FLINT IMPLEMENTS AND PAL^EOLITHS 89 



would have provided the ancient flint flaker with two scraping 

 edges instead of one, and it is the author's opinion that this 

 was the result which he wished to attain. The pointed form 

 was simply the inevitable result of the production of the two 

 opposing hollows. But there was also another inevitable result 

 which, apparently, had a great effect in the evolution of flint 

 implements. As the respective fracture-surfaces of the two 

 hollows encroached upon the dorsal surface of the specimen, 

 and finally met, a ridge or gable was formed (marked keel 

 in drawing). It does not appear probable that the formation 

 of this keel was the object of the ancient workman, but that 

 it was the inevitable outcome of the production of the two 

 hollows, as any one can easily prove by flaking a flint to the 

 form of the specimen represented in fig. 2. But it was not 

 long before the possibilities of this sharp keel being used as a 

 cutting-edge, and its superiority as such over the cutting- 

 edges in use previously, were recognised, and from then onwards 

 the efforts of these early flint flakers appear to have been 

 directed to the production of such " keels " or cutting edges. 



The right lateral and left lateral views of the specimen 

 show that, as in the implement represented in fig. 1, all the 

 blows forming the two hollows were delivered on the flat 

 ventral surface. A glance at either of these lateral views will 

 show also that the anterior region has already assumed in 

 profile the appearance of a beak, and is prophetic of the later 

 rostro-carinate specimens. This beak-like appearance is again 

 attributable to the production of the two opposing hollows, and 

 is the almost inevitable result of such production, as can easily 

 be tested by any one desirous of doing so. 



The section of the specimen is triangular, the base of 

 the triangle representing the ventral surface, the two sides the 

 right lateral and left lateral surfaces respectively, while the 

 apex represents the keel or gable formed by the convergence 

 of the flake areas, forming the two opposing hollows. It will be 

 noticed that both the implements represented in figs. 1 and 2 

 are fashioned from pieces of tabular flint which provided 

 naturally formed striking-platforms for the delivery of 

 flake-removing blows. 



Pig- 3- — Represents a rostro-carinate or eagle's-beak imple- 

 ment such as is found in the detritus-bed below the Pliocene Red 

 Crag of Suffolk. It appears that at the time when these imple- 



