Flint bodkinFig. 42.—Flint Bodkin or Stiletto for sewing Reindeer Skins, found in the Cave of Les Eyzies (Périgord).
Fig. 42.—Flint Bodkin or Stiletto for sewing Reindeer Skins, found in the Cave of Les Eyzies (Périgord).
Bone needleFig. 43.—Bone Needle for sewing.
Fig. 43.—Bone Needle for sewing.
The inspection of certain reindeer bones has likewise enabled us to recognise the fact that the men of this age used for thread the sinewy fibres of this animal. On these bones transverse cuts may be noticed, just in those very spots where the section of the tendon must have taken place.
No metal was as yet known; consequently, man continued to make use of stone instruments, both for the implements of labour, and also for offensive and defensive weapons. The hatchet was but little employed as a weapon of war, and the flint-knife was the arm most extensively used. We must add to this, another potent although natural weapon; this was the lower jaw-bone of the great bear, still retaining its sharp and pointed canine tooth. The elongated and solid bone furnished the handle, and the sharp tooth the formidable point; and with this instrument man could in the chase attack and pierce any animal with which he entered into a hand-to-hand conflict.
It may be noticed that this weapon is placed in the hand of the man in fig. 39, which represents him during the reindeer epoch.
It must certainly be the case that the human race possesses to a very high degree the taste for personal ornament, since objects used for adornment are found in the most remote ages of mankind and in every country. There can be no doubt that the men and women who lived in the reindeer epoch sacrificed to the graces. In the midst of their precarious mode of life, the idea entered into their minds of manufacturing necklaces, bracelets, and pendants, either with shells which they bored through the middle so as to be able to string them as beads, or with the teeth of various animals which they pierced with holes with the same intention, as represented in fig. 44.
Wolf canine toothFig. 44.—The Canine Tooth of a Wolf, bored so as to be used as an ornament.
Fig. 44.—The Canine Tooth of a Wolf, bored so as to be used as an ornament.
The horny portion of the ear of the horse or ox (fig. 45), was likewise used for the same purpose, that is, as an object of adornment.
Ornament made from horse's earFig. 45.—Ornament made of the bony part of a Horse's Ear.
Fig. 45.—Ornament made of the bony part of a Horse's Ear.
It becomes a question whether man at this epoch had any belief in a future life, and practised anythingwhich bore a resemblance to religious worship. The existence, round the fire-hearths of the burial-caverns in Belgium, of large fossil elephant (mammoth's) bones—a fact which has been pointed out by M. Édouard Dupont—gives us some reason for answering this question in the affirmative. According to M. Morlot, the practice of placing bones round caverns still survives, as a religious idea, among the Indians. We may, therefore, appeal to this discovery as a hint in favour of the existence of some religious feeling among the men who lived during the reindeer epoch.
In the tombs of this epoch are found the weapons and knives which men carried during their lifetime, and sometimes even a supply of the flesh of animals used for food. This custom of placing near the body of the dead provisions for the journey to be takenpost mortemis, as remarked in reference to the preceding period, the proof of a belief in another life.
Certain religious, or rather superstitious, ideas may have been attached to some glittering stones and bright fragments of ore which have been picked up in several settlements of these primitive tribes. M. de Vibraye found at Bourdeilles (Charente), two nodules of hydrated oxide of iron mixed withdébrisof all kinds; and at the settlement of Laugerie-Basse (Dordogne), in the middle of the hearth, a small mass of copper covered with a layer of green carbonate. In other spots there have been met with pieces of jet, violet fluor, &c., pierced through the middle, doubtless to enable them to be suspended to the neck and ears. The greater part of these objects may possibly be looked upon as amulets, that is, symbols of some religious beliefs entertained by man during the reindeer epoch.
The social instinct of man, the feeling which compels him to form an alliance with his fellow-man, had already manifested itself at this early period. Communication was established between localities at some considerable distance from one another. Thus it was that the inhabitants of the banks of the Lesse in Belgium travelled as far as that part of France which is now called Champagne, in order to seek the flints which they could not find in their own districts, although they were indispensable to them in order to manufacture their weapons and implements. They likewise brought back fossil shells, of which they made fantastical necklaces. This distant intercoursecannot be called in question, for certain evidences of it can be adduced. M. Édouard Dupont found in the cave of Chaleux, near Dinant (Belgium), fifty-four of these shells, which are not found naturally anywhere else than in Champagne. Here, therefore, we have the rudiments of commerce, that is, of the importation and exchange of commodities which form its earliest manifestations in all nations of the world.
