CHAPTER XIII

SUMMARY OF RESULTS

It may be well, in conclusion, to sum up the general truths we have arrived at in relation to the place of man in the great and long-continued drama of the earth's geological history.

1. We have found no link of derivation connecting man with the lower animals which preceded him. He appears before us as a new departure in creation, without any direct relation to the instinctive life of the lower animals. The earliest men are no less men than their descendants, and up to the extent of their means, inventors, innovators, and introducers of new modes of life, just as much as they. We have not even been able as yet to trace man back to the harmless golden age. As we find him in the caves and gravels he is already a fallen man, out of harmony with his environment and the foe of his fellow creatures, contriving against them instruments of destruction more fatal than those furnished by nature to the carnivorous wild beasts. Yet we would fain believe in an Edenic age of innocence; and physiological probability, as well as the old story in Genesis, demands that we should suppose a primitive condition in which man, careless and happy, should subsist on the spontaneous bounty of nature in some favoured 'garden of the Lord.'

_Scheme of possible Correlation of the Geological and Historical Records as to Early Man, as the Facts appear in the present Stage of Investigation, May 1894._

{ Semitic { Truchère or Prot-Iberian Race { Turanian { { Aryan Primitive { Man { Mixed Races, Cro-magnon, &c. } { } Submergence { Canstadt Race }

{ Sethites { Shem { { Ham Adam { Mixed Races, Nephelim, &c. } Noah { Japhet { } { Cainites } Deluge

2. If we inquire as to the nature of the interval which separates man from the lower animals, we find that it exists with reference both to his rational and physical nature. With respect to the first we may affirm in man the existence of a lower (psychical) intelligence, similar to that of the inferior animals, and of a spiritual nature allying him with higher intelligences, and with God Himself. Rightly considered, this places the doctrine of creation in a very firm position. Those who deny it must adopt one of two alternatives. Either they must refuse to admit the evidence in man of any nature higher than that of brutes--a conclusion which common sense, as well as mental science, must always refuse to admit--or they must attempt to bridge over the 'chasm,' as it has been called, which separates the instinctive nature of the animal from the rational and moral nature of man--an effort confessedly futile.

3. As to the body of man, the case is different, but still perfectly in harmony with the idea of his higher nature. Man, as to his body, is confessedly an animal, of the earth earthy. He is also a member of the province _vertebrata_, and the class _mammalia_; but in that class he constitutes not only a distinct species and genus, but even a distinct family, or order. In other words, he is the sole species of his genus, and of his family, or order. He is thus separated, by a great gap, from all the animals nearest to him; and even if we admit the doctrine, as yet unproved, of the derivation of one species from another in the case of the lower animals, we are unable to supply the 'missing links' which would be required to connect man with any group of inferior animals. This physical distinctness has also a special significance, inasmuch as it depends on certain negative peculiarities such as the absence of clothing, of natural weapons of attack and defence, as well as on the positive properties of the erect posture, the hands adapted to various kinds of manipulation, and the special sensory gifts. Thus viewed in relation to his environment, his wants as well as his possessions in regard to structures and powers, would be fatal to any creature not possessed of his intelligence, and we cannot conceive how such privations or such gifts could spontaneously arise in nature.

4. No fact of science is more certainly established than the recency of man in geological time. Not only do we find no trace of his remains in the older geological formations, but we find no remains even of the animals nearest to him; and the conditions of the world in those periods seem to unfit it for the residence of man. If, following the usual geological system, we divide the whole history of the earth into four great periods, extending from the oldest rocks known to us, the eozoic, or archæan, up to the modern, we find remains of man, or his works, only in the latest of the four, and in the later part of this. In point of fact, there is no indisputable proof of the presence of man until we reach the early modern period. This is, no doubt, what was to have been expected on the supposition of the orderly development of the chain of animal life in the long geologic eons; but it is not by any means the only hypothesis that was possible when, for example, the Book of Genesis was written. A more fanciful cosmologist might at that time have given precedence to man, and might have supposed that the other animals were produced later, and for his benefit, or his injury. This is the view of the sacred writer himself with respect to the local group of animals intended to be in immediate association with the first man. Restricted in this way, the statement of a group of animals created with man in his earliest abode is not contradictory to the order in Genesis first, nor scientifically improbable. We have seen that in any case the deductions from geology are in harmony with the earliest revelations made to the human mind on the subject, and in accordance with all the later facts of actual history.

