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II.—Origin of the Neolithic Celt
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 November 2011
Extract
According to the text-books, the celt is the predominant type of implement in the neolithic period, just as the coup de poing (hand-axe) is in the palaeolithic; and it is curious that the relationship between these two widely distributed forms should not have been already demonstrated. It is reasonable to expect that there was some link between at least the commoner implements of these two parts of the Stone Age, now that the great hiatus is reduced to insignificant dimensions; and it is natural to look for transition forms in the great Cave-period, ranging from Le Moustier to the pygmy period (also named after Tardenois). A plausible theory is that the tranchet or fan-shaped implement of the Danish kitchen-middens, with its cutting-edge formed by detaching a single transverse flake, was the parent of the neolithic celt; but the tranchet is rare outside the Danish area, and quite unknown in the greater part of Europe. On this account alone its claim might be rejected, as the Danish form would hardly explain the celts of Britain and western Europe, not to mention examples in other continents; and its priority in Denmark itself is challenged by still earlier finds (Maglemose), which reveal other and different forms, not associated with the kitchen-midden axe, but linking the early Danish Stone Age with the culture of La Madeleine. In spite of this, the prevalent notion is that the kitchen-middens are the earliest neolithic remains in existence, and that among them must therefore be found the prototype of the celt.
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- Copyright © The Society of Antiquaries of London 1916
References
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page 37 note 1 This illustration and figs. 16-19, 22, and 25 have been kindly lent by the Council of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia, and were originally published in the Grime's Graves Report (1915).
page 41 note 1 Prof. Cominont calls this poignée latérale, and ‘lateral butt’ may serve to denote this peculiar thickening of the edge.
page 42 note 1 This stage is well illustrated by a specimen found since the reading of this paper by Mr. Angus Lyell, the soldier-son of our Fellow. It was thrown out in trench-digging between 1 ft. and 1½ ft. from the surface at Broughton, near Banbury, and lay in heavy red soil on high ground. Its length is 4½ in. and maximum thickness 0·8 in., the lower edge being sharp but notched, and one edge twisted. The faces are both trimmed convex, and the base is symmetrical. Two scrapers resembling Aurignac types were found on the surface of the same field.
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page 45 note 1 On the practical side, two of His Majesty's Inspectors, Prof. Schwartz Barnes and Mr. Hugh Davies, have kindly supplied information in support of the above contention.