WhiletheviewofchronologybasedupontheliteralacceptanceofScripturetextswasthusshakenbyresearchesinEgypt，anotherlineofobservationandthoughtwasslowlydeveloped，evenmorefataltothetheologicalview。
Fromaveryearlyperiodtherehadbeendugfromtheearth，invariouspartsoftheworld，strangelyshapedmassesofstone，somerudelychipped，somepolished：inancienttimesthelargerofthesewereveryoftenconsideredasthunderbolts，thesmallerasarrows，andallofthemasweaponswhichhadbeenhurledbythegodsandothersupernaturalpersonages。Henceasortofsacrednessattachedtothem。InChaldea，theywerebuiltintothewalloftemples；inEgypt，theywerestrungaboutthenecksofthedead。InIndia，finespecimensaretothisdayseenuponaltars，receivingprayersandsacrifices。
NaturallythesebeliefswerebroughtintotheChristianmythologyandadaptedtoit。DuringtheMiddleAgesmanyofthesewell-wroughtstoneswereveneratedasweapons，whichduringthe“warinheaven“hadbeenusedindrivingforthSatanandhishosts；henceintheeleventhcenturyanEmperoroftheEastsenttotheEmperoroftheWesta“heavenaxe“；andinthetwelfthcenturyaBishopofRennesassertedthevalueofthunder-stonesasadivinely-appointedmeansofsecuringsuccessinbattle，safetyonthesea，securityagainstthunder，andimmunityfromunpleasantdreams。EvenaslateastheseventeenthcenturyaFrenchambassadorbroughtastonehatchet，whichstillexistsinthemuseumatNancy，asapresenttothePrince-BishopofVerdun，andclaimedforithealth-givingvirtues。
InthelastyearsofthesixteenthcenturyMichaelMercatitriedtoprovethatthe“thunder-stones“wereweaponsorimplementsofearlyracesofmen；butfromsomecausehisbookwasnotpublisheduntilthefollowingcentury，whenotherthinkershadbeguntotakeupthesameidea，andthenithadtocontendwithatheoryfarmoreaccordantwiththeologicmodesofreasoninginscience。ThiswasthetheoryofthelearnedTollius，whoin1649
toldtheworldthatthesechippedorsmoothedstoneswere“generatedintheskybyafulgurousexhalationconglobedinacloudbythecircumposedhumour。”
Butaboutthebeginningoftheeighteenthcenturyafactofgreatimportancewasquietlyestablished。Intheyear1715alargepointedweaponofblackflintwasfoundincontactwiththebonesofanelephant，inagravelbednearGray’sInnLane，inLondon。
Theworldingeneralpaidnoheedtothis：iftheattentionoftheologianswascalledtoit，theydismisseditsummarilywithareferencetotheDelugeofNoah；butthespecimenwaslabelled，thecircumstancesregardingitwererecorded，andbothspecimenandrecordcarefullypreserved。
In1723JussieuaddressedtheFrenchAcademyonTheOriginandUsesofThunder-stones。HeshowedthatrecenttravellersfromvariouspartsoftheworldhadbroughtanumberofweaponsandotherimplementsofstonetoFrance，andthattheywereessentiallysimilartowhatinEuropehadbeenknownas“thunder-stones。”AyearlaterthisfactwasclinchedintothescientificmindofFrancebytheJesuitLafitau，whopublishedaworkshowingthesimilaritybetweenthecustomsofaboriginesthenexistinginotherlandsandthoseoftheearlyinhabitantsofEurope。Sobegan，intheseworksofJussieuandLafitau，thescienceofComparativeEthnography。
Butitwasattheirownriskandperilthatthinkersdrewfromthesediscoveriesanyconclusionsastotheantiquityofman。
Montesquieu，havingventuredtohint，inanearlyeditionofhisPersianLetters，thattheworldmightbemucholderthanhadbeengenerallysupposed，wassoonmadetofeeldangerbothtohisbookandtohimself，sothatinsucceedingeditionshesuppressedthepassage。
In1730MahudelpresentedapapertotheFrenchAcademyofInscriptionsontheso-called“thunder-stones。”andalsopresentedaseriesofplateswhichshowedthatthesewerestoneimplements，whichmusthavebeenusedatanearlyperiodinhumanhistory。
In1778Buffon，inhisEpoquesdelaNature，intimatedhisbeliefthat“thunder-stones“weremadebyearlyracesofmen；
buthedidnotpressthisview，andthereasonforhisreservewasobviousenough：hehadalreadyonequarrelwiththetheologiansonhishands，whichhadcosthimdear——publicretractionandhumiliation。Hisdeclaration，therefore，attractedlittlenotice。
