﻿420 
  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1922. 
  

  

  the 
  four 
  later 
  stages, 
  is 
  characterized 
  by 
  a 
  greater 
  variety 
  of 
  im- 
  

   plements 
  which 
  are 
  also 
  noteworthy, 
  both 
  for 
  their 
  greater 
  artistic 
  

   finish 
  and 
  their 
  wider 
  range 
  of 
  usefulness; 
  they 
  are 
  found 
  princi- 
  

   pally 
  in 
  the 
  caverns 
  and 
  rock 
  shelters. 
  It 
  is 
  also 
  marked 
  by 
  the 
  ap- 
  

   pearance 
  of 
  bone 
  implements 
  and 
  the 
  beginnings 
  of 
  the 
  arts 
  of 
  

   sculpture 
  and 
  painting. 
  

  

  "Eoliths." 
  — 
  Preceding 
  the 
  Paleolithic 
  period 
  is 
  assumed 
  by 
  some 
  

   archeologists 
  an 
  "Eolithic 
  period" 
  ("dawning 
  stone 
  age"), 
  which 
  

   is 
  supposed 
  to 
  have 
  reached 
  back 
  into 
  the 
  Tertiary 
  epoch 
  of 
  geology. 
  

   The 
  finds 
  attributed 
  to 
  the 
  "Eolithic" 
  period 
  are 
  roughly 
  worked 
  

   pebbles, 
  or 
  nodules, 
  slightly 
  trimmed 
  on 
  one 
  margin, 
  deeply 
  stained 
  

   to 
  a 
  deep, 
  ocherous 
  brown 
  color, 
  indicating 
  age, 
  and 
  usually 
  bearing 
  

   marks 
  of 
  drift 
  action. 
  They 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  south 
  of 
  Eng- 
  

   land, 
  notably 
  on 
  the 
  chalk 
  plateau 
  of 
  Kent, 
  and 
  in 
  some 
  districts 
  

   of 
  France, 
  Belgium, 
  and. 
  Spain. 
  They 
  are 
  believed 
  to 
  represent 
  the 
  

   earliest 
  known 
  attempts 
  of 
  man 
  at 
  tool 
  making. 
  

  

  Although 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  necessity 
  that 
  man 
  should 
  have 
  

   passed 
  through 
  an 
  earlier 
  stage 
  before 
  arriving 
  at 
  the 
  precision 
  of 
  

   workmanship 
  and 
  the 
  fixed 
  types 
  characteristic 
  of 
  the 
  Paleolithic 
  

   period, 
  the 
  geological 
  age 
  of 
  these 
  relics 
  is 
  not 
  well 
  determined 
  and 
  

   it 
  is 
  even 
  a 
  question 
  in 
  many 
  cases 
  whether 
  they 
  are 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  

   human 
  hands, 
  as 
  flints 
  may 
  be 
  chipped 
  by 
  pressure 
  of 
  shifting 
  gravel, 
  

   glacial 
  action, 
  or 
  falling 
  masses. 
  It 
  is 
  therefore 
  doubted 
  by 
  some 
  

   archeologists 
  whether 
  the 
  crude 
  flints 
  assigned 
  to 
  that 
  period 
  are 
  

   artifacts 
  or 
  are 
  of 
  natural 
  origin. 
  

  

  Azilian-Tardenoisian 
  period. 
  — 
  As 
  connecting 
  links 
  between 
  the 
  

   Paleolithic 
  and 
  Neolithic 
  periods 
  are 
  regarded 
  the 
  relics 
  found 
  in 
  

   the 
  cavern 
  of 
  Mas 
  d'Azil 
  (provincial 
  form 
  of 
  Maison 
  d'Azyle), 
  

   Ariege, 
  and 
  in 
  Fere-en-Tardenois, 
  Aisne. 
  The 
  typical 
  implement 
  

   of 
  the 
  former 
  locality 
  is 
  the 
  flat 
  harpoon 
  of 
  red-deer 
  horn, 
  while 
  

   the 
  finds 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  place 
  are 
  characterized 
  by 
  small 
  flint 
  instru- 
  

   ments 
  and 
  tools, 
  affecting 
  geometrical 
  forms, 
  such 
  as 
  triangle, 
  

   trapeze, 
  rhomboid, 
  etc. 
  

  

  II. 
  THE 
  NEOLITHIC 
  PERIOD. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  Neolithic 
  period 
  the 
  physical 
  conditions 
  were 
  similar 
  to 
  

   those 
  of 
  modern 
  times. 
  The 
  configuration 
  of 
  the 
  land 
  was 
  practi- 
  

   cally 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  at 
  present 
  and 
  the 
  severe 
  arctic 
  conditions 
  had 
  

   passed. 
  Of 
  the 
  animals 
  which 
  lived 
  with 
  the 
  cave 
  man, 
  some, 
  like 
  

   the 
  mammoth, 
  had 
  become 
  extinct, 
  others, 
  including 
  the 
  reindeer, 
  

   had 
  wandered 
  to 
  distant 
  regions. 
  The 
  animals 
  associated 
  with 
  man 
  

   belonged 
  to 
  existing 
  species. 
  

  

  The 
  implements 
  and 
  weapons 
  of 
  Neolithic 
  times 
  were 
  made 
  in 
  a 
  

   great 
  variety 
  of 
  well-defined 
  forms 
  and 
  exhibit 
  a 
  high 
  grade 
  of 
  

  

  