/. Lubbock on the Ancient Lake Habitations of Switzerland. 169 



mers, axes, knives, saws, lance heads, arrow heads, corn crush* 

 ers, and polishing blocks. Some of the hammers were made of 

 serpentine with a hole pierced through one end, and are, like all 

 pierced stones, of very great rarity, belonging perhaps only to 

 the end of the Stone period. Some of them are cylindrical, 

 others more cubical in shape. 



The axe was preeminently tJie implement of antiquity. .It 

 was used in war and in the chase, as well as for domestic pur- 

 poses, and great numbers have been found, especially at Wangen, 

 (Lake of Constance) and Concise (Lake of Neufchatel). With 

 a few exceptions they were surprisingly small, especially when 

 compared with the magnificent specimens from Denmark ; in 

 length they varied from six inches down even as low as one, 

 while the cutting edge had generally a width of from 15 to 20 

 hnes. Flint was sometimes used, and nephrite, or jade, in a few 

 cases, but serpentine was the principal material. Most of the 

 larger settlements were evidently manufacturing places, and many 

 spoilt pieces and half finished specimens have been found. The 

 process of manufacture is thus described by M. Troy on. After 

 having chosen a stone, the first step was to reduce it by blows 

 with a hammer to a suitable size. Then grooves were made 

 artificially, which must have been a very tedious and difficult 

 operation, when flint knives, sand, a little water, and an unlim- 

 ^ed amount of patience, were the only available instruments. 

 Having carried the gooves to the required depths, the projecting 

 portions were removed by a skillful blow with a hammer, and 

 ^De implement was then sharpened and polished on blocks of 

 sandstone. 



Sometimes the hatchet thus obtained was simply fixed in a 

 oandle of horn or wood. Generally, however, the whole instru- 

 pient consisted of three parts. A piece of horn, two or three 

 inches in length, received the stone at one end and was squared 

 ft the other, so as to fit into a longer handle either of wood or 

 horn. These intermediate pieces present several variations, some 

 are simply squared, others have a projecting wing which rested 

 against the handle, some few are forked as if to receive a wedge, 

 a»a one had a small transverse hole apparently for the msertion 



The knives may be considered as of two sorts. Some differ 

 j;om the axes, principally in having their width greater than 

 heir length. In other cases they were made of flint flakes. In 

 jnis manner also were obtained the saws, which in addition had 

 J^tieir edges somewhat rudely dentated ; they were fixed into 

 Pandles of wood by some sort of cement; but we do not find 

 '^^^^"zerland any of the semilunar saws, which are frequent in 



^ JouH. Sci.-Secoxd Series, Voi.. XXXIV, No. 101.-Skft., lS6a 



