70 PREHISTORIC FISHING. 



outside of the shaft to the outside of the hook, about one inch and four lines. 

 At the top it is thick and broken off straight, and below the thick end there is 

 a scarcely noticeable incision, or neck, i-ouncl which to tie the line. It tapers 

 downwards to the point, and has been chipped on both sides towards the front and 

 back ; it has, therefore, as we see, been fashioned with some skill to answer its 

 purpose. 



" Nobody who has seen the fish-hooks of bone, wood, or shell, made by 

 savages, can entertain the least doubt that this one has been used for the same 

 purpose. It is even possible to say with tolerable accuracy, judging from its 

 size and the place where it was found, what description of fish was principally 

 caught with it. Amongst the fish indigenous to the Sound (Oresund), on the 

 shore of which it was picked up, it would have been too large for the mouth of 

 eels, flounders, or whiting, but it is suitable in every way for the Oresund cod- 

 fish (Gadus callarias, Lin.), and this species of fish is still caught by hooks, here 

 and elsewhere. There is little doubt, therefore, that the said flint fish-hook was 

 used in ancient times for cod-fishing in the Sound. The other fish-hook of flint 

 (here Fig. 89) was found on the bank of the Kranke Lake, near Silfakra. It is 

 smaller, the length scarcely exceeding one inch and one line, and the breadth, 

 from the outside of the shaft to the outside of the hook, not quite six lines. It 

 has likewise been chipped in front and back, and the shaft widens at the top to 

 allow the line to be tied to it. It has been used for catching smaller fish than 

 the former. The Kranke Lake is still stocked with perch and eel, and an ' 

 experienced angler has assured me that one would still be able to catch these 

 kinds of fish with this very hook."* 



Fio. 88. Oresund. Fia. 89. Kranke Lake. Pio. 90. Scandinavia. (5270). 



FIGS. 88-90. Flint fish-hooks. 



Mr. John Evans makes the following statement with regard to flint fish- 

 hooks : " Fish-hooks formed entirely of flint, and found in Sweden, have been 

 engraved by Nilsson, and others, presumed to have been found in Holderness, 



* Nilsson : Primitive Inhabitants ; p. 22, etc. 



