< Page:Palæolithic Man and Terramara Settlements in Europe.djvu
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258
ANTHROPOLOGY
coal ashes and by hard clay, burnt red. Broken bones of animals and flint implements commonly occurred amongst the charcoal. These hearths were found again and again, one over the other, at different levels of the deposit which covers the whole floor of the cave; this deposit is 2.42 metres thick on the average. In the lowest of the hearths, which was only 10 centimetres above the original rock forming the floor of the cave, reindeer antlers, teeth of the cave-bear, and mammoth bones were observed amongst the charcoal. In a hearth somewhat higher, probably about the middle of the deposit, were found three molars and some bones of the Rhinoceros tichorhinus, and also the mammoth rib before mentioned, one end of which had been worked into a handle. In all the other hearths also, bones and teeth of the mammoth were found together with reindeer antlers ; and Count Zawisza makes the remark that ' the distinction between an older mammoth age and a more recent reindeer period, as made out from the researches in France, will not apply to these Polish caves.' As a general rule, according to the observations of the above-named naturalist, the mammalian and human remains are found exactly the same through the whole thickness of the deposits covering the floor of the cave. The only thing to be remarked is, that in the lowest bed the remains of the cave-bear were the most abundant ; this animal was almost exclusively the earliest mammalian inhabitant of the cave." (Ibid., pp. 12-14.)

The Cave of Jersmanowice. This cave from the entrance runs backwards for about 230 metres, and is made up of a series of grottoes connected by narrow passages. It is one of the largest in the district, and also the richest in the remains of extinct animals and of prehistoric human implements. The details of excavations and contents of the débris are very similar to those of the mammoth cave, and it is therefore unnecessary to describe them. Dr Romer in his concluding remarks thus writes :—

"From the foregoing facts it may be considered certain that the cave was for a long course of years inhabited by men of a very low grade of civilisation, contemporary with the cave-bear and the reindeer. Most certainly the intermediate bed between the two charcoal layers, and which was formed slowly, must indicate the period when the cave was inhabited. With respect to the co-existence of man and the cave-bear, a very important fact is that a piece of rock a foot long, taken out of a bed of solid crystalline stalagmite lying several feet deep, contained a vertebra of the cave-bear firmly embedded, and also an undoubted flint implement made by human hands." (Ibid., p. 9.)

A number of objects from this cave (Nos. 3, 4, 6-8, 14-18) are illustrated on PL. XXIX.

Cave of Kozarnia.. This cave was excavated in the year 1877, for the sake of procuring the cave-earth, which was utilised as manure. The deposits on its floor were from 2 to 4 metres

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