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 STONE IMPLEMENTS 
 
 ANM) 
 
 FRA(iMENTS OF POTTERY 
 
 FROM CANADA. 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR GEORGE DUNCAN GIBB, Bart., of Falkland, 
 
 IIEREDITArwY LORD CiF THE BARONY OF CABFIIIJDER; 
 
 M.A.. M.D., LL.D., F.G.S.; 
 
 PHYBICrAN AND LECTIIUUl ON I'DRENSIP MKDICINK, WKSTM I N8TKII HOSTITAI.; 
 
 MKMiir.n or many acaukmiks anii soc:ikties 
 
 I.N iPlKKKRKNr I'AIITS OF El HOl'K A.ND .NUHTH AMlChlCA. 
 
 Refiviiited jWiin llu- Jtiimiil of (lie Avthrnpoloiiicnl histHntc, 1873. 
 
 iSlitli 3Ib)a ^latrs. 
 
 LONDON: 
 T. RTf HARDS, 37, GREAT QUEEN STREET, W.C. 
 
 1873. 
 
.! :irn Aiith:-r,r.(.:r,.-; .:,. • ■/ 'f 'V 
 
 tail hji. 
 
 IMPLEMENTS FROM CANADA. 
 
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 IMPLEMENTS AND POTTERY FROM CANADA 
 
StONK iMPLF.Mr.NTS and Kk.U.MKNTS of PoTTKKV from CANADA. 
 
 Hy Sir Duncan (Iihh, Hart., M.A., M.I), LL.D., V.C,.^. 
 
 In variuu.s parts nf the Dominion (if Canada stono iiii]>leinetits 
 of (litl'erent kinds liav(! Ix-cn di.scctvert'd from time to time, wliii-h 
 are [nvservcd in manyof tlic lnc;d museums, ito.ssi^.ssini,' mtt nnly 
 runsiderahle variety in their ictrm and su|tj)osed u.st's, lait at the 
 same time indicatin;.f various (k';^vees of antiipiity. With these 
 are not unfro(|Uently found examples of pottery of a very |»rimi- 
 
 Itive form, marked by patterns described as herring-boju?, l)asket, 
 corn -ear, etc. 
 The most recent of the.se stone imi>k>ments are tliick fj;ou<;ps, 
 chi.sels, liammers, hatchets, and variou.s utensils, for we find them 
 in u.se anion<i the Indians down ahiiost to the jtre.sent time. 
 Arrow-heads and sp<'ar-heads are un(|Uestionably more ancient, 
 for w(! do not tind them in what are ])resumed to be recent 
 sepultures, or in u.ssociation with the thick stone goujics and 
 chisel.s already nuMitioned. They are, moreover, mostly found 
 on the .surface of ])lou^hed land or tields composed of ;^rravel or 
 „ ■ other soils, and markin«i. in all jnobability, the site of some en- 
 ,; gagement or l)attle-field between dilferent tribes of the aborij^ines. 
 ^/ The specimens now exhil)itcd are from various parts of 
 ;^ Canada, at extreme distances in .some instances, and are of 
 '■$ tlifferent ^'arieties of stone. The collection consists of some six- 
 j^teen arrow-heads, two ilat spears, two hatchets, rather different 
 ^Bto what are usually met with, and .some portions of pottery, which 
 ^Bshall be briefly de.scrii)ed in detail. 
 ^B| The spcar-head.s are respectivelv 6A inches long bv '1\ inches 
 
 I 
 
4 Sir Duncan Gibb. — Stone Implements from Canada. 
 
 wide, and 4| inches long by 2 inches wide ; the shorter specimen 
 has evidently been broken oft' at its lower end, and both are 
 without their tangs, that is to say if they ever possessed any; 
 they are composed of fawn-coloured chert, are thin and irregu- 
 larly flat throughout, being not more than a quarter of an inch 
 thick at their thickest part ; the larger weighs 3 ozs. less 30 
 grains, tlie smaller 1| oz. and 40 grains. They were found in 
 the Saguenaye district, below Quebec, and are of considerable 
 antiquity. 
 
 The two hatchets are wedge-shaped, and composed of a dark 
 green micaceous schist, their surfoces being smooth as if polished. 
 The larger implement is 3| inches long, 1| inch wide at its 
 narrowest and 2^ inches wide at its broadest part, and f of an 
 inch thick. The smaller implement is 3^ inches long. If inches 
 wide at its narrowest and 1| inches at its broadest part, and 
 I of an inch thick ; it is not so well shaped as the other, and 
 has a piece chipped off' one of its surfaces. They weigh re- 
 spectively 74 and 4 ounces, and the smaller specimen is repre- 
 sented in iigs. 1 and 2. They were found at Niagara on the 
 Canada side, close to the Falls, where I procured them on the 
 occasion of my last visit there in 1853. 
 
