The Ancient World; or, Picturesque Sketches of Creation

Front matter

London; Published by John Van Voorst, _.84S. THE ANCIENT WORLD BY DAVID THOMAS ANSTED, M.A., F.R.S., F.G.S., F.L.S., &c. PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN KING'S COLLEGE, LONDON, &C. &C. NEW EDITION. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER-ROW. M.DCCC.XLVIII. DESCRIPTION OF THE FRONTISPIECE. The Frontispiece is intended to give an idea of what may have been the aspect of Vegetation in England during the Coal period. The trees introduced are chiefly those living forms which seem most analogous to extinct species. In the centre is a tree fem, which was certainly a common and characteristic plant. On the left is represented an ideal restoration of a Lepidodendron ; on the right in the distance are the tops of Araucarias, coniferous trees nearly allied to which have been found in the coal-measures. The remaining trees and plants are inhabitants of Norfolk Island or Eastern Australia, but seem to have had representatives in ancient times. f CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Explanatory And Introductory

Very many ages ago, and long before the human race had been introduced on the earth, this world of ours existed as the habitation of living beings, different from those now inhabiting its surface, or dwelling in the ocean which covers so large a part of it ; but yet sufficiently resembling them to admit of a certain degree of comparison, so that the general form, the proportions, the peculiarities of structure, and even in some cases the habits of these ancient inhabitants may be determined. The history of the succession of these beings in the British islands happens to be traceable with remarkable precision, presenting few breaks in the succession, except those common to most parts of the land hitherto examined. It is a history of antiquity which ought not to be neglected ; it possesses a deep interest, although man does not figure among the dramatis personæ ; and the history is clearly made out by a chain of evidence, different in kind from that commonly resorted to for the establishment of historical views, but not for that reason less t - b B satisfactory or less convincing.

This history, too, is exceedingly important in its bearing on the wants and occupations of men ; and upon the particular order and nature of the events it records have depended no inconsiderable proportion of the many physical ad vantages possessed by England over the rest of the world. The alternation of rich plains and hilly surfaces which characterize our country, and which are so well adapted for cultivation, — her valuable mineral resources of coal, and of iron and other metals, — her insular position, — her temperate climate, — her capa bility of supplying most of the wants of man ; — all these must be ranked among the advantages derived by England from happy peculiarities in the arrange ment and ordering of the materials which make up her superficial crust of mineral matter ; and all are conditions the causes of which may be investigated.

And, if it is thought discreditable to an educated person to be unacquainted with the history of the people of his own country, it ought surely to be con sidered of importance that he should possess some degree of knowledge also concerning this much wider range of history, involving as it does an account of the revolutions and changes on which so many im portant matters depend. Still, how many people do we meet, otherwise well educated, who look with indifference, or even contempt, on this branch of knowledge ! In spite of the deep interest of t'r-t-j subject and its great importance, comparatively few., are familiar even with the general nature of the successive events which have modified the whole surface of the globe ;

INTRODUCTION.

. and I shall be glad if, in the following pages, I can give my readers a distinct appreciation of what is actually known with certainty concerning this new kind of history. In doing so I shall, I am sure, be doing good service, not only to science, but also to general literature ; exhibiting a link little thought of, and an analogy almost neglected; and causing Natural History to appear, as it really is, an account of a succession of events, and not merely the de scription of the habits and structure of certain groups of animals and vegetables. In thus undertaking to give an account of Nature and of her operations, from the earliest records not only of man but of Creation, I shall be somewhat in the condition of an author proposing to communi cate the history of an ancient people, who have left monuments of their existence in their ruined temples and mausoleums, but whose language is very imper fectly understood, and whose written documents are obscure and vague.

Now, an historian in such a case would think it necessary first of all to make his readers aware of the kind of evidence he would have to adduce in attesta tion of his statements and descriptions; and it is manifest that, if there is an absence of ordinary do cumentary evidence, it would be still more requisite that the credibility of his narrative should be supported by a constant and direct reference to facts, either evident in themselves or admitting of distinct proof. There are not wanting instances, indeed, in which conclusions perfectly satisfactory have been arrived at, and histories prepared, without the existence of B any written documents whatever. The domestic manners of the Egyptians have been clearly made out by an examination of that picture-writing which has been called hieroglyphic ; and in the same way the careful observation and comparison of the figures painted on vases or sarcophagi has thrown light upon a similar subject of research, with regard not only to the ancient Greeks, but even the Etruscans, of whom at best we know very little, and absolutely nothing by direct historical documents.

