Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-07
SPANISH CAVE AREA
WILL. Be EXPLORED
BY PSYCHOLOGISTS
Region on Southern Slopes of
Pyrenees May Bare Story
of Prehistoric Man..
A. S. RIGGS C0NFERS
WITH KING ALFONSO
Monarch Promises His Personal In.
fuence in Assisting Work Of
American Scientists.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.

BY THOMAS r. HENRY.
The Archaeology Society of Washing
bon Is planning an expedition into the
cave region of northern Spain where
are found the remains of the celebrated
Cro-Magnon prehistoric culture.
Arthur Stanley Riggs, director OF the
society, has had a personal interview
with King Alfonso on the matter, IT
was revealed yesterday. The Spanish
monarch expressed deep interest IN the
plans for exploration. urged Mr.. RIGGS
to do everything possible to secure CO.
operation between American ana span
ish scholars in the field OF pre- historic
archaeology, and promised his personal
influence to assist in any such work.
]. Townsend Russell, assistant cura-
Tor Of archaeology at the Natlonal
Museum, will continue the prellininarles
with Spanish officials.
Area May be Rich in Sites.
The extensive area on the southern
elopes of the Pyrenees where tne Work
viii be carried on, Mr.. Russell says,
possibly is rich in sites of people VINO
showed much progress, especially IN tne
arts. long before the dawn OF history
and it is only by reconstructing an
adequate picture of their lives that the
roots of many of the commonplace
things of today can be traced.
Northwestern Spain has been lor
wears one of the richest fields for arch
biologists. The region lying east OF this,
however, is practically unexplored from
the archaeological standpoint. MI.
Riggs has just returned from SPAN,
where he held conferences with noted
Spanish scholars regarding this noun
famous country along the Spanish
French border between Barcelona and
San Sebastian. Work is planned as
soon as permission to eXcavate mas
been granted by the Spanish govern
ment. go,
ferences and will be the delegate OF the
society to the International Archeologl-
cal Congress at Barcelona. He Will
work in connection with DR.. George
Grant McCurdy Of Yale. head OF the
American School Of Prehistoric Re
search.
Possibly Were Of Same Species.
1.-THE men of the epoch which will be
studied" Mr.. Russell said, possibly be-
lonped to our own species of man and
were of the same ancestral stock, II not
the ancestors of some Of the present
races. We can be justly proud OF the
accomplishments of some of these early
men of our own species. Migrating INTO
Europe, they founded a culture on
which was based all other prehistoric
cultures from which our civilization de-
veloped, Working in bone, ivory, norm,
wood, stone and primitive paints they
developed the earliest school Of art so
far discovered.
"It is possible that the Spanish slopes
Of the PyreneeS may conceal many re.
mains Of the magic by which these
prehistoric men sought to solve their
problems. We hope to obtain material
which will throw new light on the de-
velopment of their ideas along this line.
The prehistoric man was naked saw
age. He was surrounded on every hand
by mysteries and subject to every mis-
fortune imaginable from the rigors OF
climate to starvation and death. Super
stition and magic were to him the key
and only hope of controlling these ex-
ternal forces. Religion and magic were
synonymous.
Not yet progressed beyond the cave
dwelling stage, these people left among
the ashes OF their hearths numerous
objects which could be carried about,
and decorated implements. AS the
upper Paleothic age advanced, tools be-
came more and more highly embel-
lished. Thus the carved heads OF
animals are placed on the weapons.
supposedly to impart the cunning Of
the hunted animal to the implement.
Cave Art Exemplifies Magic.
"It is in the cave art that the spirit
of the magic of the time is best ex-
emplified. The limestone formation Of
Northwestern Spain is honey-combed
with caves through which ran the
streams of glacial times. In many Of
them we find great professions of the
food animals such as mammoths. horses
and bears. These paintings were de-
signed to insure increase Of game and
success in the chase.
1.-THE animal forms are most carefully
executed, exactness In depicting the
subject being the key to sympathetic
magic, surrounded by arrows and per-
hapS wounded. Before such a repre-
sentation, a ceremony would be per-
formed, perhaps involving the striking
of the picture with a real javelin. This
thought is most graphically depicted in
a clay figure Of bear discovered in the
hole for peg was found in the neck,
while the skull of bear which lay be-
tween the forepaws and the body, was
dotted with perforations from javelin
thruStS.
Murals Depict Purpose.
THAT sympathetic magic was used to
insure the increase of game is seen in
the murals as well as sculpture; Much
light is thrown on this magical practice
by mural of a sorcerer found in the
caves OF TroiS Freres. This portrait is
of a man In long beard dressed in an
animal skin, retaining the tail and hay
ing a pair Of antlers as headdress, rep
resented in the attitude Of some cere-
monial dance.
I'm considering all the evidence, we
ind none to indicate any religion In the
true sense of the word. Theology and
revelation were intellectually beyond the
simplicity Of the time and it's puzzled
human beings, who knew no form Of
writing and whose language was greatly
restricted. Burial Of the dead was &C.
tuated not because Of belief in the
after life or because Of respect for the
defunct individual, but rather to placate
his spirit and render ii unable to tor
ment the survivors.
"Our civilization from the most
ancient days Of prehistoric Egypt up to
1929 is but fraction Of the hundreds
of thousands Of years In the span OF
the human story. The value. Of pre-
historic research lies In the fact that
ty adding to the knowledge of our