SEMI-LUNAR IMPLEMENTS. 



103 



The flat, semi-circular flint instruments represented in pi. 1, 

 fig. 3, are common in Denmark, but very rarely, if ever, found 

 in Great Britain, France, or Italy. The convex edge was 

 evidently fastened into a handle of wood, the marks of which 

 are still, in many cases, plainly visible. The other edge, 

 which is either straight or concave, is generally provided with 



FIG. ill. 



FIG. 112. 



FIG. 113. 



New Zealand Adze. 



a number of teeth, giving it more or less resemblance to a 

 saw. In some cases it is so much worn away by use, that the 

 implement takes the form of a new moon or of a boomerang. 

 The edge is in many cases quite polished, evidently by con- 

 tinuous friction against a soft substance. I say a soft sub- 

 stance, because the polished part overlaps on both sides, and 

 passes in between the teeth of the saw, which would not have 

 been otherwise the case. It is probable that the semi-lunar 

 instruments were fixed in wooden handles, and then used in 

 cleaning skins. Similarly- shaped instruments are even now 



