THE REMAINS OF CITIES OF THE STONE AGE. 85 



framed of wood, a gigantic public work to be executed 

 by a tribe destitute of metallic tools. If we under- 

 stand rightly Cartier's description, the rampart of the 

 town consisted of a central support of vertical pali- 

 sades, with an outer row inclined inwards and resting 

 on this, and a similar inclined row supporting it 

 within. It must have been made, not of planks or 

 boards, but of unhewed logs, each about twenty feet 

 in length, cut with stone hatchets and carried on 

 men's shoulders. By the plan of construction adopted, 

 the necessity was avoided of digging deep holes for 

 the palisades, or of building a ramparfc of earth about 

 them, and the only danger to which such a structure 

 was exposed, that of fire, was much lessened by the 

 inclined position of the palisades. Still a wall of this 

 kind would perish in no very great number of years, 

 even if it escaped destruction by fire ; and if not 

 renewed would soon leave no trace behind. The poles 

 for such a fortification must have been very similar to 

 the poles of the Swiss lake habitations, and like them 

 they were probably cut and pointed with the aid of 

 fire. I have, however, in my collection a portion of a 

 large tree which has been partially cut across with a 

 thin chisel, probably of copper, which must have been 

 driven in by mallets or hammers. In this way thick 

 trees of the softer kinds of wood could easily be 

 divided. 



Vessels for collecting provisions and cooking food 

 are primary requirements of man in every stage of 

 civilization or barbarism. Here again the material is 



