564 



ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1918. 



mere limiting of outpoured metal in an open mold, and hence flat 

 castings, such as are found in Egypt, and such as appear in other 

 countries after the hammered forms. The order of use of metallic 

 materials, then, seems to be native copper, smelted copper, bronze, 

 iron, steel, and brass. Copper may be hardened by small impurities 

 and much hammering until it is equal to any bronze ; the main pur- 

 pose in using bronze was probably to facilitate casting, especially 

 for closed molds. The cire perdue process also needed bronze, and 

 that was a favorite mode of work from early Egypt to early Britain. 



Forms of socket: 1, 2, small for hardwood; 3, 4, lengthened for sofUr wood; 5, 0, for lifting. 

 Forms of reaper: 7, sliding cut, Swiss; 8, rotated round wrist, Egypt. 



In both those lands the metal was run to an astonishing thinness, 

 often only a fiftieth of an inch, a mere film over the sand core. 



"When the variations of the forms of tools in different countries 

 are compared, much is seen to depend upon climate. In the north 

 (figs. 3, 4), sockets are much larger and deeper than in the south 

 (figs. 1, 2). This is due to the softer and more stringy nature of 

 northern woods, which would be bruised and crushed in the leverage 

 of a small socket. Neither oak nor ash nor beech could compare with 

 the Syrian shum for resisting a wrench. The varying purposes also 

 led to very different forms; the slight socket and large blade for a 

 fighting ax, when the blade was not gripped in the cleavage; the 

 splitting ax with a long socket to enable a side wrench to be given; 



