Review of the evidence relating to auriferous gravel man in California / by William H. Holmes.

  • Holmes, William Henry, 1846-1933.
Date:
1901
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Review of the evidence relating to auriferous gravel man in California / by William H. Holmes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    83/88 (page 469)
    resent a Tertiary race of men. If the existence of Tertiary man in California is finally proved, it will be on evidence other than that fur- nished by the Calaveras skull. Notwithstanding* the above decided averments I must allow that with respect to the question of Tertiary man in California no final conclusion can as yet be drawn. 1 do not regard the investigation as satisfactorily completed and desire in the present writing only to state the problems and present the evidence in a way that will tend to bring out and establish the truth. SUIVIMARY. A brief summary of the arguments for and against the great antiq- uity of man in the gold belt of California may well be presented here for convenience of reference. The principal considerations arrayed in support of the affirmative are as follows: (1) During the three or four decades succeeding the discovery of gold in California the miners of the auriferous belt reported many finds of implements and human remains from the mines. The forma- tions most prominentl}^ involved are of Neocene age; that is to say, the middle and later portions of the Tertiar3\ (2) ]\Iost of the objects came from surface mines, but some were apparently derived from tunnels entering horizontal!} or obliquely and to great depths and distances beneath mountain summits capped with Tertiary lavas, leading to a belief in their great age. (3) The finds were very numerous and were reported by many per- sons, at various times, and from sites distributed over a vast area of country. They were made, with one exception, by inexpert observers— by miners in pursiut of their ordinary calling—but the statements made l)y the finders are reasonably lucid and show no indications of intentional exaggeration or attempted deception. (4) The stories as recorded are uniform and consistent in character, and the objects preserved are, it is claimed, of a few simple types, such as might be expected of a very ancient and primitive people. The evidence, coming from apparently unrelated sources, is described as remarkable for its coherency. (5) The reported finding of an implement in place in the late Tertiary strata of Table IMountain by Mr. Clarence King is especially important and gives countenance to the reports of inexpert observers. (6) The osseous remains recovered are, in some cases, said to be fossil- ized, having lost nearly all their animal matter, and some are coated with firmly adhering gravels resembling those of the ancient deposits. These conditions give rise to the impression of great age. (T) The fiora and fauna with which the human remains and relics appear to be associated indicate climatic conditions and food supply favoral)le to the existence of the human species. It is a noteworthy