The knowledge thus acquired indirectly is, however, valuable, because it may generally be thoroughly7 depended on ; and, if the facts so determined are at first few and unimportant, they are found to accumulate by repeated observation, and possess an increasing value, and they are the more credible as being for the most part too unimportant in themselves to have been worth while to falsify. Now, in a way not much unlike that which must be pursued in investigating this kind of history, it is possible to make out an account of the successive events that have taken place in various parts of the world, not only before the earth was inhabited by civilized men, but even when man had not yet been created. Since, however, before attempting to give the his tory of a people, it must be perfectly certain that the people to be spoken of did once exist, so the reader has a right to require that, before commencing, as I propose to do, an account of the pre- Adamite world, it should be clearly shown that there exist for this account the true materials of history ; and that there is, in fact, that degree of order and system in the

INTRODUCTION.

. arrangement of the different parts of the earth's crust, without which there could be no connected or reasonable account of events. The proof of such a condition is, however, at hand, and requires only that the very commonest appear ances of nature should be studied. No one can visit a chalk or sand pit, or look for one moment at a stone quarry, — no one can consider the appearances so commonly presented by a sea-cliff, a cutting for a road, or a sinking for a well, without being perfectly convinced that the limestones, sandstones, and clays, of which a great part of the earth's crust is made up, were not thrown confusedly together, but are arranged in some degree of order, lying upon one another in regular beds or strata. A very little in quiry into the way in which these strata rest upon one another, is amply sufficient to prove that order does exist in the arrangement of the greater propor tion of the materials of the earth's crust ; and, the more strictly this inquiry is carried out, the more convinced will the observer become of the great fact, that there is a history to be learnt — a succession of events to be described.

But, it may be said, and with great reason, that the mere fact of order in the arrangement of these super ficial materials proves nothing more than that they were deposited in succession, and they might either have been so placed at the first creation of the world, or, since the whole bears marks of aqueous action and of disturbance, that the successive beds may have arranged themselves as we find them during some great deluge. But, the possibility of this is contra dicted by appearances presented to the observer of nature at every turn, and by the result of every in vestigation, however superficial, whenever the actual structure of the earth is laid open, whether in the quarry or the sea-cliff. There are, indeed, so many distinct facts that prove both the nature of the deposits and the circumstances of deposition to have been very different either from a creation of the surface as it now exists, or from the formation of such a surface by a deluge, that it is more easy to be confused with their num ber and variety, than to resist the conclusion when the reason is fairly appealed to.

Among such facts we may perhaps select these three groups with ad vantage, as the most prominent, viz. (1.) That a vast number of strata have been discovered to rest on one another, that they are of very great thickness and extent, and that they exhibit great variety both in the nature and condition of the materials of which each is made up ; {2.) That the beds are found, in many cases, not to repose regularly upon one an other, but to indicate by their direction and inclina tion that one series has had time to harden, and be disturbed in position, before another was placed upon it ; and (3.) that throughout the whole great and varied series of strata there are found the remains of a number of animals of different kinds, chiefly, but not entirely, of marine origin ; each group of which presents in itself a history, and denotes a peculiar condition, both of the depth of the water, and the nature of the sea-bottom especially adapted for it.

The proper consideration of the three classes of facts thus alluded to cannot fail to satisfy any one that the strata of the earth's crust were formed

INTRODUCTION.

. gradually and slowly, under various circumstances, and at different times. I do not mean, however, to illustrate these facts at any length, because, in truth, this would involve the whole subject of Descriptive Geology, and would require the introduction of de tails, and the use of technical language, which it is my especial object to avoid. The reader must either take for granted that there are such facts, or he may satisfy himself concerning them by a very slight amount of observation and investigation. Although, however, the following pages may not communicate any such argumentative proofs of the truth of Geological conclusions as would be required to convince those who are determined to doubt, yet actual observations will be presented to the notice of the reader in order, and those conclusions only which seem rational will be narrated as history.

My object in alluding to the series of investigations on which the science of Geology is founded, is rather to shew how far there are supposed to exist materials for description and history, than to enter into any dis cussion or argument concerning these materials. It is enough that I have alluded to the nature of the facts, and the kind of observations required. Taking it for granted, then, that there is something in the structure of the earth which requires and ad mits of investigation, let us next see how far this in vestigation can be carried with reason, and how far the structure of the globe is laid open for examination. The reader must indeed be contented to take upon trust the statements that will be made in this introductory chapter concerning Descriptive Geo logy, but he may be assured that they are too well established, and founded on too many observations, to be shaken, or even questioned.

