and ceremonies so ancient that even the traditions of their worship have been forgotten.46 In many parts of From Déchelette, Manuel D'Archéologie Préhistorique."' FIGURE 45. Neolithic Monuments, a "Menir." Britain they are called "Druid's Altars" and are popularly associated with Druidical rites.47 Besides the monolithic type, there is the polylithic or cell type of monument, associated with burial and ancestor-worship. 46 See figures 44 and 45. 47 Keane, op. cit., p. 125. The tomb is composed of several megaliths-one for the floor, others upright or on edge, supporting a horizontal slab which covers the whole space enclosed.48 Some of these sepulchral chambers are covered with great piles rows. FIGURE 46. Neolithic Monuments, a "Dolmen." of stones or earth. These monuments are known as barThis was the period when the Swiss lake dwellings were constructed.49 The prehistoric monuments of the New World are more imposing than these barrows of the Old World.50 The ruins of palaces, temples, and aqueducts of the ancient Peruvians and the similar colossal constructions of the ancient inhabitants of Bolivia and Mexico, surpass most of the other monumental remains of prehistoric man. But the men of the Neolithic 48 See figure 46. 49 Keane, op. cit., p. 121, Lubbock, Pre-Historic Times, ch. vi. 50 See figure 47. |