Again, it may be stated that there existed at this epoch real manufactories of weapons and utensils, the productions of which were distributed around the neighbouring country according to the particular requirements of each family. The cave of Chaleux, which was mentioned above, seems to have been one of these places of manufacture; for from the 8th to the 30th of May, during twenty-two days only, there were collected at this spot nearly 20,000 flints chipped into hatchets, daggers, knives, scrapers, scratchers, &c.
Workshops of this kind were established in the settlements of Laugerie-Basse and Laugerie-Haute in Périgord. The first was to all appearance a special manufactory for spear-heads, some specimens of which have been found by MM. Lartet and Christy of an extremely remarkable nature; exact representations of them are delineated in fig. 46. In the second were fabricated weapons and implements of reindeers' horn, if we may judge by the large quantity of remains of the antlers of those animals, which were met with by thesesavants, almost all of which bear the marks of sawing.
Spear-head found in the Cave of Laugerie-BasseFig. 46.—Spear-head found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Périgord).
Fig. 46.—Spear-head found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Périgord).
It is not, however, probable that the objects thus manufactured were exported to any great distance, as was subsequently the case, that is, in the polished stone epoch. How would it be possible to cross great rivers, and to pass through wide tracts overgrown with thick forests, in order to convey far and wide these industrial products; at a time, too, when no means of communication existed between one country and another? But it is none the less curious to be able to verify the existence of a rudimentary commerce exercised at so remote an epoch.
The weapons, utensils and implements which were used by man during the reindeer epoch testify to a decided progress having been made beyond those of the preceding period. The implements are made of flint, bone, or horn; but the latter kind are much the most numerous, chiefly in the primitive settlements in the centre and south of France. Those of Périgord are especially remarkable for the abundance of instruments made of reindeers' bones.
The great diversity of type in the wrought flints furnishes a very evident proof of the long duration of the historical epoch we are considering. In the series of these instruments we can trace all the phases of improvement in workmanship, beginning with the rough shape of the hatchets found in thediluviumat Abbeville, and culminating in those elegant spear-heads which are but little inferior to any production of later times.
We here give representations (fig. 47, 48, 49, 50), of the most curious specimens of the stone and flint weapons of the reindeer epoch. Knives and other small instruments, such as scrapers, piercers, borers, &c., form the great majority; hatchets are comparatively rare. Instrumentsare also met with which might be used for a double purpose, for instance, borers and also piercers. There are also round stones which must have been used as hammers; it may, at least, be noticed that they have received repeated blows.
Flint from Périgord (Knife)Fig. 47.—Worked Flint from Périgord (Knife).
Fig. 47.—Worked Flint from Périgord (Knife).
Flint from Périgord (Hatchet)Fig. 48.—Worked Flint from Périgord (Hatchet).
Fig. 48.—Worked Flint from Périgord (Hatchet).
Chipped Flint from Périgord (Knife)Fig. 49.—Chipped Flint from Périgord (Knife).
Fig. 49.—Chipped Flint from Périgord (Knife).
Chipped Flint from Périgord (Scraper)Fig. 50.—Chipped Flint from Périgord (Scraper).
Fig. 50.—Chipped Flint from Périgord (Scraper).
Sir J. Lubbock is of opinion that some of these stones were employed in heating water, after they had been made red-hot in the fire. According to the above-named author, this plan of procuring hot water is still adopted among certain savage tribes who are still ignorant of the art of pottery, and possess nothing but wooden vessels, which cannot be placed over a fire.[8]
We must also mention the polishers formed of sandstone or some other material with a rough surface. They could only be used for polishing bone and horn, as the reindeer epoch does not admit of instruments of polished stone.
There have also been collected here and there pebbles of granite orquartzite hollowed out at the centre, and more or less perfectly rounded on the edges. It has been conjectured that these were mortars, although their small dimensions scarcely countenance this hypothesis. Neither is it probable that they were used for pounding seed, as fancied by M. de Vibraye. Nor does the idea which has been entertained of their being used for producing fire seem to have any sufficient ground.
Among the most interesting specimens in the vast collection of flints belonging to the reindeer epoch which have been found in the countries of France and Belgium, we must mention the delicate and very finely-toothed double-edged saws. The one we here represent (fig. 51) is in the Archæological Museum of Saint-Germain. It does not measure more than three-quarters of an inch in length, and about one-tenth of an inch in width. It was found by M. V. Brun in one of therock-sheltersat Bruniquel.
