KBVIBWS. 



265 



REVIEWS. 



1. —Ceylon Stone Implements.* 



The publication of this volume marks the first attempt on 

 the part of a resident to give a connected account of stone-age 

 discoveries in Ceylon and to formulate theories as to the uses 

 to which the stones were put, theii- age, and their place in the 

 great scheme of Uthic remains which is being tentatively con- 

 structed by the efforts of European antiquaries, not without 

 doubts, disagreements, and controversies. 



Of these labours, it is to be feared that the late Mr. Pole 

 was almost totaUy ignorant. Whenever the stone-age 

 literatm-e of Ceylon grows to respectable proportions and can 

 be summarized and surveyed by a master of the science, 

 honourable historical mention will always be accorded to 

 Mr. Pole, who was not only the first in the field of inquiry, 

 but who persisted in the face of increduhty and discourage- 

 ment, until his discoveries, in themselves humble, were 

 confirmed by the Doctors Sarasin and placed beyond dispute 

 by subsequent investigations. The death of Mr. Pole in 

 June, 1913, adds an additional pathos to the pubUcation 

 of the volume which he never lived to read, and renders the 

 task of examining it in detail one of more than usual deUcacy ; 

 but it would be a derehction of duty to permit this work to go 

 forth unchallenged as representing the reasoned conclusions 

 of inquirers into the questions raised by his discovery of 

 stone-age remains in Ceylon. 



To the most casual reader it wiU be at once apparent that 

 Mr. Pole was Httle quahfied either by temperament or by 

 acquired knowledge to decide these questions. Almost any 

 stone showing signs of human fracture was to him an imple- 

 ment, to which he would confidently assign a use, with the 

 result that the greater part of his coUection was composed of 



"Ceylon Stone Implements," by John Pole, Scarborough estate, 

 keliya, Ceylon. Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta, 1913. 



Maskeliya, Ceylon 



