On Some Uses of Flint Implements. 



9? 



periods were frequently in use at one and the same time The same 

 ta&y be said of countries. England has passed through its Stone 

 Ag-e, its Bronze, and its Iron Age, while there are countries which 

 have not yet emerged from their Stone Age, and where the use of 

 metal is entirely unknown. It is from these countries that in- 

 formation is obtained on this subject, for in them are found imple- 

 ments in daily use in no way differing from those found on the 

 Wiltshire downs. 



The implements now referred to are : — 



1 Celts. 



2 Hammers. 



3 Hammer-Stones. 



4 Scrapers. 



5 Finger- Flakes. 



6 Flint Flakes and Cores. 



There are several other stone implements, but the above are 

 sufficient for the limits of this paper. 



Celts. — The most important of the stone implements are what are 

 now generally known as celts (a word derived from the Latin celtis 

 =a chisel) . Of these some are simply chipped ; others, after 

 having been chipped, have been polished at the edges ; and others 

 have been most carefully shaped and polished throughout. They 

 are found in many places in England especially, as in this neigh- 

 bourhood, where flint abounds, and they vary in length from a little 

 more than an inch to 9 or 10 inches. They are generally found on 

 the surface, unless (as in barrows) where they have been buried with 

 the body of their original owner. No doubt many that are found 

 simply chipped were afterwards intended to be ground and polished, 

 though this has never been accomplished. The process of making 

 them appears to have been to have first chipped the raw material into 

 the shape and size it was intended to take, and then, if necessary, 

 to have rubbed down with water in a groove in a hard piece of sand- 

 stone. Pieces of sandstone adapted for this process have been oc- 

 casionally found, one remarkable instance having been discovered 

 many years ago by the late Mr. William Cunnington in a barrow 



VOL. XIX. — NO. LV. H 



