Primaeval Man in the Valley of the Lea. 143
Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, Bison, Lion, Hyaena, Horse,
Reindeer, Irish Elk, and other animals, that he probably
hunted these animals, and lived upon the flesh of some of
them. The drift-men must have been safer and freer from
surprise on the river-banks ; they could not venture far into
woody places without danger from savage beasts. We know
that primaeval man had no domestic animals—no dog, no
sheep, no goat, no domestic ox. A description of all the
animals that lived with primaeval man would be beyond the
province of this paper, but every member of the Club knows
what has been done in this direction by Sir Antonio Brady
and other geologists. The brick-earths of Ilford and Clapton
have also been studied by Dr. W. Martin Cooke, and examples
of the bones both from Ilford and Clapton are now deposited
in the British Museum, with other Essex specimens from
Clacton-on-Sea and Grays Thurrock.
We know that Palaeolithic men were unacquainted with
agriculture; so after the flesh of beasts we may reasonably
assume that the men consumed the wild apple, pear, sloe,
and possibly the fruit of the oak, hazel, and beech, with other
wild fruits and succulent roots. They probably knew the use of
and mode of procuring fire, but their wood could seldom have
been very dry. Whether they used missiles or not for throwing
is not proved : they did not mount their weapons. The sling
is doubtful, and the bow was probably unknown. My impres-
sion is, the men sometimes used meta-tarsal bones of horses
and animals of a like build for clubs ; a number of these
bones have been more than once found in company in the
Lea Valley; they probably used suitable branches of trees as
natural clubs also. That primaeval men were fierce and
strong is probable, but they undoubtedly had friendship for
each other, as they lived in large companies. That they
had an idea of ornament is proved by their beautifully formed
implements, and by the use they probably made of the
bead-like Coscinopora globularis.
Our knowledge, however, of primaeval man, as a man, is at
present a mere shadow. Still we are as certain of his former
existence as we are of our present existence, but we cannot