In the first place, then, there is the evidence of what are called ' Geological sections ;' offering suffi cient proof that the different strata of which the earth's crust is composed are of certain limited extent and thickness, and that they overlie one another in GEOLOGICAL SECTIOU, ILL O .TRATIN G THE .OCCEB.ION O. DEFO-ITB. regular order. This kind of evidence reaches indeed farther, and proves very sufficiently that there is some characteristic mark of each group of strata by which it may be known and recognised ; so that the kind of sandstone, limestone, or clay that may exist in one part of the series, and the order in which dif ferent layers succeed each other, is not so closely imitated in another part, but that a distinction may generally be drawn without much difficulty. Geolo gical sections, and the maps which should accom pany them, prove also, that over large tracts of country the same invariable order of arrangement of the strata may be traced ; so that the student is enabled to advance with confidence, and frame those generalizations without which Geology could hardly exist as a science.

Besides this evidence, obtained from an examina tion of the mere mineral materials of which strata are composed, there is however another, and a far more important means of acquiring a knowledge of the earth's history, derived from the study of the animal

INTRODUCTION.

. and vegetable remains that are found in almost every member of the vast series of strata which make up its crust. It is these organic remains — called some times fossils,* as being, of all things that are dug out of the earth, those of greatest interest to man in his efforts to penetrate into the past, — that afford most clearly distinct information concerning the history we need ; and it is from them, and from studying the language they speak, that sound conclusions are arrived at in matters of the most interesting detail, as well as in the broadest generalizations obtained in our history. Fossils have sometimes been called the Medals of Creation, and to a certain extent the simile is a just one ; for as medals serve to mark either an actual occurrence, or at least the view taken of a supposed occurrence by contemporary authorities, so fossils bear the impress of their date ; they mark the con dition of the earth at the time and place of their de posit, and in so far therefore at least they are mate rials for history.

But fossils are much more than mere indications of the history of the time to which they refer. They themselves express the very language of nature ; they bear actual, direct, and unquestionable testimony to the course of nature ; and when properly considered, and investigated with a view to those analogies which the study of existing nature teaches, they exhibit distinct proof of a long series of successive creations, characterizing different epochs in the earth's progress. They are also found to be, in a very distinct and * From the Latin fossilis, — that which may be dug out of the earth. The word was originally used in English as synonymous with mineral, but has gradually become limited to its present meaning. b S important sense, characteristic of formations; by whicli it is meant that certain groups of species are chiefly met with in rocks of one age, the various species characteristic of each group occurring more rarely in beds of the preceding and succeeding periods, and never met with again in abundance.

And this is not the less true because a few of them, escaping it would seem as if by some unusual powers of endurance, and stragglers from the general herd, have continued to exist for a long time, and through many successive periods. From these two positions, both of which have been satisfactorily proved in the progress of Geology, — namely, that fossils are characteristic of formations, and that in all the different parts of animal and vegetable structure there is reference to every peculiarity of habit in the complete organized being ; it follows that the study of fossils becomes an important and necessary branch of Geological research. There are, however, two ways, by means of each of which satisfactory conclusions have been arrived at from the study of organic remains ; and as, of these two, one chiefly bears upon Geology, while the other has reference quite as much to Natural History generally, so both unite in laying the foundation, and building the superstructure, of that general history of the world which it is the true object of Geology to describe.

It is not difficult to explain the value of fossils in each of these two respects. To the Geologist they are of value, not only in the identification of strata in different parts of the same district when the mineral character of the beds is doubtful or variable, but

INTRODUCTION.

. also in determining those groups of strata which shall be either classed together as having something in common, or separated as entirely distinct. Viewed in this light, they become the groundwork of classification ; and every successive observation proves that, when properly and carefully made use of, they are entirely to be depended on, as being not only the best, but the only safe means of separating some strata, and uniting others into groups. Such is their Geological value : and their bearing upon Natural History is no less real or important. They afford numerous links in the great chain of organized beings; they explain difficulties otherwise inexplicable ; they suggest reasons and causes for the most extraordinary variations from the ordinary course of nature ; and they teach us the important truth, that, throughout all time, there has been a perfectly uniform plan pursued in the construction of the world, and its adaptation for successive races of beings ; but that this plan has admitted of innumerable modifications in the manner of carrying it out, all evidently adapted to changing circumstances.

