328 
several historical events connected with the invasion of Ire- 
land by the Danes. 
Mr. Worsaae commenced by observing, that all the anti- 
quities found in Ireland, as well as in other countries, are to 
be divided into two large classes. Those of the first are of 
the greater importance, being all of a time in reference to 
which we have no historical records. ‘The monuments of the 
second class, belonging to a later period, could not give infor- 
mation of so much value, because we have from written re- 
cords a certain degree of knowledge as to the civilization of 
the time ; but it is a remarkable fact, that the antiquities of 
the second class were, until lately, regarded with the greatest 
interest, because of the prevailing inclination to combine the 
study of antiquities with that of written records. It was long 
before archeologists could bring themselves to relinquish that 
mode of research, and come back to a critical examination of 
the monuments, without being influenced by written records ; 
but the time seems at length to have arrived, when it has 
become possible to enter upon an entirely new inquiry into 
the history of the earliest state of the European nations, by 
means of the antiquities alone. 
§ 1. The Stone Period. 
With regard to the existing collections of different kinds 
of stone implements, found in nearly all parts of Europe, it 
is interesting to compare those implements with the stone 
hatchets, knives, &c., found in America and Africa, and still 
used by the natives of the South Sea islands. Such a compa- 
rison indicates that they have been used by tribes which sub- 
sisted by fishing and hunting; and the striking resemblance 
of the forms is a direct proof that different people, in the 
same uncivilized state, use weapons and implements of ex- 
actly the same description for killing animals and _build- 
ing houses. It is well known that a great number of stone 
hatchets, arrow-heads, and lance-heads, have been found in Ive- 
