Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1893-07-13
oANNIsALs OF ANCIENT TIMES.
Vast Quantities OF Interesting Relies Found
In Caves of Sonthern Enrope.

Vast Quantities OF Interesting Relies Found
In Caves of southern Europe.
The scientists holding the belief that
man Is "a very ancient animal on earth
have referred for evidence to numerous
caves in southern Europe and elsewhere,
which were doubtless inhabited by
many generations OF human beings for
the sake of shelter and security. These
caverns contain great numbers of hui
man bones and primitive tools, which,
It is alleged, have been found numerous
instances mixed with fragments Of
skeletons Of the huge cave bear, the
saber-toothed tiger, the woody rhinoc-
eros, the giant beaver and even the
elephas antiquus, which was the
ancestor of the mammoth and
the elephants OF to-day. The floor
ing of ashes from ancient house
hold fires in these caverns Is
sometimes as much as twenty feet thick,
representing the accumulatious Of hun
dreds II not thousands of years. Scat
tered about the ancient hearths are
ever so many bones OF men, women and
children, which bear not only traces of
fire but marks of implements employed
to split them lengthwise for the pur.
pose Of getting at the marrow. Thus
IL would seem that these savages of an.
tiquity were cannibals.
In these caves testimony is found of
many murders committed thousands of
years ago. Skulls of women cleft by
sharp weapons prove that they often
were victims of savage violence. One
such Uranium of female bears the
marks of three penetrating wounds,
The fact that two OF them exhibit
signs Of having healed shows that she
recovered, only TO succumb to a third
assault. The ancient occupants
Of the cavcrns appear 10 have
depended for food chiefly on the meat
of reindeer. which in their time were
rs plentiful in the south of Europe as
sheep are now. Reindeer horn was
their earliest raw material employed
for manufacturing purposes. They
fishod with hooks made of splinters oi
bone pointed at both ends. Twenty
pounds of the bones of wutcr-rats. halt
roasted, where dug up in single cav,
ut ChalcuN. from which IT is inferred
that these animals contributed to tn,
| lVhl supply III N'hiSH VI HNhiNAAg' ~
has been alleged that the jewellers II
the caverns used the lower jawbonc al
the cave bear as II weapon. the great
canine teeth serving as a point Will
which deadly blows could he struck.
Some of the caves were regular fac
tories for making tools and weapons
From the one at ChaleuX twenty-thou
sand flint hatchets, daggers and lSnivc
have been obtained by digging.
workshop Of this kind in Pcrigord wa
devoted to the making Of spcarheuds
while another confined itself to fabri
eating tools of reindeer horn. Curiou
whistles were turned out from the frs
Joint of the reindeer's foot. Many o
the implements and weapons discoy
cred were rudely decorated with repre-
, sensations of fishes, Of reindeer AN,
even man moths. There were hunting
scenes carved in bone and horn, il
which men were shown in pursuit q
game or in conflict with beasts, On
, carving il Landscapes, with reindce
browsing, In admirable perspective
The British museum owns Il suppose
palcolithic poninrd Of reindeer horr
with the handle carved in the form q
a reindeer. which would not be NJ
worthy of modern art.-lioston TraI
script