In one word, it is by the proper interpretation of fossils that a science has arisen, unlike any other in its investigations; nobler than any, except Astrono my, in the object at which it aims ; and more inter esting than any, inasmuch as it combines every branch of Natural History, commonly so called, with those inquiries into a former condition of existence which are best calculated to attract the fancy and excite the imagination. Removed, however, from the condition which it long occupied, as an amusement for specu lative men who were contented to imagine for themselves theories of the earth, and propound them for the astonishment, the admiration, or the contempt of the world, Geology has now become the recepta cle of innumerable observations, carefully made and accurately recorded ; and from this treasure-house of facts there must soon be derived a theory that will command attention, and a knowledge of laws not less universal than the law of gravitation, or the theory of the solar system.

Meantime I propose in the fol lowing pages to arrange some of these facts in order, and so present them to notice, that, while the main results which they prove are plainly set before the reader, he need not be deterred from considering them by any too minute reference to the details of the facts themselves, or the circumstances under which they have been discovered or observed. But I must not proceed to the immediate subject without stating, in a very few words, the nature of the arrangement that I shall follow in my descriptions. In many cases, the very phenomena them selves, by a due consideration of which groups of strata are distinguished, will be stated and explained, and thus the whole history will be placed before the reader. But it is not always expedient to do this, and a line must be drawn separating classes of phe nomena.

Such a line, however, I have not ventured to draw unless nature has distinctly indicated it and in the whole series of strata exhibited in the British isles there are only two groups so na tural, so unquestionable, and so real, as to render the task of classification easy and satisfactory. One of these groups is again subdivided, and this separation also is marked by a great change in organic

INTRODUCTION.

. remains ; so that we have three sets of beds, which we may call respectively the Ancient, the Middle, and the Modern ; and each of these we may conveniently look upon as denoting a lapse of time which we may call an Epoch. The remaining subdivisions are often very strong ly, though not so completely indicated : and to these I shall apply the name Period, as also sufficiently convenient. It will be found that the different epochs and periods described are in most cases distinguished by a commencement and a termination, often not the less interesting that each exhibits an occasional pas sage, both by mineral structure and fossil remains, into the beds of the next succeeding one. In describing the fossils it will be necessary, in order to avoid repetition, that we should as far as possible confine our attention in each case to some group of animals or vegetables whose remains are most characteristic of the particular period which they are as sumed to illustrate ; and for the sake of convenience I shall often perhaps seem to neglect, or pass by with very slight mention, those which are neverthe less widely distributed in the rocks of the period under consideration.

This might lead to some con fusion, and even to wrong conclusions, if it were not understood beforehand that such apparent neglect is not without a reason. In order to remedy this evil in some measure, I have here appended a tabular view of the various periods, in the order in which they will be treated, and with particular reference to the forms of organic life most strikingly exhibited in each. By glancing the eye over this table, the reader, however little acquainted with the details of Geology, will at least be enabled to recognize the plan, and will thus enter on the descriptions with some general notion of their bearing on the whole range of creation. Tabular View of the Successive Geological Periods. '10. The Period of the caverns and gravel ; characterised in Europe by large Carnivora, the Megaceros and other gigantic ruminating animals, and Elephants ; and by various gigantic animals in Asia, America, Australia and New Zealand.

(Newer Tertiary.) 9. The Period of various large animals of the lll.TheModernEpoch. s Middle Rhine valley, and of the Mastodon and Elephants in North America, England, Northern Europe andlndia. .Middle Tertiary.) 8. The Period of the pachyderms of the Paris basin, and of the sub-tropical (?) fruits and animals of the London and Hampshire L basins. (Older Tertiary.) ' 7. The Period of the Chalk and Greensand ; during the deposit of which there was probably a deep sea, covering a large proportion of the existing land. .. ,„, ,.-,,, t, , 6. The Period of the gigantic land reptiles, II. The Middle Enoch. ■_ ., „ . ... ., . . ,f„ the flying reptiles, the gigantic crocodihans, and the first introduction of mammalian animals. ( Wealden and Oolite.) 5. The Period of the frog-like, bird-like, and marine reptiles. ' (Lias and Trias.) r 4.

The Period marked by a great abundance of plantBand the first introduction of reptilian animals. (Permian and. Carboniferous.) _ __, . . _ , 3. The Period of fishes. (Devonian.) I. Ihe Ancient Epoch. < 2. The Period of invertebrated animals. (SiluHan.) 1. The Period antecedent to the introduction t. of life. (Azoic.) THE FIRST OR ANCIENT EPOCH.

