Forbidden Archeology_ The Full Unabridged Edition - Michael A. Cremo [192]
Rutot (1907, p. 448) concluded: “Therefore, the Eolithic industry found in the flint bed at the base of the Late Oligocene sands is at least Middle Oligocene in age.” The Oligocene ranges from 25 million years ago to 38 million years ago. Rutot’s interpretation of the stratigraphy at Boncelles is upheld by other authorities. Maurice Leriche (1922, p. 10) and Charles Pomerol (1982, p. 114) both characterize the sands of Boncelles as Chattian, or Late Oligocene.
“We are thus confronted with a grave problem, or rather a fact the importance of which one cannot escape,” wrote Rutot (1907, p. 448). Referring to the controversies regarding the discoveries of some of the tools we discussed earlier, Rutot (1907, p. 448) observed: “In fact, it is not without a certain repugnance that some have been obliged to accept, in recent times, the idea of the existence of intelligent beings who made and used tools in the Late Miocene. And it is almost with a sense of relief that some have been able to decrease the importance once
accorded to the site at Thenay, reported as Aquitanian [Early Miocene].”
“But now it appears,” said Rutot (1907, p. 448), “that the notion of the existence of humanity in the Oligocene, at a time more ancient than that represented by Thenay, has been affirmed with such force and precision that one cannot detect the slightest fault. This is something that offends our old ideas, which have barely become habituated to the simple conception of humans in the Quaternary. But little by little the reality of Pliocene man of the Kent Plateau has been affirmed and accepted, which has in turn permitted the introduction of the idea of humanity in the Late Miocene, contemporary with Mastodon, Hipparion, and Dryopithecus.” The Late Miocene discoveries are probably those of Ribeiro in Portugal and of Tardy and others at Aurillac, in France.
“Of course,” added Rutot (1907, p. 448), “passing abruptly from the Late Miocene to the Middle Oligocene may seem somewhat improbable; nevertheless it is proper to submit to the inevitable and accept the facts as they are, seeing that they are not susceptible to any different explanation.”
Figure 4.22. Plain chopper ( percuteur simple) from below the Late Oligocene sands at Boncelles, Belgium ( Rutot 1907, p. 452).
“Moreover,” continued Rutot (1907, pp. 448– 449), “hesitation is no longer possible after the discovery of an industry fashioned by recently living Tasmanians, which has been brought to our attention through the research conducted by Dr. F. Noetling. The bringing to light of this
industry is, as it were, providential, because it demonstrates quite positively that eoliths are a reality. The discovery shows that scarcely sixty years ago human beings were making and using implements that are, according to competent and impartial observers, absolutely of Eolithic type.” Perhaps the Tasmanians would still have been making such implements during Rutot’s time had they not been exterminated by European settlers in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Rutot then described in detail the various types of tools from the Oligocene of Boncelles, beginning with percuteurs (or choppers). “Concerning choppers,” said Rutot (1907, pp. 451–452), “there exist almost always several distincttypes, which are: plain choppers, sharpened choppers, pointed choppers, small choppers, and retouchers. Almost all of these are found at Boncelles. The plain chopper [Figure 4.22] is a pebble or block of stone that has been used to strike blows. Such choppers may or may not have retouching to facilitate gripping. These are rare at Boncelles, and the ones collected do not appear to have been used much. One notes on their surfaces relatively faint traces of the special and characteristic marks of percussion.”
Figure 4.23. Sharpened chopper ( percuteur tranchant). Rutot (1907, p. 452) noted use marks on the working edge.
The sharpened chopper (Figure 4.23) was