THE ARCHEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK 1 5 



forever. Man became a fabricator and an artisan, and progress 

 began. With tools in his hands he could make things, and when 

 the making of these things was difficult or impossible with the tools 

 he had, he used his tools to make other tools with which to produce 

 the objects he desired. With the spread of the art of making things 

 man became the master of the beasts about him. 



The first tools were sharp fragments of stones broken by natural 

 agencies. Experience taught that the harder the stone the sharper 

 its edge, and finally some group of primitives through the handling of 

 flinty rocks and nodules discovered how to chip them with other 

 stones. With sharp flints, wood and bone could be cut and worked, 

 and thus industry began. So clear is this fact that almost every 

 process in the development of tools from the simple sharp chip to 

 finished stone knives can be traced, and thence, to the use of copper 

 and bronze, and so on until the present. 



Thus the germ of civilization, of material culture and of all that 

 flows from industry, began with the chipping of sharp bits of flint 

 and quartz. With these sharp things man was able to change the 

 world about him to suit his needs ; no longer was he the creature of 

 circumstance ; he could now overcome all circumstances with which 

 his inventions were designed to cope. 



Early in his career man made a captive of fire; he had sticks 

 with sharpened flints at the end — the spear ; and he had chopping 

 tools made of sharpened stones, which in later times he hafted; and 

 he had clubs. Man became bold and fought wild beasts with 

 confidence. Man had tamed fire; but the beasts feared it. The 

 hearth fire frightened away the prowling carnivora and at the same 

 time cooked the hunter's food; but of equal value, it conquered the 

 darkness and warmed his woman and his children. Little wonder 

 the wild races worshipped fire and its symbol in the sky. It was 

 flre that helped awaken gratitude in the heart of man for the unseen 

 powers and that aided him to pray. 



Through the agency of flint and fire man walked out of his 

 beastdom ; he walked upright " and sought out many inventions." 



Once in possession of these means of conquest little bands of human 

 creatures began to wander from the primitive home. Their inventive 

 proclivities developed with every hardship and every change of 

 climate. 



In almost every place upon the earth where mankind can exist, 

 there will be found implements of chipped chalcedony, jasper, quartz 

 or flint. To some extent the character of the stone guided the shape 



