Page:Prehistoric Times.djvu/111

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
CHISELS
97

as in those from New Zealand. Axes of the same type have been found by General Pitt Rivers in Wiltshire; they also occur in France, Egypt, and in the shell-mounds of Japan.

The chisels (fig. 105) resemble the Danish axes in having perpendicular sides, but they are narrower, and are almost always ground to a smooth surface. Many of them are slightly hollowed on one side, as in fig. 123.

Prehistoric Times - Fig 120.png

Fig. 120.—Modern New Zealand adze, actual size. Upper surface. In the British Museum.

Prehistoric Times - Fig 121.png

Fig. 121.—Ditto, under surface.

Prehistoric Times - Fig 122.png

Fig. 122.—Ditto, side view.

Certain flat, semicircular flint instruments are common In Denmark and Scandinavia, but (with one exception) rarely, if ever, found elsewhere. The convex edge was fastened into a handle of wood, the marks of which are still, in many cases, plainly visible. The other edge, which is either straight or concave, is generally provided with a number of teeth, giving it more or less resemblance to a saw. In some cases it is so much worn away by use, that the implement takes the form of a new moon or of a boomerang. The edge is in many cases quite polished, evidently by continuous friction against a soft

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.