Chapter II: Early Geological Periods.1

Necessity of a general acquaintance with the outlines of
Geology—A time in which there was no life possible on the
globe—Length of this period—On the formation of rocks—The record
imperfect—The three great periods in animal life on the
globe—Paleozoic age—Animal and vegetable life of this period—The
Mesozoic age—Animal and vegetable life of this period—Advance
noted—Abundance of reptilian life—First appearance of
birds—Nature’s methods of work—The Cenozoic age—Geological
outline—Sketch of the Eocene age—Of the Miocene age—What is
sufficient proof of the presence of man—Discussion of the Thenay
flints—The Pliocene age—Animal and vegetable life of this age—Was
man living during this age?—Discussion of this subject—Summing up
the evidence—Conclusion.

For a clear understanding of questions relating to early man, a
more or less extensive acquaintance with Geology is required.
This is by no means a difficult task to accomplish. What so
interesting as to understand at least the outlines of the history
of life on the globe? To see how, following a definite plan, the
vast continents have grown to their present size and form; to see
how animal and vegetable life have evolved successively higher
and higher forms; to see where in this wondrous drama of
creation, this strange unfolding of life, the first faint,
indecisive traces of man’s presence are to be found; to learn
what great changes in climate, in Geogony, and in life, had
occurred before man’s appearance, let us pass in brief review the
history of early geological periods.

As we have already stated, there must have been a very long
period of time during which no life was possible on the globe. Of
this era we know but little; for we find no strata of rocks of an
earlier date than we know life, in its simplest forms, to have
existed.2 Still we are not less confident of the existence of
this era, and the mind can dimly comprehend the scene, when a
nearly shoreless ocean surged around the globe.3

As to the extent of time during which there was no life, we have
no means of determining. That it was almost infinitely long is
made apparent by the researches of eminent scholars on the
cooling of lava. Toward the close of this extended period of time
faint traces of life appear. Not life as we are apt to think of
it. No nodding flowers were kissed by the sunshine of this early
time. The earliest forms of flowerless plants, such as sea-weeds,
and in dry places possibly lichens covering the rocks, were the
highest forms of vegetable life. Animal life, if present, for the
fact is denied by some, occurs in the very lowest form, merely
structureless bodies, with no especial organs of sense, or
nutrition: and their motion consisting simply in protruding and
withdrawing hair-like processes.4 Such was the beginning of life.
This vast period of time, which includes the beginning, is known
among geologists as Archean time.

From the close of this age, the history of life properly
commences. It might be well to explain the means which the
geologist uses to interpret the history of the globe. It is now
understood that the forces of nature have always produced the
same results as they do now. From the very earliest time to the
present, rocks have been forming. There, where conditions were
favorable, great beds of limestone, formed from shells and
corals, ground up by the action of the sea5—in other places,
massive beds of sandstone or of sand, afterward consolidated into
sandstone—were depositing. On the land surface, in places, great
beds of vegetable _débris_ were being converted into coal. Now we
can easily see how the remains of organic bodies, growing at the
time of the formation of these beds, should be preserved in a
fossil form. Limestone rocks are thickly studded in places with
all sorts of marine formations. Coal fields reveal wonders of
early vegetative growth. From sandstone rocks, and shaly beds, we
learn strange stories of animal life at the time they were
forming. From a careful study of these remains together with the
formation in which they occur, not only in one locality but all
over the earth, geologists have gradually unfolded the history of
life on the globe. It is admitted that, at best, our knowledge in
that direction is fragmentary. This arises from errors in
observation as well as that fossil formations are rare, or at
least localities where they are known to exist are but few. So
our knowledge of the past is as if we were examining some record
from which pages, chapters, and even volumes, have been
extracted.

Paleozoic Forest

In consequence of this imperfect record we can not, as yet, trace
a gradual successive growth from the low forms of animal and
plant life, that characterized the closing period of Archean
time, to the highly organized types of the present. The record
suddenly ceases and when we again pick up the thread we are
surrounded by more advanced types, higher forms of life. Though
we may hope that future discoveries will do much toward
completing the records, we can not hope that they will ever
really be perfected. So, from our present stand-point, the
history of life on the globe falls naturally into three great
divisions.6 This is no more than we might expect, when we reflect
that nature’s laws are universal in their action, and that the
world, as a whole, has been subjected to the same set of changes.

The period following on after Archean time is called, by
geologists, Paleozoic time.

During the long course of time embraced in this age, the forms of
life present wide differences from those of existing time.

