The first idea formed with regard to these kitchen-middens was that they were nothing but banks of fossil shells, beds which had formerly been submerged, and subsequently brought to light by an upheaval of the earth caused by some volcanic cause. But M. Steenstrup, a Danish _savant_, opposed this opinion, basing his contradiction on the fact that these shells belong to four different species which are never found together, and consequently they must have been brought together by man. M. Steenstrup also called attention to the fact that almost all these shells must have belonged to full-grown animals, and that there were hardly any young ones to be found amongst them. A peculiarity of this kind is an evident indication of the exercise of some rational purpose, in fact, of an act of the human will. When all the _débris_ and relics which we have enumerated were discovered in these kitchen-middens, when the remains of hearths--small spots which still retained traces of fire--were found in them, the origin of these heaps were readily conjectured. Tribes once existed there who subsisted on the products of fishing and hunting, and threw out round their cabins the remains of their meals, consisting especially of the _débris_ of shell-fish. These remains gradually accumulated, and constituted the considerable heaps which we are discussing; hence the name of _kjoekken-moedding_, composed of two words--_kjoekken_, kitchen; and _moedding_, heap of refuse. These "kitchen-middens," as they are called, are, therefore, the refuse from the meals of the primitive population of Denmark. If we consider the heaps of oyster-shells and other _débris_ which accumulate in the neighbourhood of eating-houses in certain districts, we may readily understand, comparing great things with small, how these Danish kitchen-middens were produced. I myself well recollect having noticed in the environs of Montpellier small hillocks of a similar character, formed by the accumulation of oyster-shells, mussels, and clams. When the conviction was once arrived at that these kitchen-middens were the refuse of the meals of the primitive inhabitants, the careful excavation of all these heaps scattered along the Danish coast became an extremely interesting operation. It might be justly expected that some data would be collected as to the customs and manufactures of the ancient dwellers in these countries. A commission was, in consequence, appointed by the Danish Government to examine these deposits, and to publish the results of its labours. This commission was composed of three _savants_, each of whom were eminent in their respective line--Steenstrup, the naturalist, Forchhammer, a geologist, and the archæologist, Worsaae--and performed its task with as much talent as zeal. The observations which were made are recorded in three reports presented to the Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen. From these documents are borrowed most of the details which follow.