THE PIGMIES. 17 



The Mincopies live exclusively on hunting and fishing, but owing 

 to their isolation and also to the fables that have been spread con- 

 cerning some of their habits, ( x ) they have been free to develop 

 quietly the various industries suited to their mode of life. The 

 results attained by these islanders had already forcibly struck the 

 learned observers who were the first in our time to study the 

 Andamans and their inhabitants. Notwithstanding their contempt 

 for these "savage negroes," Colebrooke, Symes, and especially 

 Mouat have in many instances done justice to their merits in this 

 respect. ( 2 ) Thanks to Mr. Man, we are now better acquainted 

 with them. He got together and sent to London a valuable col- 

 lection illustrating most of the native .industries, and of this 

 Major- General Lane-Fox ( 3 ) has given an account as interesting 

 as it is instructive. I can only very briefly sum up these various 

 documents. 



Let us notice first of all that the Andaman Islands, where iron 

 seems to have been introduced by the Chinese and Nicobarese, have 

 had their stone age, the remains of which are still to be found in 

 kioekkenmceddings, entirely similar to those of Denmark. These 

 heaps of " kitchen refuse" were discovered by M. de Roepstorfp ( 4 ) 

 and more closely examined by Dr. Stoliczka. ( 5 ) Hammers and 

 knives were found in them together with rude hatchets undoubted- 

 ly corresponding with the chipped implements of our stone age. 

 Close to these were discovered a polished axe which Stoliczka 

 declares to be identical with the " celts' of the neolithic period, and 

 also a real chisel, three inches long, with a sharp edge at one 



( i ) In a paper specially devoted to the Mincopies, I have recorded some of 

 the fables borrowed from Marco-Polo and Arab writers — {Revue d 'Anthro- 

 pologic, Vol. I, p. 40). 



( 2 ) I must here refer the reader to my first paper, already quoted. 



(s) Observations on Mr. Man's Collection of Andamanese and Nicobarese 

 Objects, by Major-General Lane-Fox, p. r. s., with four plates, (Ihe Journal 

 t>f the Anthropological Institute, Vol. VII, p. 434). 



(4) A Short List of Andamanese Test Words. {Proceedings of the Asiatic 

 Society of Bengal, 1870, p. 178). The Kicekkenmoedding discovered near Hope 

 Town was about 60 feet in circumference and 12 feet high. Several of such 

 and even larger heaps are to be found in various parts of Chatham Island. 



(5) 1 , Note on the Kicehheningeddings of the- Andaman Islands. (Proceeding* 

 of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1870, p. 13). 