This period produced the great beds of coal we use to-day. But
the vegetation of the coal period would present strange features
to our eyes. The vegetation commenced with the lowest orders of
flowerless plants, such as sea-weeds; but, before it was brought
to a close, there was a wonderful variety and richness of plants
of the flowerless or Cryptogamic division. In some of the warmest
portions of the globe, we have to-day tree-ferns growing four or
five feet high. During the closing part of the Paleozoic time,
there were growing all over the temperate zone great tree-ferns
thirty feet or so in height. Some varieties of rushes in our
marshes, a foot or two in height, had representatives in the
marshes of the coal period standing thirty feet high, and having
woody trunks.7 Near the close of the Paleozoic time, vegetation
assumed a higher form of life. Flowering plants are represented.
Pines were growing in the coal measures.

In animal life a similar advance is noted. The class of animals
having no backbone, or invertebrate animals, were largely
represented. But, toward the close of the Paleozoic time, we meet
with representatives of the backbone family. The waters swarmed
with fishes.8 Besides these, there were amphibians; 9 and
reptiles in the closing portions.10

The Pterodactyl

Thus we see what a great advance was made in life during this
period. The forms of life during the early stages of this age
were inferior in this, also, that they were all water species.11
But, before it closes, we have a rich and varied terrestrial
vegetation, and also air-breathing animals. The class Mammalia,
to which man belongs, had no representative on the earth during
the extended Paleozoic time.

We can easily see, from the foregoing, how appropriately this
period has been named that of old life forms. In imagination we
can recall a scene of this old age. The air is sultry and full of
vapors. The soil seems hot and steaming. This is a veritable
forest, but we see none of the beautiful flowers which we
associate with tropical vegetation to-day. In the branches of the
graceful tree-ferns, we will look in vain for birds. They were
yet far in the future. Neither were there any of the higher
orders of animals present. Not a single representative of the
great class of mammals enlivened the depths of the forest. There
were fishes in the waters, but not the fishes of to-day. Some
true reptiles and amphibians disported themselves in swampy
jungles, but they were unimportant. Almost the only sound to
break the stillness, was the hum of marsh-loving insects, the
whistling of the wind, and the roar of the tempests, which we may
well believe raged with the more than tropic severity of the
present.12

The time at last came for the dawning of a new era. Vast changes
had been taking place in the geography of both continents. The
region to the south-west of the Green Mountains was upturned. The
Alleghany Mountains were formed, and the region east of the
Mississippi River became part of the stable land of the
continent.13 In Europe, nearly as great changes occurred. The
conditions of life must have been greatly modified by these
geographical changes. The life-forms bear testimony to this
changed condition. Old forms die away, and are succeeded by those
approaching more nearly our own times. The name of this period is
the Mesozoic time, or the period of middle life forms.14 It is
instructive to notice the steady advance in the type of life,
both animal and vegetable. The abundant flowerless vegetation of
the coal formation of the preceding epoch dwindles away. But the
flowering trees increase in number and importance until, in the
closing period of Mesozoic time, we have trees with deciduous
leaves. A great many of our forest trees had representatives in
the forests of that epoch.

Ichthyosauri

Palms and species like the big tree of California were growing
side by side with species akin to our own common trees. But in
the animal world there were many strange forms. This was the age
of reptiles. They domineered on the land, in the air, and in the
sea. On the land there stalked huge reptiles fifty and sixty feet
long, and, when standing erect, at least thirty feet high.15 Some
of these huge creatures were carnivorous, living on other
animals. Others fed on the foliage of trees. In the air, huge
reptilian bats, veritable flying dragons with a spread of wings
from ten to twenty feet, disported themselves.16 In the sea there
swam great reptilian whales, seals, and walruses.17 There was a
marvelous abundance of reptilian life. At the present day, there
are not more than six species of reptiles in the whole world
having a length of over fifteen feet, and not more than eighteen
species exceeding ten feet in length. But from one limited
locality, representing but one era of this age in England, there
have been discovered four or five species of carnivorous reptiles
twenty to fifty feet long, ten or twelve species of crocodiles,
lizards, and swimming reptiles from ten to sixty feet
long—besides multitudes of great flying reptiles and turtles.
Doubtless similar scenes of animal life were everywhere
represented.

The Labyrinthodon.

Birds made their first appearance during the Mesozoic time, and
here we obtain a clear view of nature’s methods of work. There is
no longer a doubt but that the first birds were simply modified
reptiles. The first bird had a long jointed tail, and a bill well
supplied with formidable teeth.18 It was during this period that
the first representative of the class Mammalia, to which man
belongs, appears.19 It is in the rocks of this era that we meet
with remains of marsupials, the order to which opossums belong.
This is the lowest of the Mammalian class. To the class Mammalia
belong the most highly organized animals. They have been the
ruling animals since the close of Mesozoic time. We must now
watch their development with especial care. For this brief
review, as far as it has gone, has shown a steady and gradual
progress in life forms, the lower invariably preceding the
higher. We therefore feel that it will be vain to seek for any
trace of man until we find undoubted proofs of the existence of
all the forms of animals below him. The last great division of
time is called Cenozoic.20 This means new life forms. In this
age, the forms of life are much nearer our own. As it was some
time during this epoch when man makes his appearance, we deem it
best to go into more detail, and give the subdivisions of this
period. It has been amply sufficient to give simply the outlines
of the other periods. In order to fix more clearly the sequence
of life, we will give an outline showing the periods we have
reviewed, and also the subdivisions of the Cenozoic time, which
we are now to examine with more care.

