272 TRAVELS AMONGST THE GREAT ANDES, chap. xiv. 



are rounded, except the bottom ones. In the next line (F— j) all 

 are of a chisel type. The tops and sides of these are sometimes 

 flat or angular, and sometimes rounded ; and the lower, or cut- 

 ting edges, are sharp. The examples in the next series (K— O) 

 bear some resemblance to a bill-hook ; the top edges are flat ; and 

 they are all pierced with holes drilled from the two sides. The 

 specimens in the next row have similar holes — otherwise they 

 approximate to the chisel type ; while the type represented in 

 the series U— Y differs from all the others in having projecting 

 shoulders, and (occasionally) in having a groove along the length 

 of the top edge, apparently to facilitate handling. 



All these five types were found in numbers, in many localities, 

 and have evidently been amongst the most common and generally 

 used implements during the Equatorial Stone Age. In minor 

 respects they exhibit considerable variety, and there are large 

 differences in their size, thickness, and weight. The type P— T was 

 the most numerous, and I brought home more than fifty examples. 

 The greater part have holes drilled from each side,^ though in 

 some the aperture is as broad internally as externally, that is 

 to say, it passes straight through. The positions of the holes 

 vary, — some being central, though most of them are nearest 

 to the top. The lower edge is always the sharpest ; and, while 

 many would not have cut butter, there are a few sharp enough 

 to cut wood. Their weight ranges from 3 J to 29 ozs., and like 

 the Stars in Stone they have been fashioned from a diversity 

 of rocks. 



Besides many examples of these five types, a large number of 

 undoubted Implements in stone were obtained, from which selec- 

 tions are given upon page 273. Those marked E, J, K, L, N— T are 

 unique, and the other forms are more or less rare. The central 

 one, marked M, was the only object for which the natives could 

 assign a use, and it was pronounced to be a corn-pounder. This 



1 These are not strictly speaking * countersunk ' holes. Thej^ are less in diameter 

 in the middle of the implements than they are on their surfaces. 