Intheyear1800anotherfactcameintothemindsofthinkingmeninEngland。InthatyearJohnFrerepresentedtotheLondonSocietyofAntiquariessundryflintimplementsfoundintheclaybedsnearHoxne：thattheywereofhumanmakewascertain，and，inviewoftheundisturbeddepthsinwhichtheywerefound，thetheorywassuggestedthatthemenwhomadethemmusthavelivedataveryancientgeologicalepoch；yeteventhisdiscoveryandtheorypassedlikeatroublesomedream，andsoonseemedtobeforgotten。
AbouttwentyyearslaterDr。Bucklandpublishedadiscussionofthesubject，inthelightofvariousdiscoveriesinthedriftandincaves。Itreceivedwideattention，buttheologywassoothedbyhistemporaryconcessionthatthesestrikingrelicsofhumanhandiwork，associatedwiththeremainsofvariousextinctanimals，wereproofsoftheDelugeofNoah。
In1823Boue，oftheViennaAcademyofSciences，showedtoCuviersundryhumanbonesfounddeepinthealluvialdepositsoftheupperRhine，andsuggestedthattheywereofanearlygeologicalperiod；thisCuviervirtually，ifnotexplicitly，denied。Greatashewasinhisownfield，hewasnotagreatgeologist；he，infact，ledgeologyastrayformanyyears。Moreover，helivedinatimeofreaction；itwastheperiodoftherestoredBourbons，oftheVoltaireanKingLouisXVIII，governingtopleaseorthodoxy。
Boue’sdiscoverywas，therefore，atfirstopposed，thenenvelopedinstudiedsilence。
Cuvierevidentlythought，asVoltairehadfeltundersimilarcircumstances，that“amongwolvesonemusthowlalittle“；andhisleadingdisciple，EliedeBeaumont，whosucceeded，himintheswayovergeologicalscienceinFrance，wasevenmoreopposedtothenewviewthanhisgreatmasterhadbeen。Boue’sdiscoverieswere，therefore，apparentlylaidtorestforever。[185]
[185]Forthegeneralhistoryofearlyviewsregardingstoneimplements，seethefirstchaptersinCartailhac，LaFrancePrehistorique；alsoJolie，L’HommeavantlesMetaux；alsoLyell，Lubbock，andEvans。Forlightning-stonesinChinaandelsewhere，seecitationfromaChineseencyclopediaof1662，inTylor，EarlyHistoryofMankind，p。209。Ontheuniversalityofthisbelief，onthesurvivinguseofstoneimplementsevenintocivilizedtimes，andontheirmanufactureto-day，seeibid。，chapterviii。
ForthetreatmentofBoue’sdiscovery，seeespeciallyMorillet，LePrehistorique，Paris，1885，p。11。ForthesuppressionofthepassageinMontesquieu’sPersianLetters，seeLetter113，citedinSchlosser’sHistoryoftheEighteenthCenturyEnglishtranslation，vol。i，p。135。
In1825Kent’sCavern，nearTorquay，wasexploredbytheRev。
Mr。McEnery，aRomanCatholicclergyman，whoseemstohavebeencompletelyoverawedbyorthodoxopinioninEnglandandelsewhere；
for，thoughhefoundhumanbonesandimplementsmingledwithremainsofextinctanimals，hekepthisnotesinmanuscript，andtheywereonlybroughttolightmorethanthirtyyearslaterbyMr。Vivian。
ThecomingofCharlesX，thelastoftheFrenchBourbons，tothethrone，madetheorthodoxpressureevengreater。Itwastheculminationofthereactionaryperiod——thetimeinFrancewhenaclericalcommittee，sittingattheTuileries，tooksuchmeasuresaswerenecessarytoholdincheckallsciencethatwasnotperfectly“safe“；thetimeinAustriawhenKaiserFranzmadehisfamousdeclarationtosundryprofessors，thatwhathewantedofthemwassimplytotrainobedientsubjects，andthatthosewhodidnotmakethistheirpurposewouldbedismissed；thetimeinGermanywhenNicholasofRussiaandtheprincelingsandministersunderhiscontrol，fromtheKingofPrussiadownward，putforthalltheirmightinbehalfof“scripturalscience“；thetimeinItalywhenascientificinvestigator，arrivingatanyconclusiondistrustedbytheChurch，wassureoflosinghisplaceandindangeroflosinghisliberty；thetimeinEnglandwhenwhatlittlesciencewastaughtwasheldinduesubmissiontoArchdeaconPaley；thetimeintheUnitedStateswhenthefirstthingessentialinsciencewas，thatitbeadjustedtotheideasofrevivalexhorters。
Yetmendevotedtoscientifictruthlabouredon；andin1828
Tournal，ofNarbonne，discoveredinthecavernofBizespecimensofhumanindustry，withafragmentofahumanskeleton，amongbonesofextinctanimals。InthefollowingyearChristolpublishedaccountsofhisexcavationsinthecavernsofGard；hehadfoundinposition，andunderconditionswhichforbadetheideaofafter-disturbance，humanremainsmixedwithbonesoftheextincthyenaoftheearlyQuaternaryperiod。Littlegeneralnoticewastakenofthis，forthereactionaryorthodoxatmosphereinvolvedsuchdiscoveriesindarkness。