OUTLINE.

LIFE.
Archæan Time.
_The Beginning._ Includes the long lapse of time when the
globe could not support life, but towards its close faint
traces of life, both animal and vegetable appeared.

Paleozoic Time.
_The Period of Old Life Forms._ Forests of flowerless trees;
but pines grew in the coal measures. Animal life largely
invertebrate; but amphibians and reptiles among the
vertebrate appear at the close.

Mesozoic Time.
_The Period of Middle Life Forms._ Flowering trees increasing
in number and importance. Deciduous trees make their
appearance. Animal life largely reptilian. The class Mammalia
represented by marsupials.

Cenozoic Time.
_Tertiary,_ or Age of Mammals.
Eocene. Miocene. Pliocene.

_Quaternary,_ or Age of Man.
Glacial or Pleistocene. Recent.

At the close of the Mesozoic time, great elevations of land took
place in both America and Europe, especially in the northern
portions.21 This could not fail to have a great effect on life,
both animal and vegetable.

During the Eocene, or first division of the Tertiary Age, we have
simply to note the steady progress of life. There were forests of
species of oaks, poplars, maples, hickories, and other common
trees, and others now found only in tropical regions. Palm trees
were growing in the upper Missouri region of the United States.
And England was decidedly a land of Palms, as no less than
thirteen species are known to have been growing there. Cypresses,
yews, and pines graced the scene.22 Our special interest centers,
however, in the mammals of this epoch.

The Paleotherium.

In the preceding epoch marsupials only were represented. But in
beds of the middle and closing portions of the Eocene period we
meet with a sudden increase of Mammalian life. Whale-like animals
were especially abundant in the seas; and on our Western plains
were animals like the tapirs of India, and rhinoceros-like
animals as large as elephants23 but having no trunks, and
diminutive little animals not larger than foxes, from which have
come our horses. Europe also had a varied Mammalian fauna. There
were numerous hog-like animals. Animals, like the tapirs of
tropical Asia and America, wandered in the forests and on the
banks of the rivers. Herds of horse-like animals, about the size
of Shetland ponies, fed on the meadows.24 Animals that chew the
cud were present, or at least had near representatives.25

Among the flesh-eating animals were creatures resembling foxes,
wolverines, and hyenas.26 This shows what a great advance had
been made. But, besides all these, we are here presented with
representatives of the order of Quadrumana, or four-handed
animals. Several genera of lemurs are found in both America and
Europe.

Now the Quadrumana are the order below man. Therefore it seems
that in the Eocene period, all the forms of life _below_ man are
represented. The time seems to be at hand when we can look, with
some confidence, for traces of the presence of man himself. We
must therefore be more cautious in our investigations.

The epoch following on after the Eocene is designated as the
Miocene. We must remember that, though recent in a geological
sense, yet it is immensely remote when measured by the standard
of years. We must inquire into all the surroundings of this far
away time. The geographical features must have been widely
different from the present.

In the first place, the elevation of land to the north must have
been sufficient to have connected the land areas of the Northern
Hemisphere—North America, with Asia27 and Greenland; and this
latter country must have been united with Iceland, and, through
the British Islands, with Europe. But, to compensate for this
land mass to the north, large portions of Central and Southern
Europe were beneath the waves.28 The proof of this extended mass
of land is to be found in the wide distribution of similar
animals and plants in the Miocene time. All the chief botanists
are agreed that the north Polar region was the center from which
plants peculiar to the Eocene and Miocene epochs spread into both
Europe and America.29 We may mention that the famous big trees of
California are simply remnants of a wide-spread growth of these
trees in Miocene times. They can be found in a fossil state at
various places in British America, in Greenland, and in Europe.
They are supposed to have originated somewhere in the north, and
spread by these land connections we have mentioned into both
Europe and America. But this is not the only tree that grew in
the Miocene forests of both continents. The magnolia, tulip-tree,
and swamp cypress are other instances.30 Eleven species, growing
in the Rocky Mountain regions in Rocene times, found their way to
Europe in the Miocene times,31 driving before them the plants of
a tropical growth that had hitherto flourished in England. Now
this implies land connection between the two continents.
Furthermore, animals both large and small are found common to the
two countries.32 The climate over what is now the North Temperate
Zone, and even further. north, must have been delightful. There
is ample testimony to this effect in the rich vegetative remains
over wide areas.

