Abstract
THE STONE AGE OF CEYLON.—An important study of the stone implements which have been found in Ceylon, and of the evidence for their antiquity, by Dr. Fritz Sarasin, appears in Nos. 1-2 of vol. 36 of L'Anthropologie. As in the case of other finds in subtropical or tropical Asia, owing to the absence of such indications of age as is afforded by glaciation in western Europe, or the presence of extinct fauna, it is difficult to correlate the implements with the recognised phases of the Stone Age in Europe. Of the views that have been put forward by various writers, that which assigns these implements to the Neolithic period is scarcely likely to be correct. It is precluded by the absence of polished implements, of pottery, and above all of the typical neolithic axe, both from the implementiferous strata in the caves which have been explored, and from the similar surface finds. The author's view is that they must be assigned to the Upper Palaeolithic. This is confirmed by the results of a recent visit to Ceylon in 1924 to test the conclusions put forward by Mr. Wayland that he had discovered implements belonging to the Lower Palaeolithic. The resemblance of certain types to Early Palaeolithic implements is accounted for in part by the material employed, which does not lend itself to the manufacture of the smaller and more delicate type; in part by a sporadic survival of a ruder form in contemporary use with the later type, as commonly happens; and in some cases by the misinterpretation of nuclei as implements. Further, only isolated examples of the so-called early types are found instead of series of implements which could be referred as a whole to any one of the Early Palaeolithic cultures, as should be the case had they really belonged to such a culture.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Research Items. Nature 117, 567–568 (1926). https://doi.org/10.1038/117567a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/117567a0