BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 283 



nation. It will not seem strange that implements of so nnassnming a 

 character but rarely find their way into our museums. The fact, how- 

 ever, that angling- has, till within a comparatively recent period, been 

 the favorite mode of tishing, much more so than net-lishing, finds further 

 proof in the circumstance that in the houses of the lake dwellers at 

 Schiissenried numerous remnants of pike and of Siliir us glanis have been 

 found, but none of any other fish. 



A second and entirely different form of hooks, shaped like a weaver's 

 shuttle, was known in very ancient times; the central portion was con- 

 nected with the line, and thereupon entirely enveloped in the bait, so 

 the fish might swallow it whole. This method has still been preserved 

 in some parts, where eels are caught by means of a darning needle fast- 

 ened to the line and almost hid in the bait. 



There has been a steady development from the arrow-head to the real 

 bent hook, as is shown by an implement which is preserved in the 

 museuui of the "Society for Pomeranian History and Antiquity" at 

 Stettin. This rare piece was found imbedded 14 feet deep in marl near 

 Eeddies, district of Rummelsburg, in Pomerania. Its material is bone, 

 and at its inner bend the marrow -side of the bone is laid bare, showing 

 that the bone was not sawed lengthwise but crosswise. This gave to 

 the implement a much greater degree of durability, and produced the 

 outlines of its form at the very beginning of the work. 



Even the double hook was employed before metals came into use. 

 Such a double hook was made from the antlers of a stag, and found in 

 one of the habitations of the lake-dwellers in Switzerland. At first 

 sight it presents the appearance of grotesque clumsiness, but on closer 

 observation it is seen that the hollows (especially the one on the right 

 side) are a pretty exact facsimile of a modern hook. It will, therefore, 

 not seem improbable that the eccentric position of the center of gravity 

 was not accidental but intentional. Only the right hook is x^ointed, its 

 form being better adapted to its purpose, and liaving a tendency to turn 

 upward; that is, it is better calculated for catching fish; while the left 

 hook was probably intended for fastening the bait. 



We have more hooks from the Bronze Age, which in Eastern Germany 

 extended to the fourth and fifth centuries. Their material being more 

 pliable, they assume lighter and more slender forms ; they have as yet 

 no beard; but artificial bait, though in its simplest form, seems to have 

 been employed at that early time. The Historical Museum at Liibeck 

 possesses some hooks which are made of thin bronze leaves with very 

 sharp points. They have i)robably served as small metal fish. I am in 

 doubt, however, as to the use of the holes found in pairs in some of 

 them. It seems all the more probable that these implements are arti- 

 ficial bait shaped like fish, as some of the South Sea Islanders were in 

 the habit of employing artificial bait even before they knew the use of 

 metal. In the collection above referred to there is an implement of this 

 kind consisting of a long and narrow piece of mother-of-pearl, to which 

 a hook made of horn is tied firmly. 



