The South Australian Naturalist. 61 



An examination of the broken hammers and flakes of stone 

 cannot fail to convince the observer that though very primitive 

 in art, these dusky hunters of the past had some appreciation of 

 the beautiful as well as of the utilitarian. Not only did they 

 select dense and fine-grained stones with which to work, but 

 from considerable distances they brought, or had brought to 

 them, stones more btautiful in texture and colour than the 

 many-tinted quartzites which are to be found in beds of creeks, 

 on the beach at Marino Rocks, and in the glacial till at 

 Hallet's Cove. 



Common amongst the flakes of stone are pieces of chert 

 and chalcedony, such as may be found in the upland Miocene 

 beds, and in the sandstones of the interior. Although the spear- 

 heads and knives were formed of chert, chalcedony, quartz- 

 ites, and even from glass bottles, the hammers appear to have 

 been selected only from water-worn pebbles of quartzite. 



Mingling vv'ith the chips from spearheads and knives are 

 sharp-edged flakes of milky ai;id glassy quartz. The very-much- 

 fractured condition of massive quartz renders it of little value 

 for the making of spearheads, but its extreme hardness, w^hich is 

 greater than that of the blade of a knife, makes it indispensable 

 as a spokeshave and smoothing plane. With these sharp-edged 

 flakes of quartz the workman barbed and ornamented his spear, 

 or scraped the handles until they were smooth, well shaped, and 

 sufficiently balanced to suit the taste of the owner. 



Of the camping-ground, where meals were grilled and other- 

 wise prepared, evidence can be seen in the form of charred bones 

 and shells of molluscs, which protrude from the wind-swept faces 

 of dissected dunes, now covered with a carpet of grass. It is 

 easy to imagine from this wreckage the glorious banquets at 

 which native Australian royalty sat and fattened on shellfish, 

 kangaroo, possum, emu, wild duck, lizard, snake, succulent wood- 

 boring grubs, nardoo,* and a score of other delicacies, well 

 sprinkled with sand if not with salt. That sand was a constant 

 accompaniment to food is evidenced by the very much worn 

 teeth to be seen in skulls exhumed from the sandhills. 



These are some of the signs and symbols still legible on the 

 wind- worn pages of Nature's book. He who w^ould know^ more 

 of the history of these ruins of a primitive humanity must 

 delve and read for himself. 



* Nardoo, Marsilea drummondi, still groAvs near the creek which con- 

 nects the Torrens with the Port Elver. On the south side of the bridge 

 leading to Kircaldy there is a fine patch. 



