The Journal of Geology, January-February 1893: A Semi-Quarterly Magazine of Geology and Related SciencesVarious
Science
The Journal of Geology, January-February 1893: A Semi-Quarterly Magazine of Geology and Related Sciences
Various
Geology -- Periodicals
The evidence employed to prove the presence of a race of men in
the Delaware Valley in glacial times is confined almost wholly to
the alleged discovery of rude implements in the glacial gravels.
Practically all the evidence has been collected by Dr. C. C. Abbott,
and upon his skill as an observer, his faithfulness as a recorder,
his correctness of judgment and his integrity of character, the whole
matter stands. Many visitors, men of high repute in archeology and
geology, have visited the site, but the observations made on such
occasions appear not to have been of a nature to be of great value in
evidence, the finds being doubtful works of art or not having properly
established relationships with the gravels in place. In the discussion
of gravel man in eastern America a wide range of objects and phenomena
has been considered, but the real evidence, upon which the theory of
an ancient race and a peculiar culture must depend, is furnished by a
hundred pieces--more or less--of rudely flaked stones said to have come
from the gravels in place. And now what can be said with reference to
this series of flaked stones further than that they are reported by the
collector to have been found in the gravels at definite stated depths?
I have elsewhere shown that they are not demonstrably implements
in any case, that they are identical in every respect with the
quarry-shop rejects of the American Indian, that they do not closely
resemble any one of the well established types of European paleolithic
implements, and that they are not a sufficient index of a particular
stage of culture. I shall now present such reasons as there may be
for the belief, held by many, that they were not really found in the
undisturbed glacial gravels.
It is generally understood that the earliest reported gravel finds of
importance were made on the banks of Assanpink creek within the city
limits of Trenton, where the gravels to a thickness of twenty feet or
more were exposed in a railway cutting. Later the river bluff near the
lower end of the city, where the gravels were exposed to a depth of
from twenty-five to forty feet, yielded large numbers. These two sites,
so far as I can learn, furnished at least three-fourths of the finds in
place. Other specimens were found singly in slight natural exposures,
and in excavations for cellars, sewers, etc., at various points within
the city limits.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account