Intelligence of Prehistoric Peoples
Archeological research puts farther and farther away the age of the "missing link." It reveals that as far back as the discoveries go, the inhabitants of earth were intelligent beyond subsequent generations. For instance, a new mound, of the prehistoric "Mound Builders" of America, has lately been opened near Toledo, O., and is found to be rich in relics. Some of the bones found were fashioned into agricultural implements. Many needles, some of them made from the teeth of animals, were taken out. An awl, sixteen inches in length, of the thickness of an ordinary lead pencil, made entirely from the bone of a deer, had carved on the handle the almost perfect head of a fox. The report says: "Considering the fact that these people were unacquainted with steel tools, this intricate work is something marvellous." Beautiful and delicate ocean shells, carved into all manner of shapes, innumerable bright beads, finely-pointed arrow-heads of chalcedony and jasper, were found in large numbers. A war-club, thirty-one inches long, carved out of stone, was unearthed. A large hearth, 23x34 feet, was found, hard as cement, buried under three feet of wood ashes. A circular ash and garbage pit, four feet in diameter and five feet deep, was discovered. Many other things were found, showing a civilization far in advance of the Mound Builders' successors.