Chapter II. The Period Antecedent To The Introduction

OF LIFE.

THE DEPOSIT OF NON-FOSSILIFEROUS ROCKS. Judging from the general condition of the solar system, and combining the result of astronomical observations on distant bodies in the universe with the appearance presented by various rocks on the earth's surface, it has been thought probable that, at a very early period of its history, our globe existed as an intensely heated body in a fluid state (the fluidity being the result of igneous fusion), and that it gra dually cooled at the surface, perhaps by exposure in space, contracting in dimensions as it cooled and har dened. In this manner, it is imagined, a succession of thin solid crusts were formed, each in succession shrinking and cracking, until at length, when a certain balance was arrived at between the thickness of the crust, the rate of cooling, and the amount of in ternal heat; there was left a rough, uneven sur face, having many elevations and depressions, its temperature being sufficiently reduced to allow of the existence of some such atmosphere as now sur rounds it, and also permit the permanent presence of water in a fluid state reposing in the hollows, and forming seas, lakes, and oceans.

During the whole of this time, and until the existence of water in the liquid state, and the establishment of a sea, and per haps long afterwards, it is likely that there were no living beings on the earth ; because, so far as we know, neither animal nor vegetable can exist, and perform its functions, at the temperature of water actually boiling ;* although, at a temperature not much short of that, some small animalcules, and even some animals of higher organization, are capable of enjoying life. Thus, therefore, according to this view, — and the reader will understand that it is merely offered as the most probable explanation of certain appearances observed — the first period of the existence of the earth as a planet was marked by a chaotic state of igneous fusion, and characterized by frequent disturbances of the surface consequent upon cooling from such a state.

Let us consider for a moment what kind of rocks are exhibited to us when we examine these earliest records of our globe, and let us see also how far we are able to examine them. In the first place, we often find, as the basis of all other rocks in mountain chains, and throughout some extensive tracts of country, a well-known substance called granite ; a rock whose structure is crystalline, and which bears strong marks of having cooled slowly from a state of intense heat. This rock is found in all parts of the world, and sometimes in widely ex- * This refers, of course, to the boiling temperature of water at the earth's surface with the present atmosphere. There is no proof of any change having taken place in the gaseous condition or pressure of the air, neither do we know what would be the condition of the surface with a steam atmosphere.

AZOIC PERIOD. IGNEOUS ROCKS. tended masses. It generally exhibits its own characteristic features with sufficient distinctness to leave no doubt as to its nature, and it may be found in our own island, as, for instance, in Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland ; and in other parts of Europe, as in the Scandinavian mountains, the Hartz, the range of mountains separating Northern Germany from Bava ria and Bohemia, in the Alps both of Switzerland and the Tyrol, in the Pyrenees, and in the Carpa thians. In Asia it forms the centre of the Caucasus; it occupies a large part of the Himalayan, Uralian, and Altai mountains, and is found also in Siberia. In Africa it appears in Upper Egypt, in the Atlas mountains, and at the Cape of Good Hope: it may also be traced along the Western part of the whole of the two Americas ; and appears again in the Southern islands and in Australia.

A rock so universally extended might, almost for that reason, be looked upon as the foundation and the main solid frame-work of our globe. It must not be lost sight of, however, that in many instances the granite appears to have been, if not formed, at least placed in its present position, in a past)7 or fluid state,* long subsequent to the early period of which we are now speaking ; and thus, though we may often look upon the granite as the oldest rock presented for examination, we should always remember that this material, so widely extended and so im portant, may have been elaborated and expelled from the deep recesses of Nature's store-house at any time, and may be forming even at the present day. * In either case the result of intense heat acting under enormous pressure, and probably for a long time.

I shall not detain the reader any longer with an account of the rocks which have been called Primi tive, but shall quit this subject with a remark which, from the manner in which I have spoken of granite, may perhaps be necessary. It is this : that there are many kinds of granite and granitic rock, some of them very different from ordinary granite in appear ance, and that there are also many other so-called primitive rocks very different in structure ; but these varieties do not prevent the account I have given from being sufficiently accurate for my purpose, and I trust the reader will not suppose, when he has read through this little volume, that he has learnt everything in Geology. Next in order to the crystalline rocks, and almost as widely extended, there are two or three other groups, often themselves crystalline, but bearing evident marks of what is called " mechanical struc ture," or, in other words, of having been deposited from water.