Small Flint SawFig. 51.—Small Flint Saw, found in the Rock-shelter at Bruniquel.
Fig. 51.—Small Flint Saw, found in the Rock-shelter at Bruniquel.
Saws of this kind were, no doubt, employed for fashioning the antlers of the reindeer, and other ruminants that shed their horns. The antler was cut into on each side, and the fracture was finished by hand.
The objects of bone and reindeer-horn found in the caves of Périgord show a still greater variety, and a no less remarkable skilfulness in workmanship.
We may mention, for instance, the arrow and javelin-heads. Some are slender and tapering off at both ends; in others, the base terminates in a single or double bevel. Among the latter, the greater part seem made to fix in a cleft stick; some are ornamented with lines and hatching over their surface. Others have notches in them, somewhat similar to an attempt at barbing.
Reindeer chaseFig. 52.—The Chase during the Reindeer Epoch.
Fig. 52.—The Chase during the Reindeer Epoch.
We now come to the barbed dart-heads, designated by the name ofharpoons. They taper-off considerably towards the top, and are characterised by very decided barbs, shaped like hooks, and distributed sometimes on one side only, and sometimes on both (figs. 53, 54). In the latter case the barbs are arranged in pairs, and are provided with a small furrow or middle groove, which, according to some naturalists, was intended to hold some subtle poison. Like the presentrace of Indians of the American forests, primitive man may possibly have poisoned his arrows; and the longitudinal groove, which is noticed in so many reindeer arrow-heads, may have served to contain the poison.
Barbed Arrow of Reindeer HornFig. 53.—Barbed Arrow of Reindeer Horn.
Fig. 53.—Barbed Arrow of Reindeer Horn.
Arrow of Reindeer Horn with double BarbsFig. 54—Arrow of Reindeer Horn with double Barbs.
Fig. 54—Arrow of Reindeer Horn with double Barbs.
We must not, however, fail to state that this opinion has been abandoned since it has been ascertained that the North American Indians used in former times to hunt the bison with wooden arrows furnished with grooves or channels of a similar character. These channels are said to have been intended to give a freer vent to the flow of the animal's blood, which was thus, so to speak, sucked out of the wound. This may, therefore, have been the intention of the grooves which are noticed on the dart-heads of the reindeer epoch, and the idea of their having been poisoned must be dismissed.
These barbed darts or harpoons are still used by the Esquimaux of the present day, in pursuing the seal. Such arrows, like those of the primitive hordes of the reindeer epoch which are represented above (figs. 53, 54), are sharply pointed and provided with barbs; they are fastened to a string and shot from a bow. The Esquimaux sometimes attach an inflated bladder to the extremity of thearrow, so that the hunter may be apprized whether he has hit his mark, or in order to show in what direction he should aim again.
We give here (fig. 55) a drawing of a fragment of bone found in the cave of Les Eyzies (Périgord); a portion of one of these harpoons remains fixed in the bone.
Animal Bone, pierced by an ArrowFig. 55.—Animal Bone, pierced by an Arrow of Reindeer Horn.
Fig. 55.—Animal Bone, pierced by an Arrow of Reindeer Horn.
We must assign to the class of implements the bone bodkins or stilettoes of different sizes, either with or without a handle (figs. 56, 57), and also a numerous series of needles found in the caves of Périgord, some of which are very slender and elegant, and made of bone, horn, and even ivory. In some of the human settlements of the reindeer epoch, bones have been found, from which long splinters had been detached, fitted for the fabrication of needles. The delicatepoints of flint have also been found which were used to bore the eyes of the needles, and, lastly, the lumps of sandstone on which the latter were polished.
Reindeer horn toolFig. 56.—Tool made of Reindeer Horn, found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Stiletto?).
Fig. 56.—Tool made of Reindeer Horn, found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Stiletto?).
Reindeer horn toolFig. 57.—Tool made of Reindeer Horn, found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Needle?).
Fig. 57.—Tool made of Reindeer Horn, found in the Cave of Laugerie-Basse (Needle?).
We must, likewise, point out thesmoothers, intended to flatten down the seams in the skins used for garments.
One of the most important instruments of this epoch is a perfect drill with a sharpened point and cutting edge. With this flint point rapidly twirled round, holes could be bored in any kind of material—bone, teeth, horn, or shells. This stone drill worked as well as our tool made of steel, according to the statement of certain naturalists who have tried the effect of them.
