388 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



LXY. — On the Poems and Geographical Distribution op Ancient 

 Stone Implements in India.. By Y. Ball, Esq., M.A., P.G. S. 

 of the Geological Survey of India. With Plates XIY. and XV., 

 and a Map (Plate XVI.). 



[Head, 30th of Xovember, 1878.] 



1. Madras. 



2. Hyderabad (Xizam's territory), and the Berars. 

 8. Central Provinces and Bandelkhand. 



4. Rajputana and Central India. 



5. Bombay. 



6. Sind and Beluchistan. 



7. Bengal and Orissa. 



8. Assam and adjoining Countries. 



9. Burmah. 



10. Andaman Islands. 



11. Sumatra. 



12. Java. 



13. Methods employed in the manufacture of the implements. 



14. Uses to which the stone implements were put. 



15. General and concluding remarks on the geographical distribution. 



16. List of Localities. 



INTE.ODLCTION. 



In the year 1864, shortly after my arrival in India, I commenced 

 making a collection of naturally fractured quartzite pebbles, for the 

 purpose of ascertaining how closely these objects, without the aid of 

 human agency, might approximate in form to the character of those 

 rudely chipped implements for which an artificial origin had in dif- 

 ferent countries been claimed. If not at that time an actual unbe- 

 liever in, I was at least somewhat doubtful as to, the evidence ad- 

 duced in certain cases being completely conclusive of the objects 

 having been the work of man. Prom time to time, however, in the 

 vicinity of the coal-fields of "Western Bengal, I picked up chipped 

 stones which seemed to show such strong evidences of design (vide 

 PL 14, Pigs. 1-3), that my views on the subject became considerably 

 modified. I trust that I shall be pardoned this personal explanation, 

 but it seems to be advisable that it should be clearly indicated that the 

 views and generalisations which I put forward in this Paper are the 

 result of many years' systematic observation and record. 



Two of the specimens now exhibited present a sufficiently close re- 

 semblance to the well-known forms to make it probable that they might 

 be regarded by a casual observer as not essentially differing from them. 

 A minute examination of the planes of fracture, however, soon shows 



