CopperhatchetsfoundinHungary,andnowintheNationalMuseumofBudapest。
Itmayperhapsbeconvenienttointroduceafourthperiodwhencopperalonewasusedandourancestorswerestillignorantofthealloysnecessaryfortheproductionofbronze。Hesiodspeaksofathirdgenerationofmenaspossessingcopperonly,andalthoughitdoesnotdotoattachundueimportancetoisolatedfacts,recentdiscoveriesintheCevennes,inSpain,inHungary,andelsewhere,appeartoconfirmtheexistenceofanageofcopperFig。2。WemayaddthatthemoundsofNorthAmericacontainnonebutcopperimplementsandornaments,witnessesofatimewhenthatmetalalonewasknowneitherontheshoresoftheAtlanticorofthePacific[29]Fig。3。
FIGURE3
Copperbeads,fromConnett’sMound,Ohionaturalsize。
ItisimpossibletofixthedurationoftheStoneage。Itbeganwithman,itlastedforcountlesscenturies,andwefinditstillprevailingamongstcertainraceswhosettheirfacesagainstallprogress。ThescenessculptureduponEgyptianmonumentsdatingfromtheancientEmpirerepresenttheemploymentofstoneweapons,andtheirusewascontinuedthroughoutthetimeoftheLagidaeandevenintothatoftheRomandomination。Afewyearsago,ontheshoresoftheNile,I
sawsomeofthecommonpeopleshavetheirheadswithstonerazors,andtheBedouinsofGournahusingspearsheadedwithpointedflints。TheEthiopiansinthesuiteofXerxeshadnonebutstoneweapons,andyettheircivilizationwasseveralcenturiesolderthanthatofthePersians。TheexcavationsonthesiteofAlesiayieldedmanystoneweapons,thegloriousrelicsofthesoldiersofVercingetorix。AtMountBeuvray,onthesiteofBibracte,flinthatchetsandweaponshavebeendiscoveredassociatedwithGalliccoins。AtRome,M。deRossicollectedsimilarobjectsmixedwiththeAESRUDE。FlinthatchetsarementionedinthelifeofSt。Eloy,writtenbySt。Owen,andtheMerovingiantombshaveyieldedhundredsofsmallcutflints,thelastofferingstothedead。WilliamofPoitierstellsusthattheEnglishusedstoneweaponsatthebattleofHastingsin1066,andtheScotsledbyWallacedidthesameaslateas1288。NotuntilmanycenturiesafterthebeginningoftheChristianeradidtheSarmatiansknowtheuseofmetals;andinthefourteenthcenturywefindarace,probablyofAfricanorigin,makingtheirhatchets,knives,andarrowsofstone,andtippingtheirjavelinswithhorn。TheJapanese,moreover,usedstoneweaponsandimplementsuntiltheninthandeventhetenthcenturyA。D。
Butthereisnoneedtogobacktothepastforexamples。TheMexicansofthepresentdayuseobsidianhatchets,astheirfathersdidbeforethem;theEsquimauxusenephritisandjadeweaponswithRemingtonrifles。NordenskioldtellsusthattheTchoutchisknowofnoweaponsbutthosemadeofstone;thattheyshowtheirartisticfeelinginengravingsonbone,verysimilartothosefoundinthecavesofthesouthofFrance。In1854,theMqhavi,anIndiantribeoftheRioColoradoCalifornia,possessednometalobjects;anditisthesamewiththedwellersonthebanksoftheShingleRiverBrazil,theOyacouletsofFrenchGuiana,andmanyotherwanderingandsavageraces。PerePelitottellsusthatthenativeslivingonthebanksoftheMackenzieRiverarestillinthestoneage;andSchumackerhasgivenaninterestingexampleofthemanufactureofstoneweaponsbytheKlamathIndiansdwellingontheshoresofthePacific。Ithasbeenjustlysaid:“TheStoneageisnotafixedperiodintime,butonephaseofthedevelopmentofthehumanrace,thedurationofwhichvariesaccordingtotheenvironmentandtherace。“[30]
Inthuslimitingourideaofthestoneage,wemayconcludethatalikeinEuropeandinAmerica,[31]therehasbeenaperiodwhenmetalwasentirelyunknown,whenstoneswerethesoleweapons,thesoletoolsofman,whenthecave,forwhichhehadtodisputepossessionwithbearsandotherbeastsofprey,washissoleandprecariousrefuge,andwhenclumsyheapsofstonesservedalikeastemplesfortheworshipofhisgodsandsepulchralmonumentsinhonorofhischiefs。
ExcavationsineverydepartmentofFrancehaveyieldedthousandsofworkedflints,andtherearefewmoreinterestingstudiesthananexaminationofthemuralmapintheSaintGermainMuseumonwhicharemarkedwithscrupulousexactitudethedwelling-placesofourmostremoteancestors,andthemegalithicmonumentswhicharetheindestructiblememorialsofourforefathers。
