THE ROYAL AUCIIAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE. 40:5

progress in tlie art of workinj^' niatcriiil dmiiig tlicSt'inc Periufl, I have said that I'aUooHtliic imijlenients were faslii(jiied by the [»roccss of flakincj or chippiiiLr, and only by those processes, and that during the Neolithic Period other modes of working stone, namely, by pecking and grinding, were discovered and practised. But the i)rocess of flaking or chij)piug was not discontinued during the Neolithic Period ; on the contrary, it was still further develoj^ed ; it was not only effected by the rough-and- ready nietliod of percussion, but it was sujiplemented and perfected by the c^^scovery of the art of flaking l)y pressure — an art still jtractised by the Escpiimaux, but apparently unknown to the people of the Paheolithic Period. Tliis art of flaking by pressure was even practised by some bronze-using races, as by the ancient Mexicans; but we have no reason for supposing that they received this art by transmission from the Esquimaux, or rice t'ersd : it isjjrobable that, in each instance, the process was independently discovered; and that this was so is supported by the fact that the Es([uimaux and the Mexican methods of flaking by pressure differ wholly from each otiier. " As our collections of stone implements increase, and as our acquaint- ance with these objects extends, we shall not be struck by their general resemblance in type so much, as by their infinite variety in form. It could scarcely be expected that much difference would exist between the forms of simple weclge-shaped stone hatchets, and yet they differ essen- tially from each other. Some have an oval section, some are nearly round in section, whilst others have straight sides. Some are long and tapering in form, and others are short and broad. Neither will it be found that this difference in genend type is without significance in regard to locality, and therefore probably in regard to the independent dis- covery and use of the special form. The wedge-shaped stone hatcliets exhibited in your temporary museum from two of the Salomon Islands (Florida and San Cristoval) difl'er as a group in general form from each other ; and that no mistake is made in locality would seem to be esta- blished from the fact that they were all sent me direct from the islands by Mr. Codrington in 1871. Again, the groups of wedge-shaped stone hatchets exhibited from England, France, Switzerland, Denmark, and the West Indies will be found, as groups, to possess special typical pecu- liarities. We may reasonably expect that still further light will be thrown upon this branch of my subject. At one time, and that not long since, it was the practice to sneer at ethncgra})hical collections; but now we begin to find that the clubs, the paddles, the shields, from any particular island or country differ considerably, as a group, from those obtained from any other country. There is an individuality about each ; each group, both in form and in ornamentation, has been thought out, has been invented separately and distinctly. Indeed, so much is this the case that a skilled ethnographer will tell you that a particular club originally made in the Fiji islands was subsequently ornamented with carving by a New Zealander ; or that another club originally made iu the New Hebrides is now found to be ornamented with Fiji patterns.* The implements and weapons of modern savages are usually peculiar in form and ornamentation to the j)COple by whom they are made and used, and as the few pre-historic stone relics which have survived to our " The specimuns to which I refer are to be seen iu the Christy collection. VOL. XXIX. 3 L