Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-06-09
WHOLE NO. 10,343.


AT a meeting held by the Victoria Phlo-
Sophlcal Institute of London in the second
week in May, at which its members gave Il
welcome to Nice-Chancellor Dawson of Nc
Gill University, Montreal DR.. Dawson de-
hvered his address on Prehistoric Man in
Egypt and Syria which was illustrated by
large diagrams, also flint implements and
bones collected by DR.. Dawson himself on
the spot during his winter tour in the East
In dealing with his subject, DR.. Dawson re-
marked that great interest attaches to any
remains which in countries historically so
old may indicate the residence of man be-
tore the dawn of history. In Egypt noduleS
OF filnt are very abundant i'll the eOcene
hmeStoneS, and, where these have been
wasted away, remain ON the surface In
many places there is good evidence that the
flint thus 10 be found everywhere has been
and still is used for the manufacture of
flakes, knives and other implements. These,
.aS Is well known, were used for many pur-
poses by the ancient Egyptians, and in
modern times gun-tlintS and Strike-hghtS
still continue 10 be made The debris of
worked tlintS found ON the surface is
thus of little value aS an indication
of any tiint-tolk preceding the old Egypt
ianS. Ii would be otherwise if flint imple-
mentS could be found in Older gravclS ofthe
country. Some of these are of pleiStoCene
age, and belong 10 period of partial sub
mergencc of the Nile valley Flint nipple
mentS had been alleged to be found in these
graVclS but there seemed To be no good
evidence to prove that they are other than
| the chips broken by mechanical violence
| in the removal of the gravel by torrcntial
action. In the Lebanon numerous caverns
exist. These were divided into two classes.
with reference tu their origin some being
water-caveS or tunnels of Subterrmean riv-
CrS, others SeJ-cavcS, eNcavatcd hv the
waves when the country was at Il lower
level than at present. Both kinds have
( been occupied by man, and some of them
undoubtedly at time anterior To the Phd-
uiClan occupation of the country and even
at Il time when the animal inhabitants and
geographical features of the region were diff
terent from those of the present day. They
were thus of various ages ranging from the
poSt-glaClal or antcdiluyian period To the
time of the PhUQician occupation. DR. Daw-
son then remarked that many geol0giSts in
these days had an aversion To using the
word "Antediluvian' ON account of the ma
ture ofthe work which in years now gone by,
unleamcd people had attributed TO the food
described in Scripture, but rs the aversion
to the use of that word was, he thought
not called for in these days, he hoped il
would pass away. Speaking aS geOlOgiSt,
from purely geological point of view, and
from a thorough examination of the Coun-
try around, there was no doubt but what
there was conclusive evidence that between
the time ofthe first occupation of these caves
by men-and they were men of a splendid
physiquc-and the appearance of the early
Phwnician inhabitants of the land, there
had been Il vast submergence of land and
a great catastrophe, aye n Stupendous one,
in which even the Mediterranean had haan
altered from Il small sea TO its present size
In illustration of this, the caverns at the
Pass of Nahr-el-Kcb and at Ant Elias were
described in some detail, and also, in con-
nection with these, the occurrence of flint
implements ON the surface of modern sand
stones at the Cape or RaS near Beyrout;
these last were probably of much less an
tiquity than those of the more ancient
cavernS.