the most common method adopted, and it is the only one which satisfactorily accounts for the characteristic appearance of the large majority of perforations-the scooped surface, irregularly oval or round shape, and bevelled margin being inexplicable on any other reasonable hypothesis. Since then, however, one or two exceptions have been noted, as those from Lizières and Casa da Moura, but they are so few and of so undecided a character, as to justify the conclusion that the scraping process had been the rule.

As to the selection of the site of the operation there was evidently no fixed rule, as the perforation may be found on any part of the head, on the body of a bone, or across a suture. It would appear, however, that the forehead was purposely avoided so as to prevent disfigurement of the face.

It is, however, in propounding an hypothesis as to the object for which the operation was performed that Dr. Broca has supplied the most novel suggestions. He believed that in the main the operation was resorted to for therapeutic purposes, chiefly to relieve mental disorders, as epilepsy, convulsions, lunacy, etc. We now know that many of the convulsions of childhood, such as those due to dentition and other physiological causes of a temporarily disturbing character, disappear in adult life without any specific treatment. But it cannot be supposed that medical science in those days was so far advanced as to distinguish between the varieties of epileptiform diseases. Such diseases were in all likelihood then considered to be due to some supernatural or demoniacal agency that had taken hold of the individual-a superstition that has found credence in all ages of the world's history, if, indeed, it is yet extinct even among our so-called civilized nations. People looked upon the spasms and contortions of a convulsive attack as a manifestation that an evil spirit was confined within the skull and struggling for freedom. With such a preconceived notion, or perhaps as an article of a long-cherished faith, what could be more natural than to suppose that by boring a hole in the prison walls the escape of the evil spirit would be facilitated? In support of this theory Dr. Broca quotes an author of the seventeenth century who recommended as a remedy against epilepsy the scraping off of a por

tion of the upper plate of the skull, and sometimes the entire excision of the bone down to the dura mater, a practice which he (Broca) considered to be a survival of the still more ancient custom of trepanning. Indeed, partial removal of the upper plate of the cranial case had in several instances been met with concurrently with some of the perforated skulls and amulets a fact which had not escaped Broca. That it was, however, a distinct and special operation in neolithic times was shortly afterward confirmed by further discoveries, notably by a case recorded by M. Guégan from the dolmen of Etang-laVille. Hence it would appear that both the partial and complete removal of a portion of the cranial wall had been practised in prehistoric times, though the former only survived to the Middle Ages as a reniedy against epilepsy. Another old remedy for this disease, and one which might also have a similar origin, was to administer to the patient some particular part of the human skull, such as the ossa wormiana, reduced into powder or ashes. That peculiar medicinal properties were traditionally assigned to the bones of the human skull, and that they were used as special remedies for diseases of the head, was further shown by Dr. Prunières, who quotes a passage from a work by Nicholas Lemary (1699) to the effect that preference is to be given to "la crâne d'un jeune homme mort de mort violente et qui n'ait pas été inhumé."

Dr. Belluci, in the catalogue of his, well-known collection of Italian amulets, exhibited at the Paris exhibition of 1889, describes two made of cranial bones which were found in the possession of old men who were then using them as charms against epilepsy and other nervous dis

eases.

Dr. Prunières, ever since the pathological character of trepanning was recognized, contended that the operation had been occasionally performed for a purely surgical purpose, such as the removal of dead bone, and this opinion he founded on special features of some of the trepanned skulls in his own collection. Broca, however, thought the evidence then insufficient to justify this conclusion, The subsequent researches of Dr. Pairot, and others, have demonstrated that Dr. Prunières was right, and the question may now be accepted as settled in the affirma

tive. But these purely surgical cases are very few in comparison with those which show no pre-existing lesion whatever in the bony tissues. Hence we must conclude that in the majority of cases the primary object of the operation was some mental disorder of an epileptiform char

acter.

Posthumous operations on the skull can be distinguished from those performed on the living subject by several characteristics. The aperture in the former is gencrally larger, and its outline more irreguJar; the surrounding edge is perpendicular, or at a slight angle to the surface of the skull, and presents a series of separate cuts or sawing marks, according to the kind of instrument used in the operation. The manipulation is altogether rougher, and often leaves gashes and scratches on the adjacent bone. The cuts have also a kind of fresh appearance, and never show any cicatricial deposits. But as the latter characteristic requires the subject to be in life for at least some days after the operation, this distinction is not applicable to those who immediately succumb to its effects. The most remarkable fact in regard to these post-mortem cases is that, almost invariably, there is some part or portion of the edge of the perforation which shows signs of an old cicatrization. This fact suggests the idea that the special reason for the secondary or post-mortem interference was to be found in the fact that the individual had successfully undergone the surgical operation. Here, at Jast, we have a clew to the motives of these posthumous trepanners, as well as a striking confirmation of the theory which explains the use of the pieces taken away as amulets. That at death the skull of a person successfully trepanned would be held in repute as a prophylactic against all diseases assigned to malign influences, is not, after all, such a far-fetched hypothe sis. If so, what would be more natural than the belief that an amulet would be more efficacious if it retained a small section of the actually cicatrized margin That this was a special character in the selection of cranial amulets is unhesitat

