﻿STONE 
  IMPLEMENTS 
  IN 
  LATERITE. 
  57 
  

  

  a 
  certain 
  extent 
  directly 
  coincide 
  with 
  their 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  old 
  land 
  

   surface. 
  The 
  further 
  east 
  they 
  occur, 
  the 
  younger 
  they 
  would 
  then 
  be. 
  

  

  Bearing' 
  upon 
  this 
  point 
  is 
  an 
  interesting 
  discovery 
  made 
  by 
  my 
  

   colleague 
  Mr. 
  King 
  (in 
  1863) 
  of 
  a 
  spot 
  at 
  which, 
  or 
  very 
  close 
  to 
  which, 
  

   implements 
  appear 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  manufactured 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers. 
  

   To 
  quote 
  his 
  own 
  description 
  from 
  his 
  notes, 
  the 
  spot 
  ' 
  lies 
  towards 
  the 
  

   north 
  end 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  west 
  side 
  of 
  a 
  rocky 
  ridge 
  two 
  miles 
  and 
  three 
  

   quarters 
  north 
  by 
  east 
  of 
  Cupedoo. 
  The 
  flat 
  ground 
  at 
  the 
  foot 
  of 
  the 
  ridge, 
  

   and 
  extending 
  nearly 
  to 
  the 
  stream 
  flowing 
  southward 
  to 
  the 
  Narna- 
  

   veram 
  river, 
  is 
  formed 
  by 
  a 
  deposit 
  of 
  lateritic 
  sand, 
  gravel, 
  and 
  breccia 
  

   partly 
  overgrown 
  with 
  scrubby 
  jungle. 
  Sub-angular 
  and 
  rounded 
  frag- 
  

   ments 
  of 
  quartzite 
  are 
  frequent 
  on 
  the 
  undisturbed 
  surface, 
  but, 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  

   I 
  could 
  see, 
  there 
  are 
  no 
  implements. 
  This 
  general 
  level 
  of 
  the 
  ground 
  

   is, 
  however 
  broken 
  by 
  a 
  shallow 
  depression, 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  scouring 
  

   out, 
  or 
  denudation, 
  of 
  an 
  extensive 
  patch 
  of 
  the 
  lateritic 
  deposit 
  down 
  

   to 
  the 
  underlying 
  gneissic 
  or 
  crystalline 
  rocks. 
  

  

  The 
  thickness 
  of 
  the 
  deposit 
  is 
  very 
  variable 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  

   irregular 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  rocky 
  ground 
  on 
  which 
  it 
  rests, 
  but 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

   taken 
  on 
  an 
  average 
  as 
  between 
  1 
  and 
  3 
  feet. 
  Numerous 
  frag- 
  

   ments 
  of 
  quartzite 
  were 
  lying 
  on 
  this 
  denuded 
  surface, 
  as 
  was 
  the 
  

   case 
  on 
  the 
  adjacent 
  level 
  ground 
  ; 
  but 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  these 
  were 
  plenty 
  

   of 
  flakes 
  and 
  implements 
  (of 
  which 
  I 
  picked 
  up 
  ten), 
  besides 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  

   imperfect 
  and 
  broken 
  specimens. 
  The 
  weapons 
  brought 
  away 
  are 
  very 
  

   well 
  made 
  and 
  trimmed 
  to 
  a 
  more 
  regular 
  shape 
  than 
  the 
  generality 
  of 
  

   those 
  which 
  we 
  have 
  found. 
  The 
  specimens 
  referred 
  to 
  as 
  imperfect 
  

   suggest 
  the 
  idea 
  that 
  they 
  had 
  been 
  discarded 
  or 
  left 
  unfinished, 
  for 
  

   some 
  of 
  them 
  have 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  one 
  side 
  uniformly 
  chipped, 
  while 
  the 
  

   other 
  side 
  is 
  trimmed 
  only 
  for 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  from 
  the 
  edge, 
  leaving 
  a 
  

   ragged 
  lump, 
  which 
  only 
  requires 
  knocking 
  off 
  to 
  make 
  the 
  implement 
  

   symmetrical 
  as 
  to 
  its 
  sides. 
  Another 
  example, 
  illustrating 
  incomplete 
  

   manufacture, 
  presents 
  nearly 
  three 
  quarters 
  of 
  the 
  plane 
  edge 
  reduced 
  by 
  

   h 
  ( 
  57 
  ) 
  

  

  