The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-12-10

The great Canadian geologist, Dawson,
who has written on the subject, is of the
same opinion. Sir Charles Lyell was of
the same opinion. Prof LIE Conte (whom
the Independent thinks so much of says
in his Geozoqy p. $50, "The Miocene man
is not acknowledged by a single careful
geologist" and adds: The evidence
for the existence of Piocene man is still
more meagre and unreliable NJ. Favre
and DR.. Evans have expressed a similar
opinion. Prof. Dana, the highest author
ity in this country, is Of the same opinion.
Alfred Russell Wallace, F. R. S., whose
name is ranked by evolutionists with that
of Darwin, is of the same opinion. The
same conclusion was reached by the An
thropological Institute of Great Britain,
at a session held in London in May, 1877.
On this occasion the whole ubject was
gone over, and Nature, giving an account
of the meeting, said it was generally con-
coded that the evidence adduced for ter
tiary man could not be relied on. Re
ferring to the same meeting the Edin-
5mgb RevieaO of April, 1878, p. 227, de-
clared, 1.-The attempt made by glacialists
at the May meeting Of the Anthropologi-
cal Institute to push back man into an
inter-glaoial period has signally failed. "
We think this disposes of Tertiary man.
"Ahl but" says the Independent,
"mans remains are universally admitted
by English biologists to be in the So
called inter-glacial beds" Just the con-
trary. We have just quoted from the
Edinburgh Reuie,o. Prof Dawkins, also,
in the paper referred to, gives up this very
point. Prof Hughes does the same
The "human fbula" from the Victoria
Cave turned out to be that Of bear. Of
the famous Ddrnten sticks, Prof. Daw-
kins says, "they appear to me after care
full examination to present no mark Of
the hand of man.
But, says the Independent giving up
Europe,) Prof. ]. D. Whitneys recent
volume upon the 'Auriferous Gravels of
the Sierra Nevada, shows that imam ex-
listed in California during the Piocene
Tertiary" and it adds that, if it is not
misinformed "Le Conte is likely, in
new edition of his admirable Geology, to
yield that man existed in California as
far back as the Tertiary"
Very well: what has been found in
the PIocene Of the Sierra Nevada? The
reader may see by referring to the cuts
on PIP. 697-7O9 of volume " of Ban
croft's Native Races Of the Pacific
States" The miners for gold have dis
covered in this auriferous gravel, far
down in the EARTH superb mortars and
pestles of granite, highly polished slate
tubes, "an ancient skillet" with a spout
and three legs, made of lava, hard as iron,
beautiful polished stone implements, ct
cet Does anybody in his senses believe
that these mortars and this skillet and
these elegant stone "shuttles" and spear
heads were manufactured in the Tertiary
age? If any human flint" are ever
found in the tertiary strata, they will be
of the very rudest possible kind-inferior
to the rude fints of the Somme Valley.
All psychologists know this. Did man
use mortars and pestles of granite and
skillets with spouts before the Glacial age
set in?
The probable explanation is that these
mortars, skillets, &C., were left there by
the ancient races Of the country in their
search for gold; for we know very well
that the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians
sank deep shafts and ran long galleries
into the mountains to obtain this metal,
and SchooIcraft says that, in the year
l849, the gold diggers at Murphys Zone
of the very places where the mortars
have been found) discovered the aban-
doned site of an ancient mine, where
shaft had been sunk to the depth of 2lO
feet, and at the bottom of this shaft they
found the bones Of human skeleton and
an altar for worship, with other evidences
of ancient labor. This is the Pliocene
Man of California which Prof. LIE Conte
is going to endorse in his "next edition. "
All but, says the Independent, sup
pose we should find "a single arrow
head in a Miocene bank, what will the