The sun., 1903-02-08

! lures. In Egypt the club was used both oy
pre-dynastic and dynastic Egyptians. and
, in one form or another is found on walls
and reliefs wherever battle scenes re de-
! picted. The next most useful object
! commonly employed In war or hunting
by the pre-dynastic Egyptian was the axe.
head which was made either OF flint or OF
some other hard stone. and was either
polished or left rough II was probably
! fastened TO it's handle by means OF leather
| thongs. Flint dagKers. knives. spear
heads. arrow-heads and scrapers have been
found In large number. Nearly every
| great museum contains mrsiy examples
| Of these objects.
In spite, however, Of the excellence OF
their flint weapons the pre-dynastic Egypt
| ians must have trapped or shared lie greater
number Of the wild beasts that they killed,
| for none Of he weapons above mentioned
! would be effective in the case OF big game
except at close Quarters With them sue
csss In hunting was a necessity. and must
have formed one of the chief sources OF
their food supply. Their OF her great source
| OF sustenance was the Nile, which must
always have contained large numbers OF
fine FISH The flint harpoons which have
been found prove that the early indigenous
peoples Of Egypt knew how to spear fish
with such implements, and the hshing
| scenes in the tombs testify To the fact that
the Egyptians in dynastic times we're no
| less skilf,Il In the fishers art than their
predecessors. The greater number OF the
fish caught. however, were probably OBJ
tanned, no, by spearing. but by reed traps
built at the sides Of the river. Some no
doubt. were caught by the line and net,
but there must have been time when the
pre-dynastic Egyptian possessed neither,
and when he did precisely what the poor
peasant in Mesopotamia does TO this day.
Having selected place on the river bank
where the side is not too steep and the water
not too deep, he fixes a number of stout
reeds on sticks upright in the river in such
a manner that they form a semi-circular
palisade, one end of which touches the
bank, while the OF her does not quite touch
IL. BY these means portion OF the water
is inclosed. In the gap which is lef, b 4 ween
the one end OF the palisade and the river
bank are placed number OF reeds slant
wise with their tops pointing inward toward
the inclosure, and experience proves that,
when the fsh have once swum over them,
they are unable TO swim back. They are
thus caught in trap which has the merit
of having waster continually running
through IL, and Is, besides, inexpensive.
Great numbers Of large fish are to this day
frequently caught in such traps along the
swamps through which the Tigris and
Euphrates flow. That some such methcd
OF catching fish must have been employed
in Egypt in the earliest times IL evident.
for As Mr. de Morgan has observed. the
peoples on the banks Of the Euphrates and
the Nile must have developed under the
same conditions, since they had the same
needs, and possessed the same natural
resources, living, as they did. in countries
the soil Of which had been formed In almost
the same manner.
In the pursuit OF his calling or in quest
| Of food the pre-dynastic fishermen must
have discovered at a very early date that
his labors would be much ightened if he
had the means Of following up his prey
In the marshes, and his inventive facul-
ties we're soon set to work to make a raft
or boat Of some kind. The materials first
used by him were no doubt tree trunks
and reeds. Reed boats are known to have
survived in Egypt long after the conquest
by the New Race" and the mention Of the
! ark OF bullrushes" in which Hebrew tra-
dition declares Moses to have been placed,
suggests that the knowledge Of such boats
existed down to comparatively late times.
As the pre-dynastic Egyptian. however.
found a tree trunk propelled by his own
hands and feet unsat isfactory means Of
crossing or travelling up and down the
river. so he must also have found that
boats made Of reeds and rushes were both
unsuitable and dangerous for the purpose
of fishing or fowling In the thickest marshes
which were crowded with crocodiles or other
huge amphibious beasts. He must there
fore, have set to work TO build stronger
craft. 1t cannot, as yet, be said how far
he advanced in the art of boat building,
or whether he ever succeeded in building
a boat which a crocodile could not crush
with his jaws, or a hippopotamus reduce
to spiinters. The probability is that his
| boats were always more or less fragile.
and had no decks Of any kind. The natural
assumption is that in going up stream,
he would rely on the wind for motive
| power but in none Of the examples Of
painted pre-dynastic pottery which had
been published before the book under re-
view had the representation Of any sail
| been discovered. Early in 1901. however,
the trustees OF the brltisn Mustuin pur-
chased a large pre-dynastic jar. on which
il an excellent representation OF sailboat
that Ia reproduced in tie boz X,
We have seen that Waterfowl and fish
| must have formed a considerable proper
ton of the food supply Of pre-dynastic
Egyptians, but we have now to consider
whether they raised crops Of cereals, and
whether they had succeeded In homestead
| ing animals which would provide them
with meat when game was scarce. Mr. de
Morgan was at first Of the opinion that they
we're agricultursts, but he has since seen
cause to arrive at the opposite conclusion,
namely, that the cultivation Of wheat and
barley was introduced into Egypt by the
early invaders Of the country from Asia,
! in sections Of which continent they grew
wild. In countries that have a winter
season, the absence of cereals would make
1t impossible to keep crops and herds. but
| this was not necessarily the cnse in Egypt,
| where there is no winter In the Western
| sense of the word The only period OF the
year when the pre-dynastic Egyptian would
And any difficulty in feeding his domestic