Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race

The fossilized bones of Halitherium had been discovered by the Abbé Delaunay in the shell beds at Barriére, near Pouancé in northwestern France (Maine-et-Loire). Delaunay was surprised to see on a fragment of the humerus, a bone from the upper forelimb, a number of cut marks ( Figure 2.5). The surfaces of the cuts were of the same appearance as the rest of the bone and were easily distinguished from recent breaks, indicating that the cuts were quite ancient. The bone itself, which was fossilized, was firmly situated in an undisturbed stratum, making it clear that the marks on the bone were of the same geological age. Furthermore, the depth and sharpness of the incisions showed that they had been made before the bones had fossilized.

Figure 2.5. Cut marks on Halitherium bone from the Miocene at Pouancé, France (de Mortillet 1883, p. 54).

Some of the incisions appeared to have been made by two separate intersecting strokes. Evende Mortillet (1883, pp. 53–55) admitted that they did not appear to be the products of subterranean scraping or compression. But he would not admit they could be the product of human work, mainly because of the age of the stratum in which the bones were found. The shell beds of this region were said to date to the period represented by the Mayencian formation of the Middle Miocene. But they could be somewhat older. The marine layers in which the Halitherium bone was discovered, known as the Faluns of Anjou, are assigned by modern authorities to the Early Miocene (Klein 1973, table 6). Halitherium is generally thought to have existed in Europe from the Early Miocene to the Early Oligocene (Romer 1966, p. 386).

De Mortillet (1883, p. 55) wrote in his book Le Préhistorique, “This is much too old for man.” It is easy enough to see how a scientist who was committed to the evolutionary hypothesis would think so—the Middle Miocene dates as far back as 15 million years, and the Early Miocene to somewhere around 25 million years.

Here again, we have a clear case of theoretical preconceptions dictating how one will interpret a set of facts. De Mortillet (1883, p. 55) attributed the marks on the bones to large sharks of the requin family: “It is a fact that the shell beds of Anjou contain an abundance of sharp pointed teeth of fish of this family. These fish, encountering Halitherium beached on the coast, then ate them and left on their bones the numerous marks of their voracity and the strength of their teeth.” De Mortillet (1883, p. 55) also stated that on May 5, 1879 Mr. Tournouër presented to the Geological Society of France an incised Halitherium bone, attributing the marks to shark teeth. However, in light of the foregoing discussion, it seems the case of the Halitherium bone of Pouancé should remain open for further investigation.

On the general subject of cut bones as a category of viable evidence, Laing (1894, pp. 353–354) wrote in his book Human Origins, which went through five reprintings: “cut bones afford one of the most certain tests of the presence of man. The bones tell their own tale, and their geological age can be certainly identified. Sharp cuts could only be made on them while the bones were fresh, and the state of fossilization, and presence of dendrites or minute crystals alike on the side of the cuts and on the bone, negate any idea of forgery. The cuts can be compared with thousands of undoubted human cuts on bones from the reindeer and other later periods, and with cuts now made with old flint knives on fresh bones. All these tests have been applied by some of the best anthropologists of the day, who have made a special study of the subject, and who have shown their caution and good faith by rejecting numerous specimens which did not fully meet the most rigorous requirements. . . . The only possible alternative suggested is, that they might have been made by gnawing animals or fishes. But as Quatrefages observes, even an ordinary carpenter would have no difficulty in distinguishing between a clean cut made by a sharp knife, and a groove cut by repeated strokes of a narrow chisel; and how much more would it be impossible for a Professor trained to scientific investigation, and armed with a microscope, to mistake a groove gnawed out by a shark or rodent for a cut made by a flint knife.”