106 AXXIVERSAKY ADDRESS 



little with regard to the character of the implements. First of all, 

 the simplest form is a mere flint " flake," as it is termed — a piece 

 dislodged from the flint by a single blow, with a sharp edge on 

 each side, being a tool valuable for various pui-poses. As an 

 instance of the modern use of these flakes, I may tell you that at 

 the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico, the natives shaved 

 themselves with flakes of obsidian. So readily were they made 

 that it was easier to make a new one than to shai-pen and go on 

 shaving with the old one. Knives constructed in that very simple 

 manner have been in use all over the world among savage tribes. 

 Among other places I may mention Queensland, Australia, where 

 knives are usually made of basalt, the handle being of kangaroo 

 skin, attached by gum to the butt end, thus forming a knife that 

 is very serviceable, although of the rudest possible construction. 

 As an instance of the effect of the contact with civilization on the 

 construction of these instruments, I may say that, having a friend 

 in Queensland, I requested him to procure me one of these knives, 

 and he sent me one. It is made of a beautiful transparent 

 material, with the handle tied on and coated with gum ; but I 

 find, on examining it, that, instead of its being kangaroo skin, it 

 is a piece of coarse Manchester cotton. Though the gum is thei'c, 

 the string which holds it ou is probably of European manufacture, 

 and the blade is merely the fragment of a gin-bottle. No doubt it 

 is a better purpose to which to apply gin-bottles than those to 

 which they are generally applied ; but it is a very curious result 

 of the approach of civilization to a barbarous people, who made 

 use of the material brought to them in converting it to what we 

 may call a non-natui-al purpose. On the coast of America old 

 porter-bottles have been used as a material for arrow-heads. 



To return to the various forms of instruments found in the river- 

 gravels. There are various pointed tools adapted to be held in the 

 hand. Some are oval-shaped with a sharp edge all round ; others 

 nearly round, and in other cases they are almond-shaped. These 

 are, generally speaking, the forms in which they occur. As to the 

 purposes to which they are applied, it is almost impossible to 

 determine, though in all probability the bulk of them were used 

 for much the same purposes as we use the knife and axe. It has 

 been suggested that some were used for cutting holes in the ice for 

 fishing, or grubbing holes in the earth for roots, and for killing 

 animals, and it is impossible to say what they have not been used 

 for. All I have to say is that I agree with Professor Ramsay that 

 they arc instruments as distinctly worked by the hand of man, as a 

 Sheffield whittle is at the present day. 



