Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1880-04-08
Study OF PaIeOllthic Man.

We have very few materials from
which to form a picture of the outward
appearance Of paleolithic men. Solar as
we know, they did not usually bury their
dead in mounds, caves OF other regular
sepulchres; and so we have scarcely any
bones, skulls or skeletons to flesh out
into portraits Of these our distinguished
ancestors. Indeed, it seems not unlikely
that they adopted the classical and now
| fashionable method of cremating their
deceased relatives; or possibly they may
even have cut the process short at the
convenient point of roasting and eating
them Perhaps this is the reason why
our distinguished arch@ologist, Professor
RollestOn, is so uncompromising an OPP
ponent of cremation in its revived form;
fellow feeling for antiquarians and
anatomists of the ninetieth century
doubtless makes him realize how incon-
venient they would find it to be deprived
of all skeletons of the nineteenth. At
any rate, paleolithic bones are far rarer
than paleolithic weapons, and only a
very small number of skulls, the most
important relics for reconstructing the
features and appearance Of our remote
progenitors, have been casually discov-
cred in Swiss or German caves. Fortu-
nately, these are sufficient to give us all
the most important clews to the physiog-
nomy and mein Of their quondam pos
SCISSORS. Paleolithic man approXimated
somewhat in type to the Bushman of
South Africa and the Digger Indian of
California; but he was on the whole less
human and more ape-like than even those
most british ofmodern savages. His fore
head was yillainously low and retreating,
the worse existing specimen being far
worse and the best q good deal better
than those of the living Bushman. His
jaws were more ponderous, and armed
with huge canine teeth, which recall in
many particulars those of the gorilla.
We can hardly doubt that his skin was a
deep black, though here we have only
the inferential proof to be drawn from
the skin of those existing savages who
have departed the least from the ances-
tral type. And we may reasonably con-
lecture that his limbs and back were far
hairier than is the case with any men
now living. There is no reason to sup
pose that he was acquainted with the use
of any clothing except the skins of beasts
The flint-chippers apparently lived in
natural or artificial caves only, and did
not build hHts or villages, At least, no
trace Of anything like a town Of this PEE
riOd anywhere occurs On the other
hand, the remains found in the caves |
have every appearance of belonging to |
human habitations The flint imple-
ments,. bone needles, and ornamental |
necklets all seem to have been lost in
the caves by people who lived there, and |
to be associated with the refuse of their |
meals, We must remember, in connec-
tion with this apparent absence of towns,
that man was not yet, in all likelihood,
the absolutely dominant animal that we
know him to be at the present day. He
did not hold the whole country side as
his acknowledged hunting ground, and
rule over the beasts of the field as their un-
disputed lord. Rather was he one among
y number of competitors, struggling
hard for supremacy against the cave
lion, the mammoth, and the grizzly bear
In each cave dwelt a separate family,
lngoyerned save by the harsh govern
nent of its father and hunter, and un-
to the inhabitants of other caves
ly any ties save those of a rude and half
developed barter. The size and shape of
.ha io1tJe NAV o1yar, 1noJ onn +O c,snt,oso !
hat men still fought with one another
ike the higher apes, using their ponder
Jus canine teeth as weapons of offense.
But in any case we must suppose that
hese primitive families lived in state
If isolation more complete than even
hat of our modern Australians, and re-
NAMED utterly unconsolidated into any
orm of tribe Or nation The CornbU
Magazine.