5. The absolute date of the first appearance of man cannot perhaps be fixed within a few years or centuries, either by human chronology or by the science of the earth. It would seem, however, that the Bible history, as well as such hints as we can gather from the history of other nations, limits us to two or three thousand years before the Deluge of Noah, while some estimates of the antiquity of man, based on physical changes or ancient history, or on philology, greatly exceed this limit. If the earliest men were those of the river gravels and caves, men of the 'mammoth age,' or of the 'palæolithic' or palæocosmic period, we can form some definite ideas as to their possible antiquity. They colonised the continents immediately after the elevation of the land from the great subsidence which closed the pleistocene or glacial period, in what has been called the 'continental' period of the post-glacial age, because the new lands then raised out of the sea exceeded in extent those which we have now. We have, as stated in a previous chapter, some measures of the date of this great continental elevation, and know that its distance from our time must fall within about eight thousand years. Many indications, both in Europe and America, lead to the belief that it is physically impossible that man could have colonised the northern hemisphere at an earlier date than this geologically recent continental period.

6. There is but one species of man, though many races and varieties; and these races or varieties seem to have developed themselves at a very early time and have shown a remarkable fixity in their later history. There is reason to believe, however, from various physiological facts, that this is a very general law of varietal forms, which are observed to appear rapidly or suddenly, and then in favourable circumstances to be propagated continuously. It would seem also to apply to the introduction of forms regarded as species, since it is not unusual to find a genus at or near its origin represented by its maximum number of specific forms.

7. The precise locality of the origin of man can be defined on probable grounds as in a temperate region, supplied with the vegetable productions most useful to him in a natural state, and free from destructive animal rivals. We can scarcely suppose that this locality can have been in any of those parts of the world in which man finds the greatest difficulty in subsisting, or becomes most degraded, though this paradoxical view has been held by some archæologists. It must rather have been in some fertile and salubrious region of the northern hemisphere; and probability as well as tradition points to those regions in South-Western Asia which have not only been the earliest historical abodes of man, but are also the centres of the animals and plants most useful to him. It is interesting to note here that Hæckel, on purely physical grounds, decides against Europe, Africa, Australia, and America, and concludes that 'most circumstances indicate Southern Asia.'

8. It is to be observed, however, that the diluvial interlude gives a double origin of man; but the historical accounts of the neocosmic dispersion, as we have already seen, refer us in this case also to the same regions of South-Western Asia. The traditions which ascribe human origin to a 'Mountain of the North' refer to the second dispersion, and coincide with the Ararat of Genesis and the 'Mountain of the North' on which the ship of Hasisadra was supposed by the Chaldeans to have grounded.

9. We are now in a position to correlate the historical Deluge with the great geographical changes which closed the palanthropic age. This, when regarded as an established fact, furnishes the solution of many of the most disputed questions of anthropology. The misuse of the Deluge in the early history of geology, in employing it to account for changes that took place long before the advent of man, certainly should not cause us to neglect its legitimate uses, when these arise in the progress of investigation. It is evident that if this correlation be accepted as probable, it must modify many views now held as to the antiquity of man. In that case, the modern rubble spread over plateaus and in river valleys, far above the reach of the present floods, may be accounted for, not by the ordinary action of the existing streams, but by the abnormal action of currents of water diluvial in their character. Further, since the historical Deluge cannot have been of very long duration, the physical changes separating the deposits containing the remains of palæocosmic men from those of later date would, in like manner, be accounted for, not by slow processes of subsidence, elevation, and erosion, but by causes of a more abrupt and cataclysmic character.

Finally, it has been the tendency of modern geological and archæological discovery to attach more and more value and importance to the ancient records of the human race, and especially to those precious documents which have been preserved to our time in the Book of Genesis.

We have merely glanced cursorily at a few of the salient points of the relation of the primitive history of man in Genesis to modern scientific discovery. Many other details might have been adduced as tending to show similar coincidences of these two distinct lines of evidence. Enough has, however, been said to indicate the remarkable manner in which the history in Genesis has anticipated modern discovery, and to show that this ancient book is in every way trustworthy, and as remote as possible from the myths and legends of ancient heathenism, while it shows the historical origin of beliefs which in more or less corrupted forms lie at the foundations of the oldest religions of the Gentiles, and find their true significance in that of the Hebrews. To the Christian the record in Genesis has a still higher value, as constituting those historical groundworks of the plan of salvation to which our Lord Himself so often referred, and on which He founded so much of His teaching.