The primitive human settlement at Laugerie-Basse has furnished several specimens of an instrument, the exact use of which has not been ascertained. They are rods, tapering off at one end, and hollowed out at the other in the shape of a spoon. M. Édouard Lartet has propounded the opinion that they were used by the tribes of this epoch as spoons, in order to extract the marrow from the long bones of the animals which were used for their food. M. Lartet would not, however, venture to assert this, and adds: "It is, perhaps, probable that our primitive forefathers would not have taken so much trouble." Be this as it may, one of these instruments is very remarkable for the lines and ornaments in relief with which it is decorated, testifying to the existence in the workman of some feeling of symmetry (fig. 58).
Spoon of Reindeer HornFig. 58.—Spoon of Reindeer Horn.
Fig. 58.—Spoon of Reindeer Horn.
In various caves—at Les Eyzies, Laugerie-Basse, and Chaffant,communeof Savigné (Vienne)—whistles of a peculiar kind have been found (fig. 59). They are made from the first joint of the foot of the reindeer or some other ruminant of the stag genus. A hole has been bored in the base of the bone, a little in front of the metatarsal joint. If one blows into this hole, placing the lower lip in the hollow answering to the above-named joint, a shrill sound is produced, similar to that made by blowing into a piped key. We ourselveshave had the pleasure of verifying the fact, at the Museum of Saint-Germain, that these primitive whistles act very well.
Reindeer's Foot, bored used a a whistleFig. 59.—Knuckle-Bone of Reindeer's Foot, bored with a hole and used as a Whistle.
Fig. 59.—Knuckle-Bone of Reindeer's Foot, bored with a hole and used as a Whistle.
The settlements at Périgord have also furnished a certain number of staves made of reindeer horn (figs. 60, 61), the proper functions of which no one has succeeded in properly explaining. They are invariably bored with one or more holes at the base, and are covered with designs to which we shall hereafter refer. M. Lartet has thought that they were perhaps symbols or staves of authority.
Staff of authorityFig. 60.—Staff of authority in Reindeer's Horn, found in the Cave of Périgord.
Fig. 60.—Staff of authority in Reindeer's Horn, found in the Cave of Périgord.
Staff of authorityFig. 61.—Another Staff of authority in Reindeer's Horn.
Fig. 61.—Another Staff of authority in Reindeer's Horn.
This explanation appears the correct one when we consider the care with which these bâtons were fashioned. If the hypothesis of their being symbols of authority be adopted, the varying number of the holes would not be without intention; it might point to some kind of hierarchy, the highest grade of which corresponded to thebâton with the most holes. Thus, in the Chinese empire, the degree of a mandarin's authority is estimated by the number of buttons on his silk cap. And just as in the Mussulman hierarchy there were pachas of from one to three tails, so it may be fancied that among primitive man of the reindeer epoch there were chiefs of from one to three holes!
We have already stated that in the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth the art of manufacturing a rough description of pottery was, perhaps, known in Europe. The men of the reindeer epoch made, however, but little progress in this respect. Nevertheless, if certain relics really belong to this period, they may have known how to make rough vessels, formed of clay, mixed with sand, and hardened by the action of fire. This primitive art was, as yet, anything but generally adopted: for we very rarely finddébrisof pottery in close contiguity with other remains of the reindeer epoch.
The Archæological Museum of Saint Germain is in possession of a hollow vessel, a natural geode, very large and very thick (fig. 62). It was found in the cave of La Madelaine (department of Dordogne); on one side it has evidently been subjected to the action of fire, and may therefore be presumed to have been used as a large vessel for culinary purposes.
Geode cooking vesselFig. 62.—A Geode, used as a cooking Vessel (?), found in the Cave of La Madelaine (Périgord).
Fig. 62.—A Geode, used as a cooking Vessel (?), found in the Cave of La Madelaine (Périgord).
In a cave at Furfooz, near Dinant in Belgium, to which we shall subsequently refer, M. Édouard Dupont found, intermingled with human bones, an urn, or specimen of rough pottery, which is perhaps one of the most ancient monuments of the ceramic art as practised byour primitive ancestors. This urn (fig. 63) was partly broken; by the care of M. Hauzeur it has been put together again, as we represent it from the work of M. Le Hon.[9]
Earthen vaseFig. 63.—Earthen Vase found in the Cave of Furfooz (Belgium).
Fig. 63.—Earthen Vase found in the Cave of Furfooz (Belgium).
It is in the reindeer epoch that we find the earliest traces of any artistic feeling manifested in man.
