Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1873-06-11
Early Traces Of Men.

When quarrymen uncovered slabs
OF Connecticut sandstone, bearing i'm
pressions exactly like bird tracks,
geologists reasonably inferred that, at
tho time the rock was forming and
was as yet but wet sand, there existed
gigantic birds, or bird-like animals,
which strobe along these ancient sea
shores much as beach birds do along
the shores of to-day. The fact that
traces of birds had never been found
before in strata so ancient, much less
the popular theory that birds were Of
later creation, did not invalidate the
inference; one positive fact, as is well
known, outvalues any amount Of neg.
ative assertion, and the old theory had
10 give way.
When workmen, digging a canal
noar Stockholm, came upon a buried
IT 10. ..,.,.,ot, - oyacilv
like that which unciviIized people now
make and use, the natural inference
was that some one of more than brute
intelligence had lived there before the
earth was deposited Had the earth
been slightly buried, say, six feet be-
low the surface, there would have
been no question Of its artificial origin;
it would have been counted the work
OF man as surely as if q human skele-
ton had been found lying beside it,
Should the inference be considered
less legitimate because there happened
to be sixty feet of earth above the
hearth True, that accumulation Of
,rratic blocks and sand and sea shells
gave unmistakable evidence Of great
geological changes since this hearth
was last used-glacial action, submer-
gence of the land and its subsequent
clevation--all involving long periods
of time; but that told not SO much
against the testimony o! the hearth as
against the belief that man was OF
more recent creation.
Now that such witnesses have been
multiplied TO an almost infinite num-
Der, forming continuous chain from
the earliest historic times far back
into the tertiary period, the evidence
is overwhelming; the "alleged" an.
tiquity of man, as it is styled by those
who have never investigated the mat
ter, passes from the domain of hypo-
thesis into the region Of demonstrated
fact The visto of human antiquity
opened up by these surprising dis
coveries is indeed vast; 80 vast that
even those who have most patiently
followed them and assisted in their
development are overwhelmed with
the thought of it. No wonder, then,
that those to whom il comes us q sud
den revelation should fatty refuse to
admit its reality.
AS Mr.. Evans remarks, in the clos
ingparagraph Of this magnificent work
on the ancient stone implements,
weapons and ornaments of Great
Britain, "it is impossible not TO sympa-
tbize with those who, from sheer in
ability TO carry their vision so far
back into the dim past, and from un-
consciousness of the cogency Of other
Chan the fossils described in the work
above mentioncd) and distinct evil
dcnce as to the remoteness of the
origin Of the human race, are unwil-
ling TO believe in so vast an antiquity
for man as must of necessity be con-
coded by those who have
FULLY and fairly weighed tho facts
which modern discoveries have un-
rolled before their eyes" Yet, while
we sympathize with the natural in
crcdulily Of those who lack the basis
Of intelligent judgment, VIC need not
initiate their unreasoning assurance
in contradicting tho deductions of
tcicnco while refusing to examine
either the ground of their own con-
,ictions or the evidence Of the differ
ent convictions of others.
Tho geological proofs OF the auti-
quity OF man, TO which Mr.. Evans
alludes, are Of threc-fold character:
|. The association Of human bones
with the bones Of extinct animals, un.
der conditions which prove them to be
vi equal age.
2. The signs of human action on
the bones of extinct animals; the
breaking of them to extract marrow,
after tho manner OF existing savages
tho shaping and polishing Of them for
use and ornament; and more instruc-
tive skill, the tracing on them Of the
outlines Of mammoths and other ami.
mails now extinct or driven by change
of climate to distant parts of the Garth
3 The discovery OF wrought stone
implements, weapons and ornaments
under undisturbcd strata demonstra.
bly, belonging TO periods reaching n:
far back as the plioecnc period, if moi
farther.
Detailed descriptions of these yari
Gus evidences, which are marvellous il
number, may DO found in the elaborate
works Of Lyell, Lubbock, Wilson
Evans, ard other English scholars, al
well as in numerous French and Ger
man writings; or the evidences them
selves may bo studied IN stu, and il
numerous rich collections Of archDo
geological specimens, by any ono dis
posed to do 30. Tho purposes Of thil
article admit but tho bricicst monitor
of few Of the most ancient Of thes,
traces Of early man.
First, for our own country. Per
haps the Oldest skull yet discovered /
tle one found in tho pliocenc strati
of Cable Mountain, California. Hav
ing no companion in It's almost incrcdi
BILE antiquity, it was natural at th,
time Of the discovery for mca TO ridi
cule the ngc accorded it, and TO taxi
refuge In The assertion that IL neve
. t....... -. .looo alla1oI or IL I