211 



and concave scrapers is the chief characteristic of the most 

 ancient types of implements, whether eolithic, palaeolithic,, 

 pygmian, or Tasmanian. The same occurs in the case of the 

 Australian artefacts, but these are usually of smaller make 

 than the tableland examples. 



6. Hand choppers of large size also occur. Some of these 

 have a heavy butt end and, at the other, are worked to a 

 point, like the French form known as a coup-de-poing, but 

 instead of being worked to be biconvex in transverse section, 

 as in the case of the latter, they have a flat ventral face and 

 are roughly worked on the dorsal side (see example described, 

 No. 15, and figured, pi. xx.). In other examples the 

 implement takes a reversed form, so that the pointed portion 

 becomes the hand end, and the opposite, or broad end, is 

 chipped to a cutting edge (pi. xix.). 



7. The examples answering to the tableland type are, 

 almost invariably, highly coloured of an ochreous or 

 ferruginous hue, varying as reddish, yellowish-brown, or 

 dark- brown, sometimes almost black, agreeing in all respects 

 with the colour that is characteristic of the gibbers among 

 which they are found. This colour is, indeed, characteristic 

 of stony deserts in all parts of the world, and arises from the 

 presence of iron in the soil and w T aters of a country existing 

 under arid conditions. 



8. All the implements of 'the gibber type carry more or 

 less of a glazed surface. This glaze is frequently as fully 

 developed on the chipped surfaces as it is on the unchipped 

 portions. The same feature is commonly seen on genuine 

 prehistoric stone implements in all countries, and is taken as 

 an evidence of age and genuineness. It is as evident to the 

 touch, in an oily and greasy feel, as it is to the eye as a glaze. 

 This feature, often associated with a weathered surface in 

 flints,. is known as patina from the resemblance that it bears 

 to the glaze of pottery, or its likeness to an oxidized coating 

 seen on metals as the result of weathering. 



9. While the chipping is very clearly defined in the 

 examples under description, some of them possess a blunted 

 edge which can be best explained from the wear they have 

 suffered by use. 



(b) DESCRIPTION OF INDIVIDUAL EXAMPLES. 



1. A claw-shaped Instrument . Size, 5^ in. x 4^ in. The 

 under-side is roughly shaped to a flattish face by a number 

 of secondary chippings that do not show conchoidal fracture. 

 It is ridged on both faces and has a roughly-triangular outline. 

 The trimming has been cleverly executed (on a not very 

 workable stone) so as to produce two sharp edges and a curved 