It is a circumstance well worthy of remark, that this feeling appears to have been the peculiar attribute of the tribes which inhabited the south-west of the present France; the departments of Dordogne, Vienne, Charente, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Ariége, are, in fact, the only localities where designs and carvings representing organised beings have been discovered. The departments in the east have not furnished anything of a similar character, any more than Belgium, which has been so thoroughly explored by M. Édouard Dupont, or Wurtemburg, where M. Fraas has lately described various settlements of this primitive epoch.
It is not sufficient to allege, in order to explain this singular circumstance, that the caves in the south of France belong to a later period of the reindeer epoch, and that the others go back to the earliest commencement of the same age. Apart from the fact that this assertion is in no way proved, a complete and ready answer is involved in the well verified circumstance, that even in later ages—in the polished stone, and even in the bronze epoch—no representation ofan animal or plant is found to have been executed in these localities. No specimen of the kind has, in fact, been found in thekitchen-middensof Denmark, or in the lacustrine settlements of the stone age, or even of the bronze age.
It must, then, be admitted that the tribes which were scattered over those portions of the European continent which now correspond to the south-west of France, possessed a special talent in the art of design. There is, moreover, nothing unreasonable in such a supposition. An artistic feeling is not always the offspring of civilisation, it is rather a gift of nature. It may manifest its existence in the most barbarous ages, and may make its influence more deeply felt in nations which are behindhand in respect to general progress than in others which are much further advanced in civilisation.
There can be no doubt that the rudiments of engraving and sculpture of which we are about to take a view, testify to faculties of an essentially artistic character. Shapes are so well imitated, movements are so thoroughly caught, as it were, in the sudden fact of action, that it is almost always possible to recognise the object which the ancient workman desired to represent, although he had at his disposal nothing but the rudest instruments for executing his work. A splinter of flint was his sole graving-tool, a piece of reindeer horn, or a flake of slate or ivory, was the only plate on which primitive man could stamp his reproductions of animated nature.
Perhaps they drew on stone or horn with lumps of red-chalk or ochre, for both these substances have been found in the caves of primitive man. Perhaps, too, as is the case with modern savages, the ochre and red-chalk were used besides for painting or tatooing his body. When the design was thus executed on stone or horn, it was afterwards engraved with the point of some flint instrument.
Those persons who have attentively examined the interesting gallery of theHistoire du Travailin the International Exposition of 1867, must have remarked a magnificent collection of these artistic productions of primeval ages. There were no less than fifty-one specimens, which were exhibited by several collectors, and were for the most part extremely curious. In his interesting work, 'Promenades Préhistoriques à l'Exposition Universelle,' M. Gabriel de Mortillet has carefully described these objects. In endeavouring to obtainsome knowledge of them, we shall take as our guide the learned curator of the Archæological Museum of Saint-Germain.
We have, in the first place, various representations of the mammoth, which was still in existence at the commencement of the reindeer epoch.
The first (fig. 64) is an outline sketch, drawn on a slab of ivory, from the cave of La Madelaine. When MM. Lartet and Christy found it, it was broken into five pieces, which they managed to put together very accurately. The small eye and the curved tusks of the animal may be perfectly distinguished, as well as its huge trunk, and even its abundant mane, the latter proving that it is really the mammoth—that is the fossil—and not the present species of elephant.
Mammoth graven on ivoryFig. 64.—Sketch of a Mammoth, graven on a Slab of Ivory.
Fig. 64.—Sketch of a Mammoth, graven on a Slab of Ivory.
The second figure is an entire mammoth, graven on a fragment of reindeer horn, from the rock-shelters of Bruniquel, and belongs to M. Peccadeau de l'Isle. This figure forms the hilt of a poniard, the blade of which springs from the front part of the animal. It may be recognised to be the mammoth by its trunk, its wide flat feet, and especially by its erect tail, ending in a bunch of hair. In point of fact, the present species of elephant never sets up the tail, and has no bunch of hair at the end of it.
A third object brought from the pre-historic station of Laugerie-Basse (M. de Vibraye's collection) is the lower end of a staff of authority carved in the form of a mammoth's head. The prominent forehead, and the body of the animal stretching along the base of the staff, may both be very distinctly seen.
On another fragment of a staff of authority, found at Bruniquel by M. V. Brun, the cave-lion (Felis spelæa) is carved with great clearness. The head, in particular, is perfectly represented.
