Note on the Paper by Mr. F. N. Haward on “The Origin of the Rostro-Carinate Industry.”

Extract

Section II. of Mr. Haward's paper deals with the characteristics of the fracture and chipping of flint by man and Nature. This section contains so many statements which are incorrect that in the interests of accuracy they cannot be allowed to pass without correction.

The author defines percussion in the following terms:—“Sharp, hammer-like rebounding blows impinged (sic) on a flat surface or edge held by a resilient support.” If by this definition Mr. Haward intends to convey the impression that in order to flake flint by percussion it is necessary to comply with the conditions he has specified, he is mistaken. It is quite easy, for example, to produce bulbed flakes by percussion under conditions quite different to those set out by Mr. Haward, e.g. by means of a “follow-through” blow on the concave surface of a flint rigidly supported.