304 R. H. MATHEWS. 



of these holes, which are always of an oval shape, is illustrated in 

 Plate 43, fig. 4. 



Knives, — The next exhibits are a number of aboriginal stone 

 knives of various sizes, and different kinds of stone. These were 

 obtained by me in the County of Hunter, by digging into the 

 earthen floors of rock shelters which have been used by the natives 

 as camping places. They were found at depths varying from a 

 few inches to about two feet. They are all more or less interest- 

 ing, especially the three largest ones, Nos. 10, 11, and 12, which 

 are of a somewhat unusual type, and appear to have been used in 

 skinning and dressing animals. No. 10, [Plate 43, fig. 2) is a 

 piece of claystone, four and a half inches long by three inches 

 wide, and an inch three-eighths in thickness at the widest part, 

 having one of its longer margins ground on both sides to form a 

 cutting edge. This edge is irregular and sinuous, and could not 

 have been ground on a rock in the same way as the hatchets ; this 

 applies to the concave side of the edge, at any rate, which must 

 have been ground by a stone held in the hand, or on a convex 

 surface of a rock. My friend Mr. R. Etheridge, Junr., the 

 Government Palaeontologist, informs me that they are somewhat 

 rare, and are well worth collecting. Nos. 11 to 13 are stone 

 knives similar to No. 10, but not so large. 



No. 14 is a fragment of some crystalline rock, apparently diorite, 

 five and half inches long, four and three-quarters inches wide at 

 the widest part, and one and a quarter inch thick, ground to a 

 rough edge, and perhaps used for chopping up the carcases of 

 animals, splitting bones to obtain the marrow, breaking firewood, 

 &c. No. 15 is the same kind of stone as the last mentioned, but 

 much smaller, found in the same excavation. This fragment was 

 apparently chipped ready for grinding, but left unfinished. 



Nos. 16 to 20 are fragments of stone, found in the same localities 

 as the knives, and were probably used in cleaning and ornament- 

 ing the skins of animals, in tattooing, or for any purpose where a 

 sharp cutting edge was required. These fragments were either 



