CHAPTER VIIT. 



THE STONE AGE. 



Prehistoric ages of man Use of metal unknown First traces of man- 

 Weapons of Mint, bone, &c. Graves of the Stone Age Introduction of 

 domestic animals The cromlech or dolmen always near the sea Gallery 

 iir passage graves The passage grave of Karleby Stone coffin graves- 

 Sepulchral chambers Objects of the Ston Age. 



WE have now given accounts of the literature which contains 

 the earliest records of the people of the North. Let us pause 

 and study for a while its archaeology, which will throw con- 

 siderable light also 011 its inhabitants and their customs. 



It is now generally recognised by archaeologists that all 

 people who have 'advanced to a certain degree of civilisation 

 have passed through three periods of development, which 

 according to the material of which their implements, weapons, 

 and utensils were made, have been named the stone, the bronze, 

 and the iron age. We have very abundant evidence that tin- 

 people of the North passed through these three stages, and 

 indeed had reached the iron age before they came within the 

 ken of history. Beginning with the stone age, let us see what 

 we can learn of the civilisation of the North from the various 

 articles which were in use during the three stages. 



The finds in the North have baen classified under the name 

 - (-/rave," " bog " and lt earth" finds ; that is, objects found in 

 graves, bogs, or in the ground. In the latter case they are 

 often hidden under stones, in obedience to the injunctions of 

 Odin. Those of the iron age are found as far as 69 North 

 latitude. 



The custom of burying different objects with the dead, and 

 also that of throwing objects and weapons into springs or bogs, 

 or of hiding them in the ground, has helped in a most remark- 

 able manner to give us an idea of the industries and daily 

 life of the people there at a remote period. 



