Copy. 
Smithsonian Institution. 
January 11, 1922. 
Dear Dr. Fewkes: 
I have to thank you for referring to me Dr. Pierce’s 
inquiry regarding the use of the term "paleolithic," and am 
glad of this opportunity to express my views regarding the use 
of this much abused term. 
I have found by long experience in the collecting and 
making of chipped stone implements, that with ordinary materials 
such as flint, quartz, and quartzite, in roughing out blades 
for knives, spearheads and arrowpoints, success is rare, and 
I estimate that for each successful thin blade, there are left 
upon the shaping sites at least twenty failures. These fail¬ 
ures necessarily display traces of the shaping work, which 
range from the first trial chip to the approximate blade. 
When I began the u study of the American problem nearly forty years 
ago all of these rejected failures were gathered without re¬ 
spect to their relation with geological strata or deposits of 
any kind and treasured, classed, and displayed in our Museums 
as "paleolithic." I soon came to realize these attributions 
were entirely erroneous, and took up the work of clearing the 
wav to correct interpretations. This I found difficult since 
those who had once adopted the European interpretation of rudely 
chipped stones in America remained apparently blind to reason 
and in most cases held their view until the end. 
To my mind the Lise of the terms "paleolithic" or "paleo- 
lith" in connection with American chipped stones of any kind 
should be avoided since this use is liable to encourage and per¬ 
petuate error. The sooner all students realize that as a rule 
the ruder chipped stones of America are mere failures and that 
probably a very high percentage of the chipped stones gathered 
in Europe and treasured as "paleolithic implements," are not im¬ 
plements at all, the better it will be for the science of Arch¬ 
eology and for the history of man in the v/orld. 
If the term "paleolithic" carries with it the idea of 
age or geological period it should mot be applied in America to 
any object not removed from its undisturbed place in a formation 
or deposit of fully determined age, and by an entirely trust¬ 
worthy hand. 
Very sincerely yours, 
(Signed) W. H. HOLMES 
u 
Director. 
