504 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1896. 



peoples of prebistoric times. Prehistoric archaeologists have had their 

 jitteutiou directed to tliese precious metals, and accordingly hove 

 sought for them when excavating prehistoric Sf't- 

 tlements. It is not intended in this paper to g ve 

 a full or even reasonably complete list or desci p- 

 tion of finds of gold or silver. Only enough will 

 be presented to show the character and style if 

 the art work and the capabilities of the artists. 



EUROPE. 



Brittany, — The use of gold can be traced in 

 western France through the Neolithic period, 

 principally in the form of collars and bracelets. 

 Fig. 155 represents one of these collars. It was 

 found in one of the dolmens of Koc'h-Guyon or 

 Eondessec, at Plouhainel-Carnac (Morbihan). 

 The discoverer was M. Lebail, the keeper of the 

 hotel at Plouharnel, where the author spent some 

 months at various times in prehistoric investiga- 

 tions, visiting this monument upon sundry occas- 

 ions. The ornament is native gold, about an inch 

 and a half in width, and cut longitudinally into a 

 dozen strips extending one-third the way round. 

 This might have been done by a sharp flint, used 

 chisel and not saw fashion. There were two of 

 these collars, each weighing about 140 grams. 

 They had been intentionally deposited in a rude 

 pottery vase with cinders, ashes, and charcoal, 

 which had been walled up in one corner of the 

 chamber. 



One of the 

 collars was 

 sold to M. 



Fig. 154. 



AN INCISED CARVINO ON 

 HUMAN FEMUR. 



Hope well mound, Ross 

 County, Ohio. 



Putnam and Willoughby, Sym. Anc. 

 Amer Art. (Proc. A. A. A S., XLIV, C O S t a dC 

 ,«.6,p.302,fi,.,. fna.„r.,si.e. BeaUrC- 



gard (Haute-Savoie), but the oth- 

 er was kept by Lebail at his hos- 

 telry as an attraction to visitors. 

 Lebail was succeeded by his son- 

 in-law, M. Felix Gaillard, now the 

 ins]iector of prehistoric monu- 

 ments for his neighborhood, and 

 lie has greatly increased his col 

 lection. Among other siiecimens 

 are two gold bracelets, one of which is represented in iig. 156, found in a 

 dolmen near Belz (Morbihan), and a finger ring fromthe department of 

 Ille-et-Vilaine. 



Fig. 155. 



GOLD COLLAR. 



Dolmen at Plouharnel-Carnac. 



Original, colliulion t;a;ll.irii, Plonharnel-Carnar, Morliihan, France. 

 }-.; natural size. 



