1893 - 94 .] Dr Munro on Rise and Progress of Anthropology. 233 
religions ceremonies, long after the discovery of metals had super- 
seded them in the ordinary affairs of life. For example, in the 
Egyptian process of embalming, the first incision on the body was 
made with a knife of Ethiopian stone, no doubt flint, as many such 
implements, supposed to have been used for this purpose, have been 
found in the tombs and elsewhere throughout the country. The 
Jews used stone knives for performing the ceremony of circum- 
cision ; and the priests of Baal when, as on the occasion of high 
festivals, they hacked their persons in order to ingratiate themselves 
with their god. It was a flint knife that Hannibal used when he 
sacrificed a lamb before he gave battle to Scipio on the banks of the 
Ticino. Underlying this religious conservatism, which ultimately 
gave a sacred character to these implements, was the fact that they 
were survivals of an age when metals were entirely unknown. 
This ceremonious retention of them to later ages may be paralleled 
by the present-day custom of placing an urn on the top of a sepul- 
chral monument. 
The light thrown upon the past by the correct interpretation of 
these worked stone objects, and the recognition of the ruder flint 
implements as the work of Man, opened up a novel field of research. 
The work of collecting and classifying specimens has progressed 
steadily ever since, and there is now at the disposal of archaeologists 
a vast amount of such material. The principle of classifying stone 
implements into Palaeolithic and Heolithic, first suggested by Sir 
John Lubbock, depends on whether they are roughly chipped or 
polished. The idea is that before Man recognised or acquired the 
art of giving a sharp edge to his cutting tools, he went on for ages 
manufacturing them by the rough and ready process of chipping. 
However trivial the new feature of polishing may be regarded at 
first sight, it really marks an important stage in the progress of 
civilisation. 
In the workmanship of palaeolithic objects various degrees of 
skill are detected, which may be traced in descending order to the 
stage when it becomes difficult to say whether we are dealing with 
the handicraft products of Man or not. They have indeed dis- 
closed to the eye of the expert so many distinct phases as regards 
form, size, manner of chipping, and patina or surface lustre, that 
their classification is by no means an easy task. French anthro- 
