period，stilllessthoseofearlierepochs，knewhowtomakepottery。Thefirstexplorers，headds，didnotalwaysdistinguishwithsufficientcarethevestigesofdifferentepochs，therelicsofdiverseorigins。Howoftenhavebonescarriedalongbywater，orbroughtwheretheyarefoundbyanimals，beenmixedwiththoseabandonedbymen，orthedepositsoftheNeolithicperiodwiththoseoftheearliestQuaternarytimes!Howoftenhavethecontentsofapassagegivingaccesstoacavebeenconfoundedwiththoseofthecaveitself!Hencedeplorableerrors，whichitisimpossibletorectifynow。EvansandGeikieintheirturnasserttheabsenceinEngland[99]ofPalaeolithicpottery，andSirJ。Lubbockenergeticallymaintainsthisopinion。
Doubtlessthesearegreatauthorities，andyet，inviewofthefactsnowknown，itisdifficulttobelievethatmanwaslongastrangertotheartofmakingpottery。Itsinventionrequirednogreateffortofintelligence，anditsfabricationpresentednogreatdifficulties。Manhadbuttokneadthesoftclaywhichhetrodunderhisfoot，andtheplasticityofwhichhecouldnotfailtonotice。Thisclayhardenedinthesun，andhollowswereformedasitshrunk——thefirstvesselwasdiscovered!Experiencesoontaughtmantoreplacetheheatofthesunbythatofthefire，andtoaddafewbitsofsomehardsubstancetogivetheclaygreaterconsistency。Thesefirstcrudeandclumsyvaseshavebeenpreservedtoourowndayasirrefutablewitnessestotheworkofourancestors。Though，therefore，wecannotbesurethatpotterywasmadeinQuaternarytimesbyalltheracesthatpeopledEurope，[100]itisimpossibletodenythatagreatmanyofthemwereinpossessionoftheart。Thisdifferenceinthedegreeofcivilizationattainedtobymenlivingbutshortdistancesfromeachotherneednotsurpriseus，foralltravellersreportsimilarfactsamongstcontemporarysavageraces。
Thebakingofpotteryisaproofthattheuseoffirewasknowninthemostremotetimes。Theexistenceinvariousplacesofmassesofcinders，fragmentsofcharredwood，andhalf-calcinedbones，provesityetmoredecidedly。AtSolutre，atLouverneMayenne，atSaint-FlorentCorsica，togivebutafewexamples，wefindlargeslabsofhalf-calcinedstone，laidflatandcoveredwithheapsofcindersandallsortsofrubbish。Theseslabsformedthefamilyhearth，wheremanpreparedhisfood，withthehelpofthefirehehadlearnttoigniteandtokeepburning。
Howdidmanarriveatadiscoverysovitaltohisexistence？TheVedasassigntheoriginoffiretotherubbingtogetherinastormofthedrybranchesoftrees。“Thefirstmen，“saysVitruvius，[101]“wereborn，aswereotheranimals，intheforests，caves，andwoods。Thethicktreesviolentlyagitatedbythestormtookfire，throughtherubbingtogetheroftheirbranches；thefuryoftheflamesterrifiedthemenwhofoundthemselvesnearthemandmadethemtaketoflight。Soonreassured，however，theygraduallyapproachedagainandrealizedalltheadvantagestheymightgainfortheirbodiesfromthegentlewarmthofthefire。Theyaddedfueltotheflames，theykeptthefireup，theyfetchedothermenwhomtheymadeunderstandbysignsalltheusefulnessofthisdiscovery。Thementhusassembledarticulatedafewsounds，which，repeatedeveryday，accidentallyformedcertainwordswhichservedtodesignateobjects，andsoontheyhadalanguagewhichenabledthemtospeakandtounderstandoneanother。Itwas，then，thediscoveryoffirewhichledmentocometogethertoformasociety，tolivetogether，andtoinhabitthesameplaces。“
WithoutpausingtoconsiderthesomewhatpueriletheoriesofVitruvius，orthemythswhichtestifytotheimportanceattachedtofirebyprimevalman，weareatlibertytosupposethataconflagrationcausedbylightningorbythespontaneouscombustionofvegetablematerialsinastateoffermentation，orothersimilarphenomena，madeknowntomanthepoweroffire，andtheuseitmightbetohim。Theaccidentalstrikingtogetheroftwoflintsproducedaspark；observationtaughtmentoobtainasimilarresultbythesameprocess；agreatstepinadvancewasmade，andthefutureofhumanitywasassured。M。DupontpickedupintheChaleuxCaveakidney-shapedpieceofironpyrites，hollowedoutinapeculiarmanner，whichhadevidentlybeenusedtoobtainthepreciousspark。TheChristycollectioncontainsagranitepebblewithaholetheshapeofacup，whichhadevidentlybeenusedtoobtainfire，byrubbingroundinitastickofverydrywood。Thetwomethodsemployedatthepresentdaywerethereforealreadyinuse。LumholztellsusthattheAustraliansofHerbertRivergetfirebyrubbingtwopiecesofwoodtogether。TheIndiansofthenorthwestofColorado，theYapaisoftheCarolineIslands，andtheMincopiesoftheAndamanIsles，withmanyotherraces，knownootherprocess。Wemust，however，stillmaintainacertainreserveindealingwiththefire-obtainingimplementsofsoimperfectanature，andbelongingtotimessoremoteasthosecalledprehistoric。