vol. 54.] implements from the plilteait-gbavels. 297 



Discussion. 



Prof. Seeley remarked that, as a member of the Committee of 

 the British Association assisting Mr. Harrison in collecting plateau 

 flint-implements, he had been impressed by the skill with which the 

 evidence was marshalled (by Mr. Harrison and others) to illustrate 

 the use of the flints in the domestic life of the people. But with 

 regard to a large part of the evidence, he thought that there was 

 experience of the production, both by natural strain in beds of chert 

 and flint and by chance blows of the hammer, of some such forms 

 as had been termed Eolithic, not only in general shape, but also in 

 the finely-chipped condition of the edge, which was regarded as 

 especially worked. In many beds of river-gravel flints occurred 

 which showed no indication of design in their forms, but had a 

 margin chipped, as though the flints forming the gravel had been 

 frozen together, and the strain had shivered the acutest edge. He 

 was inclined to follow therefore the example of Sir John Evans, in 

 suspending his judgment with regard to many of these reputed 

 Eolithic flints. 



Mr. H. B. Woodward said that he had recently seen, in Dr. Black- 

 more's museum at Salisbury, a series of the ' Eolithic implements,' 

 and he was much impressed by the apparent evidences of design which 

 they afforded. He had also, under the guidance of Dr. Blackmore, 

 examined the plateau-gravel at Alderbury whence many of the flints 

 had been obtained, and these were considered to have been hacked 

 rather than chipped into their present forms. It was noteworthy 

 that Dr. Blackmore had not obtained a single Palaeolithic implement 

 from this plateau-gravel, whereas in lower-level gravels near Salis- 

 bury such implements did occur, and among them were specimens 

 which had been fashioned after the same type as some ' Eoliths,' 

 but more highly finished. 



Prof. T. EuPERT Jones, referring to the remarks made by one of 

 the foregoing speakers, observed that doubtless frost in splitting 

 flints can form more or less parallel-sided flakes, often concave and 

 thin on one edge, and convex and thick on the other, and that the 

 thin edge may be readily modified by natural causes ; but the 

 hooked and hollow-curved plateau-implements have the concave 

 edge thick, and intentionally chipped and hammered. The local 

 association of so-called Palseoliths with the others (known as 

 * Eoliths ' and ' old brownies ') in the plateau-gravel shows that 

 ancient man varied his work ; and the fact that ' Palseoliths ' occur 

 elsewhere without the 'Eoliths ' does not prove that the two patterns 

 had never been made at the same time. The several well-known 

 series of plateau-implements now in museums, showing numbers of 

 definite patterns, are sufiicient evidence of intention and design on 

 the part of early man. There are many of both odd-shaped and 

 regularly-shaped forms, of which the intended uses are ambiguous 

 for us who know so little of savage life; their hammered edges, 

 however, are not of accidental but of intentional origin. 



Mr. A. E. Salter said that he would like to know upon what 



