Forbidden Archeology_ The Full Unabridged Edition - Michael A. Cremo [198]
Rutot (1907, pp. 480–481) then clearly framed the essential question posed by his discoveries: “When we take into consideration the analogies, or rather the identities, between the Oligocene eoliths of Boncelles and the modern eoliths of the Tasmanians, we find ourselves confronted with a grave problem—the existence in the Oligocene of beings intelligent enough to manufacture and use definite and variegated types of implements. Who was the intelligent being? Was it merely a precursor of the human kind, or was it already human? This is a grave problem—an idea that cannot but astonish us and attract the attention and the interest of all those who make the science of humanity the object of their study and meditation” (Rutot 1907, pp. 480–481).
It might be a shock to many persons with scientific training that a statement like this could have appeared in a scientific journal in the twentieth century. Today mainstream scientists do not give any consideration at all to the possibility of a human—or even protohuman—presence in the Oligocene. We believe there are two reasons for this—unfamiliarity with evidence such as Rutot’s and unquestioning faith in currently held views on human origin and antiquity.
4.5 Discoveries By Freudenberg Near Antwerp ( Early Pliocene to Late Miocene)
In addition to being the site of Rutot’s finds in Oligocene strata, Belgium was also the site of another intriguing series of discoveries. In February and March of 1918, Wilhelm Freudenberg, a geologist attached to the German army, was conducting test borings for military purposes in Tertiary formations west of Antwerp. In clay pits at Hol, near St. Gillis, and at other locations, Freudenberg discovered flint objects he believed to be implements, along with cut bones and shells.
Most of the objects came from sedimentary deposits of the Scaldisian marine stage, which Freudenberg (1919, p. 2) regarded as Middle Pliocene. But according to modern authorities, the Scaldisian spans the Early Pliocene and Late Miocene (Klein 1973, table 6; Savage and Russell 1983, p. 294). The Scaldisian is thus dated at 4–7 million years (Klein 1973, table 6). Freudenberg (1919, p. 9) suggested that the objects he discovered may have dated to the period just before the Scaldisian marine transgression, which, if true, would give them an age of
7 million years or more.
4.5.1 Flint Implements
Freudenberg believed some of the flint implements he found had been used to open shells. One such implement (Figure 4.40) came from a cavity in the top part of the Scaldisian formation at Koefering, where it was found along with broken shells (Freudenberg 1919, p. 18).
Figure 4.40. This object, characterized by W. Freudenberg (1919, p. 16) as an implement for opening shells, was discovered in a Scaldisian formation (4–7 million years b.p.) at Koefering, near Antwerp, Belgium. The left end of the specimen object appears to be the working edge.
In describing a second shell-opening tool (Figure 4.41), Freudenberg (1919, p. 20) stated: “It comes from the Scaldisian sands of Mosselbank and was found together with many Pliocene molluscs in excavations for fortifications on the outskirts of Antwerp. It is a typical hook-shaped shell opener, found among broken Pliocene shells, especially the broken shells of Cyprina tumida. The shell heap appears to have been a Tertiary kitchen midden. The length of the shell opener is 9 centimeters [3.5 inches], when one includes the missing end section.” In addition, Freudenberg uncovered some burned flints, which he considered to be evidence that intelligent beings had used fire during the Tertiary in Belgium.
Figure 4.41. A implement for opening shells, from a Scaldisian