This gives rise to the problem of the cultural maturity of a society, among other things, which is shown by whether it learns to overcome its own problems of waste. The French palaeontologist Leroi-Gourhan gives an impressive description of an evolutionary leap in this respect from the early days of mankind. 'We possess', he writes,
precise records of three dwelling places of the Moustérien, one of them situated in the open air in Moldovo on the Dnjestr, two in caves: in the Grotte de l'Hyène and in the Grotte du Renne of Arcy-sur-Cure in Yonne. They differ considerably in form: the dwelling place in the USSR is a circular area roughly eight metres in diameter, evidently the site of a tent or a hut; the dwelling place in the hyena cave lies in a hall five to six metres in diameter, and that of the reindeer cave lies in part of a gallery two metres wide and five to six metres long. Despite these differences, the three dwelling places show a striking conformity. They consist of a central area in which the fireplaces are situated and which is relatively free of animal remains, but full of stone tools; this central area is surrounded by a dense belt of scraped and smashed bones. If we disregard the structure which must have existed in Moldovo, then the reconstruction yields a very meagre picture. Neanderthal man lived surrounded by the remains of his hunting quarry, which he pushed away a bit in order to create a space to live in.
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From the Future to the Extended Present