Representations of reindeer, either carved or scratched on stone or horn, are very common; we mention the following:—
In the first place the hilt of a dagger in reindeer's horn (fig. 65) of the same type as that shaped in the form of a mammoth. This specimen is remarkable, because the artist has most skilfully adapted the shape of the animal to the purpose for which the instrument was intended. The hilt represents a reindeer, which is carved out as if lying in a very peculiar position; the hind legs are stretched along the blade, and the front legs are doubled back under the belly, so as not to hurt the hand of anyone holding the dagger; lastly, the head is thrown back, the muzzle turned upwards, and the horns flattened down so as not to interfere with the grasp.
Dagger hiltFig. 65.—Hilt of a Dagger, carved in the shape of a Reindeer.
Fig. 65.—Hilt of a Dagger, carved in the shape of a Reindeer.
This is, at all events, nothing but a rough sketch. The same remark, however, does not apply to two ivory daggers found at Bruniquel by M. Peccadeau de l'Isle. These objects are very artistically executed, and are the most finished specimens that have been found up to the present time. Both of them represent a reindeer with the head thrown back as in the preceding plate; but whilst in one dagger the blade springs from the hinder part of the body, in the same way as in the rough-hewn horn, in the other it proceeds from the front of the body, between the head and the forelegs. The hind legs are stretched out and meet again at the feet, thus forming a hole between them, which was probably used as a ring on which to suspend the dagger.
We must not omit to mention a slab of slate, on which is drawn in outline a reindeer fight. It was found at Laugerie-Basse by M. de Vibraye. The artist has endeavoured to portray one of those furious contests in which the male reindeer engages during the rutting season, in order to obtain possession of the females; hehas executed his design in a spirited manner, marked by a certainnaïveté.
There are a good many other fragments on which reindeer are either drawn or carved; we shall not dwell upon them, but add a few remarks as to several specimens on which are representations of the stag, the horse, the bison, the ibex, &c.
A representation of a stag (fig. 66) is drawn on a fragment of stag's horn found in the cave of La Madelaine by MM. Lartet and Christy. The shape of the antlers, which are very different to those of the reindeer, leave no doubt as to the identity of the animal.
Representation of a StagFig. 66.—Representation of a Stag, drawn on a Stag's Horn.
Fig. 66.—Representation of a Stag, drawn on a Stag's Horn.
The ox and the bison are represented in various fashions. We will mention here a carved head which was found in the cave of Laugerie-Basse by M. de Vibraye. It forms the base of a staff of authority.
Herbivorous animalFig. 67.—Representation of some large herbivorous Animal on a Fragment of Reindeer's Horn.
Fig. 67.—Representation of some large herbivorous Animal on a Fragment of Reindeer's Horn.
We must, doubtless, class under the same category a fragment of reindeer's horn, found at Laugerie-Basse, on which the hind-quarters of some large herbivorous animal are sketched out with a bold and practised touch (fig. 67). Various indications have led M. Lartetto think that the artist has not endeavoured to represent a horse, as was at first imagined, but a bison of rather a slender shape. Unfortunately the fragment is broken at the exact spot where the bushy mane should begin, which characterises the species of the bison sub-genus.
Art of drawing and sculptureFig. 68.—Arts of Drawing and Sculpture during the Reindeer Epoch.
Fig. 68.—Arts of Drawing and Sculpture during the Reindeer Epoch.
In the same locality another fragment of reindeer's horn was found, on which some horned animal is depicted (fig. 69), which appears to be an ibex, if we may judge by the lines under the chin which seem to indicate a beard.
Animal on reindeer hornFig. 69.—Representation of an Animal, sketched on a Fragment of Reindeer's Horn.
Fig. 69.—Representation of an Animal, sketched on a Fragment of Reindeer's Horn.
In the cave of Les Eyzies, in the department of Dordogne, MM. Lartet and Christy came upon two slabs of quartziferous schist, on both of which are scratched animal forms which are deficient in any special characteristics. In one (fig. 70), some have fancied they couldrecognise the elk; but, as the front part only of the other has been preserved, it is almost impossible to determine what mammiferous animal it is intended to represent. An indistinct trace of horns seems to indicate a herbivorous animal.
Slab of schistFig. 70.—Fragment of a Slab of Schist, bearing the representation of some Animal, and found in the Cave of Les Eyzies.
Fig. 70.—Fragment of a Slab of Schist, bearing the representation of some Animal, and found in the Cave of Les Eyzies.
On each side of a staff of authority made of reindeer's horn, found by MM. Lartet and Christy in the cave of the Madelaine, may be noticed three horses in demi-relief, which are very easily recognisable.
On a carved bone, found at Bruniquel by M. de Lastic, the head of a reindeer and that of a horse are drawn in outline side by side; the characteristics of both animals are well maintained.
