58 



PREHISTORIC FISHING. 



net, which is made of strong cord, arc not quite three-eighths of an incli in width, 

 and hence it was well suited for iisliing-purposes. The other figured fragment 

 of a net has meshes no less than two inches wide, and is therefore — with good 

 reason, I believe — designated as a remnant of a hunting-net. The plate from 

 which Fig. 68 is copied shows designs of flax fabrics from Robenhausen and 

 Wangen, but the locality where each object was obtained is not specialized, either 

 on the plate or, as far as I could discover, in the text and the list of illustrations. 



Of course, any attempt at speculating on the character of the nets employed 

 by the lake-dwellers would be fruitless. The few remaining fragments certainly 

 give us no clue. It is likely that they used the primitive and almost universal 

 seine-net while fishing near the shore ; in deep water they may have followed 

 other methods. We only know that they used nets, and must be satisfied with 

 that information. 



Net-sinkers are frequently mentioned in the translation of Dr. Keller's 

 work, but in many cases not sufficiently described and rarely figured. There are 

 sometimes doubts expressed whether stone objects of a certain form are to be 

 considered as sinkers or sling-stones ; and the same vagueness prevails with 

 regard to piei'ced cones of baked clay, wdiich are thought to have served either 

 as net-sinkers or as weights in the process of weaving. 



Fio. C9.— Allensbach. 



Fm. 70.— Allensbach. 



Fia. 71. — Estavayer. 



Figs. 69-71. — Stone sinkers. 



