The Geological Story of the Isle of WightHughes, J. Cecil (John Cecil)
Science
The Geological Story of the Isle of Wight
Hughes, J. Cecil (John Cecil)
Geology -- England -- Isle of Wight; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Tertiary; Paleontology -- England -- Isle of Wight
But we must not leave our geological story unfinished by
leaving out the culmination of it all in man. In the higher
gravels--the Plateau Gravels--no remains of man are found; but in the
lower--the Valley Gravels,--of the South of England is found abundant
evidence of the presence of man. Large numbers of flint implements
have been collected from the Thames valley and over the whole area of
the rivers which have gravel terraces along their course. Over a large
sheet of gravel at Southampton, whenever a large gravel pit is dug,
implements are found at the base of the gravel.[17] The occurrence of
the mammoth and other arctic creatures in the gravels shows that in
the Glacial Period man was contemporary with these animals. Remains in
caves tell the same story. In limestone caverns in Devon, Derbyshire,
and Yorkshire, implements made by man are found in company with
remains of the cave bear, cave hyaena, lion, hippopotamus, rhinoceros,
and other animals either extinct or no longer inhabitants of this
country--remains which have been preserved under floors of stalagmite
deposited in the caves. In caves of central France men have left
carvings on bone and ivory, representing the wild animals of that
day--carvings which show a remarkable artistic sense, and a keen
observation of animal life. Among them is a drawing of the mammoth on
a piece of mammoth ivory, showing admirably the appearance of the
animal, with his long hair, as he has been found preserved in ice to
the present day near the mouths of Siberian rivers. Drawings of the
reindeer, true to life, are frequent.
Till recently very few Palaeolithic implements had been recorded as
found in the Isle of Wight. In the Memoir of the Geological Survey
(1889) only one such is recorded, found in a patch of brick earth near
Howgate Farm, Bembridge.[18] A few more implements, which almost
certainly came from this brick-earth, have been found on the shore
since. In recent years a large number of Palaeolithic implements have
been found at Priory Bay near St. Helen's. They were first observed on
the beach by Prof. E. B. Poulton, F.R.S., in 1886, and were traced to
their source in the gravel in the cliff by Miss Moseley in 1902. From
that time, and especially from 1904 onwards, many have been found by
Prof. Poulton, by R. W. Poulton (and others). Up to 1909 about 150
implements had been found, and there have been more finds since.[19]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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