PREHISTORIC ART. 



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refractory and difficult to chip tlum tliut. The reiuaikable charac- 

 teristic of this implement is 

 that, beiug of this material, 

 it sliould be so large. Its 

 dimeusious are 14|^ inches 

 long, 2^ inches wide. Its ex- 

 act thickness is not known, 

 but supposed to be I or i^ inch. 

 The flakes, which are strnck, 

 by which it was reduced to 

 its present appearance, are ex- 

 tremely broad, some of them 

 14 inches, many of them f 

 inch, and correspondingly 

 thin. They have been struck 

 from the edges on both sides 

 and approach the center, leav- ■^ 

 ing a slight ridge. The point 1- 

 is sharp, the edges sharp and s 

 symmetrical, while the base ^ r 

 linishes with a slight stem, 't- 9. ^ 

 The dexterity shown in the ? i 5 

 chipping of this instrument is Qg ^ 

 worthy of all praise. With ? 5. g 

 the proper material such an | ^^1 ^ 

 implement might be made in a I | 

 a very short time if the artist z ? i 

 who made it was skillful, but ~ I 

 i«t undoubtedly required a | 

 vast deal of practice to enable ^ 

 him to perform the work at al 1. P 

 This specimen is a satisfac- 

 tory example of the ability 

 of the prehistoric artist to per- 

 form any work of this kind, 

 however difficult. It shows 

 his perfect control over his 

 material and his ability to 

 work it according to any 

 style and in any way or to 

 any sha])e that his fancy 

 might dictate. 



Plate 27 represents five 

 speeimeus out of a cache of 

 fourteen, found on the banks 

 of the Little Missouri Eiver, 

 Tike County, Arkansas. These are introduced as specimens of the art 



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