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Show ANTIQUITY OP MAN 71 however, has cast grave doubt on the authenticity of most of these so- called discoveries, and the general attitude to- day is one of decided scepticism. The chief objections to the evidence are as follows: the history of the finds is uncertain, it being even claimed that some of them were the results of practical jokes; in most cases the implements found are the same as those used by the Indians living in the vicinity, which are extremely common on the surface above the deposits; none of the objects show signs of having been subjected to the action of the violent torrents which formed the gravel beds; finally, some of the implements seem to be made of rock of more recent formations than the gravels themselves. Without going into further detail, it is enough to say thafthe presence of man in America at such an early date is extremely doubtful. 1 \ I n different places and at various times a considerable number of objects have been unearthed which have been claimed to prove the presence of man in the late glacial or early post- glacial period. These articles have been largely of chipped stone, many of them belonging to the so- called " palaeolithic " class of implements. \ The most important of these finds were made in the valley of the Delaware River, in Ohio, and in Minnesota. The majority of them, under more critical examination, fail to be 1 Holmes, " Preliminary Revision of the Evidence Relating to Auriferous Gravel Man in California " ( American Anthropologist, N. S., I., 107- 121, 614- 645). |