420 
DAVIS: A^'CIE^'T flint-users of YORKSHIRE. 
pebble, whicli he sliglitly rubbed on another stone to give it a bite or 
tooth; and the next requisite was a small piece of wood. Now 
seating himself he placed the wood beneath his toes, with the glass 
resting edgeways on it, between his first and second toes; with light 
blows, adapted to the nature of the flake he wished to strike off, he 
then deftly chipped the glass into its first rude leaf-shaped form ; 
this being accomplished lighter blows were given, until a certain 
amount of finish was obtained. Then, by slight taps from a small 
and flat-edged stone, the fine point, and the finely-serrated edge, were 
gradually formed. The whole operation did not occupy more than 
half-an-liour, and the specimens are rude in appearance, having been 
made hurriedly in order to explain the process. Still it is wonderful 
that a material so brittle and treacherous as glass could be worked 
into this form by such simple means." The hammer stones found on 
the wolds appear to be very similar to those used by the Australians 
in the manufacture of their implements, and Dr. Evans has pointed 
out that flakes may be produced from a flint nodule b)^ means of a 
rounded pebble used as a hammer, simply held in the hand. The 
spear heads are attached to shafts several feet in length, composed 
of heavy acacia wood in the upper half, the lower being made from 
bamboo. The flint or glass head is attached by means of a tenaceous 
cement, a gummy substance which exudes from a gi'ass and is 
gathered for the purpose. It is soft when warmed, but on cooling 
the spear head remains firmly fixed. 
The Australians use stone hatchets very similar in form to those 
found in Yorkshire. They are man\ifactured in the same way as the 
flints, and then undergo a further process of grinding to a smoother 
edge. They do not appear to be used in warfare, but for the purpose 
of cutting wood to various uses. The manner of fixing the head is 
peculiarly simple and interesting. A slip of acacia wood, about^ the 
diameter and thickness of a barrel hoop, is doubled by the aid of heat 
into a loop, and in this loop the hatchet is fixed with spinifex gum ; 
the two sides of the handle are then brought together, and fastened 
firmly with ligatures of kangaroo sinew, the length of the handle 
being usually 16 or 18 inches. The stone chisels, which gTeatly 
resemble the implements supposed to have been used for dressing 
