Page:Prehistoric Britain.djvu/237

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BRITISH ETHNOLOGY
229

live in their native land, after it became detached from Europe, till the Neolithic immigrants came upon the scene.

It has been also conclusively proved that there was no hiatus in the continuity of human life and civilization on the European continent during the whole range of the successive culture-stages from Moustérien to Neolithic and later times, as shown by the discoveries at Mas-d'Azil, Sirgenstein, the Schweizersbild and many other stations. It now becomes imperative on us to show that a similar state of matters obtained in Britain, although the evidence on which this conclusion is founded may be somewhat different. We have not as yet discovered caves in this country indicating continued occupancy of man during all the stages of progressive civilization. But this is not the only evidence available by which a similar result may be reached. At no time was Palseolithic man an inhabitant of North Britain, but yet we have laid before our readers incontrovertible facts to show that a pre-Neolithic race of savages existed there during the Transition or Azilian period. Who were these troglodyte hunters, shell-eaters and devourers of stranded whales? How did they come to the north of Scotland? Did they come by long sea-voyages, or across the narrowest portion of the English Channel? If by the latter is it not strange that they should forsake the richer lands of England and find their way to Scotland without leaving