_Habitation._--In that part of the European continent which now forms the country called France, man, during that period we designate under the name of the polished-stone epoch, continued for a considerable time to inhabit rock-shelters and caves which afforded him the best retreat from the attacks of wild beasts. This fact has been specially proved to have been the case in the extreme south of the above-mentioned country. Among the investigations which have contributed towards its verification, we must give particular notice to those made by MM. Garrigou and Filhol in the caves of the Pyrenees (Ariége). These two _savants_ have also explored the caves of Pradières, Bedeilhac, Labart, Niaux, Ussat, and Fontanel.[13] In one of these caves, which we have already mentioned in the preceding chapter, but to which we must again call attention--for they belong both to the polished stone, and also to the reindeer epoch--MM. Garrigou and Filhol found the bones of a huge ox, the urus or _Bos primigenius_, a smaller kind of ox, the stag, the sheep, the goat, the antelope, the chamois, the wild boar, the wolf, the dog, the fox, the badger, the hare, and possibly those of the horse. Neither the bones of the reindeer nor the bison are included in this list of names; on account of the mildness of the climate, these two species had already migrated towards the north and east in search of a colder atmosphere. The remains of hearths, bones split lengthwise, and broken skulls, indicate that the inhabitants of these caves lived on much the same food as their ancestors. It is probable that they also ate raw snails, for a large quantity of their shells were found in this cave, and also in the cavern of Massat,[14] the presence of which can only be accounted for in this way. These remains were found intermingled with piercers, spear-heads, and arrow-heads, all made of bone; also hatchets, knives, and scratchers, made of flint, and also of various other substances, which were more plentiful than flint in that country, such as siliceous schist, quartzite, leptinite and serpentine stones. These instruments were carefully wrought, and a few had been polished at one end on a slab of flag-stone. In the cave of Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées), which has been explored by M. Alphonse Milne-Edwards, two layers were observed; one belonging to the reindeer epoch, and the other to the polished-stone epoch.[15] The cave of Pontil (Hérault), which has been carefully examined by Professor Gervais,[16] has furnished remains of every epoch including the bronze age; we must, however, except the reindeer epoch, which is not represented in this cave.