Lastly, we may name a round shaft formed of reindeer's horn (fig. 71), found at Laugerie-Basse by MM. Lartet and Christy, on which is carved an animal's head, with ears of a considerable length laid back upon the head. It is not easy to determine for what purpose this shaft was intended; one end being pointed and provided with a lateral hook. It was perhaps used as a harpoon.
Harpoon of Reindeer HornFig. 71.—A kind of Harpoon of Reindeer's Horn, carved in the shape of an Animal's Head.
Fig. 71.—A kind of Harpoon of Reindeer's Horn, carved in the shape of an Animal's Head.
Representations of birds are more uncommon than those of mammals.
There are, on the other hand, a good many rough delineations of fish, principally on the so-called wands of authority, on which numbers may often be noticed following one another in a series. We have one delineation of a fish, skilfully drawn on a fragment of the lower jaw-bone of a reindeer, which was found at Laugerie-Basse.
Also in the cave of La Vache (Ariége), M. Garrigou found a fragment of bone, on which there is a clever design of a fish.
Very few representations of reptiles have come to light, and those found are in general badly executed. We must, however, make an exception in favour of the figure of a tadpole, scratched out on an arrow-head, found in the cave of the Madelaine.
Designs representing flowers are very rare; in theGalerie du Travail, at the Exposition, only three specimens are exhibited; they came from La Madelaine and Laugerie-Basse, and were all three graven on spear-heads.
But did the men of the reindeer epoch make no attempts to portray their own personal appearance? Have not the excavations dug in the settlements of primitive man, found in Périgord, ever brought to light any imitation of the human form? Nothing could exceed the interest of such a discovery. Research has not been entirely fruitless in this respect, and it is hoped that the first attempt in the art of statuary of this primitive people may yet be discovered. In the cave of Laugerie-Basse, M. de Vibraye found a little ivory statuette, which he takes to be a kind of idol of an indecent character. The head and legs, as well as the arms, are broken off.
Another human figure (fig. 72), which, like the preceding one, is long and lean, is graven on a staff of authority, a fragment of which was found in the cave of La Madelaine by MM. Lartet and Christy. The man is represented standing between two horses' heads, and by the side of a long serpent or fish, having the appearance of an eel. On the reverse side of the same bâton, which is not given in the figure, the heads of two bisons are represented.
Staff of authorityFig. 72.—Staff of Authority, on which are graven representations of a Man, two Horses, and a Fish.
Fig. 72.—Staff of Authority, on which are graven representations of a Man, two Horses, and a Fish.
On a fragment of a spear-head, found in the same settlement of Laugerie-Basse, there is a series of human hands, provided with four fingers only, represented in demi-relief. M. Lartet has called attention to the fact, that certain savage tribes still depict the hand without noticing the thumb.
In fig. 39, which represents man during the reindeer epoch, such as we must suppose him to have been from the sum total of our present stock of information on the point, we see a man clothed in garments sewn with a needle, carrying as his chief weapon the jaw-bone of a bear armed with its sharp fang, and also provided with his flint hatchet or knife. Close to him a woman is seated, arrayed in all the personal ornaments which are known to have been peculiar to this epoch.
The question now arises, what were the characteristics of man during the reindeer epoch, with regard to his physical organisation?
We know a little of some of the broader features of his physiognomy from studying the objects found in the Belgian bone-caves, of which we have spoken in the introduction to this work. These caves were explored by M. Édouard Dupont, assisted by M. Van Beneden, a Belgian palæontologist and anatomist. The excavations in question were ordered by King Leopold's Government, which supplied the funds necessary for extending them as far as possible. The three caves, all situated in the valley of the Lesse, are theTrou des Nutons, theTrou du Frontal, at Furfooz, near Dinant, and theCaverne de Chaleux, in the neighbourhood of the town from which its name is derived.
TheTrou des Nutonsand theTrou du Frontalhave been completely thrown into confusion by a violent inroad of water; for thedébristhat they contained were intermingled in an almost incredible confusion with a quantity of earthy matter and calcareous rocks, which had been drifted in by the inundation.
In theTrou des Nutons, which is situated about 164 feet above the level of the Lesse, M. Van Beneden recognised a great many bones of the reindeer, the urus, and many other species which are not yet extinct. These bones were indiscriminately mixed up with bones and horns of the reindeer carved into different shapes, knuckle-bones of the goat polished on both sides, a whistle made from the tibia of a goat, from which sounds could still be produced, fragments of very coarse pottery, some remains of fire-hearths, &c.
