STONE AGES OF CEYLON. 99 
Picks (or perhaps I should call them gravers) made from large 
thick flakes and large rude digging tools are characteristic. 
Chopping instruments occur, of course, arrowheads (rare), 
(?) spearheads, points of various kinds, borers, and discarded 
bulb-ends are not uncommon. Flakes are to be found in enor- 
mous numbers accompanied by hammer-stones. Besides these, 
the ordinary Neoliths and Pigmies of the hills are not wanting. 
A word about the peelers. These are worked on one face, 
and generally on one edge ; the chipping is on a large seale, 
so that the worked edge appears more or less engrailed or 
coarsely toothed. I suppose that these were used in preparing 
spear- and arrow-shafts, or sticks for fish kraals and traps. 
Nor must I forget to mention bits of hematite ground flat on 
one or more faces. The flat faces are covered with scratches, 
which I take as evidence that these curious relics were used 
for the production of pigment. 
Lastly, I may add that among the tools that I have 
mentioned, one occasionally comes across well-worn stones 
apparently chipped by man which recall the eoliths of Europe .* 
There are other forms besides these, but for the present we 
must pass them by. JI have merely mentioned the more 
important types as they presented themselves to my memory ; 
but enough has been said to support my main contention, 
which is, that among the lowland implements we have an 
assemblage of distinctly paleolithic forms, and also a cruder 
and possibly older set. Added to these we have others 
resembling the neoliths of the hills. Cireumstances have not 
permitted me to do much digging on the plateau sites, but I 
have several times recovered flakes in situ in the gravels, 
once a broken boring tool (?) (at Wellipatanwila), some crude 
pebble and eolithic forms (at Minihagalkanda and Kosgala), 
and a net-like tool, already mentioned, from the base of the 
red earth near Marichchukkaddi. The examination of steep 
and crumbling talus-heaps, particularly those of Minihagal- 
kanda in the Southern Province, leaves little room for doubt 
that the Paleolithic forms gathered therefrom were once in 
situ in the gravel. 


* Besides these, there are some quite unworn tools of eolithic type 
certainly, in my opinion, chipped by man. 