INDEX

A

Adam, description of, 64 Adon, the name, 180 Akkadian kingdom, foundation of, 108 Alphabets, early, 108 Amunoph III., 177 Amunoph IV., 177 Anakim, the, 65 Animals, remains of, 23, 30, 38, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 74, 96, 98 Antediluvians, identification of, 125 Anthropic age, definition of, 17; events of, 39 Anthropology, 16 Archæan age, the, 19 Ark, the, description of, 135 Arrow-headed characters, use of, 108 Artemis, 160 Aten, worship of, 177 Atlantis, fable of, 156 Auriferous gravel, finds in, 34

B

Bears, cave, 46 Beni Elohim, 132 Beni ha Adam, 132 Bones, human, gnawed, 47 Boule, on deposits at Schweizersbild, 87 Britain, early inhabitants of, 103 Broca, on skulls, 61 Burials, discoveries of, 56

C

Cain, the race of, 131 Canaan, migration of, 193 Canstadt race, the, 51, 80; age of, 70; condition of, 75; interments of, 77; skulls of, 81 Carthaillac on palanthropic age, 70; on the mortuary customs of, 77 Carving, specimens of, 49 Castelnedolo, skeleton at, 29 Cave dwellers, 48; their food, 49 Caverns, various, 42 Celtæ, the, description of, 104 Cenozoic age, the, 20; changes of, 24; events of, 39; relations of, 84 Chaldean version of the Deluge, 137; creation tablets, 107; Genesis quoted, 113 Cheth, children of, 167 Chipped Stone age, the, 69 Chronometers, geological, 89 Civilisation, early postdiluvian, 118 Clichy skull, the, 60 Climate of the pliocene, 25; of the eocene, 27; changes of, 35, 36; of the post-glacial age, 36; of the palanthropic age, 38, 40, 171 Creation, the, order of, in Genesis, 106, 112, 114; Chaldean account of, 112 Cresswell caves, description of, 95 Cro-magnon cave, the, 51 Cro-magnon race, the, 51; skeletons of, 53; skulls of, 61, 81; age of, 70; condition of, 75; appearance of, 76; belief of, 76; interments of, 77 Curse, the, 120 Cushite kingdom, foundation of, 108 Cushite migration, the, 192

D

Dawkins on palæolithic and neolithic periods, 93 Days of creation, the, 14, 18 Delta, the, age of, 174 Deluge, the, accounts of, 107; story of, 121; Lenormant on, 123; conclusions as to, 126; prevalence of story of, 127; physical aspects of, 135; Chaldean version of, 136; history of, 137; was it miraculous? 140; was it universal? 147, 151 Diana, 160 Dispersion of man, the, 108 Druses, the, 198 Dupont on cave of Goyet, 46; on primitive man, 73; on plain dwellers, 74; on Frontal caves, 98

E

Earth, the stages of its history, 15, 18; age of, 18 Eber, children of, 179 Eden, site of, 114 Edwards, Miss, criticism of, 171 Egypt, history of, 168; first colonists of, 174 Elephant in Europe, the, 38 Elevation of land in post-glacial age, 36 Elohim, use of the name, 112 Embalming, early practice of, 78 Engis skull, the, 60 Eocene age, the, 23; changes of, 24 Eozoic age, the, 19 Euphrates, the, 114 Eve, story of, 160 Evolution of man, the, 22; vagaries of, 118 Exodus, the, Pharaoh of, 179

F

Fall of man, the, 116 Fauna of palanthropic age, changes of, 86 Flints, worked, 28

Food of cave dwellers, 49 Furfooz caves, description of, 98

G

Generations of Noah, the, 184 Genesis, order of creation in, 106 Geologist, the, method of, 12 Giants, a race of, 63 Gibraltar skull, the, 60 Glacial age, the, 25 Globe, incandescent, picture of, 18 Goyet, cave of, description of, 46 Greenwell on men of Britain, 103 Grenelle, skull of, 60; deposit at, 94

H

Hale on importance of language, 206 Hamites, migrations of, 188 Hasisadra, the Chaldean Noah, 118 Hebrew annals, truth of, 106 Heth, 167 Higher criticism, Sayce on, 109 Historian, the, method of, 12 Hittites, the, inroad of, 198 Holmes on worked flints, 31 Homeric heroes, reality of, 166 Horus, sons of, 159 Hyksos, the, 181

I

Idinu, or Eden, 114 Ightham, worked flints of, 31 Interments, discoveries of, 56; mode of, 77 Isha, story of, 160 Ivory, ornaments of, 58; engraving on, 74

J

Jahveh, 133 Japhet, migrations of, 189, 190 Jebel Assart, flint chips at, 171 Jehovah Elohim, use of the name, 112, 132 Jerusalem, ancient state of, 179

K

Karun, a river of Eden, 114, 116 Kerkhat, the, 114 Kheta, or Khatti, 167 Kneeling posture in interments, 77

L

Laugerie Basse, cave at, 51; skeleton at, 58 Lebanon caves, human remains in, 43, 45; visit to, 202 Lenormant on the Deluge, 123; on the Ark, 136 Lion, the cave, 46 Lyell, on Falls of Niagara, 124

