154 REPORT— 1870. 



Britain. The author attributed the megalithic monuiiients to both the Kymric and 

 Iberian divisions of the great Celtic race, and supported his views by a careful con- 

 sideration of the statistics of the physical characteristics of the inhabitants of Great 

 Britain collected by Dr. Beddoe, President of the Anthropolog-ical Society of 

 London, concluding by an appeal to those interested in the science to collect fur- 

 ther statistics. 



RemarTcs on Stone Implements from Western Africa. 

 By Sir Joiln Lubboce, Bart., M.P., F.R.S. 



Considering that at the present moment Africa is probably the most backward 

 in civilization of all the gi'eat continents, it is somewhat remarkable how deficient 

 it is in stone weapons ; that being, no doubt, owing to the great abundance of 

 sands containing iron, and the facility with which that metal is obtained. This 

 infrequency and almost entire absence of stone implements has been alluded to on 

 various occasions by those who have felt it to be a difficulty with respect to the 

 theory that the use of stone in all cases preceded the use of iron and other metals. 

 But although implements of stone are of rare occurrence in Africa, still they are by 

 no means altogether imknown. The first stone implements from the Cape of Good 

 Hope we owe to ilr. Busk. Others have been discovered by I\Ir. Dale, the Inspector 

 of Education in Cape Colony ; and they are remarkably similar to the flakes and 

 spear-heads which are found in Europe and elsewhere. In Egypt, also, stone wea- 

 pons of a very simple character have been found ; but from Southern Africa nothing 

 has yet been received that could be called an arrow-head. Sometimes small stone 

 implements are called arrows which are realty not worthy of the name. The truth 

 is that a sa\ age is very careful indeed in the manner in which he manufactures his 

 arrow-heads. It has probiibly taken him a day, or a day and a half, to get near his 

 game ; and it would be veiy provoking to him to miss his aim from any deficiency 

 in the form of his weapon. It is therefore great economy of time on his part to 

 devote a considerable portion of it to the manufacture of arrows which will be 

 tolerably true. Therefore perhaps scarcely sufficient caution is used in calling 

 small stone implements arrow-heads. Again, a very common type of stone imple- 

 ment found in Europe, the scraper, does not appear to be abundant in Africa. Sir 

 John exhibited a specimen from the Cape of Ciood Hope, which he said was the 

 nearest approach to the type which has come from that part of the world without 

 being at all a typical specimen. Stone implements of rough flint have also been 

 found in Mount Sinai, and a specimen was sho-wTi, found by Mr. Freeman, at Wady 

 Ithm, in the Syrian district, on the road to Petra. But the specimens to which 

 Sir John principally desired to call attention were some which have been sent over 

 by Mr. Reade from Western Africa, that gentleman being engaged in scientific 

 research in Africa at the expense of an enlightened merchant, Mr. Swanzy. It is 

 true that implements of this character have been sent to Europe before, but 

 they were very few, and did not attract much notice. Those now exhibited were 

 obtained at some feet underground, in sections exposed by the river near Accra. 

 There are several interesting points in Mr. Reade's letter, which accompanied them, 

 one being the idea that these stones are thimderbolts. We Imow that is a notion 

 which exists almost all over the world — from Western Europe to the far distant 

 regions of Hindostan. That they may be employed as charms, and also as medi- 

 cine, is a very general notion. Neither the depth at which these stones were found 

 or the superstitious notions connected with them can be taken as evidence that 

 they were of gi'eat antiquity. One of the axes from the African collection was put 

 in contrast with a tray of other axes from all parts of the world, in order that at- 

 tention might be called to the extreme similarity of these primitive implements. 

 There were examples from New Zealand, North America, Chili, English, Irish, and 

 German specimens, from Spain, British Guiana, South America, fi'om the river 

 Amazon, and from Australia. That common t^'pe, therefore, may tridy be said to bo 

 found all over the world. Besides the ordinary type, there was a wedge-shaped, 

 thick and very rounded forai, not so vridely distributed. The collection contained 

 also a quartz-pebble, which had a hole carefully drilled through it, and had been used 

 probably as an ornament. Considering the abundance of ores of iron in this African 



