188G. | 271 [Haynes. 



labelled " arrow-head," placed among the palaeolithic objects. As 

 for the " specimens of chipped arrow-heads," one of which he saw 

 " dag out before his eyes from the lowest gravels of St. Acheul," 

 I must remind him that the age of beds of river-gravel is in in- 

 verse ratio to their position in the valley. The oldest gravels 

 are the highest up the bank ; and it is possible he ma} 7 have seen 

 a neolithic, chipped arrow-head dug out of the bed lowest down 

 and nearest to the river, and consequently the latest deposited. 

 Moreover, I think it would have been better if Doctor Julien in 

 his reference to Plates 29 and 30 of the first volume of Boucher 

 de Perthes celebrated work, which are described in Chapter 19, 

 of the same volume, had quoted the exact language used by the 

 author in his description. He says: " No. 11 represents arrow- 

 heads, or rather something resembling them in shape ; for, with 

 the exception of the smallest, I doubt if they could ever have 

 served for weapons," p. 407. In his second volume, where he is 

 describing with much greater particularity the objects represented 

 upon this same Plate 19, he calls them " those heavy, rude lance- 

 heads, serving for projectiles," p. 261. The following chapter, 

 No. 28, is entitled " Arrow-heads of stone and bone," and be- 

 gins as follows : "Of stone implements those which are met with 

 most frequently in countries very anciently inhabited, and which 

 vary most in shape, are arrow-heads. The first, as we have said, 

 heavy and rude, were not provided with shafts ; they were thrown 

 by hand, or by the help of a wooden tube. But the range of 

 these projectiles could not have been large, or their direction very 

 sure. Afterwards the heads were made lighter and they were 

 placed at the end of reeds, to which feathers were added ; 

 and they were then cast by the help of a bow," p. 278. Thus 

 it is evident that Boucher de Perthes did not have in mind 

 "arrow-heads," but "lance — or javelin — points" when he was 

 describing those heavy, triangular, pointed flakes, which are not 

 unfrequently found in the gravel-beds of the Somrae, associ- 

 ated with the rude, heavy, chipped palaeolithic axes, of the so- 

 called type of St. Acheul. That implement is generally regarded 

 by archaeologists as the one used by man in his earliest stage ; but 

 members of this society may recollect that some time since I sug- 

 gested reasons for not considering that type of implement to be 

 the primitive one (Proceedings of Boston Society of Natural His- 

 tory, xxi, p. 382). 



