164 W. B. Wright % A. 31. Peach— Neolithic Man in Colonsay, 



cases, was present, and formed a prominent coronoid angle : at its 

 posterior end it unites in suture with the surangular-articular, and 

 extends forward for a short distance closely adherent to the inner face 

 of the dentary : it is shown in text- fig. 48 of the Catalogue, where it is 

 marked spl. ; in the text-figure 46b it is nearly correctly shown, hut 

 is described as the coronoid process of the splenial. The splenial, so 

 far as is known, is entirely wanting in the mandibles of Muranosaurus 

 and Cri/ptocleidus, in which the dental groove remains open throughout 

 its length. In a specimen of the mandible of Tricleidus (R.) there 

 are traces of a very thin layer of bone crushed down into the groove ; 

 this may perhaps represent the remains of a very thin splenial element. 

 Of course, in Murcenosaurus and Cryptocleidus a similar structure may 

 have been present and have been lost in the process of fossilization. 

 The difficulty of determining the position of sutures in the more or 

 less crushed mandibles which were examined must be the excuse for 

 the error here corrected. 



Y. — Tue Neolithic Eemains of Colonsay, in the Western Isles 



of Scotland. 1 

 By W. B. Wright and the late Angus M. Peach. 



I. Introduction. 

 II. Former Investigations in Colonsay. 



III. The Colonsay Axe-heads. 



IV. The Newly Discovered Neolithic Floor. 

 V. Description of the Flint Implements. 



VI. Conclusions. 



I. Introduction. 



rnHE more exact investigation of the distribution and mode of 

 J_ occurrence of Neolithic remains has received a much needed 

 stimulus from the publication of Professor Brogger's memoir 2 dealing 

 with the position of the strandlines in South- Eastern Norway during 

 the stone age of that country. It lias been clearly demonstrated in 

 this important work that it is possible to distinguish, even in the 

 relatively short-lived Neolithic culture, certain phases of chronological 

 value, and to correlate these phases, by means of the distribution of 

 the implements which characterize them, with the successive stages 

 in the elevation of the land whkdi affected Scandinavia in postglacial 

 times. It has become clear, therefore, that the careful registration and 

 description of Neolithic relics may lead to the most important scientific 

 results, and it will be realized by all who indulge in archaeological 

 collecting that an exact determination of the locality of any find and 

 of the relations it bears to the superficial deposits of the neighbourhood, 

 more especially to the old shorelines which border the coasts of the 

 British Isles, is of the utmost importance. 



It must not be forgotten, however, that in Scandinavia conditions 

 were peculiarly favourable for such investigations. The amplitude of 



1 Published by permission of the Director of the Geological Survey of Great 

 Britain. 



2 W. C. Brogger, " Strandliniens Beliggenhed under Stenalderen i det 

 Sydostlige Norge " : Norges Geol. Undersdgelse, No. 41, 1905. 



