TUANSACTIONS OF SECTION H. 791 



sharpish ed<ie, like that of an axe or "chisel. In the process of forming this edge 

 one side of the autler had been rubbed down niucli more than the other, so that 

 the edge was formed by the hard solid part of the antler. The smooth shining 

 surface of this edge contrasted with the rough tuberculated appearance of the rest 

 of the antler. A piece of wood, 1.^ inch long, occupied the hole in the antler. 

 Though much shrunk, so as not to fill it, it was obviously the remains of a handle 

 with which the implement had been provided. The circular shape of the hole on 

 one aspect and its oval form on the other lead one to infer that the handle had 

 been a circular stick, secured in the hole by wedges of wood, after the manner in 

 which the handle of an axe is now fitted. From the hole not being midway 

 between the two ends, the implement was not evenly balanced, and the bevelled end 

 was longer than the hammer-shaped extremity. The selection of the end of the 

 antler furthest from the frontal burr for the formation of the bevelled edge enabled 

 the maker to obtain a denser part of the horn for the cutting edge. "When used 

 with a handle the bevelled end could be employed as an axe, and without the 

 handle it could be used as a chisel. I have little doubt that the implements found 

 along with the Airthrey and Blair-Drummond whales corresponded in sliape to 

 that which I have just described. Implements made of the antlers of the red-deer 

 are well known to archaeologists, and drawings and descriptions of several 

 varieties may be foimd in various publications. As a rule they seem to have been 

 fashioned into hammers or sharp-pointed implements. The particular pattern 

 found with these ancient whales is somewhat unusual. In the lloyal Museum at 

 Brussels, however, are some specimens from the Belgian bone caves which closely 

 resemble in shape that which I have described. I may refer especially to those 

 found in the Caverne de Montaigle, which were perforated with a hole for a handle, 

 had one end truncated, and the other bevelled to a chisel-like edge. 



The discovery of these horn implements proves that, when the fertile land now 

 forming the C/ivr.se of Stirling was submerged below the sea level, the surrounding 

 high lands were inhabited by a hardy Caledonian race, who manufactured from 

 the antlers of the red-deer usefid tools and weapons. I have already stated that 

 there is nothing in the form of these implements to lead one to suppose that they 

 could be used in the chase of the whale as lances or harpoons. It is probable that 

 the whales by the side of which they were found had been stranded during the 

 ebb of the tide, and that the people had descended from the adjacent heights, 

 and, with the aid of their chisels of horn, had spoiled the carcase of its load of tiesh 

 and blubber. In support of this view I may state that the three skeletons 

 along with which the implements were found were lying in proximity to the 

 edge of the Carse land, where it approached the adjacent high ground. It is ex- 

 pressly stated by Mr. Blackadder that the Blair-Drummond whale was found within 

 400 yards of the margin of the Carse clay. The Airthrey whale was exposed near 

 the high ground of the Abbot's Craig ; whilst the Meiklewood whale was lying at 

 no great distance from the foot of the Gargunnock hills. 



We cannot fix a precise date when the men whose implements we have been 

 considering lived in Scotland. It was of course long before the Roman occupation 

 of Britain, and preceded the beginnin<;' of the present adjustment of land and sea 

 on oiu* coasts. It is doubtless to be referred to the period termed the Neolithic, 

 the termination of which, according to the estimates of M. Morlot and other 

 geologists, could not have been less than from 5,000 to 7,000 years ago. 



4. The Origin of Human Faculty.^ By Professor G. J. Romanes, F.B.S. 



The author said that as the body of man was held to have been evolved, so 

 there was an ii priori probability that his mind had also been evolved from a rude 

 condition, and that probability was confirmed by the facts of comparative psycho- 

 logy. Animal and human intelligence showed correlative progress in development, 

 especially in the emotions, except of course in morals and religion. Such an A 



' Published in extenso in Brain, Oct. 1889. 