IntheCrimeawerepickedupanumberofsmallflintscutintotheshapeofacrescentexactlylikethosefoundintheIndiesandinTunis,andtheAnthropologicalSocietyofMoscowhasintroducedustoaStoneagethememoryofwhichispreservedinthetumuliofRussia。OntheshoresofLakeLagodahavebeenfoundsomeimplementsofargillaceousschist,inCareliaandinFinlandtoolsmadeofslateandschist,oftenadornedwithclumsyfiguresofmenorofanimals。Therigoroftheclimatedidnotcheckthedevelopmentofthehumanrace;inthemostremotetimesLapland,Nordland,themostnortherlydistrictsofScandinavia,andeventhebitterlycoldIceland,werepeopled。TheExhibitionofParis,1878,containedsomestoneweaponsfoundontheshoresoftheWhiteSea。
OnseveralpartsofthecoastofDenmarkwemeetwithmoundsofanellipticalshapeandaboutninefeethigh,withahollowinthecentre,markingthesiteofaprehistoricdwelling。Itwasnotuntilabout1850thatthetruenatureofthesemoundswasdetermined。Excavationsinthemhavebroughttolightknives,hatchets,allmannerofstone,horn,andboneimplements,fragmentsofpottery,charredwood,withthebonesofmammalsandbirds,theskeletonsoffishes,theshellsofoystersandcocklesburiedbeneaththeashesofancienthearths。TotheseaccumulationsthecharacteristicnameofKITCHENMIDDINGS,orkitchenrefuse,hasbeengiven。
SeveralcaveshaverecentlybeenexaminedinPoland,oneofwhich,situatednearCracow,appearstobelongtoPalaeolithictimes。CountZawiskahasalreadygivenanaccountofhisinterestingdiscoveriestothePrehistoricCongressatStockholm。IntheWirzchowcaveheidentifiedsevendifferenthearths,andtookoutoftheaccumulationsofcindersvariousamulets,clumsyrepresentationsoffishcutinivory,splitbones,bears’,wolves’,andelks’teethpiercedwithaholeforthreading,andmorethanfourthousandstoneobjectsofasimilartypetothosefoundinRussia,Scandinavia,andGermany。WemeetwithsimilartracesofsuccessivehabitationinacavenearOjcow;
thevaluablecontentsofwhichincludedsomebeautifulflinttools,someawls,bonespatulae,andsomegoldornaments,mixed,inthelowerofthehearths,withthebonesofextinctanimals,andintheupper,withthoseofspeciesstillliving。
ThediscoveriesmadeintheAtterSeeandintheSalzburglakeswiththoseintheMoraviancavesprovewhathadpreviouslybeenverystoutlydenied,theexistenceinthosedistrictsofancientracesataveryremotedate。
ThemostancientinhabitantsofHungary,however,cannotbetracedfurtherbackthantoNeolithictimes。Inthatcountryhavebeenfound,withpolishedstoneimplements,thousandsofobjectsmadeofstag-horn,orbone,almostallwithoutexceptionfinelyfinishedoff。ThediscoveryofcoppertoolsandornamentsofapeculiarformintheDanubianprovinces,bearswitnesstoadistinctcivilizationinthosedistricts,andconfirmswhatwehavejustsaidaboutaCopperage。
FromtheLakeStationsofAustriaandHungary,wepassnaturallytothoseofSwitzerland。Weshallhavetointroducetoourreaderswholevillagesbuiltinthemidstofthewaters,andapeoplelongcompletelyforgotten。Inmanyofthesestations,nonebutstoneimplementshavebeenfound,andonthehalf-burntpilesonwhichthehutshadbeensetup,itisstilleasytomakeoutthenotchescutwithflinthatchets。
Wemeetwithsimilarpiledwellings,asthesestructuresarecalled,inFrance,Italy,Germany,Ireland,andEngland,forfromtheearliesttimesmanwasconstantlyengagedinsanguinarycontestswithhisfellowmen,andsoughtinthemidstofthewatersarefugefromtheeverpresentdangerssurroundinghim。
ThediscoveriesmadeinBelgiummustberankedamongstthemostimportantinEurope,andweshalloftenhaveoccasiontorefertothem。Holland,ontheotherhand,havingmuchofitbeenundertheseaforsolong,yieldsnothingtoourresearchesbutafewarrow-heads,hatchets,andknivesmadeofquartzordiorite,andallofthemofthecoarsestworkmanship。
NolessfruitfulinresultstoprehistoricsciencearetheresearchesmadeinthesouthofEurope。ThecongressthatmetatBologna,in1871,showedusthatintheTransalpineprovincesmanwaswitnessofthosephysicalphenomenawhichgavetoItalyitspresentconfiguration;
