The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1911-06-16
MINING IN THE STONE AGE

fe-opening of the 7Oural and Ara
mo copper-cobait mines in Spain.
In these ancient Spanish mines,
the galleries and drifts do not open
directly onto the mountain side. In
stead they communicate with day
light by means of several vertical
shafts or chimneys, a few meters
in height. The purpose of this ar
rangement was, it has been suggest
ed, TO effect a better control over
the slave-miners. Perhaps too, the
purpose was to prevent wild animals
tron making their homes in the
nine along with the slaves.
Relics found both inside and out
SIDE the mines comprise bones, and
various implements made of stone,
bone, horn, fireclay or of wood
Among the principal relics found
in the interior We're 16 skeletons, two
of them complete; stone hammers;
picks made of horns Of animals no
longer known in Spain; stone need
les; torch sticks; a bone knife; two
wooden bowls, and, strangely enough
some coins. The skeletons which
were found belong for the most part
to miners suddenly killed in the mid
st of their labor, the hand still
holds the hammer. and occasionally
a shelton is found under fall of
rock. Other corpses met death in a
covering or crouching position.
a few of the men seem to have
been of great size, and all of them
must have been of extraordinary
muscular development. The heavier
stone hammers which they used
weighed as much as 20 or % pounds
in spite of their muscular develop
ment, the majority Of the miners
were evidently of extremely slim
build, for some of the galleries are
literally polished by the rubbing of
bodies, and in these galleries, pene-
trating through the solid rock, a
man of even small size can worm his
way only with the greatest difficult
ty. The skulls have the appearance
of youthful individuals or of child
rem; but, considering the, differences
in skulls and brain development in
those days as compared with today,
this appearance may be deceptive.
The stone hammers, more or less
polished, were often used by being
held directly in the band, without
any sort of handle. In some ham
mers a wooden helve is preserved
and in a few thong served as hand
lie.
For illumination, the miners used
sticks of wood four to eight inch
es long. A ball of wet clay was roll
ed and slapped against the gallery
wall. Into this clay the miner stuck
his little light. Numbers OF these
wooden sticks or matches, the free
end charred. are still preserved in
place in their clay holders along
the galleries. These are also found
some resinous branches or twigs
wrapped in hide, and the latte,
, soaked with grease or with resin
These, it is believed, also served fol-
illumination; perhaps. too, for heat.
ing purposes.
Fire was used to splinter the rock
, and render it more friable and easier
] to attack. Clay along the weir
walls was picked away by hand
| Thousands of finger prints are still
visible here; they show that the
thumb Of the miner of those days
was of tremendous size, almost doub
le the length of the thumb of pre-
sent-day workmen.
No props were used in the work
ing; which fact alone proves thai
! they antedated the Romans. In Ger
tain cases ore was extracted from
the end of diggings into which
only child would be able to pen.
citrate. Several gallaries are 81
steep and SO slippery that any move.
ment in them must have been with
the help of thongs fastened into
the roof of the gallery; in the vertl.
cal slopes or raises there is usu
| ally still preserved stone ring in.
to which such q thong was fast.
ened.
Originally. the ores were smelted
in shallow, scooped-out hollows In
refractory clay. These primitive
crucibles were about eight inches
in diameter. and with walls one and
one-half inches thick; fragments Of
them are preserved with ore. incom.
pletely reduced, clinging to their sid.
es. Later they must have employed
la more highly perfected smelling
device. for pieces of quite homogene.
GUS Stag are found, this denotes the
use of some continuous smelling ap.
partus.