BY FKITZ NOETLING, MA., PH D. 39 



quarries, wliile 85 per cent, were manufactured from 

 rocks otherwise obtained. It is very difficult to account 

 for this peculiarity. Johnston's and Nichols's quarries ai'e 

 very convenientb- situated near the camping ground of 

 Melton Mowbray, and the same applies to Hutchison's 

 quarry with regard to the camping ground, Mona Vale. 

 Therefore, it cannot be distance that prevented a more ex- 

 tensive use of the quarry rock. We also know that the 

 quaiTies were intensively worked, as hundreds of thousands 

 cf broken fi-agments conclusively prove. As all the frag- 

 ments now found at the quarries must be considered as un- 

 suitable rejects, we must assume that the rock obtained 

 in situ was not very suitable for the manufacture of stone 

 implements, otherwise there would not have been such an 

 enormous amount of refuse. To me it seems that the rock 

 obtained from gravel beds possessed certain qualities which 

 the rock obtained from quarries lacked to a great extent. 

 As the most essential quality is a good, smooth fracture, 

 it appears probable that the same kind of rock when obtain- 

 ed from gravel beds had a better fracture than if obtained 

 in situ from a quarry. 



The second source from which suitable rocks -.vere ob- 

 tained are the numerous gravel beds either in the modern 

 rivers, or of earlier geological age. The examination of 

 thousands of tero-watta has conclusively proved that by far 

 the greater majority represent flakes struck off from watei*- 

 worn pebbles. Such pebbles have been found in all stages 

 of operation- We find pebbles from which one or perhaps 

 two flakes were struck off, tentatively, as it would seem, 

 v^hile dozens or more flakes were struck off from others. For 

 ii'stance, not less than 13 flakes were struck off a portion 

 of a pebble now weighing 14j: ounces, found near Eokeby, 

 and more than 41 from the Kempton nucleus. My inves- 

 tigations have conclusively proved that the aborigines pre- 

 ferred the rock obtained in the shape of a water-worn 

 pebble to that found in quarries, even if such quarries were 

 situated closs to a camping ground. As above stated, I 

 believe that the reason for this preference was the better, 

 cleaner fracture of the water-worn pebbles. We might ex-, 

 pcet that a piece of rock which has been subjected to the 

 process of being rolled and worn by a torrential current 

 must be of good quality to withstand all this wearing down 

 process. It would appear probable that such a pebble 

 yielded better flakes than a piece of rock picked up in a 

 quarry, whose strength had net been previously submitted 

 to severe tests. 



However that may be. the main fact, viz., that the abori- 



