contents of the beds above and below the stalagmite. As concerns this long chapter in the history of human existence the records of the cavern are a blank.

It is, moreover, to be observed that though in Kent’s Cavern we have evidence of its occupation by Man more or less continuously from the Acheuléen down to the Magdalénien Age, a space of time embracing nearly all the phases of the Palæolithic Period, there is no sign of any transition to the Neolithic Period, the remains of which first make their appearance after the deposit of the stalagmite. |512|

BRIXHAM CAVE, TORQUAY.

The ossiferous cave of Brixham, near Torquay, was discovered in the year 1858, and was almost immediately brought under the notice of the Geological and Royal Societies by the late Dr. Hugh Falconer.[2426] The latter society, acting on the recommendation of the council of the former, made a grant towards the exploration of the cave in the manner suggested by the late Mr. Pengelly, who was also assisted with money by the Baroness Burdett Coutts, Sir J. K. Shuttleworth, and the late Mr. R. Arthington of Leeds. With Dr. Falconer was associated a committee of distinguished geologists, including Mr. Pengelly, under whose immediate superintendence the works were carried on. Owing to various delays, the final report of this committee, drawn up by the late Sir Joseph Prestwich, was not presented to the Royal Society until 1872, though some accounts of the progress of the explorations[2427] had from time to time been made public.

The Report will be found in the _Philosophical Transactions_ for 1873[2428] and comprises a memorandum of my own on the objects of human industry discovered in the cave.

Accounts of the cave have also been given by Mr. Pengelly[2429] and Prof. Boyd Dawkins.[2430]

The cave itself is in Devonian Limestone, and consists of three principal galleries, in plan not unlike the letter Z, with various diverging tunnel-shaped passages, and a chamber at the right-hand lower corner of the Z, the two entrances being at the extreme points on the opposite side. The gallery represented by the middle limb of the letter, known as the Flint Knife Gallery, bears the most distinct marks of having been hollowed out by the long-protracted action of running water, and the deposit in it was nearly free from stalagmite. In the others, which are known as the Reindeer and Pen Galleries, and which have more the character of fissures, stalagmite abounded.

Where all the deposits of the cave were present,[2431] the following was the section in descending order.

1. Irregular layer of stalagmite, 1 to 15 inches thick. |513|

2. Ochreous red cave-earth, with angular stones and some pebbles, 2 to 13 feet.

3. Gravel, with many rounded pebbles in it.

In and on the stalagmite, were found antlers of reindeer, and a humerus of bear, and in the cave-earth, numerous mammalian remains. Among them, in one place, were nearly all the bones of the left hind-leg of a bear, still preserving their true anatomical position,[2432] though with one of the bones of the fore-leg lying with them. In close proximity lay one of the worked flints, of which several were found in this bed. A few occurred in the gravel. The fauna appears to be nearly identical with that of Kent’s Cavern, though the _Machairodus_ is absent. We have, therefore, here another instance of the association of these works of man with the remains of the extinct mammals, in a cave-deposit beneath a thick layer of stalagmite, which, in this case, had been for the most part deposited before the reindeer had quitted the south of England, and while a large bear, probably _Ursus spelæus_, was still living in Britain. An interesting feature in the case has been pointed out by Mr. Pengelly,[2433] who, from the nature and origin of some of the pebbles in the cave-earth, argues that to allow of their having been brought into the cave by means of water—which in this instance, for various reasons, seems to have been the transporting agent—the configuration of the surface of the land in the neighbourhood must have been very different from what it is at present; and that a valley, 75 feet in depth, which now runs in front of the cave, could not then have existed, but must have been subsequently excavated.

The fragments of flint of various sizes discovered in the cave, and showing in a greater or less degree traces of human workmanship upon them, were upwards of thirty in number. Like those from Kent’s Cavern, they have, for the most part, undergone much alteration in structure, having become white, absorbent, and brittle to a greater or less depth from their surface, which in some instances still retains a bright porcellanous glaze. The flint appears to have been derived originally from the chalk, though in some cases it had, before being utilized, been rolled into pebbles on the beach.

