Page:Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, vol. 32.djvu/329

Rh

1. Cave occupied by Hyænas during deposition of Lower and Middle strata.

2. Occupation of cave by Hyænas interrupted by floods.

3. Occupation of cave by Hyænas during deposition of cave-earth interrupted by Man.

4. Occupation by Man during the period of the Breccia.

5. Dog not present.

6. Fauna of the Breccia different from that of underlying strata.

7. Remains from surface-soil.

8. Distribution of Species in the cave.

9. Notes on Species.

10. Traces of Man in the cave.

11. Implements of antler and mammoth-tooth.

12. Implements of quartzite and ironstone.

13. Implements of flint.

14. Distribution of implements in cave.

15. The ruder implements the older.

16. North-western range of Palæolithic hunters.

discovery of the fossil remains in the Robin-Hood Cave, brought before the Geological Society by the Rev. J. Magens Mello in the preceding paper, is of no common interest. It proves not only that the caves of Derbyshire were the lairs of Hyænas in ancient times, but that they were inhabited by the same kind of Palæolithic men as those of the caves of the south of England, of France, Belgium, and Switzerland. The remains have been handed over to me for description by Mr. Mello and his coadjutor Mr. Heath, and are the subject of the following remarks.

A comparison of the bones and teeth from the lower red sand and clay, and from the cave-earth, with those from Wookey Hole, Kent's Hole, Kirkdale, and other hyæna-dens, renders it impossible to doubt that the great majority of the animals in the cave were killed and eaten by the Hyænas. With few exceptions the solid bones are alone perfect, the long bones containing marrow and the vertebræ being represented merely by gnawed fragments. All the lower jaws have lost their angles and coronoid process; and the number of teeth stands in a greater ratio to the quantity of bones, than would have been the case had not their possessors fallen a prey to a bone-destroying animal. The only long bones and vertebræ which were found without marks of the teeth of Hyæna were met with in the lowest ossiferous stratum, and belong to the Bison and Reindeer. Their presence may be explained by the supposition that they were introduced by the stream flowing past the entrance.