280 CORRELATION OF THE PREHISTORIC "FLOOR."
ages of our prehistoric remains. I hope to deal with this subject
and with the general problems of classification more fully in
the near future. I can only, in this place, give the merest outline
of the idea.
The first archaeological unit taken into consideration in
drawing up this scale is the axe. At s.d. 50,33 the proportion of
bronze axes (chiefly of the flat type) to those of stone is taken
as 1 is to 100. At s.d. 60 the flat type of bronze axe still con-
tinues to predominate among those of metal, and the above pro-
portion is taken as 50 is to 100. At s.d. 70 the socketed bronze
axe was fully developed, and stone for the purpose of the axe
had for the most part gone out of use.
The first metal axe was probably made of pure copper, and
may have come in at s.d. 35-40, but this is a matter of much
uncertainty. Metal ornaments would be in use still earlier.
Following this system a little further, and considering those
points which are of special use to us in Eastern Essex, we find
that the custom of cremation came in at or about s.d. 57, while
the cinerary urn followed somewhat later, at about s.d. 61-62
The range of the "drinking cup" or beaker again seems to be
about s.d. 55 to 62. That is to say, it ceased at about the time
that the cinerary urn came in, and existed only while cremation
was still very rare.
With regard now to the age of the two series of Eastern
Essex. In the Later Series we have physical evidence of at
least some considerable antiquity. We have the drinking
cup or beaker, and advanced types of flint working. In
another paper I show that we have contracted burial
by inhumation, and I also give some evidence for the
belief that cremation was likewise practised, and associated
directly with the beaker. I have found no evidence of the
cinerary urn, and do not think it likely that it would be present.
Thus continuing to follow our scale, the place of the Later Series
and of the Buried Prehistoric ["Lyonesse"] Surface falls at
about s.d. 50 to 60. This is giving it an extreme range. Most
probably it did not extend further than s.d. 57 or 58, at about
which time the submergence must have taken place.
The Earlier Series, which appears to be separated from the
33 As the Paleolithic age does not concern us here, it is unnecessary to give the first
integer numeral: it is understood that it is [9] in each instance.