10
and the Neolithic races must have reached our shores in their
canoes, bringing with them a much higher state of culture
than that of the Palaeolithic people. There is evidence that this
culture had been developed somewhere in the far distant east,
and this has been the foundation on which has been built the
civilization that we at present enjoy, the development of which
is traceable without further interruption.
Compared with the length of time required for the Older
Stone-age the Neolithic age must be considered recent, and
although no exact means for its computation exists, it has been
estimated to date in Britain from about 8,000 years b.c., and to
have lasted until about 1500 b.c.
These Neolithic races were no longer in the hunting stage,
although the chase formed a very important part of their occupa-
tion. The remains of this period, found principally in village
settlements, camps, tumuli, lake dwellings, and refuse heaps,
show that man was settling in a pastoral condition ; that he had
learned to domesticate animals and to raise crops of corn and flax
The dog is now found for the first time as the friend and faithful
ally of man, as distinct from the wolf. Pottery was used, but it
was of a rough description, hand-made, and imperfectly fired
(Fig. 10); the art of weaving textiles was also practised, and the
use of the bow was discovered. In one respect—viewed as an
artist—Neolithic man was distinctly inferior to his predecessor
of the caves ; he appears to have had no power to portray the
objects with which he was surrounded. In the chipping of his
flint implements, however, he displays a wonderful skill and
dexterity, and these implements are often remarkable for their
delicacy of make and beauty of form. The implement most
characteristic of this age is the so-called Celt (from Celtis a chisel)
which is a kind of adze or axe. It was at first shaped by chipp-
ing only, subsequently it came to be ground on the cutting edge
and finally ground and polished all over. The celts were hafted
in handles of horn and wood in a manner similar to that shown
by the specimens (in the Type Collection) from the Swiss Lake-
dwelling at Robenhausen and a modern example from the island
of New Guinea. Many other implements were made, such as
knives, arrow and javelin heads, awls, scrapers, &c. The
" Scraper" is one of the tools most commonly met with ; it was
probably used in dressing skins. The Esquimaux, at the