In Spitzbergen, within twelve degrees of the pole, where now a
dwarf willow and a few herbaceous plants form the only
vegetation, and the ground is most of the time covered with snow
and ice, there were growing, in Miocene times, no less than
ninety-five species of trees, including yews, hazels, elders,
beech, elms, and others.33 But it is in the Miocene forests of
the continent of Europe where we meet with evidence of a
singularly mild climate.

There were at least eleven species of palms growing in
Switzerland; and one variety of them grew as far north as
Northern Germany.34

We can not give a list of all the species. On the one hand, there
were elms, willows, poplars, oaks, and beeches, thus far similar
to the forest growth of temperate regions. Mingled with these
were forests of trees like the tulip-tree, swamp cypress, and
liquid amber or sweet gum of the southern part of the United
States—plants whose home is in the warm and moist regions of the
earth. But there were also representatives of the tropical
regions—such as fig-trees, cinnamon-trees, and camphor-trees:
these are found growing now in tropical countries. Fruit-trees of
the cherry, plum, and almond species were also to be seen. Prof.
Heer points out how all this should convince us that a large part
of Europe, in the Miocene Age, possessed a climate not unlike
that of the Madeira or Canary Islands to-day. He calls especial
attention to the fact that these trees were nearly all of
evergreen species, and that a severe winter would destroy them.
He finds one hundred and thirty-one species of the Temperate
Zone—species that can stand a moderate amount of cold, but not
very hot and dry climates. He finds eighty-five species of
tropical plants that could not possibly live where the Winters
are severe. Mingled with these were nearly three hundred species
whose natural home is in the warm, temperate portions of the
earth. The only way you can explain this motley assemblage of
trees is, to suppose that in what is now Europe was a climate
free from extremes, allowing the trees to put forth flowers and
fruits all the year round. “Reminding us,” says Prof. Heer, “of
those fortunate zones where Nature never goes to rest.”35

Miocene Mammals.

Let us now inquire as to the animals that roamed through these
great forests we have been describing. The Miocene period
extended over a long lapse of time, and considerable change took
place among the animals belonging to the different parts of this
age. We will only give a general outline for the whole period.
The marsupials lingered along into the early stages of this
period, and then disappeared from Europe. The rhinoceros were
present in the early stages, and continued through the entire
age. We meet in this period animals of the elephant kind, two
species, the mastodon and deinotherium. Antelopes and gazelles
wandered in vast troops over the plains of Hungary, Spain, and
Southern France. Carnivorous animals resembling tigers and hyenas
found abundance of animal food. Herds of horse-like animals fed
on the rich herbage of the meadows. The birds were largely
represented. In the woods were to be seen flocks of gayly
feathered paroquets and trogons. On the plains secretary-birds
hunted the serpents and reptiles, which furnished them food—and
eagles were on the watch for their prey. Cranes waded in the
rivers for fish. Geese, herons, and pheasants must have been
abundant.

Our main interest centers in the order Quadrumana. We must
remember that this order appeared in the Eocene. Several species
were present in the Miocene. They wandered in the forests of
France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy, and doubtless found
abundant food in the figs and bread-fruit, walnuts, almonds,
dates, and other nuts growing there.36 One of the most important
is regarded as belonging to the same genus as the Gibbons.37 This
is the genus which has been sometimes regarded as making a nearer
approach to man than any other monkey.38 Others, however,
consider it as belonging to an extinct family.39 In addition to
this species there were at least three other species: thus there
was no absence of simian life in the Miocene.40

From the sketch we have thus far drawn of the Miocene Age, it
seems to have been a very favorable one in every respect. One
writer41 affirms, that “the world never experienced a more
beautiful period.” And indeed it seems as if the facts bear out
this statement. A genial, temperate climate was the rule, even to
high northern latitudes. We need not doubt but that there were
grassy plains, wooded slopes, and rolling rivers. Was man present
to take advantage of all these favorable surroundings? Did he
wander through the evergreen forests, and hunt the deer,
antelope, and hogs—the hipparions, and mastodons, and
deinotheres—then so numerous?42 We know of no inherent
improbability of his existence at that time. An ape belonging to
a highly organized genus was then living in Europe. Every
condition considered necessary for the primeval Garden of Eden
was then satisfied. Let us stop for a minute and examine the
nature of the evidence considered sufficient to prove the
presence of man during any of the past geological ages.

