Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-12
LOST ART OF THE STONE AGE.
The Stone Implements Once Made by
Tribe in New Guinea.

FROM tn6 new fork sun.
Thirty-five years ago one Of the greatest
factories for making implements Of the
stone age, such as AIDES. chisels and spear
points was near the east end Of New
Guinea One of the small tribes there had
made reputation for chopping stones and
grinding them to perfection by great effort
The natives carried on a barter trade in
these objects, which were sold all along the
coast clear to the northern shores OF the
island. The tribes. far and wide, were
certain that no other makers of stone I'm
PIGMENTS rivaled the craftsmen Of Suloga
About five years later an epidemic swept
the villages occupied by these stone work.
ers nearly clean, and with them died their
special art OF fashioning these articles. The
few survivors fed to Suloga Beach. where
they built two houses, in which they and
their descendants have lived.
A British anthropological expedition led
by DR.. Seligman recently visited the rem
nant of the tribe. where they found an old
man, who said to them:
MY grandfather was q famous worker
of stone and he taught his son, my father,
whom as child / often saw at work. I'm
doubtedly he would have taught me as
grew up. but for the big sickness. He died,
and 1 was never taught, nor were any OF
my generation"
The explorers visited the quarry from
which the volcanic stone that was fashioned
into implements was obtained. They saw
that vast amount Of work had been done
there.
The stone flakes that had been Clipped
from pieces of rock covered acres and were
several inches in depth. Among these
stone chips were many implements In the
earlier stages of manufacture, but no fin
ished tools were found.
The natives say their fathers used to
break the rocks into workable fragments
by dropping one upon another from as high
as a man could lift. The ultimate shape Of
the implement depended greatly on the
workman's skill in cleaving; and after he
had secured his piece of nearly suitable
shape the work was little more than be-
gun. The tool had then to be carefully
roughed out and finally came the grinding.
which was hard and long work.
The explorers found about a dozen OF
these old grindstones. The depressions
worn into them by the grinding process
were circular, showing that the grinding
motion was round and round rather than
back and forth. Sand and water were
used to help the grinding process.
Many unground stones were sent to other
markets to be polished by their new own
ers, but the natives all say that no other
stone workers were able to obtain the BEAU
tiful. even polish or the stones that were
ground at Suloga.
These objects are now in great demand
for museums and private collections. The
leader Of the British expedition writes that
traders find that they can afford to pay
from s25 to $50 In trade goods for a su-
perior specimen and are sure to sell 1t
again at a handsome profit.
Only a vague idea of the detailed meth
DDS used to produce these stone objects can
he obtained This is unfortunate, as all
the light that can be thrown upon the mod
oughly the processes Of manufacture in pre-
historic times