 The stone arrow-heads present some variety in their size, form, 
 and material, as may be observed in the drawings. The smallest 
 is I of an inch long, and the largest 3| inches ; but I possessed 
 a longer and larger than any of these, that measured about 3| 
 inches, that was stolen from my collection in 1859, when I ex- 
 hiltited it before one of the London Societies. I had never seen 
 a finer ari'ow in any of the Canadian collections that I examined. 
 Of the arrov, heads, the shape is either long and narrow, tapering 
 to a point, or terminating somewhat in a rounded end, being 
 rather biuad than tapering ; indeed one of them resembles a 
 small celt in shape (see fig. 4.) In weight they range from 16, 31 
 and 44 grains up to 340 grains or close upon | of an ounce, 
 which may be considered a good deal for an arrow-head ; but my 
 largest one that was filched from me must have weighed an 
 ounce. Their thickness varies somewhat, one example that is 
 rounded, broad, and flat is j^ths of an inch, not more indeed than 
 two of the smallest. A small arrow of dark red slate is \ of an 
 inch thick, whilst the others run from \ to very nearly j^ an 
 inch ; but of this latter only one approaclies it. The tang or 
 stem of the arrow varies in shape and length, as is well shown 
 in the drawings, the longest being | of an inch ; the celt or leaf- 
 shaped arrow-head seems to have no tang, as there is no indica- 
 tion of one having existed. Of the sixteen arrows, six were 
 found on the island of INlontreal, generally on the surface of 
 ploughed land (figs. 7,8, 9 and 10) ; two are from the Saguenaye 
 
Sir Duncan Gird. — Stone Implaaoifs from Canada. 5 
 
 (4 and 5) ; one from Pointe clii Chenes, near Grenville, on tlie 
 Ottawa liiver (8); one from Chippewa, near Nia<j;ara ; four 
 from Niagara ; one from William Henry; and one from Quebec 
 (6). 
 
 The greater number of these arrows are composed of chert, 
 one is of red slate, another of opaque white (juartz, and one is 
 much weathered, of a reddish brown colour, i)robably from tlie 
 nature of the stone. On the whole they difler in form from the 
 arrows that have been found in the British islands, especially in 
 the shape of the stems, and the general form of the arrow-head it- 
 self ; but I think they present a fair illustration of ancient Indian 
 arrows that are found over various parts of Canada. No flakes 
 have been discovered in association with them, because they 
 have been picked up as solitary specimens here a!id there ; yet 
 I have no doubt that both chips and flakes may be encountered 
 some day in abundance, when a spot is discovered on which the 
 arrows have been manufactured. A large number of an'ow- 
 heads have been found in the vicinity of Chippewa, close to 
 Niagara, and I infer that it marks the site of some ancient Indian 
 battle-fleld, and no flakes or cliips were found associated with 
 them. 
 
 The discovery of Canadian pottery is by no means of common 
 occurrence; any fragments, therefore, must be considered of value, 
 and three of these are included in the collection. The smallest 
 is nearly 2 inches square, and is covered on one side with a 
 ribbed pattern formed by a series of notches (fig. 12), the ribs 
 being a quarter of an inch apart ; this fragment is imperfectly 
 baked, and was picked up on the northern shores of Lake Erie, 
 and minute particles of mica can be distinguished in it with the 
 naked eye. The largest portion of pottery is a fragment of what 
 evidently nmst have been a large vessel, and consists of a portion 
 of the upper part with the rim 2J inches wide, the outer side 
 of which has a well-defined marking, but somewhat irregidar 
 and more fanciful ; the vessel to which it belonged must not 
 only have been large, but tolerably thick and solid, for the 
 fragment is | of an inch thick ; it has a preponderance of clay 
 in its composition, and is lightly baked. The third fragment 
 is a portion of a more highly finished and better baked work 
 than the other two, and is triangular in form, the larger end 
 consisting of a part of the rim of the vessel, with M'ell-defined 
 hollow lines an inch long, running vertically from dots or little 
 round holes as shown in the drawing (Hg. 11). It is firmer and 
 more solid than the other two examples, and miimte specks ot 
 quartz and mica can be readily seen in its structure. The pat- 
 terns vary from what I have seen figured among Canadian spe- 
 cimens, and perhaps for the present arc unique, although 1 learn 
 
6 Sir Duncan rrii]!'.. — Htonc Impletucnts from Ctowda. 
 
 the are fragments in the Blackmore collection, Salisbury, found 
 in the County of Brant, Canada, not unlike them. The two 
 last described fragments were found on the Island of ^lontreal. 
 
 Small as the collection is, it took me many years to obtain it, 
 which leads to the inference that such objects are scarce ; yet 
 ]nany examples may be in the possesion of ])rivate individuals 
 living in the localities where they have been found. But in the 
 course of my experience and knowledge of that country, I can 
 state with certainty that nothing has yet been found in the 
 gravels of Canaila corres])onding to the tlint implements from 
 the drift beds of England and France, so that the conclusion is a 
 fair and reasonable one, that however old the arrow-heads and 
 other objects may be which are now exhibited, their manufac- 
 turers existed in recent times, as compared with those of the 
 drift period. Nevertheless I considered my specimens of suffi- 
 cient interest to bring before the Institute, as helping at the 
 same time to draw attention to the subject in the Dominion of 
 Canada. 
 
 It would be purely speculative to estimate the age of these 
 arrow and spear-heads ; but looking upon them as the most 
 ancient stone implements that are found in Canada, if not in 
 America, I would be disposed to place the period of their 
 use and manufacture at about two hundred years before the 
 Christian era, corresponding indeed to the time when our 
 forefathers in the British Isles may have used such things, 
 either as weapons or as objects of the chase, and I do not think 
 that such an age can be considered in any way remote or ex- 
 travagant.