Tlic Stone Atjcs of South Africa. 31 



longer amygdaloidal- or tongue-shaped, it is plainly curved. A point 

 was what the maker wanted ; this being obtained, he left untrimmed 

 the remainder of the nucleus from which he fashioned it. This 

 boucher weighs 3f lbs. In the same locality where I found it, I 

 discovered several examples having the same peculiar bend. In 

 Fig. 7 the apex is, in proportion to its size, as broad as in Fig. 9, 

 and it is not easy to contend that this somewhat uncouth boucher 

 could have been put to any other purpose than the one to which the 

 indented point bears corroborative testimony, i.e., digging. More- 

 over, the points of Figs. 5, 7, 9, 10 show marks of retrimming. 

 Fig. 22 is the representation of a quadrangular implement somewhat 

 unique in shape. Had its purpose been that of a hammer, pounder, 

 or club-head, the butt or edges wou*ld show signs of wear, which 

 they do not in the least, but the point has been retrimmed ; 

 moreover, in this particular case, the four sharp edges preclude 

 the possibility of its being held in the hand as a club, except 

 possibly in a case of emergency, but as a digging tool it would 

 be most serviceable. In most of the examples pointed at 

 each end, one of the ends shows more service than the other 

 (Figs. 13, 15). 



Oblong or ovoid implements, of which it is difficult to say which 

 end is the butt or point, are extremely rare among the StelJen- 

 boscli type. Fig. 24 is an example. It is too large to have been 

 a scraper, its edges are too sinuous to permit of it having been a 

 cleaving tool. Moreover it is, like Fig. 18, made of a surface 

 quartzite differing from the material used for the Stellenhosck type, 

 and is certainly less ancient. But in the deposits of the Orange River 

 type, especially the Griqua sub-type, these ovoid implements are 

 occasionally found. 



As already mentioned, the striking characteristic of the well- 

 executed South African palaeoliths is their huge size. We have in 

 the collection, apart from these already quoted, many specimens 

 weighing from 2i lbs. to 6 lbs., and the average of a boucher 

 20 cm. long is a little less than 3 lbs. 



This great weight is also a strong argument against the likelihood 

 of their having been hafted. They would have proved very unwieldy 

 even to men of powerful physique. 



But it does not follow that we have not in South Africa bouchers 

 of moderate and also small dimensions, and comparable in that 

 respect with those obtained elsewhere. Figs. 4, 18, 19, are good 

 examples of some, although they are rare, but I know of others 

 which are smaller still, and of as perfect a type as the best Acheu- 