Should we be so fortunate as to find portions of the bones of the
human skeleton in a geological formation in such positions that
they could not possibly have been introduced there since the
deposition of the containing bed, it would of course prove that
man was at least as old as the formation itself. But it happens
that human remains in beds of a previous geological age are very
rare. Indeed, human remains in formations of the Pleistocene
Age,43 during which we have ample testimony, as we shall see, of
the presence of man, are very rare. The cases in which there can
be no doubt can be reckoned on the fingers. The explanation of
this state of things is not at all difficult, for it is only
under very rare circumstances that portions of the bones of
animals even larger than man are preserved to us in geological
strata. Vast numbers die and vanish away without leaving a trace
behind them for every fragmentary bone we recover. In the case of
man we must remember that, in previous eras, he was present in
very small numbers; that, owing to his intelligence, he would not
be as liable to be drowned and swept away, and so mingle his
remains with beds of river detritus then forming, as were
animals. Mr. Lyell has made some remarks on the draining of the
Haarlem Lake by the government of Holland in 1853, which shows
that even favorable circumstances do not always preserve remains
for future inspection. Though called a lake, this body of water
was an arm of the sea, covering about forty-five thousand acres.
The population which had lived on the shores of the lake was
between thirty and forty thousand souls. “There had been many a
shipwreck, and many a naval fight on those waters, and hundreds
of Dutch and Spanish soldiers and sailors had met there with a
watery grave,” yet not a solitary portion of the human skeleton
was to be found in its bed.44 Thus we see that, in the majority
of cases, we must rely on other evidence than the presence of
human bones to prove the existence of man in the geological
periods of the past. In the case of the Haarlem Lake again, there
was found the wreck of one or two vessels, and some ancient
armor. So, had it been a disputed point whether man was a denizen
of this planet at the time when the area in question was covered
by water, it would have been settled beyond a doubt by these
relics of his industry, even though portions of the human frame
itself were entirely wanting. And, in reality, proofs of this
nature are just as satisfactory as it would be to discover human
bones. If, on a desert island, we find arrow-heads, javelins, a
place where there had been a fire, split bones, and other
_débris_ of a feast, we are as much justified in asserting that
man had been there, as we would be had we seen him with our own
eyes. In the same manner, if we detect in any strata of the past
any undoubted products of human industry—such as weapons, or
implements and ornaments—in such position that we know they could
not have been deposited there since the formation of the bed
itself, we have no hesitancy in asserting that man himself is of
the same antiquity as the strata containing the implements. In
the great majority of cases, this is the only kind of evidence
possible to advance.

It is now well known that the first stage in the culture of any
people, is what is called the Stone Age. That is to say, their
weapons and implements were made from stone, or at least the
majority of them were. We will discuss on another page this
point, and also the grounds leading us to infer that many of the
extremely rude forms are really the work of man.

Let us now return to the Miocene Age, in which we are to seek for
the presence of man. In 1867 a French geologist, by the name of
Bourgeois, who had been searching some beds of the Miocene Age,
near Thenay, France, found a number of flints of such a peculiar
shape, that he concluded they could only be explained by
supposing that man formed them. In this case there is to question
as to the age of the stratum containing the flints. All
geologists are agreed that it is of the Miocene Age. The question
then is, whether the flints were artificially cut or not. On this
question there has been a great division of opinion, and we can
not do better than to examine and see where the Principal
scientific men stand on this point.

In 1872, at the scientific congress in Brussels, this question
was referred to a committee composed of the most competent men
from the different countries of Europe. We are sorry to say that,
after a thorough consideration of them, the judges were unable to
agree. Some accepted them, others rejected them, and still others
were undecided. Some of the latter have since become convinced by
recent discoveries.45

Since this discovery, similar specimens have been described as
having been found in Portugal, and from another locality in
France. Some men of the highest authority accept these flints as
proving the presence of man in Miocene times. This is supported
by such men as Quatrefages, Hamy, Mortillet, and Capellini.46
These are all known to be competent and careful geologists.
Another class does not think the evidence strong enough to
declare these flints of human origin, and so do not think it
proved that man lived in Europe in Miocene times; but do believe
that we will eventually find proofs of his existence during that
era in the warm and tropical regions of the globe. This is the
view of such men as Lubbock, Evans, Huxley, and Winchell. Still
others say that, during the vast lapse of years since Miocene
times, all the species of land mammals then alive have
perished47—their place being taken by other species—and therefore
it is incredible that man, the most highly specialized of all
animals, should have survived. And hence, if these Thenay flints
are really artificial in their origin, it is more reasonable to
suppose they were cut by one of the higher apes, then living in
France, than by man. This is the view of Prof. Dawkins and Prof.
Gaudry.48 As to the last view, it is surely but reasonable to
suppose, with Quatrefages,49 that the superior intelligence of
man would serve to protect him from the operation of causes that
would effect the extinction of lower animals. Hence, unless some
evidence be produced to show that species of apes are known to
make rude stone implements, or some evidence that they did this
in past ages, we must believe, with Geikie and others, that these
flints prove that Miocene man lived in France, unless indeed we
refuse to believe that they are artificial.

It also seems to us that those who hold to the view that man was
living in other parts of the world, as Asia, during the Miocene
Age, ought readily to admit that a few wandering bands might
penetrate into Europe.50 The climate was tropical, there was an
abundance of animal life, and, if man was living anywhere, it is
very reasonable to suppose that, at some epoch during the course
of the Miocene Age, he would have found his way to Europe, unless
shut off by the sea. It therefore seems to us that the presence
of those cut flints is conclusive of the presence of man in
Europe during the Miocene Age. At the same time we can not affirm
that this is the conclusion of the scientific world. They seem to
have heeded the remark of Quatrefages, that “in such a matter
there is no great urgency,” and are waiting for further
discoveries.