ButintheFrenchRevolutionof1830theoldpolitico-theologicalsystemcollapsed：CharlesXandhisadvisersfledfortheirlives；theothercontinentalmonarchsgotglimpsesofnewlight；
thepriesthoodinchargeofeducationwereputontheirgoodbehaviourforatime，andabettererabegan。
UndertheconstitutionalmonarchyofthehouseofOrleansinFranceandBelgiumlessattentionwasthereforepaidbyGovernmenttothesavingofsouls；andwehaveinrapidsuccessionnewdiscoveriesofremainsofhumanindustry，andevenofhumanskeletonssomingledwithbonesofextinctanimalsastogiveadditionalproofsthattheoriginofmanwasataperiodvastlyearlierthananywhichtheologianshaddreamedof。
Afewyearslaterthereactionaryclericalinfluenceagainstscienceinthisfieldralliedagain。Schmerlingin1833hadexploredamultitudeofcavernsinBelgium，especiallyatEngisandEngihoul，andhadfoundhumanskullsandbonescloselyassociatedwithbonesofextinctanimals，suchasthecavebear，hyena，elephant，andrhinoceros，whilemingledwiththesewereevidencesofhumanworkmanshipintheshapeofchippedflintimplements；discoveriesofasimilarsorthadbeenmadebyDeSerresinFranceandbyLundinBrazil；but，atleastasfarascontinentalEuropewasconcerned，thesediscoverieswerereceivedwithmuchcoolnessbothbyCatholicleadersofopinioninFranceandBelgiumandbyProtestantleadersinEnglandandHolland。
Schmerlinghimselfappearstohavebeenoverawed，andgaveforthasortofapologetictheory，halfscientific，halftheologic，vainlyhopingtosatisfytheclericalside。
NorwasitmuchbetterinEngland。SirCharlesLyell，sodevotedaservantofprehistoricresearchthirtyyearslater，wasstillholdingoutagainstitonthescientificside；and，astothetheologicalside，itwastheperiodwhenthatgreatchurchman，DeanCockburn，wasinsultinggeologistsfromthepulpitofYorkMinster，andtheRev。MellorBrowndenouncinggeologyas“ablackart。”“aforbiddenprovince“andwhen，inAmerica，Prof。
MosesStuartandotherslikehimwerebelittlingtheworkofBenjaminSillimanandEdwardHitchcock。
In1840GodwinAustinpresentedtotheRoyalGeologicalSocietyanaccountofhisdiscoveriesinKent’sCavern，nearTorquay，andespeciallyofhumanbonesandimplementsmingledwithbonesoftheelephant，rhinoceros，cavebear，hyena，andotherextinctanimals；yetthismemoir，likethatofMcEneryfifteenyearsbefore，foundanatmospheresounfavourablethatitwasnotpublished。
II。THEFLINTWEAPONSANDIMPLEMENTS。
Atthemiddleofthenineteenthcenturycamethebeginningofanewepochinscience——anepochwhenalltheseearlierdiscoveriesweretobeinterpretedbymeansofinvestigationsinadifferentfield：for，in1847，amanpreviouslyunknowntotheworldatlarge，BoucherdePerthes，publishedatParisthefirstvolumeofhisworkonCelticandAntediluvianAntiquities，andinthisheshowedengravingsoftypicalflintimplementsandweapons，ofwhichhehaddiscoveredthousandsuponthousandsinthehighdriftbedsnearAbbeville，innorthernFrance。
Thesignificanceofthisdiscoverywasgreatindeed——fargreaterthanBoucherhimselfatfirstsupposed。TheverytitleofhisbookshowedthatheatfirstregardedtheseimplementsandweaponsashavingbelongedtomenoverwhelmedattheDelugeofNoah；butitwassoonseenthattheyweresomethingverydifferentfromproofsoftheliteralexactnessofGenesis：fortheywerefoundinterracesatgreatheightsabovetheriverSomme，and，underanypossibletheoryhavingregardtofact，musthavebeendepositedthereatatimewhentheriversystemofnorthernFrancewasvastlydifferentfromanythingknownwithinthehistoricperiod。Thewholediscoveryindicatedaseriesofgreatgeologicalchangessincethetimewhentheseimplementsweremade，requiringcyclesoftimecomparedtowhichthespaceallowedbytheorthodoxchronologistswasasnothing。
Hisworkwastheresultofovertenyearsofresearchandthought。Yearafteryearaforceofmenunderhisdirectionhaddugintothesehigh-terracedgraveldepositsoftheriverSomme，andinhisbookhenowgave，inthefirstfullform，theresultsofhislabour。SofarasFrancewasconcerned，hewasmet