Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1864-05-16
DAILY s.lNTINEI.
The Antiquity of Nan.
lfrom Galisnsni, NC lo.

Sciences on the antiquity of man. there l. none.
We venture 10 saw, so peremptoIily decisive OF
,be ouasficn as that presented last week bv NM
Lartet ami Chiisty, confirming the opinion that
the human race was III existence duiing the
diluvian period The above gentlemen having,
during the latter part of 1868 visited the district
of Sarlat. in the department OF the Dordogne
explored, among other places, the Grotte des
Fvzies. situated at thirty five metres above the
level of the small stream called the Benne.
Here. under a breceia covering the whole floor
of the cavern. thew found a connection of broken
bones. ashes. cinderS, and vast number OF flint
instruments So far there nothing very
extraordinary. but on searching further, they
discovered other implements and wea yons made
of the antlers of the reindeer, the animal of all
Others hitherto considered, and not without
reason. TO have inhabited France during the
diluvian or drift period; that is long before our
earliest historical ages.
The explorers had previously ascertained that
there was no sign Of the soil having been moved
at q later period: bones and series of vertebe
of the reindeer were firmly imb' ddtd lin the
breccia. But this i not all; among the imp,e-
ments found there we somy which testified de-
gree of civilization far beyond any that might hav
been suspect to exist al So remote period viz:
needles made out of the substance of Teindeer's
an lers. with ewes 10 receive the thread marks
OF sharp instruml nts in the bones, showing that
sinews had been cut in order 70 make them into
threads, a practice existing among the Esqui-
maux TO this dav, and, lastly, sculptured antlers
of no mean execution. Our authors especially
described one in which the artist has shown
wonderful taste in adapting the form of an
animal TO the shape of handle, forming part
of kind of dagger, the blade of which Is made
out of an antler. Considering that the artist had
I,,+ chs AinfS fha
execution of this piece fart is quite asoni hing
the hind legs of the animal represented follow
the blade; the fore legs are bent under the belly
and the head forms curve with the back, which
com mDletes the handle.
Another curious circumstance connected with
this piece of art is that this handle is much too
small for hand of the present day. Can it be
that the primative race was inferior in size to the
present one2 This would be contrary to the
traditions of most ancient nations, which gener
allv represented our forefathers as being OF gi-
gantic stature.
As 10 the ages when the reindeer inhabited
France, our authors admit that all is conjecture;
but that of the ancient authors mention or
describe the reindeer; that Cesar only speaks of
it from hearsay: that the figure of the reindeer IS
not 10 be met with the ancient Gallo coins;
that the dolmanS or cromlechs of the Celts have
never been found 10 contain any remains of this
animal; and that none had been discovered IN
the turf beds of France, nor in the lacuStral
settlements of Switzerland. Hence there is every
reason TO suppose that the existence of the rein
deer in Ftance was confined to period of which
no record exists that period was the diluylan
one: and that man inhabited the earth many
centuries before the time usually assigned to his
first appearance
AT the same meeting NJ. De Vibrave sent in a
ma in VIII bp ted pp,
We have seen primatiye men armed with hnts:
NJ DE Vibrave shows that although he had no
knowledge of metallurrv. he was well aware of the
existence of metals, although the drift straa are
not mefalliferous. In the lower bed of groftoes
of Arcy (YOnnc), containing tie bones of the
extinct Crsas SpeIosuS, or fossil bcar, our author
found a fragment of hydra'ed iron, exactly
similar to specimen discoyerd d in a cromlech
at La Birochiae. near Pornic Loire Infericure);
the same bed also contain, d piece of peroxide
of mauganes". Two similar specimens were
brought TO light in the Fouyncau du Diabe at
Bourdeilles Ia reindeer stratum !: and lastly n
small mass of nure copper. almost entirely
covered with coating of green carbonate of
copper and cubic CRYSTALS of protoxil le of the
same metal was dug u in the drift Of Laugerie
the commune of Iavac.
NJ De Nibraye is decidedly Of opinion that
some commerce existed in those remote times
hecau<e the various manufactured articles found
in the drift often lie together with sea shells
whicn could only come from the coast the drift
being of TOO modern formation to admit Of anv
other explanation Of the circumstance Our
author also mentions the dicovery of human
atlas (the first vctehr9 of the neck amidst an
accumulation Of the bone> ofthe hyena and other
extinct species; fact which tends 70 carry mans
first appearance uHon earth several thouSaul
year, further hack than any historical rscord in
exist nee Among other singular discoveries
We must not forget to m ntion a small sta ne
representing woman, and carved out of an ele-
phant'~ tn ,k-a wonderful feat considering that
ii could only have been achieved with flint i'm ple-
ments The diff Is sometimes found TO cover
places where fires had been made, and the ashes
and cinders revealing the fact lie on blocks of
limestone foreign to the district and evidently
chosen expressly on account of their power OF
resisting heat NJ. De Vibraye does not hesitate
TO admit the exi>tenc of man during the geolog-
ical drift period. and considers the question
dcfnitively set at rest.