Thus far in our review we have noticed the steady progress in the
forms of life. In the Miocene Age we have seen all the types of
life below man present, and some indications of the presence of
man himself. We must now learn what we can of the Pliocene Age,
the last division of the Tertiary Age.

The Pliocene Age need not detain us long. Considerable changes in
the geography of both Europe and America were going forward
during the Miocene Age, and the result was quite a change in
climate. There was a steady elevation of the Pacific coast region
of America, and, as a consequences a period of great volcanic
outbursts in California and Oregon.51 At the same time the bridge
connecting Asia and America was severed.52 In Europe the
Mediterranean area was elevated; but the land connecting
Greenland with Europe sank, allowing the cold waters of the
Arctic to communicate with both the North Sea and the
Atlantic—England at that time forming part of the great peninsula
extending north and west from Europe.53 The climate during the
Pliocene Age was cooler than that of the Miocene. This is marked
in the vegetation of that period. The palms and the cinnamon
trees, which in Miocene times grew in Germany, flourished no
farther north than Italy during the Pliocene.54

Count DeSaporta, who made special researches in the flora of this
period, found the remains of a forest growth buried under lava on
the side of a mountain in Cantal France, at an elevation of about
four thousand feet above the level of the sea. This consisted
principally of pines. This shows that probably all Northern
Europe was covered with somber forests of pine. In the same
section he found, buried under volcanic ash, a vegetation
consisting mostly of deciduous trees—maples, alders, poplars,
willows, elms, and ashes. As this was growing at the height Of
about twenty-three hundred feet in Cantal France, it probably
represents the vegetation of Britain and Northern Germany.
Finally, the vegetation of Central and Southern France, as well
as Northern Italy, was intermediate in character between the
luxuriant evergreen forests of the Miocene Age and that now
growing there. The tropical character of the vegetation was
evidently passing away. The climate over a large part of Europe
was now temperate, though probably warmer than at present.55

In the Mammalia we have to notice the disappearance of some
species, and the arrival and spread of some others. The apes
living as far north as Germany in the Miocene Age were restricted
to Southern France and Italy in the Pliocene, and, at its close,
vanished altogether from Europe. The first living species of
mammals is found in the remains of the hippopotamus that
frequented the rivers of Pliocene times. The mastodon of Miocene
times was still to be seen, but along with it was a species of
true elephants. The hipparion survived into this epoch, but the
horse also makes its appearance. Great quantities of deer roamed
over the land; and, as might be expected where they were so
abundant, the carnivorous animals allied to the bears and wolves,
panthers, linxes, and tigers, were also to be found. “At night,”
says Mr. Dawkins, “the Pliocene forests of Central France echoed
with the weird laughter of the hyena.”

The gradual lowering of the climate is also shown by the remains
of the mollusks deposited in beds of marine or sea formation
during different eras of this age. It is found that the earlier
the bed, the more southern mollusks are found in it. This shows
us that, all through the Pliocene Age, the waters of the seas
surrounding England were gradually growing cooler, thus
compelling the retreat of those mollusks fitted only for a warm
climate, and allowing a gradual increase in those species fitted
for cold or northern latitudes. We also find, in deposits made
near the close of Pliocene times, numbers of stone which show all
evidence of having been borne thither by means of ice. So we may
conclude that rafts of ice came floating down the North Sea
during the closing period of the Pliocene Age.56 Still, during
the entire length of the Pliocene Age, Europe certainly offered
an inviting home for man. Not only were the higher orders of
animals present, but at least one living species was known. We
find more proofs of his presence, but whether they are sufficient
to convince us that man really lived during that epoch is to be
seen.

Prof. Whitney has brought to the attention of the scientific
world what he considers ample evidence of the presence of
Pliocene man in California. We reserve this for discussion in
another place. We will only remark, at present, that the evidence
in this case is regarded as sufficient by some of the best of
American Scholars.57 We simply mention them here, so that they
may be borne in mind when we see what evidence Europe has to
offer on this point. In 1863, M. Desnoyers, of France,
discovered, in a stratum which he considered Pliocene, some bones
of elephants and other animals cut and scratched in such a manner
that he considered the cuts to be the work of man. As showing how
cautious geologists are of accepting such conclusions, we mention
this case. There was found in the same bed the remains of an
extinct beaver. The question was at once raised, whether rodents
by gnawing these bones could not have produced the cuts in
question. Sir Charles Lyell, by actual experiments in the
Zoological Gardens in London, soon showed that this was probably
the fact.58 Yet Sir John Lubbock thinks it quite likely some of
them were of human origin.59 Subsequently, however, M. Bourgeois
discovered in the same bed worked flints, about the human origin
of which there seems to be no doubt;60 but a more careful study
of the formation in which they occur has raised questions as to
its age. Though usually held to be Pliocene, some careful
observers consider it to be of a later age. Geologists can not be
accused of rashly accepting statements as to the antiquity of
man.

