1865.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 127 



According to native testimony, both bronze and copper celts are 

 known, but are so highly valued as never to be parted with, and the 

 only one I ever saw was a palpable imitation. Mr. Foote in his very 

 interesting paper on stone weapons from Madras has made a slight 

 mistake which I may as well here correct. His words are : " Except- 

 ing a doubtful fragment of a stone implement found by Mr. Theobald 

 of the Geological Survey of India in the G-angetic alluvium near the 

 mouth of the Soane (Son) no traces of chipped stone implements had 

 previously been discovered in India." Now the only fragment of a 

 celt found by me in the alluvium of Behar was a fragment of a celt of 

 the polished, not chipped type. This fragment was figured in the 

 Journal and no more doubt attaches to it than to the most perfect 

 weapon existing. An extremely dubious celt was likewise figured, 

 so roughly shaped, as hardly to deserve the name of being chipped, 

 but which I consider an authentic tool. The only other doubtful case 

 I now produce, No. IX. and it certainly is doubtful if it is not merely an 

 accidentally weathered fragment of hard tessalated rock, but it certainly is 

 not of the chipped type. At the same time, long before my attention was 

 awakened on the subject, I believe I have met with silicious flakes in 

 the alluvium, which had attracted merely a cursory notice, and were 

 referred by me to old gun flints, but which I now believe to have been 

 of a very different character. No record, however, was ever made, 

 and to Mr. Foote undoubtedly belongs the credit of first announcing 

 the discovery of chipped celts in India — though anticipated by Mr. 

 LeMesurier as regards arrow-heads. The slight stone flakes used by 

 the Andamanese, though of course very similar, cannot fairly be placed 

 in the same category with the established forms of celts in habitual 

 use among preadamite man. 



" The following note, I now read, on stone weapons found in Bengal 

 is by Mr. Ball of the Geological Survey. 



Stone Implements found in Bengal, 1865. 



The circumstances under which these implements were found are as 



follows : being somewhat sceptical as to the artificial origin of certain 



celts I had seen at different times, I was anxious to make a collection 



! of obviously naturally fractured pebbles, in order that I might see 



1 how closely their forms would approximate to those of undoubted 



