1887.] PalceoUtMc Finds in South India. 271 



sucli as agates, chert, jasper, lydian stone, and quartz of different kinds ; 

 these had doubtless been collected to be converted into flakes and 

 small scrapers, or, possibly, simply because of their bright and pleasing 

 colours. In three places, stone beads of good workmanship were found ; 

 of these two were of reddish carnelian, two of delicate green quartzite 

 of extremely fine texture, and one of shell. Lastly, I must not omit to 

 mention several pieces of tolerably soft deep red haematite which had 

 been rubbed down to smooth surfaces on one or more sides and in all 

 probability been so rubbed down to furnish a pigment for decorative 

 purposes, very likely as rouge for the cheeks of the Neolithic ladies. 

 The North Hill at Bellary yielded several of these, and I noticed other 

 pieces of haematite which had evidently been brought from a distance 

 for some similar purposes, but had never been used. 



Of the dwellings of the Neolithic folk, no positive traces remain ; 

 from which it may reasonably be inferred that they were of rather 

 perishable character, like the thatched huts with mud walls of so large 

 a proportion of the lower classes among the present inhabitants of the 

 Southern Deccan. It is useless to speculate about what they may have 

 been like. Small roofless huts, with rough mud and stone walls, exist 

 in plenty at some of the many settlements, but in each case there were 

 manifest signs of comparatively recent occupation of the place, and in 

 no case did I find any implement or fragment of antique pottery inside 

 such huts, although I carefully searched many of them. 



Mr. Fraser discovered two settlements of the Neolithic people, those 

 of the North Hill at Bellary and the south side of the Peacock Hill ; and, 

 since December 1884, I have found over forty others, large and small. Of 

 these, I have prepared a list, which will be found further on. I have 

 indicated the principal ones on the map accompanying this paper, from 

 which will be seen how they cluster together chiefly in the neighbourhood 

 of Bellary. Of the forty odd I have enumerated, ten, judging them 

 by the number of implements they yielded, may be reckoned as first class, 

 eight, as second class, and the remainder, as third class. 



The respective positions of these different settlements are of im- 

 portance and show that the old Stone-folk had a very decided preference 

 for occupying commanding positions which were defensible against 

 their enemies. These they seem to have found preferably on the granite- 

 gneiss hills so numerously met with in the Bellary- Anantapur country. 

 Not a single one of their settlements is found on the non-granitoid 

 hills in the immediate neighbourhood, though many of these are as lofty, 

 or much more so. I have given much careful consideration to this 

 important point, and think that four good and sound reasons appear to 

 have prevailed with the stone-folk when selecting the sites for their 



