PALÆOLITHIC MAN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18953, 29 August 1923, Page 5

PALÆOLITHIC MAN.

A BABY MAMMOTH’S TOOTH. RESEARCHES lA' DERBYSHIRE. At the Edinburgh meeting of the British Association u Research Committee was appointed to co-operate with a committee of tlie Royai Anthropological Institute ’in the archaeological exploration ol Derbyshire caves. Sir William Boyd Dawkins, F.R.S., who forty lo fifty years ago was the xhoneer of this class of cave exploration, was appointed chairman of both committees and Air G. A. Garlilt secretary. The personnel includes eminent arclueologists and anthropologists such as Dr R. R. Marrett, Mr M. C. Burkitt, and Mr H. J. Peake; also representatives of the universities of Liverpool and Sheffield, with Mr J. Wilfred Jackson, of tho Manchester Museum, Mr Leslie mmstrong and Dr H. V. Favcll, of Sheffield, as local members. Active operations were commenced in the autumn of 1921 at Castlctou, where a chance discovery by workmen mining fluor-spar revealed the presence of a cave, the roof of which had collapsed, a resulting landslide having obliterated all traces of its existence. Fragmentary remains of four human beings were recovered from the floor of this cave, including one complete skull, with mandible, associated with a flint flake, a small polished stone axe, a deer antler pick, and bones of domestic animals. The bodies had apparently been placed in shallow graves at the back of the cave, in tho attitude of sleep, with the knees flexed, and drawn upp towards the chin, but owing to torrential inrushes of waiter into the cave at certain periods portions of the skeletons had been swept away and the burial much disturbed. Dr Alex. Low, of Aberdeen University, who has ra ported upon the human remains, assigns them to the late Neolithic or early Bronze Age. In searching for an undisturbed cavo presenting a reasonable prospect of having been occupied in Paleolithic times, much arduous reconnaissance work has been done by local members of the committee, but with practically negative results. Owing mainly to extensive indiscriminate digging by untrained observers all the known caves of Derbyshire appear to have been completely dug out or hopelessly disturbed. AN EARLY IRON AGE CATE. In September last interesting excavations were commenced at Harboro Cave, near Brassington, known locally as the ‘‘Giant’s Cave,” the upper deposits in which had been partly examined in 1907 and had yielded important results to Mr Stores Fox, of Bakowcil, but the lower layers of which remained intact. Here a series of relics were recovered representative of successive occupations from the Slone Age to mediaeval times, embracing a valuable sequence of fragmentary pottery including typical Beaker, Bronze Age, and early Iron Ago wares, implements of flint and bone, and a, bone counter or object used in some primitive game recalling a modem domino, inscribed with ring and dot enumeration. Personal ornaments included- a bronze hand pin and beads of glass, assigned to the La Tone stage of the early Iron Ago. Though so extensively patronised by the laterprehistoric people, 'the cave yielded only the slenderest tracts of Palaeolithic man, consisting of a rude quartzite implement and flake, comparable to those from the lowest level of Creswell Caves. These were taken from the yellow sand forming the bottom layer of Harboro Cave and were associated with hones and teeth of reindeer, the only faunal evidences recovered from the layer. There are evidences that in Palaeolithic times this cave was a great pot hole and the present entrance unformed, and it is probable that the Palaeolithic implement and reindeer remains were carried in by water. Though a proof of the presence of Palreohimc man in the locality, they are not necessarily indicative of an early occupation of the cave, but his presence not having hitherto been noted so far to the west of Derbyshire, the relics are of interest and importance. Fragmentary human remains were scattered throughout the upper deposits, chiefly teeth and small bones of the feet and hands, which seem to have been brought there with material used for levelling tho cave floor by tho early Iron Age occupants. They probably represent disturbed burials of a more ancient date, and it is an interesting fact that many of tho bones indicate that their former owners suffered from rheumatoid arthritis. DISCOVERIES. AT CRESWELL CRAGS. Facilities having been kindly granted by the Duke of Portland for further explorations at Creswell Crags, the secretary of tho Cave Conim.ttee with Mr Leslie Armstrong, Mr J. Wilfrid Jackson, and Dr R. V. Favell as co-operators, commenced excavations there towards the end of May. It was soon apparent that since tho researches of the Rev. J. M. Mcllo ceased in 1879 a considerable amount of excavation work had been done which is unrecorded. This, coupled with the indiscriminate digging of ardent collectors, has left few of the fissures and none of the known caves untouched, honco much unproductive spadework was necessitated botoro a small virgin site in front of one of the caves was finally discovered. Tho results have amply repaid the labour expended, and include an important series of upper Pahcolithic flint implements, apparently of Magdaleniaii culture, together with typical lower Palaeolithic implements of quartzite, both series being enclosed' in red calcareous cave earth, the flint implements superimposed upon those of quartzite. The associated fauna is Pleistocene, and typical of that noted in tho original excavations by Sir William Boyd Dawkins in 1875-79, embracing elephant or rhinoceros, reindeer, hyocna, horse, and bison, the latter in some abundance; also elk and red'deer. Recent and domestic animals were entirely absent. During tho intervals between casual human occupation tho cavo had been alternately a hyiena den and tho home ol cave bears. The presence of the former was testified by tho numerous gnawed fragments of bone, of which only the ends and harder portions remained; tho latter by cracked and splintered bones. Teeth and coprolites of the hyiena were found, but no actual remains of the cavo bear on that site. In the curface soil a few pieces of doubtful Bronze Age pottery, sherds of Roman ware and numerous fragments of mediaeval and recent pottery were recovered, but no evidence of definite occupation during these periods. The site allowed, as all the Creswell caves have done, a remarkable paucity of the relicts of neolithic and later times so abundant in most of the Dcroyshire caves, and their scarcity at Creswell is not easily explained. In addition to the work described a considerable amount of research was carried out in the fissures and on probable sites of rock shelters. The fissures proved tho most productive, yielding bones and teeth of cavo lion, bear, wolf, reindeer, bison, and what may prove to be Arctic hare. No new fauna, however, was added to that already recorded for Creswell. One of the most interesting prizes was a milk-molar of a baby mammoth, the owner of which no doubt had fallen a victim to the cave lion or hyrena. The tooth is a, perfect one, but only weighs' two ounces, whereas the corresponding molar of a full-grown mammoth frequently weighs 121 b to 14lb.

Rcconnaissniir.es in the neighbourhood of Creswell have revealed what may prove to bo important sealed caves, with the examination of which the committee hopes to proceed at an early date, if funds are available