. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology. I24 THE PROBLEM OF MAN'S ANTIQUITY .'.'../..: -"Vv / : ;.-"â '" ir e i G ..--â¢â â ! â â â £â â i ,.: -%|f§ . - ⢠D\ C^/_^_p--rf^*^--â¢â ' :....-- _â ;, o.»«; e-yis Fig. 21. Section through the Cro-Magnon rock-shelter. /1/ter L. Lartet (in E. Lartet & Christy). A, C, E, K, debris of the soft limestone ; B. D. F. layers of ashes (hearths) ; G, red earth with bones ; H, thickest layer of ashes, with animal bones and flints ; I, yellowish earth with bones and flints ; J, thin bed of hearth materia
. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Geology. I24 THE PROBLEM OF MAN'S ANTIQUITY .'.'../..: -"Vv / : ;.-"â '" ir e i G ..--â¢â â ! â â â £â â i ,.: -%|f§ . - ⢠D\ C^/_^_p--rf^*^--â¢â ' :....-- _â ;, o.»«; e-yis Fig. 21. Section through the Cro-Magnon rock-shelter. /1/ter L. Lartet (in E. Lartet & Christy). A, C, E, K, debris of the soft limestone ; B. D. F. layers of ashes (hearths) ; G, red earth with bones ; H, thickest layer of ashes, with animal bones and flints ; I, yellowish earth with bones and flints ; J, thin bed of hearth material ; P, projecting roof of hard limestone ; a, elephant tusk ; b, bones of " Old Man " [Cro-Magnon I] ; c, block of gneiss ; d, human bones ; e, roof falls. the vacant space, and judging from a patch of stalagmitic incrustation, and from the corroded state of the facial bones, it had never been completely covered by Palaeolithic debris. To reassure the reader that this is not necessarily a valid reason for doubting the antiquity of bones, it is worth recalling that a Neanderthal skull was found in a precisely similar uncovered state on the floor of one of the caves in Monte Circeo. As a further supposed indication that the Cro-Magnon burials were Recent, de Mortillet pointed out that the associated Littorina shells had retained their " epidermal " colour. However, it is now well known that shell-pigments are sometimes remarkably persistent. The fossil shells of Theodoxus in the Lower Palaeolithic gravels at Swanscombe, for instance, have retained their colour pattern. It was agreed by all that the skeletons in question were Stone Age burials : the differences of opinion related simply to the date of interment. It may be that de Mortillet was prejudiced against accepting them as Palaeolithic simply because he had for long been firmly convinced that no ceremonial burials were older than Even as recently as 1924 Grant MacCurdy
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