Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1884-06-04
MAN IN EGYPT
AND SYRIA.

PREHISTORIC MAN IN EGYPT
AND SYRIA.
Welcome to Great American Scien-
A gala meeting was held by the Vic
toria Philosophical Institute of London
in the second week in May, at which It's
members gave worthy welcome to
Vice Chancellor Dawson, G. NJ. G., OF
McGill University, Montreal at whose
instance the British Association visits
Canada this year. The Society of Arts
kindly lent its premises for the occasion,
and its great theatre was crowded in
every part long before the hour of meet
ing The chair was taken by Sir ii.
Barkly, G. G. M. g.. K. @. B., F. r. S.,
who-after the new members had been
announced by Captain F. Petrie, the
ecretary-wecomed DR.. Dawson amid
loud applause, and asked him to deliver
his Address: 1t was on prehistoric
Man in Egypt and SYRIA" and was illus,
trated by large diagrams, also flint i'm
plements and bones collected by DR..
Dawson himself on the spot during his
winter tour in the East; Professor Boyd
Dawkns, F. r. S., kindly assisted in
the classification of the bones. In deal
ing with his subject, DIR. Dawson re-
marked that, great interest attaches to
any remains which, in countries historic
ally SO old, may indicate the residence
of man before the dawn of history. In
Egypt, nodules of flint are very abund-
ant in the Eocene limestones, and, where
these have been wasted away. remain on
the surface. In many places there is
good evidence that the flint thus to be
found everywhere has been, and still is,
| used for the manufacture of flakes, knives
and other implements. These, as is
we'll known, were used for many pur-
poses by the ancient Egyptians, and in
modern times gun-hints and strike-lights
still continue to be made. The debris
of worked fints found on the surface is
thus of little value as an indication Of
any fliDt-folk preceding the old Egypt
ians. 1t would be otherwise if flint
implements could be found in the older
gravels of the country. Some of these
are of Pleistocene age, and being per-
iod of partial submergence Of the Nile
Valley. sa' Flint implements had been
alleged to be found in these gravels, but
there seemed to be no good evidence to
| prove e at they are other than the chips
| broken by mechanical violence in the
removal of the gravel by torrential ac-
tion. In the Lebanon. numerous cav
erns exist, These were divided into two
classes, with reference to their origin:
some being winter caves or tunnels OF
subterrannean rivers, others sea-caves,
excavated by the waves when the coun-
try was at lower level than at present.
Both kinds have been occupied by man,
and some of them undoubtedly at time
anterior to the Phenician occupation of
the country, and even at time when
the animal inhabitants and geographical
features of the region were different from
those of the present day. They were
thus of various ages, ranging from the
post Glacial or Antediluvian period to
the time of the Phenician occupation.
DR.. Dawson then remarked that many
geologists in these days had an aversion
| to using the word ''Antldiluvian, on
account cf the nature of the work which,
in years now gone by, unlearned people
had attributed to the Flood described in
Scripture, but as the aversion to the use
of that word was, he thought, not called
for in these days, he hoped it would pass
away. Speaking as a geologist, from a
purely geological point of view, and from
a thorough examination of the country
around, there was no doubt but what
there was conclusive evidence that be-
tween the time of The first occupation of
these caves by men-and they were men
of splendid physique-and the appear
ance of the early Ph9nician Inhabitants
| of the land, there had been a vast sub
mergence of land, and great catastrophe,
aye stupendous one, in which even the
Mediterranean had been altered from
small sea to it's present size. In illus
tration OF this, the caverns at the Pass of
Nahoel-Kelb and at Ant Elias were
described in some detail, and also, in
connection with these, the occurrence of
flint implements on the surface of mod
ern sandstones at the Cape or Ras near
Beyrout; these last were probably of
much less antiquity than those of the
more ancient caverns. A discussion en-
sued, which was taken part in by num-
Der of distinguished Fellows of the
Royal Society, including Sir A. Barkly,
F. +. S., Professor Wiltshire. F. R. S.,
Warrington Smyth, F. R. S., Rupert
Jones, F. r. S.; Colonel Herchel, F. r.
S., the talented son of the late Sir John
Herchel; DR.. Rae, F. R. S., the Arctic
explorer; DR.. Dawson, F. R. S.; d.
Howard, the ice-presiden. Of the Chem
ical Institute, and other biologists. The
meeting afterwards adjourned to the
Museum, where refreshments were serv-
ed.
You CAN HAVE IT.-"My dear, what