andtheexhibitioninconnectionwiththecongressenabledustogetagoodideaoftheprimitiveindustrywhichhasleftrelicsbehinditineverydistrictofthepeninsula。
SomehatchetsofasimilartypetothemostancientfoundinFranceweredugoutofagravelpitatSanIsidroonthebordersoftheMancanares,associatedwiththebonesofahugeelephantthathaslongbeenextinct;andacavehasrecentlybeendiscoverednearMadridfromwhichweredugoutnearlyfivehundredskeletons,thegreaternumberthicklycoatedwithstalagmite。Nearthebodieslayseveralflintweapons,andsomefragmentsofpottery。[32]CartailhactellsusofsimilardiscoveriesinvariouspartsofPortugal。[33]ThecavesofSantanderhaveyieldedworkedbonesandbarbedharpoons;andthoseofCastile,variousobjectsresemblingthoseoftheReindeerperiodofFrance。Itis,however,aninterestingandimportantfactthatthereindeernevercrossedthePyrenees。Althoughsofarexcavationshavebeenanythingbutcomplete,wearealreadyabletoassertthatduringPalaeolithictimestheancientIberiawasoccupiedbyraceswhoseindustrialdevelopmentwassimilartothatofmodernEurope。
ItwillbewelltomentionalsotheexcavationsmadeontheslopesofMountHymettus,andintheever-famousplainsofMarathon。FinlayhasbroughttogetherinGreeceaveryinterestingcollectionofstoneweaponsandimplementswhichhepickedupingreatnumbersatthebaseoftheAcropolisofAthens。Allthesediscoveriesprovetheexistenceofmanatatimeaboutwhichbutyesterdaynothingwasknown,andtowhichitisdifficultasyettogiveaname,thisexistencebeingprovedbythemostirrefragableofevidence,theworkofhisownhands。
AlthoughtheproofsoftherehavingbeenaStoneageinWesternEuropeareabsolutelyconvincing,itisdifficulttofeelequallysurewithregardtotheportionsoftheglobewheresomanydistrictsareclosedtotheexplorer。Everywhere,however,whereexcavationshavebeenmade,theyhaveyieldedthemostremarkableresults。M。deUjfalvyhasbroughtdioriteandserpentinehatchetsandwedgesfromthesouthofSiberia,andCountOuvarofftellsusofaQuaternarydeposit,theonlyoneknownatpresentatIrkutsk,inEasternSiberia,containingcutflints。NearTobolsk,Poliaskofffoundsomebeautifullyworkedstones。Otherarchaeologiststellusofhavingfound,intheeastoftheUralMountainsandontheshoresoftheJoswa,hammers,hatchets,pestles,nucleitheshapeofpolygonalprisms,androundorlongpiecesofflint,allpiercedwithacentralhole,whicharesupposedtohavebeenspindlewhorls。Lastly,KlementztellsusthattheloftyvalleysoftheYeneseianditstributarieswereinhabitedinthemostremotetimesbyraceswhodevelopedaspecialcivilization。
AttheotherextremityofthegreatAsiaticcontinent,adepositofcindersfoundattheentranceofacaveneartheNahrelKelbyieldedsomeflintknivesorscrapers,andmorerecentlyaprehistoricstationhasbeenmadeoutatHanoweh,alittlevillageofLebanon,eastofTyre。Theflintsareofprimitiveshapes,notunlikethemostancientformsfoundinFrance。TheywerediscoveredinamassofDEBRISofallkinds,formingaveryhardconglomerate。Someteeth,whichhadbelongedtoanimalsofthebovidae,cervidae,andequidaegroups,weregotoutwithconsiderabledifficulty,butthebonesintheconglomerateweretootouchbrokenuptobeidentified。Workedflintsandarrow-
orspear-headswerealsofoundinconsiderablequantitiesinvariouspartsofthetable-landofSinai,andattheopeningsofthecavesinwhichtheancientinhabitantstookrefuge。Itwaswithstonetoolsthatthesepeopleworkedtheminesriddlingthesidesofthemountains,anditisstilleasytomakeouttracesoftheiroperations。
WehavealreadyalludedtoJapan;foralongtimethebarbarianAinos,theearliestinhabitantsofthecountry,wereacquaintedwithnothingbutstone。FlintarrowswerepresentedtotheEmperorWu-Wangelevenhundredyearsbeforeourera;theannalsofoneoftheancientdynastiesspeakofflintweapons,andanencyclopaediapublishedinthereignoftheEmperorKang-Hispeaksofrockhatchets,someblackandsomegreen,andallalikedatingfromthemostremoteantiquity。