ANCESTRAL MAN. 9 



projecting stones, was borne as a sign of authority. Curiously 

 constructed and unserviceably large flint arrow-heads were used 

 on occasions of state parade. The delicately wrought, sometimes 

 massive and sometimes miniature stone axes, often found in 

 sepulchres of the fifth century, had probably a similar, though a 

 religious meaning. And, inasmuch as one of the Welsh names 

 for flint is careg dan or charm stone, we may suppose that the 

 original knowledge of the value of the material survived as a 

 superstitious regard. Moreover, it is worth observing that, even 

 after the introduction of bronze and iron, metallic weapons were 

 made, for a long time, of the same shape and size as the old ones 

 of stone. 



Flint implements have been met with in nearly all parts of the 

 world, and everywhere alike they bear to each other a striking 

 general resemblance in form and workmanship. It was supposed 

 until recently that there were no indications of a stone age in 

 Africa. In Egypt, however, are found thin, flat, leaf-shaped 

 knives of dark cherty flint ; and near Tunis Dr. Belucci has lately 

 discovered, both on the surface and at a depth varying from a 

 foot to more than two feet below it, flint flakes and cores. 



In places where flint does not occur naturally and could not be 

 readily obtained from a distance, weapons were made of other 

 silicious stones. Obsidian was much used in Mexico. Arrow- 

 heads and scrapers, made of quartzite and jasper, have been dug 

 up in Cape Town eighteen feet below the surface ; and similar 

 implements have been met with near Graham's Town. 



An interesting discovery has lately been made in Russia, by M. 

 Shaposhnikoff. In the district of Valdai, where a forest had been 

 cut down, and the wind had denuded the sand of the subsoil, 

 great numbers of stone implements were brought to light, such as 

 knives and saws, of very perfect workmanship. But there were 

 also similar implements in miniature made of the finest kind of 

 flint, as well as ornamental designs in stone. 



In other parts of the world weapons have been found made of 

 chert, felstone, basalt, porphyry, and even of slate. Indeed for 

 some purposes, flint is not the best tool. It has been found by 

 experiment that granite is better sculptured by tough stones like 

 diorite ; and this corresponds with the p/actice of the present 

 time, since the steel implements used for cutting granite are of a 

 much softer temper than those employed for cutting sandstone. 

 The great stone of Montezuma, which was transported to the 

 city of Mexico by ten thousand Indians, is said to have been 

 sculptured by thirty workmen with stone axes. 



Silicious implements, as well as material for their manufacture, 

 must often have been carried long distances. Thus, axes of jade 



