FLINT IMPLEMENTS. 
347 
places ? They are indicated in PL IX. First and foremost are 
the cores from which the flakes have been struck. These are verti- 
cal, merely for making flakes ; pyramidal for the same purpose 
or to be used as wedges and even rough heavy scrapers ; some of 
the former pattern seem to have been definitely fashioned for 
smoothing down stakes for stockades or spear-shafts, the ends of 
which may have been previously charred by fire. The ends are 
left round so as to be held in the hand, or pointed to fit into a 
socket, but the other extremity is, as Dr. Gfillespie first noticed, 
again broken across by a sharp blow at an almost constant angle, 
and the edge here bears marks of wear. In his paper read 
before the Anthropological Institute he says that in this form, 
commonly known as the u hoof core,” the angle was exceedingly 
constant at 70°. u Out of the 100 cores which I examined 1 2 were 
double-ended, 35 were bevelled at an angle of 70° as near as 
possible, 10 at 75°, 24 at 80°, 9 at 65°, 5 at 60°.” Thus cores 
for flakes, and 66 hoof cores ” for tools, are always to be found. 
Then there are the flakes themselves. These are generally 
triangular in section, often rhomboidal. The sides bear marks 
of wear ; the ends are often rounded as “ thumb scrapers ” to 
dress skins, pointed for boring holes, or to be used as rimers, 
or notched for finishing bone needles or completing arrow and 
spear shafts. But there are numerous fragments too. Some 
are rough bits knocked off in getting the flat table-end to a 
block of flint, whence long flakes were to be knapped. Others 
dressed roughly on all sides, without apparent intention, except 
to render them somewhat circular, may have been “throw 
stones,” or sling stones. But a most common type of all is the 
“ briquet,” or “ strike- a-light.” They can be recognised at once 
by their similarity of shape, and by the equally similar marks of 
wear to those on the ordinary smoker’s stone of his flint and steel. 
Eough sometimes on all sides but one ; but on that the edge is 
chipped into a rounded form, on which there is much minute 
scalloping. They are thicker than the ordinary flake, are 
smaller generally, are roughly round, oval, or square, but always 
with 'one flat side and one even edge. Lastly there is the 
implement itself, the stone-chipped celt. These are naturally 
of a higher degree of art. They have not, as a rule, been made 
in the place where they were found, but have been brought 
there by their former owners, as the nature and character of 
the flint will tell. But they, like all tools, have worn by use. 
Eepointing his axe by the evening fire, primitive man has often 
made a false stroke and broken or damaged his stone weapon. 
If in his opinion useless it was thrown aside like a broken knife, 
so that the axes found in these places are always well worn and 
damaged by an attempt at repair. It is the same with the 
arrow-heads. They are much used, and having lost their sharp- 
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