STONE AGES OF CEYLON. 9] 
but the fact that their distribution is practically world-wide* 
shows that they were designed to meet a very general demand ; 
and, if I might throw out a suggestion in passing, it is that the 
pigmy tools were used chiefly in the manufacture of bone 
needles, and that the so-called “‘ back ”’ was really the business 
edge. Mr. Hartley has called attention to the curiously 
limited number of types of artefacts in the Hill series ; he says : 
* Nothing resembling an axe has ever been found in Ceylon. 
There was, besides, no chopper or heavy blade, no spearhead, 
saw, punch, or fabricator. . . . there were no sling stones 
or throwing discs, nor any sign of pot-boilers.”+ It should be 
remarked that this statement applies to the implements of the 
hill group only ; no information with regard to the tools of 
the lowlands was available at the time when Mr. Hartley’s 
paper was written. These omissions cannot be without their 
meaning, but I for one am disinclined to throw in my lot with 
those who believe that the makers of the pigmies “‘ maintained 
an inglorious existence by preying on the lesser creatures and 
trusting to flight from the more formidable.” 
It should be remembered that the tools of the Hill series 
have been collected almost exclusively from the tops of grass- 
covered knolls and ridges which protrude from the upland 
forests. There is no reason to believe that the natural con- 
ditions of this part of the country were essentially different 
in pigmy times; indeed, the large accumulations of flakes 
and cores, indicative of ‘factory sites,’ show beyond reasonable 
doubt, that patanas existed in those far off days much as now. 
There can be no question that the differentiation of crafts 
proceeds pari passu with the growth of civilization ; and, for 
my part, I believe this tendency to specialize expressed itself 
in very early times. One has only to see some of those 
excellent productions of the Solutrean periodt to realize that 
the individuals who could express designs in flint with such 
extraordinary skill had advanced beyond the ordinary run of 
men. I believe that since the earliest times men have made 

* England, France, Belgium, Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, 
Kast Africa, South Africa, India, Ceylon, and Australia are the countries 
from which pigmies have been recorded up to date. Doubtless they 
will be found in many more places yet. 
T Loe. ctt., p. 64. t See Appendix A, 
