Terra-cottafusaioles。
WeourselvesthinkthesefusaiolesareamuletswhichweretakentoTroybytheTrojans,andpiouslypreservedbytheirsuccessors。Oneimportantfacttendstoconfirmthishypothesis。AgreatnumberofthembearthesignoftheSWASTIKA[270]Fig。103,thecrosswiththefourarms,thesacredsymbolofthegreatAryanracesolongsupposedtobethesourceofalltheIndo-Europeanraces。TheSWASTIKAisengraved,notonlyonthefusaioles,butalsoonthediademsofthedaughtersofPriam,ontheidolstheTrojansworshipped,andonnumerousobjectsfromtheLydianandGreco-Romantowns。WemeetwiththedoublecrossamongtheprehistoricracesofthebasinoftheDanube,whocolonizedtheshoresoftheTroadandthenorthofItaly,anditwasintroducedwiththeproductsofthatantiquecivilizationontheonesidetotheGreeks,theEtruscans,theLatins,theGauls,theGermanicraces,theScandinavians,andtheBretons;andontheothertothepeopleofAsiaMinor,Persia,India,China,andJapan。[271]
CoverofavasewiththesymboloftheSWASTIKA。FoundatTroy。
ThissignoftheSWASTIKAmeetsusateveryturn;wefinditonmanyancientPersianbooks,onthetemplesofIndia,onCelticfuneralstones,andonaHittitecylinder。ItisseenonvasesofelegantformfromAthensandMelos;onothersfromCeres,Chiusi,andCumae,aswellasontheclumsypotteryrecentlydiscoveredatKonigswaldontheOderandonthebordersofHungary;onbronzeobjectsfromtheCaucasus,andthecelebratedAlbanourn;onamedalfromGazainPalestineandonanIberianmedalfromAsido。WeseeitontheGallo-RomanringsoftheMuseumofNamur,andontheplaquesofthebelt,datingfromthesameepoch,whichformpartofthemagnificentcollectionofM。Moreau。SchliemanntellsusofitatMykenaeandatTiryns。ChantrefounditonthenecropolesoftheCaucasus。ItisengravedonthewallsofthecatacombsofRome,onthechairofSaintAmbroseatMilan,onthecrumblingwallsofPortici,andonthemostancientmonumentsofIreland,whereitisoftenassociatedwithinscriptionsintheoghamcharacter。[272]
TheSWASTIKAoccurstwiceonalargepieceofcopperfoundatCorneto,whichnowbelongstotheMuseumofBerlin。CartailhacnoticeditintheCITANIAofPortugal,someofwhichdatefromNeolithictimes。[273]
TheEnglishintheAshanteewarnoticeditonthebronzestheytookatCoomassieonthecoastofGuinea,andithasalsobeenfoundonobjectsdiscoveredintheEnglishcountyofNorfolk。
StonehammerfromNewJerseybearinganundecipheredinscription。
Moreover,ifwecrosstheAtlanticwefindthesamesymbolengravedonthetemplesofYucatan,theoriginofwhichisunknown,onahatchetfoundatPemberton,inNewJerseyFig。104,onvasesfromaPeruviansepulchrenearLima,andonvesselsfromthePUEBLOSofNewMexico。Dr。Hamy,inhis“AmericanDecades,“representsitonaflattenedgourdbelongingtotheWolpiIndians,andthesacredtamboursoftheEsquimauxofthepresentdaybearthesamesymbol,whichwasprobablytransmittedtothembytheirancestors。TheuniversalityofthisonesignamongsttheHindoos,Persians,Hittites,Pelasgians,Celts,andGermanicraces,theChinese,Japanese,andtheprimitiveinhabitantsofAmericaisinfinitelystrange,andseemstoprovetheidentityofracessodifferenttoeachother,alikeinappearanceandincustoms,andisaveryimportantfactorindealingwiththegreatproblemoftheoriginofthehumanspecies。
WehavedweltmuchonthediscoveriesofDr。Schliemann,butwemustaddthat,likeallgreatdiscoveries,theyhavebeenveryvigorouslycontested。[274]Boetticher,forinstance,considerstheruinsofHissarliktobenothingmorethantheremainsofanecropoliswherecremationwaspractisedaccordingtotheAssyrio-Babyloniancustom。[275]Adistinguishedandveryhonestsavant,S。Reinach,constitutedhimselfthechampionofthistheoryatthemeetingoftheCongressinParisin1889。Schliemannrepliedveryforcibly,andthemeetingappearedtobewithhiminthematter,aswerealsoanumberofmenofsciencewhovisitedHissarlikin1888,andwethinkthatintheendhistorywilladopttheopinionofthegreatDanishantiquarian。
Wehavenowpassedinreviewthechiefoftheworksleftbehindhimbymanfromtheearliestlaysofhisexistencetothedawnofhistorictimes。Wemuststillshowprehistoricmaninthepresenceofdeath,theuniversaldestroyer,andlearnfromtheevidenceofthetombsoftheremotepasthowourancestorsmetthecommondoom。
