Abstract
THE members of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia are to be congratulated on the systematic manner in which they are studying the properties of flint, with special reference to the identification of human workmanship. In the latest part of their proceedings1 Dr. W. Allen Sturge discussess the patina of flint implements, and concludes that it is produced entirely by exposure on the surface. Permanent burial appears not only to retard, but even to prevent, patination. Mr. J. Reid Moir describes some experiments on the chipping of flints, and attempts to show that the flaking of a margin by natural causes is comparatively irregular, while the blows directed by man to produce such flaking are at definite angles with much regularity. He also demonstrates that flakes produced by natural pressure often exhibit a bulb at each end. Mr. F. N. Haward follows with additional notes on the chipping of flints by natural agencies, and concludes that much can be accounted for by movements in the ground. He instances particularly the chipping due to the creeping motion of gravel at the top of pipes in the chalk.
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The Prehistoric Society of East Anglia . Nature 92, 201 (1913). https://doi.org/10.1038/092201a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/092201a0