one that does not seem capable of any satisfactory explanation. One of these implements in Mr. Cockburn's series might very well have been found in Suffolk, except that the material is not flint; in shape and colour it absolutely corresponds. Looking at the forms alone, and making some allowance for the difference of fracture between flint and other stones, nearly all the shapes seen here are found in the Drift of Europe. The discoidal implement with an edge all round might, perhaps, be called an exception, for, though this form does occur in England, it is of rarer occurrence. Mr. J. ALLEN-BROWN remarked on the importance of such a collection as the author had brought before the Institute. As Mr. Read has observed, most of the implements are of well-known palæolithic forms, which have been found not only in the oldest river drift deposits of England, France, and Southern Europe, generally, but also in South Africa, in the Nile Valley, Asia Minor, and India, as well as in the Trenton gravels of North America, which are said to be of glacial origin. The quartzite implements, from the laterite deposits of Madras, closely resemble those in this collection from South Mirzapore, and like the former, it is extremely difficult to determine the age of the specimens. These implements appear to have been found mostly on the surface of the drift gravels and not in those deposits: under such circumstances we have no evidence of the fauna which existed at the time they were fabricated, and are, therefore, without one of the most trustworthy tests of antiquity. Though form alone cannot afford evidence as to age which can safely be relied upon, the persistent occurrence of certain definite forms of roughly-hewn pointed implements and chopping tools (examples of which are in this collection), not only in the oldest river drift, but also in the most ancient deposits of bone caves with extinct quaternary mammalia is remarkable such a similarity of form, however, may be explained by the assumption, that early man formed his implements naturally on the simplest models. Some of these instruments are worn as if from use. appearance of abrasion from contact with other stones in a stream, but the angles of fracture, and surfaces of some of them seem to be slightly altered, probably by rain which contains a small amount of carbonic acid, and which may have acted also as a solvent. There is no With regard to these objects being found near the surface, or upon the gravel deposits, Mr. Allen-Brown could well believe from the evidence which had been presented to him in the Thames Valley Drift, that old land surfaces afterwards covered by gravel and alluvium, may subsequently be exposed by denudation, and that, as a consequence, palæolithic implements may be found on the present surface of the land; though roughly chipped into shape, he regarded the specimens exhibited as finished implements, and it is probable that the spot at which they were found, was inhabited for a long period; there is not enough evidence, the speaker thought, of its having been a manufactory of such objects from the discovery, with them, of a few flakes. VOL. XVII. F The following Notes were read by the Assistant Secretary:— NOTES on STONE IMPLEMENTS from PERAK. By ABRAHAM HALE, Esq. IN "Nature" of October 29th, 1885, I first drew attention to two stone axes which I had procured at Kinta, Perak. I have since been able to increase my collection by several other specimens, all procured from Malays. Most of them having been preserved in the houses of natives of this district for several generations, have been passed down from father to son as heirlooms of no inconsiderable value. At the present time. the purpose which they serve is that of whetstones on which to sharpen razors for which they are admirably suited, being for the most part made from what appears to be a very close and fine grained stone, almost like greenstone. Nearly all the specimens are apparently axes or tomahawks of different descriptions. Of these weapons or implements almost every type associated with the neolithic era seems to be here represented except those which have been bored to admit the haft or otherwise sculptured for the same purpose: of these, however, I have heard tidings here, and hope soon to procure specimens. With one exception which was found by a Sakai about three feet deep in made earth, which he was sluicing off to procure tin sand, I can give no history of the finding of any of these specimens, beyond the imperfectly recollected statement of the Malays, on which no very great dependence can be placed— every one of them being heirlooms. I have questioned Malays concerning Sakaies and also Sakaies themselves concerning the matter: neither the one nor the other have ever heard of such a thing as these articles ever having had any other use beyond that of whetstones or lucky things to have about the house. Probably much light would be thrown on the matter if one or two of the numerous limestone-caves of this district could be scientifically explored. This task I hope to accomplish before very long myself. For my part I think it more than probable that the Sakaies of early times, say five hundred years ago, before intercourse with Malay traders was established to any extent, were the manufacturers. specimens are now in the Perak Museum at Thaiping. DISCUSSION. These Mr. READ pointed out the great interest of stone implements from a new or comparatively unknown locality, and although there were no absolutely new types among the drawings exhibited by Mr. Hale, yet it was of importance to put on record the fact, that in the small State from which these specimens came, the type is the same as that of the neighbouring islands. It is by no means surprising to find that there is some difficulty in inducing the native possessors of these ancient implements to part with them. Almost over the whole world these relics of the former iuhabitants are regarded by the uncultivated classes as of some supernatural value, either as medicine, or from the idea that carrying them about the person will avert disaster or death. Even among the ancient Greeks, at the time when art was at its best, flint arrow points are found set in jewellery of the most perfect style and workmanship, and they can only have been so used in the belief that they carried with them some mysterious power. Dr. J. Anderson, in his excellent account of the expedition to Bhamo, mentions a similar belief among the Shans. Indeed, in our own country, and at the present day, instances are known of people of education entertaining the same superstitious belief in the virtues of stone implements. MARCH 22ND, 1887. FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed. The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to the respective donors FOR THE LIBRARY. From the Right Hon. the SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.