Thetruehistoryofmanwillbefoundinhistombs,saysThucydides;
andasamatteroffactthesepulchrehaseveroccupiedmuchofthethoughtsofman,theresultofareligioussentiment,aconvictionthatalldoesnotendwiththelifewhichsoquicklypassesby。
Fromtheveryearliesttimeswemeetwithtokensofthehopesandfearsconnectedwithafutureexistence;but,asIhavealreadystated,thehumanbonesthatcanwithcertaintybesaidtodatefromPalaeolithictimesareveryrare。Weknowbutveryfewfactsjustifyingusinassertingthatthecontemporaryofthemammothandofthecavebearhadalreadylearnttorespecttheremainsofwhathadoncebeenamanlikehimself。Oneofthesefewfactsdeserves,Ithink,tobenoticedwithsomedetail。
In1886,excavationsinthecaveofSpy[276]Namur,orratherinaterracesomethirty-sixfeetlongbynineteenandahalfwidegivingaccesstoit,broughttolighttwohumanskeletons。Onewasthatofanindividualalreadyadvancedinlife,probablyofthefemininesex,theotherofamanintheprimeoflife。Theseskeletonswereimbeddedinaveryhardbrecciacontainingalsofragmentsofivoryandnumerousflintsofverysmallsize。Someofthemhadveryfinescratchesonbothsides。FromwhatIcouldlearnonthespot,theskeletonswhenfoundwereinarecumbentposition。Thebones,fewofwhichweremissing,werestillintheirnaturalposition,andneartooneofthemwerepickedupseveralarrow-orlance-heads,oneofwhich,ofphtanite,sometwoandahalfincheslong,wasofthepurestMousterientype。Theboneswerethoseofshort,squatindividuals,andtheskullswereofthetypeoftheCanstadtrace,themostancientofwhichanythingisknown;thethicknessofthecraniawasaboutonethirdofaninch。Theforehead,islowandretreating,theeyebrowsareprominent,andthelowerjawsstrongandwelldeveloped。
Atthesamelevelandinthatimmediatelyaboveitwerepickeduptheremainsofthemammoth,theRHINOCEROSTICHORHINUS,thecavebear,andthelargecavehyena,thereindeer,andnumerousothermammalsbelongingtotheQuaternaryfauna。Everythingpointstotheconclusionthatthemanandwomanwhoseremainshavesoopportunelycometolightwerecontemporarywiththeseanimals,andthattheirbodieswereplacedafterdeathinthecaveinwhichtheywerefound。
Belgiumhasfurnishednumerousexamplesofsepulchralcaves,ofadate,however,lessancientthanthatwehavebeenconsidering。RecentexcavationsintheChauvauxCaverevealedtwoskeletonsleaningagainstthewallsinacrouchingposition,thelegstuckedunderthebody。IntheGendronCaveM。Dupontdiscoveredseventeenskeletonslyinginalow,narrowpassage,stretchedoutatfulllengthwiththefeettowardthewall,andarrangedintwosandthrees,oneabovetheother。Inthemiddleofallthesedeadwastheskeletonofonemanplacedupright,asiftowatchovertheotherbodies。
TheDuruthyCaveatSordesopensnearthepointofjunctionofthewatersofthePanandOloron,whencetheirunitedwatersflowintotheAdour。Atthenorthernextremityofthiscaveisanaturalnicheinwhichlaymorethanthirtyskeletons,someofmen,someofwomen,andsomeofchildren,mixedtogetherinthegreatestconfusion。Workedflints,bonestilettos,andornamentslayaround,all。oftheformscharacteristicofPalaeolithictimes。
Itwouldseemthatwehavehereevidenceofthepracticeofafuneralrite,whichconsistedinfirststrippingthebodiesofflesh,andthenlayingthebonesincaves,wheretheywereoftenleftunnoticedbythelivingoccupantsofthesamerefuge。[277]
ThecavesofBaousse-Rousse,nearMentone,givefreshproofoftheextensionofthisrite,ifwemaysocallit。Theskeletonslayuponabedofpowderedironore,insomecasesasmuchastwofifthsofaninchthick,andthisaccumulationcouldnothavetakenplaceiftheskeletonhadnotbeendeprivedofitsfleshbeforeinhumation。Thefleshmusthavebeentakenoffbysomerapidprocess,forthebonesremain,asageneralrule,intheirnaturalpositions,unitedbytheirtendonsandligaments。InItaly,saysIssel,thecavemenburiedtheirdeadinthecavestheylivedin,athinlayerofearthaloneseparatingthemfromtheliving;thebodies,addsPigorini,[278]
generallylayontheleftside,theheadrestedonthelefthand,andthekneeswerebent。Besidetheskeletonwasplacedavasecontainingredchalk,tobeusedforpaintingthebodyinthenewworlditwassupposedtobeabouttoenter。