In 1867 there was discovered, in Northern Italy, a human skull in
a railway cutting at a depth of nearly fifty feet. This stratum
contains remains of several Pliocene animals. This is held to
prove the existence of Pliocene man by several eminent observers,
amongst others Prof. Cocchi, of Italy, and Forsyth Major.61 But
in this case Mr. Dawkins contends that it was not found under
such conditions as render it certain that the stratum had been
undisturbed, and so does not prove to a certainty that it was of
the same age as the stratum.62 And Mr. Geikie thinks that the
stratum itself is of a later age than the Pliocene.63 It is but
right that geologists should thus carefully scan all the evidence
produced.

Cut on Bones of a Whale from Pliocene Deposit.

In 1876 Prof. Capellini discovered, in a Pliocene deposit in
Italy, the bones of a whale, which were so marked with cuts and
incisions that he thought the only explanation was to say they
had been cut by men. In this case64 there is no dispute as to the
age of the stratum. Neither is there much doubt but that the cuts
are the work of man. It is quite true that Mr. Evans has
suggested that they may be the work of fishes. In this he is
followed by Prof. Winchell.65 But there appears to be little
ground for such belief, because the cuts are all on the outside
faces of rib-bones, and the outer faces of the backbones. From
the position occupied by the remaining portions of the skeleton,
Prof. Capellini is sure that the animal had run aground, and, in
that condition, was discovered and killed by men, who then, by
means of flint knives, cut away such portions of food as they
wished. It must have been lying on its left side, since the cuts
were all made on bones of the right.66 It is not probable that
fishes would have been apt to choose the outside faces of the
ribs on the right side for their meals. These cut bones have been
carefully examined by many competent men, who have agreed with
Capellini that they are the work of men.67 Mr. Dawkins thinks the
cuts were artificial, but he says, “It is not, however, to my
mind satisfactorily shown that these were obtained from
undisturbed strata.”68 Now these bones have been found in several
localities, always in Pliocene deposits, which formed the shores
of the Pliocene sea.69 Knowing how carefully geologists inquire
into all the surroundings of a find, surely, if Capellini and
others are the competent men they are admitted to be, they would
have informed us long ago if they were not found in undisturbed
strata.

Mr. Dawkins also objects because fragments of pottery were found
in the strata. “Pottery,” says he, “was unknown in the
Pleistocene Age,70 and therefore is unlikely to have been found
in the Pliocene.”71 Mr. Geikie says this objection is founded on
a mistake, as Prof. Capellini told him the pottery was found
lying on the surface, and was never for a moment imagined by him
as belonging to the same age as the cut bones.72 There is also
the objection, that, inasmuch as all the mammals then alive
except one have perished, it is more than likely that, had man
been in existence then, he too would have disappeared.

We considered this point fully when speculating as to the
presence of man in the Miocene: so we have nothing further to
offer. We might, however, suggest that, if the hippopotamus
amongst mammals could survive all the changing time since the
Pliocene, as it has done, it seems no more than fair to admit
equal power of endurance to the human species. The position then
of the scientific world as to the Pliocene Age of man is, on the
whole, more decided in its favor than for the Miocene Age. Quite
a number of eminent scholars, whose conclusions are worthy of all
respect, unhesitatingly affirm the existence of Pliocene man in
Europe. Others are not quite ready to admit his existence in
Europe, but do think he was in existence elsewhere. Still others,
with all due respect for the discoveries of Capellini, think it
more prudent to await further discoveries. The reader, who has
followed us through this brief outline of the past, can join
which of the classes he will, and be sure of finding himself in
good company.

This completes our review of past geological ages. With the
termination of the Pliocene Age we find ourselves on firmer
ground. We only wish to call attention once more to the gradual
unfolding of life. We see that the rule has been that everywhere
the lower forms of life precede the higher. In the plant world
flowerless plants precede the flowering ones. The coal we burn
to-day is mainly the remains of the wonderful growth of the
flowerless vegetation of the Paleozoic Ace. When flowering plants
appear, it is the lower forms of them at first.