* * * * *

The following are some of the most remarkable specimens:—

A round-pointed lanceolate implement, shown on the scale of 1∕2 in. Fig. 409. The point is symmetrically chipped, but the original |514| surface of the flint has been left untouched over the greater part of the butt-end, which is roughly cylindrical, and more truncated than is usual with chalk flints, but is well adapted for being held in the hand. This implement has had the pointed end broken off by an irregularly diagonal fracture rather more than half way along it, and the butt-end has subsequently split up lengthways with what may be termed a “faulted” line of fracture; and about a quarter of it has been lost. The fractures are evidently of very ancient date; but what is most remarkable is that the butt-end was found in August, 1858, 3 feet deep in the cave-earth in the Flint Knife Gallery, and the point was not found until nearly a month afterwards, a long distance away in the Pen Gallery, at a depth of 3 feet 6 inches in the same bed. It was not until some time afterwards that it was discovered that the two fragments fitted each other, or that the true character of the implement was seen. In general form it closely resembles one type of the pointed instruments from the Valley-gravels. In fact, it is in all essential points identical with them, and agrees in character with many of the implements from the breccia of Kent’s Cavern—especially with one (No. 7,328) which might have been made by the same hand—while it differs materially in form from the flat ovoid implements from the |515| cave-earth, such as Fig. 386, which, however, also find their analogues in the River-Drift.

Another instrument, of an elongated-oval form, has been made from a large flake, or splinter, of flint with an approximately flat inner face, showing strongly the curved and waved lines of conchoidal fracture. It has been shaped by a succession of blows given in such a manner as not to injure the flat face, but to produce a more or less bevelled scraping or cutting edge all round, some parts of which present appearances of wear by use. It is shown in Fig. 410, and, as will be seen, is of much the same character as the implement from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 392, in the description of which the analogy of this type with that of some of the French cave-implements is pointed out.

In Fig. 411 is represented an instrument found in the gravel in a fissure in the West Chamber of the cave. It is a fragment of a large broad flake, showing on its convex face a portion of the original crust of the flint. It seems to have been at first of an approximately oval form, but has lost one of its ends by a straight fracture. This end appears to have been broken off in ancient times, after the rest of the instrument had been chipped into shape. A portion of the other end is also wanting, but the fracture in this case must have existed before the completion of the implement, as several flakes have been removed from its convex face, by blows administered on the fractured surface. One side of the flake has been trimmed by chipping, at first boldly and then more minutely, to a segmental bevelled edge, much resembling in character that of some of the large “side-scrapers” from the cave of Le Moustier[2434] in the Dordogne. Instruments of the same character occur occasionally, though rarely, in the ancient River-deposits. There are some traces of use on the edge of this specimen.

A remarkably symmetrical scraper was also thought to have come from the Brixham Cave, and is shown full size in Fig. 412. I remarked in publishing it that it closely resembled the scrapers found |516| on the surface of the soil, and that it was exceptionally short for a cave-specimen. A little time after the first edition of this book had appeared, I discovered that this scraper had been found on the surface near the top of Windmill Hill, and had been included with the other specimens by mistake.[2435] It is undoubtedly neolithic.

The other implements from the Brixham Cave consist for the most part of flakes and splinters of flint of different sizes, and more or less chipped. One of these, 2 3∕4 inches long, has been chipped or jagged along one edge, apparently by use, while the broad round end is so much worn away as to almost assume the appearance of a “scraper.” Most of them bear decided marks, either on their sides or ends, of having been in use as scraping tools. About half way along one of them is a rounded notch, apparently produced by scraping some cylindrical object; and in connection with this it may be mentioned that a portion of a cylindrical pin, or rod, of ivory was found in the cave, being the only object wrought from an animal substance. A cylindrical piece of ivory about 3∕8 inch in diameter was found in the Gorge d’Enfer cavern, and is in the Christy Collection. Some of the splinters of flint are very small, and yet one of them only 3∕4 inch by 5∕8 inch shows the worn edge resulting from use. An irregular subangular flint pebble somewhat pear-shaped in form has some of its angles much battered, as if by hammering, and has probably served as a hammer-stone, simply held in the hand. Pebbles similarly bruised at the more salient parts have frequently been found in the French caves.

* * * * *

The Brixham Cave specimens are now in the British Museum, and the general result of the examination of them, is that they are found to present analogous, and in some cases almost identical, forms with those discovered in other caves, and in the ancient river-gravels, associated with the remains of animals now for the most part extinct; and that most of the implements prove not only to have been made by man, but to have been actually in use before becoming imbedded in the cave-loam; while from the whole of the flints discovered presenting these signs of human workmanship or use upon them, it is evident that their presence in the cave must in some measure be due to human agency, though it was probably by means of water that they were deposited in the positions in which they were found.

THE TOR BRYAN CAVES.

These caves, rock-shelters, or fissures are situated near |517| Denbury, Devon, and were explored by Mr. J. L. Widger, with results recorded by the late Mr. J. E. Lee.[2436] In them were found numerous mammalian remains, including teeth of rhinoceros, hyæna, and bear, and several worked flints. One of these, described as a “Flint Implement of the older type,”[2437] was found beneath two thick stalagmite floors. Many of the implements from these caves are now in the British Museum.