WecouldquotesimilardiscoveriesinSicily,Belgium,andthesouthernPyrenees。BeneaththetumulusofPlouhennec,inBrittany,boneswerestrewnaboutinthegreatestdisorder。Somearchaeologistsareofopinionthattheopeningsincertaindolmenswereusedforthrowinginthebonesofthedeadwhosuccessivelywenttojointheirancestors。InmanyoftheLongBarrowsofEnglandthebonesappeartohavebeenflunginpell-mell;thespacewastoonarrowtoholdthecompletebody,sothatbeforeinhumationthefleshmusthavebeenseparatedfromthebones。Innootherwaycanweexplaintheconfusioninwhichthehumanremainslaywhentheywerediscovered。[279]Pigorinithinksthisisaproofthatprimitiveracesworshippedtheirdead,andheldtheirbodiesinveneration。[280]Perhapstheyevencarriedthemaboutintheirmigrations。Howeverthatmaybe,thecustomofseparatingthefleshfromtheboneswascontinueduntilcremationbecamegeneral。Thiswouldexplainthehugeossuariesfoundinregionssowidelyseparated。
Although,however,themodeofsepulturewehavejustdescribedwaspractisedforalongtimeincertainplaces,wecannotadmitittohavebeengeneral。IncertainmegalithictombswefinddispositionssimilartothosedescribedinspeakingoftheGendronCave。ExcavationsbeneaththePort-BlancdolmenMorbihanbroughttolightaroughpavementonwhichlaynumbersofskeletons,closelypackedoneagainstanother,whichskeletonswereprobablythoseofmenwhohadbeenheldinhonor,andtocommemoratewhomthedolmenwassetup。Separatedfromthembyalayerofstonesandearthrestedanotherseriesofskeletons,notsocloselypackedasthefirst。Thenew-comershadrespectedtheirpredecessors,andnoonehadviolatedthesanctuaryofthedead。SimilarfactswerenotedatGrandCompans,nearLuzarches,[281]
anditisevidentthatsuccessiveinhumationsbeneathdolmensoftentookplace,andinstancesmight,ifnecessary,bemultiplied。
Anothersingularfuneralritewaspractisedinremoteantiquity。ManyofthebonesfoundinthevariouscavesofMentonewerecoloredwithredhematite。[282]Asthiswasonlythecasewiththebonesofadults,thoseofchildrenretainingtheirnaturalwhiteness,itevidentlyhadsomespecialsignificance。In1880,theopeningofacaveoftheStoneageinthedistrictofAnagni,ashortdistancefromRome,broughttolightthefacialportionofahumancranium,coloredbrightredwithcinnabar。Norarethesebyanymeansexceptionalcases,forsimilarcolorationwasnoticedonbonespickedupatFinalmarinaandseveralotherplacesinLiguriaandSicily。ThecustomhadthereforebecomegeneralintheNeolithicperiodinthewholeoftheItalianpeninsula。[283]Wealsomeetwithitinothercountries;atthePrehistoricCongress,wheninsessionatLisbon,DolgadoaddedtowhatwassaidaboutthediscoveriesinItalythefactthatthecavemenofFurninhapractisedasimilarrite。IntheKURGANESofthedepartmentofKievcraniawerefoundcoloredwithamineralsubstance,fragmentsofwhichwerestrewnaboutneartheskeletons。ThemostancientoftheKURGANESappeartodatefromtheStoneage,forinthemwerefoundimplementsmadeofflintandreindeer-horn,mixedwiththebonesofrodents[284]longsinceextinctinthatdistrict。A
similarpracticeismetwithinthetombsofPoland,manybonesbeingcoveredwithacoatingofredcolor,insomeinstancesonefifthofaninchthick。ExcavationsintheKitorvalleyprovinceofIrkutsk,SiberiahavebroughttolightseveraltombswhichappeartodatefromthesauceperiodastheKURGANESofKiew。Thedeadwereburiedwiththeweaponsandornamentstheywouldliketouseinthenewlifewhichhadbegunforthem。Thetombwasthenfilledinwithsand,withwhichcarewastakentomixplentyofredochre。Itisdifficultnottoconcludethatthiswasarelicofaritefallenintodesuetude。
AtthepresentdaycertaintribesofNorthAmericaexposetheirdeadonthetopsoftrees,andbeforeburyingthebones,whenstrippedoftheirflesh,coverthemwithacoatingofabrightredcolor。IntheislandofEspirituSantomanyhumanboneshavealsobeenpickeduppaintedwithanoxideofargillaceousiron。Thesecustoms,strangeastheymayappear,wereevidentlypractisedinhonorofancestors;atavismisasclearlyshownincustomsandtraditionsasinphysicalstructure。