Page:The Ancient Stone Implements (1897).djvu/528

The pin (No. 1,929), already mentioned, is shown in Fig. 406, and was found in the fourth foot in depth, in the cave-earth below the stalagmite in the vestibule, which there attained a thickness of 20 inches. It lay with an unworn molar of Rhinoceros tichorhinus In the black band above the cave-earth, but below the stalagmite, were remains of the hyæna and other cave-mammals. The pin is 31/4 inches long, nearly circular in section, expanding into a head much like that of a common screw, and tapering off to a sharp point. It bears a high polish as if from constant use, and was probably employed as a fastener of the dress, itself most likely made of skin.

Fig. 406.—Kent's Cavern. (1,929) 1/1

A kind of awl made of bone (No. 1,835), about 33/4 inches long, and sharply pointed at one end, was also found beneath stalagmite 16 inches thick. It is shown full size in Fig. 407. The marks of the tool by which it was scraped into form may be distinctly seen upon it.

Fig. 407.—Kent's Cavern. (1,835) 1/1

A lance-shaped bone tool (No. 3,428) 2·7 inches long, flat on one face and convex on the other, was also found in the cave-earth.

Fig. 408.—Kent's Cavern.

But perhaps the most interesting of all the objects discovered in the cavern, is the small bone needle found in 1866 in the black band below the stalagmite, but not recognized until 1868, in consequence of its having been enveloped in a stalagmitic covering, which then fell off, and displayed the true character of the object it contained. The needle has unfortunately lost its point, but what remains is nearly 7/8 of an inch long, as will be seen from Fig. 408. It tapers slightly, and is somewhat elliptical in section, the greatest diameter at the larger end being barely 8/100 of an inch, and at the smaller end 3/100. It has a neatly-drilled circular eye capable of receiving a thread about 3/80 of an inch in diameter, or about the thickness of fine twine. The surface of the shaft shows numerous fine longitudinal striæ, as if it had been scraped into shape.

Such needles have been found in considerable numbers in the caves of the age of La Madelaine, such as Les Eyzies, Laugerie Basse, Bruniquel, and the lower cave of Massat, always associated with