M

Mammals in palanthropic age, species of, 37 Mammoth age, cave of, 50 Mammoth, the, in Europe, 38; extinction of, 74 Man, date of his appearance, 21, 213; his earliest remains still human, 22; antecedents of, 23; his remains overlaid, 35; in Europe, 35; in palanthropic age, 40; how distinguished, 41; his remains at Nahr-el-Kelb, 45; at Goyet, 46; gnawed bones of, 47; a cave dweller, 48; his ornaments, 48, 58; carving of, 49; food of, 49; his physical characters, 51; his remains at Cro-magnon, 51; skeleton of, at Mentone, 58; varieties in skull of, 60; gigantic size of, 62; a feebler race, 63; conditions of, 71; Dupont on primitive, 73; unprogressive character of men of mammoth age, 75; beliefs of, 76; mortuary customs of palanthropic, 77; change of, from palæocosmic to neocosmic, 91; neolithic, 101; of Britain, 103; in Eden, 115; condition of palanthropic, 116; recency of, 213; locality of his origin, 216 Meeting-place of geology and history, 13 Mentone skeleton, the, 58 Mesozoic age, the, 19 Metals, the knowledge of, 118 Miocene age, the, 23; changes of, 24; monkeys of, 27 Mitanni, 181 Mizraim, 193 Monkeys, miocene, 27 Mortillet on the stone age, 69 Moses: his knowledge of Divine name, 180 Mourlon on pleistocene remains, 30 Musical instruments, invention of, 118

N

Nahr-el-Kelb, caverns of, 44; people of, 203 Neanderthal skull, the, 60 Neanthropic age, definition of, 17; events of, 39; men of, 95 Nebula, picture of, 18 Necklace, a shell, 48 Neocosmic age, appearance of, men of, 91, 102 Neolithic age, men of, 101 Niagara, Lyell's use of, 124 Nile valley, limestones of, 168, 201; appearance of, 174 Nimrod, kingdom of, 190 Noah, story of, 121 Nuesch on deposits at Schweizersbild, 87

O

Old man of Cro-magnon, 53; supposed history of, 65 Ornaments, remains of, 48, 58

P

Palæolithic implements, discoveries of, 31 Palæozoic age, the, 19 Palanthropic age, definition of, 17; number of species of mammals in, 37; climate of, 38; land of, 40; caves of, 46; animals of, 50; man of, 51; conditions of, 69; divisions of, 70; tragic end of, 85; changes in fauna of, 80; subsidence of, 88 Palestine, people of, 197; history of, 201 Paviland skull, the, 60 Petrie: his photographic portraits, 180 Pharaoh of the Exodus, the, 179 Phœnicians, the, 193 Pictet on number of species in palanthropic age, 37 Pinches on Chaldean Genesis, 113 Plain dwellers, 51; conditions of, 74 Pleistocene age, definition of, 17; history of, 23; human remains of, 30; events of, 39 Pliocene age, 23; changes of, 24; human remains of, 29; events of, 39 Polished Stone age, the, 69; men of, 101 Post-glacial age, 26; elevation of, 36 Punites, 193

Q

Quaternary period, the, 20 Quatrefages on Castelnedolo skeleton, 29; on Truchère skull, 84

R

Ra, worship of, 177 Recency of man, 213 Reclus, romance of, 208 Reindeer age, the, 38, 50 Rhinoceros in Europe, the, 38 Rivière on Mentone skeleton, 58, 62

S

Sayce on the higher criticism, 109 Scale of earth's history, a, 22 Schliemann, discoveries of, 166 Schweizersbild, deposits at, 87 Semites, migrations, 189 Seth, the race of, 131 Shell ornaments, remains of, 48, 58 Sickle, wooden, 172 Silures, the, 103 Skeleton of Castelnedolo, 29; Mentone, 58; of Laugerie Basse, 58 Skull from Val d'Arno, 29; of Cro-magnon, 53, 82; of Clichy, Grenelle, Gibraltar, Paviland, Neanderthal, Engis, 60; of Canstadt, 81; of Truchère, 83 Species, number of palanthropic, 37 Sphinx, the, history of, 176 Spy, interments at, 56 Stone ages, the, 69 Submergence, records of, 148 Subsidence of palanthropic age, 88; date of, 90

T

Tammuz, story of, 161 Taylor on early men of Britain, 103 Teeth, human, condition of, 63 Tel-el-Amarna tablets, 165, 177 Tigris, the, 114 Trenton, flints of, 32 Tristram on cave shelters, 44

V

Vezère, rock shelters of, 51

W

Whistle, bone, 116 Woman of Cro-magnon, 55 Woolly rhinoceros in Europe, the, 38

Z

Zittel on number of species of mammals, 37

* * * * *

Transcriber's note:

All obvious typographical errors were corrected. Minor changes were made to standardize the text to match the most prevalent form used.

To make it easier to locate the Index entries, a line with each alpha group's first letter was added.