— Despatch from the Acting Administrator of Gambia. Statistics of the Colony of New Zealand for the year 1885. From the DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY.— Nos. 31-33. Bulletin. From the AUTHOR.-History of the Sarsens. By Professor T. Syllabus of Twelve Lectures on the History of the British Ethnographische Mittheilungen aus Venezuela. By Hr. A. Ernst. Per la priorita di una sua determinazione di resti umani della caverna della Palmaria stali prima attribuiti ad un macacus. Di Ettore Regalia. From the ROYAL ARCHEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.-Archæological Journal, No. 172. From the ASSOCIATION.-Journal of the Royal Historical and Archæological Association of Ireland, No. 67. From the SOCIETY.-Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 251. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, No. 124. Bulletin de la Société de Borda, Dax. 1887. Part I. From the EDITOR.-Nature. Science. Nos. 213-214. Nos. 906-907. Photographic Times. No. 285. Sir ALLEN YOUNG, Sir L. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. SETON-KARR and Dr. JOHN RAE exhibited a large number of ethnological objects principally from Arctic America. The Secretary read the following paper : The MIGRATIONS of the ESKIMO INDICATED by their PROGRESS in COMPLETING the KAYAK IMPLEMENTS. By DR. H. RINK.1 (Communicated by DR. ROBERT BROWN). IN a paper which I had the honour to present to the Institute last year, I tried to demonstrate how the dialects of the Eskimo tribes point to the interior of Alaska as the probable home and indicate the route by which they have spread over the coast regions from the Aleutian Islands to Labrador and Greenland. The next question will be, how do the other peculiarities of the tribes agree with this conclusion? Notwithstanding the extreme simplicity and poverty of their mode of life, differences can be traced in their state of culture, caused partly by progress or new inventions, partly by certain habits being permitted to fall into decadence during their migrations. The problem is facilitated here by the fact that the Eskimo nation has been less exposed to that mixture and contact with other races which elsewhere renders the question more complicated. The changes have here more exclusively been dependent on natural influences, to which they were subjected in their new 1 Besides the printed sources of information used in the preparation of the present article, I have been favoured by obtaining special communications from John Murdoch, A. Jakobsen, Aurel and Arthur Krause, relating to the West, Franz Boas regarding the Middle regions, and G. Holm concerning the extreme East of the Eskimo territory. homes. For this reason the farther we go back towards their supposed mother country, the more of their original habits we must expect to find still preserved. I shall try to apply the investigation here indicated to the chief Eskimo invention, the kayak, or skin canoe, and to the implements which belong to it. In Greenland the latter are known to consist of (1) The water-tight clothes which when in due connection with the kayak itself, entirely covers its occupant excepting his face. (2) The double-bladed paddle. (3) For ordinary use: the large harpoon connected by a line with the bladder, intended for retarding and weakening the seal in its course through the water. (4) The lance used to give it the coup de grace or mortal wounds. (5) For small seals: the "bladderarrow," or small harpoon, with a bladder fixed to its shaft. (5) The "bird-arrow," or javelin, with long subsidiary hooks of bone on the middle of the shaft to strike the bird should the hunter have missed the mark with the primary point. Beginning with the inland Eskimo of Alaska we find that he is still carrying on his fishery in the rivers by means of the birch-bark canoe just like his Indian neighbours, but in settling at the river mouth he has exchanged the birch bark for skin, at the same time protecting his small skiff against the waves of the sea by a deck. This of course may be simply the origin of the kayak; we find it subsequently improved with regard to its form and dimensions, but otherwise it remains the same. The implements mentioned above appear gradually, as, after having left southern Alaska, we proceed towards the north and east. The first of them, the kayak dress, has been the latest to acquire perfection. At first the dress appears to be intended as much for protection against rain as against the sea. As far as I know they do not pass beyond this stage even in Labrador, and in Greenland not before they enable the kayaker to be quite independent of the dangers of capsizing or being wholly covered by heavy sea. Then, as for propelling the kayak, in southern Alaska, perhaps with exception of the Aleutians this is performed merely by the one-bladed paddle of the Indian canoe. The first proper double-bladed kayak paddles are met with north of the Yukon River, but even there the one-bladed paddle is still used on occasions, almost as frequently as the former, and as far as we are able to judge from models, this custom is still maintained at the Anderson River. At Point Barrow the one-bladed paddle always serves for common, the other only for particular use. Then passing to the weapons, the bow and arrow of the Inlanders are even said to have been carried on the kayak in southern Alaska: While this, however, remains doubtful, it is |