Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-02-05


Col. Thomas Wilson, at the National Museum
last evening, delivered lecture on the art Of
Prehistoric Man. in the course Of which he
said:
History as we know it had no existence
during the ages of stone and bronze. His
tory begins within the iron age, hardly dating
from the beginning of that epoch. When the
famous wooden statue of Boulak in Egypt,
long famed as the earliest of sculptures repre-
senting the human form. was carved civiliza-
ton was comparatively far advanced; litera-
ture and history had begun.
Il hold in my hand copy Of will or testa-
ment made by one of these Egyptians about
the time of the Bouak statue, and when read
it you will observe that it is fairly good will,
following the lines of law they are pursued
today respecting testamentary matters. 1t ex-
hibits recognition of the rights of property.
| inasmuch as he who made this will bequeathed
| what he had to his wife and children. 1t be-
| longs to the twelfth Egyptian dynasty and is
| supposed to date from about 1900 B. C..
| AN EGYPTIANS WILL.
| "'Year 2, first month of Shet, day IL. Set
Element made by the priest of Osiris Lord of
the east Yah. / hereby settle on my wife. a
woman of the eastern district called Teta. all
property which my brother Aukhren gave to
me. She may give the property to any one
whom she pleases Of her children whom she
shall bear to me. 1t is the Lieut.. Sibo who
shall act as guardian Of the young children, not
my son.
1T is to this stage Of culture that the wooden
| statue of Boulak belongs. The prehistoric
ended long before this condition of civilization
| began. Before describing prehistoric art I
| should tell you briefly about prehistoric man-
| tell you who he WAS where lie dweit and how
| he was discovered.
Denmark made the first discovery Of pre-
historic man. The historic period proper of
Scandinavia began about 1000 AID, but for
centuries before inscriptions and poetic legends
called 'sagas had been inscribed on stone mon
uments and otherwise. Antiquarians of that
country in the last century delighted in study
ing these 'sagas In this pursuit they discov-
cred kitchen refuse Of prehistoric peoples. pol
ished stone hatchets, beautiful flint poignards,
daggers knives, spear heads and arrow heads.
They became impressed with the idea that
these belonged to a more ancient race of people
than those which had written the sagas. and
they separated the implements found into three
divisions, designated, respectively. ths ages of
stone. of bronze and, lastly, of iron.
THE AGE STONE.
1.-THE age of stone, so far as Scandinavia is
concerned. covers only polished stone, for no
traces of mems existence in that part Of the
world during the earlier epoch of Clipped stone
have been found When the canal was dug be-
tween Lakes Bienne, Neuchatel and Morat
great deposit of the age of iron was disclosed
as well as relics of prehistoric man, which at
tracted fOcks of hunters for such curios from
everywhere.
10 begin with, it was recognized that the
age of metal was preceded by an age of stone.
but it was not until 1859 that science acknowl-
edged as genuine the discovery of the paleo-
hthic or ancient stone period an earlier epoch
in the existence of prehistoric humanity, which
did not then understand the art of polishing
hainU N. with Nakipu IL into sbapa
THE PALEoLIrH,C PERIOD.
The mar of the psleothic period seems not to
have known any method of smoothing or
sharpening one stone by rubbing it against an
other. Bone and horn implements were also
made during this epoch. which is believed to
have been contemporaneOus with the formation
Of the river valleys and the deposit OF their
gravels. The climate during the first part of it
is supposed to have been warm and moist, but
afterward it grew cold, and man in western Eu-
rope sought the caves for protection. 1t is very
generally believed that this period of cold was
the glacial epoch in Europe. The fauna of the
warm and moist period was composed chiefly
Of animals which were extinct before our
earliest knowledge Of natural history. The
elephas antiquus ancestor of the elephant of
the present day and enormously larger than the
latter; the woolly rhinoceros and the trogon-
therium or giant beaver. have been found asso-
ciated with implements of ancient human in
q.
These beasts are now all extinct; they belong
to the quarternary geologic period, and have
never been seen by or known to man now alive,
save only as fossils. These implements of Chelles
represent to us the rirst art products.
THE ANTIQUITY OF MAN.
They tell the story that man existed in that
country contemporaneously with these animals
and in geologic period so much older than the
present that one can scarcely imagine mans
antiquity as having any relation thereto. After
ward came the mammoth, and after it the REIN
deer One can obtain faint idea of the time
by considering that the reindeer occupied
southern France in probably greater numbers
than IT now does Lapland, and was the animal
on which the prehistoric men Of that period in
that country relied chiefly for food study
of the fauna of that epoch in southern France
shows that there were eighteen species OF ami
mails then occupying the country which in the
present time have migrated 10 colder regions;
thirteen of them have travelled northward to-
ward the pole, while five. like the chamois and
mountain goat. have retreated to the lofty
mountains III search of cold.
THE REINDEER EPOCH.
The epoch of the reindeer in Europe is the
most interesting with which prehistoric man is
associated from the artistic point of view 1t
was during this period that his art attained its
highest development. The man of that period.
as his work-found in western Europe at La
Madeleine. Cro-mugnon and clsewhere-shows
true artist. His art seems to have been
quite original indigenous and not an imitation
The objects he produced were frequently with
out the slightest utility, while at other times
they were implements or weapons which would
have served equally well if made in a common
manner. Even spears and harpoons received
high degree of decoration. Many of the
sculptures produced by this prehistoric de-
signer represented with much skill and excel
lence the cave bear and other beasts peculiar
10 his epoch One such representation of the
cave bear will compare fsyorably in point Of
execution with the average picture of such a
beast in the natural history school books"
The lecturer showed many magic-lanterr
pictures of art produts Of the reindeer epoch
IN Europe. such the mammoth engraved
upon q piece Of ivory. part OF its own tusk.
several representations Of reindeer and COM
mon deer and numerous carvings showing the
horse. the walrus, the crocodile, the bison. the
OK. the mountain goat, the chamois, the ante
lope, the wolf, the fox, the lynx the otter the
seal. the wild boar and the rabbit and of
course, man. This may fairly be considered
10 represent the entire fauna Of that epoch.
Col. Wilson's second lecture at the National
Museum at AIS pm. next Saturday will con-
tinue the srbiect above quoted.
The Mysterious Astor House Suicide.
The body Of the young man who committed
suicide Tuesday night at the Aston House was
idenIified yesterday as that Of George II. Edgar,
a nephew Of the man Of that name supposed TO
ha va committed suicitle at Youksra soma time