118 FUHTHKU NOTKS ON HABITS OF TASMANIAN. ABORIGINES. 



no bulb of percussion. The indical face is rathei" convex, 

 and well worked. Upper, right, and lower edge are most 

 carefully chipped. The outline of the left edge was pro- 

 duced by a few large flakes being struck off in such a way 

 that a ridge runs to the extreme end of the two points. 



When we examine this specimen we perceive that a 

 good deal of work was spent to produce the regular curve 

 of the continuous upper right and lower edge, and, notic- 

 ing this, we may well ask, Why was the work not complet- 

 ed all round? Two blows would have been sufficient to 

 strike off the prominence, and a most perfect oval would 

 have I'esulted. Though the right edge could have served 

 as a scraper, the left edge was perfectly useless. I do not 

 think that anyone will assume that it served as a borer. 

 If it was a borer, why the careful trimming of the other 

 edge? The three concave portions are certainly not acci- 

 dental. We see distinctly that the upper middle and lower 

 one were produced by striking of a single flake. The flak- 

 ing was probably executed by means of a sharply-pointed 

 hammerstone. because the spot where the point struck the 

 pollical face can distinctly be seen on the edge. 



This specimen affords a still greater problem than 

 the above, and before proceeding further I want once more 

 to summarise the facts that cannot be disputed. These 

 arc :. — 



(1) There is the evident intention to produce a speci- 

 men of elliptical shape by the careful trimming of at least 

 5-6th of the circumference. 



(2) The lower, right, and upper edge arc most carefully 

 worked. 



(3) The peculiar outline of the left edge has been 

 produced by three separate blows, and the three concavi- 

 ties are, therefore, not accidentally produced. 



What conclusion can we draw fi'om the above obser- 

 vations? The fact that the left edge is much less care- 

 fully chipped than the rest of the circumference might 

 suggest the view that it represents a reject which was 

 dropped before it was finis-hed. I fully admit the weight 

 of this argument, but we may well ask is it possible to 

 imagine that after such an amount of work had been spent 

 in shaping it, it was dropped when two more blows liad 

 been sufficient for completion? If the theory of the un- 



