The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-01-26

most eminent expounder of Prehistoric
Archaeology in Europe. He was the
founder of the well-known Mat671a,Gc
potr ! Historic de = Homme, which is
now conducted by his pupil NJ Cartailhac
NJ. Mortillet not only believes in Qua
ternary man, but he believes that certain
splintered flints found by the Able Bour-
geois in the Middle Tertiary formation
at Thenay in France, were Clipped into
their present shapes by an intelligent
being.
1t will be remembered by those read
ers of the Central Presbyterian who take
an interest in these discussions that we
stated few weeks ago that Prof. Boyd
Dawkins, of England, (now in this coun-
try, In mis- recent work on Early Nan,
affirms in substance that the appearance
OF man in the middle tertiary is an alb
surdity and an impossibility. That it is
contrary to the whole science of pal@on-
tological evolution.
Nevertheless, M. de Mortillet, having
accepted the fints of the Somme Valley
as the work of man, feels bound to accept
the fints of the Able Bourgeois, though
they imply the existence of being en-
dowed with reason as far back as the
Miocene or Middle Tertiary. 1t is true
that the French savant does not claim
that this was man as he now exists. His
position is that it was some form inter
mediate between the big apes Of the Milo
Gene period and man. No such form has
been found in Europe, Asia, or Africa,
America, or Australia; but M. de Nor
tillet is not daunted. Such being must
have lived at Thenay, and M. de Nor
tillet has found a name for him: it is
Anthrop'theeus, Man-ape. On this the
american Naturalist remarks:
M. Mortillet goes further. He names the
genus to which this being is to be referred, and
calls 1t AnthroptthecuS. AS he has not the
shadow of definition for the genus, its promo
stion is In violation of all rules Had he as
sumed the risk of furnishing it with characters.
Its adoption would have been matter of time
and discovery. Moreover, the name he uses is
species, OF which he enumerates three His
method OF distinguishing these is not geological;
they are proposed on inference as to their diff
ferentlal characters, which extends to size only.
The dimensions are estimated by those of the
1lnts, one species having manufactured large
hints and another small ones. 1t is therefore
supposed that one of the species was of large
size, and another one small.
We think on such basis, we could infer
several species of Homo on the North American
continent, and as biologists and paleontoloeists
we must decline to admit such unsubstantial
visions within the Walhalla of species and
genera"
Professor Whitney is ahead of M. de
Mortillet. His California man of the
tertiary age manufactured large stone
dishes and mortars and three-legged skill
lets, and was in every respect the equal
of the present Indians of that region; in
fact his cerebral development was supe-
rior
Now to think that, as is the fact with
Whitney's discoveries, such extravagant
tancies as these are admitted into our
advanced textbooks of Geology, and
taught to our boys at college as science !
Professor Hayden found scattered over
the 6uttes at the base of the Uintah
Mountains in Wyoming (see Geological
Survey'of Territory, 1879 thousands Of
splintered fragments of quartz, jasper,
and flint, a great deal more like artificial
work than the broken fints exhibited by
the Able Bourgeois at the French Expo
sition in 1878