ingly affirmed by Dr. Broca. In looking over the specimens figured by him, I find that the retention of a falciform portion of the primary cicatrix is a constant feature in all the irregularly shaped ones.

But the great veneration associated with

a trepanned skull was not, in the opinion. of Broca, confined to this world, but also extended to that which is to come. Hence, when the posthumous operation was performed-and this, judging from the number of entire specimens that have been collected, would have been comparatively seldom-care would be taken by the relatives of the deceased that some portion of the cicatrization would be left. Evidence of the supernatural favors bestowed on the individual during life was not on any account to be totally destroyed, as it was a passport to the world to come, where it ensured to the owner a place of distinction. For similar reasons we can understand why an amulet would be buried along with the body of its owner. This precious relic, or talisman, was to accompany him to his new abode, where, by means of it, he could exercise his magic and beneficent powers in keeping malign influences at bay. Sometimes the friends of the deceased went so far as to put the amulet inside the skull, three examples of which are recorded by Dr. Prunières, but for what purpose it is hard to say. Baron de Baye describes something analogous to this from the caves of Petit-Morin, where he found several human skulls containing the bones of infants and other objects.

It is not absolutely proved that all cranial amulets were exclusively derived from trepanned skulls, as there are some which show no trace of an old cicatrization or a falciform margin. These generally assume some regular form, as that of a triangle, an oval, or a circle, and they are sometimes perforated with one or two holes for suspension. One peculiarity equally common to all classes of amulets is the bevelled shape of their margin, a result which is almost invariably accomplished at the expense of the upper plate of the cranial bone. The range of these cranial amulets, both chronologically and geographically, corresponds very closely with that of the trepanned skulls. Their prevalence in Gaulish cemeteries is attested by De Mortillet, Baron de Baye, and other authorities.

Amulets made of human bones other than those of the skull have been rarely met with. One supposed to be of this character is recorded from the Dolmen de Vauréal (Seine-et Oise), and consists of the upper portion of a shoulder blade in which was inserted a small bronze ring for

suspension. The late M. de Quatrefages refers to one he had seen in the collection of Baron de Baye which was made of a long bone, probably a femur.

Since the unwritten records of man commenced to be investigated on scientific methods, many novel if not startling deductions have gradually found their way into current philosophical beliefs. The long-settled mists, which like an impenetrable barrier bounded the historic vision, are now fast breaking up, and through great rifts here and there we can distinctly trace the trail of humanity, till it again disappears on the more distant horizon of geological remoteness. Before the historic dawn in Europe neolithic civilization, which in my opinion differed only in degree from that which now prevails, held sway for many ages. The people of this period reveal by the character of their remains their implements, tools, weapons, ornaments, buildings, tombs, etc.-that, at least in adaptive genius and manipulative skill, they were in no respect inferior to their modern successors. By the industry and researches of archæologists, more especially since the discovery of that remarkable class of remains known as Lake-dwellings, we have materials from which their entire life history can be reconstructed. They are here disclosed as a navigating, building, commercial, pastoral and agricultural people, and possessing a knowledge of various arts, industries,

luxuries, and amusements. Their welldeveloped skulls show that in actual brain capacity evolution had already done its work. To estimate the quality of this brain work is, however, a more subtle problem. However comprehensive and vivid the picture of their civilization may be, it gives but an imperfect insight into their culture and higher mental, moral, and metaphysical qualities. It is from this aspect that the facts and speculations here popularly depicted derive whatever importance they may possess beyond novelty and curiosity. They afford us a passing glimpse into the religiosity, or, as some would call it, superstition, of the men of the Stone and Bronze Ages. So far it corroborates the opinion, already surmised from the attention paid to the structure of the tomb and the kind of objects deposited therein, that the most powerful and dominating influence in the creed of prehistoric man in Europe was a belief in the supernatural and the existence of a future state.

In conclusion, let me say that those who wish to pursue this subject further will find fuller details, with illustrations and ample references to its somewhat voluminous literature, in the forthcoming annual volume of the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, of which this notice is partly an abstract.-Fortnightly Review.