In the Happaway Cavern,[2438] Torquay, teeth of the same mammals were found, together with human bones and apparently a flint flake as well as many splinters of flint. Human remains were also found with those of hyæna in a cave at Cattedown,[2439] Plymouth.

THE WOOKEY HYÆNA DEN.

The so-called Hyæna Den at Wookey Hole, near Wells, Somerset, has been explored at different times between 1859 and 1863 by Prof. Boyd Hawkins, F.R.S., assisted by the Rev. J. Williamson, F.G.S., Mr. James Parker, F.G.S., and Mr. Henry Willett, F.G.S., and accounts of the exploration have been published in the _Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society_.[2440]

The cave is situated no great distance from the mouth of the large and well-known cavern of Wookey Hole, and pierces the Dolomitic Conglomerate. It was first discovered about the year 1849, in cutting a mill-race along the edge of the rock, and consists of a principal chamber, or _antrum_, connected with a bifurcated tunnel narrowing as it recedes from the chamber, and with one branch terminating in a vertical passage. At the time of the discovery, both the chamber and the passage were for the greater part filled with red earth, stones, and animal remains quite up to the roof, and in other parts to within a few inches of it. In a few places only was there any deposit of stalagmite. In the _antrum_, both the upper and lower part of the red earth which filled the cave contained but few organic remains, though they were abundant towards the middle of the deposit. In part of the passage, however, there was an enormous accumulation of animal remains, forming a bone-bed at the top of the cave-earth. The evidences of human occupation were all found in the principal chamber. |518|

* * * * *

They consisted of bone-ashes, and some instruments of stone and bone. The bone objects are described as two rudely fashioned arrow-heads of the shape of an equilateral triangle, with the angles at the base bevelled off. They have, however, both been lost, so that I am unable to speak more positively as to their character. The stone objects are still forthcoming, and some of them are preserved in the Museums at Brighton and Oxford. One of the finest is shown in full size in four views as Fig. 413, having been engraved for the |519| _Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society_.[2441] It lay at a depth of 4 feet from the roof, and at a distance of 12 feet from the present entrance. It is described as having lain with some other implements in contact with teeth of hyæna, between dark bands of manganese full of bony splinters, which may have been old floors[2442] of the cave; so that the occupation by the hyæna seems to have succeeded, or alternated with, that by man. It is of white flint, and closely resembles in form some of the smaller implements from the River-drift. It is of less size than the ovoid instruments from Kent’s Cavern, and is not so neatly made as some of them. A smaller instrument from the Wookey Hyæna Den is of much the same form, but still less artistically worked. It is 2 3∕8 inches long and 1 3∕4 inches broad, and may be compared with that from Kent’s Cavern shown in Fig. 389. Other specimens were more of the “sling-stone” form; in addition to which there were numerous flakes and splinters of flint and chert. One flake, which, though it has lost its point, is still 2 3∕4 inches long, has been trimmed by secondary chipping on the flat face, slightly so along one side, but on the other, over half the surface of the flake, which is 1 1∕4 inches wide near the base. When perfect this instrument was probably much like that from Kent’s Cavern, Fig. 391. Both its edges show considerable signs of wear by use. Another form described by Prof. Boyd Dawkins is roughly pyramidal, with a smooth and flat base, and a cutting edge all round, much like an instrument found in the cave of Aurignac by M. Lartet. Of this form there were two examples, both made of chert from the Upper Greensand.

* * * * *

The fauna of the cave, so far as the larger animals are concerned, is the same as that of Kent’s Cavern, with the addition of _Rhinoceros hemitœchus_, and of a lemming, and with the exception of _Machairodus_. The exact method of accumulation of the deposits in this cave it is very difficult to explain. Prof. Boyd Dawkins has suggested that during its occupation by hyænas, and perhaps for some time afterwards, it was subject to floods similar to those which now from time to time take place in the caverns in the neighbourhood. One thing appears certain, that previously to the filling up of the principal chamber it must, for a longer or shorter period, have been occupied by man; who here also again appears to have been associated with that same fauna, now either totally or locally extinct, with which traces of his handiwork have been discovered intermingled in so many other deposits of a similar character, both on the Continent and in Britain. With regard to the physical features of the country, Sir Charles Lyell[2443] observes, “When I examined the spot in 1860, after I had been |520| shown some remains of the hyæna collected there, I felt convinced that a complete revolution must have taken place in the topography of the district since the time of the extinct quadrupeds. I was not aware at the time, that flint tools had been met with in the same bone-deposit.”

LONG HOLE, GOWER, AND OTHER CAVES.