166 



Sir Ray Lankester. 



these is the large more or less cylindrical flint, flaked at one end to a cutting 

 edge, which was discovered by Mr. Eeid Moir, in 1909, in the Sub-crag 

 detritus bed in Bolton and Laughlin's large clay pit at Whitton, Ipswich, 

 and figured by me.* This flint is 10^ inches in length and weighs 8 lb. 12 oz. 

 It is too heavy for use in one hand but might well have been held by both 

 hands and used for " pounding." 



The second is the most remarkable among a great number of very large 

 worked flints, recently discovered by Mr. Eeid Moir below the forest-bed at 

 Cromer in such a position as to indicate a workshop or flint-workers' " floor " — 

 of an age anterior to that of our river-terrace gravels. Mr. Moir will have 

 given a preliminary account of his discovery before the present communication 

 is published. The largest of the worked flints from this newly-discovered 

 " floor " weighs 7 lb. 6 oz., is 10 inches in length, 5J inches broad and at the 

 " butt " end is 4 inches thick. It has a rostrate form, a relatively flattened 

 ventral surface and is richly worked all over by large coarse flaking of 

 indubitable human origin. It presents a marked resemblance — both in 

 general form and in the character of the flaking of its surface — to the Selsey 

 rostrate as well as in its great size and weight. 



The point to which I wish to draw attention in regard to these three 

 unusually large and heavy flint implements, is that they belong to a very 

 early period, antecedent to that of the familiar tongue-shaped and ovate 

 implements of Chellaean and Acheulaean age. This is certainly true of 

 both Mr. Eeid Moir's big implements, and is probably true of the Selsey 

 rostrate. 



The early age of these big implements is consistent with the hypothesis 

 that they were made and used by an early race of men of heavier build than 

 that which succeeded them and produced the abundant ovates and tongue- 

 shaped implements of our terrace gravels. 



Whether made by an exceptionally big race or by men of the modern size, 

 the use of heavy big flint implements, such as the three which I have here 

 cited, presents a problem. If used merely as hammers or as club-heads they 

 would be unwieldy and would not require any special shaping — such as would 

 give precision to a smaller implement. The only suggestion I can offer as to 

 their use besides that of " pounding " or breaking into the cavities of the 

 bones of large animals in order to extract marrow, brain, etc. — is that they 

 were employed either affixed to a handle or held by the two hands for the 

 purpose of breaking a hole in the ice on the surface of a lake or marsh pool. 

 Fish come to such openings in the ice and are then readily speared or 

 captured. 



* ' Phil. Trans.,' B, vol. 202, pp. 323, 324 (1912). 



