OF THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 1 23 



possess. When a man died it was necessary, according to the relig- 

 ious beUef of the time, to bury his property with him, in order that 

 he might make a respectable appearance in the next world, and 

 with that object in view, nothing was considered by the deceased's 

 relatives as too valuable to be placed in the grave, hence it is that 

 so many really beautiful and valuable articles have been found in 

 the various burying places which have been opened. 



The evidences are very numerous, much more so than space 

 will permit, we will therefore confine ourselves to a few of the lead- 

 ing cases. 



J. EVIDENCES IN EljROPE. 



We have seen that among the Lacustrians, in Switzerland, the 

 trade consisted largely of amber, nephrite, flint, coral, and grain. 

 These articles had to be brought from widely different directions. 

 The amber from the Baltic, the nephrite from Central Asia, while 

 the coral and grain came from the Mediterranean, and probably 

 Egypt. 



Now no geological change that we know of can be credited 

 with the carriage of these articles from their original localities to 

 where found. If it were possible for such to be the case, then we 

 might expect similar articles to be found in other parts of western 

 Europe ; but we have no record of any such discoveries except in 

 dolmens. 



In many parts of Scotland urns containing flint arrow heads 

 have been found placed within ancient cists, showing that the natives 

 must have attached a considerable value to them. 



In the caves of France and Belgium, numerous evidences have 

 also been found, denoting the value placed upon various articles, and 

 the great care exhibited in placing them in such positions that the 

 dead man should not want anything when he arrived in the next 

 world. 



Ancient man in Europe built his tombs in a substantial manner. 

 The cromlechs or dolmens were constructed of heavy upright stones, 

 with others placed horizontally to cover them, so as to form a sort of 

 rude vault or chamber, which was in most cases enclosed by a tumulus 

 or mound of earth, and reached from without by a passage formed of 

 stone. These chambers are sometimes of large dimensions, and the 