It was long ages before trees with deciduous leaves appeared. The
growth of animal life is equally instructive. First invertebrate
life, then the lowest forms of vertebrate life. The fishes are
followed by amphibians—then reptiles, then birds. The first
mammal to appear was the lowest organized of all—the marsupials.
And we have seen the sudden increase of mammalian life in
Tertiary times. We notice, in all the divisions of life, a
beginning, a culmination, and a decline. There has never been
such a growth of flowerless plants as in the Paleozoic, and
flowering plants probably culminated in the Miocene. The same
rule holds good for the animal world also. As man is the most
highly organized of all the animals, we can not hope to find any
evidence of his presence until we find proofs of the presence of
all the lower types of life. Of course future discoveries may
change our knowledge when the series is complete; but, from our
present stand-point, he could not have lived before the Miocene
Age, and we have seen how faint and indecisive are the proofs of
his presence even then. But should it finally be proved, beyond
all dispute, that man did live in the Miocene Age, we must
observe that this is but a small portion, but a minute fraction,
of the great lapse of time since life appeared on the globe. We
are a creation of but yesterday, even granting all that the most
enthusiastic believer in the antiquity of man can claim.

The Mastodon.
REFERENCES

The manuscript of this chapter was submitted to Prof. Winchell,
of the University of Michigan, for criticism.

Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 146.

Ibid. p. 147.

Nicholson’s “Manual of Zoology,” p. 59.

Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 74.

Nicholson’s “Manual of Zoology,” p. 42.

Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 323.

Nicholson’s “Zoology,” p. 402.

Dana’s “Geology,” p. 302.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 6.

Dana’s “Geology,” p. 382.

Haywood’s, Heer’s, “Primeval World of Switzerland.”

Dana’s “Man. Geology,” p.395.

Nicholson’s “Man. Zoology,” p.42.

Marsh: “American Assoc. Rep.,” 1877.

Marsh: “American Assoc. Rep.,” 1877.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 6.

Nicholson’s “Manual of Zoology,” pp. 419 and 504.

When we talk of first appearance, we mean the discovery of
remains. All who believe in the doctrine of evolution, know
that the class Mammalia must have appeared early in Paleozoic
times. Thus, Mr. Wallace says, “Bats and whales—strange
modifications of mammals—appear perfectly well developed in the
Eocene. What countless ages back must we go for the origin of
these groups—the whales from some ancestral carnivorous animal,
the bats from the insectivora!” and even then we have to seek
for the common origin of these groups at far earlier periods.
“So that, on the lowest estimate, we must place the origin of
the Mammalia very far back in Paleozoic times.” (“Island Life,”
p. 201.)

This word is also spelled Kainozoic, and Cainozoic. We follow
Dana, p. 140.

Dana, “Manual of Geology,” p. 488.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 28.

Many of these animal forms were common during the early Eocene.
(Winchell.)

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 29.

Dana, “Geology,” p. 517.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 32.

Marsh. “American Assoc. Rep.,” 1877.

Haywood’s Heer’s “Primeval World of Switzerland,” p. 296.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 20.

Ibid., p. 43.

Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 498.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 42.

Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 514.

Haywood’s Heer’s “Primeval World of Switzerland,” p. 334.

Haywood’s Heer’s “Primeval World of Switzerland.”

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” pp. 57 and 64.

Ibid., p. 57: also, Haywood’s Heer’s “Primeval World of
Switzerland.”

Nicholson’s “Manual of Zoology,” p. 605.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 58.

Ibid. 58.

McLean: “Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man,” p. 67.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Europe,” p. 66.

See “Outline,” p. 41.

Lyell’s “Antiquity of Man,” p. 193.

Quatrefages’s “Human Species,” p. 151.

Prof. Winchell says: “Quatrefages does not now consider the
proof decisive (_Hommes Fossiles et Hommes Sauvages,_ Paris,
1884, p. 95).” He cites, as agreeing with him, MM. Cotteau,
Evans, “and, I believe, most of the members who have not
publicly pronounced themselves.”

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 67.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 68.

“Human Species,” p. 152.

Prof. Winchell remarks that, though some savage races might
have been living in tropical lands during the Miocene, still
the oldest skull and jaws obtainable in Europe are of a higher
type than these.

Dana’s “Manual of Geology,” p. 523.

Marsh: “American Assoc. Rep.,” 1877.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 73.

Ibid., p. 78.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 77.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain,” p. 76.

Winchell’s “Pre-Adamites,” Whitney’s “Auriferous Gravels of
California,” Marsh’s “Address before American Assoc.,” 1879.

“Antiquity of Man,” p. 234.

“Prehistoric Times,” p. 433.

Geikie’s “Prehistoric Europe,” p. 343.

Dawkins’s “Early Man in Britain.”

Ibid.

“Prehistoric Europe,” p. 318.

Quatrefages’s “Hum. Species,” p. 150; Geikie’s “Prehistoric
Eur.,” p. 345.

“Pre-Adamites.”

Geikie’s “Prehistoric Europe,” p. 344.

Ibid.

“Early Man in Britain,” p. 92.

Geikie’s “Prehistoric Europe,” p. 344.

Same as Glacial. See “Outline,” p. 41.

“Early Man in Britain,” p. 92.

“Prehistoric Europe,” p. 345, note 2.