416 EARLY MAN IN BRITAIN. [CHAP. xi. 



Each of these divisions merely represents the extent 

 of the influence of each local centre of industry estab- 

 lished after the arts of casting bronze became known 

 over the greater part of Europe. Each of these centres 

 arose from certain peculiar advantages. For the Scan- 

 dinavian, as we remarked above, there was the amber ; 

 for the Hungarian the tin mines of Bohemia and 

 Saxony; for the French those of Brittany and of the 

 central plateau of France ; for Italy those of Tuscany ; 

 while our imperfect knowledge of the mineral riches of 

 ancient Greece renders it impossible for us to assign a 

 reason why it should have been a centre. 



The Distribution of Gold in Europe. 



"We must now pass on to the consideration of gold 

 and amber. Gold is widely distributed in Europe in 

 the older rocks, and from its brilliant colour must 

 have attracted the attention of man probably before 

 the Bronze age. It occurs in the north of Scotland, 

 in Wales, in Cornwall, and in the Wicklow moun- 

 tains in Ireland, and from its very general association 

 with tin in the alluvial gravels, it probably led to 

 the discovery of the essential constituent of bronze. 

 It was used for earrings, pendants, and necklaces, for 

 ornamenting suits of armour and shields, and for mak- 

 ing cups in Britain in the Bronze and Iron ages. The 

 number of gold articles found in Ireland is probably 

 due to its former abundance in that island. Its wide 

 distribution in Europe renders it of little importance 

 in an enquiry into the commercial relations of the 

 inhabitants of Europe in the Bronze age. 