TheTrou du Frontalwas thus named by M. Édouard Dupont, from the fact of a human frontal-bone having been found there on the day that the excavations commenced. This was not the only discovery of the kind that was to be made. Ere long they fell in with a great quantity of human bones, intermixed with a considerable number of the bones of reindeer and other animals, as well as implements of all kinds. M. Van Beneden ascertained that the bones must have belonged to thirteen persons of various ages; some of them are the bones of infants scarcely a year old. Among them were found two perfect skulls which are in good preservation; these remains are also very valuable, because they afford data from which deductions may be drawn as to the cranial conformation of the primitive inhabitants of the banks of the Lesse.
M. Édouard Dupont is of opinion that this cave was used as a burial-place. It is, in fact, very probable that such was the purpose for which it was intended; for a large flag-stone was found in it, which was probably used to close up the mouth of the cave, and to shield the dead bodies from profanation. If this be the case, the animal bones which were scattered around are the remains of the funeral banquets which it was the custom to provide during the epoch of the great bear and the mammoth.
It is interesting to establish the existence of such a similarity between the customs of men who were separated by vast tracts of land and an interval of many thousands of years.
Immediately above theTrou du Frontalthere is a cave calledTrou Rosette, in which the bones of three persons of various ages were found intermingled with the bones of reindeer and beavers; fragments of a blackish kind of pottery were also found there, which were hollowed out in rough grooves by way of ornamentation, and merely hardened in the fire. M. Dupont is of opinion that the three men whose remains were discovered were crushed to death by masses of rock at the time of the great inundation, traces of which may still be seen in the valley of the Lesse.
By the falling in of its roof, which buried under a mass of rubbish all the objects which were contained in it at the time of the catastrophe and thus kept them in their places, the cave of Chaleux escaped the complete disturbance with which the above-mentioned caverns were visited. The bones of mammals, of birds, and of fish were found there; also some carved bones and horns of the reindeer, some fossil shells, which, as we have before observed, came from Champagne, and were used as ornaments; lastly, and chiefly, wrought flints numbering at least 30,000. In the hearth, which was placed in the middle of the cave, a stone was discovered with certain signs on it, which, up to the present time, have remained unexplained. M. Dupont, as we have previously stated, collected in the immediate vicinity about twenty-two pounds' weight of the bones of the water-rat either scorched or roasted; this proves that when a more noble and substantial food failed them, the primitive inhabitants of this country were able to content themselves with these small and unsavoury rodents.
The two skulls which were found at Furfooz have been carefully examined by MM. Van Beneden and Pruner-Bey, who are both greatauthorities on the subject of anthropology. These skulls present considerable discrepancies, but Pruner-Bey is of opinion that they are heads of a male and female of the same race. In order to justify his hypothesis the learned anthropologist says, that there is often more difference between the skulls of the two sexes of the same race, than between the skulls of the same sex belonging to two distinct races.
Skull found at FurfoozFig. 73.—Skull found at Furfooz, by M. Édouard Dupont.
Fig. 73.—Skull found at Furfooz, by M. Édouard Dupont.
One of these skulls is distinguished by a projecting jaw; the other, which is represented in fig. 73, has jaws even with the facial outline. The prominent jaw of the first, which is the indication of a degraded race (like that of the negro), does not prevent its having a higher forehead and a more capacious cranium than the other skull. We find here an actual intermingling of the characteristics which belong to the inferior races with those peculiar to the Caucasian race, which is considered to be the most exalted type of the human species.
According to Pruner-Bey, the Belgian people during the reindeer epoch were a race of small stature but very sturdy; the face was lozenge-shaped, and the whole skull had the appearance of a pyramid. This race of a Turanian or Mongolian origin was the same as the Ligurian or Iberian race, which still exists in the north of Italy (Gulf of Genoa), and in the Pyrenees (Basque districts).
These conclusions must be accepted with the highest degree of caution, for they do not agree with the opinions of all anthropologists. M. Broca is of opinion that the Basques have sprung from a North African race, which spread over Europe at a time when an isthmus existed where the Straits of Gibraltar are now situated. This idea isonly reasonable; for certain facts prove that Europe and Africa were formerly connected by a neck of land; this was afterwards submerged, at the spot where the Straits of Gibraltar now exist, bringing about the disjunction of Europe and Africa. It will be sufficient proof, if we point to the analogy subsisting between thefaunaof the two countries, which is established by the existence of a number of wild monkeys which, even in the present day, inhabit this arid rock, and are also to be met with on the opposite African shore.