THE OPINIONS OF MESSRS. STEENSTRUP AND WORSAAE. 249 



Tims the frequent remains of large and full-grown animals 

 for instance, of the seal and the wild ox are in his opinion 

 sufficient evidence that the shell-mound builders must have 

 had weapons more useful and destructive than any which 

 Prof. Worsaae will concede to them ; moreover, he considers 

 that many of the cuts which are so common on the bones 

 found in the shell-heaps must have been made by polished 

 implements, and are too smooth to be the marks of flint flakes, 

 according to the suggestion of Professor Worsaae. Finally, 

 Professor Steenstrup, though not attributing so much weight 

 as Professor Worsaae to the absence of the ruder implements 

 from the tumuli, even if this had been the case, disputes the 

 fact on the ground that these implements would not until 

 recently have been recognized and collected, and that they 

 have, in fact, been found whenever they were looked for. 



After having carefully considered the evidence on both 

 sides, I find myself, as might naturally be expected, unable 

 altogether to agree with either. 



The small rude axes seem to me even less well adapted to 

 the purpose suggested by Prof. Steenstrup, than for those 

 which have generally been attributed to them. There are, 

 no doubt, some which could never have been used for cutting, 

 but these may have been failures, owing to some want of skill 

 on the part of the manufacturer, or some flaw in the flint 

 itself. Others appear to me, as to Prof. Worsaae, serviceable, 

 though rude ; and well adapted for some purpose (possibly for 

 oyster dredging or chopping wood) which required a strong, 

 rather than a sharp edge. They also very closely resemble in 

 form some of the adzes used by the South Sea Islanders, one 

 of which I have figured for comparison (see p. 103). They 

 seem to me, however, as to Prof. Steenstrup, to differ in 

 character from the well-made and generally polished axes, 

 and not to be ruder implements of the same type. Although 

 the carefully formed knives, axes, lance-heads, etc., would not 



