BRONZE AGE CIVILISATION. 49 



an Indo-European, as with a Phoenician origin of the Bronze 

 age civilisation. 



Moreover, there are two strong objections to the theory so 

 ably advocated by Professor Nilsson. The first is the cha- 

 racter of the ornamentation on the bronze weapons and im- 

 plements. This almost always consists of geometrical figures, 

 and we rarely, if ever, find upon them representations of 

 animals or plants ; while on the ornamented shields, etc., de- 

 scribed by Homer, as well as in the decoration of Solomon's 

 temple, animals and plants were abundantly represented. 

 Secondly, the Phoenicians, so far as we know them, were 

 well acquainted with the use of iron ; in Homer we find the 

 warriors already armed with iron weapons, and the tools 

 used in preparing the materials for Solomon's temple, were 

 of this metal. It is very remarkable, that scarcely any 

 traces of ancient commerce have been found in Cornwall, 

 and it is much to be regretted that our museums possess 

 so few specimens of Phoenician art. When these wants shall 

 have been supplied, as we may hope that ere long they will 

 be, there is no doubt that much light will be thrown on the 

 subject. 



The form of the head also would be very instructive ; but, 

 owing to the unfortunate habit of burning the dead which 

 prevailed at that period, we have, as yet, very few skulls 

 which can safely be referred to the Bronze age, and, on the 

 whole, we must admit that, for the present, the evidence is 

 not sufficient to justify us in expressing any very definite 

 opinion as to the source of the Bronze age civilisation. 



It is evident that a people who had acquired so fair a 

 proficiency in metallurgy and manufactures, who showed so 

 much taste in adorning the living, and so much reverence 

 in their disposition of the dead, must have had some ideas 

 of architecture and religion, although we have not, hitherto, 

 found any evidence either of a coinage or an alphabet. As 



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