12 PERRY, Megalithic Monuments and Ancient Mines. 



Pearls and pearl-shell are found on the West Australian 

 coast, but so far as I know, no trace of megalithic influence 

 is to be detected there. This fact I note, but have no 

 comment to make upon it at present. It is, however, a 

 striking commentary on the thoroughness of the search 

 carried out by the megalith-builders that in their exploita- 

 tion of the whole world they seem to have missed only one 

 pearl bed, that at Broome, in Western Australia. In South 

 America the megalithic area overlaps that of pearl shells, 

 but on the other hand, it is very closely defined by that 

 of deposits of metals and precious stones. In America 

 the geographical distributions of pearls and megalithic 

 culture coincide with remarkable precision. Peru is the 

 only exception to this generalisation. 



Most of the area of distribution of megalithic influence 

 has now been surveyed. From Britain to America the 

 general relationship between megalithic structures and 

 the getting of metals, pearls, and precious stones has been 

 established. 



In the Baltic area, however, a new aspect of the pro- 

 blem presents itself. Amber is an article of ornament 

 which is of great antiquity. It is found in conjunction 

 with megalithic structures in such places as Spain, France, 

 Britain, and elsewhere, which shows that the builders of 

 such structures were acquainted with the substance. Siret 

 makes a statement regarding amber which is of great 

 importance (20, pp. 138-142). According to him, amber, 

 jet, callais, ostrich egg-shell, elephant- and hippopotamus- 

 ivory are found in Neolithic stations in Spain. " On ne 

 les trouve pas aux phases anciennes de cette civilization, 

 et sauf un peu d'ivoire il n'y en a plus de traces a l'age du 

 bronze .... Plusiers d'entres elles reparaissent dans les 

 colonies tyriennes (p. 142). 



Amber came from Holland, Sweden, and the Baltic 



