DESCEIPTIONS OF THE PLATES BONE IMPLEMENTS, ETC. 69 



shaft is made of light wood, rather slender, 18f inches long, and feathered at the 

 butt like an ordinary arrow. This specimen was given to us as having been 

 brought from Oriental Siberia. 



o 



These Dart-heads, perfect in some instances, but mostly broken, and nearly all 

 made of Reindeer Horn, occur in considerable quantities in some of our Dordogne 

 Stations ; and similar forms have been met with in like quantities in other caves 

 of the same age, in other parts of France, as well as in deposits referable to a 

 later epoch. In the caverns and rock-shelters of Perigord, however, it is not 

 unusual to meet with specimens of this kind bearing outlines, and sometimes 

 raised figures, of animals, of flowers, of arabesque ornaments, and of other designs, 

 the meaning of which escapes us, or which were merely fanciful and aimless 

 carvings. It is presumable that the many specimens elaborately and sometimes 

 tastefully carved were objects of show, rather than implements for actual and 

 daily use. The figures of animals and other ornaments are rarely single, but 

 are ordinarily repeated on both sides of the stem and in series of the same kind. 

 The Horse, indeed, is so frequently thus represented at our Dordogne Stations, as 

 almost to lead one to suppose that the figure of this animal had been adopted 

 as a social or national emblem by the people of this region ! 



B. PLATE IX. 



Figs. 1 a and 1 b. A fragment of a Dart-head, wanting, the pointed extremity, 

 and retaining a portion only of one of the sloping, cross-grooved, bevelled 

 faces of the wedge-like end. On each of its two opposite sides is carved what 

 appears to be a human forearm and hand, very badly executed, and presenting 

 only four fingers. On the arm are cut some oblique notches, in zigzag or 

 chevron, ill defined, and repeated not quite symmetrically, even in their 

 number, on the two sides. It is difficult to say whether in this carving there 

 were meant to be shown any marks of tattooing or of dress, or merely fanciful 

 lines of ornament. 

 From La Madelaine. 



Fig. 2. A perfect head or armature of a Dart, without ornament. It is rounded 

 towards the point, but is flattened at the middle of the stem and towards the 

 wedge-like end, which is bevelled and cross-grooved on both faces for insertion 

 in the cloven top of the shaft. The large notch just below the point is the 



