CHIPPED PLINTS. 



63 



discolored by traces of the asphaltum, which either held in place a wooden 

 handle, or is what remains of a large rounded mass, which was itself grasped 

 as a handle. 



Except for this trace of asphaltum at the base, this specimen might 

 readily be considered an Eastern or Southern chipped flint. It is scarcely 

 less rude than many of the primitive implements of argillite and allied 

 minerals found in the gravel beds of New Jersey, and bears much resem- 

 blance to them. The simi- Fie. 6. 

 larity to European specimens, 

 both from the "drift" and from 

 the surface, is very marked, 

 and is a good example of the 

 uniformity of chipped flints of 

 the more primitive types that 

 obtains throughout the world. 



Fig. 6 represents one of 

 those puzzling shapes of arti- 

 ficially-chipped flints that may 

 be considered any one of sev- 

 eral forms; yet in all respects 

 like no one. of them. While 

 classing it here as a cutting 

 tool, it may be a true scraper. 

 The specimen has the end and 

 both sides quite evenly flaked, 

 and the under surface (that 

 shown in the illustration) is 

 very smooth and a single sur- 

 face. There is no trace of asphaltum, and nothing otherwise that indicates 

 its having ever been attached to a handle. The oblique base has been 

 caused by a fault in the mineral, and is not a subsequent fracture. It is 

 evidently a finished implement, though it may not have been designed for 

 a knife or cutting implement of any kind. 



Flint knife. 



