Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-05-10
The Csv ,-Men.

The bones and implements OF the Cave
men are found In ASSOCIATION with re-
mans Of the reindeer and bison, the arctic ]
fox. and mammoth and the woody |
They are found IN great
abundance in Southern or Central Eng
land, in Belgium, Germany and Switzer-
land, and in every paJt OF France; but
nowhere as yet have their remains been
discovered south of the Alps ard Pyrenees.
A diligent exploration of the rleistocene
caves of England and France, during the
past twenty years, has thrown some hight
upon their mode of life. Not trace
of pottery has been found anywhere asso-
ciaied with their remains, 60 that II Is
quite clear that the Cave-men did not
make earthenware vessels. Burnt clay is
q peculiarly indestructible material, and
where il has once been In existence II II
sure TO leave plentiful traces OF itself
Meat was baked In the caves by contact
with hot stones, or roasted before the
blazing fire. FIRE may have been OBJ
tanned by fiction between two pieces OF
wood, or between bits Of 1Int and iron
pyrites. Clothes were made OF the furs
of bisons, reindeer. bears and other
animals, rudely sewn together with threads
of reindeer sinew. Even long fur gloves
were used, and necklaces Of shells and OF
of bears and lions teeth. The stope
tocls and weapons were far liner IN ap-
pearance than those Of the Rlvsr-drift
men, though they were still chlpped, and
not ground. They made borers and saws
as we'll as spears and heads: and
besides these stone implements they used
spears and arrows heated with bone, ana
daggers of reindeer antlsrs. The reindeer,
which thus supplied them with clothes
and weapons, was also slain for food; AID.
besides, they slew whales and seals on
the coast of the Bay of BIscay, and IN
rivers they SPARED salmon, trout and
pike. They also appear to have eaten,
as well as 10 have been eaten by, the cave
lion and cave-bear. Many details OF their
life are preserved 10 us through their ex
traordiuary taste fer engraving and csrv-
Ing. Sketches of REINDEER, mammoths,
horses, caye-bears, pike and seals, and
hunting scenes have been found Dy the
hundred, incised upon antlers or bones, OF
sometimes stone; and the artistic skill
which they show is really astonishing
Most savages can make rude drawings vi
OIL cts Ia which they feel a familiar IN
telest, but such drawings are usually ch-
cessively glotesque, like q chllds attempt
TO depot a man as sort of ngure :,
with four straight lines standing from the
lower halt TO represent the arms and legs.
But the Cayc-men, with piece OF sDarp-
pointed flint, would eDgrsve, on reindeer
antler, an outline OF a urus 30 accurately
that il can be clearly distinguished irou
ali OK or a bison. And their drawings
are remarkable not OILY Tor their accurancy,
but often equally 70 lar the taste AID
vigor with which lie auhject Is treated. 2
Among unclvIliled races OF lien now
living, there are none which possess this
ran aIkable artistic tsieut save the EsAl
mos and IN this respect there IS com
pleie simllsrIty between the EskImos and
the Cave-meD. But this Is by no means
the only po.nt Of agreement between tue
EskImCs and line Cave meu, Between the
.els of tools sno eapons used by the one
and 10y the OiLer The agreement Is also
complete. The stone spears and srrJw-
b ads, The sewlHg-need.es and skin
screpers used by tie Esklmos ale exactly
Ike lie similar Implenants found In the
Pie s,ucene caves OF tIance anu Ens slaud.
Tie nech lacrs AT amLl1ts OF Cut teeth
and The Gagl eTs maGe from aniler, slow
an equally close correspondence. The
restmIlaucSs are not merely genera, but
extend 80 TAR INTO details that II modern Is
kln-o Iensins were 10 be put lnl o European
caves they would be indistlns lIsnabie IL
appesrsLce 1rUm the reusins Of tns Cave,
men which are now found there. Now,
wien these facts aretakea n connection wl,l
the taIts that the Csvc-men were an arctiC
race, and especially that the musk sheep,
which accompanied the advance Of tu,
Cavsnep mic Europe, is now found only
in The county Of the Eskimos, though IL,
fossil rehaius are sCzttered all along line
stretching from the PyIet ess through
Germany, Russia, and SIbera-wher
these 1scis are taken in connection, tht
epInion Of Mr. Da~kins, that the Cave
men wee actually identical with tht
Eski.nos, seems highly plausible. Moth
lpC Can be more probable than that, IL
eaIly OF middle PielstJcene tlmes, tht
EskImcs llved ali sLout the Aictlc Clrcl e,
N oI.eIla ana Norinern Europe, as Wei
as In North An.enca; That curing tit
coolest portions If tie glacial period they
found their way as Tar south as tn,
Pyrenees, along with the rest OF the sub
arcuc mammsiiap fauna 10 which they be-
Ionged; and that, rs the climate grew
warmer again, and vigorous enemies iron
the south began TO press into Europe ant
compete win them. they gradually lei
back to the nUIthward, leaving behlnr
them the lnnumersDle relics Of theIl
former presence, which We lind In The lals
PieIstocene caves OF France sno Eng anu
The Eskimos. then, are probably the sol,
spIvIyors Of the Cave-n.en of the Pleisto
Gene period; among the present people d
Europe The Cave-men have lett no repre-
sentallves whatever.