62 SIMILARITY OF BRONZE IMPLEMENTS 



Copper. Bronze. 



Haches, marteaux primitifs et pics cle 



mineurs 74 1 



Haches ornementees 60 



Epees, poignards, tetes de lances . . 3 203 



129 589 



It will be observed, however, that the types made in copper 

 are the simplest, and this is perhaps due to the fact that it 

 is much more difficult to cast with copper than with bronze. 

 In the absence of tin, therefore, they would be compelled to 

 content themselves with the simpler forms, and hence per- 

 haps the difference of type. 



In Spain also copper was no doubt extensively used. Mr. 

 Siret* states that in 2000 objects of the Bronze Age from the 

 south-east of Spain, two -thirds, in round numbers, w r ere of 

 copper, and only one-third of bronze. Moreover, the hatchets, 

 halberds, knives and arrow-heads were always in copper. Of 

 the poniards the majority were of copper, but nearly half were 

 bronze ; of the ornaments half were of copper, half of bronze ; 

 while the swords, which indeed were not numerous, were all 

 of bronze. The form of these copper implements, however, 

 indicates that they belong to the Bronze Age. 



Taking these facts into consideration, Europe certainly does 

 not appear to present any strong evidence of an age of copper, 

 while no one has ever pretended to find either there, or any- 

 where else in Europe, a trace of any separate use of tin,-f- and 

 on the whole the evidence seems to me to indicate that the 

 art of making bronze was introduced into, not invented in, 

 Europe. 



Another circumstance which strongly militates against the 

 theory of a gradual and independent development of metal- 



* Les Premiers Ages du Metal poses of ornamentation, but that of 

 dans le Sud-Est de 1'Espagne, 1888. course does not affect the present 

 t It was sometimes used for pur- argument. 



